Winnipeg, MB/Nashville, TN Country Artist Leanne Pearson Offers Humour and a Non-Traditional Take on the Wedding Song With “Runaway Bride”
Everyone’s heard of having cold feet, but Winnipeg, MB-born, Nashville, TN-based country rocker Leanne Pearson decided to really play with that notion with her new single “Runaway Bride.”
“Runaway Bride” chronicles the many grooms and mishaps of one sly young lady in one head-bopping, twangy jam.
I’m a runaway bride, runnin’ all the time
Got my white boots on and I’m gone, long gone
Wedding dress trailing far behind
Church bells singing a goodbye song
Oh yeah I’d do anything
For a not so tiny, big carat shiny, diamond ring
Featuring a corresponding video that dramatizes the entire string of adventures, “Runaway Bride” is gloriously irreverent, “I dreamed up the story and video for ‘Runaway Bride’ right around the time of my own wedding,” Pearson says. “I thought it would be fun to come up with a non-traditional wedding song for my wedding-themed album.”
Pearson even gave her video a fun personal twist.
“My real husband played one of the grooms. We got married during Covid in 2020, and again with family and friends in 2023!” she says. “We shot this music video in the same Elvis chapel that we got married at in 2020. We also have the same Elvis who married us at both weddings as part of the music video! It was a fun, full-circle moment.”
When asked about the situation Elvis said, “I’ve never been part of 3 weddings for one couple before!”
Leanne Pearson has been described by industry folk as levelheaded, sweet, funny, and very talented. This Canadian country rocker walks on stage with a pretty dress and a big smile, then shatters your expectations as she tears up the stage. Leanne’s shows are high-energy and filled with laughs.
Hi Leanne! Good to see you again! What have you been up to since we last spoke?
Thank you for taking the time to chat with me! I have been writing lots of new music and enjoying Mom life! It has been fun and inspiring to do both things at the same time!
What inspired you to write “Runaway Bride,” and how did the idea of playing with the notion of cold feet come about?
I was working on a wedding-themed album and thought the album was not complete until I had one fictional fun song! The idea for “Runaway Bride” came to me when I was thinking about all the ways a wedding could go wrong!!
Can you share more about how your personal wedding experience influenced the storyline and music video for “Runaway Bride”?
My husband and I have technically been married twice, to each other! We were married officially and legally in 2020 during covid and in 2023 we finally had our big wedding with family and friends! So I wrote the storyline of “Runaway Bride” with the thought of a bride being married multiple times!
My cowriter, Pete Sallis, was the perfect fit for this song! He helped me bring the idea to life! We even included his name in the song as one of the unfortunate grooms!!
The music video was so fun to create and was definitely inspired by my personal wedding experience! I took the storyline of the song and brought it to life visually with a little touch of Elvis! We had 4 different grooms, 4 different officiants, and 4 different bridal outfits to demonstrate 4 different bridal “alter egos”! I did a lot of running during the filming of this music video, running from the alter and running up the middle of street for the final shots! I didn’t wear my Apple Watch that day for obvious reasons, as we didn’t want it in the video!! But had I worn it, I would have clocked tons of steps that day!
Your real husband played one of the grooms in the music video, and you even filmed it at the Elvis chapel where you got married. How did it feel to relive those moments in such a playful way?
Yes! My real husband, Jordan, played a groom in the video! And the Elvis who married us in 2020 played an officiant! We even shot the video at the same Elvis chapel where we got married in 2020! It was a really fun full-circle moment for us, for Elvis, and for the venue!!
You mentioned that “Runaway Bride” is part of a wedding-themed album. Can you give us a sneak peek into what other songs or themes fans can expect from the album?
The wedding-themed album is full of wedding-themed songs! A father-daughter dance, a mother-son dance, a few walking down the aisle songs and/or first dance songs, and bridesmaid song! On a final note… I do highly doubt that anyone will use “Runaway Bride“ while they’re walking down the aisle!!!!!