Sometimes it takes a really long time for a dream to become reality and few people know that better than Mickey Guyton. The Texas native’s full-length debut album, Remember Her Name, is finally out after a decade in the making.
“It’s one of those things where I’m so used to it not happening that as the day approached, I was like, ‘Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure?’ It’s a miracle that we got to this point,” Guyton tells SLN. “But that fighter in me refused to give up. I was extremely frustrated for a very long time. When you are told that you’re not good enough, your songs are not good enough, you start second guessing yourself and I definitely did. Thank God I stopped that. I pushed forward and believed in myself.”
That belief in herself, the support of her husband Grant, and a creative cadre of collaborators that caught her vision helped Guyton navigate the last 10 years since she signed with Capitol Records Nashville. In the past two years—without having a hit at country radio—Guyton has emerged as one of the genre’s most respected singer/songwriters. She made history earlier this year when “Black Like Me,” a song she wrote about her experiences being Black in America, earned a Grammy nod making her the first Black solo female artist to earn a Grammy nomination in a country music category. Though she didn’t take home the trophy, her performance that night was singled out as among the show’s best.
In April, she co-hosted the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards with Keith Urban. CMT will recognize Guyton with its Breakout Artist of the Year award at the upcoming 2021 CMT Artist of the Year celebration on Oct. 13. On a personal note, she became a mother in January when she and her husband, Grant, welcomed their son Grayson.
“Mornings with him are my favorite part because he’s just so cuddly,” says Guyton, who lives in LA, but makes frequent trips to Nashville. “When he was in Nashville, he slept in bed with me because we didn’t have a Pack ’n Play. I was sleeping in a king size bed, and he had plenty of room. I had him all bundled up, surrounded by pillows, and somehow he kept inching his way over to me. He had to be touching me at all times. Just feeling that and watching him experience things in life for the first time is just amazing. Watching him experience rain was so cool. He just got quiet and just stared off like, ‘What is this?’”
During the middle of her busy album launch week, Guyton admits she’s missing the little guy, but is grateful to have her mom babysitting in Texas while she’s in Nashville and New York promoting her record. Though she’s released three critically acclaimed EPs over the years, Remember Her Name is Guyton’s first full length album. So what is she hoping people will learn about her in listening to the 16-track collection?
“I think they’re going to just see that I’m a very well-rounded, inclusive person,” says Guyton, who co-wrote 15 of the 16 songs. “I really hope that that’s what they see is the fun side, the inclusive person and the person I always was. I didn’t set out to be a crusader and advocate. I was just trying to make it in country music, and I saw not only myself suffering, but my friends suffering that I love so much. I couldn’t just sit there and be quiet anymore as I was watching talented peopled that I love struggling in an industry that we love so much that didn’t necessarily love us back.”
When asked if she worries that her activism might overshadow her artistry, Guyton admits that is a concern. “I have definitely wondered that for sure and have questioned that, but you know God put it on my heart to speak out for marginalized people and I’m just following. He’s ordered my steps and that’s where I’m going to go. I know and trust that He will guide me in the right direction, and I do believe that these songs and this music is really good, and I hope that my activism will actually compel people to listen to it. I think they’ll be very pleasantly surprised and happy at how inclusive this record is.”
Though songs like “Black Like Me” and “What Are You Gonna Tell Her” established Guyton as a songwriter of considerable depth and substance, the album also showcases the artist’s more playful side on cuts like “Rosé” and “Different,” a plea for self-acceptance wrapped up in an engaging musical package. “Anybody that knows me knows that I’m actually a very playful, fun person. I am a good time,” Guyton says with a girlish laugh. “Those songs, I hope, show people that and show the fun side of me. My live show also shows that side of me. It’s an actually fun, powerful and entertaining show.”
As for her tour plans this fall, Guyton says things are still mostly up in the air because of the pandemic. “I’m doing festivals. I’m still just trying to figure out what’s going on with COVID honestly,” she sighs. “It’s not going away and so I’m just trying to figure out where we’re at. I have a baby and I don’t want to subject him to anything that could harm him, but I would like to do my own tour one day.”
When she hits the stage, Guyton has an impressive arsenal of songs to share, fueled by a lifetime of experiences that have shaped her unique artistry. She credits her husband with encouraging her to stop trying to fit the Nashville mold and write her truth. “It was 100% the turning point of me getting this album together,” she says. “When he called me out about me running away from anything different, it was absolutely like a revelation. It changed everything.”
Guyton began collaborating with a different group of songwriters, among them Victoria Banks, Melissa Fuller, Andy Skib and Karen Kosowski, who ended up producing eight tracks. “I wrote so much with her. I was writing with her once a week. She was so thoughtful and intentional,” she says. “And she was the first producer that built the track completely around my vocal. I’ve done so many hundreds of tracking sessions where it’s all about the music and all about how that sounds. Karen was the first person who really honed in on my voice and I was like, ‘I’ve got to use her!’”
Guyton co-wrote the title track with Parker Welling, Blake Hubbard and Jarrod Ingram. “I was inspired by Breonna Taylor,” Guyton says of the 26-year-old Louisville, KY woman, who was killed by police. “There were hashtags that said, ‘Say her name’ or ‘Remember her name.’ So I had that thought and as we were writing the song, I threw out the title ‘Remember Her Name.’ As we were writing the song, it turned into my story and me overcoming these obstacles to live my dream. It’s like the world is your oyster when you first start, and you are so excited to pursue your career. Nobody can tell you that it’s not going to happen and then life happens, and you lose confidence and you lose faith in yourself.
“This song is about finding yourself again and finding that fire that has always been in you, that actually never left. After I wrote the song and heard it played back, I was like, ‘This is the title of the album’ because that’s what I did. I found myself. I rediscovered who I am, by digging deep and not giving up on myself. I really hope that people are inspired by that, and I hope that they can continue to find that fire that’s in them.”
“All American” is a unifying anthem that celebrates what it truly means to be an American. “I was conscious when I wrote that song about how important it is for us to celebrate what makes this country so great and it is our differences,” she says. “I thought about that as I was writing because the songs that were getting national media attention were very polarizing gut-wrenching songs, and I thought it was really important to talk about these issues, but also let’s celebrate what makes us so great. I was like, ‘How do I bring people together? How do I do that in my own way?’ and I was like, ‘Oh what if I wrote a song called All American and I meant it as we’re all all American?’ It’s one of my favorite songs.”
Guyton is hoping songs like “Different” and “Love My Hair” will help bolster confidence among women. “When I was little, I didn’t have these amazing people like Lizzo, and other positive artists. Growing up we saw Victoria Secrets models. That was the epitome of beauty, the Cindy Crawfords, all of these beautiful stunning models and it was like, ‘But what about the rest of us?’ Just because we’re not a super model doesn’t mean that we’re not just as beautiful. I wanted to really write songs so people could have something that made them feel good about themselves. That was really, really important.”
The album closes with “Better Than You Left Me,” the first single Guyton released in 2015. “That song started everything for me,” she says. “When I first wrote it, it was about a relationship that I was in that I was really broken hearted over. Even when I moved on, the effects of that breakup still lingered for a while, but now that relationship means nothing to me. That guy isn’t even a thought in my head and this song went from being about a relationship with a man to a relationship with myself and a relationship with this industry. That’s why I put that song as the last song because that really truly is the closing of the chapter.”
When she looks back at the last decade, is there anything that she would have done differently? “Yes, I would have stood up for myself more and stood up for my music,” she says. “I was good at allowing people to have an opinion over my music and they weren’t having those same kind of opinions over other artists. I opened that door and that is something that I would change. I would have stood up for myself. I allowed a lot of people to make decisions for me because I wanted so bad to be accepted in this industry. I would have taken that back and just followed my gut, but everything happens for a reason. It doesn’t matter. The past is the past. It matters that I’m here and I’m where I’m supposed to be right now. However, I was on my way to this person back then. I was writing songs like this when I first started. People just weren’t ready for me yet.”
People not being ready no longer gives Guyton a moment’s pause as she pursues her dreams, and she’s re-writing the rules for success in country music. Even with all the critical acclaim, major press appearances and award show nominations, including a CMA nod for New Artist of the Year, Guyton has yet to gain traction at country radio. “They’re going to support what they are going to support. I just have to keep focusing and writing the best music that I can,” she says. “I would love to have that support, but it’s not the end all be all. There are so many avenues to get your music out. There’s only 30 slots. They are playing their superstars and it’s really hard for ‘new’ artists like me. I’ve made peace with it. I’m okay if that doesn’t happen. I hope I can show other women in country music. I know how difficult it is, so I try to tell them there’s another way. Create those opportunities for yourself. It is possible.”
Through all the ups and downs in her career, she’s still with Universal Music Group Nashville’s Capitol label. “They’ve never given up on me and therefore I won’t ever give up on them,” she says of her longtime label home, praising their support over the years.
As Guyton’s current chapter closes, she’s excitedly looking forward to the future. “I see myself going on my own tour. I want to also write a children’s book. I see myself really diving into film and television,” she says. “I see myself starting a record label and uplifting and signing other artists. I still see myself advocating for the underdogs in this industry. I will always be there to advocate for good people, and the people in this industry, for the most part, are good. I will stand behind them. That’s what is next for me.”