When Ingrid Andress first wrote her new single “Footprints,” she had no intention of sharing it with the world. A stripped-back piano ballad penned for her younger siblings, the bittersweet but hopeful track drifts between self-aware confession and lovingly detailed storytelling as Andress offers up words of reassurance for making it through tough times. Her first new music since her 2022 sophomore LP Good Person (a highly acclaimed release featured on Rolling Stone’s “100 Best Albums of 2022” list), “Footprints” arrives after a whirlwind year for Andress, including a stint in rehab that profoundly altered her perspective on her career. “So much had changed in my life since I started out, but I’d never had the downtime to process any of it—I just let it build up to the point where I felt disoriented and lost,” she says. A longtime co-writer whose credits include hits like Charli XCX’s “Boys,” Andress made her widely celebrated debut with 2020’s Lady Like—a critically praised powerhouse that set the record for the highest-streaming debut album from a female country artist and earned three Grammy nominations, including Best Country Album and Best Country Song (for the double-platinum No. 1 radio hit “More Hearts Than Mine”). As she stepped back from the spotlight, Andress found herself called to a new level of boldness in her songwriting. Produced by her longtime collaborator Sam Ellis and adorned with warm Dobro tones and heavy-hearted strings, “Footprints” is the first glimpse at Andress’ forthcoming new music. As she gets set to share her most introspective work yet, Andress hopes to inspire others toward a state of unhurried self-reflection.