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Miranda Lambert Is Leaving Her Longtime Record Label

After 20 years recording albums on the Sony Music record label in Nashville, Miranda Lambert announced through Instagram yesterday (3/15) that she was leaving the label for her “next adventure.”…

Miranda Lambert Is Leaving Her Longtime Record Label
Adam Hagy/Getty Images

After 20 years recording albums on the Sony Music record label in Nashville, Miranda Lambert announced through Instagram yesterday (3/15) that she was leaving the label for her "next adventure."

Miranda posted a message to Instagram and a collage of the albums she released through Sony through the years. She wrote, "Since I was 19 years old, Sony has been my home in Nashville. Over the last 20 years, Together, we have released albums that allowed me to share my story with the world, and we've reached heights I'd never even dreamed were possible. I'm so thankful for our time together and everything they made possible for me, yet I wouldn't be true to myself if I wasn't constantly looking for the next challenge and a new way to stretch my creativity. With that in mind, I've decided to say goodbye to my Sony family."

She concluded, "I can't wait to see what the next adventure holds."

Many fans reacted to the news, including one fan who said, "Happy for you! It takes strength to break that comfort level and breach the unknown. You got this, no doubt!" Another fan commented, "Every one of those albums was a soundtrack for my life at the time it was released. Keep doing what you do so well… your music gets me through!!!" One more fan wrote, "You've not made a wrong move yet! Can't wait to see what you'll do next!! See you in Vegas next week, Queen!!"

Lambert released her debut album, Kerosene, with Sony in 2005. She has taken seven albums to the top of Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and seven songs to No. 1 on Country Airplay as a solo artist or collaboration. She won Grammys in the country album of the year category for her projects Wildcard and Platinum, while her song "The House That Built Me" won a Grammy for female country vocal performance.

The phrase "Grammy darlings" applies to artists that Grammy voters love and seem to get all the nominations and awards. In country music, it is quite evident in the last 15 years or so who are the darlings of country music at the Grammy Awards: Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, and Kacey Musgraves.

Nominees this Year for the Grammy for Best Country Album of the Year are Luke Combs for Growin' Up, Miranda Lambert for Palomino, Ashley McBryde for Ashley McBryde Presents Lindeville, Maren Morris for Humble Quest, and country icon Willie Nelson for his album A Beautiful Time. As the February 5th Grammy Awards approach we take a look at winners in that coveted category through the years.

2022 - Chris Stapleton - "Starting Over"

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This fantastic album from Chris Stapleton also won Album of the Year honors at both the ACM Awards and the CMA Awards in 2021. "Starting Over," the fourth album from Stapleton, debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 103,000 units in its first week.


2021 - Miranda Lambert - "Wildcard"

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"Wildcard" is Miranda's seventh studio album. It was released on November 1, 2019, via RCA Records Nashville. The album features the singles "It All Comes Out in the Wash," "Bluebird," and "Settling Down." It was nominated for but did not win the CMA's Album of The Year honor in 2020.


2019 - Kacey Musgraves - "Golden Hour"

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This critically acclaimed album also won the all-genre Grammy for Album of the Year (a massive deal for a country record) and won the ACMs album of the Year as well.


2018 - Chris Stapleton - "From A Room: Volume 1"

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Only his second album, this project won Country Album of the Year. It also won the Album of the Year award at the 51st Country Music Association Awards.


2016 - Chris Stapleton - "Traveller"

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This is Stapleton's debut album. The song "Traveller" also won Best Country Solo Performance at the 2016 ACM Awards, and it won ACM Album of the Year, with the song "Nobody to Blame" also winning Song of the Year.


2015 - Miranda Lambert - "Platinum"

MirandaLambertPlatinum.jpgRCA

Lambert wrote or co-wrote eight of the album's 16 tracks while working with a host of session musicians, songwriters, and guest performers Little Big Town, The Time Jumpers, and Carrie Underwood. The album also scored Album of the Year at both the CMAs and the ACMs.


2014 - Kacey Musgraves - "Same Trailer Different Park"

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On her solo debut album, Musgraves co-wrote all 12 tracks and co-produced the album.


2012 - Lady Antebellum - "Own the Night"

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The trio's third studio album. This became their second number-one album in the US and one of the most successful country albums of 2011.


2011 - Lady Antebellum - "Need You Now"

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This is the follow-up album to their 2008 self-titled debut album. The single "Need You Now" won four awards, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.


2010 - Taylor Swift - "Fearless"

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This is Taylor's second album, and she also won Album of the Year at the Grammys. The album is featured on Rolling Stone's 2022 list of the 100 Greatest Country Albums of All Time.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.