Breland’s doing country his way, and it appears to be working

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - He hasn’t officially released an album, but the buzz surrounding country artist Breland is so strong, he’s collaborating with the biggest in the business.

Featured on Dierks Bentley’s “Beers on Me,” Keith Urban’s “Throw It Back,” and working with Thomas Rhett on “Praise the Lord,” Breland said collaborations help introduce his style of “cross country” to a bigger audience.

“Cross country is my version of, my definition of how to classify music,” Breland said. “It is country based, but I’m playing around with elements from other genres and hopefully, in doing so, can build some of those bridges.”

Bridges he already started building with a huge following on TikTok. His single “My Truck” went viral. He said social media helps prove to record executives that an artist’s music will be commercially successful.

“It gives you the ability to control your own narrative and to have data to support it, which wouldn’t have been the case 10 years ago,” he said. “You could be like 3 million people have heard it, you have those numbers where, you know, it makes it easier to plead your case.”

He believes it also helps bring in a broader audience to country music.

“If you don’t have people that look like you that are already listening to the music, you have to try to find a way to bring them in,” Breland said.

Breland said fan diversification within country music is important to opening doors to minority artists and providing a sense of belonging.

“There are moments where I definitely feel like I belong, but then I’ve also played at festivals where I’m looking out into a sea of faces that look nothing like me, and people have Confederate flags and shouting rhetoric that I don’t agree with, and those moments are tough.”

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