Mickey Guyton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mickey Guyton
Guyton performing during the launch of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative in 2023
Born	Candace Mycale Guyton (1983-06-17) June 17, 1983 (age 42) Arlington, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Singer songwriter
Years active	2011–present
Spouse(s)	Grant Savoy (m. 2017)
Children	1
Musical career
Genres	Country
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	Capitol Nashville

Candace Mycale "Mickey" Guyton (born June 17, 1983) is a talented American country music artist. She grew up in Texas and loved many kinds of music from a young age. Her songs mix sounds from modern country, pop, and R&B music.

Mickey moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2011. There, she signed a record deal with Capitol Records Nashville. In 2015, her first collection of songs, called an extended play (EP), Unbreakable, was released. Later that year, her first single, "Better Than You Left Me," came out. This song helped her get a nomination for an Academy of Country Music Awards.

In 2020, Mickey released the powerful song "Black Like Me." This song shared her experiences as a Black woman in country music. It brought her a lot of attention and her first nomination at the Grammy Awards. She was the first Black woman to be nominated in the Best Country Solo Performance category. Her third EP, Bridges, followed later that year. She also teamed up with Dean Brody on the song "Boys." This made her the first Black woman to have a number one hit on the Canada Country chart. Her first full album, Remember Her Name, was released in 2021.

Mickey Guyton's Early Life & Music Dreams

Mickey Guyton was born in Arlington, Texas, on June 17, 1983. She was the second of four children. Her family moved around Texas because of her father's job as an engineer. Mickey went to public school at first, but her family moved her to a private school due to unfair treatment she faced. Even then, she continued to experience racism.

Mickey started singing when she was very young, around five years old. She often sang in church choirs, including at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Arlington. She was inspired to become a singer after seeing LeAnn Rimes perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a Texas Rangers baseball game.

After high school, Mickey moved to Los Angeles, California, to follow her dream of singing country music. She studied business at Santa Monica College. She also worked many different jobs to support herself, including singing backup vocals. She even appeared briefly in Nick Cannon's movie Underclassman. Mickey also recorded demo songs and auditioned for American Idol. She made it far in the competition but was eliminated just before the live shows.

Mickey Guyton's Music Career

Starting Out in Country Music (2011–2015)

After moving to Los Angeles, Mickey Guyton met a music producer named Julian Raymond. He was impressed by her voice and introduced her to important people in the country music world, Gary Borman and Steve Moir. These men had helped famous country artists like Faith Hill and Keith Urban.

These meetings led Mickey to move to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2011. Nashville is known as the home of country music. She quickly became part of the city's songwriting community. In the same year, Mickey got to audition for Mike Dungan, who was in charge of UMG Nashville. She sang a song by Patty Loveless and was signed to Capitol Records Nashville. This made her the only Black female artist signed to a major country music label at the time. One of her first big performances after signing was at the White House. She sang alongside famous artists like Kris Kristofferson and James Taylor.

Jennifer Hanson was one of the co-writers of Guyton's debut single "Better Than You Left Me".

As Mickey worked on her music, some people in the industry told her she needed to stick to traditional country sounds. They worried listeners might not believe her if her songs sounded too much like R&B. One radio DJ even asked her to write only "fluffy" and "happy" songs. These pressures caused delays in her music releases for several years. In 2014, Capitol Nashville released her first acoustic EP, Unbreakable. This EP reached number 14 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.

In 2015, Capitol released Mickey's first official single, "Better Than You Left Me." Mickey helped write the song with Jennifer Hanson, Jen Schott, and Nathan Chapman. The song quickly gained attention on country radio. The Guardian newspaper noted its early success, especially since Mickey was a Black woman in a genre mostly made up of white men. By July 2015, the song reached number 34 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Mickey later said the song didn't climb higher because radio stations didn't want to play two slow songs by women at the same time. In May 2015, her second self-titled EP was released. It reached number 17 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Critics praised her vocals and the mix of different music styles. Mickey also joined Brad Paisley's Crushin' It World Tour in the summer of 2015.

New Music & "Black Like Me" (2016–2020)

In 2016, Mickey Guyton was nominated for New Female Vocalist of the Year at the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards. That year, she released her next single, "Heartbreak Song," which reached number 45 on the Country Airplay chart. She continued to release other singles like "Hold On" and "Sister," and a cover of Patsy Cline's "Crazy." These songs had limited success. Mickey later shared that she was trying too hard to make music that radio stations wanted, instead of following her own musical feelings. She then decided to change her musical direction.

Mickey chose to write songs that reflected her experiences as a Black woman. In early 2020, she released "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?" This was followed by the powerful song "Black Like Me." The song, inspired by a book of the same name, described her experiences with racial unfairness. Even though country radio largely ignored it, the song became very popular on social media and streaming services. Spotify added "Black Like Me" to their "Hot Country Playlist." Critics also praised the song. John Blake of CNN called it a song that made listeners think about a different point of view. Jewly Hight of NPR liked how Mickey blended country, gospel, and pop singing styles. The song was later nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. This Grammy nomination made Mickey the first Black female artist to be nominated in a country music category.

In 2020, Mickey Guyton made history again by becoming the first Black female artist to perform at the Academy of Country Music awards. Capitol then released her third EP, Bridges (2020). This EP included her two previous singles and her third 2020 single, "Heaven Down Here." Four of its six songs were very personal, according to Taste of Country. Bridges reached number 23 on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart in September 2020. In November 2020, she sang a duet with Canadian country singer Dean Brody called "Boys." This single reached number one on the Canada Country singles chart, giving Mickey her first number one hit and making her the first Black woman to top that chart.

Recent Achievements (2021–2024)

In 2021, Mickey Guyton became the first Black woman to co-host the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Mickey announced that her first full studio album would be called Remember Her Name. She said the album looked back at her ten years living in Nashville. The songs directly talked about her experiences with sexism and racism. The album was released in September 2021. It included "Black Like Me," a new version of "Better Than You Left Me," and a cover of Beyoncé's "If I Were a Boy." AllMusic praised the album, saying it felt real and genuine.

In February 2022, Mickey Guyton performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVI. In 2023, she was a coach and judge on the TV show My Kind of Country. Mickey also shared that she was working on new music with Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard. Their first song together was "Somethin' Bout You" in 2022. In 2023, Mickey announced her next radio single, "Nothing Compares to You." This song was written by Hubbard and featured vocals from Kane Brown.

Mickey Guyton performed her song "All American" at the 2024 Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2024.

Capitol Records released Mickey Guyton's second studio album, House on Fire, in September 2024. The album has twelve songs, all co-written by Mickey. It also includes a duet with Kane Brown. Before the album came out, she released the title track and "My Side of the Country" as preview singles.

Mickey Guyton's Musical Style & Inspirations

Mickey Guyton's music is based in country music, but it also includes elements from other styles. When describing her 2020 music, NPR noted a mix of country, pop, gospel, R&B, and hip hop. Mike Collar of Allmusic said Mickey has "a warm, textured voice" that sounds like both classic country and modern pop. Mickey herself explained that her music has pop elements but is mostly country.

She was inspired by early influences like Dolly Parton, whom she met in 2017. Mickey admired how Dolly Parton, even from a very traditional time, had such modern views. Dolly taught people to love themselves no matter what. Mickey was also greatly influenced by LeAnn Rimes and her 1996 album Blue. Rimes' music helped Mickey discover other female country singers, including Patsy Cline, Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire, and Martina McBride. She loved singers with powerful voices. Mickey also looks up to BeBe & CeCe Winans and Whitney Houston as musical inspirations.

Mickey Guyton's Personal Life

Mickey Guyton started dating lawyer Grant Savoy in 2010. They announced their engagement in November 2016. In June 2017, they got married in Kauai, Hawaii, with 23 friends and family members. In August 2020, Mickey announced she was expecting their first child. In February 2021, she gave birth to a son named Grayson.

Mickey Guyton's Music Albums

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

Mickey Guyton's Film & TV Appearances

Mickey Guyton's Awards & Nominations

Images for kids

• 

  Mickey Guyton performing during the launch of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative in 2023