FORD FAIRCHILD
Just a few years ago, Tiera Kennedy thought her career had come to an abrupt, unceremonious end.
After almost a decade of struggle on her quest to be taken seriously in country music, she’d just been dropped from her record label – before her debut album could be released – and truthfully, a part of her figured that was that. But as it turns out, her second act would be better than the first.
Featured twice on Beyoncé’s statement- making 2024 album, Cowboy Carter, Kennedy shook off the setback to sing a pivotal hook on “BLACKBIIRD” – a breathtaking cover of The Beatles’ 1968 civil-rights anthem – earning rave reviews and two People’s Choice Country Awards with fellow rising stars Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, and Tanner Adell. And as the global spotlight shines down, she’s now ready for her close-up.
Reclaiming that un-released debut album with new creative courage, Kennedy will drop ROOTED on October 18 – a project she describes as “the best introduction I could ever give anyone.” Meanwhile, she announced ROOTED on the set of ABC’s GMA3, and is featured in a new McDonald’s ad, which highlights her single “Cry” (alongside her husband/biggest fan, Kamren, perhaps setting the stage for a new Nashville power couple). All in all, it looks like getting dropped from her former label was just what Kennedy needed. Their loss is a country fan’s gain.
“I keep saying this: I feel like I’m truly living my dream right now,” Kennedy says just one day after her GMA3 appearance and still sitting on cloud nine. “You never know when that moment is going to happen. And still, I feel like I’m at the very beginning of that moment.”
It’s a moment she actually thought would come earlier. Following Kennedy’s self-titled debut EP in 2021, things looked good for the Birmingham, Alabama, native. Part of an emerging generation of authentic Black voices in country, she had generated lots of “artist to watch” buzz, joined tours with chart-toppers, and was hosting her own Apple Music podcast, The Tiera Show. So, the fall came as a shock. Luckily, her loved ones picked her up and kept her going, and after deciding to carry on as an independent artist, Kennedy says believers like Beyoncé made all the difference.
“Signing a record deal, that’s the goal for every artist,” she admits. “So, when that went away, I was questioning like, ‘Am I supposed to be here? Am I supposed to be doing music?’ Then when that validation came along, it totally was a confidence booster. I mean, [Beyoncé] is just like, the biggest artist in the world.”
The renewed confidence shows. Saying her early EP was “just kind of a mixture of songs I loved, but there was no full creative vision,” ROOTED is something deeper. Marking the confluence of preparation and opportunity, it finds Kennedy embracing parts of herself she wasn’t ready to acknowledge just a few years ago – and honestly, ideas that may not have survived the process of compromise that goes with label backing. For Kennedy, that means leaning into her country-meets-R&B background way harder than she expected. She actually found excitement in the realization she was in charge.
“When I left the label, I was like, ‘OK, I really get to decide what songs I want to include here,’” she says.
Produced by Cameron Bedell, ROOTED is an apt title for the set – you can almost see the collection of Aaliyah and Alan Jackson CDs Kennedy grew up listening to. At its foundation, nostalgic soundscapes match lush, ‘90s and 2000s-era country with a velvet-smooth vocal. But every now and then, a sharp back-beat or digital thump will slip in underneath, and Kennedy can always dial up the self-assured soul. According to her, the past year has made one thing clear: She’s done playing it safe.
“I think it is 100 percent fully, authentically me, and that’s what I’m most proud of with this record,” Kennedy explains. “A lot of the music put out before was just fun, upbeat music that I wanted people to jam to. And you have that on ROOTED, but you also have the other side. Real stories and real stuff that we go through.”
The early release “I Ain’t a Cowgirl” made that point. Quiet and reflective, the tender acoustic ballad mirrored Kennedy’s experience in Nashville, struggling to come out of her shell. It was only after she summoned her courage and took the proverbial bull by the horns that things started clicking – and with frank, adventurous song craft, the lesson gets reiterated all over ROOTED.
“I think those are the songs I decided to add after I left the label,” she says. “That need to feed the commercial country sound, I didn’t feel like that served the album, and it didn’t feel rooted to me. I was looking at the songs we had recorded before, and I was like, ‘I’m not being rooted here.’”
Kennedy’s new single “Cry” is a perfect example. Written with Bedell and Jared Scott, a delicate (but deceptively strong) vocal leads a classic-sounding heartbreak anthem with a rollicking fiddle breakdown for a bridge. Butvthe track also samples the Timbaland-produced Justin Timberlake hit “Cry Me a River,” fusing her two worlds. Replacing a song on the original project that suddenly felt boring, the track is now featured in a McDonald’s commercial – a testament to Kennedy’s instincts.
“I just basically said, I want to write something upbeat, and I want it to marry the feeling Afrobeats give me, but with those country influences,” she says. “When I listen to Afrobeats, it’s all about the vibe, and even if it’s a sad song, you’re going to jam to it.”
Others like “Keep Your Promises” mix modern R&B with a swampy strut – a nod to her days as a college student in Muscle Shoals – as Kennedy calls out an industry that will offer new artists the moon but won’t always deliver. Tracks like “If You Don’t Love Me” stretch the bounds of her vocal, and “I’d Look Good in That Truck” celebrates the country side of Kennedy’s background, matching the warm twang of the ‘90s with some vocal shade worthy of Shania Twain.
But it’s a double-shot message of empowerment and inner peace helping anchor the project. The torchy “If You Don’t Get It” finds Kennedy unleashing her inner diva – and giving fans a soundtrack for remembering their own value. While the title track, “Rooted,” sways like a peaceful, front-porch country sunset, basking in the glow of unconditional love and knowing where you stand. Those themes took Kennedy a while to figure out personally, and even required a little help. But now, she hopes to pay the favor forward.
“This album is my story, but I also think it’s everyone else’s story as well,” she says. “There’s always going to be people out there that are going to tell you, ‘No.’ You just got to find the person that’s going to tell you, ‘Yes, don’t quit. You’ve got it. You know what you’re doing. You’re good enough.’”