The Summer of Strong Women

We honor those women who's strength inspires us all to reach higher!

On This Woman's Heart, Chalee Tennison's heartfelt  sense of calling shines through loud and clear and beautifully. 

Listen and you'll hear the everyday dreams, desires, heartbreak, laughter, insights and discoveries of an everyday woman who, just like her listeners, struggles to balance the often conflicting demands of motherhood, career, musical excellence and the pursuit of personal happiness

"I've always firmly believed that you have to go after what you think you deserve," Chalee explains. "you just can't settle for second best--I won't settle. That's just the way I live my life, and that's just the way I approach my music."

The Official Chalee Tennison Fan Club Website 

Ladyfire- Your latest CD-This Woman's Heart (Asylum Records) is a masterpiece of inspiration for women. Where do you find your inspiration?

Chalee-Life! For me, I can't sing anything or write anything unless I've personally experienced it. I'm very, very fortunate because it is like therapy for me, it's like sharing all the things I've been through with other people and when writing songs I try to write them in such a way where there's the heartache but that there's always light at the end of the tunnel.

I really try to make them know that I'm not just wallowing in self pity because I really am proud of my accomplishments I've made in the past three years since I've moved to Nashville. It's important that the lyrics that I write are inspirational and do give hope and when I talk about the songs I can say I was doing this and I was doing that, working all kinds of jobs and now here I am- I'm living my dream and I had every reason to not be! I try to tie those stories in and make the lyrics where they have some hope at the end and I hope that the people listening to them will know there's some kind of inspiration there.

Ladyfire-What have you learned about yourself and love and how do you share this in your music?

Chalee-I've learned that I'm your typical personality, which is good because if you're typical you know that your problems can be fixed or that everybody does it. I read a lot of self-help books and when you read books, even with astrology and stuff your going, oh that's me, that's me! So I've realized that the mistakes or the decisions I've made in my life are really based on my personality and once I got past that point I knew that, as far as love goes, I've lost a lot, but I've gained a lot of wisdom. When it comes to lovin' I'm always going to love 110 percent and when it comes to finally finding the right mate for me, I know exactly what I'm going to have.

Ladyfire-Your song, "I'm Healing" (from her latest CD, This Woman's Heart), really touched me. It is very moving and made a strong impression. Can you share with us how you've made your healing journey through your music?

Chalee-Writing is therapy for me. I'm healing is a song I had to write, actually sitting down and putting the lyrics down on paper and the melody was even part of the healing for me, it's part of the process. So when I wrote, "When I woke up this morning for the first time in a long time I felt alright." I remember feeling that feeling, so I had to put it down on paper.

It's something that we all do with every relationship, but I'm so fortunate that I get to write it and let people go hey, I'm there too, and relate to what I'm saying. So I feel really lucky that I get to do that- to make music about stuff that most people would say if I could just tell so and so who broke my heart… or whoever caused them to feel this pain, to actually tell them how they are feeling. And I'm really lucky that I can do that through my music. Because I know, that if I write it down, more than one person is gong to hear it and chances are that person who's hurt me will eventually hear it too.

The neatest thing for me, and I learned this as a little girl when I would get mad. I would write all my feelings down on paper, (I was one of many children) and address it to whomever I was mad at and I would sign it then I'd wad it up and throw it away.

So fortunately for me I can use that. I can put that letter onto paper and put it to music.

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