2024 is the year that Tiera Kennedy never saw coming.
Last winter, the 26-year-old rising country artist was dropped from Big Machine Records. Then, in a twist of fate, Kennedy wound up working with Beyoncé on two songs months later and watched her first-time Spotify listens jump by 110 percent, inspiring her to fast-track the release of her debut album, Rooted.
"My relationship with God has strengthened so much because it has been a crazy year and not something anyone could ever dream up. It really feels like hard work has met opportunity," Kennedy tells GRAMMY.com. "It's easy to lose sight of who you are when you get a big team and there are a lot of different opinions going around. I was told that I wouldn't work, so I was determined to make them see that I will."
Kennedy started working on her aptly titled debut album while she was still signed to Big Machine, but it has since taken on a new meaning as her life has changed drastically over the past year. She's feeling more confident in herself and what she brings to country music, and she's unapologetic about it on the LP.
"The first time around, the album [was] more so about telling my story through these songs, and after leaving the label, Rooted became the actual definition of the word, which means to stand firm," she explains. "The overall sentiment of the album is: If you're not here for Tiera and all that I am, peace out."
The album's lead single, "I Ain't a Cowgirl," best represents Kennedy's hard-fought journey as she trades in self-doubt for an empowering message: "Gonna wrangle fear, cry my last tear/ And stare tomorrow right in the face/ There ain't a damn thing that's gonna stop me/ Gonna grab life by the reins," she sings in the second verse before declaring, "I ain't a cowgirl but I'm gonna be one today."
"I wasn't as vocal about the broken parts of life I was going through because I thought people would see that and not see confidence, but seeing how it affects people makes it worth it," she says. "I get so much more from telling my truth and being okay with not being perfect."
In a similar vein, one of the closing tracks, "Sweet Home Alabama" (not to be confused with Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1974 classic) honors Kennedy's Southern roots, but also explores the bittersweet feeling of outgrowing her hometown as she steps into her most fearless era yet. "I'd get lost if I headed South and I tried to find my way around/ 'Cause I'm out of touch with the place where I grew up/ And my roots just don't run as deep now," she sings in the opening verse.
"There's a stark difference between the person I am today and the person that I was when I was living in Alabama, so sometimes when I go home, I feel a little disconnected," says Kennedy, who has been in Nashville for eight years. "But it's also beautiful because I feel a connection to my younger self."
Elsewhere, melodramatic kiss-off songs "Keep Your Promises" and "You Don't Get It" would make Miranda Lambert proud, whereas "I'd Look Good In That Truck" and "Can't Help My Country" offer your typical country fare with warm lyrics about long talks on the front porch, magnolia flowers and being raised on the music of Charley Pride and Dolly Parton.
Kennedy is part of the latest wave of Black country stars — including Shaboozey, Tanner Adell and BRELAND, among many others — who have been challenging the concept of traditional country music and forcing the industry to get on board. Influenced by the R&B music she grew up with, Kennedy incorporates soulful vocal runs and blues-inspired guitar riffs into her sound — resulting in songs that both genuinely excite her and broaden her audience.
"I'm finally comfortable with not being straight down the middle country. When we would get into the writers' room, we would try to make it country enough so no one comes after us," Kennedy says. "But we let all that go with [Rooted] and the new music I'm writing. This music is the most vulnerable I've ever been because I didn't put myself in a box. I didn't put any perimeters around anything."
That newfound freedom shows up in one of her latest singles, "Cry" — which samples Justin Timberlake's Timbaland-produced "Cry Me a River" — as well as "Damn, If He Don't Love Me," which features "American Idol" season 6 winner and soulful pop star artist Jordin Sparks.
Kennedy is calling the shots like never before, but she's always stood firm in her dreams of becoming country music's next superstar. In high school, she taught herself to play guitar by watching YouTube videos, and performed at places like Chick-fil-A and Buffalo Wild Wings. She says she "started writing songs because of Taylor Swift," but mustering up the courage to perform them in a room full of strangers took a while.
"My mom would tell people that I sing and ask me to sing for them on the spot, and I was like, Absolutely not. I just wanted to write my songs," she recalls. "I got nervous every single time I was on stage, but the more I wrote my own songs and the more I found my voice in each season I was in, the more confident I grew with showing that person on stage."
After high school, Kennedy attended the University of North Alabama on a full-ride scholarship, but spent more time honing her craft at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals. In 2017, she convinced her parents to move to Nashville so she could pursue a career in country music, and she quit college after one year.
"I do not have one memory of my parents ever doubting me or being like, This may not work out," she says. "Even when I told them I wanted to do country music, they totally could've discouraged me since there's not a lot of people who look like me [in this genre], but they didn't. They made it a beautiful thing. They're like, Okay, this hasn't been done before, so let's do it."
Nearly two years after packing up her things and moving to Music City, a then-20-year-old Kennedy competed on the short-lived reality TV show "Real Country," where she met Shania Twain, who has since become one of her greatest mentors and champions. In a full-circle moment, just as Kennedy signed with Big Machine and her breakout song "Found It In You" was making waves, she honored Twain with a performance of her 1998 hit "From This Moment On" at the 15th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors in 2022. "Every time a moment like that comes along, I have to pinch myself," Kennedy says.
Fast forward two years later, and Kennedy is still pinching herself. She gets emotional when reflecting on this new season of her life. "When I attended the 2024 People's Choice Country Awards [in September], I sat right behind Little Big Town. I remember just looking around at everyone and thinking, I belong here," she shares.
That sense of belonging and confidence is now translating into her music, helping her create deeper connections with her growing fan base — and laying the groundwork for an exciting future.
"Our lives may look completely different, but we're all searching for love and community at the end of the day," she says. "I wasn't okay at one point, and I'm still not okay some days, but there is beauty on the other side. My eyes have opened up for the possibilities of what I can do going forward."