Maddie & Tae On New No. 1 Single: It's The 'Biggest Icing On The Cake'

Maddie & Tae recently took the No. 1 spot on the country charts with their latest single, "Die From A Broken Heart." The song, included on their The Way It Feels album, is the duo's first chart topper since their 2014 debut single, "Girl In A Country Song."

To the duo, consisting of Maddie Marlow and Taylor Dye, this accomplishment means so much more that seeing their names at the top. In an interview with People, they explain how it's a reflection of who they are as not only artists and songwriters, but also as people.

"The song peaking at No. 1 is like the biggest icing on the cake," Dye says, adding, "but it really is just the icing because the growth that we've had as humans and as best friends and as artists is the success to us."

Marlow agrees, adding, "It's more of a win for who we are as humans and our character-building process as women. There is a confidence — when you've gotten through some really tough stuff and come out on the other side stronger — that no one in the world can take away from you."

After the success of their debut single, "Girl In A Country Song," the two struggled to find themselves as artists due to mixed signals at their label. In 2017 the label folded and the two actually feared their career was over at age 21. By the end of that year, they were picked up by another label and determined to find their voice again.

Marlow and Dye say as challenging as the last few years might've been for them, those hard moments have given them the opportunity to learn and grow. For Dye, that meant learning to be bold and speak up even when it's uncomfortable.

"I had a really hard time expressing myself, whether it meant sharing an opinion or even in the [song]writing room," she shares. "It's been the biggest challenge for me, but in the best way. I've learned to speak my mind and not be afraid to share my opinion."

For Marlow, she learned how to confidently push herself outside of her comfort zone. "I think we're just always pushing ourselves," she says. "It's just the whole thing of not getting complacent. That's something we learned from Carrie [Underwood]. She's always learning something new, writing something new, trying something new, and she really inspired us to do that."

The duo earned a spot on the road with Underwood for her "Cry Pretty Tour 360" in 2019. "We really learned how to entertain a crowd, how to put a full-blown show together," Marlow says of their time opening up for Underwood. "We learned moments of connection between the two of us that got the crowd excited."

Dye says the experience "was just falling back in love with performing, in general, and falling back in love with the connection with fans. That connection is real, and that's what I tried to soak up."

Take a listen to the duo's well-deserved No. 1 single, "Die From A Broken Heart" below.

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