Cyndi Thomson had a huge hit in 2001 with the song, "What I Really Meant to Say." Instead of building on that success in the heat of the moment, she took time off from the music industry - twenty years to be exact. Now, at 48, she is storming back into the spotlight with an exciting new EP, Acres of Diamonds.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Thomson was leading a simple, rewarding life during these intervening years. She was happy and content. Still, making music was never completely out of the picture. - or her mind.
"I've always known I would sing again," Thomson shared recently with Wide Open Country. "I just didn't know what form it would take."
Now we know. The result is going to land this remarkable artist right back in the thick of things where she belongs.
Listen To The Single 'Five More Minutes' From Cyndi Thomson's New EP, 'Acres Of Diamonds'
What She's Been Doing
"As a person," Thomson explained. "I feel I've loved a lot of life. It's been over 20 years. I've been a mom, I've been a wife for almost 23 years to someone I'm truly still in love with [her husband, Daniel Goodman]. We have a beautiful relationship. we truly love each other and we're close with our children [Hayden, 16. and Bella, 20}. I feel like I've grown up a lot."
Thomson was already married at the time she released "What I Really Meant to Say." She moved to Franklin, Tennessee. "I just decided to be a stay-at-home mom, which was one of my dreams, too. I just lived a very simple life," taking care of her family and being with them and doing domestic tasks like tending her flower and vegetable gardens.
She also started a successful jewelry business called Haybelle Co., a combination of her children's names.
She Missed The Music Industry
Music was never far from Thomson's heart. "I did miss the industry because there's a lot of beautiful things about it. The industry allows you to connect with fans, get your music to a wider audience, and there's just a beauty about what the music industry is. I wanted to be a part of that again. I had been gone for so long. it was really a whole new landscape of how to do music again.'
Thomson wittily observed, "I always say I 'Cliff Noted' my way into the industry again. It's just been a beautiful learning experience. There wasn't a turning point [when I made the choice to come back].
So Much Has Changed In The Industry During Thomson's Absence
Thomson acknowledges that she is jumping back into a vastly different music environment than the one she exited two decades ago. "It's absolutely changed," she said. "There's a new way of releasing music." Rather than being relegated to the traditional avenue of doing a radio station tour, for example, "now there's a market that is very open to anyone who wants to release music. There is a larger pool of people, [including] independent and signed artists. I feel there is just a lot more music."
She continued, "It's very different on so many levels. Social media has enabled us to have a bigger reach. It's also been a bit of a learning curve. It can be really beautiful for an artist's career, [making use of] all of those outlets."
Her Voice Has Changed As Well
Thomson believes that her "voice has definitely changed. I can hear just a richness. It does sound different to me. It was such a young voice back then. I still have a lot of the style I had before. The style is there, the same Cyndi is there, but it's definitely richer. It's really interesting to hear myself singing again as much as I've been singing."
