Mandy McMillan knows how to turn a cheeky country-pop hook into something far more liberating than a post-breakup kiss-off. In this interview, the Edmonton-born, Alberta-based singer-songwriter opens up about LTMFG, a self-produced anthem about releasing the people, pain, expectations and old versions of ourselves that keep peace just out of reach. Across the conversation, McMillan talks about choosing herself without guilt, trusting her own production instincts after others could not quite land the sound, and refusing to squeeze her artistry into one neat box after years shaped by Nashville, Alberta, country, rock, pop, blues and self-reinvention. She also shares how the song expanded into Every Single Girl’s Guide to Self-Love, proving LTMFG was never only a chorus; it was a whole damn exhale.
LTMFG has such a cheeky title, but underneath the humour there is a serious message about peace, self-worth and releasing what no longer fits. When did you realise the song had more emotional weight than the funny post-breakup concept it started from?
Pretty quickly! I realized I wasn’t really writing a breakup song, I was writing a letting-go song. It became about releasing people, pain, expectations and old versions of ourselves that we’re gripping onto too tightly. At some point I thought, Oh, this is actually about peace. It just happens to deliver the message with a few swear words and a catchy chorus.
You have said the track came from recognizing that holding onto pain, expectations and people too tightly was blocking your own peace. Was that a hard truth to admit to yourself before you could turn it into something this bold and uplifting?
Absolutely. Letting go sounds very enlightened until you have to do it! I had to learn that letting go doesn’t mean something didn’t matter. Sometimes it means it mattered deeply but holding onto it is costing you your peace. That realization made the song feel freeing rather than angry.
There is something refreshingly freeing about a country-pop song that gives people permission to choose themselves without guilt. What do you hope listeners feel when they sing along to LTMFG?
FREE! I want people singing it in their cars, dancing around their kitchens and thinking, “I’m done carrying this.” And everyone gets to decide what their “motherf***er” is whether that’s an ex, a job, people-pleasing, perfectionism, an old belief. Whatever is draining you… LTMFG!
You wrote and produced LTMFG independently, which feels very fitting for a song about reclaiming power. How did taking charge of the production shape the attitude and emotional release of the track?
Producing it myself became part of the self-love story behind the song. I knew exactly how I wanted it to feel – gritty, fun, rebellious and freeing – so I trusted my instincts and followed them. I also realized that because other producers in the past couldn’t land the sound or vibe that the only choice I had to bring this song to life was to do it myself. It was a challenge but I took it on fully and I’m so proud of my accomplishments with it and that most importantly I didn’t give up on something that I genuinely believed in.
Country music has always been brilliant at telling the truth plainly, while pop can make that truth feel instantly communal. How did you approach making LTMFG feel direct, fun and personal in the same breath?
Country taught me to tell the truth, rock gave me attitude, pop gave me hooks and blues taught me to feel it. I wanted the lyric to sound like something you’d actually say to your best friend and the chorus to be something a whole room could sing together. If you’re laughing, dancing and accidentally healing, I’ve done my job.
Your story has taken you from Edmonton and Stony Plain to Nashville, with moments like opening for Trisha Yearwood and Blake Shelton, appearing in Kelly Clarkson’s Tie It Up video and building your own path back in Alberta. Which of those experiences most changed the way you see yourself as an artist?
Nashville showed me how big the dream could be but coming back to Alberta taught me that I get to define what success looks like for myself. I’ve stopped trying to fit neatly into one box. I’m country, rock, pop, blues, songwriter, producer and now author. Apparently my niche is refusing to pick a niche.
You are also working on Every Single Girl’s Guide to Self-Love, inspired by the single. What did writing LTMFG unlock in you that made you want to expand the message beyond music?
I realized the message couldn’t fit into three and a half minutes. LTMFG is about releasing what’s no longer serving you but the book explores what comes next, rebuilding your relationship with yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually.
LTMFG is the ultimate mantra for heartbreak, bad habits, old expectations and anything that drains your spirit. At this point in your life and career, what are you personally letting go of and what are you making room for next?
I’m letting go of needing to know exactly how everything is going to unfold – timelines, expectations and old definitions of success. I’m making room for creativity, adventure, meaningful relationships, new opportunities and, most importantly, peace. And when something clearly isn’t meant to come with me this song stands as a permanent reminder that I can full heartedly choose myself in a manor of self love with no questions asked.
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Add LTMFG to your playlists on Spotify.
Interview by Amelia Vandergast
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