Country fans are still new to the immense talent presented by rising star Brittney Spencer — but her family is not. The dynamic vocalist recently opened up about the early days of her country-music career, and it seems her mother predicted the whole thing.
Chatting with TV actress turned singer Chrissy Metz on her Country Faith Radio podcast for Apple Music Country, Spencer talks about the way her mother seemed to know she was destined to sing country music … even before Spencer did.
“My family, they’ve always been on board. I’ve auditioned for all the TV talent shows, and my dad would give me money to take a bus from Baltimore to Atlanta or Jersey or something like that,” the Maryland native says. “My mom, she always knew that I was going to sing. She tells me all the time, she said God told her when I was a kid that I wouldn’t be with her for a long time. I wouldn’t stay there in the city. … She believed I would do country music before I had the courage to even pursue it.”
Spencer’s mother also did a bit of encouraging, according to the singer, since she bought her daughter’s first pair of cowboy boots and even had Spencer’s high school class ring engraved with a cowboy hat and boots. And the efforts paid off. Spencer moved to the Nashville area in 2013 to attend Middle Tennessee State University, and soon found word as a backup signer — even appearing in support of superstar Carrie Underwood.
But her big break has come in the past year, after a cover of The Highwomen’s “Crowded Table” caught the attention of the band’s Amanda Shires and Maren Morris. Morris even shouted out Spencer and other black female voices in country during her Female Vocalist of the Year acceptance speech at the 2020 CMA Awards, adding to a big year of growing appreciation for Spencer. She’s also appeared on lists like Sounds Like Nashville’s 2021 New Artists to Watch, and has released a handful of original tracks — including her deep-thinking track “Compassion,” which comes from an experience Spencer had touring overseas in 2018.