Mackenzie Carpenter was already gaining quite the following when she released her current single, “Don’t Mess With Exes.” The song, which comes on the heels of “Can’t Nobody,” “Huntin’ Season” and “Jesus, I’m Jealous,” was written by Carpenter, alongside Nicolle Galyon and Brandon Hood, putting a new twist on a country music classic.

“I came in thinking it was time for a new Texas song,” Carpenter recalls to Everything Nash. “We had to pay our dues with George Strait, and the Iconic ‘All My Exes Live in Texas.’ But there’s still more to this story. So we came up with the title in the room and then we were like, ‘Has nobody ‘Don’t Mess With Exes,’ when the state slogan is ‘Don’t Mess With Texas?” So we were Googling, ‘Has anybody written this?'”

Once they realized that no one had ever written “Don’t Mess With Exes,” the three got to work writing the feisty tune.

“We were so excited about it,” Carpenter shares. “We spent so much time trying to figure out how to piece it together. I  think the magic sauce was when we went in and cut the demo. It had such a vibe. A lot of people don’t know, but the actual vocal that’s on the master was a one-take demo vocal, which has not happened very often. But we were like, ‘This just fits the vibe perfectly. We’re not gonna be able to outdo this.’ So that’s kind of how ‘Don’t Mess With Exes’ happened. ”

Carpenter returned to her small hometown to film the video for “Don’t Mess With Exes, making it a full-circle moment for the rising star.

“Every visual that you see as a part of it is shot in my hometown of Hull, Georgia, right outside of Athens,” Carpenter reveals. “And ‘Don’t Mess With Exes’ specifically is in the hot dog stand. I’m acting as a waitress serving hot dogs in the hot dog stand.”

“Don’t Mess With Exes” is one of five songs on Carpenter’s forthcoming eponymous EP, out in April.

“It is five songs. Four songs that you’ve already heard, plus one extra to keep you coming back,” Carpenter reveals. “It’s really special to me, because it’s my first five songs, my first five years in Nashville. All the visuals were shot in my hometown. So there are so many really special Easter eggs to who I am, the people that made me who I am, and where I come from.

“I get really excited for people to get to peel back the layers on who I am because, as a brand new artist, you only know what I tell you,” she continues. “It’s hard to be defined by one song or one photo. So for us to have almost five songs out there is really exciting for me to just keep getting to tell people the story of who Mackenzie Carpenter is.”

Carpenter is maintaining a busy tour schedule over the next few months. Find music and upcoming shows at MackenzieCarpenterMusic.com.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of BMLG / Harper Smith