The trio originally formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006 by Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals), Dave Haywood (background vocals, guitar, piano, mandolin) and Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals).
Scott is the daughter of country music singer Linda Davis, and Charles Kelley is the brother of pop artist Josh Kelley. It was these family connections and music industry ties that helped launch the band. Kelley moved to Nashville in mid-2005 from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he had been working construction with his brother John. Trying to become a successful solo country artist, Kelley convinced his old middle-school classmate, Haywood, to move to Nashville from Georgia in 2006 so they could write music together. Shortly thereafter, Scott recognized Kelley from MySpace, and they started to talk at a Nashville music club. Kelley later invited Scott to join him and Haywood in the new group, which assumed the name Lady Antebellum. The name Antebellum comes from when the group were photographing "antebellum" homes. The antebellum ('pre-war') architectural style describes the large plantation homes in the American South. While photographing the houses one of the group said that there's a great band name in there, and they adopted the Lady Antebellum name shortly after. The trio then began performing at local venues in Nashville before being signed in July 2007 to a recording contract with Capitol Records Nashville. In an interview with Sirius Satellite Radio, Scott claimed she was rejected from the hit show American Idol two times, not even making it past the first round.
Shortly after the trio signed to the label, adult contemporary artist Jim Brickman chose Lady Antebellum to sing on his 2007 single Never Alone, which reached #14 on the Billboard adult contemporary charts. In mid-2007, Lady Antebellum also wrote a song for the MTV reality television series The Hills.
Their solo debut single Love Don't Live Here was released in September of 2007, with a music video for the song following in December. This song was the lead-off single to the band's self-titled debut album. Released on April 15, 2008, Lady Antebellum was produced by Paul Worley and Victoria Shaw, a Nashville songwriter and former solo artist. Love Don't Live Here reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The album itself was the first album by a new duo or group to debut at Number One on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts.
A second single, Lookin' for a Good Time, was issued in June 2008 and peaked at #11 in December. In addition, Lady Antebellum was signed as an opening act on Martina McBride's "Waking Up Laughing Tour" in 2008. Lady Antebellum also contributed the song I Was Here to the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack, a song which peaked at #24 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 based on downloads. In December 2008, their rendition of Baby, It's Cold Outside peaked at #3 on the same chart. Their third official single, I Run to You, was released in January 2009. It eventually became the trio's first Number One in July 2009.
On October 7, 2009 their debut album was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of one million copies in the United States.
In August 2009, the group released their fourth single, Need You Now, the lead-off single and title track to their second studio album. It debuted at #50 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and became their second Number One hit on the charts for the week of November 28, 2009. The song also reached a peak of #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a number-one hit on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart, making it a crossover hit. A second single, American Honey, was released to radio on January 11, 2010 and would become their third #1 hit. Our Kind of Love was released as the third single from the album on May 31, 2010 and became a #1 single in September, 2010.
The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts for the week of Feb. 2, 2010, selling 480,922 copies in the first week. Four weeks after the album's release, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The week of January 9, 2011, the group ventured into the studio to begin recording for their third studio album. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kelley said, "We actually just went ahead and decided weāre gonna take two, two and a half months straight in the studio to create this thing and not have all this distraction. Hopefully that will be a good thing". He goes on to say that the group has around 50 songs which they plan to choose from along with songs from other songwriters. However, he singles out a song called Dancing Away With My Heart as one the band is particularly excited about, a song that the group co-wrote with Josh Kear, who previously wrote with the group on their hit Need You Now.
On May 2, 2011, the group released the first single from their upcoming album, titled Just a Kiss. The group performed the single on stage on American Idol's result show on May 5, 2011.
On June 11, 2020, amid the George Floyd protests, the band announced they would rename themselves "Lady A" in order to avoid racist connotations with Civil War history, as the original name was based on the Antebellum South. The band stated on social media that they were "deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued."
Get to Me
Lady Antebellum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Got a full moon rising
And you know this is the time I get a little bit lonely
And I can't fight it, I can't hide it.
Don't know where you are,
But I want you just like lightning
Shooting straight out of the sky,
Come and strike me with your light igniting
Gotta get to me, gotta get to me
You gotta spread your wings and start flying.
Like a drop of rain, gotta find the way
Don't hit the brakes, just come and crash through my horizon.
Bring back the air, I need to breathe, baby
You gotta get to me.
The bottle is empty
And I'm dancing in the shadow of a memory.
Yeah, call me crazy
But I still got this schoolgirl's dream.
You're gonna show up and kiss me,
Pull me in, hold me tight, love me and carry me away
Like there's no more tomorrows and no more yesterdays.
Gotta get to me, gotta get to me
You gotta spread your wings and start flying.
Like a drop of rain, gotta find the way
Don't hit the brakes, just come and crash through my horizon.
Bring back the air, I need to breathe, baby
You gotta get to me.
Gotta get to me, gotta get to me
You gotta spread your wings and start flying.
Like a drop of rain, gotta find the way
Don't hit the brakes, just come and crash through my horizon.
Bring back the air, I need to breathe, baby
And get to me.
Get to me, get to me, yeah
You gotta get to me.
The night is hot,
Got a full moon rising
Lady Antebellum's song "Get to Me" expresses the feeling of loneliness and the yearning for a significant other. The lyrics paint a picture of a hot, summer night with a full moon rising, where the singer is feeling a little bit lonesome, and this is the time they yearn for their lover's presence. The lyrics bare this vulnerability of theirs where they feel lonely and dependent on their lover. The singer can't fight nor hide the feeling of wanting their lover to come to them straight out of the sky like lightning, igniting the passion between the two lovers.
The chorus of the song urges the lover to come to them by asking them to "spread your wings and start flying." The singer wants their lover to find their way to them without hitting the brakes and come crashing through their horizon. The singer begs their lover to bring back the air and breathe with them as they miss their lover's presence.
The second verse of the song details the singer's feelings towards their lover. They realize their bottle is empty and they are dancing their heart out to a shadow of a memory. They admit that people may call them crazy, but they still have their schoolgirl's dream of the lover coming back to them. The singer imagines their lover kissing them, pulling them in, holding them tight, loving, and carrying them away. The singer wants this moment to be an escape from tomorrow and yesterday and live in the moment with their lover.
Line by Line Meaning
The night is hot,
The current moment is intense and passionate
Got a full moon rising
The atmosphere is mystical and charged with anticipation
And you know this is the time I get a little bit lonely
Despite the exciting environment, the singer feels a sense of isolation and yearning for companionship
And I can't fight it, I can't hide it.
The artist is unable to suppress their emotions and desires for connection
Don't know where you are,
The artist is uncertain of the whereabouts of the person they long for
But I want you just like lightning
The singer's desire for the other person is intense and electrifying
Shooting straight out of the sky,
The other person's potential impact on the singer's life is grand and powerful
Come and strike me with your light igniting
The artist wants the other person to ignite a spark within them and kindle a passionate flame
Yeah, igniting.
The artist is anticipating an explosive and passionate encounter with the other person
Gotta get to me, gotta get to me
The artist is expressing a strong desire for the other person to be with them
You gotta spread your wings and start flying.
The singer is urging the other person to take bold steps towards them and put in effort to make it happen
Like a drop of rain, gotta find the way
The artist hopes the other person will navigate through obstacles and barriers to find their way to them, like a raindrop finding its way to the ground
Don't hit the brakes, just come and crash through my horizon.
The singer wants the other person to not hold back and burst into their life with full force, overcoming any barriers in their way
Bring back the air, I need to breathe, baby
The singer feels suffocated without the other person and wants them to bring back joy and contentment to their life
The bottle is empty
The singer has consumed all the alcohol in their vicinity
And I'm dancing in the shadow of a memory.
The artist is reminiscing about past experiences and memories with the other person
Yeah, call me crazy
The artist acknowledges that their feelings and actions may seem irrational or extreme
But I still got this schoolgirl's dream.
The singer still holds onto the same dream and desires as they did when they were younger
You're gonna show up and kiss me,
The singer has a vivid anticipation of a romantic rendezvous with the other person
Pull me in, hold me tight, love me and carry me away
The artist wants the other person to engage in an intimate embrace and sweep them off their feet with affection
Like there's no more tomorrows and no more yesterdays.
The artist wants the moment to be fully present and meaningful, free from any worries about the past or future
And get to me.
The artist emphasizes the importance of the other person being with them
Get to me, get to me, yeah
The singer repeats their desire for the other person to come to them
You gotta get to me.
The artist is emphasizing the importance of the other person being with them
Lyrics Ā© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: HILLARY LINDSEY, JAMES SLATER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind