So, How Was Your 2020, Ingrid Andress?

So, How Was Your 2020? is a series in which our favorite entertainers answer our questionnaire about the music, culture and memorable moments that shaped their year. We’ll be rolling these pieces out throughout December.

With a breakout song under her belt in “More Hearts Than Mine,” Ingrid Andress hit the road with Dan + Shay in March on a tour that was sure to boost her profile. They played three whole shows before lockdown took hold. What’s worse, the 29-year-old Andress, raised in Colorado and now a Nashville resident, was set to release her debut album Lady Like on March 27th. It was shaping up to be a career disaster.

Instead, Lady Like was a streaming hit, propelled by “More Hearts Than Mine,” a clever ballad that imagined all the collateral damage (i.e., family members, shared friends) of a breakup. Andress hit Number 15 on IndieLand‘s Breakthrough 25 chart and the LP became the highest streamed country debut album by a woman. Andress would go on to earn Grammy nominations for Best Country Album, Best Country Song (“More Hearts Than Mine”) and Best New Artist nominee, joining artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Doja Cat, and her current obsession, Megan Thee Stallion. The singer tells IndieLand about the things that defined her bizarre year.

The album I listened to the most in 2020 was:
Venice by Anderson.Paak. he tapped every button for me — both sonically and production-wise — that is so interesting and versatile. It just shows how much of a true artist he is because it’s so specific to him and, rhythmically, I just lose my shit every time I listen to it. I’m like, oh I wish I was as cool as you.

My favorite TV show to stream during quarantine was:
Schitt’s Creek. Dude, I’m on my fifth time. I have a mask that says, “Ew David.” I’m all in.

The song that will define “2020” for me is:
It’s actually a new one. Jazmine Sullivan, “Pick Up Your Feelings.” I feel like that just encompasses … I’m just over this year.

I’d define my current state of mind as:


Fuck it.

The viral video I kept coming back to in quarantine was:
The “WAP” music video. It inspired me to start doing more yoga because I’m not very flexible, but seeing all those girls do splits and stuff, I’m like, “What the heck? Can everybody do this?”

The old-favorite album I returned to for comfort this year was:
Anything by Bon Iver. Probably Blood Bank or For Emma. They’re more nostalgic for me because I listened to him a lot in college and as somebody who is so focused on lyrics, he is ideal for me because nobody knows what he’s saying half the time. So I don’t have to focus; my brain can just wander and chill.

The old-favorite movie I returned to for comfort this year was:
I watched Wedding Crashers a lot. It’s just hilarious.

A new hobby I picked up in quarantine was:
Indoor gardening for sure. I used to not have plants because I was on the road all the time, but now I’m like, “OK, well, here we are.”

The celebrity I’d most want to quarantine with is:
Gordon Ramsay, and I’m going to tell you why. Even though his personality is probably a lot to deal with, I really love spicy people. Anybody who is eccentric, I’m like, yes. But also because having a personal chef would have been ideal this year. Because I can’t cook.

The most interesting thing I learned to cook during quarantine was:
See previous response!

The best book I read in quarantine was:
Untamed by Glennon Doyle was really well-written and I love the message that she has in that book. It was very inspiring. She used to be a Christian marriage author, and then she did a whole 180 and is now married to one of the female Olympic athletes [Abby Wambach]. It’s talking about that whole journey of just acceptance and working through all of that stuff. It was really cool to see somebody’s journey and how much it can change.

Something positive that happened to me that nobody noticed was:
I guess I had more time to talk to my family. My parents moved up to the woods in Minnesota, because they’re crazy people, but it’s really beautiful up there. It’s kind of a trek to see them; a whole adventure.

The mistake I learned the most from this year was:
So many. I guess the most recent one is I learned that if you order a lot of clothes online and they don’t all fit, you have to go about the process of returning them, which is really annoying. So, not to order so many clothes.

The biggest hero of 2020 was:
The American people for showing up to elections this year.

A word or phrase I never want to hear again is:
“Unprecedented times.”

The thing I’m least looking forward to in 2021 is:
It’s kind of hard to predict what will even happen in 2021, so it’s hard to even pick something to not look forward to.

The thing I’m most looking forward to doing when the pandemic is over is:
Playing live shows.

My biggest hope for 2021 is:
I hope that everyone realizes that we have to be unified and work together to get all this shit over with, because, you know, all this hating on each other is getting really old and I’m over it. My biggest hope is that everybody has a little bit more compassion for each other.