“First Place” was inspired by our real-life marriages and what we’ve learned about conflict, pride, and reconciliation. Albert, producer Nick Pacoli, and I have all been married for several years, so we wrote from experience. Sometimes putting someone you love first isn’t admitting defeat, it’s choosing peace. The song plays with the language of winning and losing because relationships can’t work if you’re keeping score with someone who’s supposed to be on your team. It’s also about remembering the life you’ve already built together, the first dates, birthdays, growing up, and everything you’ve made it through, and refusing to let one disagreement become bigger than that history. Sometimes you agree to disagree, swallow your pride, and move forward. I’d ra......