Tristan McIntosh: Country Roots, Rising Voice
Tristan Onei’l McIntosh (born April 25, 2000) is a country singer based in Nashville, Tennessee. She first drew national attention as a Season 15 contestant on American Idol, finishing in sixth place. Sources documenting her background include American Idol Wiki, where early milestones such as winning Clarksville’s Got Talent in 2013 are recorded. A multi-instrumentalist who began piano at four and later added guitar and trumpet, McIntosh blends traditional country influences with pop and soul, a range she’s discussed in interviews like Guitar Girl Magazine.
Her live résumé anchors her firmly in the country tradition: performances at the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, and Nashville’s Bluebird Café, along with festival appearances, are highlighted by her agency profile at Artists & Beyond. These stages, coupled with her evolving original catalog, position McIntosh as a rising voice whose work honors country storytelling while embracing modern polish.
Country Roots & Influences
McIntosh’s foundation is classic country performance culture, informed by artists like Alan Jackson and Reba McEntire, alongside pop and R&B influences including Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Tori Kelly. This duality shows up in her phrasing and dynamic range: the narrative focus of country with the melismatic lift of soul. Her training on piano and guitar equips her to write and arrange with harmonic nuance, while trumpet adds a performer’s sense of breath and space—skills that translate into confident stagecraft.
The venues matter. The Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman are more than bragging rights; they’re crucibles for country performers. Playing the Bluebird Café—famed for songwriter-first intimacy—signals an artist leaning into story, detail, and audience connection.
Spotlight Singles: “Champagne Rampage” & “Getaway Car”
“Champagne Rampage” (2024)
Released in June 2024, “Champagne Rampage” is a kinetic, narrative-driven track that plays like a short film. Listings such as Shazam credit McIntosh alongside seasoned Nashville collaborators, and the production frames her voice with punch and sheen. Lyrically, the song paints a wedding-day meltdown—gilded place settings, a runaway bride, and the fizz and fallout of expectations gone sideways. It’s classic country drama dressed in modern hooks.
“Getaway Car” (2025)
Her August 23, 2025 release, “Getaway Car”, turns inward. Where “Champagne Rampage” explodes outward in cinematic color, “Getaway Car” leans into leaving and renewal—escape as metaphor, motion as self-protection. While full lyric breakdowns are scarce at press time, the single’s positioning across platforms and teasers on her Instagram suggest a reflective arc: taking the wheel, choosing a new road, and owning the consequences. The contrast between the two singles demonstrates range and a growing curatorial sense of when to belt and when to breathe.
What Makes Her Work Stand Out
Versatility. McIntosh’s multi-instrumental background and broad listening diet make it natural for her to toggle between high-drama bangers and quiet confessionals without losing identity.
Tradition + modernity. She brings the architecture of country—story, character, setting—to current production aesthetics. That blend is crucial for contemporary country audiences who stream across genres.
Visibility and voice. As a Black country artist, McIntosh contributes to a vital widening of the genre’s lens. Coverage of Nashville events spotlighting Black country performers—like those noted by NewsChannel 5—situates her within a larger movement that values representation, history, and the next generation of storytellers.
Looking Forward
The immediate question is scale: Will McIntosh channel the narrative fireworks of “Champagne Rampage” and the emotional clarity of “Getaway Car” into a cohesive EP or album cycle? Collaborations with Nashville writers and producers could sharpen the edges of both modes, while a concept-forward project might stitch the spectacle and the tenderness into a distinct sonic signature. However she plays it, the signs point toward an artist layering polish onto deeply rooted instincts.
