If you’ve followed country music long enough, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves weren’t exactly sending each other Christmas cards. Turns out, the rumors were real. And the story behind it is one of those Nashville tales that could only happen in a town built on songs and ego.
Two Small-Town Texas Girls, One Big Song
Miranda and Kacey both grew up in tiny East Texas towns about 12 miles apart. Miranda’s from Lindale; Kacey’s from Mineola. They even shared a connection through Kacey’s grandmother, known around town as “Mrs. Barbara,” who helped book shows for young Kacey and also tipped off Miranda’s parents about auditions for Nashville Star back in 2003. That audition kicked Miranda’s career into gear.
But the real friction started with a song called “Mama’s Broken Heart.”
Kacey co-wrote it with Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally back when she was still a staff songwriter trying to break through as an artist. She had plans for that song to be her debut single. She loved it. She saw it as her ticket.
Then, without Kacey’s knowledge or permission, the song got pitched to Miranda. Miranda heard it, fell in love with it, and wanted to record it. And because Miranda was already the established star and Kacey was still just a writer with a publishing deal, Miranda got the song. It ended up on her 2011 album Four The Record and climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard country charts.
Kacey held a grudge. Understandably.
The Silver Lining She Didn’t See Coming
In a recent NPR interview ahead of her upcoming album Middle of Nowhere, Kacey opened up about the whole situation for the first time in real detail. She acknowledged that losing that song stung, but she also had to think about her co-writers, Brandy and Shane, who stood to benefit from a major artist cutting the track.
So Kacey went back to the drawing board. And that forced detour led her to write “Merry Go Round,” which became the song that actually launched her career. Looking back, she says it ended up being a much better fit for who she was as an artist. The tone, the lyrics, the attitude. It was more her than “Mama’s Broken Heart” ever would have been.
Sometimes losing the thing you wanted most puts you exactly where you need to be.
One Instagram Post Changed Everything
For years after all that, Miranda and Kacey kept their distance. They weren’t enemies throwing shade in public, but they weren’t friends either. Then one day, Kacey was scrolling Instagram and saw Miranda riding one of her horses.
The thought hit her immediately: they weren’t close, but they did have two things in common. Horses and divorces. Miranda split from Blake Shelton in 2015. Kacey divorced songwriter Ruston Kelly in 2020.
Kacey decided that was too good of a song idea to let pride get in the way. She reached out to Miranda cold, acknowledged they’d had their issues over the years, and pitched the concept. Miranda was all in. They brought Shane McAnally back into the writing room to close the loop, and “Horses and Divorces” came together in just a few hours.
What It Means for the New Album
“Horses and Divorces” will appear on Middle of Nowhere, Kacey’s sixth studio album, set to drop May 1st. The record marks her return to Lost Highway Records and leans harder into traditional country sounds, with guest features from Willie Nelson, Billy Strings, and Gregory Alan Isakov alongside Miranda.
Kacey told NPR that she hopes the collaboration sends a bigger message. She wants it to represent what she wishes more people would do: drop the old grudges, sit down together, laugh about it, and move on.
Country music could use more of that energy. So could the rest of us.
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