‘9-1-1: Nashville’: LeAnn Rimes Talks Writing Song for Dixie & Don Flashbacks

A staple of the 9-1-1 world is the origin story episodes. On the newest spinoff, 9-1-1: Nashville, Chris O’Donnell‘s character receives that treatment in the Thursday, February 26, episode, “Don Begins.” And a big part of that is Dixie (LeAnn Rimes), Don’s ex with whom he shares a son, Blue (Hunter McVey), as revealed in the series premiere.

“This episode’s so beautiful. I think you really get to see Dixie and Don’s relationship and where it all started and why they’re still so connected to each other. And it’s funny because Dixie is one of those characters that, one episode, you love her, the next episode, you hate her, and I think with this episode, people are going to be Team Dixie for a bit, and then I unravel all of that,” Rimes tells TV Insider with a laugh.

In this next episode, flashbacks reveal how a devastating house fire reshaped Don’s life, as well as how he met Dixie and his wife, Blythe (Jessica Capshaw). Also, the 113 responds when a cyclist is pinned against a tree after being hit by a car.

The episode also features a song that LeAnn Rimes created for the show, “Wild Things Run.” It’s performed in the show by the younger Dixie (Noa Bess Solomon), and a different version is now available on Spotify. Rimes loved bringing her musical talents to 9-1-1: Nashville in this way.

Disney/Jake Giles Netter

“They have amazing writers that write music for the show, and when I knew that there was going to be a flashback episode, I called the showrunner, Rashad [Raisani], and I was like, ‘Hey, can I take a stab at this?’ Because, from knowing the character so well and knowing that relationship, I think emotionally, I have a different point of view to be able to write from, and I’m like, ‘Use me. I mean, this is what I actually do for a job, so use me to the fullest,'” LeAnn Rimes tells us. “He was like, ‘Absolutely, take a shot at it.'”

At that point, when she wrote the song, she hadn’t yet read the full script for the episode, just the first draft of the montage it was being used for.

“I was on a massage table in Hawai’i at a show. I was doing a show in Hawai’i, and I was getting a massage, and the title ‘Wild Things Run’ came to me. It made sense to me,” the star reveals. “It felt like these two wild spirits ran towards each other, and then they ran away from each other, and now the universe —  one of my favorite lines that I say often, ‘The universe always brings us back together.’ And so it just seemed like it captured the essence of their relationship and the wildness of it and how they’re still so deeply connected.”

Rimes recorded the song for the show. “I had to make myself try to sound 20 years younger, which was a challenge,” she laughs. “Then I got to make a whole different version as my own record. I loved doing that. I loved being able to really give voice to in a different way to this character and the emotional point of view behind their love story.”

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As for the difference between the two versions of Rimes’ new song, the one in-show begins as a “bit more stripped-back version,” as Dixie starts out as a songwriter and we see the progression of her and Don’s relationship in the flashbacks, Rimes explains. “Then, by the time you get to the end, there’s this whole record that’s been produced, and it’s kind of the way she gets discovered. Then there’s this whole record that we actually produced of this song that takes on a whole different vibe, and it’s very cinematic. Not that it’s not cinematic in the show, but we really leaned into it being cinematic as a record. I love Roy Orbison. It’s kind of got this throwback vibe a little bit to the feel of Orbison with a modern take on it, I guess.”

What are you hoping to see from the Don and Dixie flashbacks? Have you listened to LeAnn Rimes’ new song? Let us know in the comments section below.

9-1-1: Nashville, Returns, Thursday, February 26, 9/8c, ABC