Ever heard of… acting?
A few weeks ago, up-and-coming singer/songwriter Mackenzie Carpenter (she writes a ton with Megan Moroney if her name sounds familiar) teamed up with Midland to release a duet called “I Wish You Would,” which is a very traditional sounding song about finding love in a dive bar.
Written by Carpenter alongside Jonathan Hutcherson, Jamie Moore and Chris Tompkins, I’ve been listening to it a lot, and I’m excited to hear more from Mackenzie in particular. She’s a very talented writer, with her own style and a lot to say, so keep your eye on her going forward in terms of mainstream artists to watch.
She says “I Wish You Would” is a “flirty tune” about wanting someone to tell you exactly how they feel and fearlessly making the first move:
“‘I Wish You Would (ft. Midland)’ is a fun, flirty tune about wanting someone to be more forward, quit guessing and make the first move. It’s about craving a spark with someone and longing for more than a few glances with that person you’ve noticed from across the bar. Midland has always been a dream collaboration, and they bring a smooth classic vibe to the song.”
Featuring Midland frontman Mark Wystrach on vocals alongside Mackenzie, he added that he loves that the duet is reminiscent of the classic and beloved Conway and Loretta, Dolly and Kenny duets that made country music what it is:
“I loved ‘I Wish You Would’ from the jump when Mackenzie and Jamie Moore sent it our way. When I went to lay my part, I was thrown back in time to the era of Conway and Lorretta Lynn and Kenny and Dolly iconic duets. The melodies are hypnotic, and the soaring hook is pure Country gold.
The structure of the song is non-symmetrical, so it keeps revealing new sonic surprises leaving you wanting to hear it again and again.”
Last week, Mackenzie and the Midland boys put out the official music video for the song, which finds them all in a cool country bar, drinking and having fun, as Mark plays the bartender and eventually sparks up a romance with Mackenzie… well, in her imagination. It’s a pretty simple concept, and they definitely get up close and personal… but the video was largely very PG.
I mean, they’re selling a song. What were they supposed to do? Just stare at each other from across the room? Who wants to watch that? I’ll be honest and say not me…
But Mark’s wife, Ty Haney, with whom he shares two young children, responded back at a fan on Instagram during an “ask me anything” question session on her stories earlier, who asked if the video “made you kinda sad”:
She responded that she “didn’t know about it,” and no, it didn’t make her sad. Ty explained that she hopes it’s a “hit,” adding that it was “kinda comedy.” It’s a little odd she wouldn’t know about it if she’s on social media much, which I think clearly she is if she’s answering fan questions, but I digress…
I also don’t know if she meant the video itself was “comedy,” or if she was throwing shade at the fan implying something was “funny,” but it sounds like she’s not too worried about it:
“Didn’t know about it lol but didn’t make me sad. Hope it’s a hit. Kinda comedy.”
Like I said, Mark and Mackenzie do get pretty close and flirty, but it’s honestly pretty tame when compared to most videos these days… they’re both married in real life, and like I said, they’re selling a song about finding love on a whim in a dive bar. They don’t kiss or anything like that, but fans tend to read way too much into things like this and I definitely think that’s what happened with that fan question.
Actors do stuff like this all the time, actually they go way further, and no one thinks twice about it, so I’d suggest looking at it from that perspective when it comes to a video like this. They’re professionals, and this is part of the job. I actually really enjoyed the video, and Mark, who is a former professional model, is clearly easy on the eyes, which helps… c’mon, y’all, it’s country music, but it’s also show business.
Watch it here and see what you think:
“I Wish You Would”
Fun fact: Mark has actually starred in a number of movies and television shows including appearances on 90210, CSI: Miami, Scavengers, Weeds, and of course, his incredible appearance in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, where he played her flirtatious record producer, Gary S Paxton.
I about lost it when I first saw him show up in the movie:
