There are over 7,000 miles between Arlington, Texas and Changsha, China. The capital of Hunan has become a temporary home for Mickey Guyton. The North Texas native who is currently participating in “The Singer”, a Chinese singing competition show, that Guyton describes as “MasterChef” for singers.
“A lot of these musicians are from China. They have massive careers. There’s K-pop stars. They have fans waiting outside of the hotel right now. It’s pretty wild,” says Guyton. Although the Grammy nominated singer is no stranger to fame, she is relishing in her time outside of the United States. She gushes about a recent trip to Hong Kong. “Chile, I’m ready to pack my bags and move out there,” she says. And she is not alone. According to Forbes, more than 655,000 Black people live abroad. Tina Turner, Nina Simone, and Josephine Baker lived outside of the U.S. for periods of time, where they were able to experience a level of freedom not afforded to them in the states.
For Guyton, China gives her an opportunity to address Black fatigue, described as “the exhaustion born of the day-to-day small acts of aggression, or small acts of disrespect a Black person endures.” The singer is worn out by the never-ending conversations about inclusion in country music. After the release of Cowboy Carter, Guyton and her years-long advocacy work to create better conditions for Black women in country music were brought up in national and international coverage about the country music industry’s response to Beyoncé.
“I fought and went through a lot to try to make sure that inclusion was something that happened,” she says. “However, to see the intentional erasure of people since this happened. A lot of these artists have gotten dropped from their labels. People have been told that Black and country music is not marketable. All of those things are being said.”
She describes her current state of mind as sad. In the time since Beyoncé won Best Country Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, The Recording Academy announced the creation of a new country music category: Best Traditional Country Album. Critics online viewed the new category, as a response to Beyoncé’s historic win in the Best Country Album category, which has been promptly renamed to Best Contemporary Country Album.
Jason Aldean, one of country music’s biggest stars, performed at President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. Vice President J.D. Vance was in Nashville for a fundraising event during CMA Fest. The country music festival, which once had showcases dedicated to Black entertainers in country music, decreased their diverse programming this year.
Guyton is not surprised at country music’s recent moves. “ This is what country music is. What you see on Fox News. That’s what country music is to me. There’s a lot of great people in this industry, but the fans, the listeners. I think that it’s very clear that this is what they want, and it’s been very, very sad.”
She recalls an event that she did with Prophet, the CEO & President of Black Music Action Coalition, about country music. “ I tried to tell people, what is going to happen when Beyonce moves on to her next?” She acknowledges the increased attention and awareness towards the Black country singers featured on Cowboy Carter, like Willie Jones, Shaboozey, Brittney Spencer, Tanner Addell, Reyna Roberts, and Tiera Kennedy. But, there is no guarantee that Beyoncé fans will transform into country music fans.
“ What can we do to make sure that we support them and make sure that it shows these corporations that there is money to be made investing into Black art and be intentional with your consumerism?”
In a period of mass layoffs and company restructuring, the purchasing power of consumers is needed now more than ever. And Black artists who have historically mistreated the country music industry are in need of continuous support. Guyton is still invested in the fight, even though she is taking a moment to rest in China. “I’m trying to figure out what I can do and say to bring hope to a lot of people out there that love country music just as much as I do.”
She also understands that there are ways to be successful outside of the norms of the country music industry. “There’s hundreds of thousands of artists that are making a living without the support of radio or the genre of music that they are in.” Her time in China has piqued her interest in collaborating with K-pop artists. London is on her list of places to visit this year. Even though she is thousands of miles away from Nashville, she is hopeful about the future of the country music industry.
“Sometimes, you just need to be still for a second to know what it is that you are feeling.” Her feelings, which range from sadness to fatigue to hope, are appropriate for a singer who has been fighting and advocating for artists like her to be treated fairly and equitably by an unjust music industry. Her stay abroad is not permanent, she has plans to return back home to the United States. The same faith that inspired her to “Black Like Me”, her Grammy award nominated song that addressed the racial and gender inequalities she experiences as a Black woman in country music industry, is the same faith that is ushering back home to live another day.