The Way It Feels (Maddie & Tae album)

After releasing their debut album in 2015 with Dot Records, the label announced that they would be shutting down in early 2017. At the time, the duo had already begun working on their second album.{{cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/maddie-and-tae-die-from-a-broken-heart/jlscott13gmail-com/|title=Heart-To-Heart: A Q&A With Maddie & Tae|last=Scott|first=Jason|publisher=American Songwriter|date=November 10, 2019|accessdate=February 4, 2020}}

In June 2017, the duo announced that they had signed with Universal Music Group under their Mercury Nashville imprint.{{cite web|url=https://theboot.com/maddie-and-tae-umg-nashville/|title=Maddie & Tae Have Signed with UMG Nashville|last=Stefano|first=Angela|publisher=The Boot|date=June 10, 2017|accessdate=February 4, 2020}} Marlow revealed that they "started fresh" and got to work writing new songs for their sophomore record. By the summer of 2018, the duo revealed that the album had been completed and was awaiting a release date,{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/8470429/maddie-tae-interview-label-drama-album-friends-dont|title=How Maddie & Tae Overcame Label Drama to Write an Album About Love, Heartbreak & Redemption|last=Weatherby|first=Taylor|publisher=Billboard|date=August 17, 2018|accessdate=February 4, 2020}} though "Bathroom Floor" was a track that ended up being added to the album in 2019.{{cite web|url=https://theboot.com/maddie-and-tae-bathroom-floor-lyrics/|title=Story Behind the Song: Maddie & Tae, 'Bathroom Floor'|last=Ladd|first=Olivia|publisher=The Boot|date=December 5, 2019|accessdate=February 4, 2020}}

Prior to the release of their second album, the duo released two five-track EPs: One Heart to Another in April 2019 and Everywhere I'm Goin' in October 2019. All ten tracks appear on The Way It Feels.

"Friends Don't" was released on May 14, 2018, as the duo's first single off of their sophomore album.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/8459385/maddie-tae-start-friends-dont | title=Maddie & Tae Start An Evolution With Mercury Debut, 'Friends Don't' | magazine=Billboard | date=June 5, 2018 | accessdate=October 17, 2018}} The song served as their first single in two years and the first to be released under Mercury Nashville.

The album's second single, "Die from a Broken Heart," was released on October 20, 2018. Both singles had first appeared on the duo's EP One Heart to Another that was released in April 2019.

{{Album ratings

| MC =

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web |title=The Way It Feels - Maddie & Tae - Songs, Reviews, Credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-way-it-feels-mw0003355324 |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=April 19, 2020}}

}}

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the duo "and their cast of supporting writers know how to sculpt tuneful, sincere country tunes and their harmonies aren't merely convincing, but prove a balm, sounding sweet and soulful even underneath the layers of gloss by producers Jimmy Robbins and Derek Wells."

{{Track listing

|headline = The Way It Feels track listing

| title1 = Everywhere I'm Goin

| writer1 = {{hlist|Taylor Dye|Maddie Marlow|Jimmy Robbins|Josh Thompson}}

| length1 = 3:28

| title2 = Bathroom Floor

| writer2 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Josh Kerr}}

| length2 = 2:33

| title3 = My Man

| writer3 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Dave Barnes|Jordan Reynolds}}

| length3 = 3:01

| title4 = Tourist in This Town

| writer4 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Robbins|Barry Dean}}

| length4 = 3:25

| title5 = Drunk or Lonely

| writer5 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Deric Ruttan|Forest Whitehead}}

| length5 = 3:43

| title6 = One Heart to Another

| writer6 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Ruttan|Jonathan Singleton}}

| length6 = 3:38

| title7 = Trying on Rings

| writer7 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Robbins|Laura Veltz}}

| length7 = 3:05

| title8 = Write a Book

| writer8 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Kerr|Veltz}}

| length8 = 3:26

| title9 = Water in His Wine Glass

| writer9 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Robbins|Jon Nite}}

| length9 = 3:21

| title10 = Die from a Broken Heart

| writer10 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Ruttan|Singleton}}

| length10 = 3:29

| title11 = Ain’t There Yet

| writer11 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Barnes|Ben West}}

| length11 = 2:58

| title12 = Lay Here with Me

| note12 = featuring Dierks Bentley

| writer12 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Barnes|Kerr}}

| length12 = 3:08

| title13 = Friends Don't

| writer13 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Nite|Justin Ebach}}

| length13 = 3:08

| title14 = I Don't Need to Know

| writer14 = {{hlist|Dye|Marlow|Robbins|Adam Hambrick}}

| length14 = 3:20

| title15 = New Dog Old Tricks

| writer15 = {{hlist|Veltz|Jesse Frasure|Emily Weisband}}

| length15 = 3:09

| total_length = 48:52

}}

Adapted from the album's liner notes.{{cite AV media notes|title=The Way It Feels|others=Maddie & Tae|publisher=Mercury Nashville|year=2020|type=booklet|id=B0031826-02}}

;Musicians

• Maddie Marlow – lead vocals
• Taylor Dye – background vocals
• Dierks Bentley{{spaced ndash}} guest vocals
• Derek Wells{{spaced ndash}} acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, B-3, mandolin
• Ilya Toshinsky{{spaced ndash}} acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo
• Bryan Sutton{{spaced ndash}} acoustic guitar
• Kris Donegan{{spaced ndash}} electric guitar
• Russ Pahl{{spaced ndash}} steel guitar
• Jimmie Lee Sloas{{spaced ndash}} bass guitar
• Tony Lucido{{spaced ndash}} bass guitar
• Jerry Roe{{spaced ndash}} drums
• Fred Eltringham{{spaced ndash}} drums
• Evan Hutchings{{spaced ndash}} drums
• David Dorn{{spaced ndash}} piano, B-3, synth, Wurlitzer, keyboards

;Production

• Jimmy Robbins{{spaced ndash}} producer, programming
• Derek Wells{{spaced ndash}} producer
• Ben West{{spaced ndash}} programming
• Ben Fowler{{spaced ndash}} engineer
• Josh Ditty{{spaced ndash}} assistant engineer
• Lowell Reynolds{{spaced ndash}} assistant engineer
• Justin Neibank{{spaced ndash}} mixing
• Dave Clauss{{spaced ndash}} mixing {{small|("My Man", "Drunk or Lonely")}}
• Ben Phillips{{spaced ndash}} digital editing
• Buckley Miller{{spaced ndash}} digital editing
• Mike "Frog" Griffith{{spaced ndash}} production coordination
• Adam Ayan{{spaced ndash}} mastering

;Imagery

• Karen Naff{{spaced ndash}} art direction and design
• Carlos Rios{{spaced ndash}} photography
• Amber Cannon{{spaced ndash}} hair
• Neil Robison{{spaced ndash}} makeup
• Tiffany Gifford{{spaced ndash}} wardrobe stylist
• Kera Jackson{{spaced ndash}} art production

{{certification Table Top}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Maddie & Tae|title=The Way It Feels|award=Gold|certyear=2022|relyear=2020|access-date=May 2, 2025|refname="RIAA"}}

{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true | noshipments=true | streaming=true}}

• List of 2020 albums

{{Reflist}}

{{Maddie & Tae|state=autocollapse}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Way It Feels (Maddie and Tae album)}}

Category:2020 albums

Category:Maddie & Tae albums

Category:Mercury Nashville albums

Category:2020s concept albums

Category:Albums produced by Jimmy Robbins