Brittney Spencer (born September 8, 1988) is an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer–songwriter. Spencer received notable attention following a viral

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

video showing Spencer singing a cover of song by

The Highwomen The Highwomen is an American country music supergroup composed of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires, formed in 2019. The group's self-titled debut album was released on September 6, 2019, by Elektra Records and ...

. The video drew praise from fellow country artists and prompted the release of her first

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) titled ''Compassion'' (2020). She has also released several

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, including 2021's "Sober & Skinny". Spencer has since performed on the

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

and has embarked on a world tour.

Early life

Spencer is a native of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. She developed an interest in music from singing in church. "Church, for me, was very cultural. It’s spiritual, but also very cultural. Families like mine, we couldn’t really afford singing lessons or anything like that, so I just sang in the church all the time," she told ''

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

'' magazine. She was raised as an

African Methodist Episcopal The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

. Spencer also came from a musical family. Her father was part of a quartet band. A friend from church got Spencer interested in

The Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and E ...

, which developed her interest in country music. From there, she developed interest in artists like

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

. She attended magnet schools in her teen years, including the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology. During this time she learned to play guitar and piano. Spencer also took vocal lessons from a coach who taught her how to sing in a recording studio. She began by singing background vocals for R&B and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

artists including

Jason Nelson Jason Nelson is a digital and hypermedia poet and artist. He is Associate Professor of Digital Culture at the University of Bergen, where he was also a Fulbright Fellow from 2016-17. Until 2020 he was a lecturer on Cyberstudies, digital writ ...

. In February 2013, Spencer moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

to pursue country music full-time.

Career

After moving to Nashville, Spencer attended Middle Tennessee State University. While attending the university she worked as a vocal coach in a program dedicated to students from low-income homes. She also found work as a background singer and eventually toured with

Christopher Cross Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's T ...

and

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

. She also performed in clubs and other performance venues in the Nashville area. Despite performance opportunities, Spencer found it difficult pursuing country music as an overweight and black performer. "Being a Black woman in Nashville can be challenging when it comes time to book someone to do all sorts of things related to fashion, whether it’s glam or wardrobe. I do feel that systemic or societal pressure at times, but I also feel really empowered," she told ''

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

''. It was in 2020, that Spencer received notable attention after posting a cover of

's "Crowded Table" on

. The video received more than 150,000 views and re-tweeted by

Maren Morris Maren Larae Morris (born April 10, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. While rooted in the Country music, country genre, her music also blends elements of Pop music, pop, R&B music, R&B, and Hip-Hop music, hip-hop. Born and raised in Arlingt ...

and

Amanda Shires Amanda Rose Shires (born March 5, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and fiddle player. Shires has released seven solo albums starting in 2005, her most recent being '' Take It Like a Man'' in 2022. In 2019, she founded a country music super ...

who praised Spencer's performance. "I just love to sing and write songs. Though there’s really no way I could have ever prepared for the most humbling experience of my life to take place on Twitter," she told ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. In 2020, Spencer released her debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) titled ''Compassion''. The project included several songs including "Damn Right, You're Wrong" and "My Perfect Life". During this time, she also launched her first tour titled "In a Perfect World". In June 2021, Spencer released a new single called "Sober & Skinny". In late 2021, Spencer performed alongside Mickey Guyton and Madeline Edwards on the

55th Annual Country Music Association Awards The 55th Annual Country Music Association Awards were held on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The ceremony was hosted CMA Award winner Luke Bryan. Background After a video clip surfaced in early 2021 ...

. The trio sang a track off Guyton's '' Remember Her Name'' album called "Love My Hair". She is expecting to her release her first full-length album in 2022. Spencer is expected to perform on the upcoming

57th Academy of Country Music Awards The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards was held on March 7, 2022 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas , Las Vegas, Nevada. The show was hosted by ACM award winner Dolly Parton. Parton was joined by co-hosts, Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett. Th ...

. In March 2022 she was nominated by the

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes p ...

, her first award from a major industry. In November 2022, Spencer signed a major label recording contract with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. An extended play was released the following day, featuring original material and a cover of

's "

Cowboy Take Me Away "Cowboy Take Me Away" is a song by recorded American country music group Dixie Chicks, written by Martie Maguire and Marcus Hummon. It was released in November 1999 as the second single from their album ''Fly''. The song's title is derived from ...

Musical style and influences

Spencer told ''American Songwriter'' that her musical style is diverse because of the different artists and songwriters she is influenced by: "I feel like I have a really wide stretch of what influences me, which is probably why it still made my songs sound so different." In describing her musical style, Marcus K. Dowling explained that Spencer combines a "thundering power of her talent blended with highly engaging songs". She credits

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Miranda Lambert and

Jazmine Sullivan Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B and soul singer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, her debut album, ''Fearless'' was released in 2008. The record topped ''Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certifie ...

as influences on her artistry.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Other album appearances

Music videos

Awards and nominations

! , - , rowspan=2, 2022 ,

, CMT Digital First Performance of the Year – "Sober & Skinny" , , align="center", , - , Americana Music Honors & Awards , Emerging Artist of the Year , , align="center",

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Brittney 1988 births 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers American women country singers African-American women singer-songwriters African-American country musicians American country singer-songwriters Country musicians from Maryland Living people Singers from Baltimore Singer-songwriters from Maryland