Brandi Carlile's career had been on a steady rise. For years, she'd been releasing critically-acclaimed albums and touring the country with her band -- including a stint opening for the Indigo Girls. She'd built up a fanbase that included Barack Obama and Brene Brown, and was considered a cult favorite in the LGBTQ+ community, one of our best-kept and most cherished secrets.

Then two things happened. Carlile received more nominations than any other woman at the 61st Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year) and during her subsequent performance at the Grammys that year, she did what she does best: she sang her face off and stole the show. There's no other way to describe it.

Carlile's career has been on a meteoric trajectory ever since, which for someone who admits to having "a pretty wicked case of imposter syndrome," it's taking time for Carlile to adjust.

To celebrate the release of her memoir, Broken Horses (out now), Carlile spoke with the LGBTQ&A podcast about entering this phase of her music career, as well as motherhood, her evolving relationship to religion, and finally feeling like she belongs.

"I always feel like if I write this song and I tell the truth, if I show up here and I decide to be myself and people still accept me, then I guess I do belong here."

LGBTQ&A is hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. A full transcript is posted on The Advocate's website: https://www.advocate.com/books/2021/4...

[This was recorded in April 2021.]