When I met singer/producer Terran 'T-RAN' Gilbert of 22Visionz Entertainment last year, he mentioned a remarkable artist he was working with, Taylor Sanders. It took nearly a year, but I finally was able to interview this powerful artist.
Taylor Sanders has been performing most of her life. Since age five, she has been involved in singing, piano, dance, and gymnastics. She loved anything to do with the performing arts.
Sanders has lived in Tennessee most of her life and she recorded her first album when she was just nine years old.
“From then on, I just loved the whole experience of it and loved performing. I knew that's what I wanted to do with my life and what I wanted to strive for with my goals,” she shared.
But what sets Sanders apart is that besides being an accomplished singer, she is a talented dancer, kind of like a country music Paula Abdul. Not only does she write and sing songs, but she also choreographs the dance moves she uses in her music videos.
But unlike most of the artists I interviewed, Sanders pursued another career outside of performing.
“I was planning to go to MTSU and do the music program there. But then I decided that I wanted to have a Plan B and decided to pursue science. And so I went into pharmacy, and I'm a pharmacist,” she explained.
She married her husband, who is also a pharmacist in 2012 and he has been her biggest supporter as she juggles her music career in addition to her pharmaceutical career.
After gaining recognition for her covers of well-known artists' songs including Dolly’s "Jolene" and Patsy Cline’s "Walkin' After Midnight," Sanders performed her first major hit, “Firecracker” alongside the Gatlin Brothers in 2022. The song sports her sassy twang, spunky vibe, and bouncy beat that she combines with her unique Southern style.
“Firecracker” is the perfect balance of traditional country and modern pop, with lyrics rooted in female empowerment and being confident in your skin.
Because of its success, they were set to make a video for the single. However, no one knew at the time that she and her husband desperately wanted a child and that she was finally pregnant. However, the day before the shoot, they learned the 8-week-old fetus didn’t have a heartbeat.
Anyone in the music industry is aware of the time, money, and effort that is required to shoot a music video. Nevertheless, Sanders was determined that the shoot would go on as few realized the predicament in which she found herself.
The day of the shoot she thought, “If I can do this mentally and physically, and even while I am still in shock, I can be brave.” For a few hours, she became Taylor Sanders, the artist, versus Taylor Sanders, the person.
Despite all the trials, her efforts paid off and in 2023, the music video for “Firecracker” earned Sanders and producer 'T-RAN' Gilbert a Josie Award for Video of the Year and Best Country Song at the Grand Ole Opry.
Not long after that, she released the single, “Tennessee Love,” a song that is a heartfelt tribute crafted to encapsulate the journey of seeking true love and finding solace in the simplicity of small-town life in Tennessee. The lyrics narrate a tale of leaving the bright lights of LA and the cold streets of New York to return to a place where the heart feels truly at home. The song resonates with a deep sense of contentment and fulfillment, celebrating the discovery of genuine love in a familiar place.
When she recorded the video for “Tennessee Love,” she was pregnant again, but this time, it resulted in a beautiful baby boy, Gage Wolf, born in December of 2023.
The feeling that she experienced in having her “rainbow” baby was put into words in an anthem for overcomers, “Other Side.” But at the same time that she was anticipating the birth of her baby, her mother was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and was in Massachusetts getting a stem cell transplant. Her mom, who at one time was her manager, was just sixty years old. When there were complications from the grade four graft, they urged Sanders to get there as soon as possible even though Gage had just been born and she was still recovering from her C-section.
It was her mother’s dying wish to meet her grandson, and while Sanders was still recovering, they took her 2 ½ week-old baby to meet his grandmother.
Sanders recalled, “She said, ‘Baby Boy’ and not too much longer, I was able to sing her into heaven. I sang her a few songs at her bedside in the hospital, and I let her listen to ‘Other Side’ and some of my other music.”
The video for “Other Side” was filmed at Ocean Way studios (formerly a church) in Nashville, and while the song was written before her mother’s actual death, the song has since taken on new meaning for the artist.
“It was really cool to be able to perform and record in a space that Dolly Parton has recorded in and so many more legends have used,” she stated.
With the lyrics, When it hurts too bad/ You can’t go back/ to fix the broken parts/ When you wanna change/ But don’t see the way or even where to start/ Hold on and just believe… the words impact her more each time she sings it.
And anytime a song has that much personal meaning to an artist, you know it will also affect others.
She honestly admitted, “I'm not fully over the mountain. I'm still in the thick of it in my whole journey and recovery of it. But hopefully, one day I'll be able to give more advice on it at a later end of what I've learned from this.”
The video for and story behind “Other Side” officially premiered in People Magazine which gained the rising artist thousands of new admirers.
Taylor Sanders has captivated audiences worldwide with her music, garnering airplay on esteemed country radio stations across the United States, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Her undeniable talent has been celebrated by all who have had the privilege of knowing her. Sanders’ boundless energy and courageous determination make her a force to be reckoned with.
Be sure to keep up with Taylor Sanders on her website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and all streaming platforms.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and X.