Kane Brown reveals battling imposter syndrome amid stardom in candid interview with Today's Willie Geist
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Willie Geist, the anchor of ‘Today’ recently got into an exclusive interview with singer Kane Brown who talked about his imposter syndrome and what helped him battle it.
On Sunday, September 17, Brown was welcomed by Geist to his cherished segment called 'Sunday Today,' where the host welcomes new stars every weekend and delves deeply into their lives.
During their conversation, the country music artist talked about rising from a difficult childhood marked by periods of homelessness to the top of the country music charts.
He also divulged topics of making history with his wife, singer Katelyn Jae at Fenway Park.
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Kane Brown talks about his battle with imposter syndrome
Imposter syndrome is when a high-achieving individual experiences a great deal of self-doubt about their skills, intellect, or accomplishments, according to the National Institutes of Health.
When it came to Kane Brown, he told ‘Today’ star Willie Geist that he “started to feel imposter syndrome when his career started taking off.”
He revealed, “When I f*****g started playin’ bigger places I got, like, imposter syndrome of it moving too fast. I wasn’t the greatest on stage, I wondered what everybody thought about me.”
However, Brown revealed that those feelings took a back seat when he was invited to perform at Boston's Fenway Park.
"But when I did Fenway, I knew that I was supposed to be there," he emphasized, recognizing the significance of being the first Black artist ever to headline a concert at the iconic stadium.
"Fenway was very iconic to me," Brown exclaimed, "And when I got out there, you know, there were no nerves. There was no, 'Oh my God.'"
He further added, "It was like, 'It’s showtime and I’m going to put on a show and let these people know that I’m so glad they’re here and that I’m so glad to be here.'”
Kane Brown opens up about criticism
Kane Brown also talked about receiving a lot of criticism about his appearance on social media.
As a child, Brown spent his upbringing in Northwest Georgia and Southeastern Tennessee. He was born to a White mother and a father of Black and Native American descent.
He said, "They’d be like, 'Just look at him. He’s not country. That’s not what the country looks like,'yada, yada, yada.'"
Adding, "But I feel like it’s also what made me blow up on Facebook. ‘Cause, I had a lot of people that clicked my video and they would be like, 'I thought you were going to rap, excuse me.’”
He continued, "And then I started singing. So it kind of shocked them and they wanted to share."
When Brown gained his overnight fame on Facebook, he released his self-titled debut studio album in 2016 featuring multi-platinum songs like ‘Heaven’ and ‘What Ifs’.
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Kane Brown’s scary moments
Despite finding significant success with his debut album, Kane Brown candidly admitted to Willie Geist that he was initially "really scared of everything" when he first got into music.
He explained, "I was like, 'well if I do this wrong if I do this wrong,' and now it’s just I get to be myself.”
When Geist asked if he ever reflects on how far he has come, Brown revealed that he prefers not to dwell on it because it allows him to stay focused on the present.
Brown added, "Everything that I went through is a part of my life that got me here. And I’m proud of it. Even though a lot of it was tough and you didn’t know what was going to come out of it. But I feel like that’s who made me who I am today."
He concluded adding, “It made me strong. It made me want to get back to people and made me humble. And just made me proud of who I am and where I came from.”