Despite his five nominations, including all-genre nods for Best New Artist and Song of the Year, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” singer Shaboozey still walked away as a winner.
Whether or not he won a trophy—and he might get a couple because he was a featured artist on Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter album and she won—Shaboozey still had a golden night. He had a golden year.
He knows he has Beyoncé, in part, to thank. Shaboozey freely admits he piggybacked his “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” drop and his Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going album release on her Cowboy Carter album. The singer, who was on Beyoncé’s “SPAGHETTII” and “SWEET HONEY BUCKIIN,’” released “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” about two weeks later.
Videos by American Songwriter
Shaboozey and Beyoncé made history as the first two black artists to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart with back-to-back No. 1 songs.
“Purpose is, my manager always says, ‘Just being prepared,’” Shaboozey said. “I was definitely prepared, and there was an opportunity.”
Purpose is Just Being Prepared
Shaboozey was already dedicated to establishing himself as an artist when he heard from Beyoncé. A Virginia native born to Nigerian immigrants, Shaboozey wanted to be a pillar of music on his own accord. He wanted to build his own legacy. And he thinks Beyoncé saw that.
“We just so happened to cross (the country) genre at the same time,” Shaboozey said. “I think it made sense. There’s not too many people of color that are really in this space. That was part of my reason for even being like, ‘Hey, this is something I feel like I want to be a part of.’”
He wanted to show music fans there are people who look like him in country music.
“I want to inspire the next generation to just understand you can create what speaks to you,” he said.
Shaboozey’s father heavily influenced his music taste and is now farming in Nigeria. But he spent the singer’s youth in America and loved all things American—including Westerns. Shaboozey didn’t recognize the Western influence as a child. He wondered why his dad wore camouflage and Wranglers or a cowboy hat and overalls. He remembers taking road trips with his family to the south and being surrounded by farmland. It was the late ’90s when his dad told him about Kenny Rogers. He discovered Garth Brooks, whom he’d love to perform with someday.
Shaboozey Wants to Inspire a Generation
“You see the roads, and you see the trees, and you start to think, ‘What is this place about?’” he said. “‘What is this culture that I’m growing up in?’ I asked my dad, ‘Why are you dressed like that?’”
Shaboozey believes he’s a lot like his father regarding mindset and that while he’s never verbalized it before, his dad is one of his biggest influences. In addition to teaching him about music, his father encouraged him to think differently – and told him there was no such thing as luck, only hard work. He told his son that he had to take responsibility for his future, and at the end of the day, there was no one to blame but himself.
“I was just always trying to figure it out,” Shaboozey said.
So, when Shaboozey wrote “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” he thought it was authentic and needed to be heard. He started trying to launch the song in the best way possible.
“I think the universe does things like put certain steps in front of you to help you launch,” he said. “We had ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ maybe three months, four months. It could have been out in December.”
‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ Almost Came Out Months Earlier
Shaboozey and his team were convinced ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ was a hit. He remembers everyone “freaking out” and that they wanted to release the track as soon as it was finished. But they held it until April 2024.
“I would like to say it was pretty planned, but it’s like, how do you know you?” he said. “I think the biggest thing was as an artist, I understand that my duty is to do what my influences did –and that was create art, create your world, leave impact. Whether that was Beyoncé or Garth Brooks, they’re pillars of music.”
Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.