Tanner Adell has been stacking career milestones over the past year — from going viral on TikTok to landing a spot on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album. For the rising country artist, those moments have helped build a foundation she’s now standing firmly on.
Blavity caught up with Adell at Crown Royal’s Pancake Palace pop-up during Lollapalooza weekend on Aug. 3. The late-night event served up syrupy stacks, signature Crown Royal cocktails and surprise appearances, with Adell and Miguel Harichi among the night’s special guests.
On viral TikToks and ‘Cowboy Carter’ success
“As a small artist, your dream is that a bigger artist will take you under their wing or help build your foundation,” Adell told Blavity. “I feel like when everything was happening, I was in such a good place with building my own fan base and really starting to make a name for myself that when B came in it was kind of like another brick, just almost like the last brick into that foundation. And now it’s like I feel like I have a full stage to stand on. You know what I mean? And it’s difficult to explain even how it feels because I’m sure for someone who it didn’t happen to, it’s hard to imagine something like that happening. But it did. And I’m, every single day, I’m grateful for that. I think in our day and age, there’s a lot of pros and cons to social media, and in the industry, women are overlooked in every genre. In country music, it is very difficult to be a girl and even more so a woman of color.”
Crown Royal is supporting Tanner Adell’s first headlining tour
That momentum has carried into new partnerships and opportunities, including a collaboration with Crown Royal that’s helped take her music on the road.
“Crown Royal and I have been in a relationship for almost a year now. So exciting. So it feels like we’re well-seasoned, we know each other really well,” she said. “And as an independent artist, I remember things, I remember the people that said no, I remember people that said yes. And Crown Royal put me on my first headlining tour. That’s something that’s really hard to do as an independent artist, going on tour by yourself. It’s very difficult to do. But Crown Royal came in and said, ‘We support you, believe in you.’ And we got together and it made sense, because everything’s purple [laugh].”
Adell is also using her growing platform to advocate for women in music.
“We have a collaboration tee or a tank with Juicy Couture, and part of those proceeds are going to women in music,” she said. “There’s so many women and girls who are creating music that don’t get opportunities that a lot of men get. And navigating that can be really hard. If you look at my team, my team is all-female. It’s all women and it’s kind of on purpose. But I also just feel like the women in this industry don’t get the chance to bat. They don’t get a chance to do that. There are a lot of heavy hitters, and they’re silenced a lot of the time. So I’m still finding my way through that and around that. And especially in country music, that’s maybe always going to be something that comes up or is kind of a wall for girls. But we’re doing everything we can. That’s all we can do, is just keep making music and being creative and putting our voices out there.”
On tour, she says the energy is unmatched.
“We have a lot of fun. We have a lot of fun on the road. That and seeing the fans. Seeing the fans, and honestly, Crown makes that possible. It’s purple, pink. It is the perfect environment for my fans, but also just as a community, being able to come together and kick off my tour.”
Why she wants to work with Chappell Roan
When asked about a dream collaboration, Adell didn’t hesitate.
“Chappell Roan,” she said before the question was even finished.
We told her, “We need to get Chappell Roan on the phone and be like, ‘Hey.’”
Adell laughed and replied, “Yes. Do you like Crown? She’s from the Midwest. She’s a small town girl [just like me].”
