Lindsay Ell Passes Her American Citizenship Test: ‘I Am So Proud to Be a Dual Citizen’

After passing her U.S. citizenship test earlier in 2022, Lindsay Ell has received the final paperwork, and it's official: She's now a dual citizen.

The Canadian-born country star shared a celebratory social media post to mark the occasion, including some snapshots and video from an "American party" that Little Big Town threw for her after she first passed her citizenship test while the two acts were on the road together.

"The past 11 years have been quite the journey," Ell wrote in the caption of her post. "So many blood, sweat and tears relocating to a place where I knew no one to start building a life. Funny that to the day, I signed my record deal 10 years ago. Let this be a reminder that you can do WHATEVER you want to in life if you want it badly enough."

On the red carpet before the BMI Awards in Nashville in November, Ell explained to Taste of Country that her decision to become a dual citizen came from wanting to be more closely connected to the Nashville community that's long been her home.

"I am so proud to be a dual citizen," she said. "It's been something that I've wanted to do. I live in Nashville, and I always will. I've been here for 10 years, and so it's amazing to just be able to participate in the community, and vote, and have a voice.

"I just think it's so important for anyone to do that. I feel really grateful and honored that I can vote now!" Ell added.

But of course, Ell isn't leaving behind her Canadian roots -- and she'll make use of her home country's passport when she joins fellow Canadian Shania Twain for some northern dates on the latter star's 2023 Queen of Me Tour. Ell is one of several younger-generation country stars taking on the opening slot on Twain's tour, and she's hitting stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and more cities during the Canadian leg of the trek.

"Going on tour with Shania is insane. To even speak that sentence is a dream come true," Ell told Taste of Country about her upcoming shows. "I haven't looked up to another female artist like the way I do Shania. To find somebody who says what she means, stands for so many important causes. It's hard to stand for things as a female artist."

Twain is also known for the innovative ways she exerts creative control over her music, bringing unique elements not only to the songs themselves but also to the music videos she releases, the concerts she mounts and the aesthetics and fashion choices that are always such a prominent part of her show.

"She rides that line between being sexy, and saying what you want to say, and being classy at the same time so effortlessly. She does it like she's floating on a cloud," Ell gushes, going on to say that every aspect of her opening set will be inspired by Twain.

"How can it not?!" the singer continues with a laugh. "When we were like, 'Okay, we're opening for Shania, direct support for Shania -- we need to warm up the crowd. I just have to pull out all the stops with fashion, with production, with lighting. We're really, really, working on our show."