Mickey Guyton at a glance

Born: Candace Mycale Guyton in Arlington, Texas

Age: 37

First musical inspiration: Hearing Leann Rimes sing the national anthem at a Texas Rangers home game when Guyton was 5, the same year she began singing at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Arlington.

Other key influences: Dolly Parton, above meeting Guyton, Whitney Houston, Bebe & Cece Winans, Patsy Cline, Rissi Palmer, Ray Charles.

Academia: After graduating from high school in Texas, Guyton moved to California and attended classes at Los Angeles Valley Community College and Santa Monica City College as a business major.

Day jobs: Guyton worked in a Los Angeles bar and as a hostess at a men-only cigar club. “The cigar club was a little icky,” she recalls, “but it enabled me to have a job and go to school full time.”

Record deal: Guyton was signed by Capitol Records’ country music division in 2011. She moved to Nashville soon thereafter.

First concert of note: In late 2011, Guyton sang the Patsy Cline classic “Crazy” at the White House for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. The concert, which was nationally televised by PBS, also featured James Taylor, Kris Kristofferson, Darius Rucker, Lyle Lovett and The Band Perry.

First release: “Unbreakable,” a four-song EP, in 2014

First single: “Better Than You Left Me” in 2015

Ballot debuts: Guyton was nominated in the New Female Vocalist of the Year category for the 2015 Academy of Country Music Awards, where she was nominated last month in the New Female Artist of the Year category.

Grammy nomination: 2021 Best Country Solo Performance for “Black Like Me”

Most recent recording: Her version of Beyoncé’s “If I Were a Boy”

Recording in a pandemic: “For my upcoming album, I got a lot of recording equipment, learned how to use it, and sang from my bedroom in Los Angeles. I sent audio files back and forth to my producer in Nashville. There’s a plug-in where she can listen to me, in real time, singing the vocal, but it’s on a different browser and has a 0.5-second delay. So, it’s not the same as being in the same room together, but we’ve adjusted.”

63rd annual Grammy Awards

Hosted by: Trevor Noah

With performances by: Lineup to be announced

When: 5 p.m. next Sunday

Where: KFMB Channel 8, airing live from the in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center and on the Paramount Plus subscription streaming service

Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony

Hosted by: Jhené Aiko

With performances by: Gregory Porter, Anoushka Shankar, Burna Boy, Rufus Wainwright, Teri Lyne Carrington & Social Science, Igor Levit, and others

When: Noon next Sunday (awards will be presented in more than 70 of the 84 Grammy categories)

Where: Online only at grammy.com