Darius Rucker: 'I was told audiences would never accept a Black country singer'

The 57-year-old musician - who was frontman of the band Hootie and the Blowfish until his departure in 2008 - had won a Grammy and had 10 number ones since going solo and has proved his critics wrong.

He told ET Canada: "To be honest with you, I didn't think I would have much success. And when I started doing the radio stations and stuff, I had people say to me, to my face, 'My audience would never accept a Black country singer'. That's something that I was like, 'Okay, just play the record, let's see?' And then they did."

Darius' first single, 'Don't Think I Don't Think About It', debuted at number one in 2008, making him the first Black artist to reach number one on the Hot Country Songs charts since Charley Pride in 1983.

He said: "I wasn't worried about it 'cause I just want to make records, you know? I mean, I wasn't sitting around going, 'Oh my God, you know, I'm going to be the Black guy in country.'"

And, while he didn't expect to be a trailblazer, he is happy to have paved the way for more Black musicians.

He said: "I didn't expect to be the one to break down the wall.

"Here we are. And I love seeing Kane [Brown] and all those guys over there [who are having] all this great success. That's great to see and I'm proud that I was part of that."