Mickey Guyton Says Her Grammys Nods Are Evidence to 'Invest in Black Talent No Matter What Genre'

Mickey Guyton's Grammy nods are all about representation.

During the 64th Annual Grammy Awards Sunday, the country star, 38, told PEOPLE red carpet hosts Jeremy Parsons and Janine Rubenstein about the importance behind her three nominations for the night.

"I just feel like me standing here is evidence that you should invest in Black talent no matter what genre," she said. "So often we haven't always felt like that and people are really doing that."

"And representation, period. There's TJ Osborne from Brothers Osborne who came out last year and that's what it's all about," Guyton added. "We're American, we're made up of so many nationalities and creeds and preferences. We are all here and we belong together."

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The "Lay It On Me" singer also opened up about Black representation in country music in October 2021.

In a chat with Miley Cyrus for Rolling Stone's Musicians on Musicians, Guyton said she considered herself "insane" for quite some time, as she tried over and over again to squeeze herself into the box deemed acceptable for country music singers.

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"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. And I was insane for a long freaking time, because there's this box that women in country music are supposed to fit in, but then add on a Black woman in that box and that box is even smaller," she said at the time. "I was given this little tiny box that was allotted to me to make some noise, but not too much noise. And it was suffocating."

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Guyton said her debut album Remember Her Name, which came out in September, was her way of releasing herself from the chains she'd put herself in.

"I didn't care where this music landed. People were like, 'Well, do you want it to get on country radio?' " she recalled. "I'm like, 'I'm not going to bank on something that never supported me to begin with.' "

At the 2021 Grammy Awards, Guyton made history as the first Black woman to be nominated in a country solo performance category for her song "Black Like Me."

The 64th Annual Grammy Awards, hosted by Trevor Noah, are airing and streaming live on Sunday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.