Photo: Thomas Crabtree
Wynonna Judd is telling The Hard Truth.
The five-time Grammy winner, 62, debuted her first solo record in a decade — and her first major project since losing her mother and The Judds duo partner Naomi Judd — on Friday (October 2). Judd, who served as co-writer in a way unlike ever before, shared on Instagram that she’s “lived every word of this record. Some of it took me 60 years to understand, and some of it I’m still figuring out. But it’s mine. It’s honest. And I’ve never been more ready to hand something over to you.”
The Hard Truth includes previously released tracks “Kentucky Queen,” “Am I Missing Out,” “Hear Me Now” with Iron & Wine, and “Girl Who Could Sing.” Throughout the album, Judd gets introspective about the complicated emotions lingering since losing her mother, the personal ballad she wrote about the biological father she never got to know, the feelings of questioning oneself, and more. Judd worked alongside her husband, Cactus Moser, and said in an interview for PEOPLE’s cover story that “we fell in love with each other all over again.”
“I’ve spent a lifetime singing about heartbreak, healing, faith, and survival, but I’ve never made a record like this one,” Judd, who will kick off her “The Hard Truth Tour” this month, said in a statement earlier this year. “These songs tell the truth about where I’ve been, what I’ve lost, what I’ve overcome, and who I’ve become. This album asked me to be brave enough to tell the truth—even when my voice shook. It challenged me to let go of perfectionism and embrace the beauty of honest emotion.”
1. Prelude (All Downhill From Ashland)
2. All Downhill From Ashland
3. Everything (feat. Patterson Hood)
4. Am I Missing Out
5. Broken And Blessed
6. Hear Me Now (feat. Iron & Wine)
7. The Hopeful Lie (feat. The War And Treaty)
8. Kentucky Queen
9. Girl Who Could Sing
10. Drive
11. Love Ain’t Got The Best Of Me
“It’s about connection and community, and the spirit knows when something is real,” Judd said of her four-decade career in an interview with iHeartCountry this spring. “People know BS when they see it and hear it, and they don’t want it anymore,” she continued. “People are exhausted and they want something that’s real. And I’m trying really hard to stay that person. That’s my goal anyway.”
During that interview, Judd opened up about one of the songs on The Hard Truth, “Broken And Blessed,” which she wrote with Moser and Sarah Siskind. Judd sings that she’s “somewhere between hell and hallelujah,” reflecting on her grief journey after losing her mother more than four years ago.
“I think I’m in a season of both grieving and celebrating. …I’m really emotional right now,” Judd shared with iHeartCountry. She said she still feels moments of grief after losing Naomi on April 30, 2022. The beloved Judds matriarch died by suicide at her Tennessee home. She was 76. Judd experienced “a two-year period where I just didn’t know what to say or do. And I think I’m in that space between those two, if that makes sense.”
Judd said she might have occasions to celebrate one day (including on her granddaughter’s 4th birthday), and find herself grieving the next. She thinks of Naomi when she reflects on memories with her, or if she catches a song by The Judds on the radio, for example. Judd shared, “I’m in a real season of just being honest about where I’m at and how important mental health is and reaching out to someone.” If she can help one person, “then I’ve done my part.”
“My hope is that when you hear these songs, you feel what I was feeling while writing and recording them,” Judd previously said in a statement. “If they help someone feel seen, understood, or a little less alone, then every hard truth was worth telling.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide or is in emotional distress, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
The Hard Truth Tour Dates
10.08.2026 | Bowery Ballroom | New York, NY*on sale now
10.16.2026 | 713 Music Hall | Houston, TX
10.17.2026 | Choctaw Grand Theater | Durant, OK
10.20.2026 | Orpheum Theater | Omaha, NE
10.22.2026 | The Cove at River Spirit Casino Resort | Tulsa, OK
10.23.2026 | Stifel Theatre | St. Louis, MO
11.06.2026 | Oxford Performing Arts Center | Oxford, AL**
11.07.2026 | North Charleston Performing Arts Center | North Charleston, SC
11.09.2026 | The Kravis Center - Dreyfoos Hall | West Palm Beach, FL
11.11.2026 | Straz Center - Morsani Hall | Tampa, FL
11.13.2026 | Weldon Mills Theatre | Roanoke Rapids, NC
11.14.2026 | Hard Rock Live Bristol | Bristol, VA
11.19.2026 | The Wind Creek Event Center | Bethlehem, PA
11.20.2026 | Center Stage at Northfield Park Racino | Northfield, OH
11.21.2026 | Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana | Gary, IN