Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

singer. She has won six

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

, seven

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony ...

, and three

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academ ...

. Musgraves self-released three solo albums and one as Texas Two Bits, before appearing on the fifth season of the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

's singing competition '' Nashville Star'' in 2007, where she placed seventh. Musgraves also released a Christmas-themed album, ''

A Very Kacey Christmas ''A Very Kacey Christmas'' is a third studio album and first Christmas album by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves, released on October 28, 2016, through Mercury Nashville. Overall, it is Musgraves' sixth album, her third studio albu ...

,'' in 2016. Her fourth studio album '' Golden Hour'' (2018) was released to widespread critical acclaim and won all four of its nominated Grammy Award categories, including

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

and Best Country Album. The album's first two singles, " Space Cowboy" and "

Butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

", won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song and

Best Country Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is design ...

respectively. Musgraves' fifth studio album, ''

Star-Crossed "Star-crossed" or "star-crossed lovers" is a phrase describing a pair of lovers who, for some external reason, cannot be together. The term also has other meanings, but originally means that the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or ...

'', was released in September 2021.

Early life

Kacey Lee Musgraves was born August 21, 1988, in

Golden, Texas Golden is an unincorporated community in Wood County, Texas, at the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 1799 and 779 off U.S. Highway 69 approximately four miles northwest of the city of Mineola, in the southwestern section of Wood County. It's e ...

, to Craig and Karen (née Abrams) Musgraves. Craig is the owner of a small printing business, M-Prints Printing, Inc., in Mineola, Texas, and Karen Musgraves is an artist. Musgraves has stated that she was born six weeks prematurely and weighed only five pounds. Musgraves has one younger sister, Kelly Christine Sutton (née Musgraves), who is a photographer. Musgraves began songwriting at the age of eight, when she wrote a song called "Notice Me" for her elementary school graduation. She first learned to play music on the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of ...

, 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." Musgraves' mother took her to local music festivals to sing western swing music. Along with co-student Alina Tatum, she was part of children country music duo Texas Two Bits, which toured through Texas and released an independent album in 2000, and earned an invitation to perform at President George W. Bush's "Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball". At age 14, her family funded her first solo, self-released album. She graduated from Mineola High School in 2006, and moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, at the age of 18. In 2007, Musgraves competed on Season 5 of the singing competition reality TV series '' Nashville Star'', where she placed seventh.

Career

2008–2014: Debut and beginnings

Musgraves was discovered professionally in 2008 while living in Austin by producer Monte Robison for his independent record label, Triple Pop. She collaborated with the Josh Abbott Band in 2010 on the song "Oh, Tonight". Musgraves' two acoustic recordings for Triple Pop (covers of

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown (musician), Drew Bro ...

's " Apologize" and

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

' " See You Again") are available on a digital EP released in 2012. "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. Musgraves joined Lady A on the European leg of their Own the Night Tour in 2012. In 2012, she signed with Mercury Nashville and released her solo debut single "

Merry Go 'Round "Merry Go 'Round" is the debut single by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves. It was released in September 2012 as the lead single from her debut album '' Same Trailer Different Park''. Musgraves co-wrote and co-produced the song with Sh ...

". The song is included on her major-label debut album ''

Same Trailer Different Park ''Same Trailer Different Park'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves, released on March 19, 2013, through Mercury Nashville. Musgraves co-wrote all 12 tracks and co-produced the album with Luke Laird and Sh ...

'', produced and co-written by Musgraves,

Shane McAnally Shane McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999, McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs, including the No. 31 " Are Y ...

and Luke Laird and released on March 19, 2013. The album debuted at number 2, selling 42,000 copies. 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." "Undermine", a song co-written by Musgraves and Trent Dabbs, was featured in one of the first episodes in the first season of the television series ''

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

'' on October 17, 2012. Musgraves co-wrote Miranda Lambert's 2013 single " Mama's Broken Heart" and sang harmony on the song. Musgraves was nominated for four awards at the 47th Annual

in 2012, including Female Vocalist of the Year. Musgraves was also nominated for four Grammy Awards at the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid comp ...

, tying

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

and

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and i ...

for the most nominations received by a woman that year. Those nominations included

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

, Best Country Album (''Same Trailer Different Park''), and Best Country Song for both "Mama's Broken Heart" and "Merry Go 'Round". "Merry Go 'Round" won the Best Country Song Grammy award, and ''Same Trailer Different Park'' won in Best Country Album. Musgraves joined

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...

on the North American leg of her Prismatic World Tour as well as

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

and

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass- country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed wit ...

on select dates during their tour. Musgraves provided backing vocals for " Bourbon in Kentucky", the lead single on Dierks Bentley's 2013 album '' Riser''. In April 2014, Musgraves won the Academy of Country Music award for album of the year for ''Same Trailer Different Park.'' In June 2014, she released a new song called ''The Trailer Song'', which she debuted on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon''. ''Same Trailer Different Park'' was certified gold in August 2014 for selling over 500,000 copies. Musgraves' single "Follow Your Arrow" was also certified gold, and "Merry Go Round" was certified platinum.

2015–2017: Subsequent releases

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. In September 2014, Musgraves said that she had begun writing songs for her second major label album, and planned to work with Luke Laird and Shane MacAnally later in the year after her touring schedule finished. "

Biscuits A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...

", the lead single from the album, was released on March 16, 2015. ''

Pageant Material ''Pageant Material'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves, released June 23, 2015, through Universal Music Group Nashville, Mercury Nashville. Musgraves co-wrote all 13 tracks and co-produced the album with L ...

'', Musgraves' second studio album, was released on June 23, 2015. To support the album, Musgraves performed on ''The 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), and ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (April 6, 2016). Musgraves was featured on a remix of Miguel's single "Waves", released on February 26, 2016. On September 7, 2016, Musgraves announced the release of her first Christmas album, ''

''. The album, which features eight traditional and four original songs, was released on October 28, 2016, through Mercury Nashville. 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. 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 On the Road Again may refer to: Albums * ''On the Road Again'', a 1976 D. J. Rogers album * ''On the Road Again'', a 1978 Rockets album * ''On the Road Again'', a 1979 Roy Wood album * ''On the Road Again'', a 1989 compilation album by Canned ...

", and "

I Will Always Love You "I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, ...

". The song celebrates 50 years of the

CMA Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony ...

and secured Musgraves her first number-one country single. In 2017, Musgraves provided backing vocals on "All the Best", a John Prine cover, for

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini ( fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukul ...

's album ''Welcome Home''. Also in 2017, Musgraves was featured on ''Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

''. Originally recorded for TV, it later was released on CD and DVD. During the broadcast, Musgraves performed Jennings' song " The Wurlitzer Prize". Musgraves appeared on the June 21, 2017, episode of ''Hollywood 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. Musgraves has said that her song "This Town", from the album ''Pageant Material'', is about her grandmother, and that her voice appears in the opening of the song.

2018–2020: Breakthrough

In October 2017, Musgraves posted a picture of herself on Twitter indicating she was in the studio writing new songs for her upcoming third studio album. On December 12, 2017, Musgraves announced the title of her third studio album '' Golden Hour'' through ''Entertainment Weekly''. The songs "Butterflies" and "Space Cowboy" were released as the first singles from the album on February 23, 2018. In March, Musgraves headlined the 2018 C2C: Country to Country festival in London after playing the festival in 2016. Musgraves premiered "High Horse", the third song from the album, on March 22, 2018, on Zane Lowe's ''Beats 1'' Apple Radio show. On March 29, 2018, she performed "Slow Burn" on ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert''. ''Golden Hour'' was released on March 30, 2018, on MCA Nashville. On May 12, 2018, Musgraves was the musical guest on ''Saturday Night Live'', performing "High Horse" and "Slow Burn". Through June and July, Musgraves was the opening act on the second North American leg of Harry Styles: Live on Tour. In September, Musgraves appeared on a rerecorded version of " There's No Gettin' Over Me" with

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...

for his 2019 duet album. On October 2, 2018, she appeared on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' as the musical guest. In October 2018, Musgraves embarked on the "Oh, What a World Tour" in support of ''Golden Hour''. The tour began in Oslo, Norway on October 13. In February 2019, ''Golden Hour'' won Album of the Year at the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...

. The same month, Musgraves released "Rainbow" as the fifth single from the album. In April, Musgraves featured on a newly recorded version of " Neon Moon" with Brooks and Dunn for their duet album '' Reboot''. She also made a cameo appearance as herself in the country-music drama film '' Wild Rose'', released in April. In May, Musgraves made her Met Gala debut as a Barbie doll and afterwards announced she had signed with modeling agency IMG. In August, Musgraves appeared at San Francisco's

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival The Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is a music festival held annually in San Francisco, California, at Golden Gate Park. The festival is produced by Another Planet Entertainment, Superfly Presents, and Starr Hill Presents. It is the l ...

, among her largest festival appearances to date. In October 2019, Musgraves revealed that she would cover the song "All Is Found" for ''

Frozen II ''Frozen 2'' (stylized as ''Frozen II'') is a 2019 American computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 58th animated film produced by the studi ...

''. The song plays over the end credits and is also included on the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' ...

On November 4, 2019, Musgraves announced ''The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show'', a holiday special premiering through Amazon

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

on November 29. On November 20, 2019, she debuted the song "Glittery" featuring

Troye Sivan Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter, actor and YouTuber. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia in 2013 and released his th ...

on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.'' The soundtrack to the show includes collaborations with other artists, including a cover of " I'll Be Home for Christmas" together with singer

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...

. The show also stars Kacey's grandmother Barbara (Nana) Musgraves. In April 2020, she appeared in the ''

Together at Home ''One World: Together at Home'' (also known as ''Together at Home'') is a benefit concert that was organized by Global Citizen of New York City and curated by singer Lady Gaga in support of the World Health Organization. The special was intended t ...

'' virtual concert series and performed "Rainbow". That same month, she released an

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

inspired remix of "Oh, What a World".

2020–present: ''Star-Crossed'' and other projects

On May 29, 2020, Musgraves was featured on

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (k ...

single "Flowers of Neptune 6" and also provided vocals on two additional tracks ("Watch the Lightbugs Glow" and "God and the Policeman") on their album American Head, which was released on September 11, 2020. Musgraves also provides backing vocals on several tracks on

Ruston Kelly Ruston Samuel Kelly (born July 31, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter. After landing a publishing deal with BMG Nashville in 2013, he got his first cut with Tim McGraw's song "Nashville Without You", which appeared on McGraw's album '' Two L ...

's second album '' Shape & Destroy'', which was recorded before she and Kelly divorced. On December 10, 2020,

released a reworked version of his song " Easy" which features Musgraves and was produced by

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, R ...

. Musgraves' song "Oh, What A World" was used in the Paramount Network original Christmas movie '' Dashing in December''. She voiced Earwig's mother in the English dub of the

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

film, ''

Earwig and the Witch is a 2020 Japanese computer-animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki and with a screenplay by Keiko Niwa and Emi Gunji. It is based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. The original voice cast includes Shinobu Terajima, ...

''. In April 2021, Musgraves announced that their new album would be out which was set to be released later on in the year. It will be released in partnership with UMG Nashville and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner ...

, her first release on the later label. ''Golden Hour'' co-producers Daniel Tashian and

Ian Fitchuk Ian Fitchuk (born February 13, 1982) is a songwriter, music producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Early life Fitchuk was born and raised in Chicago by parents who are both accomplished classical musicians and educators. He cites Pau ...

will return to work on the project. Musgraves began teasing her next album by releasing snippets of new music on her 33rd birthday. On August 23, Musgraves revealed that her fifth album, now titled ''

'', would be released on September 10, along with an accompanying 50-minute film which will be available for streaming exclusively on

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

. Musgraves also released the album's title track. In August 2021, Musgraves announced a 15-city star-crossed: unveiled tour for the album ''Star-Crossed''. On October 2, Musgraves became the first ever musical guest to perform nude on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

''.

Artistry

Influences

Musgraves lists

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". Musgraves' favorite artist is John Prine and, in a tribute performance to him following his death in 2020, she stated 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". Musgraves also lists Lee Ann Womack as one of her childhood influences: "Lee Ann Womack is from near where I grew up in East Texas, so I've always looked up to her." Speaking of both Prine and Womack, Musgraves stated, "if I could sing it like Lee Ann would and say it like John would, then I feel like I've gotten somewhere". Of her sophomore album, Musgraves listed albums by

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

, Bobbie Gentry,

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

, Charley Pride,

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country and pop hits " King of the Road", " Dang Me", and "Eng ...

, and Jim Croce as influences and an interview with ''Rolling Stone Country'' cited Ray Price,

Julie Miller Julie Anne Miller (born Julie Griffin, July 12, 1956) is a songwriter, singer, and recording artist living in Nashville, Tennessee. She married Buddy Miller in 1981. They sing and play on each other's solo projects and have recorded three duet ...

, and Loretta Lynn. In a ''Billboard'' interview, Musgraves said that she is a

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album ...

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." Noncountry artists whom Musgraves has mentioned as influences include

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Selena Selena Quintanilla Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995), known mononymously as Selena, was an American Tejano singer. Called the " Queen of Tejano music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mex ...

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams lef ...

Cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...

, Imogen Heap,

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

, Sade, and

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical ...

Lyrical themes and style

Musgraves is known for her progressive lyrics in the conservative country music genre. Her music has tackled controversial topics such as

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

acceptance, safe sexual intercourse, recreational marijuana use, and questioning religious sentiment. In an interview with the ''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."

Personal life

In 2014, in an interview with ABC Radio, Musgraves said she had been in a relationship with her bandmate Misa Arriaga for several years after becoming friends first. Musgraves met

at the

Bluebird Café The Bluebird Café is a 90-seat music club in Nashville, Tennessee that opened in 1982. The club features acoustic music performed by both established singer-songwriters, and cover artists. The Bluebird receives over 70,000 visitors annually. Th ...

in Nashville. In May 2016, they had a songwriting date, and they began dating shortly after. Musgraves stated that the song "Butterflies" from her album ''Golden Hour'' is about her courtship with Kelly. On December 24, 2016, Musgraves became engaged to Kelly. They married on October 14, 2017, in Tennessee. The couple filed for divorce in July 2020, which was finalized in September 2020.

Discography

* ''

'' (2013) * ''

'' (2015) * ''

'' (2016) * '' Golden Hour'' (2018) * ''

'' (2021)

Tours

;Headlining * Same Trailer Different Tour *The Kacey Musgraves Country & Western Rhinestone Revue *A Very Kacey Christmas Tour *Oh, What a World: Tour (2018–2019) * Oh, What a World: Tour II (2019) * Star-Crossed: Unveiled (2022) ;Opening act *50th Anniversary Tour *2012 Spring Tour *Own the Night Tour *Tornado Tour * No Shoes Nation Tour *

Take Me Downtown Tour Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...

*Together in Concert * Prismatic World Tour *Strait to Vegas * The Breakers Tour * Harry Styles: Live on Tour

Awards and honours

Academy of Country Music Awards

The

is an annual country music awards show, the first ever created, established in 1966. Musgraves has won four times.

American Music Awards

The

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...

is an annual major American music award show by the American Broadcasting Company, presented since 1973.

Americana Music Honors & Awards

The Americana Music Honors & Awards were established by the

Americana Music Association The Americana Music Association is a not-for-profit trade organization advocating for American Roots Music around the world. It is a network for Americana artists, radio stations, record labels, publishers, and others with the goal of develo ...

to celebrate the best releases in Americana music

Country Music Association Awards

The

is an annual country music awards show, established in 1967. Musgraves has won seven awards.

CMT Music Awards

The

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes ...

is an annual ceremony dedicated exclusively to honor country music videos. It was established in 1967.

Grammy Awards

The

are presented annually by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It has been presented since 1958. Musgraves has been nominated eleven times and won six awards.

Other awards

References

External links

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Interview with Kacey Musgraves
on Ben Sorensen's REAL Country {{DEFAULTSORT:Musgraves, Kacey 1988 births Living people American acoustic guitarists American country guitarists American country singer-songwriters American women guitarists American women country singers Country pop musicians Grammy Award winners Mercury Records artists Singer-songwriters from Texas Interscope Records artists Nashville Star contestants People from Wood County, Texas LGBT rights activists from the United States Country musicians from Texas 21st-century American singers Guitarists from Texas People from Mineola, Texas 21st-century American women singers