Hear Cassadee Pope’s Defiant New Single ‘I Am Invincible’
There are undeniably two different sides to Cassadee Pope — the half that grew up on country idols like Shania Twain and Garth Brooks on the Florida coast, and the half that head-bangs at a Fall Out Boy concert. Both sides can be heard loud and clear on her new single “I Am Invincible,” premiering exclusively on Rolling Stone Country (listen below). More commanding than anything The Voice winner has ever released as a solo artist, it lets her vocals run loose on the Paramore-meets-Carrie Underwood power ballad — and leaves the twanging to the mandolins. Two sides, for sure: but two halves also make a whole, according to Pope.
“That’s a huge part of who I am,” the singer tells Rolling Stone Country about her rock & roll influences and soft spot for bands like Blink-182 and All Time Low. “I grew up singing country music, that’s a huge part of who I am, too, but I’ve always had that rock edge. And I don’t want to ever neglect that, because it wouldn’t be authentic to me. So this song feels really empowering and inspirational.”
Indeed, “I Am Invincible” follows in the footsteps of other motivational pop anthems of late: Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song,” Katy Perry’s “Roar,” Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” except with pants on (Pope’s currently in Las Vegas, where she’s currently “staying out of trouble” — i.e. no Perry-style “Waking Up in Vegas” antics). Written by Brett Boyett and Nash Overstreet, the song struck a chord with Pope, who had been feeling burnt by the process of writing for her next record, heading into sessions daily but internalizing the nagging pressure of having to craft a hit.
“There were a few times this year when I was just writing, and writing, and writing, and I didn’t feel like I was writing the right songs,” she says. “I can’t rush the process, and I can’t be upset I’m not writing a hit in every session. It’s all part of my growth.”
“I am Invincible” also came to have particularly poignant resonance for Pope in the era of “Tomatogate” — radio consultant Keith Hill’s remarks that females were the tomato garnish on the lettuce of their male colleagues. She even opens the track with a steadfast, spoken dedication: “for my girls, the fighters, the warriors.”
“It came at the perfect time,” Pope says, “because I was feeling so empowered, especially around a time when females were finally getting a little more recognition in country music. . . Kelsea [Ballerini] is so great, and Kacey [Musgraves] too. Everybody is making moves and it’s the perfect time to prove [Hill] wrong.”