It's no secret that Taylor Swift received some flak from fans for her transition to pop music after she called her forthcoming album 1989, "an almost musical rebirth, in that it's my first pop album."
And while the record has been earning rave reviews and quickly skyrocketed to the top of the music charts, a few critics have been less than pleased with her so-called abandonment of country music.
Lady Antebellum, however, is speaking out in defense of the "Shake It Off" singer, praising the blond beauty's success while insisting "she has our support."
Swifties, unite!
"I think she'll always have fans in the country genre," guitarist Charles Kelley explained to E! News while promoting the group's new album 747. "I mean it's where she started, but she's Taylor Swift, she's such a musical icon now, and I think it's no surprise. Her last record was definitely leaning towards the pop side."
He continued, praising Swift for staying true to herself while still being honest with her fans. "To me, it's probably better that she says this is a pop record, let's be honest, it's a pop record' and kind of have that. But I think, when you get to that point, what is she on her fourth or fifth record? I think she just wants to explore, try new things, and I think she's at a point in her career where she can, if that's where her heart is."
Lead singer Hillary Scott also echoed her bandmates' sentiments, explaining why fans should never pigeonhole a particular artist.
"We would never want any artists to look at us and try and say what we can write or what we can record…as someone who loves to write and record music, that's our art," she said. "And I think it's been a slow progression for her up until this point, expanding what she writes and how she records it."
Scott went on to sing Swift's praises and express her excitement for her upcoming album.
"She has our support, I mean I think it's amazing," she said. "Not to mention, she's grown up in front of the world, and how much do your musical tastes change throughout the course of your life and growing up? So I'm very very excited for her record. I'm, like, counting down the days."
The country music group also shared their impression of Swift's headline-making secret sessions—press play to hear their thoughts!—before dishing on their own 747 campaign, during which the trio traveled around the country to fulfill seven wishes for seven fans in seven days.
"When you go around and promote a new album, you answer a lot of questions as a band...and it's all very me-focused," the mother of one explained. "And we really wanted to turn that around and do something special for our fans, so we had over 3,000 submissions with people who were nominating their loved ones...and it was really hard to narrow them down, but we picked seven people. To be able to surprise them, that shock value was so special."
The group surprised a wide range of fans, from "a little girl who was 10 from New Jersey" to a "military mom."
"It was a great way to spend the first seven days of our record being out," she added. "And just turn it away from us and do something special."
Be sure to pick up a copy of Lady Antebellum's new album 747, available now!