Melissa Etheridge Reveals Powerful Words from Chris Stapleton That Inspired Their New Duet 'The Other Side of Blue' (Exclusive)

Rachel DeSantisSat, March 28, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC

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Melissa Etheridge in Phoenix in October 2025; Chris Stapleton in New York in September 2024Credit: John Medina/Getty; NDZ/Star Max/GC Images/Getty -

Melissa Etheridge collaborated with Chris Stapleton on “The Other Side of Blue” for her new album Rise

The song reflects Etheridge’s grief journey after losing her son Beckett to opioid addiction in 2020

Rise is Etheridge’s 17th studio album and her first with all-new material since 2019

Duets aren’t really Melissa Etheridge’s thing. But something about Chris Stapleton made her change her tune.

The rocker, 64, teamed up with the country star, 47, for an emotional track on her new album Rise (out now), titled “The Other Side of Blue.”

Etheridge tells PEOPLE that she’s often asked about who she’d like to duet with, but typically isn’t interested. And yet, she felt drawn to Stapleton’s “writing, his view and his voice,” she explains.

The Grammy winner had never met Stapleton, so she had her manager reach out — and his quick yes “thrilled” the star.

Melissa Etheridge's album RiseCredit: Candice Lawler

Etheridge headed to Nashville, and before long, she and Stapleton were sitting down together and swapping stories about their wives and children; she lives in L.A. with her wife, Linda Wallem, and her children, while Stapleton and his wife Morgane are parents of five.

“I talked about my four [kids] and how I have three now, and I said I’d lost one to opioids. And he said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ And I said, ‘No, no, no, he was my greatest teacher. I’ve learned so much from him,’” she recalls. “And Chris looked at me and said, ‘Wow, Melissa, you talk in song.’ And that’s the first line of the song, ‘Sometimes I listen when she talks in song.’”

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Etheridge’s son Beckett, 21, died of opioid addiction in 2020. She is also mom to daughter Bailey, 29, and 19-year-old twins Johnnie Rose and Miller Steven.

Melissa EtheridgeCredit: Candice Lawler

As they shared more details of their lives, “The Other Side of Blue” began to emerge, with lyrics that reflected her grief journey.

“The chorus is, ‘Sometimes there’s dreams that won’t come true/But it’s brighter on the other side of blue,’” she says. “You got to keep knowing that there’s better coming, this pain or loss is there to learn and grow from, and you’ll be grateful for it someday. That’s what it’s about.”

Rise is Etheridge’s 17th studio album, and her first of all-new material since 2019. “Call You” was also written for Beckett, while the song “More Love” she wrote to sing at her daughter Bailey’s wedding last September.

“I’m 64 now, and I think I’ve lived a lot of life and I’ve seen things come and go,” she says. “I think I can say I have a bit of wisdom now, and I see a lot of the fear and pain that my world is in, and I want to inspire, because I know how much can inspire.”

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”