Jessica Harp photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

Meanwhile, Jessica had begun writing songs on her own while The Wreckers were touring with Keith Urban in the summer of 2007. She befriended Keith's bass player, Jerry Flowers, who, in addition to being a musician, is also a singer, producer, and songwriter. Flowers wound up co-writing several tracks on A Woman Needs, including the title track, "Break-Up Song," and "More To This Than You," as well as producing the album. "I think a lot of the magic on the record comes from working with Jerry," Jessica says. "We'd already written all these songs together and had a map of the music laid out before we ever set foot in the studio last spring. He's an incredible talent, plus the harmonies he sings on it are just amazing."

Keith also appears on the album, providing blistering guitar on "Boy Like Me," while one of Jessica's heroes, country star Vince Gill sings on "Homemade Love," a song Jessica wrote with another one of her heroes, Darrell Scott (Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks). "Homemade Love" is an album highlight, with an intimacy and honesty that sets it apart from a thousand other country love songs. "I told Darrell, 'I want to write a love song, but I don't want it be a cheesy one that doesn't mean anything to me,'" Jessica says. "Every lyric in that song is real."

One thing Jessica and Flowers knew going in to make A Woman Needs is that they wanted the album to be fun and upbeat. "That was another lesson I learned during my crash course with The Wreckers," Harp says. "Aside from the singles, Stand Still, Look Pretty is a sad album, and we would play hour-long sets at these big fairs and festivals where people just wanted to dance and have a good time. So I was thinking about touring and playing the songs live when we recorded the album. But I think there's something for everyone here. I mean, how can you make a country record without songs about heartache? You can't!"

And how does she feel about finally striking out on her own with A Woman Needs? "In a way, it's like going back to square one after being in a successful band," she says, "but at the same time, it makes everything that I've done on my own feel that much stronger because I know I have stood on my own two feet and, against all odds, proven myself all over again."