'My mind is racing': BRELAND says having clear mission helped land him three CMT Music Awards nominations

April 11, 2022's CMT Music Awards could cement country music superstardom for BRELAND, the 26-year-old performer born in New Jersey and now based in Nashville.

He's overwhelmed by his three award nominations, but that isn't to say this level of success wasn't in his plan all along.

"I didn't have a ton of specific checkpoints in my plan, but I knew that if I had a clear mission statement, everything I wanted to happen would happen," says the artist who just returned from a successful C2C Festival appearance at London's O2 Arena. 

What was that mission statement?

"I wanted to come into country music with a fresh perspective and find a way to make the genre more inclusive while also reaching new audiences."

His 2021 single "Cross Country" has yielded him a CMT nomination for "Breakthrough Video of the Year." He's also the only artist nominated twice in the same category — "Performance of the Year" —  for his 2021 CMT Awards performance of "Friendship Train" with Gladys Knight and Mickey Guyton, along with a performance of "Ride Wit Me" from an episode of "CMT Crossroads: Nelly & Friends" with Nelly, Kane Brown and Blanco Brown.

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"'Cross Country' is not just a song I wrote and perform; it's the title song of my entire movement," BRELAND said. "I'm breaking down genres by building bridges between them. I tell my story in that song, hoping to inspire other people to tell their stories [in country music]. The video is the first music video that I ever came up with the concept for — so it is also important."

His nominated performance of "Friendship Train" was his first-ever awards show performance and his second live performance ever.

"I wasn't even slated to be a part of that [performance]," BRELAND said. "During the dress rehearsal, Mickey and Gladys were like, 'Hey, you should be on this.'"

The song was part of a medley that started with him performing his version of "Cross Country" with Guyton. They added him to "Friendship Train," as well.

"[Gladys and Mickey] wanting to create increased visibility for Black people on that stage resulted in a nomination."

At various points in his conversation with the Tennessean, the artist described his career at present as a "collision," "earthquake," "explosion" and "on fire." 

The week the CMT Music Awards air on CBS on April 11, he also performs at Tortuga Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 9 and has a BRELAND and Friends show at the Ryman Auditorium on April 12.

BRELAND also revealed to the Tennessean that he has a new album coming in June. 

"I don't do what I do for the recognition or fame," he said. "But when you get both of those, it's validating because it makes the moments when you feel like you're trying to fight a mountain feel [false], because you're already climbing to the top of the mountain [instead]. This is my first time nominated for a major award. My mind is racing."

After performing at the 2021 CMT Music Awards, his exuberance led him to jump down a long flight of steps. He's considering how he'll respond if he wins an award. 

"Don't let the glasses fool you. I'm an athlete. I can do some things. In many ways, I'm low-key surprising like that. I guess I'm gonna have to learn some new flips and tricks, man."