Kacey Musgraves, Hillary Scott, Kelly Clarkson, Brett Eldredge, and Jake Owen- some of the biggest names in country music today and all of whom were blown away by Brandy Clark’s GRAMMY Awards performance of ‘Hold My Hand’ on February 8th. And rightfully so. The Washington state native not only impressed some of her country music colleagues, but the live audience and millions of people watching at home. She showed country music and non-country music fans alike how talented she is in one performance as her streaming and downloads on streaming services skyrocketed after the awards, and to her that made her feel like she was doing something right, as she recently told us on a break from Alan Jackson’s Keepin’ It Country tour.
Thank God for @TheBrandyClark.
— Jake Owen (@jakeowen) February 9, 2015
Damnnnn @TheBrandyClark and Dwight…I got serious goose bumples! Awesome!
— Brett Eldredge (@bretteldredge) February 9, 2015
Going into the GRAMMYs, that performance was truly what Brandy Clark was most concerned about. Yes, Brandy was also nominated for two GRAMMY Awards, but to her the win was that performance- as she tells us that she was so pre-occupied with the performance more than anything. Brandy goes on to say, “It’s bigger for me than if I had won a GRAMMY and not performed. Even though a GRAMMY would be nice to sit on my mantel but I’ve always felt that my music connected and just needed to be heard. And you can feel that but you really don’t know that until it happens. So it makes me feel like I was right, this does connect with people. That’s made me happier to see that I had the biggest increases in streaming and sales and that felt incredible.” And for that GRAMMYs performance, Brandy brought on her friend and former tourmate, from Eric Church’s The Outsiders tour, Dwight Yoakam. “To have him sing with me was a huge jewel in my crown. To me, he’s a legend. He’s just cool. He brings cool to traditional country. He’s real. His songs are so good. His voice is so good. I’ve been a huge fan of his for years. He makes country music cool because it is. He’s just a genius.”
As previously mentioned, Brandy was nominated for two GRAMMYs. One for Best New Artist, which was ultimately won by pop sensation Sam Smith, and the other for Best Country Album, which was ultimately won by Miranda Lambert. “Honestly, just being nominated was a win. I was so pre-occupied with the performance that I had not even thought about the awards. I definitely didn’t think I had any chance in the Best New Artist category. I don’t think anybody could have touched Sam Smith and all that he has done this year. I was just really amazed to be in the same breath as some of those artists, so I didn’t give it any thought. Of course there was this hopeful part of me that thought maybe I could win Best Country Album but I didn’t have any time to think about it. Which was a blessing. And I was as happy as could be for Miranda winning because she made a great record but any of those five albums in the category deserved to win. So that was another astounding group to be in.”
In addition to the two GRAMMYs nominations, Brandy has also been nominated for an ACM Award for Female Vocalist of the Year. And this comes after winning the CMA Award in 2014 for Song of the Year, which was awarded to her and Shane McAnally for co-writing Kacey Musgraves’ single, ‘Follow Your Arrow.’ Despite all this recognition, Brandy does not feel like she has ‘made it,’ but it makes her feel like she is in the game. But that is the type of person that Brandy Clark is. She has that personality where she will always be reaching for something a little more and in that sense she hopes that she is just getting started. But if there is one award the rising country star most covets it would be a GRAMMY for Best Country Album. Brandy says, “I would love to win any of them for an album. I want to be an album artist. I want to make albums that are like great novels that people will want to re-listen to. Would love to win any of them but especially a GRAMMY for Country Album.”
After spending much of 2014 on the road with Eric Church, and now on the road with Alan Jackson, whom she calls a ‘legend and a true gentleman,’ Brandy now faces the daunting challenge of creating a sophomore album that will do itself justice after a successful debut album. “I think it’s just a challenge in that you have your whole life to make that first album. And luckily for me I’ve had a lot of time writing songs so I have a really big catalog. But I am very proud of the first record. I don’t want to just try to make a copy of that. I want to make something different but something that stays true to me as a songwriter, and as a singer, and an artist . So I have fears going into that. But I had fears going into the first one. I think it’s a healthy fear in that I just want it to be great. I want to put together the best 10-12 best songs possible for the record. And I have had a good amount of time in between records so I have had time to write. And there are things that I wrote prior to the first record that weren’t on it, because they just didn’t fit, that I think will fit this time. I just hope I can make something that moves me. Because if it doesn’t move me, it’s not going to move anyone else.“
As Brandy Clark prepares for her next album and the next steps in her career, she is in a great place and time to be inspired. Brandy has the opportunity to sit side stage and watch a country legend play for thousands of fans on a nightly basis. But in just speaking with Brandy, it is apparent that with her refreshing and positive outlook, she is just starting on a successful career in the country music industry. She doesn’t necessarily need a legend to guide her, because Brandy Clark could be one herself one day.
Make sure you stay up to date with Brandy Clark by following her on Twitter, Facebook, and her official website.