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Remember Her Name (Mickey Guyton album)

Remember Her Name is the debut studio album by American country artist Mickey Guyton. It was released on September 24, 2021, via Capitol Records Nashville. A follow-up release to her extended play, Bridges (2020), the album includes the singles "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?", "Black Like Me" and a re-recorded version of her 2015 single, "Better Than You Left Me". The project centers around her personal and professional setbacks over the course of several years. Lyrical themes highlight Guyton's insecurities, anxieties while on her musical journey. The project received generally a favorable response from critics as well.

Remember Her Name

September 24, 2021 (2021-09-24)

50:45

Capitol Nashville

Background[edit]

Mickey Guyton had been signed to Capitol Records Nashville in 2011.[3] She later released several extended plays (EPs) until her 2015 debut single "Better Than You Left Me". Although reaching the top 40, the single did not create enough momentum to spawn a full-length album release.[1] Guyton had also reached a personal and professional crossroads that prompted her to change her outlook on music. She started writing songs with a small group of people and wrote songs that felt more personal to her. "A lot of these songs were just kind of therapy for me. I never wrote these thinking that they were ever going to be heard," she told The New York Times.[4]


Remember Her Name was crafted from these writing sessions.[4][3] She titled the album in tribute to Breonna Taylor, a black resident of Louisville, Kentucky who was shot and killed by local police enforcement. "The frustration that I've felt as an African-American has been a part of my process for a while. So the song, and album, are dedicated to [Breonna Taylor] and giving her the justice that she deserves," she told Country Music Television.[5]

Content[edit]

Remember Her Name features production credits from Nathan Chapman, David Kalmusky, Karen Kosowski, Jimmy Robbins, Johnny Simmen, Andy Skib, Gavin Slate and Forest Whitehead.[6] The disc's 16 tracks center around Guyton's "self-discovery" and "re-discovery" in the music world.[4][3][7] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the track "All American" as a song that embraces "her heritage as well as inclusion".[1] The fourth track "Love My Hair" came from Guyton's insecurities about her black hair.[4] In a promotional statement from UMG Nashville, Guyton stated that the title track is "a song for anyone who has ever felt less than, forgotten or up against impossible obstacles."[8] The eighth track, "Do You Really Wanna Know", is based on Guyton's experiences with going to therapy and taking control of an alcohol problem.[4]


In addition, the track "Words" was derived from a comment Guyton read online pertaining to her race.[3] Carl Wilson of Slate magazine described "Indigo" as "another eponym to bear in mind, an alias that might encompass Guyton more fully."[9] Other songs on the project are dedicated to Guyton's husband who provided an emotional support to her during difficult times. These tracks include "Higher", "Lay It on Me" and "Dancing in the Living Room".[9] She also covers Beyonce's pop single "If I Were a Boy".[10]


Other track were originally included on Guyton's 2020 extended play, Bridges.[11] This includes "Rosé",[11] that Guyton described as a "low-key protest song for women" about how women should have their song about drinking.[3] Also from Bridges is the song "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?", which The New York Times described as "a bracing ballad about the limitations society places on young women."[4] A third song from the EP is "Black Like Me".[11] The song was written in 2019 and was originally composed as a way to describe her experiences as a black woman in America. It has since received attention since its original release as a song in 2020.[4] The album also include a re-recorded version of "Better Than You Left Me", Guyton's debut single,[10] which was first released in 2015 and first included on her eponymous extended play.[12]

Release, chart performance and singles[edit]

Guyton announced the release of Remember Her Name in July 2021 in a statement from her record label.[16] Guyton made the album's release public following her appearance at the 2021 CMT Music Awards, where she performed alongside Gladys Knight.[5] The album was released on September 24, 2021, on Capitol Records Nashville. With its release, it became Guyton's first full-length studio album issued in her career. It was offered as a compact disc,[6] a music download and to streaming sites.[17] It reached a peak of 47 on the Billboard Top Country Albums, becoming her first album to reach the list in her career.[18] It was also her fourth release to make the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, peaking at number seven.[19]


Prior to the album's release, Capitol had issued "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?" as a single on March 6, 2020[20] and "Black Like Me" as a single on June 2, 2020.[21] The latter recording spent four weeks on the Billboard adult contemporary chart and reached number 27.[22] In addition several promotional singles were also released prior to the album: the title track,[23] "If I Were a Boy",[24] "All-American",[25] and "Love My Hair".[26] At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, it was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Country Album, while the title track received nominations for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song.[27]