Last week, East Texas country firebrands Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves simultaneously confirmed and put to rest rumors of a long-standing feud between the two. Days later, Musgraves announced her sixth studio album, Middle of Nowhere. Out May 1, the long-awaited LP features the Lambert duet “Horses and Divorces.” During a recent interview with NPR, the “Golden Hour” singer, 37, shared more insight into the two artists’ history and how it led to this collaboration.
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How the Kacey Musgraves-Miranda Lambert Collab Came to Be
Scrolling through Instagram, Kacey Musgraves came across a picture of Miranda Lambert riding horses. “I was like, ‘Well, we ain’t friends, but I guess we have two things in common, horses and divorces, that’s for sure,’” the eight-time Grammy winner said. (Lambert split from first husband Blake Shelton in 2015; while Musgraves divorced country singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly in 2020.)
“‘Wait, that could be a really funny song,’” Musgraves continued. “‘What if it’s a duet with her?’”
Setting aside her personal feelings, the seven-time CMA Award winner reached out to Lambert. “I was like, ‘I know we’ve had our s— over the years, but listen, we’ve at least got two things in common,’” Musgraves recalled. “‘I’m not trying to be your friend… But I think this would be a pretty f—ing funny song.’”
Lambert’s response? “Hell yeah, I’m in, let’s do it.”
[RELATED: Kacey Musgraves Ends “Dry Spell” With New Album Announcement]
The Backstory: “In the End, Everyone Won”
As fans suspected, Miranda Lambert’s 2013 hit “Mama’s Broken Heart” was at the center of tension between herself and Kacey Musgraves, one of the song’s three writers.
Speaking to NPR, the “High Horse” singer revealed she had originally planned to release the song as her debut single. “I had been a staff writer for years at that point, writing for other people and had finally felt like I was collecting songs that felt like me that I didn’t wanna pitch to anyone else,” Musgraves said.
Then, “without my consent or knowledge,” the song was pitched to Lambert, who loved it. Ultimately, “Mama’s Broken Heart” went to the Nashville veteran, and Musgraves returned to the drawing board.
“I’m really glad that I did, because it forced me to write ‘Merry Go Round,’ which ended up making way more sense for me anyways, aesthetically and lyrically, to kick my whole thing off, versus ‘Mama’s Broken Heart,’” she said. “And that ended up going No. 1 for her. So in the end, everyone won because I was able to let go of something.”
In a full-circle moment, the two country powerhouses penned “Horses and Divorces” in a matter of hours.
“We aired out any of the old laundry,” Musgraves said, adding, “I think it could be also a micro representation of what I wish that the world would do sometimes, just f—ing sit down and poke fun at each other, have a beer and call it a day.”
Featured image by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BMI
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