Mickey Guyton can cross off meeting her “hero,” Reese Witherspoon, from her bucket list.
The country music singer, 39, spoke with Fox News Digital about her experience working with Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves on the upcoming Apple TV+ series “My Kind of Country.”
“Listen, I love both of them. I’ve come up with – Kacey Musgraves, Reese Witherspoon – I mean, I grew up loving her,” Guyton began.
Mickey Guyton and Reese Witherspoon worked together on the Apple TV+ series “My Kind of Country.” (Getty Images / File)
“From ‘Fear’ to ‘Legally Blonde’ … I’ve watched all of her movies, and I’ve just loved her so much, and to see her being such an amazing businesswoman that she is, using her platform to give other artists opportunities like being able to sing country music because she is from Nashville – and she loves, you know, this country so much – I just think it’s so cool that we get to be a part of this with her.”
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Kacey Musgraves co-produced “My Kind of Country.” (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic / File)
Guyton’s co-star, Orville Peck, chimed in and said it was a “dream come true” to work with Musgraves and Witherspoon.
“It’s a beautiful thing to be given that trust as well,” he added.
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Witherspoon and Musgraves executive produce the series, which debuts on Friday. “My Kind of Country” is a competition show, with hand-picked contestants by scouts Guyton, Peck and Jimmie Allen.
The series takes place in Nashville, Tennessee, and the winner will receive a “life-changing” prize on behalf of Apple Music.
Orville Peck in “My Kind of Country.” (Apple TV+)
Guyton said that she would love a country music collaboration with Witherspoon and Musgraves.
“If you just go ahead and put that out in the energy and the world and the universe. Give me those vibes and spirit, and I am here for it. Yes, please,” she told Fox News Digital.
Something that surprised Guyton after meeting Witherspoon was that “she really is that nice person that you see” on the big screen.
Guyton described Reese Witherspoon as really “that nice person” you see in movies. (James Devaney / GC Images / File)
“You know, they say don’t ever meet your heroes. I usually run. I literally do run away from massive celebrities like her,” Guyton said of the “Sweet Home Alabama” star.
The country music artist said that she “ran away” from Mariah Carey and Don Cheadle when she met them.
“I do [it] because I’m scared,” she said of running away. “I don’t want to be disappointed.”
Speaking of who has inspired her the most in her career, Guyton said that without a doubt it’s Dolly Parton. She said that meeting Parton was “magical” and she did not run away.
Dolly Parton inspired Guyton the most in her country music career. (David Crotty / Patrick McMullan / File)
“Dolly Parton, through and through, Dolly Parton, not only is she an incredible writer and incredible artist, she’s an incredible businesswoman, and I feel like she’s a national treasure,” Guyton said.
She said her other greatest inspirations include Shania Twain and, of course, Witherspoon and Musgraves.
“I really was inspired by the way that Kacey Musgraves rose in her career. Like she just said, was like, ‘Hey, this is me. You’re going to take it or leave it, but this is going to be me.’ It’s so beautiful to see her lending herself to a show like this, to enable other artists to just say, ‘Hey, this is me. I happen to love country music.’”
“I think the audience and the listeners, especially country music listeners, we’ve got to give our listeners way more credit. Country listeners are diverse. They are loving people that want inclusion just as much as everybody else. And it’s important, I think, for the world to see that,” she said.
Guyton and Orville traveled around the world in search of the best music talent to bring to Nashville.
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Speaking of the experience, Orville said, “I think we all have a passion for that, but also finding new stories. Within country music, you know, I think that really excites us. So, the prospect was it was cool. It was a really amazing experience.”
According to Guyton, the impact “My Kind of Country” will have on the genre will be the ability to promote the music on a “global scale.”
The Congo Cowboys in “My Kind of Country.” (Apple TV+)
“I think country music is such a beautiful genre of music that it really does have a universal appeal, just like pop, just like hip hop, just like alternative,” she began.
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“This is just giving it that much more of a global scale. There’s so many people, and what we found all over the country, they love [it]. All over the world, they love country music and that they want these opportunities that they’re not getting.”
She continued, “This is going to just expand the genre that much larger, and I’m just so excited to be a part of that. And I’m excited for listeners, if you’re a music fan. These artists are incredible.”
