LOS ANGELES — While making history on Sunday night at the Grammys, country star Mickey Guyton delivered a powerful performance of her song "Black Like Me."
Guyton, a first-time nominee and first-time performer, is the first solo Black female artist to be nominated in a country category at the Grammys, following in the footsteps of the Pointer Sisters who have won a country Grammy Award.
Earlier in the day, she said her performance Sunday night would be “a moment for Black people in country music.”
“My life changed once I started running towards everything that made me different,” Guyton told The Associated Press during interviews backstage prior to the show. “They say country music is three chords and the truth. So I started writing my truth as a Black woman, singing country music and my experiences in my life. And one of those first songs was ‘Black Like Me.’”
She said that stepping on that stage is not only important to her, but all those communities that have felt marginalized in country music.
“I realize that not only am I walking through those doors as a Black woman, I need to hold the door open for many other Black, brown, LBGTQA plus artists that have the same dreams,” says Guyton.
Next month, Guyton will join Keith Urban as the hosts for the Academy of Country Music Awards. She said being invited to host is “a moment of great significance for me.”
