Victoria Wenonah Banks is a Nashville-based Canadian singer and songwriter who has penned songs for a variety of artists including Reba McEntire, Sara Evans, Jessica Simpson, Lauren Alaina, Carly Pearce and Mickey Guyton. Her songs have earned 2 ASCAP Country Music Awards, a SOCAN International Achievement Award, a Covenant Award, and a Grammy nomination.
Rissi Palmer is an American country music artist. Palmer debuted in 2007 with the single "Country Girl", which made her the first African-American woman to chart a country song since Kathy Bee in 1988. "Country Girl" peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and served as the lead-off single to her self-titled debut album, which also produced the Top 100 hit "Hold On to Me". Also in 2008, Palmer covered "No Air", an R&B hit originally performed by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. She is also the host of Apple Music Country's show Color Me Country Radio with Rissi Palmer.
Jonathan Michael Batiste is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists including Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, ASAP Rocky, Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, Roy Hargrove, Juvenile, and Mavis Staples. Batiste appeared nightly with his band, Stay Human, as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022.
Linda Martell is an American singer. She became the first commercially successful black female artist in the country music field and the first to play the Grand Ole Opry. As one of the first African-American country performers, Martell helped influence the careers of future Nashville artists of color.
Kacey Lee Musgraves is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 2007, Musgraves appeared on the fifth season of the USA Network singing competition Nashville Star, where she finished in seventh place. In 2012, she signed with Mercury Nashville and released the hit single "Merry Go 'Round". Her major-label debut studio album, Same Trailer Different Park (2013), won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
Candace Mycale "Mickey" Guyton is an American country music artist. Raised in Texas, Guyton was exposed to various types of music at a young age, and her material incorporates elements of contemporary country, pop, and R&B music. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2011 and signed a recording contract with Capitol Records Nashville. In 2015, the label released Guyton's debut extended play (EP), Unbreakable.
Kelsea Nicole Ballerini is an American country pop singer and songwriter. A four-time Grammy Award nominee, she has gained success since the 2010s, being honored with the Gene Weed Milestone Award at the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Rising Star Award at the Billboard Women in Music.
"Better Than You Left Me" is the debut single from American country music artist Mickey Guyton. It was released to country radio on January 12, 2015 as the first single from her self-titled second EP (2015) and forthcoming debut studio album for Capitol Nashville. The song was written by Guyton, Jennifer Hanson, Jenn Schott, and Nathan Chapman. A re-recorded version of the song is included on Guyton's 2021 debut album Remember Her Name.
Maren Larae Morris is an American singer and songwriter. Rooted in the country genre, her music blends in elements of pop, R&B, and hip hop. Morris has won multiple accolades including a Grammy Award, an American Music Award, five Country Music Association Awards, and five Academy of Country Music Awards.
"Heartbreak Song" is a song recorded by American country artist Mickey Guyton for her forthcoming debut studio album. It was released as her second single through Capitol Records Nashville on June 3, 2016. Guyton co-wrote the song with Mark Trussell and April Geesbreght in response to the subject of her previous single, "Better Than You Left Me", bragging about inspiring the hit.
James Edward Allen is an American country music singer and songwriter. He was signed to Broken Bow Records imprint Stoney Creek, for which he released the two singles "Best Shot" and "Make Me Want To" and the 2018 album Mercury Lane. In 2021, he won the Country Music Association Award for New Artist of the Year, the second black artist to do so. Allen was dropped by Broken Bow in June 2023 amid sexual assault allegations.
Girl is the second studio album by American country music singer Maren Morris, released on March 8, 2019 through Columbia Nashville. It was preceded by the single "Girl". The promotional single "Common", featuring Brandi Carlile, was released alongside the album pre-order on February 8. The track was later nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, while the album's second single "The Bones" was nominated for Best Country Song at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Morris embarked on the Girl: The World Tour in support of the album.
"Otherside of America" is a protest song by American rapper Meek Mill. The song tackles racial inequality and racism in the United States. It was released on June 5, 2020, amid the Black Lives Matter and George Floyd protests against police brutality in the United States, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. In the intro, the song contains dialogue from President Donald Trump's 2016 comments about black Americans in an effort to sway the black vote his way.
"The Bigger Picture" is a protest song by American rapper Lil Baby. It was released on June 12, 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. In the song, Lil Baby shows solidarity with the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests calling for justice against police brutality in the United States and systemic racism. Proceeds from "The Bigger Picture" benefit The National Association of Black Journalists, Breonna Taylor's attorney, The Bail Project, and Black Lives Matter.
"Black Parade" is a song by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was produced by Beyoncé and Derek Dixie in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed it. The song was surprise released on June 19, 2020, also referred to as Juneteenth, a day commemorating the abolishment of slavery in the United States. The song serves as a celebration of Black culture and the support of Black activism. While initially a stand-alone single, an extended version of the song was used in the end credits of Beyoncé's film Black Is King and included in the accompanying deluxe edition of The Lion King: The Gift, both released on July 31, 2020.
"What Are You Gonna Tell Her?" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Mickey Guyton, which was released on March 6, 2020, as the first single from her third EP Bridges and was subsequently included on her debut album Remember Her Name.
"Heaven Down Here"' is a song by American country music artist Mickey Guyton. The song was composed by Guyton, along with Josh Kear, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson. The track was produced by Karen Kosowski. "Heaven Down Here" was released as the third single off her 2020 extended play, Bridges. It received acclaim from critics and also featured a corresponding music video.
The discography of American country music artist Mickey Guyton contains two studio albums, four extended plays, ten singles, 17 promotional singles, one additionally-charting song, nine music videos and two album appearances.
Bridges is an extended play by American country music artist Mickey Guyton. It was released on September 11, 2020 via Capitol Records Nashville and contained six tracks. The EP was produced by Nathan Chapman, Karen Kosowski and Forest Whitehead. Bridges was Guyton's first EP release in five years and includes three singles that reflected her recent musical shift and recent events involving the COVID-19 pandemic and the various Black Lives Matter protests. The EP received positive reviews following its release and also charted Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.
Remember Her Name is the debut studio album by American country artist Mickey Guyton. It was released on September 24, 2021, through Capitol Records Nashville. A follow-up release to her extended play, Bridges (2020), the album includes the singles "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?", "Black Like Me" and a re-recorded version of her 2015 single, "Better Than You Left Me". The project centers around her personal and professional setbacks over the course of several years. Lyrical themes highlight Guyton's insecurities, anxieties while on her musical journey. The project received generally a favorable response from critics as well.
