The Good & the Bad of the Mickey Guyton EP
The only thing I conclusively walked away with from this new Mickey Guyton EP is that Capitol Records Nashville has absolutely no idea what to do with this young lady. And that’s about par for the course for just about any up-and-coming female country artist at this moment. Since country music is such a copycat game, and there hasn’t really been any successful female stories recently to copycat, most new female country music performers find themselves at the mercy of stupefied music managers and label lackeys who really have no clue what to do with a woman performer.
Mickey Guyton already released a 4-song EP in March of 2014. It was called Unbreakable. It even included a song that found its way onto this new one called “Pretty Little Mustang.” So what’s the deal? Are we going to try and launch this girl’s career, or we going to sit around and play with our food for 18 more months trying to figure out if we want her to be a traditionalist or a pop star? This EP alludes to Capitol wanting her to be both, which will likely result in her being neither.
Sometimes I feel like I want to be like that annoying IT nerd who screams “move!” and sits in front of your computer to fix a problem when I’m watching Music Row bungle yet another budding female artist. If Taylor Swift came to Music Row today, they would keep her on a development deal until she proved she could write a Top 10 metro-bro song with Dallas Davidson and Sarah Buxton. And when she couldn’t, they’d put out a 4-song EP.
The part that is so frustrating is Mickey Guyton has some serious, serious talent. If you’re looking for promising young females with a strong voice and mainstream appeal that might break the monopoly on the charts by country males, look no further. And forget Kelsea Ballerini as a viable option. She’s a pop star who came to Nashville to tour the new Taylor Swift Education Center on the Hall of Fame and left 8 hours later with a 360 deal. Ballerini being successful on the country charts is no victory for females, it fuels the trends that shifted them into this subordinate role in the first place.
But about this EP and these songs: Mickey Guyton has really, really got something folks. It’s just a shame that you only get about eight minutes of it. Now don’t roll up on this stuff thinking you’re going to hear the second coming of Patsy Cline, but there is some serious modern country gold here with the songs “Why Baby Why” and the single “Better Than You Left Me.” I’m talking waltz beats, steel guitar, and great singing and writing. This is the type of pragmatic stuff that could win fans on both sides of the country music divide and renew an appeal for country that actually sounds country.
And then sandwiched in between these two country songs, the country equivalent of Katy Perry shows up smacking bubblegum while singing undiluted pop tunes. “Somebody Else Will” is your typical “other fish in the sea” fare with very little to offer except for some admittedly catchy rhythms. And if you’ve been wondering what a true female equivalent to Bro-Country might sound like, “Pretty Little Mustang” might not be a bad specimen. But just like Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise,” it’s kind of hard to deny it’s catchy as hell and could win Ms. Guyton a lot of fans if it hit radio.
So that’s the story of Mickey Guyton and her self-titled EP: a tale of two worlds. And as one that resides on the traditional/critical side, I listen to the first and last song and salivate, but then listen to the meat in the middle and immediately become afraid of hitching my wagon to what may eventually develop into a pure pop star in the country genre. It’s fish and foul. Yes, if Mickey likes both approaches and this is what’s in her heart to do, that makes it harder to not support. But from the outside looking in, this appears to be the result of indecision (which can stifle a career), and trying both angles to see which one sticks best. In these battles, we all know the pop side usually wins.
All of this is why I can almost find some sympathy for radio consultant Keith Hill who recently compared women to the tomatoes of the country music salad. Frankly, if I was in radio, I would be confused what to do with Mickey Guyton. I’d recognize the greatness of her songs, but wouldn’t be sure if I should consider her the next Kacey Musgraves, or the next Taylor Swift.
Mickey could be amazing, and make no mistake, I’m rooting for her to stay true to herself and become something big in country music. But get a plan more than releasing yet another 4-song EP and playing a side stage at the CMA Fest, and possibly pick a side, or at least figure out how to transition more smoothly between the two. Because her talent is worth the energy, the focus, the capital, and the forward-thinking ideas that are necessary to launching a country music star.
One Gun Up, One Gun Down.
– – – – – – – – – –
June 5, 2015 @ 11:10 am
How can women actually WRITE bro-country songs? What goes on in the minds of people like Sarah Buxton when they write the next mysogynistic Luke Bryan song sitting next to Dallas Davidson? I wonder how he treats these ladies. Are they just other nameless objects that bring him beer and help him decide if they should write “Daisy Dukes” or “painted on cut-off jeans?” Seriously, how can any woman stand to be part of something so vile? Either they are incredibly stupid and are the complete personification of the “girls” in those songs, or they will do ANYTHING just to make a few bucks.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:17 am
Do you feel this way about actresses that appear in movies or TV shows that may show women in a negative or are exploitive of women in general?
Listen these songs suck but to make some wild leap to make accusations about the writers and performers of them is just stupid. Women can be hacks just like men and to pretend otherwise is unbelievably condescending.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:26 am
It just sickens me how people can purposefully perpetuate stereotypes against their own people. No, I’ve honestly never thought of actresses that way. It just burns me up that people can be so apathetic about what is happening to their own people, and even help it get worse. And yes, I know women can be hacks like men. I know plenty. It doesn’t excuse their actions.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:36 am
What is this ‘their own people’ thing? I think you are strongly overstating the effects these songs have on anyone in a real world way. Anyone that takes these songs as serious depictions of anything or anyone already has issues that have nothing to due with these songs.
Plus, many, many intelligent successful women like these songs (I know a few myself) so does that make them guilty of some kind of betrayal of ‘their own people’ or is just simply that they like something that you and I don’t?
I think you are reading way, way too deep into this stuff. These songs may suck but they don’t depict anyone being harmed and most of the time the women are depicted as willing participants in the events of the song.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:57 am
It is harming society. It is making some young women think it is “cool” to be the “girl in a truck.” Take Maggie Rose’s quote for instance, “There are women out there embracing the roles these men are writing about,” and “Don’t fight it, embrace it.” So a lot of women are fine with being submissive to dumb men, and a lot of it is because of these songs. It may also be part of the reason women can’t be successful on radio these days. All this mysogyny has gotten into everybody’s heads. And yes, I do know some smart women who like these songs. They don’t take the mysogynistic parts seriously though, they just have fun with it. But there are other women who aren’t that bright who let it affect how they perceive themselves and the world, that’s why this is damaging society.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:57 am
I think you are forgetting about all of the young girls that are listening to and being influenced by country radio. I wouldn’t want my daughter or son thinking what they glorify as cool. I’m no prude. I just think it’s dumb music for dumb people. Just because someone is smart in the area of money doesn’t make them smart in the area of music. A lot of people don’t realize how subtly brilliant country music was and still can be. It’s all about “INSTANT AWESOME” today. I never paid attention or knew about Bobby Bones until I read this blog. I listened to him the other day and it’s kind of hard to believe. He’s dumb too. Successful doesn’t equate to smart.
June 5, 2015 @ 12:11 pm
There really is nothing malicious enough in bro-country to warrant this type of hand-wringing. It is just stupid, shallow fun. It is just maddening that songs like that dominate mainstream country.
The lack of women on country radio is a much greater social problem.
June 5, 2015 @ 12:41 pm
Yep, Eric that’s my point. Sometimes you get lost in the weeds when you think too deeply about this stuff.
I want better music in mainstream radio and would also like to see a better male/female mix but I think to attack the listeners and call them ‘dumb people’ is just condescending and dances pretty close to saying that they just don’t know what’s good for them and they should listen to what I think they should. People on our side of this issue have a tendency to sound really arrogant at times and that is not a good way to bring people to our side.
June 5, 2015 @ 1:01 pm
I think you should read Trigger’s “Girl in a Truck Song” rant. He explains how these songs are twisting the minds of young women, and how Maggie Rose whoring herself like this and saying it’s cool to be a truck decoration is insulting and potentially damaging to society.
June 5, 2015 @ 1:10 pm
Don’t need anything explained to me. I’ve been raised and around strong women my entire life so I guess I just have more faith in young women and women in general to think for themselves and listen to what they like and want to listen to than you do.
June 5, 2015 @ 1:31 pm
Your faith is misplaced, good sir. It sadly matter little how strong willed a given individual is when they encounter these vile ear worms. I have scientifically examined many of these so-called “country” songs using my limitless intellect, in the hopes of discovering what exactly made this non-country pop trash so unimaginably popular. What I found was most disturbing. You see, Scott Borchetta (or someone equally evil) must have employed scientists to figure out how to make this music appealing to as many people as possible. It turns out that hidden in these songs are subliminal messages. The lyrics, the vocals, the instrumentation, the beat, and every other detail combine to create a mind altering maelstrom of malevolence. People can be fed this garbage and thus be programmed to believe everything they hear in or about these songs. People can be programmed to believe it is country, or “good,” or even that the way women are portrayed in these songs is respectful and that they should behave that way to perceived as “cool.” So you see, this is all an evil scheme concocted by maniacal money grabbers. It’s so effective, that I will be employing these tactics in my next world-conquering scheme!
June 5, 2015 @ 3:47 pm
As much as I love Trigger’s writing in general, he can really go overboard sometimes with his fears about how music negatively affects culture.
Ultimately, I blame the quote at the top of the website for the arrogant and hysterical nature of many of the comments.
June 5, 2015 @ 4:24 pm
I think the quote, and some of the criticism of music as cultural backsliding are definitely warranted. But I also agree with everyone else here that you also can’t use that as a default argument for any song that is “bad” in your opinion, and I’m not really sure how we got to this discussion in regards to Mickey Guyton. “Girl In Your Truck Song” may have been the absolute most lowest example of female servitude, and so in that context, I think those discussions were warranted.
June 5, 2015 @ 10:45 pm
um, if the girl wants to be the girl in the truck, what of it? so what if a young girl hears a country song and it influences her to be the girl riding shotgun. Will our society crumble?Honestly, I’ve been listening to people complain that music is poisoning the minds of the young since the early days of Kiss, but this is by far the weakest argument I have heard yet.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:35 am
Sara Buxton has a hole in her heart because she didn’t make it as an artist. She is stupid and really nice to people she thinks can do something for her. Of course it’s all about the money. Do you think any of these people listen to country radio for entertainment? Do you think they are fans of the artists they write for or with. Hell no. It’s about the game. Getting the cut. Making the do-re-mi. It is interesting to me how Sara wouldn’t play the game with radio or write commercial songs as an artist but now is willing to play ball… or balls.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:48 am
Yeah, and they get people like Scott Borchetta to be the bigwigs and Bobby Bones to be the DJs when they know nothing about country and never cared about it, it’s just because they have expertise in doing stupid crap to get the most popularity so they can all make more money. I know that’s what it’s all about, it just sickens me that nobody cares about the genre at all anymore and want to destroy everything it stands for. Country music “leadership” is made up entirely of pop parasites, that’s why there’s no actual country music on the radio, and there never will be as long as they are in control. I think we should all help Trigger take over Nashville. He’d fix all this.
June 5, 2015 @ 8:51 pm
How can they write these songs?
Because, money
Why does Scrooge McDuck treat his family with penny pinching feathers?
Because, money.
1 Timothy 6:10 King James Version (KJV)
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:15 am
The worst thing about this EP has to be the cover. It looks like a b-list teen pop album from 2002.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:20 am
I don’t know if it’s the worst thing (you should listen to “Pretty Little Mustang”) but yes, it is yet another indicator that they’re trying to make a pop artist out of a traditionalist, or vice versa. I’m not sure which one, but the people who the first and last songs appeal to on this EP, will be completely turned off by the cover. It’s just bad understanding and marketing of the artist all around.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:27 am
Yep, nobody knows how to manage her career. If I saw this album at a store or online I’d assume it was an album of Children’s music like Raffi or The Wiggles.
June 5, 2015 @ 2:46 pm
It looks like it could be a Celine Dion album cover.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:21 am
Heads Up:
Lady Antebellum will perform with EDM DJ Zedd at the CMT Awards. Overreact now.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:22 am
As much as I’ve liked “Better Than You Left Me,” I think “Why Baby Why” sounds even better. 🙂
June 5, 2015 @ 1:54 pm
I agree. They’re both super strong songs, and I hope the cover and the other pop songs don’t detract from people enjoying them.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:22 am
I think your comments about the system not having any idea how to promote and nurture these young female acts is so important. We see it over and over with Kacey Musgraves being the gold standard of this problem and sadly I fear that Mickey Guyton may be next in an incredibly long list of talented women that get a limited shot and have little success and are then cast off.
I hope I’m wrong because she seems talented but history says that it is very likely to happen.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:28 am
If Taylor Swift came to Music Row today, they would keep her on a development deal until she proved she could write a Top 10 metro-bro song with Dallas Davidson and Sarah Buxton. And when she couldn”™t, they”™d put out a 4-song EP.
And that would be a bad thing??
June 5, 2015 @ 11:38 am
Ha! That depends on your perspective, but I guess my point was even if they were handed the biggest superstar in the world on a silver platter, they’d screw it up. And actually, they did. Swift was signed to a development deal and they wanted to keep her there. That is why she signed with Scott Borchetta, and the rest is history.
June 5, 2015 @ 6:18 pm
The rumors have always swirled about her deal being bought. Her dad was very successful with Meryl lynch. Even seven years ago as swift management company had $400 million in assets under management (meaning if he did nothing the pure commission alone was $12 million a year). I can’t say if I was a label head and a suitcase of money changed hands I wouldn’t take it. To be true or not there has been a few other successful artists with that accusation. Just bringing it up.
June 5, 2015 @ 6:31 pm
Yeah yeah. And they also bought 250,000 copies of her debut CD and stored them in a warehouse to jack with the SoundScan numbers. Swift’s father was an early investor in Big Machine, so we know money changed hands. It’s not that I believe or don’t believe the rumors, it’s just sort of old hat at this point. The point I was really wanting to make is that the Music Row system really has no way to develop, or even evaluate female talent, and that is just as much of the problem as radio not playing female singles.
June 5, 2015 @ 6:44 pm
It just baffles me why labels are so in love with radio is the problem. If they took a slow and steady approach and used streaming then it would work. They get 76% or so of the paid royalties. Radio pays zero royalties and it costs so much to even get a top 30 hit. Add in the factor of a radio tour not only costing but taking away from their life. It’s impossible to have every artist successful that you have so some are always going to be casualties. She may be one.
June 19, 2015 @ 8:25 pm
You guys do realise that Taylor Swift is the most successful artists living today? In any event, this woman will be the first black female country singer.And if history repeats itself, as we know it does, she has to be better than Taylor Swift. And in my opinion she already is.
June 6, 2015 @ 8:57 am
Just a heads up he worked for Goldman Sachs, not Meryl Lynch. It probably doesn’t matter though.
June 6, 2015 @ 10:28 am
At one point he must have worked for Meryl lunch because I had an interview with them before. I’m licensed in insurance/securities. Anyways the manager brought it up about him being an agent with them. It may have been when they lived in Pennsylvania. Agents switch semi often also. That wasn’t a big deal though.
June 5, 2015 @ 11:48 am
– It’s a bit unfair to characterize the EP thing as *at all* related to her being a female country artist. Yes, female country artists like RaeLynn, Kelsea Ballerini and Maddie & Tae launched with EPs, but so too did Sam Hunt and also pop stars like Meghan Trainor and 5 Seconds of Summer. It’s just the new normal – why take the risk on a full album campaign when you can capitalize on buzz and/or a hit song with a low-cost EP? Use that to gauge the fanbase and get some indication of where you want to go with the artist.
– And since this only sold 500 copies (which is worse than even the Michael Ray EP), it’s clear they need more time with her.
You may have a point with this being the SECOND EP, but the truth is that this is the first one associated with a legitimate radio single. So it really is the first EP.
– I do agree with you in the sense that it fosters complacency/laziness when it comes to developing an artist, but she’s not making it easy for Capitol. For all the buzz (she’s been on basically every artist to watch list) and that record-setting add week, she doesn’t seem to have resonated..at all.
June 5, 2015 @ 1:59 pm
Yeah, it was the fact that it was the 2nd EP that didn’t sit well with me, especially since they both have one of the same songs. I’m not a fan of EP’s to begin with, though I understand they do have a purpose in certain circumstances.
I hope everyone stands that my frustration is not at Mickey Guyton, but more at the situation. There is nothing more fulfilling to watch for me than a worthy artist growing and succeeding, and nothing more frustrating than watching one struggle. Like you said, 500 copies sold, but part of the problem was there was very little promotion, and virtually no buzz because she’s not getting dedicated support from either the traditional/indie crowd, or the mainstream.
June 5, 2015 @ 12:25 pm
I think Kacey Musgraves has done very well for herself, and she goes against the grain, I think she’s got Nashville by the balls at the moment, and may I respectfully add: RIP Colonel Jon Hensley.
June 5, 2015 @ 12:28 pm
So the ” Mickey Guyton ” dilemma is only a dilemma for one reason . Mickey ( as an Artist ) doesn’t know who she wants to be and is leaving that decision to ” stupefied music managers and label lackeys ” who are second guessing markets and demographics and trends CUZ THAT’S THEIR JOB . Sierra Hull , Claire Lynch , Alison Moorer , and others who are not-so-mainstream are all Artists in the truest sense of the word . They knew what they wanted to do/be musically . They knew what moved them and what they could commit to come hell or high water ( Think Sturgill , Isbell , Blackberry Smoke etc ) and they stick by that resove come what may . They are honest artists with integrity and passion about what they’re doing . That’s the kind of artists we SHOULD be listening to on country radio . If country radio was willing to bend for the artist , there’d be no issues with figuring out which pigeonhole to place Mickey or anyone else in . If Mickey Guyton doesn’t know who she is as an artist or isn’t willing to stand behind who she FEELS she is , I’m not interested. There are literally thousands of talented singers who are better than most popular vocalists,,,,just watch the Voice and the talent shows . Trouble is , most of THEM don’t know who they want to be either , They are NOT artists and allow themselves to be molded and bent to the whims of a finicky demographic when what they REALLY need to do is pick a course and stick with it based on who they are AS ARTISTS and not worry about whether their vocals can help sell trucks on commercial breaks .
June 5, 2015 @ 12:35 pm
One more thought on this . I’m pretty sure Picasso didn’t have 15 different people in his posse telling him how he should paint if he wanted to sell a tonne of work . If he had , you can bet we’d have never seen the amazing things he DID paint . You are NOT an artist if you are only doing what your management and handlers tell you what you should be doing . You’re a tool in the machinery that cashes in on trends which means that you’ll very likely be unhappy , unfulfilled and probably broke at some point .
June 5, 2015 @ 1:31 pm
Oh man she is such a wonderful singer”¦.. It’s just a heavenly sound.
I have no clue what she should do, but I hope for my sake, that she carries on with more tunes like those two.
June 5, 2015 @ 1:39 pm
I saw her perform a short show a few months back and I think she is a very talented singer. But I feel like she doesn’t quite have a signature sound yet.
June 5, 2015 @ 2:05 pm
I want to add, Mickey Guyton was one of the writers of “Better than you left me””¦
I think she said it was a song that she had on her mind for a while”¦
June 5, 2015 @ 2:49 pm
I just discovered Mickey Guyton by clicking on a link to listen to her sing “Whiskey Lullaby” with Brad Paisley on his current tour for which she is an opening act. She was incredible! I then spent the next hour or so on Spotify listening to her EP. I agree, Trig, these are her two best songs. I also agree she needs to be the one to stand up and decide what direction she wants to go with her sound, not the record company. I’m hoping it’s more towards the direction of the two songs mentioned here. Fingers crossed!
June 5, 2015 @ 5:02 pm
Apart from dedicated evening programs on BBC national radio, eg Bob Harris Country, Ricky Ross – Another country, we don’t have much in the way of country radio that you can just tune the dial to, so I’m not very familiar with the Bro-country and Pop country acts ( no bad thing, I think! )
During the daylight hours when all genres are covered, it’s Kacey Musgraves turn again to represent country.
( One radio presenter calls her – ” Dolly Parton with good jokes”… Eh?? )
Could easily imagine this lady, Mickey G, filling that kind of air space too, if she were, indeed, to find her thing.
I enjoyed those two tracks. Certainly wouldn’t mind hearing more like that from her.
Totally see what you mean about the EP cover though. Judging by that alone, I’d imagine it to be teeny-bop with maybe a nod to Motown.
June 5, 2015 @ 6:25 pm
Not mentioned is her being a product of American idol. That’s why she doesn’t seem to know what she wants to do. I’ve yet to listen to anything else except her single to this point. Someone on a label saw or listened to her and said we can cash in off the fame of that and do better. Well not as of yet.
June 5, 2015 @ 7:22 pm
The previous version of Pretty Little Mustang had heavy use of drobo and fiddle. This was “sanitized” for mainstream appeal. It’s the most worrying track on the EP and shows regression for her.
June 6, 2015 @ 12:17 am
Here’s the thing.
I’ve streamed this EP, and there’s not a single track that bothers me. I enjoyed the pop-leaning songs almost as much as the traditional-ish country ones. Guyton sounds genuinely invested in both, and I’m not going to fault her for having some potential pop aspirations. Especially since Lucy Hale already proved with “Road Between” last year that you can embrace the best of both the pop and country worlds and offer an album that sounds like a genuine blend of the two as opposed to one masquerading as the other (and I still love that album and am not one iota ashamed to admit it).
Aside from quality, I do agree with you, however, about Capitol Records Nashville all but certainly engaging in a staring contest of sorts with Guyton and expecting her to flinch first, but stonewalling any career development until then. They pretty much EXPECT her to settle for pop, and once she says the magic word, then they’ll likely expedite marketing and promotional efforts to make her the next Colbie Caillat or Corinne Bailey Rae.
I sure hope that doesn’t happen, because Guyton has vast promise and potential as a leader in country music.
June 6, 2015 @ 2:32 am
Music row doesn’t know what to do with a tomato this is actually a whole salad unto herself.
June 6, 2015 @ 3:47 am
Clever Keith Hill reference 😉
June 6, 2015 @ 10:06 am
Sincerely wish the sista the best, since she’s got a hard row to hoe even if the record picks up. It being Black Music Month, Miss Mickey brings to mind a infinite list of black women rockers, folk singers et al who were stifled by teams & community to be comfortably “black famous” w/ few exceptions like a Linda Tillery or Linda Lewis in UK. My heroine Claudia Lennear was plagued by this same plot: half her debut LP produced Rock by Ian Samwell & half R&B by Allen Toussaint. Neither audience well-served. Then she wanted to form a bluegrass trio w/ Donna Washburn of Dillard & Clark; thwarted in that. Though I see Guyton’s apparently being treated as sepia Carrie U (for lack of better reference), clearly the labels & handlers still carry that anxiety – but shortchanging her chance to be straight country, as they bungled Rissi Palmer not so long ago, is disheartening to us who want to see a Black Country breakthrough for women as much as general parity for female artists across the genre. If Miz Mickey is internally confused in aesthetics, that’s a big problem; but then somebody smart rescue her by sending her to woodshed with the twangtrust of Vince Gill & Ashley Monroe & yield better, representative songs. Ain’t no half-steppin’ when it comes to this kind of shot. Bless Brother Paisley for trying to reunite all the Circle
June 6, 2015 @ 10:08 am
Can’t say I have any real problem with Pretty Little Mustang, either this version or the one from her last LP. I’m fine with either of them being labeled as “Country.” That said the other song “Somebody Else Will” is total pop.
I”m in agreement about the cover too, what the hell were they thinking on that one. It looks like a 90’s pop album. And with her face being partially obstructed in 2 of the 3 images of her, I’m wondering how many people might see this and think is a group of 3 different girls.
June 6, 2015 @ 10:30 am
25 year old male and I drive around playing “Better Than You Left Me” pretty dang loud with no shame. What a sweet, sweet sound. Give us more of that, Mickey.
June 6, 2015 @ 12:00 pm
Trigger, I disagree with one aspect of your analysis.
Mickey will never ever be the next Taylor Swift. Taylor’s strengths have little to do with her singing or her musical style. Her main talent is that she is the music industry’s equivalent of an unusually gifted politician. She is a “great communicator” because she is able to project empathy in the Bill Clinton kind of way. Regardless of whether he was shifting culturally to the right or to the left, Clinton made people perceive that he felt their pain. Swift has gotten to where she is because she has created a persona that makes anxious 12 year old white girls believe that she feels their pain and that she still believes in a place called hope.
June 6, 2015 @ 1:27 pm
Yeah, nobody will be the next Taylor Swift, but what I was really asking is what direction will she eventually head, if she in fact does head in any direction? Will she be pop like Taylor, or more rootsy like Kacey? But all these artists are unique, and it’s rare one artist specifically replaces another. But there’s also slices in the pie where mainstream artists can fit within an appeal that is not being filled by someone else. Right now they’re trying to fill two separate slices, and failing to fill either.
June 6, 2015 @ 1:57 pm
Ok, you have a point. I think this should have been a pretty easy call. I know this is unfortunate and unfair, but a black woman isn’t going to beat a white woman in the pop country space, because female success in pop country is all about becoming white America’s sweetheart. So it is quite clear to me that the right path for Mickey would be to try to connect with traditional country music listeners by selling COUNTRY music. I think Mickey’s label is doing her a big disservice if they are trying to get her to compete in the pop country space on Kelsea Ballerini and Raelynn’s terms.
On a different note, I think Kacey would have been much better off releasing a song similar to “Better Than You Left Me” as a single, rather than “Follow Your Arrow”.
June 7, 2015 @ 8:12 pm
Capital Nashville is notorious for this kind of stuff with female artists. This is almost exactly what they did to Jennette McCurdy back in 2011/2012 only it was followed by a delay in her album being released and then a vary limited release to only one store chain when they did, embarrassed her. Artist with a strong voice and huge talent, signed by Capital Nashville and they had no idea what to do with her.
I think for the sanity of all involved Capital should stop signing and screwing with female artists and focus on their garbage such as Luke Bryan. It is obvious they can’t handle female talent right.
June 7, 2015 @ 8:54 pm
Trigger u r a nerd. I like her voice. I am going to start writing her some songs.
June 20, 2015 @ 9:26 am
I am reading this article again for the second time. This is after listening to her over and over again. I am not sure Trigger if your rating for her is fair. I mean what does that even mean, one gun up and one gun down? What, do they cancelled each other out? How does she rate then, 0? I find it hard to imagine how does Darci get a better score than she does? The truth of the matter is this woman is a black woman in the white man’s world. Here at SCM she is actually sitting inside that nest. 50 years ago they had to hide Charley Pride from country music fans. By the time they were ready to reveal who he was, he had already developed a pretty large fan base from the radio. Country music has not produced another Charlie Pride. So my guess is not much has changed in 50 years.This girl is good, but in my opinion if she’s going to make it in this world, she’s gotta be way better than everyone else. I know these thoughts are extremely negative, but I am sorry, I am convinced that they’re also true.
June 20, 2015 @ 10:01 am
One gun up and one gun down would equal 50 out of 100, not 0. Basically I thought there were two great songs, and two poor songs. That’s my opinion.
June 20, 2015 @ 10:48 am
Wow Trigger, that’s your response to my comment, explaining what you mean by one gun up and one gun down? You apparently did not read the entire comment. Well I suppose you’re busy.
July 17, 2016 @ 5:27 pm
I just heard/saw Mickey for the first time today on CMT singing an acoustic version of her new single and was blown away! I immediately Googled her and bought both of her EPs and new single “Heartbreak”. I’ve listened to them all day and love every song. What a talented frigging artist!! I can’t wait to see her live now and hope that her label gives her the support she deserves to break through. She is incredible!