Brittney Spencer Says Performing with Beyoncé Was a Career-Defining Moment: ‘Don't Mess Up Next to Beyoncé’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Brittney Spencer and Beyoncé on Dec. 25, 2024.Photo:Julian Dakdouk/Parkwood Entertainment

Julian Dakdouk/Parkwood Entertainment

Brittney Spencerwas only waiting for this moment to arise.

The“Bigger Than the Song”country star, 36, is remembering the “really defining moment” when she recently performed withBeyoncé— her “favorite artist of all-time” — on Christmas Day for Netflix’sBeyoncé Bowl.

“Oh, gosh, I think the thing that was mostly going through my head was, ‘Bitch, don’t mess up next to Beyoncé,’ ” Spencer tells PEOPLE of singing“BLACKBIIRD,”a reimagining of The Beatles’ 1968 classic “Blackbird,” with Beyoncé,Tanner Adell,Reyna RobertsandTiera Kennedy. “That was the first thought in my head, and it didn’t really leave until we were done.”

Beyoncé, 43, had recruited the four Black female country artists to sing on “BLACKBIIRD” for herCowboy Carterproject, whichwon album of the yearat the 2025 Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 2.

They performed the song together live for the first time on Dec. 25 duringBeyoncé’s halftime show medleyat NRG Stadium in Houston.

“I learned a great deal being with [Beyoncé], being with her team and getting a little bit of an inside look into how things run in her world,”Spencersays. “Gosh, that was a really defining moment for me.”

The Baltimore native, who now lives in Nashville, hopes the performance was just as special for people watching in the stadium and at home.

“I feel like while we were singing, I just hoped that anybody watching would see a part of themselves in all of this and feel some encouragement because that’s exactly what I felt standing next to all of those incredibly beautiful and talented women,” Spencer explains.

Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Beyoncé, Reyna Roberts and Tiera Kennedy on Dec. 25, 2024.Julian Dakdouk/Parkwood Entertainment

“It felt like a moment that we all could share and I’ll never forget it,” she adds. “But I know it meant a lot to people, especially a whole lot of Black girls who know the story behind the song now thanks to Beyoncé.”

“I was sitting around with my acoustic guitar and I’d heard about the civil rights troubles that were happening in the ’60s in Alabama, Mississippi, Little Rock in particular,” McCartneytoldGQin 2018.

“I just thought it would be really good if I could write something that if it ever reached any of the people going through those problems, it might give them a little bit of hope,” he continued. “So, I wrote ‘Blackbird.’ ”

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The now 82-year-old singer added that in England a “bird” is a “girl,” so he used “Blackbird” as a metaphor for “Black girl.”

Spencer is “happy and honored” to play a role in Beyoncé’s new version.

“It’s a beautiful thing that she was bringing in so many new Black country artists to be a part of this iconic album,” she tells PEOPLE ofCowboy Carter. “It was so genius and so generous, and it’s an honor to be a part of the story of that record because I really do think it has such a cultural imprint.”

“It’s more than just this really cool opportunity that I get to sing with my favorite artists,” Spencer emphasizes. “There was a cultural mission with this, and I am honored that I got to be a part of that.”

source: people.com