Former Miss Willie Brown Member Amanda Watkins Releases New Duet With Jamey Johnson

Former Miss Willie Brown member Amanda Watkins has a brand new duet with Jamey Johnson, "If I Was Over You" as an exclusive to Sirius XM's The Highway for the next month or so.

“I was in my living room and the words and the melody just came to me and I started singing, ‘If I was over you, I would have left town,’” Watkins says. “All of the verses just poured out. But I didn’t know where to go with the chorus. I kept working on it and thought that Rivers Rutherford could help me with this. He wrote some of my favorite songs, including ‘Even the Skies Are Blue’ and ‘Heartache’ with Jamey Johnson.”

Jamey and Amanda share the same production team and she shares the story behind how Johnson joined her on the track.

“I get a text at 10:30 one night that said, ‘What are you doing?’” she says. “I said, ‘Nothing.’ He said, ‘Why don’t you come on down to the studio. I have something to show you.' “I come down and T.W. is sitting there. Jamey said, ‘I did some changes. I hope you are OK with them.’ They took the band out of the first two verses, so it is just acoustic guitar. When Jamey came in, I realized he had made it a duet and I started crying. I only expected him to sing harmony with me. It took the song from a good song to a great song with a heart factor, in that the song hurt so much more. Of course, his voice does that too.”

Miss Willie Brown Calls It Quits

Amanda Watkins and Kasey Buckley of Miss Willie Brown have parted ways. They were signed to ‪A&M/Octone Records‬, to which they were the first group signed. Watkins will continue to pursue a solo career.

“I support Kasey as she decides to take a break from the world of music. I’m sure as you have seen over the past few years, there is nothing that will ever come between us,” Watkins said via her Facebook page. “The songs that you have been loving and playing will be ever present on my solo journey. It’s going to be a great year with lots to come! And I promise to keep you updated every step of the way through touring, videos, posts and most of all music.”

Miss Willie Brown debuted in 2011 and toured with Dierks Bentley and Josh Thompson. Their debut single "Sick of Me" did not enter the charts, but its followup, "You're All That Matters to Me", was made into a music video and charted in August 2012. Miss Willie Brown performed "You're All That Matters to Me" and "Sick of Me" on The CW's Hart of Dixie on April 9, 2012 in the episode "Always on My Mind."

New Music Video From Miss Willie Brown- "You're All That Matters To Me"

Critic's Corner- Miss Willie Brown- Self-Titled EP- CD Album Review

“Four tracks make up Miss Willie Brown’s new EP. Three of the tracks take equal parts janeDear Girls, Pat Benatar and Jason Aldean, blended all together. The result is an uptempo thumpy and sometime bombastic rock collection that throws just enough fiddle in the mix to be called country. Lyrical depth is optional, but harmonies are good and the vocal engagement is strong. The best track on the album is the exception to the rule. “Freeland” is an introspective and thought-provoking torch song about a lonely wife of a deployed soldier who must figure out a way to get along while he’s gone off to fight to protect our nation. She is forced to substitute classic romance movies to cover her lonely nights and the not-so-warm-and-fuzzy return of her husband makes it all the more real. It’s a very strong track that deserves a listen.”
Ken Morton, Jr.
That Nashville Sound

“Like Bomshel and far more recently, The janeDear Girls, the sound is pumping, upbeat and far more rocking. It's bright sounding and lively, but ultimately doesn't cut very deep.”
Jeffrey B. Remz
Country Standard Time

“The duo, which features a pair of fantastically gifted singers in Texas native Kasey and Virginia native Amanda, has gained a higher profile this year as they’ve appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and actually were guests on Adam Carolla’s podcast as well. The duo has a vocal style that’s as powerful as Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland mixed with a bit of Shelby Lynne’s edge for good measure.”
Allen Jacobs
Roughstock

“Snarling. Loud. Swampy. Edgy. Miss Willie Brown’s industry showcase on March 15 at the Rutledge closed with Kasey Buckley on her knees, violently slamming the stage floor with a tam- bourine in a form-fitting, black mini-skirt and boots. It was a wild—and appro- priate—finale for a duo that demonstrated a shockingly unique take on country music that combines West Coast energy levels and punk attitude.”
Billboard

“The four songs on the EP, produced by Keith Stegall (Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson, George Strait), has plenty of contemporary funk but is filled with a down-home passion that puts one in mind of queens of country including Loretta Lynn and Reba McEntire. The duo share writing credits on each song and take turns on lead vocals.”
Nancy Dunham
OurStage.com

“You will find that these ladies have quite a bit of spunk and personality. That is very apparent on the opening track, the ironically-titled “Sick Of Me.” With an entertaining, thump-heavy beat, and harmonies as high as the clouds, I don’t think any music fan would get tired of these ladies anytime soon! That attitude and sass can also be found on “Couyon Crazy,” which I am sure is one that keeps the fans entertained when they do it live!”
Dan Harr
Music News Nashville