Country singer Cassadee Pope says she is moving away from the country music genre and back into rock.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, “The Voice” winner said that she had decided to return to her alt-rock roots in part because of some of the blowback she received after speaking out against racism and transphobia in the industry.
“I realize every genre has problematic people in it. I’m not saying there’s not a frontman in a band who hasn’t been accused of something in rock music,” She said to the outlet. “But I guess rock is in my bones more. You’re not completely ostracized and shamed for speaking out.”
Pope began her career as the lead vocalist for the rock band Hey Monday, and was the first female winner of “The Voice” in its third season in 2012. Her first country album, “Frame by Frame,” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums, and sold about 43,000 copies in its first week.
When singer Morgan Wallen was caught on camera using a racial slur in 2021, Pope said she was disgusted by the incident and that his behavior did not represent others working in the industry.
She spoke out again when Jason Aldean’s wife, Brittany Aldean, made transphobic comments on social media, thanking her parents for “not changing her gender” because she went through a “tomboy” phase.
“You’d think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging,” Pope said at the time, “But instead here we are, hearing someone compare their ‘tomboy phase’ to someone wanting to transition.”
“In that moment, I felt so proud. I had no feeling of regret. I just kept my head down and kept going,” she said to Rolling Stone about the latter incident. “It’s only been the past few months that I’ve let my guard down in therapy and said, ‘Wait, I actually wasn’t OK.’ But I think that kind of comes with the territory of including activism in your life.”
Pope’s upcoming album will be released in the spring, People said.
The singer also noted to Rolling Stone that she feels more comfortable singing about topics like female empowerment or sexual pleasure in the rock genre.
“Leaving a genre where you don’t really hear women singing about that kind of thing, or, God forbid, they wear something scandalous, it just felt really fresh and exciting,” she said.