Eric Church is excited that Kacey Musgraves has joined the party. As is the Country Music Association, who had a curve ball thrown at them last year when Kelly Clarkson was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year. Not that Kelly isn't an exceptional talent, but the nod showed an obvious lack of great (not to be confused with good) female acts in the format.
“The main thing I like about Kacey is it's very musical.
There’s so many other things that go on in entertainment from television
to stuff – whether it be what you look like or how you act, all these
things. I love stuff that’s musical, regardless of anything else. And I
feel like she’s somebody – she’s played a lot of bars, a lot of clubs,
she’s done some stuff in Texas, she’s played those dives. I like what
she listens to. I like her taste in music. I heard a song of hers – ‘My
Idea of Heaven is to Burn One With John Prine,’ and I was sold when I
heard that. I’m a huge Prine fan, so she had me then. I’m really good
friends with her co-producer, Luke Laird. We’ve wrote songs together.
‘Drink in My Hand’ was our first number-one. It was written with Luke.
And Luke’s the guy who said, ‘You would dig what we’re doing. You’d dig
where this girl comes from. You’d dig her as a writer.’ A lot of it is
just her personal taste and the kind of stuff I’m hearing. It just
sounds different. It sounds fresh for country radio. It sounds like
she’s in her spot already, and I think that’s the key as a new artist –
you’ve got to find your lane, you’ve got to find your spot and don’t get
out of it, and I think she’s off to at least a great start at being
able to do that.”
Here's the song Eric mentions:
I hear the track will be on Kacey's debut album, which is due out March 19.
