Breland is helping lead country music's sonic evolution

Rising singer-songwriter Breland starts his conversation with The Tennessean by noting that precisely four minutes have passed since he walked through the front door of his Nashville home after a trip to Indianapolis.

This attention to detail that has helped the 26-year-old New Jersey native career to skyrocket from the least anticipated "My Truck" hitmaker to most-wanted status in just under two years. Industry observers say it takes ten years to achieve overnight success in Nashville. But thanks to his meticulous organization and vision, Breland has accomplished twice the stardom already in a quarter of the time.

In an era where the genre must quickly adapt to a plethora of sonic and cultural influences simultaneously impacting country, Breland is helping lead the charge towards a seamless transition. 

So naturally, this requires him to be quickly accepted as a visible contributor in country music’s most vaunted spaces. Thus, in two weeks in November 2021 – and before a New Year’s Eve appearance in front of over 100,000 people in downtown Nashville – the Burlington Township, NJ native debuted with a "hat trick" of a standing ovation at the Grand Ole Opry, plus premiere appearances at the Ryman Auditorium and 2021 CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena. 

For both country music and the rising artist, it’s impressively been less of an adjustment than expected.

“I opened for Deana Carter at the Ryman, and the people coming to see her are ‘90s country music fans who love [her beloved, 1996-released single] “Strawberry Wine” (that Breland covered in a Spotify-only release in September 2021). Given that the music I make has a fundamentally different inspiration sometimes, I figured her audience would be critical, but they weren’t,” he recalls.

Of course, Breland is a African-American country music artist's artist. But that’s not a crutch upon which to rest his laurels. It’s entirely possible – and this is a notion that the country music industry should accept – that, above his race, he’s simply as talented as advertised.

“[Above everything else] my talent has opened doors,” Breland said. “In Nashville, people value talent above a lot of other things. I'm not in the position I’m in because of a referendum on race. Rather, I think there's real traction that I’m gaining for my career because people are connecting to the uniqueness of my story as an artist, and that’s all rooted in my talent.”

Breland is a rare Nashville newcomer who has released as many charting collaborations as well-regarded original singles. His 2019 TikTok viral single “My Truck” was an introduction and game-changer. The platinum-selling track was a Billboard Hot 100 chart crossover.

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The snappy, trap-style single blurred edges between pop, hip-hop, and bluegrass-style country in equal measure, raising eyebrows and opening doors for the artist. 

This unlikely success would be daunting for an artist without a plan for what would come next. Breland, however, was armed with what he refers to as his “cross-country” brand of musicality. It aims to streamline what he calls a typically “messy” and “not linear” creative approach into something far-reaching yet directly pointed at expanding country music’s artistic, commercial, and connective scope.

He says, “I don't want to be in a box. Artists, radio representatives, and labels in country music are often okay with being comfortable. It works for some artists who know they have a bread and butter sound and style that works for them. But I’m always working on a variety of songs in a variety of styles. However, I feel that they can all be a part of the country landscape.”

In the past year, Breland has worked with Keith Urban on Lower Broadway nightlife-ready trap-country song “Throw It Back” and paired with HARDY and Dierks Bentley for the pop-country ballad “Beers On Me.” Both songs achieved top-40 country radio status. He collaborated on the soulful and autobiographical “Cross-Country” with Mickey Guyton, plus the laid-back party groove “High Horse” with rap-to-country crossover icon Nelly and virally-popular and self-proclaimed “trailer trap” performer Blanco Brown. He also appeared on releases for 2021 CMT Next Women of Country class member Tiera and a Christian-meets-country solo EP from Rascal Flatts’ Gary LeVox.

As 2022 opens, Breland's star is still on the rise. 

“[In 2021], I dispelled doubters that I had and that others may have had. [The sustainability] of my career in country music seemed impossible when I came to town two years ago. Now, I realize that what I’m doing has viability.” 

As for his next steps, he’s prepared to take audacious leaps with support from a host of creative giants that he considers his inspirations.

“I want a career that resonates for decades and inspires everyone,” he notes.

Excitedly, he names his collaborators to date, including Urban, Bentley, Guyton, and Sam Hunt and performers including the CMA’s 2021 Best New Artist Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, and Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard. However, he reserves one name for greater thought: Garth Brooks.

Concerning the Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry member, he says, “I respect people who did something different. All the people I connect with did things differently from everything everyone else is doing. When Garth debuted 30 years ago, they thought he was a college marketing major making pop music. Now, he’s set the industry standard, and selling out stadiums after doing this for almost four decades."

“We all need to get out of boxes. Country’s future is as much [inspired by] tradition as it is nontraditional, with as many people who say they don't like country music as people coming to new realizations about [the genre] enjoying it.”

Breland's most poignant reflection about where he stands in country’s current landscape come during his comments about playing the Grand Ole Opry. There, he was preceded to the stage by Connie Smith, who has five decades of experience and is easily one of country music's most respected performers. Lessons learned from the occurrence resonated with him.

“[At the Opry], I sang “My Truck” in the same three-foot by three-foot circle where Connie Smith performed. That's an interesting juxtaposition, but it’s important to realize that there was space for both of us in the circle, metaphorically and in real life. I imagine when I perform 'My Truck' before some newcomer in 50 years, they'll call that song ‘old school.’ It’s true what they say. Music, like all things, evolves."