Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 2007, Musgraves appeared on the fifth season of theUSA Network singing competitionNashville Star, where she finished in seventh place.[2][3][4] In 2012, she signed with Mercury Nashville and released the hit single "Merry Go 'Round". Her major-label debut studio album,Same Trailer Different Park (2013), won theGrammy Award forBest Country Album at the56th Annual Grammy Awards.
Kacey Lee Musgraves was born August 21, 1988,[9][10][11][12] inSulphur Springs, Texas,[13] and grew up inGolden, Texas.[13] Her parents are Karen (née Abrams), an artist, and Craig Musgraves, owner of a small printing business, M-Prints Printing, Inc., inMineola, Texas. Kacey said that she was born six weeks prematurely and weighed only five pounds. She has a younger sister, Kelly Christine Sutton (née Musgraves), who is a photographer and at times has photographed some of Kacey's work including in theCotswolds in South West England.[14][15][16][17][18][19]
Kacey Musgraves started writing songs at age eight. Her first song, "Notice Me", was for her elementary-school graduation.[18] She first learned to play music on themandolin, then at age 12 started taking guitar lessons from a local musician named John DeFoore, which she later described as "one of the most important things that ever happened to me." DeFoore also taught guitar toMiranda Lambert andRiley Thompson.[18] Musgraves learned harmonica too.[20]
Musgraves' mother took her to local music festivals to sing western swing music.[21] She and co-student Alina Tatum formed country-music duo Texas Two Bits, toured through Texas, and released an independent album in 2000,[22] and earned an invitation to perform at PresidentGeorge W. Bush's "Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball".[23] Musgraves also wonyodeling national championships[20] and was selected to sing the national anthem at the2002 Winter Olympics.[24] At age 14, her family funded her first solo, self-released album.[18] She graduated fromMineola High School inMineola, Texas northwest ofTyler in 2006 and moved toAustin at 18.[18] In 2007, Musgraves competed on Season 5 of the singing competition reality TV seriesNashville Star, where she placed seventh.[25][26] To sustain herself she took various jobs, including performing asHannah Montana for children's birthday parties.[27]
Musgraves recorded three self-produced albums in 2002, 2003, and 2007. While living in Austin in 2008, she recorded two songs for independent record label Triple Pop. She collaborated with theJosh Abbott Band in 2010 on the song "Oh, Tonight".[28] Musgraves' two acoustic recordings for Triple Pop (covers ofOneRepublic's "Apologize" andMiley Cyrus' "See You Again") are available on a digital EP released in 2012.[29][30] "Apologize" (Acoustic Version) charted in the Billboard Hot Singles Chart at No. 23 on February 15, 2014, and racked up over 31,000,000 streams on Spotify. To commemorate the 10-year anniversary on March 30, 2018, Triple Pop released the "Acoustic Remixed" digital EP, which featured newly remixed and remastered versions of the same recordings.[31]
Musgraves joinedLady A on the European leg of their Own the Night Tour in 2012.[32] In 2012, she signed with Mercury Nashville and released her solo debut single "Merry Go 'Round". The song is included on her major-label debut albumSame Trailer Different Park, produced and co-written by Musgraves,Shane McAnally andLuke Laird and released on March 19, 2013.[33] The album debuted at number 2, selling 42,000 copies.[34] It produced additional hit singles in "Blowin' Smoke" and "Follow Your Arrow".Rolling Stone magazine listed "Follow Your Arrow" at number 39 of its list of 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time, and said that Musgraves was "one of the loudest symbols of young country musicians embracing progressive values."[35] "Undermine", a song co-written by Musgraves andTrent Dabbs, was featured in one of the first episodes in the first season of the television seriesNashville on October 17, 2012.[36][37] Musgraves co-wroteMiranda Lambert's 2013 single "Mama's Broken Heart" and sang harmony on the song.[38]
Musgraves was nominated for four awards at the 47th AnnualAcademy of Country Music Awards in 2012, including Female Vocalist of the Year.[citation needed] Musgraves was also nominated for four Grammy Awards at the56th Annual Grammy Awards, tyingTaylor Swift andLorde for the most nominations received by a woman that year. Those nominations includedBest New Artist,Best Country Album (Same Trailer Different Park), andBest Country Song for both "Mama's Broken Heart" and "Merry Go 'Round".[39] "Merry Go 'Round" won the Best Country Song Grammy award, andSame Trailer Different Park won in Best Country Album.[40]
Musgraves joinedKaty Perry on the North American leg of herPrismatic World Tour as well asWillie Nelson andAlison Krauss on select dates during their tour. Musgraves provided backing vocals for "Bourbon in Kentucky", the lead single onDierks Bentley's 2013 albumRiser.[41] In April 2014, Musgraves won the Academy of Country Music award for album of the year forSame Trailer Different Park.[42] In June 2014, she released a new song calledThe Trailer Song, which she debuted onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[43]Same Trailer Different Park was certified gold in August 2014 for selling over 500,000 copies.[44] Musgraves' single "Follow Your Arrow" was also certified gold, and "Merry Go Round" was certified platinum.[44]
Musgraves performing live at The Greek Theater inGriffith Park, Los Angeles, September 2016
Musgraves announced in late August 2014 that she would perform a 10-show headlining tour, titled Same Tour Different Trailer, which started on September 25 and ended on October 19.[45] In September 2014, she said that she had begun writing songs for her second major label album, and planned to write with Luke Laird and Shane MacAnally later in the year after her touring schedule wrapped.[46] "Biscuits", the lead single from the album, was released on March 16, 2015.
Pageant Material, Musgraves' second studio album, was released on June 23, 2015. To support the album, Musgraves performed onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (June 9, 2015),Late Night with Seth Meyers (June 10, 2015),Good Morning America (June 23, 2015),The View (June 24, 2015),Jimmy Kimmel Live! (September 14, 2015),The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (January 8, 2016), andThe Late Late Show with James Corden (April 6, 2016).[47][48][49][50]
Musgraves was featured on a remix ofMiguel's single "Waves", released on February 26, 2016.[51] On September 7, 2016, Musgraves announced the release of her firstChristmas album,A Very Kacey Christmas. The album, which features eight traditional and four original songs, was released on October 28, 2016, through Mercury Nashville.[5] In support of the album, Musgraves embarked on a Christmas-themed tour, complete with a strings section, an accordion, a bass, a saxophone, a clarinet, and backup singers.[52] In September 2016, Musgraves was selected as one of 30 country music artists to perform on "Forever Country", a mash-up track of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "On the Road Again", and "I Will Always Love You". The song celebrates 50 years of theCMA Awards[53] and secured Musgraves her first number-one country single.[54]
In 2017, Musgraves provided backing vocals on "All the Best", aJohn Prine cover, forZac Brown Band's albumWelcome Home.[55] Also in 2017, Musgraves was featured onOutlaw: Celebrating the Music ofWaylon Jennings. Originally recorded for TV, it later was released on CD and DVD. During the broadcast, Musgraves performed Jennings' song "The Wurlitzer Prize".[56] Musgraves appeared on the June 21, 2017, episode ofHollywood Medium with Tyler Henry to receive a psychic reading and connect with her grandmother, Barbara Taylor, to learn more details about her death in a house fire.[57] Musgraves has said that her song "This Town", from the albumPageant Material, is about her grandmother, and that her grandmother sings during the opening of the song.[58][59]
In October 2017, Musgraves posted a picture of herself onTwitter indicating she was in the studio writing new songs for her upcoming third studio album.[60] On December 12, 2017, Musgraves announced the title of her third studio albumGolden Hour throughEntertainment Weekly.[61] The songs "Butterflies" and "Space Cowboy" were released as the first singles from the album on February 23, 2018.[62] In March, Musgraves headlined the 2018C2C: Country to Country festival in London after playing the festival in 2016.[63]
Musgraves premiered "High Horse", the third song from the album, on March 22, 2018, on Zane Lowe'sBeats 1 Apple Radio show.[64] On March 29, 2018, she performed "Slow Burn" onThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[65]Golden Hour was released on March 30, 2018, on MCA Nashville.[66] On May 12, 2018, Musgraves was the musical guest onSaturday Night Live, performing "High Horse" and "Slow Burn". Through June and July, Musgraves was the opening act on the second North American leg ofHarry Styles: Live on Tour.[67] In September, Musgraves appeared on a rerecorded version of "There's No Gettin' Over Me" withRonnie Milsap for his 2019 duet album.[68] On October 2, 2018, she appeared onJimmy Kimmel Live! as the musical guest.[69] In October 2018, Musgraves embarked on the Oh, What a World Tour in support ofGolden Hour.[63] The tour began in Oslo, Norway on October 13. In February 2019,Golden Hour won Album of the Year at the61st Annual Grammy Awards. In the same month, Musgraves released "Rainbow" as the fifth single from the album.[70] In April, Musgraves featured on a newly recorded version of "Neon Moon" with Brooks and Dunn for their duet albumReboot.[71] She also made a cameo appearance as herself in the country-music drama filmWild Rose, released in April.[72] In May, Musgraves made herMet Gala debut as a Barbie doll and afterwards announced she had signed with modeling agency IMG.[73] In August, Musgraves appeared at San Francisco'sOutside Lands Music and Arts Festival, among her largest festival appearances to date.[74] In October 2019, Musgraves revealed that she would cover the song "All Is Found" forFrozen II.[75] The song plays over the end credits and is also included on thesoundtrack album.[76]
On November 4, 2019, Musgraves announcedThe Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show, a holiday special premiering through AmazonAmazon Prime Video on November 29.[77] On November 20, 2019, she debuted the song "Glittery" featuringTroye Sivan onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[78] The soundtrack to the show includes collaborations with other artists, including a cover of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" together with singerLana Del Rey.[79] The show also stars Kacey's grandmother Barbara (Nana) Musgraves.[80] In April 2020, she appeared in theTogether at Home virtual concert series and performed "Rainbow". That same month, she released anEarth Day inspired remix of "Oh, What a World".[81]
2020–present:Star-Crossed,Deeper Well and other projects
On May 29, 2020, Musgraves was featured onThe Flaming Lips single "Flowers of Neptune 6"[82] and also provided vocals on two additional tracks ("Watch the Lightbugs Glow" and "God and the Policeman") on their albumAmerican Head, which was released on September 11, 2020.[83] Musgraves also provides backing vocals on several tracks onRuston Kelly's second albumShape & Destroy, which was recorded before she and Kelly divorced. On December 10, 2020,Troye Sivan released a reworked version of his song "Easy" which features Musgraves and was produced byMark Ronson.[84] Musgraves' song "Oh, What A World" was used in the Paramount Network original Christmas movieDashing in December.[citation needed] She voiced Earwig's mother in the English dub of theStudio Ghibli film,Earwig and the Witch.[85]
In April 2021, Musgraves announced that her new album would be released later that year, in partnership withUMG Nashville andInterscope Records, her first release on the latter label.Golden Hour co-producersDaniel Tashian andIan Fitchuk will return to work on the project.[86] Musgraves began teasing her next album by releasing snippets of new music on her 33rd birthday.[87] On August 23, Musgraves revealed that her fifth album, now titledStar-Crossed, would be released on September 10, along with an accompanying 50-minute film which will be available for streaming exclusively onParamount+.[88] Musgraves also released the album's title track.[89]
In August 2021, Musgraves announced a 15-city Star-Crossed: Unveiled Tour for the albumStar-Crossed.[90] On October 2, she became the first ever musical guest to perform nude onSaturday Night Live.[91]
In February 2024, Musgraves announced her sixth studio album,Deeper Well, which was released on March 15, 2024.[97] She performed two songs from the album on the March 2 episode ofSaturday Night Live.[98] She was a guest and interviewed for two hours on March 18, 2024, onHoward Stern'sSiriusXM show; she performed three songs live with her band at Sirius'Nashville studio.[99] In April 2024, Musgraves collaborated with American alternative rock bandRainbow Kitten Surprise on the single "Overtime," from the band's new albumLove Hate Music Box. On August 10, 2024, Musgraves andSabrina Carpenter were in a duet singing a cover ofNancy Sinatra's "These Boots are Made for Walkin'" during Carpenter's headline set at theOutside Lands Festival in San Francisco.
Musgraves listsAlison Krauss as one of her career role models, stating, "I mean, how many Grammys does she have? She's just remained solid and true and great, and I respect that".[100]
Musgraves' favorite artist isJohn Prine and, in a tribute performance to him after his death in April 2020, she said that "my favorite quality of John's would be his sense of humor and it really influenced my songwriting a lot" and proclaimed "that man singlehandedly influenced me and my songwriting more than anyone else on this planet".[101][102] She listsLee Ann Womack as one of her childhood influences: "Lee Ann Womack is from near where I grew up inEast Texas, so I've always looked up to her."[103] Musgraves spoke of both Prine and Womack, "if I could sing it like Lee Ann would and say it like John would, then I feel like I've gotten somewhere".
Musgraves listed albums byGlen Campbell,Bobbie Gentry,Marty Robbins,Charley Pride,Merle Haggard,Roger Miller, andJim Croce as influences on her sophomore album[104] and an interview of hers withRolling Stone Country citedRay Price,Julie Miller, andLoretta Lynn as being other influences.[105] In aBillboard interview, Musgraves said that she is aDolly Parton fan, saying "Beauty, sex appeal, brains, wit, humor, beautiful songwriting, meaningful songwriting, no apologies for who she is, LGBTQ advocate long before it was even a thing or trendy or whatever... She's fearless and I admire her spirit a lot and she's very kind. She's very present when you're talking to her and I just really love her so much."[106]
Critics have said Musgraves is a soprano.[109][110][111] Her socially progressive lyrics draw attention in the generally conservative country music genre.[112]
Her music has tackled topics such asLGBT acceptance, safe sexual intercourse, recreational marijuana use, and questioning religious sentiment.[113] In an interview withThe Wall Street Journal, Musgraves talked about criticism she faced for her rebellious lyrics. "I think throwing the rebel card out there is really cheap," she said. "The things I'm singing about are not controversial to me, I don't push buttons to push buttons. I talk about things that have made an impression on me that a lot of people everywhere are going through."[114]
In 2014, in an interview with ABC Radio, Musgraves said her bandmate Misa Arriaga had been her boyfriend for several years after they first became friends and worked together.[115]
Musgraves metRuston Kelly in March 2016 at theBluebird Café in Nashville. In May 2016, they had a songwriting date, and they began dating shortly after. Musgraves said that the song "Butterflies" from her albumGolden Hour is about her courtship with Kelly; many other songs from the album were inspired by Kelly.[15][116] On December 24, 2016, Musgraves and Kelly were engaged.[117] They married on October 14, 2017, inTennessee.[118] The couple filed for divorce in July 2020[119] and it was finalized in September 2020.[120]
From 2021 to 2023, Musgraves was in a relationship with Cole Schafer, a poet.[121]
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