Mickey Guyton

Candace Mycale "Mickey" Guyton (; born June 17, 1983) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and 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.

In 2015, Capitol released her debut single, titled "Better Than You Left Me". The song reached number 34 on the US Country Airplay chart and earned her a nomination from the Academy of Country Music Awards. The same year, her second self-titled EP was released. In 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, Guyton released the single "Black Like Me", which speaks to her experiences as a Black woman in country music. The song helped further elevate Guyton's career and resulted in her first ever nomination at the Grammy Awards, becoming the first Black woman to ever be nominated in the Best Country Solo Performance category. Later that year, her third extended play Bridges was released. She then collaborated with Dean Brody on the song "Boys" which made her the first Black woman to achieve a number one hit on the Canada Country chart. Her debut album Remember Her Name followed in 2021.

She performed the United States national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” prior to Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.

Early life Guyton was born in Arlington, Texas, the second oldest of four children. Her family moved throughout the state during her childhood, due to her father's job as an engineer. She was initially enrolled in a local public school, but faced racial discrimination from other families in the neighborhood and was subsequently moved to a private school. Despite this change, Guyton continued to experience racism, stating in a 2020 interview with NPR that her best friends' parents would often refer to her with racial slurs.

Guyton also began singing as a child and developed an interest in music around five years old. Additionally, she sang on demonstration records and auditioned for the seventh season of American Idol. Guyton's American Idol run ended just before the live shows for the top 24, and she appeared only briefly on television during her final singing performance of the audition rounds. The same year, Guyton had the opportunity to audition for UMG Nashville's chairman, Mike Dungan. Singing a song by Patty Loveless, she was then signed to UMG's Capitol Records Nashville division. With her signing, she became the genre's only Black female artist signed to a major label. She was asked by a country radio DJ to write songs that reflected "fluffy" and "happy" topics. In 2014, Capitol Nashville released Guyton's first extended play (EP), an acoustic album titled Unbreakable. The EP charted on the Billboard Top Heatseekers list after its release, reaching number 14.

In 2015, Capitol released Guyton's debut single, "Better Than You Left Me". The song received 79 ads to radio playlists in its first week of release, which had not been previously done. The Guardian made note of the song's early success on the charts, particularly in relation to Guyton's being a Black female in a genre dominated by white men. By July 2015, the song had reached number 34 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. It reached a similar peak position on Canada's Billboard country chart. According to Guyton, the song's minimal chart success was due to radio programmers stating "they didn't want two slow songs by women on the radio at the same time." In May 2015, Guyton's self-titled second EP was released on Capitol and contained the minor hit. The EP reached number 17 on the Billboard Heatseekers list by August. The project received a four star rating from Queens of Country, who praised Guyton's vocals and mix of different musical stylings. Guyton also joined Brad Paisley's Crushin' It World Tour in summer 2015.

20162020: Musical shifts and "Black Like Me" In 2016, Guyton was nominated for New Female Vocalist of the Year at the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards. That year she also released her next single, "Heartbreak Song". The song reached number 45 on the Country Airplay chart. She continued releasing singles on Capitol such as "Hold On", "Sister", and a cover of Patsy Cline's "Crazy".

Guyton chose to write music that reflected more of her struggles as a black woman. In early 2020, she released a single that came from those songwriting sessions titled "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?". It was followed by the single "Black Like Me". Based on the book of the same name, the song described Guyton's experiences with racial discrimination. with Spotify including "Black Like Me" on their "Hot Country Playlist".

In 2020, Guyton became the first black female artist to perform at the Academy of Country Music awards. Capitol then released her third EP titled Bridges (2020). Bridges peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart in September 2020. In November 2020, she collaborated with Canadian country singer Dean Brody on the duet "Boys". The single reached number one on the Canada Country singles chart, giving Guyton her first career chart-topper, and making her the first black woman to top the Canada Country chart.

20212024: Continued performances and House on Fire After becoming the first black female host of the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2021, Guyton revealed to The New Yorker, the release of her debut studio album called Remember Her Name. She described the album as a look into her ten years living in Nashville, with songs directly addressing experiences of sexism and racism. Rating it 3.5 out of 5 stars, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote, "If the bombast and ballads flatten the production of Remember Her Name somewhat, it nevertheless feels genuine, not calculated. Guyton is broadening and expanding the genre-bending sounds of 1990s country-pop".

In February 2022, Guyton performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVI. In 2023, Guyton was a coach and judge on My Kind of Country. In Guyton announced that she was working on new music with Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard. The first Hubbard-produced single was 2022's "Somethin' Bout You". In 2023, Guyton announced via the social media the release of her next radio single "Nothing Compares to You". The song was composed by Hubbard and featured vocals from Kane Brown. Guyton performed her song "All American" at the 2024 Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2024. Capitol Records released Guyton's second studio album, House on Fire, in September 2024. The album included twelve songs all co-written by Guyton, along with a duet with Kane Brown. Prior to the album's release, she issued the title track and "My Side of the Country" as preview singles.

Musical styles and influences Guyton's musical style has been described as being rooted in country music, but also in its sub-genres and other musical sectors. "She came up in a time that was extremely conservative but she had such progressive views. She taught people to love for who they are no matter what and I think that's amazing," she told Country Music Television. Guyton was also heavily influenced by LeAnn Rimes and her 1996 album Blue. Rimes' music helped Guyton discover other female country performers, including Patsy Cline, Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire, and Martina McBride. "I was just mesmerized by big-voiced women," she recalled. Guyton also credits BeBe & CeCe Winans and Whitney Houston as musical influences. In June 2017, the couple wed in Kauai, Hawaii alongside 23 friends and family members. In August 2020, Guyton announced that she was pregnant with the couple's first child. In February 2021, she gave birth to a son whom the couple named Grayson.

Discography

Remember Her Name (2021) House on Fire (2024)

Filmography + Film and television appearances by Mickey GuytonTitleYearRole Notes Cardi Tries 2021 Herself Mickey Mouse Funhouse 2021–22 Wanda Warbler Recurring role The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2022 Guest host One episode For Love & Country 2022 Herself Documentary CMT Crossroads 2022 Herself/Performer 2 episodes: LeAnn Rimes & Friends, Mickey Guyton & Black Pumas Hell's Kitchen 2025 Herself/Guest diner Episode: "Hell at the Pass" Singer 2025 2025 Herself Chinese singing competition show

Awards and nominations 2015 51st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards New Female Vocalist of the Year

2020 63rd Annual Grammy Awards Best Country Solo Performance – "Black Like Me"

56th Academy of Country Music Awards New Female Artist of the Year

55th Annual Country Music Association Awards New Artist of the Year

Female Video of the Year – "Remember Her Name" CMT Performance of the Year – "Friendship Train" (with Gladys Knight and Breland)