Smithfield Refuses To Give Up: Inside the 14-Year Journey Behind Country With Heart, Part 2
The Texas-born duo opens up exclusively to All Country News about finding their identity, fighting to finish the record and taking their signature harmonies to new heights.
For Smithfield, Country With Heart, Part 2 is more than the next installment of a musical project. It is the sound of two artists finally understanding exactly who they are, and refusing to walk away before the rest of the world hears it.
The Texas-born duo of Jennifer Fielder and Trey Smith has spent 14 years chasing the same dream, navigating the unpredictable highs and lows of the music industry while sharpening the harmonies that have become their calling card. Now, Smithfield is turning that history into its most personal and authentic body of work yet.
In an exclusive interview with All Country News, the duo opened up about the long road behind the project, the song that became a mirror of their real-life perseverance and why their unmistakable vocal blend remains at the center of everything they do.
They Had the Harmony, But Had To Find Themselves
When Smithfield first began, the chemistry was already undeniable. What Jennifer and Trey did not have yet was the life experience needed to define who they were beyond their natural vocal connection.
“The truth is we didn’t know who we were as artists when we first started,” the duo told All Country News. “We were just two kids from Texas that had amazing harmonies together and a dream.”
That dream carried them to Nashville and through more than a decade of changing seasons, hard lessons and creative growth. While the harmony was there from the beginning, the identity surrounding it had to be earned.
“We can only tell this story now and be fully, truthfully and authentically ourselves because we had to live it first and hone the craft along the way,” they explained.
Those 14 years taught Smithfield one of the music industry’s hardest truths: there is rarely a direct path to the destination. The setbacks, however, became part of the story rather than the end of it.
“Some of the hardest seasons can become the most meaningful parts of your story and songwriting,” they shared. “We’ve learned to trust the timing, to hold onto each other and to never lose sight of why we started making music in the first place.”
The Song That Turned Their Struggle Into an Anthem
While “Drunk Love You” is the project’s current single, the chapter truly began with “Giving Up On Us,” a song that could not be more closely tied to Smithfield’s own journey.
After releasing Country With Heart, Part 1, the duo promised fans its second half would arrive the following year. But as independent artists, financial realities forced them to delay those plans.
Instead of abandoning the project, Jennifer and Trey returned to the road. They toured, promoted their music online, sold merchandise and searched for a way to bring the next chapter to life.
Then came a breakthrough: Smithfield entered and won an American Songwriter contest. Between the money they had raised and the studio time they earned, the duo was finally able to fund Country With Heart, Part 2.
That makes “Giving Up On Us” more than another track. It is Smithfield’s story in song.
“It’s about how no matter how hard things get, you refuse to give up on each other,” they said. “It’s so symbolic of our real-life journey in music.”
Its message stretches far beyond the duo’s career. At a time when quitting can feel easier than continuing, Smithfield wanted the song to remind listeners that struggling does not mean they are alone, or that the fight is over.
“You have to throw out all the negative thoughts and give up on the ‘quitting’ mentality,” they added. “It’s all or nothing, and we aren’t giving up on each other.”
Trey Smith Steps Behind the Board
That determination also gave Smithfield the freedom to take greater creative control, with Trey stepping into the producer’s chair for the project.
For years, the duo had worked to translate the sounds in their heads to the producers guiding their recordings. This time, Trey had the opportunity to take those ideas directly from imagination to execution.
“Being able to step into the production role on this project was truly game-changing for us,” he explained. “Having that level of creative control pushed me to present the most real version of Smithfield yet.”
The result is a project designed to sound exactly as Smithfield intended, from the way the lyrics are delivered to the musical choices surrounding them.
“You’re hearing the lyrics we wrote, sung the way we want to sing them and produced as close as possible to the way we heard them in our heads,” Trey said.
Rather than narrowing the duo’s sound, the production allowed them to embrace everything that shaped it. Country remains the foundation, but listeners will also hear flashes of pop, rock and the musical influences that first brought Jennifer and Trey together.
“It all comes together in a way that feels uniquely Smithfield,” Trey added. “I really believe our fans will hear that authenticity in every song.”
Fourteen Years of Finding the Perfect Blend
Smithfield’s sound may continue to evolve, but its heartbeat has never changed.
After 14 years of singing together, Jennifer and Trey understand each other’s voices almost instinctively. That connection is no longer limited to knowing where a harmony belongs. They can anticipate the emotion, intention and phrasing the other person will bring before a note is even sung.
“We’ve grown up together, we moved to Nashville together, lived through different seasons and experienced enough of life to bring more depth and perspective into the music,” they said. “It’s like we know what the other is going to do before they even do it.”
That musical trust allowed Smithfield to push its vocals further than ever on Country With Heart, Part 2. Across the project, both artists tackle lead vocals, harmonies, unison passages, third-part harmonies and layered background parts. At one point, they even use their own voices to create a choir.
“We know that we are good singers separately, but we are great together,” they said. “Greatness is what we are going for.”
For Smithfield, leaning into that blend is not about repeating what has worked before. It is about discovering how far they can take it.
“When you find what works for you, dial it up to 10,” the duo declared. “That’s what we want to do with our harmonies, dial that notch up to 10 every time.”
Smithfield’s Most Honest Chapter Yet
Country With Heart, Part 2 captures Smithfield at a point that could only have arrived after 14 years of persistence.
The duo had to experience uncertainty before it could sing convincingly about commitment. It had to face setbacks before it could write an anthem about refusing to quit. Most importantly, Jennifer and Trey had to grow into the artists capable of making a record this honest.
Smithfield may have started as two kids from Texas with a dream and an undeniable harmony, but Country With Heart, Part 2 reveals what happens when that dream survives long enough to become something deeper.
The harmony was always there. Now, the full story is, too.
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