![]() The country star, who is just 11 dates into his seven-month global tour, told fans that he spoke to his doctor and has been told he is unable to sing. “It makes money for them and it works for them.Morgan Wallen is taking vocal rest and canceling tour dates after losing his voice. “I don’t think that the industry has really any interest in changing their format that they’ve been doing,” she said. Holly G told CNN that while country music is happy to put Guyton forward as an example of progress, the community has yet to fully stand up for her in the face of the hate she continues to receive.Īnd she doesn’t believe the industry will because a large portion of country music fans have made their feelings about race known with their wallet. “How could I make people proud and make them feel togetherness? That’s my intention, and I think what we have planned will make everyone feel seen.” “Our country is so divided right now that I wondered how I could perform this,” she told Texas Monthly before her Super Bowl performance. ![]() Guyton performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl earlier this month. I wanted to show them that the box doesn’t exist.” “I needed people, Black women specifically, to see me here-to know that there is a space for them,” she said. In a recent interview with Texas Monthly, Guyton talked about her struggle to break through before her heartfelt song made her the first Black woman to receive a Grammy nomination for best country solo performance. Her Grammy nominated song “Black Like Me” deals with racial inequality. Guyton has been outspoken out about racism in country music, recently sharing a screenshot from a Twitter user who said “We don’t want your kind in country music.” ![]() Such hate has been directed at Mickey Guyton, a Black country music superstar who made history as the first Black woman to host the Academy of Country Music Awards. Mickey Guyton performs at Super Bowl LVI. This issue of Black fans and artists not feeling safe in the country space is less talked about than the vitriol that happens online. “Until they stop hiding behind tokenism, it’s not gonna make anything safer.” “You’ll see playlists that have more artists of color and there are a few more on the stage now, but the problem is that none of that makes the spaces any safer,” she said. She told CNN that the country music industry has only done “very surface level work, as far as diversity is concerned.” (who goes only by that name) is the founder of The Black Opry, which is a “home for Black artists and Black fans of country, blues, folk, and Americana music.” “But I think that’s a slippery slope to call anyone who continued to enjoy Morgan Wallen’s music a racist.”Ĭountry music has long been associated with symbols like the Confederate flag, which represents Southern pride to some and America’s painful history of racism and slavery to many others.Ĭountry music culture, it seems, is largely still segregated. ![]() “We have people who listen to artists who have done horrible things and everyone has to make that decision for themselves,” she added. “I think it’s a much more complex issue than that.” “There’s been a lot of talk that says, if you supported Morgan Wallen and continued listening to his music, you were racist and I don’t think it’s that easy,” she said. “The fans had the ultimate decision and they clearly decided they were Morgan Wallen fans,” Melinda Newman, Billboard’s Executive Editor, West Coast and Nashville, told CNN. Wallen’s launched a tour since then and performed at the Grand Ole Opry, which sparked new controversy and complaints that country music had moved on too quickly. Wallen’s use of the “n-word” – revealed as America was grappling with the death of a Black man, George Floyd, at the hands of Minneapolis police – stirred conversation about what has been viewed as country music’s race problem.īut it’s an issue much bigger than just one artist and one moment.įor his part, Wallen apologized, promised to meet with Black leaders to become better educated and pledged $500,000 in donations to Black led organizations, which he reportedly fulfilled. One year later, country music continues to be a genre where discussions about race are minefields and some see very little progress in terms of diversity. Then Wallen’s supporters sent sales of his music skyrocketing. He was criticized by fellow artists, several radio stations dropped his music, and he was unwelcome at award shows. Wallen had his contract suspended by his label. After country artist Morgan Wallen was caught on camera using a racial slur in February 2021, things looked bleak for his career. ![]()
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