Australian Country Artist Loren Ryan Reclaims the Narrative With Bold New Single 'Wild One'
By Anne Connor | The Sound Cafe Journal
Based in the Tamworth region of New South Wales, Australia, Loren Ryan is a country artist blending traditional roots with forward-looking sounds. She is building towards her anticipated 2026 debut album, developing a musical identity grounded in country storytelling and a contemporary approach.The country artist reimagines a familiar country music narrative through a darker lens, introducing a bold new chapter ahead of her anticipated debut album.
Country music has always understood the power of a good story. A song can turn heartbreak into a lasting narrative, give a complicated character room to breathe, or leave listeners questioning their first impressions. With “Wild One”, Australian country artist Loren Ryan explores that final idea, imagining a familiar country music story from a decidedly different perspective.
Released on September 25, 2026, “Wild One” offers a preview of Ryan’s forthcoming debut album. Based in the Tamworth region of New South Wales, she draws on country music’s storytelling tradition while embracing a contemporary sound. At the heart of this latest release is a character unwilling to remain on the sidelines of somebody else’s story.
Ryan’s inspiration comes with an instantly recognisable reference point: Dolly Parton’s enduring classic “Jolene”. Rather than revisiting the familiar plea at the heart of Parton’s song, Ryan imagines what might happen if Jolene were given a different role to play.
“It feels like the ultimate anthem for Jolene’s villain origin story where she holds all the cards,” Ryan explains. “She’s untamed, hard to catch and in total control”.
The phrase “villain origin story” is telling. Borrowing the language of contemporary popular culture, Ryan invites listeners to reconsider a character whose identity has long been shaped by someone else’s fears. Parton’s original is told from the perspective of a woman afraid of losing the person she loves. Ryan’s concept turns the viewpoint around, allowing listeners to imagine the woman who has become the object of that fear.
It is a creative reversal, not a rewriting of Parton’s original. The unanswered questions surrounding Jolene leave room for another interpretation, and Ryan uses that possibility as the foundation for her own song. It is an intriguing way to approach a familiar country theme, placing a previously peripheral character at the centre of the narrative.
Musically, “Wild One” is described as dark, explosive and high-voltage, combining sharp storytelling with forceful production and vocal intensity. Its explicit lyrical edge suggests a less restrained approach, matching the provocative premise with a direct presentation. The result is a single whose identity rests as much on its storytelling concept as on its promised sonic intensity.
For an artist building towards her debut album, the release provides a glimpse of the creative direction she is exploring. Country music has always made room for complicated characters and stories that resist easy judgements. Ryan draws on that tradition while using a contemporary cultural reference to give her interpretation an accessible point of entry.
One single cannot tell the whole story of an artist’s development, and further details of the forthcoming album remain to be confirmed. What “Wild One” does offer is a clear creative proposition: take a story people think they know, look beyond its familiar point of view, and consider what changes when another character gets to speak.
The single’s release also coincided with an important date on Ryan’s announced live schedule: Strummingbird Festival in Newcastle on Saturday, October 17, 2026, where she was billed alongside Tyler Childers, Stella Lefty and James Johnston.
Released to digital streaming platforms and sent to radio on September 25, “Wild One” sets the stage for Ryan’s anticipated 2026 debut album. Its most compelling proposition is the storytelling choice behind it: a familiar country music tale reconsidered from another point of view.
In country music, the person labelled the villain rarely gets the final word. With “Wild One”, Loren Ryan sets out to change that.
The Sound Cafe Journal
Where the story behind the music matters.
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