With a crystalline Country vocal and an international rep for writing vivid scenes of emotional insight, BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville recording artist Madeline Merlo is a rising star with an old soul and a new school style. Already a PLATINUM-certified #1 songwriter poised to be a breakout artist, Merlo’s new EP, ONE HOUSE DOWN (from the girl next door), finds a self-described deep-feeler offering a message of encouragement to her younger self – and to all those who feel “a little different.” A small town native helming from the blueberry fields of British Columbia, Merlo recalls countless holiday family sing-alongs soaked in a musical mix of classic soul and R&B – plus ‘90s country and the powerhouse vocals of everyone from Aretha Franklin to Dolly Parton, Martina McBride and Faith Hill. After attending a Shania Twain concert as her first show, she proclaimed her intention to be a singer on a second-grade school project – and her songwriting habit began early, too. Merlo started visiting Nashville on songwriting trips at just 16, signed a record deal at 18, and found fast success at Canadian country radio, earning the CCMA Rising Star Award in 2015. By 2020, she was competing on Season 2 of the NBC songwriting reality series Songland, and with the dressed-down anthem of easy confidence, “Champagne Night,” she came out a winner. The track went on to become a PLATINUM-certified three-week #1 for Lady A, opening the door for Merlo’s artistic dreams. Having “already proven her songwriting chops” (Billboard), her label-debut, gravel-road pop EP, Slide, scored critical acclaim from Billboard, E! News, PopCulture, Music Row and more. After being named to CMT’s 2024 Next Women of Country, she calls ONE HOUSE DOWN  (from the girl next door), available now, her most emotionally insightful project yet – a six-song message of self-worth that comes with a superstar boost with the melodic “Broken Heart Thing (feat. Dustin Lynch).”