All eyes are on Tiera Kennedy.
The 26-year-old Country songstress has already had a loyal following for years. Be it from her 2021 EP, Tiera, through listeners to her Apple Music Country Radio show, The Tiera Show, or many of the live performances she’s done on stages on the Country circuit over the last eight years. But her profile has risen exponentially since her voice was heard alongside our newest Queen of Country, Beyoncé, shooting her catalog streaming numbers up an astonishing 40,000% since her feature on the superstar’s updated rendition of “BLACKBIIRD.”
It’s an exciting time for the recently independent songbird, who’s been singing and strumming her dreams in Nashville since her teen years. ESSENCE caught up with Tiera to talk all things Country, Cowgirls, and the Cowboy Carter effect.
ESSENCE: You’re already a Country star in your own right. But, for those just stepping into the genre, tell us a bit more about your path to the stage, and describe your sound for the unfamiliar.
Kennedy: I’m originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and I’ve always loved music. I got my singing from my mama. She would just sing around the house. And she would never sing professionally, so she always says that she lives vicariously through me.
My sound is a mix of everything I listened to growing up. So my parents listened to a lot of R&B; Aaliyah, Boyz II Men, Beyonce, Whitney Houston, all of those massive voices. And we listened to a lot of Country as well. I’ve always loved Country music. When I get into the room to write a song, those influences just come out in the music I make.
We understand that you are a self-taught guitarist as well. What made you pick up the instrument, and how did you get so proficient with no assistance?
I would play a lot around my hometown. I would do talent shows and perform at restaurants, literally anywhere I could. And for a lot of those shows, I was singing to backing tracks. I really wanted to be able to support myself in a live show. So, I just sat down on YouTube with my little guitar and I taught myself how to play. It wasn’t too fancy, but it was enough for me to be able to start writing my own songs and playing shows for myself.
Though it’s a genre pioneered by our people, modern Country is not a primarily Black space. Have you faced many challenges as one of the few Black women recording and performing in Nashville over the last decade?
When I told my parents that I wanted to sing Country music, they never tried to sway me away from that. They celebrated the fact that there weren’t a lot of people that looked like me. They told me, “You can break down barriers and make space for other people,” and that it was really something to be celebrated. So yes, I have faced a lot of challenges being in Nashville. I mean, it’s tough even just as a new artist alone to make it. But I just always have my parents’ words in the back of my mind, and they’ve always just been so supportive along this journey. And so, even when there is a door closed in my face, I always have that in the back of my mind.
Well, in celebration of doors opening rather than closing, tell us how it feels to be featured on a Beyoncé album.
I mean, it’s still wild to wrap my head around, honestly. Every day, I wake up and can’t believe that I’m on a Beyoncé record. It’s absolutely insane. I’ve always dreamed of collaborating with her, but she’s such a massive artist that I never knew if that would happen. And if it did, I imagined that maybe it would be later in my career. So to be on this album is a dream come true. And like I said, it’s still so hard for me to wrap my brain around, but I think it’s so beautiful that she is giving an up-and-coming artist like me such a massive platform. I’m super thankful.
You recently had the opportunity to reconnect with your “BLACKBIIRD” sisters at the CMAs. What was that evening like, with all eyes on you all after such a momentous and meaningful song feature?
Yeah, it was a really, honestly, kind of an overwhelming experience for me because a lot of the people in that room know my journey. I’ve been in Nashville for eight years, and they’ve been along with me through the ups and the downs. It was just really special getting to celebrate being on this album with my friends because they just know the work that I’ve put in in this town. I get emotional thinking about it now. Yeah. It’s really special to get to celebrate that with my friends. Sorry, I’m at such a loss of words because it’s still hard for me to wrap my brain around it. But it was a really special night.
That boost in visibility since Cowboy Carter has to have been amazing for you. We’ve seen it documented that your first-time listens have gone up 110% and that your catalog listens have increased by 40,000%! What has this uptick in recognition and interest been like for you?
I mean, it’s really cool. I’m a recently independent artist, and I released my first independent in April, called “I Ain’t A Cowgirl.” It just talks about my experiences through life and in the industry and how I got through that. My goal, my “why” with my music has always been to connect with people, and [Beyoncé] has just expanded my audience beyond belief. So it’s really special that now, I get to put out music that I believe in 100%, and I have this whole new audience to listen to it.
The gist of the song is, “I ain’t a cowgirl, but I’m going to be one today.” And it’s all about sticking up for yourself. I’m not a real cowgirl, but I admire those cowboys and cowgirls out there because they’re out there rain or sunshine getting the work done, and I like to look at life that way. You have to show up, rain or sunshine, and that’s essentially what that song is about. It’s given me a lot of hope and gotten me through a lot of hard seasons, and I hope that it’s the same for other people as well.
In that cowgirl spirit, what is the difference for you now, becoming an independent artist and calling all the shots on your own ahead of releasing your debut album?
I’ve been working on this project for a while, and it’s my debut record and I get to put it out independently. So every song, every story is 100% from me. I’ve got this new audience, but I also have people that have been following me for a while. This album just shares a little bit more of my story and the things that I’ve been through, those highs and those lows. People can expect to definitely learn a lot more about me through this record.
I think, as with anything when you have a team, there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen and there are a lot of opinions. But it’s been really beautiful being independent now. I love everybody on my current team so much and they’re so receptive of what I want to say, and this is the most free I’ve felt making music. My husband, Cameron Kennedy, is also my creative director. So we’ve had a lot of fun dreaming up some really cool things for this record, and it’s just been really fun to create without any restrictions and without anybody shooting anything down. I’m really, really proud of this record and I can’t wait for people to hear it.
While we wait for your debut to be released later this year, where can people find you and learn more about your music in the meantime?
I have a radio show with Apple Music called The Tiera Show, and we’ve been doing it for about four years. It’s a really great platform for me to be able to talk about other artists and to gas up other artists the way people have done for me. And, yeah, I just get to play music that I love. I’m super thankful to have that outlet with music as well.