Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert might not be friends, but they’re not feuding, either.
Read More: Every Current Country Music Feud + Beef
Actually, their new duet — and the story behind it — should serve as an example for all the country stars out there who are currently feuding with a fellow artist. This is how you put a beef to bed and drum up some serious publicity in the process.
How Did Kacey Musgraves + Miranda Lambert’s New Duet Come to Be?
Musgraves tapped Lambert for a collaboration called “Horses and Divorces,” which will be on Musgraves’ upcoming Middle of Nowhere album.
In an interview with NPR, she says she got the idea to reach out to Lambert after years of not talking to the singer.
Read More: Kacey Musgraves’ “Dry Spell” Lyrics Made Us Blush!
“We’d lost touch for years and wouldn’t consider each other friends. I saw her on Instagram one day, riding one of her horses, and I was like, ‘Well, we ain’t friends, but I guess we have two things in common, horses and divorces, that’s for sure.'”
“Wait, that could be a really funny song. What if it’s a duet with her? What if I got her to write on it?” Musgraves remembers thinking.
In an instance of art imitating life, Musgraves and Lambert highlighted their bumpy past in a social media teaser.
Read More: Kacey Musgraves + Miranda Lambert Exchange Blows on Social Media, But Fans Suspect It’s a Song Tease
Pre-song announcement, Musgraves appeared to dredge up a decade-old tiff that stemmed from the 2013 CMA Awards. She posted an old video from Lambert’s speech at the awards show, and wrote “You knew that I’d said some things about you,” tagging Lambert and adding an eye roll emoji.
Miranda Lambert, Instagram
Lambert shot back with an Instagram Stories slide of the same clip, writing “Well I’ve done my fair share of s–t talkin too.” Was it a real argument? Was it a lyric sampling? Fans quickly figured out it was the latter.
What’s the Backstory Behind Kacey Musgraves + Miranda Lambert’s Feud?
There’s two major plot points in this story.
The first, and simplest, is that night at the 2013 CMAs when a camera caught Musgraves looking, well, less than happy as Lambert accepted her Female Vocalist of the Year trophy. Musgraves had been nominated in that category too, and Lambert shouted her out during the speech, saying, “East Texas girls gotta stick together.”
Musgraves said at the time that it was all a misunderstanding: That as a new artist, she was still getting used to “cameras being on me 24/7” and the camera simply caught her in a “non-smiling moment.” She also said she’d been in touch with Lambert and things were all good between them.
What About “Mama’s Broken Heart”?
The second piece of the story dates from a couple of years prior, when Lambert received a pitch for “Mama’s Broken Heart.” Musgraves had co-written that song with Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark, and she hoped to keep the song for her own project.
“It was gonna be my first single and I loved the song so much,” Musgraves tells NPR, adding that she’d been writing for other people for years by then.
On top of that, Musgraves and Lambert already had some complicated backstory. “It was two singers from two nearby, small Texas towns. There’s a lot that comes with that. Then we each take our own paths, both leading us to Nashville at different times,” she recounts.
“Then, the song gets pitched to her without my consent or knowledge. It was a tricky situation,” Musgraves continues. “She ended up loving the song and she really wanted it. And I had other co-writers to consider.”
Ultimately, Musgraves says that she’s glad things happened the way they did: The situation forced her to return to the drawing board and write “Merry Go Round,” and “Mama’s Broken Heart” was a chart-topping hit for Lambert.
“Everyone won because I was able to let go of something,” Musgraves points out.
How Did Kacey Musgraves + Miranda Lambert Put Their Feud to Bed?
Flash forward years later, when Musgraves got the idea to involve Lambert on a song that talked about what they had in common: “Horses and Divorces.”
Read More: Miranda Lambert’s Horses Won a Blue Ribbon at a State Fair
By then, each had been through a highly public divorce. Lambert split from Blake Shelton in 2015, and Musgraves divorced singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly in 2020. As for the “horses” part of the song, both of them have a longstanding love of horseback riding: Lambert shows her horses at state fairs, and Musgraves has said that she reconnected with her love of riding in 2025.
They have a third thing in common: A good sense of humor.
That’s why both were so on board to write the song, joined by Shane McAnally — another writer who also worked on “Mama’s Broken Heart.”
“So it was very full-circle in so many ways,” Musgraves describes. “We aired out any of the old laundry. We had some laughs and wrote the song in a matter of a few hours.”
She also pointed out that country music — and the world at large — would be a better place if more people would follow their example.
“I think it could also be a microcosm of what I wish the world would do sometimes, just f–king sit down and poke fun at each other, have a beer and call it a day,” Musgraves adds.
Country Music’s Current Feuds and Beefs [UPDATED]
The difference between a true country music feud and one country singer being a punk is the response. Each of these active feuds has involved a significant back and forth between two country artists or more.
A few singers are involved in multiple feuds while others involve unexpected or unknown singers. We’ll update this list as the pairs make peace or if another fight emerges.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
