Heartbreak, Healing & the Girl Next Door | Madeline Merlo
Madeline Merlo knows what it’s like to experience country music success from both sides of the song.
She helped write Lady A’s Platinum No. 1 hit “Champagne Night,” has earned recognition as one of CMT’s Next Women of Country and has shared stages with artists including Jelly Roll and Jordan Davis.
Madeline Merlo discusses the heartbreak, healing and rediscovered love behind her EP One House Down (from the girl next door).
But at CMA Fest 2025, Madeline joined Heart of the Gulch to talk about something much more personal: One House Down (from the girl next door), a six-song EP built around heartbreak, healing and eventually finding love again.
Inside Madeline Merlo’s Heart of the Gulch Interview
Welcome to Heart of the Gulch, a Nashville-based interview show and country music platform featuring artists, singer-songwriters and personalities shaping music and entertainment. Host and creator Tony Mendoza sits down with Madeline Merlo during CMA Fest 2025 to discuss One House Down (from the girl next door), “Broken Heart Thing,” writing “Champagne Night” and the experiences that have shaped her career in Nashville.
At the center of the conversation is a project designed to tell a complete emotional story.
Madeline Merlo talks about “Broken Heart Thing,” her duet with Dustin Lynch that she debuted at the Grand Ole Opry.
One House Down From the Girl Next Door
One House Down (from the girl next door) takes listeners through six songs connected by a journey from heartbreak toward something better.
Madeline opens up about the personal experiences and creative decisions behind the project, including how she wanted each song to contribute to a larger emotional arc.
Rather than treating the EP as simply a collection of songs, the project allows listeners to follow that progression alongside her.
A “Broken Heart Thing” With Dustin Lynch
One of the project’s biggest moments comes with “Broken Heart Thing,” Madeline’s duet with Dustin Lynch.
Madeline Merlo reflects on co-writing Lady A’s Platinum No. 1 country hit “Champagne Night.”
She talks about the vulnerable song and the experience of debuting it on one of country music’s most important stages: the Grand Ole Opry.
It’s the kind of full-circle moment that captures where Madeline is now — stepping forward as an artist while continuing to lean on the songwriting that helped establish her career.
The Song That Went No. 1
Before many listeners knew Madeline Merlo as the voice behind her own songs, millions had already heard something she helped create.
Madeline was one of the writers behind Lady A’s “Champagne Night,” which became a Platinum-certified No. 1 hit.
The success gave her another perspective on Nashville: sometimes the song you write can travel much further than you ever imagined.
Making Her Own Space in Nashville
Madeline’s journey has continued with recognition as one of CMT’s Next Women of Country and opportunities to open for artists including Jelly Roll and Jordan Davis.
But building a career in Nashville is rarely defined by one song, tour or breakthrough.
For Madeline, it has been about continuing to write, perform and trust the voice that got her here in the first place.
With One House Down (from the girl next door), she’s turning some of those experiences into her most personal music yet.
Watch Madeline Merlo on Heart of the Gulch
Watch the full Madeline Merlo interview from CMA Fest 2025 as she joins Tony Mendoza to discuss One House Down (from the girl next door), her Dustin Lynch duet “Broken Heart Thing,” writing Lady A’s No. 1 hit “Champagne Night,” the Grand Ole Opry and building her career in Nashville.
Tony Mendoza is the Nashville-based host and creator of Heart of the Gulch, featuring conversations with country artists, singer-songwriters and personalities from Nashville and beyond.
