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Chapel Heart, by many measures, has achieved success may thought impossible. As a Black trio of women trying to break through in country music, the odds were definitely not in their favor. Over the last nine years of trying and "nearly succeeding but not quite," the band has decided to take a few steps back and reassess. While the career achievements are significant - earning a "Golden Buzzer" on "America's Got Talent" and making it to the finals, to getting the attention of the great Dolly Parton who publicly sang their praises for their reimagined tune, “You Can Have Him Jolene” and Darius Rucker including them on his latest album, "Carolyn’s Boy," there have been career victories. But still nearly a decade in to their career, the trio remains unsigned by a record label and unplayed on country radio. And falling short has taken its toll on the women. In a Facebook Live session over the weekend, the ladies told fans they were re-examining their approach to their careers, and changes were coming. "We’ve been trying so hard to make it in the music business, to break into the music industry. As many of you know, we’re still independent, and still doing it out here on our own," Danica Hart continued. "We’re trying our very best to keep up with those who are in the music industry, and on a record label. And in a way, I feel like we’ve done pretty well because our names are in conversations." They went on to describe their breaking point, at last week's CMA Awards. “We went to the CMAs the other night, and in the room that only industry people have access to. Every single person knew who Chapel Hart was. Exciting news for us, but also sad news, because for us that means everyone knows who we are, and we still don’t have a record deal, we still don’t have a publishing deal, we still don’t have sponsorships, and we’re still out here busting our tails." Moving forward, the trio says, they are done pursuing that country "golden ring." "We’re just so tired of trying to compete in an industry that is just making no effort,” Danica said. “This is to serve notice that we are no longer competing in the industry … We’re so busy trying to keep up in an industry who isn’t even acknowledging us when we could be doing the things that really make our heart happy. We’re not here to play fame. We’re not here to get famous. We’re here to serve the people. We’re here to write the songs that makes you feel good from the inside out. We’re deciding to stand 30 toes down …We got to get back to our original commitment. We were here for the people. We were here for our fans … We’re just gonna open the doors. We started to make people happy, to write music that people love, to watch people grow, to grow with our fans.” They assure fans they are still Chapel Heart, but with a focus more on the fans and the music than on "making it."
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