Be cool, Lindsay Ell. Songwriting great Melissa Etheridge just called you "friend," but seriously, it's no big deal.

The Canadian singer and songwriter isn't buying it. Talking to Taste of Country Nights, Ell admitted the bond the two women share is among her favorite career keepsakes. Hopefully reading this article doesn't ruin it for the two of them. We're not trying to make it a thing!

"She is just a gem of a human being," Ell says. "It is so cool to me to be able to work alongside some of my idols."

Ell joined several other female musicians for a Skyville Live show in 2017, and since then, they've stayed in touch and written "a bunch" together. They've talked about performing and recording together, but nothing has materialized yet. Recently, Ell went on Linda and Me, a show on Etheridge TV, to talk about her new Heart Theory album. That's why the veteran guitar great dropped the "F" word.

OK, admittedly we got a little flushed after seeing she chose our profile on Ell to share that news, but — anywho.

At the Skyville show in Nashville, Ell and the group of women supporting the headliner all closed by singing "Come To My Window," Etheridge's signature song. ToC Nights' Evan and Amber asked the 31-year-old if she was nervous.

"It's more just like you have fun and live in the moment of it. It's pretty awesome," Ell says.

Heart Theory is Ell's new album, available now. It includes her current single "Want Me Back" and "Make You," a ballad that describes being the victim of two sexual assaults.

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