Brandy Clark

Brandy Clark is an American country music singer-songwriter. Born in Morton, Washington, she was influenced by the country-pop and traditional country music her parents and grandmother would listen to. Early influences included Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, and Merle Haggard. She began playing guitar at nine years old, getting involved in school musicals, and writing songs. Clark was awarded a basketball scholarship to Central Washington University, but later left and joined the music business program at Belmont University. She moved to Nashville in 1998, getting a job with Leadership Music, which led to a publishing deal.

Brandy Clark is an openly lesbian major-label country artist who has been nominated for sixteen Grammy Awards, including 2015 Best New Artist and won the Country Music Award for Song of the Year. Clark has written songs for countless country music stars such as Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Miranda Lambert, and Kacey Musgraves. Clark is a frequent collaborator of Shane McAnally, and the two wrote the music and lyrics for Shucked, earning a nomination for Tony Award for Best Original Score.