If country music had a rodeo queen-meets-rockstar hybrid, her name would be KC Johns — and spoiler alert: she’s already got the crown.
The Mississippi-raised, Memphis-born singer-songwriter is riding into 2025 with serious momentum, killer vocals, and a brand new single that is giving confidence, fire, and female empowerment. Appropriately titled “Smoke Show,” KC’s latest anthem is a whole vibe — and yes, it’s already on repeat in our playlists.
We caught up with the powerhouse herself at CRS 2025 in Nashville back in February, and KC gave us the lowdown on her journey, her music, and what inspired her bold new release. She’s the real deal, and she’s just getting started.
Before she was dropping chart-climbing singles and touring across the U.S. and UK, KC Johns was literally raised in the rodeo. “My mom is a barrel racer and my stepdad was a bull rider,” she told Celeb Secrets.
KC’s roots run deep — and they show up in everything she does. She’s been grinding for years, playing over 150 shows annually, hitting festivals like Gordy’s HWY 30 Music Fest and Big As Texas, and building a loyal fanbase one high-energy show at a time.
“I’m living the songs I’m singing,” she told us. And honestly? That authenticity is what makes her stand out.
Her new single “Smoke Show” is all about hyping up the girls — and KC made it clear that it’s more than a song… it’s a movement.
“This one is for the girls!” she shared in a statement. “It should be okay for women to tell women they are beautiful, strong, intelligent, and straight up SMOKE SHOWS!”
And the best part? She lives that message on stage. “During live shows, from the stage, I will often point out, when a girl has taken the time out of her hard workin’ day to curl her hair, mellowly fix her makeup and search for the perfect outfit (to maybe impress someone) – that she is an absolute SMOKE SHOW!”
KC’s all about women building each other up. “Women should tell women this more often – let’s build each other up EVERYDAY!” she added. And honestly? Amen.
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Before releasing her debut album Thunder in 2022, KC was cutting her teeth performing for Carnival Cruise Lines, and even starred in Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors show at Dollywood. Like… the range?!
But deep down, she knew she had stories to tell — and the songwriting bug never left her. Now, with hits like “Break From the Heart” (which hit #2 on the Texas CDX Radio Surging and Emerging chart) and “Rodeo Queen” (which racked up nearly a million streams and earned a Texas CMA nod), KC’s officially making waves on her own terms.
She’s also opened for Luke Bryan, Chris Young, and Morgan Wade, and she’s headed overseas again this spring with stops in Wolverhampton, Southampton, Suffolk and more on her UK tour.
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KC’s not only serving looks and lyrics — KC also launched her own award-winning whiskey. KC Johns’ Thunder Mesquite Smoked Bourbon is smooth, smoky, and totally on-brand. Basically, she’s out here living the country-rock dream and bottling it up, literally.
With “Smoke Show” lighting up playlists and a stacked tour calendar ahead, KC Johns is showing no signs of slowing down. Whether she’s tearing up the stage in boots, writing from the heart, or making you cry-laugh at one of her live shows, she’s the kind of artist country music needs right now: real, raw, and unapologetically herself.
“I’m definitely releasing more songs about personal life and about my family and just more about who I am as an artist and a person. I feel like if you write what you know and you try to tell your story in the best way you can, I feel like people will relate to that,” she explained. “I want to be able to continue to write music for people that understand what I’m trying to say.”
Honestly? That’s the energy we’re bringing into the rest of 2025.
Listen to “Smoke Show” below and let us know if you’re loving the track by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecretscountry.
