Shaboozey has just returned to his 6´3˝ vertical form after spending the past few minutes posing horizontal on a pool float, basking in the Hollywood Hills sun for his People cover. The country star is taking a breather when, suddenly, he’s surprised with a chocolate cake celebrating his milestone 30th birthday three days earlier—not that he’s making a big deal of it. “I’m not a huge birthday person, but I was able to see my family, and that was really special. I hadn’t seen them in probably a year,” says the singer, whose breakthrough 2024 kept him busier than most. “I’m definitely proud of how my 20s turned out. The way my career is, the way I am, the name—it just shows anything’s possible. My whole life is literally just a pinch-me moment.”
Pinch him all you want, but this isn’t a dream Shaboozey will be waking up from anytime soon. More than a year after its April 2024 release, his smash hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is still sitting pretty at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it already set the record for longest-running No. 1 song of all time by a solo artist. Featuring an interpolation of J-Kwon’s 2004 hit “Tipsy,” the genre-defying earworm has proved to be lightning in a bottle and earned Shaboozey five nominations at the 2025 Grammy Awards. On his rise to the top, he also scored a coveted invite to the Met Gala, not one but two features on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, hot-ticket festival gigs at Coachella and Glastonbury, and a Super Bowl ad appearance.
TANK: SECOND/LAYER; PANTS & BELT: MARTINE ROSE; JEWELRY: GOOD ART; BOTTOM ROW, FROM LEFT: COURTESY SHABOOZEY; ALLAN PIMENTA; CARLOS GONZALEZ/PENSKE MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES; DIGITAS CHICAGO/NERDS; KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES; MICHAEL LOCCISANO/GETTY IMAGES
“I want to outdo what I did last year. I want to outdo this song,” says Shaboozey, fully focused on the future. “You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to compare or compete, but I want to continue to make music that people know across the world.”
Country was always calling for Shaboozey, who grew up Collins Chibueze in Woodbridge, Va., the second of four children born to Nigerian parents. His father, who attended college in Texas after immigrating to the United States, is a longtime fan of Americana and the Old West, and his penchant for artists like Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton served as Shaboozey’s first taste of country. He was a role model in other ways too. “[My dad] told me a story the other day about how he told his parents, ‘Hey, I’m going to make you guys proud,’ ” Shaboozey says. “He washed dishes and figured out any menial jobs he could to pay his way through college. He’s always telling me about individual responsibility. It’s on you to really make something of yourself. I definitely put a lot of those principles into my work ethic. My mom also worked pretty tirelessly. It’s very inspiring. I’m grateful for them.”
Shaboozey’s dad also inspired his stage name, albeit unintentionally. A play on his surname—which is pronounced “Chee-BWAY-zay”—the moniker came about after it was mispronounced by his high school football coach. “Growing up, it was always just a thing, trying to pronounce the name. That was the nickname everyone called me back home, and it shows how far I probably thought this was actually going to go,” he explains.
Though music was initially an “escapist hobby” that helped him break up the monotony of his small-town high school routine, Shaboozey says he fell in love with creating. He describes the early years of his career as “pretty directionless.” He was bursting at the seams with creativity but lacked the focus to streamline and execute his ambitious ideas, including a western and a rock opera. His 2014 debut single, “Jeff Gordon,” featured a hip-hop flow and a trap beat, as did much of his 2018 debut album, Lady Wrangler. In May 2024 he released his third album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, a cohesive vision that married his hip-hop origins with southern rock and Americana flair. “There was always this need in me to create the music I’m making now, but I love so many other types of music,” Shaboozey says. “It always felt like I was running from this a little bit, chasing something, and I stopped doing that with the music I’m doing now. It feels like I’m right at home, honestly.”
Breaking into country music as a Black artist can be tough, but Shaboozey didn’t let the possibility of not being welcomed by the community hold him back. “I loved that there was so much room for some diversity in the space and to stand out. I love standing out,” he says. “I love that I’m different. I think it’s my superpower. [I’m] not feeling like I’m not allowed in this space because of the way I look or the way I dress or the way I present myself. If anything, hopefully it opens doors for people.” Singer-songwriter Myles Smith, who collaborated with Shaboozey on “Blink Twice,” off the newly released deluxe edition of Where I’ve Been . . ., says, “He inspires me every day with everything he’s accomplishing and the walls that he’s tearing down. The precedent that he’s setting is incredible.”
Now Shaboozey is ready to enjoy his view from the top. He’s heading out on his biggest tour yet in September, and he also has the freedom to pursue other goals, like starting a production company for stories he’d like to see on the big screen. Then there’s the impact his success has had on his personal life. “I think it’s allowed me to mature a little bit and be able to just let it come to me,” he says of finding love. “I don’t even know yet [what I’m looking for].” But he does know how to plan a date. “I’ve been really into hiking,” he says. “I would say I’m a funny guy, so I just turn it into a laugh fest, honestly.”
Whatever his plan, Shaboozey’s future is bright—and that’s no joke. “The worst thing that can happen to an artist is waking up and not being inspired. As long as you’re inspired, you can create something that changes your life. I have so many ideas. Who knows what the next thing will be?” he says. “This is when the fun begins.”
Additional reporting by DANIELA AVILA
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