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OFFSTAGE: Lauren Alaina Defends Her Right to Sing "Eighteen Inches"

(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)

Forget that Carrie Underwood co-wrote Lauren Alaina's new single, "Eighteen Inches," because that's not the only reason Alaina loves this tune. She loves it and relates to it because the song's message reminds her of what it was like for her own mother struggling to raise Alaina and her brother. "People bring up the fact a lot that I'm only 17, and I haven't been through what the song's talking about," she told CMT Radio about the issues the couple in the song face when they run away to California -- unemployment, a run-down apartment and bills they can't pay. "But I have because that song sounds like it was written about my mom when I was growing up. I remember my mom going without all the time, so that my brother and I could have what we needed for school." From the title of the song, you might think it's just about the distance from your head to your heart. But listen all the way to the end, about the newborn baby who is 18 inches from head to toe, and you'll see why it's such a powerful song.

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