How The Pittsburg Steelers Helped Gabby Barrett Sign To Warner Music

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Gabby Barrett is Billboard's 2022 Rising Star recipient, and she sat down to talk to Billboard about her career and how she signed to record label Warner Music Nashville.

Gabby said of her musical and life dreams, "Wherever the Lord leads it, I’m just here for the ride. I would love to eventually sell out Madison Square Garden one day. That’s definitely a bucket list goal."

She added, "But my role first and foremost is being a good mother to my daughter and raising her correctly, and to love the Lord. I think everything just follows the way that it’s supposed to be."

Warner Music Nashville chairman/CEO John Esposito wanted to sign her so badly after her stint on American Idol that he had former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher call her father, who is a huge Steelers fan. And yeah, that helped her pick the Nashville record label for her home.

Barrett offered, "My dad was a big part of the journey coming up for me. When Coach Cowher gave him a call, he called me freaking out. He was like, 'Do you know who just called my phone? Coach Cowher! He’s iconic.' So he was all for my signing with the label after that."

Gabby Barrett

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Gabby Barrett

Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media GroupWriter

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.