Crossville native Mandy Barnett got a very special birthday surprise on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry last night as she was invited to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Along with many other venues, as a child singer, Mandy was a regular at the Cumberland County Fair on stage performing for several years.  In her musical career, she has released eight albums and charted three singles on the Billboard country charts. Her highest-charting country single is “Now That’s All Right With Me”. Barnett has also held the starring role in the musical Always… Patsy Cline, a musical based on the life of Patsy Cline, which opened in 1994 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. She has performed the role in nearly 500 performances over a 20-year period. In addition, she has been a regular on the Grand Ole Opry, appearing over 500 times since her debut in 1994. In 2019, Rolling Stone Magazine named Barnett’s recording of “The Whispering Wind” as one of the top songs of 1999, ranking it at 74 out of 99 songs. Barnett released her eighth studio album on May 7, 2021 titled “Every Star Above”, paying tribute to Billie Holiday’s “Lady in Satin.” It was the final album orchestrated by Sammy Nestico prior to his death. The album reached number one on the iTunes Jazz Charts one day after its release.