To say it’s been an interesting week of headlines for Gavin Adcock would be an understatement. After going viral in our Instagram comment section defending Morgan Wallen after adult film star, Mia Khalifa, called the “Last Night” singer’s music “for racists,” Adcock followed that up by taking aim at Beyoncé.
In case you missed it, during a performance at Big Rodeo in Clearwater, Nebraska, on June 28th, the “Need To” singer referenced the fact that his upcoming album, Own Worst Enemy, was sitting at #4 on Apple Music’s country albums chart before its release on August 15th (it currently sits at #7). With Beyoncé’s highly controversial Cowboy Carter sitting one spot above him at #3, Adcock told the crowd, “There are only three people in front of me on the Apple Music country charts, and one of ’em is Beyoncé. You can tell her we’re coming for her f*cking ass. That sh*t ain’t country music and it ain’t ever been country music and it will never be country music.”
The quote caught fire quickly and spread to nearly every corner of the internet, most notably to Beyoncé fans. Adcock began to receive a plethora of hate directed towards both him and his music, in turn being called a racist for directly calling out Beyoncé.
This led to Adcock issuing a follow up video on Instagram clarifying that he had no ill-will towards the “Drunk in Love” singer, noting that he felt that artists who dedicated their entire lives in country music are more deserving of top spots in the genre, “I’m gonna go ahead and clear this up. When I was little, my mama was blasting a ton of Beyoncé in the car. I heard a ton of Beyoncé songs, and I actually remember her Super Bowl halftime show being pretty kick ass back in the day. But I really don’t believe her album should be labeled as country music. It doesn’t sound country, it doesn’t feel country, and I just don’t think that people who have dedicated their whole lives to this genre and lifestyle should have to compete or watch that album just stay at the top just because she’s Beyoncé.”
Admist all the controversy, Adcock actually experienced the highest streaming week of his career, most notably gaining three million streams on his latest release, “Last One To Know,” in its first week. Taking to X, he threw a not-so-subtle jab at Beyoncé fans, throwing a bee emoji at the end of the post in reference to the “Beyhive.”
Though things had seemingly died down a bit over 4th of July weekend, the 26-year-old singer/songwriter fanned the flames again this morning, taking to Instagram to announce that his brand new single, “Sunset,” is coming out this Friday, July 11th. In the video, Adcock said, “Well, I was dreaming last night and was thinking about all the people that don’t know what real country music sounds like. So Imma drop y’all a new one on Friday…”
Love him or hate him, it’s abundantly clear that Adcock has become a master at marketing himself on social media. From his blend of promotional and relatable content to his dedication to his now-patented rowdy persona, he’s shown time and time again that he’s one of the biggest artists from today’s new line of social media stars. While some artists have been known to shy away from controversy, it’s clear that Adcock embraces it.
“Sunset” will be the ninth and presumably final prereleased single off of his upcoming 24-track sophomore album, Own Worst Enemy, which releases on August 15th.