K. Michelle Is Finally Living Her Country Dreams After Years of Hearing No

K. Michelle has been making R&B records for over a decade now, but she’s always dreamed of being a country singer — and now she’s finally getting the chance.

“Country was always my first genre that I did,” the Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta alum, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 2. “I was told it was easier and I needed to do R&B just because of the climate of country music years ago, and I just remember every single album, I fought with my record label, and they would tell me every single album that I finally would get to put out my country album and do what it is that I wanted to do. And every time, [they would say] it was the next album, it was the next album.”

Finally, Michelle decided she’d had enough and arranged a “two-hour meeting” with her label where she stood her ground.

“I said, ‘No more, no more. I will not be doing that. I’m going to be able to release the music that I’m supposed to be releasing,’” she recalled, noting that her diehard fans know she’s always incorporated country flavor into her live shows. “It was always something I fought for every single album. It’s how I was raised. … So, yeah, it’s time. It was time for me to really just say, ‘I have to do what I’m supposed to be here doing.’”

Michelle is working on a full-length country album, but for now, fans can get a taste of what’s to come with the single “Jack Daniel’s,” an ode to her favorite adult beverage of choice (a.k.a. “the only man I trust,” per the lyrics). The song — cowritten with Ernest, Jordan Dozzi and Rocky Block — is an emotional stomper that would fit right in on the jukebox at a Nashville honky-tonk.

Fans who mostly know Michelle from her reality TV exploits may be surprised by the pivot, but she says it’s not really a change at all. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, the twang in her voice has always been audible for those paying attention. She also previously gave listeners a taste of her country side on the bonus track “Tennessee” from her 2023 album, I’m the Problem.

Her interest in country dates back to her childhood, when she started listening to music by icons like Dolly Parton and The Judds. It was a voice instructor who suggested that Michelle start learning the finer points of country, including yodeling — which eventually earned her a music scholarship to Florida A&M. (Parton, 79, is famously also an excellent yodeler.)

“My mom took me in to him, and he said, ‘No offense. Can I say something?’ And my mother, when she tells the story, [she says] he was like, ‘She has such a big voice, and every time she does a talent show, people are going to expect her to sing Whitney Houston. I would like to teach her something else as well as, just put her on to different sounds and different things,’” Michelle recalled. “And he was a huge country music fan, so he would teach me that type of technique. … He’s no longer with us, but he was very influential when it came to, ‘She needs to know how to do everything and love everything.’”

The lesson clearly stuck, because Michelle sounds just as at home channeling her inner country girl on “Jack Daniel’s” as she does crooning her biggest R&B hits. She doesn’t want to divulge too much information about her new album just yet, but she promises it will please her oldest fans as well as country music obsessives.

“Not to toot my own horn, but people — I don’t know what they think they’re going to get from me, but I grew up traditional country,” she explained. “It is full, traditional country. And I’m so excited for country music lovers to really hear that. So, if you love country, you’re gonna love the album.”

“Jack Daniel’s” is out now.