The star wraps her latest tour this weekend
Gabby Barrett offers another glimpse into a bold new era with “Ain’t Supposed To Be,” a gorgeously cinematic but true-to-life track, available now via Warner Music Nashville.
Co-written by Barrett with Jon Nite, Ross Copperman, and Chase McGill, “Ain’t Supposed To Be” tells the story of an unlikely romance between two restless souls. In a powerful evolution of “The Easy Part” (an unapologetic breakup anthem released in August), the piano-driven slow-burner further reignites the raw intensity of Barrett’s eight-times-platinum breakout “I Hope,” a meteoric No. 1 smash that recently reigned at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Hot Country Songs of the 21st Century chart.
Produced by Copperman and Zach Kale, “Ain’t Supposed To Be” begins in a moment of moody intimacy, weaving Barrett’s hushed and soulful voice through a ravishing tapestry of lush piano lines and cascading guitar tones. After setting the scene in deeply poetic detail (“Wildflowers growing through the cracks of the concrete / In the downtown sea of lonely”), the heavyhearted track takes on a tone of absolute wonder at its harmony-laced chorus: “And we found love where it ain’t supposed to be / In a last call bar where we were supposed to leave / We were two lost hearts unbreaking broken things / And we found love where it ain’t supposed to be.” As the quietly smoldering song unfolds, Barrett sustains that sense of elated disbelief (“Under the streetlights at 2 a.m., how did we find / A new flame catchin’ in the middle of a hard rain / Lookin’ back, it had to be a God thing / That I found you and you found me”), eventually building to an epic bridge graced with a truly majestic six-string solo. At turns tender and fierce, while sweetly ethereal and rooted in real emotion, “Ain’t Supposed To Be” ultimately brings an entirely new depth and dimension to Barrett’s captivating storytelling and luminous vocal work.
This Sunday, October 5th, in Ocean City, MD, Barrett will wrap up the red-hot Life I’m Living Tour 2025, a 30-date headline run that’s dazzled audiences across the U.S. with her magnetic live show.
