Some of country music’s biggest stars started their careers with very public rejection. Artists including Morgan Wallen, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, and Kacey Musgraves began their careers on televised singing competitions—but didn’t make it very far. However, their time on television introduced them to thousands of new fans, and in many cases, when they were ready to put out new music after the show, fans were hungry for it.
Here are a few of country music’s biggest stars who successfully launched their careers losing.
Morgan Wallen
Morgan Wallen might be one of the hottest stadium headliners in country music right now, but in 2014, Usher cut Wallen from his team following a Round 2 battle. Adam Levine picked him up, only for him to later be eliminated after singing Florida Georgia Line’s “Stay.”
Wallen signed his record deal about two years later. He released “Up Down” with Florida Georgia Line in 2017 and called it a poetic moment.
At the time, Wallen told Country Countdown USA: “I made the top 20. When I made it there, I got a list of songs to choose from. A Florida Georgia Line song was the only country song on the list, so I sang their song and got kicked off. It shows you how things come full circle. Now I have a song with them.”
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Kane Brown
Kane Brown has kicked down many doors in country music since releasing his self-titled debut album in 2016.
The album came three years after Brown made it onto The X Factor in 2013. He was 19 years old and said it “didn’t seem real” when he walked on stage. He later left the show over creative differences.
“They tried to put me in a boy band, so I quit,” Brown told Billboard. “I went home and did my own ‘American Idol’ with covers online.”
In 2014, he posted a clip of himself singing Lee Brice’s “I Don’t Dance” and went to sleep. The following day, he had 800 friend requests on Facebook and then 700 more. Brown’s account maxed out at that, but by the end of the day, he recalls having 20,000 followers and the video getting 60,000 shares.
With that, he was off and running.
Luke Combs
Luke Combs tried out for The Voice, but no one can find a video of it—for good reason. Combs told Whiskey Riff that he could sing but wouldn’t make for good television.
“I made it through those rounds with the producers, but I got a letter saying I wasn’t ‘interesting’ enough for the show’s ratings, so I didn’t get to the show,” Combs said. “But it gave me a lot of confidence because I was good enough voice-wise to make it through all those producer auditions.”
Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Musgraves is the picture of sophisticated chic riding high on her boundary-breaking cross-over career.
But about 17 years ago, Musgraves was an emerging artist on the Texas music scene who did a very traditional “Halfway To Memphis” on the USA network’s Nashville Star.
Musgraves finished seventh place, then signed her record deal with Universal Music Group Nashville and released her debut album, “Merry Go Round,” in 2013
Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert finished third on the first season of Nashville Star 20 years ago. Now, she’s one of the most celebrated women of this generation in country music. Throughout her career, Lambert has won close to 40 Academy of Country Music Awards and has had hits including “The House That Built Me,” “Mama’s Broken Heart,” “Little Red Wagon,” and “If I Was a Cowboy.” She combines sass, vulnerability, and a capacity for songwriting and storytelling that’s nearly unparalleled in the genre.
Her new album “Postcards From Texas” will be available on Sept. 13.
Gabby Barrett
Gabby Barrett finished third in season 16 of “American Idol,” and while she didn’t win the title, she met her husband on the show, Cade Foehner. Now the couple has three children, and in addition to her hit songs, including “I Hope” and “The Good Ones,” she’s on tour through November.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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