If you call your album "Supernova," why not introduce it at a planetarium?

That's what Cannon Falls-reared singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith did Thursday night at the Bell Museum at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul.

"They crafted this star nebula [on the planetarium ceiling] to fit my album cover," Smith joked.

The planetarium had good acoustics, super-comfortable seats and good sightlines for an invite-only micro-gig. With her gorgeous as Gaga voice, Smith performed a handful of songs on guitar or piano and then had a few more tunes from the album piped into the planetarium.

The album is scheduled to be released in March. In the meantime, she is going on tour opening for Little Big Town.

On Friday, Nashville-based Smith is dropping a new single, "Put Me Back Together," a piano pop number with which she opened her brief set. (She apologized to her mother for dropping an f-bomb in the song.)

Some of her new numbers evoked Sara Bareilles, some Lady Gaga. In any case, Smith – best known for cowriting the Meghan Trainor/John Legend smash "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" -- sounds more pop this time than Americana, the vibe she favored on 2018's stellar "Starfire." That album had some Minnesota references, notably on the twangy "St. Paul" about her first gig at the Turf Club in the Capitol City.

Here's hoping that Smith will have a champagne "Supernova" release party next year in her home state.