Make It Up As We Go

Charlotte decides to speak out against Hunter Owen, a move that could squander all the inroads she's made in the Nashville music scene. Alone in her emotions, struggling to come to terms with her new reality, she finds comfort in her ride-or-die crew, and trusts that the universe with make things right.

Charlotte endures a writing session with one of Nashville's top recording artists, whose toxic personality and inappropriate behavior drives her out of the room. Charlotte overcomes the shock of it all by writing with Liz Rose and Lawford Keane and receives some news from Big Knox Publishing.

Charlotte gets gussied up for her first charity event performance, where she mingles with some of Nashville's top talent- Kat & Alex, Liz Rose, Tyler Rich, Abby Anderson, just to name a few. After a night of performing and navigating the ins and outs of various relationships, Charlotte and her crew hit the town for some good old-fashioned boot-scooting!

Charlotte goes to Miranda’s show and sees her perform “Champion” live in front of the bright lights and screaming crowd. Looking at the adoring fans belting out the words to her song, she realizes she’s reached the pinnacle of a songwriter, and wants more. While Marshall works on producing the new album with Van, Charlotte negotiates with an increasingly distracted and overwhelmed Elliot. She thinks he’s got too much on his plate, but he’s too stubborn to give an inch. When he finds out she’s taken meetings with other publishing companies, he blows up on Charlotte about loyalty. She explains that however grateful she may be for the opportunities afforded by the chance Elliot took on her, she refuses to owe him forever, and deserves the respect and credit for what her talent has built. Marshall and Emily step in and convince Elliot to delegate. If they all want to succeed, they’re going to need help. They expand Charlotte’s team, and rehabilitate Carmelina Publishing’s relationships that Elliot has soured with his monolithic approach during his decade in Nashville. With the help and recommendations of her new team, Charlotte negotiates a record deal for her debut album. Marshall and Charlotte celebrate with a rare date night alone, where Marshall surprises both Charlotte and himself with a vulnerability and capacity to express his love with the same authenticity of his songwriting.

Charlotte and Marshall return to Nashville, where Charlotte’s name is quickly gaining traction as an emerging act. The Carmelina boardrooms echo with differing opinions on the best way forward. Elliot digs in when they tell him he’s in over his head, and claims he can handle every aspect of her career, but Marshall and Charlotte take meetings with other publishing companies and major label A&R’s anyway. One of the songs Charlotte wrote at the camp gets cut by a big artist who’s rough around the edges, but the single comes out of the gate hot. Before they meet him in the studio, Marshall warns Charlotte about his reputation around women, but Charlotte insists she can handle herself. The session is rough, he’s creepy and disrespectful, but Charlotte sees it through. With attention growing and paperwork looming, Charlotte seeks advice from Emily and Miranda on record deals, touring, and management, and Miranda invites her to come to one of her Texas tour dates. We see Charlotte facing the big question of season two: do I want to be a songwriter or an artist?