Country
Kacey Musgraves reveals the reason behind her feud with fellow country superstar Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves has explained what led to her rift with Miranda Lambert.
Kacey Musgraves has spoken candidly about the long‑running tension between her and Miranda Lambert, revealing that their rift began when Mama’s Broken Heart — a song Kacey wrote and intended to release herself — was recorded and released by Miranda instead.
Speaking on NPR, Kacey said she had planned for the track to be her debut single after years of writing for other artists.
She explained that the song was pitched to Miranda without her “consent or knowledge”, and because Lambert was already a much bigger star at the time, it ultimately landed on her 2011 album Four the Record.
Kacey described the moment as “a tricky situation”, noting that she also had co‑writers to consider.
As two artists from small Texas towns who later found their way to Nashville, she said the dynamic added extra pressure.
She said: “There’s a lot that comes with that."
The fallout lingered for years.
Kacey said they “lost touch” and “wouldn’t consider each other friends”, with the song’s history becoming an unspoken source of friction as both artists’ careers took off.
Looking back now, Kacey says she’s made peace with how things unfolded, believing the disappointment pushed her to write Merry Go Round, the breakthrough single from her 2013 debut Same Trailer Different Park.
She said: “It forced me to write that song."
More than a decade after the feud began, the pair have finally reconnected — and even recorded together. Their new collaboration, Horses and Divorces, appears on Kacey’s upcoming album Middle of Nowhere.
She said the idea came after she saw Miranda riding a horse on Instagram and realised they still shared two things in common: “horses and divorces.”
