Lauren Alaina's new album Stages isn't just a collection of songs about her own experiences. One of its most striking tracks, “Household,” was inspired by a late-night conversation with a longtime friend who was going through a difficult period in her marriage.
In a recent Backstage Country co-hosting stint, Alaina opened up about the surprisingly personal—and somewhat funny—story behind the song, including the fact that she wrote it while she herself was newly married.
‘Household’ Started With a Friend’s Marriage Troubles
At first glance, “Household” sounds like it could be a deeply autobiographical song about a troubled marriage. Alaina revealed, however, that the inspiration came from someone else's relationship.
She recalled receiving a call from a longtime friend from back home. The friend was struggling with her husband, telling Alaina that he had been drinking heavily and wasn't coming home.
During their conversation, the friend also shared something Alaina couldn't forget.
“She’s like, 'I was trying to talk to my mom about it,'” Alaina recalled, “but she said, ‘You picked him. Deal with it.’”
That line immediately stuck with the country singer. She eventually worked a reference to the conversation into the song's pre-chorus.
Alaina also incorporated other “little nuggets” from her friend's conversation into the lyrics, transforming a difficult real-life situation into a song about trying to hold a troubled household together.
Lauren Alaina Was a Newlywed When She Wrote It
Perhaps the funniest detail about “Household” is when Alaina actually wrote it. The singer said she believes she was a newlywed at the time she wrote the song. Her husband, Cameron, heard it and understandably had a question: “Is everything okay?”
The timing made the song's dark subject matter even more amusing.
Alaina joked that while she was technically supposed to be enjoying the honeymoon phase of marriage, she was instead writing a song about how much “hell” a household could contain.
“I'll write you love songs at some point,” she remembered joking with her husband.
The Clever Wordplay Behind the Title
Alaina's songwriting also shines through in the title “Household.”
She explained that she loves playing with words, and the title came to her after the phone conversation with her friend.
The phrase “household” becomes a central piece of wordplay throughout the song. One of the chorus lines references trying to stop herself from “burning down this house” while also trying to “hold it together.”
Listen to the track below.
Lauren Alaina - Household (Official Music Video)
