According to Yearwood, her primary musical influence is Linda Ronstadt. She discovered her music after her parents bought her Ronstadt's studio album "Simple Dreams". Yearwood commented to the "Wall Street Journal" that while Ronstadt's music was considered pop, her phrasing and emotional style appeared country. Music critics and writers have drawn similarities between Ronstadt and Yearwood's voice. In an interview for Ronstadt's album "Feels Like Home", Peter Galvin of "Rolling Stone" commented, "Listening to Yearwood’s new album, Thinkin’ About You, you would sometimes swear you were hearing Ronstadt circa 1976. Yearwood's voice is thinner and more pliable than Ronstadt's, but both resort to a hearty squawk when passion takes them over, and both possess low honey tones." She also reported to be influenced by Emmylou Harris.