<\/p>\n
\n\tT-Pain may be an R&B legend, but his influence in country music isn\u2019t as well known \u2014 on purpose.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn his new Billboard<\/em> cover story,<\/a> the 39-year-old superstar shared the backlash he has received from country music fans over the years. When he took on Chris Stapleton\u2019s version of \u201cTennessee Whiskey\u201d for his 2023 On Top of the Covers<\/em> album, he recalled, \u00a0\u201cA country music page on Instagram posted my version, and there was only one comment: \u2018Nope<\/em>.\u2019\u201d He added that he received similar hostility after a red-carpet interview in 2008.\u00a0\u201cThey asked me who I wanted to work with, and I said Carrie Underwood,\u201d he says. \u201cThe country fans were like, \u2018She don\u2019t work with j\u2014oos. She has too much class for somebody like you. Why would she ever\u2026\u2019 And I was giving her props!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHe revealed, \u201cI actually lived in Nashville for a while, ghostwriting for country artists from 2014 to \u201916. Everybody kept trying to figure out why Luke Bryan was saying \u2018T-Pain\u2019 in all his songs for a second.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tT-Pain listed Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Toby Keith and Florida Georgia Line as some of the artists he\u2019s worked with, but after seeing hate comments, he decided to keep his contributions private, likening his experience to Beyonc\u00e9 following the release of Cowboy Carter<\/em>. \u201cBeyonc\u00e9 is strong enough to keep it going. It\u2019s easier for her to stay in it than me,\u201d he admitted \u201cI\u2019m not up at that level, so I can\u2019t punch through that kind of stuff. So I kept doing it, but I just stopped taking credit.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRead T-Pain\u2019s full cover profile here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tSpeaking of Bey, back in March, while unveiling the\u00a0Cowboy<\/em>\u00a0Carter<\/em>\u00a0cover artwork,\u00a0the singer wrote<\/a>\u00a0that the\u00a0Renaissance\u00a0<\/em>sequel was \u201cborn out of an experience\u201d she\u2019d had years prior where she \u201cdid not feel welcomed,\u201d adding, \u201cit was very clear that I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFans assumed that her comment was in reference to her \u201cDaddy Lessons\u201d performance with The Chicks at the 2016 CMA Awards, which sparked calls for\u00a0a CMAs boycott<\/a>\u00a0on social media, with some people blasting the awards show for including the superstar. After the performance, there was\u00a0no mention of her appearance<\/a>\u00a0on the CMAs website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n