Country singer Mickey Guyton is getting more acclaim after her Grammy nomination for “Black Like Me” from her third album Bridges released in 2020. Now’s she scored another honor – becoming the first Black woman to host the Academy of Country Music Awards.
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Guyton and country star Keith Urban are co-hosting the annual country music awards show which airs on CBS on April 18.
“What is my life right now?! Thank you @keithurban and I cannot wait to join you as co-host of the @acmawards on April 18th,” Guton wrote as a caption for the video announcing the pairing.
Guyton has been steadily building her reputation since her 2014 release Unbreakable. She performed “Black Like Me” on Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, though she didn’t win in her category. Guyton, who welcomed son Grayson with husband Grant Savoy in February, has talked in the past about her struggles in the country music industry.
“My professional journey has been very difficult,” Guyton told Grammy.com. “It was hard trying to find my footing in a predominately white male-dominated industry. I had to really become comfortable with who I am and find my own voice and way in an industry that seemed to have a specific path that you had to follow in order to make it.”
Guyton says that she’s happy and grateful to make history at the Academy of Country Music Awards especially after gracing its stage in 2020 with her co-host.
“Last year I had the opportunity to perform at the Academy of Country Music Awards with someone I long admired, Keith Urban, and this year I am incredibly excited to share hosting duties with him,” Guyton told People. “As I’ve said before ‘if you can see it, you can be it,’ and it’s such an honor to step onto the ACM stage as the first-ever Black woman to host the show. Over the years, the Academy of Country Music has always been a home for me through opportunities both onstage and throughout their work on diversity and inclusion. This is a moment of great significance for me and I am so thrilled to share it with all the fans.”
As reported by theGrio, Guyton’s career has been on the upswing, especially since the racial reckoning last summer that forced many industries outside and inside of entertainment to take a closer look at themselves. Guyton has been honest about her experiences, embracing her background even when others didn’t.
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Guyton shared some insight in her recent NYT interview, saying “These white men at these record labels, they’re not going to do it for us. These white men at these radio stations, they’re not going to do it for us. But Black women will do it for each other, and that is literally the only way.”
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