Shaboozey, a Beyoncé collaborator and Stagecoach Festival surprise hit, is having a moment
Shaboozey, whose “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has proven to be a straight-out-of-the-box smash among both country and hip-hop fans.
One of the buzziest — or should that be tipsiest? — performances at this past weekend’s Stagecoach came from an artist who wasn’t even listed on the poster art.
Late-breaking sensation Shaboozey was squeezed into the festival as a performer in the Bud Light Backyard tent, where there was other squeezing going on as Sunday’s festivalgoers stood in line to get a glimpse of the artist whose “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has proven to be a straight-out-of-the-box smash among both country and hip-hop fans.
Shaboozey isn’t coming to stardom himself in any kind of overnight way; the 28-year-old, Virginia-born singer-rapper put out his first single 10 years ago, and he’s about to release his third major-label album. But his career has gotten a major accelerant, to say the least, this year.
First, of the many young Black artists getting guest spots on Beyoncé‘s “Cowboy Carter” album, he was the only one to get two features, which pretty much counts as the co-sign of the year. And then “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” came out strong in its Hot 100 debut, with a position at least in the top 10 inevitable — plus, it landed at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart shortly after Stagecoach, replacing Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em,” in a true signpost moment.
“It’s good to finally be here, you know?” said Shaboozey, relaxing after his performance at Stagecoach. By “here,” he didn’t mean at the festival, but in the limelight. “I’ve seen so many people along the journey who have believed in me. A lot of big people have always seen it. So it’s cool for them to be like, ‘I was right about that guy.’”
Rating: 5