In the midst of a whirlwind tour for his highly anticipated debut album, “Cross Country,” Daniel Breland ’13 returned to the Peddie campus in September to surprise current seniors with a meet and greet. The “My Truck” breakout superstar was joined by “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King, who covered the event and upped the high-wattage celeb factor on the Annenberg Hall steps. Brad Derfner ’23 said, “He brought a lot of energy back to the campus and made our grade excited for the year ahead.”
This marks the Burlington, New Jersey native’s second visit to campus after his now-platinum single, “My Truck,” exploded on Tik Tok in 2019 and turned Breland into an overnight sensation. The singer-songwriter-producer, who signed a deal with Atlanta Records, has previously credited Peddie as the institution “where [he] found [him]self musically.” He shows his appreciation by performing for current students on campus.
When BRELAND, as he goes by professionally, held a free concert at Peddie in May, he already had a platinum single, a radio show on Apple Music and an ad campaign with Chevy. Surprisingly, it was also his first live performance ever as BRELAND. Since then, his stages have become mega-sized and include the CMT Music Awards and the Dierks Bentley “Beers On Me” tour.
King accompanied Breland to Peddie as part of a larger piece she was working on about the hybrid country-R&B musician. The segment featuring Peddie aired on “CBS This Morning” a few days after Breland’s visit to campus. King’s complete 35-minute interview with Breland can be downloaded on The CBS Mornings Podcast at Apple Music.
In the interview with King, Breland declares himself “a disruptor” for performing what he calls “cross-country music.” He describes his music as country with elements of gospel, hip-hop, old school soul, and rock-n-roll. There’s a movement in country music, and he wants to create music without borders. So far, Breland has featured in many collaborations with established artists including Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and Thomas Rhett. With Peddie always cheering him on, BRELAND’s career is just getting started.