Breland on Nashville's Acceptance of Post Malone Over Beyoncé

The 59th CMA Awards producers opted to close the ceremony with a standout, cross-genre performance: Dallas rapper BigXthaPlug joined forces with country star Luke Combs to perform their track Pray Hard. This collaboration highlighted the mainstream country communitys acceptance of BigXthaPlug, who released his collaborative album I Hope Youre Happy in August featuring country artists.

Breland, the singer, songwriter, and producer known for hits like My Truck and Keith Urbans Out the Cage, shared insights on why some non-country artists are embraced by Nashville while others, like Beyonc, are not.

Country music is open to certain artists if they work alongside trusted local musicians, Breland explained on the Nashville Now podcast. BigXthaPlug found success with early collaborations and then went all-in with a full album of cross-genre projects, and it paid off.

By contrast, Beyoncs Cowboy Carter, last years Grammy-winning Album of the Year and Best Country Album, took a different approach. She brought in artists people werent as familiar with and didnt follow the typical local steps, Breland said. So Nashville institutions naturally didnt embrace her the same way they did Post Malone or BigXthaPlug.

Breland noted that the reception could have been different if Beyonc had integrated more local elements. If she had recorded in town, collaborated with Nashville writers and producers, performed at CMA Fest, and debuted at the Grand Ole Opry, the reaction might have been warmer, he said. But she chose to do it her own way, which I respect.

In the same podcast episode, Breland also discussed the impact of AI on music, the nuances of playing the game in Nashville, and his views on Keith Urban performing at a private Mar-a-Lago concert attended by former President Trump.

Author: Ethan Caldwell