Brown is the first male country artist to perform on the show since its 1984 inception.
Kane Brown delivered a historic moment at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, becoming the first male country artist to perform on the show since its 1984 inception. Prior to this Sunday's event, Kacey Musgraves and Taylor Swift had previously been the only country acts to score a performance placement on the high-profile MTV ceremony.
Following a branded mixed-reality promo set to his 2020 hit, "Be Like That," Brown performed his pop-inspired single, "Grand" in front of a live audience in nearby Fort Lee, New Jersey. Brown wore a beige vest and coordinated brown-and-black pants while belting out the lyrics to the track on the neon light-decorated stage.
Just last year, Brown was the only country artist to receive a 2021 VMAs nomination, earning a nod in the Video For Good category for his hit, "Worldwide Beautiful."
Before his performance, Brown walked the red carpet, where the 28-year-old country music superstar spoke to ET's Rachel Smith about making history on the VMAs stage.
"I feel good, you know, I’m kinda upset that I’m not singing a country song," Brown said about performing "Grand."
"But also, it’s kinda good because people will be like 'Oh, this is a country artist. Why is he singing this song?’'Then hopefully they go down a rabbit hole and they discover a lot more artists in the country world."
While he is dabbling in the world of pop music on Sunday, don’t count on him to completely cross over. "No, I mean I got a 17-song album coming out and there’s only like two pop songs on there," he insisted.
Adding that the number is closer to 2 ½, all thanks to the track that he has with his wife, Katelyn Brown. "The one with my wife is kinda poppy,” Brown added. "But nah, I'll never transition just straight to pop."
See more from the VMAs below.
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