Mickey Guyton Joins Black Pumas for an Epic Cross-Genre Team-Up at the 2022 CMT Music Awards
Mickey Guyton shared the stage with Grammy-nominated soul duo Black Pumas at the 2022 CMT Music Awards.
Guyton joined the fellow Grammy Award nominees for their breakout hit single "Colors," which serves as a cross-genre anthem of togetherness and acceptance. The passionate collaboration showed off both Guyton and Black Pumas singer-songwriter Eric Burton's incredible vocal ranges, which soared up until the very end, closing out things in front of a massive fountain of fireworks.
Their performance was an example of the CMTs' spotlight on cross-genre collaboration and unexpected on-stage pairings, and resulted in what might be one of the highlights of the night. The event marks the Black Pumas' debut on the CMT stage.
Ahead of the show, Black Pumas band mate Eric Burton told CMT that the pairing isn't as random as some fans might think.
“I loved Bob Dylan and Neil Young and the Beatles,” he pointed out. “I think that at the bare bones of the music, the songs started with just me and the guitar. To my knowledge, that’s how a lot of country music and grassroots like blues and folk music got started. It’s the same stuff; it’s just dressed in a different external aesthetic.”
Guyton's talent for pairing her musical style with other genres is well documented. In fact, she's nominated for this year's CMT Performance of the Year Award thanks to her collaboration with Gladys Knight and Breland during the 2021 CMT Music Awards show.
She also earned a nomination for Female Video of the Year in 2022 for "Remember Her Name," the title track of her debut album.
The 2022 CMT Awards aired live from Nashville on CBS. Kelsea Ballerini, Anthony Mackie and Kane Brown co-hosted the show. Brown was a last-minute addition to the hosting lineup, as Ballerini had to bow out of attending in person after receiving a positive COVID-19 test. She'll still do her part to host virtually from home.