On Sunday, February 13th, Mickey Guyton will ring in the 56th Super Bowl by singing the country’s National Anthem. She’ll also perform during the Super Bowl Music Fest on February 11th alongside stars like Miley Cyrus, Green Day and Halsey.
But who is the country/R&B artist with this one-way ticket to household name status? Before Guyton sings the Star-Spangled Banner, familiarize yourself with some highlights that prove she’s a star herself.
Here are five things to know.
1. The country artist made her debut in 2015.
Guyton shared her debut single, “Better Than You Left Me,” in January 2015. The breezy empowerment anthem became a runaway country hit, reaching 34 on the US Country Airplay chart and nabbed her nomination for an Academy of Country Music Award. But despite her moderate success, she found that the mainstream country world wasn’t as welcoming to her as she might’ve hoped.
2. Guyton’s single “Black Like Me” propelled her to the mainstream.
In 2020, Guyton’s career found a major resurgence with the release of “Black Like Me,” inspired by her experience as a Black woman in America. Released in close tandem with the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement, the twangy ballad was largely ignored by major country radio stations, but it eventually found its way to an audience that appreciated that it challenged the typical white-male country hits. It earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Performance.
