LeAnn Rimes, Mickey Guyton and Sheila E.’s Empowering ‘The Wild’

LeAnn Rimes, Mickey Guyton and award-winning pop percussionist Sheila E. take a stand in their anthemic new song “The Wild.” Released Friday (July 15), the powerful collaboration echoes the empowering themes of Rimes’ upcoming album God’s Work, which is set for release on Sept. 16 via Thirty Tigers.

“My new album as a whole looks at the duality of life, the light and the dark, and I believe that is most apparent in ‘the wild,'” Rimes says in a statement. “The song is about the patriarchal world that has shaped us as a society, especially women … the silencing and fracturing of ourselves in order to fit into the pretty and polite societal box, throughout generations.”

The trio’s blended voices and driving percussion reiterate the defiant spirit and message of perseverance that lies at the core of God’s Work, which finds Rimes reclaiming her own space within country music. Twenty-five years after first finding fame at the age of 13 with her smash hit “Blue,” Rimes is using her voice to push back against the double standards and societal expectations that she and other women are faced with on a daily basis.

“It’s a battle cry to unite women to reclaim every part of our truest nature and no longer allow our wild, our ‘unholy’ to be ignored, shamed and rejected,” Rimes continues. “It is full of rage … the kind of rage that calls us home. Rage, that ignites change and says, ‘I have been here all along, waiting for you to return to your wholeness.’ And I couldn’t be more excited to have such strong, kindhearted, ‘wild’ women featured alongside me. Mickey Guyton and Sheila E. helped make this track come alive!”

“The Wild” is the fifth pre-release single from God’s Work, which includes 12 new songs and collaborations with Ziggy Marley, Ben Harper and Aloe Blacc. Guyton again joins Rimes on the record’s title track, alongside pedal steel virtuoso Robert Randolph and Grammy-nominated vocalist Tata Vega. Rimes recruited a team of talented women to help mix, master and record the intensely personal project, which took three years to complete.

Rimes is currently on her the Story… So Far Tour in support of her upcoming album, with stops scheduled across the U.S. through the end of September. You can find a full list of upcoming tour dates and ticketing information at Rimes’ official website.

LeAnn Rimes’ God’s Work Tracklisting:

1. “Spaceship”
2. “The Only” (Ft. Ziggy Marley, Ledisi, and Ben Harper)
3. “Awakening”
4. “How Much a Heart Can Hold”
5. “Throw My Arms Around the World”
6. “The Wild” (Ft. Sheila E. and Mickey Guyton)
7. “Innocent”
8. “God’s Work” (Ft. Robert Randolph, Mickey Guyton, and Tata Vega)
9. “Something Better’s Coming”
10. “Imagined With Love”
11. “There Will Be a Better Day”
12. “I Do” (Duet by Aloe Blacc and LeAnn Rimes)