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Cyndi Thomson is back.
The Tifton native who spent three weeks at No.1 on Billboard's country music charts a generation ago, has just released a new single and last month returned to the Grand Ole Opry, her first appearance there since her debut on that hallowed stage in 2001.
Her new single, "The Georgia in Me," is getting good reviews, and she plans to release a new song each month this year.
It's been a long time coming for Thomson, who stepped away from recording a year after skyrocketing to country music fame upon the release of her debut album in 2001 and her hit single, "What I Really Meant to Say."
The years 2001 and 2002 were a whirlwind of performances – opening on tours for Alan Jackson, Jo Dee Messina, and Trisha Yearwood – and high-profile appearances on such stages as "The Tonight Show" and the Grand Ole Opry. Thomson became overwhelmed and decided to step back to take a breath and compose herself, to focus on songwriting, to spend time with her new husband, and to start a family in Tennessee.
During the intervening years, she also started a line of her jewelry designs and performed just a few times.
"It’s just been really a sweet life," Thomson told themusicuniverse.com in an interview released Tuesday. "There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about singing again, or country music, or the fans, or making music. And on and off throughout the years I’ve written songs and played out here and there — not too much, just still been very quiet.”
She told the music news website that she was inspired to return to music after a conversation with her dad before he died.
“A couple of years ago, my dad passed away. But before he passed, I was sitting with him, and we were just talking about life and all that my mom and dad had done" for me, Thomson said.
"And, I was just kind of talking with him about that, and he passed that night, and I just kept thinking about I didn’t play the Opry again. I wanted to make a record. So I drove around the next day throughout my hometown, and I just was, like, you know, ‘God, I want to make a record. I want to make a country record, and I’m tired of talking about it, thinking about it. I’m just going to do it.’ And as soon as I kind of made that agreement with myself, all the stars aligned, and everything began to fall into place."
A month ago, Thomson returned to the Grand Ole Opry, sharing the stage with Vince Gill.
“Joining Vince Gill on the Opry stage was an incredible and surreal moment," she said. "It felt like a homecoming, and I’m eager to share that same energy with fans through ‘The Georgia In Me.’”
Thomson said when she began making new music, she decided there had to be a song about Georgia.
"I’m from Georgia; that’s where my roots are planted; that’s where I was born and raised, and it’s still where my family lives. And so for me, there’s still the sense of home," she told themusicuniverse.com.
"And so for the old fans and the new fans, I wanted to just kind of give an ode to Georgia and just say, ‘Hey, this is where I’m from.’"
To hear Thomson's new song "The Georgia In Me," click the image below:
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