Country singer Mickey Guyton has been making a name for herself in the music industry for decades. The Texas native sung the national anthem at Super Bowl LVI, made history as the first Black country singer nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 2021 Grammy Awards, released an impactful social justice anthem “Black Like Me” in 2020, and overcame racist country music fans, who sent her into early labor during her pregnancy in 2021.
Now, Guyton is taking center stage as the headliner for the latest installment of the “CMT on Tour.” Beginning in September, the four-time Grammy-nominated artist will be bringing her enormous talent to major cities across North America, making her one of the first Black women to headline a country music tour.
The journey to headlining a 22-city tour wasn’t easy. In December 2011, Guyton moved from Arlington, Texas to Nashville after finally landing a record deal. The singer told Black Love co-founder and friend Codie Elaine Oliver on the “My New BFF” podcast that she arrived “bright-eyed and bushy tailed” to the city, eager to learn more about Nashville and get her career started. Soon, Guyton became acutely aware of the challenges that plagued Black country artists for generations.
“It was hard trying to find my footing in a predominately white male-dominated industry,” Guyton shares in an interview on Grammy.com. “I had to really become comfortable with who I am and find my own voice and way in an industry that seemed to have a specific path that you had to follow in order to make it.”
Four years later, she almost gave up on her dreams. Guyton thought after the long-awaited release of her first single “Better Than You Left Me” – a song she wrote in 2012 — that it was her time. However, when her soulful heartbreak anthem was bumped from country radio, she reached an all-time low. She shared on the podcast that at 33 years old, she was “broke,” had mounds of debt and was financially dependent on her husband, Grant Savoy.
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“I didn’t have a plan B; music was it,” she tells Oliver on the podcast. “I had no plan.”
At that moment, she felt like giving up her Nashville dreams and moving back to Los Angeles with her husband. However, Savoy encouraged her to keep going. A decade after signing with her record label in 2011, Guyton released her debut album “Remember Her Name.”
“I wasn’t seen for a long time, and now I feel seen,” she said on the “BFF” podcast, reflecting on her journey and the album. “I’m finally getting an opportunity to write the music that’s important to me.”
The 16-track album solidified Guyton’s status in country-pop crossover stardom, showcasing her full talent to the world. The selections on Guyton’s debut strayed away from the genre’s strict box for women in country music. For years, Guyton struggled to adhere to the unwritten guidelines placed on her artistry. The industry wanted her to write about love, without much heartbreak. She couldn’t write about anything political or about drinking, as it was unladylike.
“There’s this little window of what they want women to sing,” Guyton explained. “I was so miserable because it is not natural for me to shut my mouth and not have an opinion.”
After her debut album, Guyton’s career continued to catapult. Since the album’s release, she was awarded Time Magazine’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2022, toured with country superstar Shania Twain, and more. The sky’s the limit for Guyton, as she prepares to embark on the upcoming tour in cities like Atlanta, New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago.
While she acknowledges that her voice, songs and message have granted her success, she attributes a huge portion of her position in life to her innate ability to open doors for other Black people, especially Black women. Whether it was a quick phone call or mentorship
“I think watching other Black women in country music getting their shot because of me [feels] like I made it,” Guyton tells Black Love. “My career wouldn’t be where it’s at if I didn’t lift [other Black artists].”
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