Lauren Alaina and Chase Matthew kick off this week’s countdown with “All My Exes,” a sharp, playful country duet that turns a string of failed relationships into a surprisingly funny moment of self-awareness.
“All My Exes” is new to the CLE Radio Power 40 this week, entering at No. 40.
The arrival comes at a busy time for Alaina. Her next album, Stages, is scheduled for August 28, putting her less than two weeks away from one of the biggest releases of her career. The 17-song project includes “All My Exes” and is designed around the different chapters of Alaina’s life.
A breakup song with a sense of humor
Country music has never suffered from a shortage of songs about exes. What makes “All My Exes” stand out is the way it approaches the subject.
Instead of building the entire song around an awful former partner, the narrator begins to consider an uncomfortable possibility: maybe the people walking out the door aren’t completely wrong.
Alaina described the song as being about the kind of messy downtown “situationship” many people recognize. She also called it her version of the classic “it’s not you, it’s me” breakup idea.
That gives “All My Exes” its personality.
There is attitude throughout the record, but there is also self-awareness. The narrator may be stubborn. She may be difficult. And if the latest ex has complaints, there is apparently a long line of former partners willing to back him up.
Alaina and Matthew sell the joke without turning the record into a novelty song.
The production also gives the track a contemporary sound. Alaina’s official release described it as pop-tinged, while her powerful country vocal keeps the song firmly connected to Nashville.
Lauren Alaina helped write “All My Exes”
Alaina isn’t simply performing someone else’s breakup story.
She co-wrote “All My Exes” with Ben Johnson, Whitney Phillips and Jimmie Gutch. Joey Moi produced the track, with Jacob Durrett serving as co-producer. The song was originally released in May 2025.
The official music video also arrived in May 2025 and features both Alaina and Matthew.
Behind the collaboration is an unusual story involving Alaina’s husband, Cameron Arnold.
During a July 2026 appearance on The Bobby Bones Show, Alaina and Matthew explained that the two singers became friends while touring with Jason Aldean. Matthew also became close with Arnold.
Arnold thought his wife and Matthew should record something together. He liked “All My Exes” enough that he secretly sent the song to Matthew before Alaina officially played it for him.
That created a funny problem: Matthew later had to act as though he were hearing the song for the first time.
The story makes the collaboration feel even more natural. This wasn’t simply a record-label pairing of two country artists. There was already a friendship behind it.
Chase Matthew brings another side to the story
Matthew is an important part of why “All My Exes” works.
Giving the song both male and female voices transforms the concept from a one-sided breakup confession into something closer to a conversation between two equally complicated people.
Matthew brings a rougher edge that complements Alaina’s bigger, polished vocal style.
Their chemistry has carried over to live performances as well. At the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival in Austin, Alaina brought Matthew onstage to perform “All My Exes” during her set.
It is easy to understand why the pairing has connected.
Neither artist sounds like a guest in the other’s world.
Lauren Alaina is preparing for “Stages”
The biggest development surrounding Alaina now is the approaching release of Stages.
The album arrives August 28 through Big Loud Records under exclusive license to Mercury Records. It contains 17 songs, with “All My Exes” appearing alongside tracks including “Raining Whiskey,” “Those Kind of Women,” “Never Been In Love” and “Heaven Sent.”
Alaina has presented the album as a look at the different chapters she has experienced since entering the public eye as a teenager.
Those chapters have been substantial.
Audiences first met Alaina when she competed on American Idol at 16. Since then, she has built a country career that includes major collaborations, multiple successful releases and membership in the Grand Ole Opry.
Her life outside music has changed too. The young singer audiences first encountered has become a wife and mother, giving the concept behind Stages considerably more meaning.
She will take that concept on the road this fall with The Stages Tour, which is scheduled to begin October 1 in Milwaukee. The tour is designed to combine material from the upcoming album with songs representing earlier periods of her career.
“All My Exes” arrives at No. 40
For now, “All My Exes” gives Lauren Alaina and Chase Matthew a new entry on the CLE Radio Power 40.
The song debuts at No. 40 this week.
It is an entertaining record built around an idea almost anyone who has survived a few relationships can understand: eventually, when several people keep making the same complaint about you, you might have to consider whether they have a point.
Alaina and Matthew turn that realization into something catchy rather than depressing.
And with Stages arriving August 28, “All My Exes” also provides a fitting bridge into Alaina’s next chapter—one that looks back at the mistakes, relationships and experiences that helped shape the person she is today.
See all 40 songs on this week’s CLE Radio Power 40.
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