Wylde Wins CBS Mixtape Contest

From the Other Side of the Desk

In short, we (Hardeman County) saw her first.

Kyndle McMahan, or Kyndle Wylde (see more recent photo elsewhere on this page) as she is known professionally, is now way more famous than the above prize-winning drawing in Kindergarten made her. That day, she finished second.

This time, she won. With a little different kind of art, but audience-blowing away artistic talent nonetheless.

The task was to take an old hit and make a version of it that would get the most votes nationwide.

And her version of “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash won the popular vote and was announced on September 3 during the CBS Mornings Show.

Along with husband Adam Gowdy (he too from right around here) they came up with a version that was as soulful as she and they are.

She will be featured in a new national promotional campaign for CBS Mornings, just being herself.

We’ll always remember her from Bolivar Idol, from years of being in Hee Haw, from coming on County Journal Live with Adam, and from the concert she gave at the Luez, along with SmallShack, in 2022.

But we’re not taking any credit. We applauded then, and we are giving them a standing ovation now as their biggest fans.

And no matter the fame they take on and the smiling faces they create all over, we just wanted to tell the big-time New York marketing people, remember, we saw her first.