Country musician Wynonna Judd recently discussed her time of renewal during the COVID-19 pandemic and how she found comfort after her mother’s death on Southern Living’s podcast, “Biscuits and Jam.” She said about the pandemic, “It just got real. I started cooking the three meals a day and literally walking the land, and just crying out to God and asking why. And so many things came from that time. It’s an interesting paradox.”
Judd revealed that her career changed during the pandemic. When the world closed down, it gave her more time to be with God and understand His will. There were some real personal me and God moments where I realized I started a new career. Songs came from that time, so even though it was a shutdown time for so many of us, in the music business especially, it was a time of rebirth. In death, there is life.”
She continued, “In other words, I found myself able to be renewed in my spirit because I had so much time to spend by myself and with God. And it got down to an audience of one. It just became a time for me to renew my faith, and my priorities changed, spending less time on social media and more time with my family when I could.” Since her mother, country singer Naomi Judd’s death by suicide in April 2022, Judd turned to her fans for comfort.
Judd said, “I’m closer to my fans than I’ve ever been. It’s an interesting time being an orphan. You realize, okay, I am alone in the world without parents. The flip side of that is I go to the airport, and more people come up to me from all walks of life, not just country music listeners but just the guy who says to me, ‘I don’t listen really to country music, but I know your story, and I know your family, and I want you to know that I see you and I appreciate you’ and I have been healed through a very difficult time because of the love and support, absolutely.”
The singer told Entertainment Tonight, “This is me with a broken heart being as open as I’ll probably ever be, and other people are responding to that in a way that I wasn’t expecting.” CMT reported on Judd’s unreleased song, “Broken and Blessed,” that she wrote about her grief. Though she only shared a few lyrics, it’s clear that the song details Judd’s battle with difficult emotions and acknowledges the good among the bad.
Judd shared some of the lyrics: “I’m broken and blessed in this / I am distressed, but I’m at the end of my rope, but I keep holding on / …I’m somewhere between hell and Hallelujah / and that’s where I find myself a lot.” Judd was presented the Country Champion Award at the 2023 People’s Choice Country Awards, and honored her late mother.
Although the loss of her mother was “devastating” for her and her family, Judd has channeled her grief into music. She declared at the awards show, “I’m turning my pain into purpose, and I go on stage every night, and I sing like it’s my last show because you never know.”