Backstreet Boys’ A.J. McLean Says He Wants to “Disrupt” Country & Turn It Urban
WARNING: Heavy Language
A.J. McLean, listen to me you Backstreet Boy-singing, choreograph-dancing, bad neck tattoo, black nail polish-wearing, interloping, carpetbagging, no talent-having son-of-a-bitch with a receding hairline and a shitty, arrogant attitude, if you think you’re going to waltz right into country music exhibiting the kind of “fuck everyone” candor you displayed on the red carpet of the ACM Awards, you’re about to get a big Waylon Waymore Watasha Jennings size 12 steel-tipped boot right up your dumb ass and an ugly wake-up call that this shit doesn’t fly in by God country music, asshole.
In 10 years and 11 days of owning and operating Saving Country Music dot com, I have never once seen someone display such bold-faced effrontery and wanton disrespect for the gorgeous and historic institution of country music as this washed-up fuckstick and his $50,000 diamond-encrusted gauge earrings and stupid rose-colored glasses did as he spent last Sunday running up and down the ACM red carpet telling anyone with a camera he’s going country baby, and we better watch out because he’s “coming in to disrupt.”
Now let’s just all take a deep breath for a second and appreciate where we are in country music at this very moment. On April 17th, 2018, it is a purely pop star named Bebe Rexha, with a purely pop song called “Meant To Be” that was never meant to be released to country radio that has been sitting in #1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart every single reporting week for the entirety of this year, plus ranging back into December 2017. 20 weeks of this unrelenting shit, and counting . . .
Right now in country music, Kane Brown and his playlist manipulating ass sits at #1 on the Country Albums charts. Jason Aldean just won the ACM Entertainer of the Year, and delivered arguably the worst performance of the entire evening. The press has made the country genre into a political proxy war to push politically biased agendas, and pit artists against each other and their own fans to sow chaos, and if necessary, destroy the entire genre if it won’t bend to their will. Country music is circling the toilet, ready to spontaneously combust, and has been overrun with pop stars like never before….
…and A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys is somehow going to waltz into country music and do something so out of left field, you’re going to disrupt all of this?
Here’s what A.J. McLean said to Billboard at the ACM Awards.
I am coming in, but I’m coming in to disrupt country. I wanna come in and shake things up. I’ve always loved country…But after we did ‘God, Your Mama, And Me’ with Florida Georgia Line… something just kind of clicked and I just got this overwhelming inspiration to just give it a go.
Yeah, that something that just clicked was the fucking cash register in your head, you 40-year-old former model looking for a career revitalization at the expense of your self-respect and the integrity of the country genre.
A.J. then continues to Billboard, “Let country take a risk…”
Wait a second, you want country to take a risk on you? The reason you take risks is in hopes of reward. What the fuck kind of reward is in it for country by letting some washed-up Backstreet Boy come in and use country music as his fee fee bag so he doesn’t have to take out a 2nd mortgage on his mansion in Beverley Hills? We all know the only reason A.J. McLean is contemplating a “country” move is because pop would laugh at his ass if he tried to go solo. Who the fuck does this guy think he is?
A.J. McLean then says, “Florida Georgia Line’s already doing it. That door is slowly opening. Hailee Steinfeld, Bebe Rexha, Jason Derulo. Those guys have done it right. To me, they’re the black sheep. They’ve stayed in their lane. They just do them and look, it’s freaking working.”
See, this is why it’s so alarming when artists collaborate with people from other genres, and there’s no fundamental respect for country music by those they’re collaborating with. Florida Georgia Line has been like a funnel for this type of behavior, with the Backstreet Boys and Bebe Rexha being two excellent examples. And this is where it’s lead to, fucking A.J. McLean mouthing off on the ACMs red carpet about how he’s somehow owed something by country music, and should be given the ability to “disrupt” it.
And this was just the start of A.J. McLean’s self-ingratiating and arrogant promotional tour down the ACM red carpet. He kept working his way down the line of cameras and reporters, stopping at each one to deliver the same rehearsed spiel about disrupting country, including to Entertainment Tonight.
“Out of all genres, country is probably now one of my favorites…” he told ET. So wait, you’ve got this big plan to go country, and you’re only willing to go on record saying that country music is probably your favorite genre? Then A.J. McLean, clearly fighting back irrelevancy amidst a midlife crisis, said to Entertainment Tonight,
It’s all about telling a story. Every song is relatable to anyone. But my goal … a little different. I want to come in and disrupt country. I want to shift. I want to shake things up. Just like FGL did, kind of bringing that pop, urban aspect to it, soulful, kind of that Chris Stapleton, Sam Hunt vibe, but with my voice.
So much wrong here, from mentioning the vibe of Chris Stapleton and Sam Hunt in the same sentence, to praising the storytelling of country, but then seeming to say he wants to “disrupt” that by doing something pop and urban. If you want to do something pop and urban, then why wouldn’t you do something in the pop and urban market? That’s what it’s there for. Urban is the direct antonym of country, and country is the direct antonym of urban. Saying you want to come to country to make urban pop music is an oxymoron. What am I missing here?
What’s so wrong with keeping diametrically opposed musical influences segregated from each other to ensue the integrity of American music’s diversity? Making country music into urban music isn’t the inclusion of diversity, it is the death of diversity, leading to the point where every single piece of popular music in America sounds basically the same no matter what genre of radio station you tune into or what playlist you pull up, forcing the American consumer into less choice, with the only option being to feed off of one big monogenre blob. Let urban be urban. Let pop be pop. Let country be country, and let’s celebrate our differences, see them as what makes us unique and special, show keen curiosity in the tapestry of American cultures in all of their brilliance as opposed to trying to resolve them under false pretenses of open-mindedness in what is nothing more than a guise for commercial opportunism.
And what the hell is A.J. McLean doing on the ACM Awards red carpet to begin with? Sturgill Simpson couldn’t get into the security perimeter at the CMA Awards while holding the reigning Grammy for Best Country Album last November, and yet here is this blathering Backstreet Boys idiot hopped up on General Calderon’s Columbian marching powder paying off security guards to crash the ACMs, getting up in the grill of any news outlet that will have him, and stealing face time from actual country artists just because his shitty, washed-up boy band cut a song with Florida Georgia Line three years ago?
Honestly, I don’t know how Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan could even sign off on this guy and his irresponsible rhetoric. This isn’t about “gatekeeping,” this is about good common sense. Everyone has a vested interest in keeping at least some semblance of order in country music. A pop star wanting to go country is nothing new. This has been going on for decades. But for the very first time, instead of someone attempting to ingratiate themselves to the genre, here is someone who starts off by spitting on it, and warning us how he intends to disrupt.
You know on second thought, screw it. What the hell is A.J. fucking McLean going to be able to do in country music? Sure, have him sign to Big Machine Records, write with a bunch of B-listers, record some Cole Swindell leftovers with busbee producing behind a laptop, and get spit out of the ass end of the industry in 9 months as a laughing stock like Steven Tyler. Sure, give it your best shot. But get ready to take on return fire if you’re going to start the process with this type of arrogant bullshit.
Welcome to country music, A.J. McLean.
April 17, 2018 @ 11:50 am
The joke’s on you A.J. It’s been urban.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:44 pm
And i wish he’d head back to Australia ASAP.
April 17, 2018 @ 7:34 pm
Keith Urban was born in Whangarei, New Zealand.
April 17, 2018 @ 9:46 pm
He moved to Australia when he was 17 and has spent the last 33 years living between there and Nashville. He’s more Aussie/American than Kiwi if anything. He’s only been back here to play once since he became famous.
April 17, 2018 @ 1:46 pm
Yeah, Keith Urban.
April 17, 2018 @ 11:53 am
lol “record some Cole Swindell leftovers with busbee producing behind a laptop” might be the best line I’ve ever heard. Go tell that loud mouth MF to get his head out his you know what, and quit propelling the same bullshit plaguing the genre. I bet Shane McAnally paid him to say that!
April 17, 2018 @ 11:55 am
We need Hank3 now more than ever
April 17, 2018 @ 11:55 am
David Allan Coe, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, A.J. Mclean…. it totally fits, right? RIGHT?!
April 17, 2018 @ 11:57 am
Cant even listen to him talk.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:00 pm
I feel like a I just left a car dealership after the salesman tried selling me a Yugo.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:02 pm
Amen to you Mr. Falcon.
We need Hank 3 now more than ever.
What. In. The. Ever. Loving. Fuck.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:03 pm
I posted this in the ACM Awards review. I agree with everything you said, but cant see how this guy could have been a model. My only fear is the new consumer demographic of Country Music probably had his poster on their wall before they became overweight housewives that listen to FGL while they drive the kids around town.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:04 pm
As a woman of a “certain age” it’s impossible for me now to listen or watch any of these pseudo country wannabes. I grew up with the likes of Patty Loveless, Holly Dunn, Emmylou Harris and still loved listening to the previous generation like Lynn Anderson. It seemed like women OWNED country music for a time. Now the men have disappeared and been replaced by guys like Chris Lane. I know Sturgill Simpson and others are the new big things, but I miss the women who could turn a song into something that could break your heart.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:37 pm
There are so many of these guys playing the same songs written by the same writers, producers by the same writers, I can’t even keep up with them and I write about country music for a living. A.J. will just be yet another one of these guys in a massive gaggle, while Miranda Lambert who just won three ACMs can’t crack the Top 20 on radio.
April 17, 2018 @ 6:30 pm
Thank you for saying this. Right on girlfriend.
April 18, 2018 @ 9:28 am
Do you know who Sunny Sweeney is? If not please check her out. Woman still have a place in Country Music, just not In Nashville.
April 18, 2018 @ 9:52 am
Sunny Sweeney is very good, thanks for mentioning her. There are a lot of great voices out there but like Trigger said, can’t crack Top 40.
April 18, 2018 @ 11:08 am
sorry, meant to say top 20. I think Sunny Sweeney had some commercial success with “A Table Away.”
April 17, 2018 @ 12:04 pm
God, the word “disrupt” is thrown around so casually now as a buzzword by Silicon Valley wanna-be’s it’s sad. AJ McLean and Gabe Kapler must have gone to the same seminar, held by some VC in San Jose recently….
April 17, 2018 @ 12:05 pm
The HUBRIS of this has-been popster is just something to behold. And “that Chris Stapleton, Sam Hunt vibe!” I’m sure country is one of his favorite genres.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:07 pm
What a clown!
Isn’t all what FGL, Kane Brown, [insert the flavor of the month] are already doing?
“I have no talent and I don’t know anything about country music so I will do something else and call it country so sake of “innovation”.
It sounds like regression to me. LOL
April 17, 2018 @ 12:14 pm
AJ, if you love country so much, you would go to pop music and say, “You know what? I want to shake up pop music. What it really needs is some Waylon, Cash, and Haggard. That’s what I want to do. I want to countrify pop music.”
But that’s not what you really want, is it. What you want is to drive a commercial stake into the heart of country music even deeper, so you and your FGL Bebe Rexha Sam Hunt music zombies — along with their puppetmaster producers — can suck what little country blood remains in commercial music completely out of it, to your own bejeweled benefit. It’s a zero-sum game, isn’t it AJ? You want a piece of that sweet virgin music-buying public, don’t you?
He’d make me sick, if I cared enough about him to think about it. But sorry AJ, I’m going to crank up some real country here at the office and look forward to never thinking about you again.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:19 pm
So when Blake Shelton calls us “old farts” we’re supposed to wait five years, get over it, forgive him and talk about how great his trashy album is, then pretend to be outraged over this?
NO!
This is why I’m angry 24/7 about Puke Bryan, Sham Hunt, Flake Shelton, and Jason-hasn’t-read-a-book-since-high-school-get-over-my-affair-don’t-know-the-difference-between-your-and-you’re-nobody-gives-a-shit-what-you-think-Al-d-bag.
This is why I don’t play nice.
Because every time they get an inch they take twelve miles.
Hands off my damn spinach you all-hat-and-no-cattle blunderbuss fopdoodle.
arkvoodle-dammit!
If necessity is the mother of invention then where is that porcupine gun I so clearly need right now?
See these chuckle-head fribbles are very obviously exhibiting a clear desire to ruin Country Music.
I feel sooo vindicated right now.
Tell me again how full of hate I am, tell me again how I’m holding year’s old grudges, tell me again how this isn’t what happens when we play nice and let Taylor Swift try and Miley Cyrus all over our music. Tell me again how my anger at these nigmenogs is unnecessary.
Yesterday it was “Taylor Swift is Country why are you so mean”
This morning it was “Country Music evolves, Grandpa, Blake Shelton’s comments were five years ago”
And now this greedy guts slugabed is on in the evening saying “I want to trash Country Music”
This seems like a silly place to draw our red line.
Somebody get Sturgill Simpson on the phone, I bet he’s full of great responses to this.
April 17, 2018 @ 3:31 pm
Shit. Blake had this moron on his stage after the awards. Fuck him and Blake both.
Just a few years ago Blake made fun of tool bags like this dude. Especially the ones who wore finger nail polish!
April 17, 2018 @ 12:20 pm
am I the only one who knows what “urban’ is code for? The least he could do is be honest. He thinks Country music is too white, and the only way to make it better is add some “urban” flavor. He needs to get over himself. Country music is for anyone who wants to listen to it. It doesn’t need to be changed to make it more palatable to other demographics. Either you like it or you don’t. if you do, then listen to it, if you don’t, go find something else that fits your tastes.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:22 pm
I can’t add anything else to this Epic Rant.
It’s spot on! This dude AJ was the one who left the group because of his drug problems. He is WAY TO ARROGANT. He will have the same issues Steven Tyler had, no one’s going to bother after his initial project. This is ridiculous! SERIOUSLY he said he fell in love with Country music listening to Faith hill? ??
This was during her emergence into POP with the song Breath!! I can’t, I just have no words for this crap.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:23 pm
“Too late AJ, beat you to it.”
-Garth
April 17, 2018 @ 12:30 pm
Let’s all relax here. Yes, it sucks that there is yet another non-country entrant into the ALREADY non-country realm of today’s radio “country”, but it’s not like this really matters any more than some other toolbag off the street putting out an album. He is talking about shaking up popular “country”, which already isn’t real Country, so in my view any album that he puts out will just be another radio turd in a sea of many. It is good to call him out, as Trigger did here, but him putting out an “urban” influenced pop “country’ album isn’t going to be a big deal or all that shocking, unfortunately.
April 17, 2018 @ 6:52 pm
The fact that it won’t be a shock to see this BSB clown put out an “urban”-influenced “country” album is definitely cause for worry, but it seems that a lot of the tradition-minded artists that are out there, or else not willing to lean towards the teen/tween audience, are not being adequately supported to counteract carpetbaggers like A.J. McLean. There is a fair amount of responsibility to go around for this situation being what it is.
Bottom line: People like A.J. McLean and other country wanna-bes who have no actual roots in the genre won’t be able to totally destroy country music unless the country audience and/or the industry LET THEM. And then it definitely will be Game Over (IMHO).
April 17, 2018 @ 12:33 pm
Don’t forget Timberlake was gonna “go country” and you see how that worked out. Pay no attention to the boy band reject.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:37 pm
I’ll be honest I am so sick and tired of these types who want to live in this “utopia” of watered down mono-genres, neutralized genders, everyone gets a participation award, society. Why can’t everything just be unique, different, and interesting? We are just now finally seeing uniqueness climbing up the ranks of americana, folk, outlaw, music, but it seems there are still hordes of those who want to keep watering the quicksand pit making it harder for those with actual talent and uniqueness to emerge.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:39 pm
If this guy wants to really shake things up….bring back rock, metal, bluegrass, and blues music to the forefront and make it mainstream again.
April 18, 2018 @ 7:38 am
That’s the irony of it, isn’t it.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:42 pm
Country music is the last genre “The Alamo” that has not been destroyed by “urbanization”. Look what happened to all other forms of music after they were urbanized by hip hop and pop music.
April 17, 2018 @ 8:38 pm
…”that has not been destroyed by “urbanization”.”
What are you talking about?
April 18, 2018 @ 5:17 am
I total agree with you.
In fact, the collapse of country music a genre (to blend it with all of the today’s crap) is a goal in itself. Removing social boundaries and self respect is an objective (it’s called social regression). If you stand in favor of self preservation of a culture you will be called a racist and an evil person but I could make an argument that destroying a culture is a form a racism. If you are not racist you should therefore thrive to maintain and flourish every existing cultures instead of suppressing them (by blend it all together in order to make them irrelevant!).
Since 1850’s they have pushed in favor of removing traditions and morals. Before, Arts and Music was from the Soul to the Soul. Not anymore! I still deeply enjoy country music but I try to avoid the mainstream genre and the radio station at all cost. Which is why I am mostly listening to Beethoven and Wagner.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:46 pm
Just me, I felt like the interviewer knew he was full of shit and was not buying it either.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:49 pm
Fuck!
April 17, 2018 @ 12:50 pm
How long until rolling stone anoints him the best new country artist?
April 17, 2018 @ 9:01 pm
They are probably already printing out the magazine covers with his picture on it next to the headline “McLean is Taking the Country World by Storm.” Next thing you know he has a #1 hit on billboard, he’s lubing himself up with axe, and he’s driving a jacked up Silverado around Nashville, wearing a cowboy hat and some tight ass jeans.
It’s all about image. If you look Country and pretend to be Country then you are Country. (According to the mainstream audience)
April 17, 2018 @ 12:51 pm
Reading the vomit inducing pabulum that came from that jerkwad makes me want to slap on a good ol’ Muay Thai clinch on his neck and throw as many knees into that pretentious mug as I could manage before gassing out.
Utterly irritating. And no, I wouldn’t actually do that. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to.
April 18, 2018 @ 12:44 pm
I would do it.
April 17, 2018 @ 12:54 pm
This guy possibly will and DEFINITELY should get his ass literally kicked. Pretty sure Whitey Morgan, Jamey Johnson, or Cody Jinks would be down to do some stompin.
April 17, 2018 @ 1:01 pm
Something tells me Shane Mcanally is paying him a couple million to fuck country up and become what Shane mcanally wants the genre to be.
April 17, 2018 @ 5:34 pm
For what it’s worth, I believe Shane is more interested in Lance Bass becoming a country crossover star.
April 17, 2018 @ 8:56 pm
Next thing you know Kanye West will have a single released to country radio because it features a 5-second guitar riff which is “traditional country instrumentation.”
April 17, 2018 @ 1:02 pm
The guy is clearly a bigger cunt than Sam Hunt
April 17, 2018 @ 1:48 pm
Not possible IMO.
April 17, 2018 @ 1:05 pm
I agree that this lacks class, but he seems to just be verbalizing the business strategy that the industry has been doing for the past few years. Yes, A.J. McLean definitely is in it for the dollars. What he is saying isn’t revolutionary. Is it just furthering a trend that already exists? Yes. However, I don’t think that this is necessarily more disrespectful than the “old farts and jackasses” line.
April 17, 2018 @ 1:47 pm
You do that AJ, meanwhile I am still waiting for that country record from Justin Timberlake to come out.
April 17, 2018 @ 2:23 pm
“I love cheese, it’s probably my favorite food. But what if I made it a little more like meat, put a little Mountain Dew or walnut taste in there.”- A.J. McLean, probably.
April 17, 2018 @ 2:39 pm
Country Music is on its last leg. I cannot for the life of me remember anything within the last 5 years that Nashville has released that has been even remotely interesting. I’m sorry guys, but I’m not even on the Sturgill
April 17, 2018 @ 4:49 pm
Bro-country was the last music on country radio that actually sounded country and had country themes. All you guys on here may hate it, but 2012-2014 bro country music is more country than almost anything on radio the past few years. 2014+ turned to solid pop country and pop released to country radio stations.
April 17, 2018 @ 5:39 pm
Not that I have any affection for bro-country, but I totally agree. There is a lot to dislike about songs like “Cruise” but at least an argument could be made that it was at least in the country orbit. Now, most of it is not even in the country solar system. It sort of makes this list (incidentally the first post from SCM I ever read) seem naive:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/saving-country-musics-worst-country-songs-of-all-time/
April 18, 2018 @ 4:21 am
“Achy Breaky Heart” should’ve never been on that list. It’s a Country classic. Im not being sarcastic. I get why Trigger wouldn’t like it though.
April 18, 2018 @ 7:46 am
I actually agree with you on that one. I’m not a fan of the song, but that is more a result of the cultural phenomenon than the song itself (the remake, of course, is an affront to all things country). The song itself, in a vacuum, is a decent country tune that is far better than a lot of other dreck that was around at that time. If I was listening to all the songs on that list as a playlist, that would be a most welcome interlude between all the horseshit…and yet, the rest of that list would be a welcome interlude to listening to what gets pissed out of the radio today.
April 17, 2018 @ 2:41 pm
how did he get his hair back? bosley?
April 17, 2018 @ 2:43 pm
Country Music is on its last leg. I cannot for the life of me remember anything within the last 5 years that Nashville has released that has been even remotely interesting, except Stapleton. I’m sorry guys, but I’m not even on the Sturgill bandwagon. I’ll just keep playing my Waylon, Merle, Gary Stewart, etc. until someone comes along to shake things up…. by bringing TRADITION back.
April 17, 2018 @ 9:03 pm
Cody Jinks, anyone?
April 18, 2018 @ 5:32 am
Love me some Cody, but Nashville had nothing to do with his success.
April 17, 2018 @ 3:27 pm
The only thing AJ McClean has ever disrupted is the gene pool.
April 17, 2018 @ 3:33 pm
”And what the hell is A.J. McLean doing on the ACM Awards red carpet to begin with?”
that question ….and your article above pretty-much sums up the desperate dollar-sign mentality the new fake country has attracted to its ranks . unbelievable how STUPID the labels and the business has been to have set their marketing sites on these mindless delinquents . this guy is moronic in his thinking , embarrassing in his phony bravado and most obviously cares NOTHING about real country and its roots.
and by the way , Carly Pearce’s album is just generic trend-chasing drivel , outside of her interesting ” Every Little Thing ” . The songs and the arrangements rip off Maren Morris , Ballerini , FGL and every other pop wannabe rap ‘ country ‘ singer .Ripping off acts who have already ripped off a dozen other acts HAS to some kind of musical incest doesn’t it ? She brings no character , no vision , no statement and little talent to the record whatsoever and doesn’t even bother to challenge her otherwise unremarkable vocals . just a waste of time on her part and a listener’s, in my opinion .
carry on…..
April 17, 2018 @ 3:40 pm
LOL it’ll never happen. In a way, country fans are similar to metalheads and punks. They know what they like and there’s no clamor whatsoever to (ahem) “urbanize” it with funky fresh beats, gloating consumer-driven yahoos and ample-rumped wildly jiggling bimbos. Sure, it’s already been done to an extent but that crap is just a fad. This was already attempted when “the Beyhive” tried to pretend that Beyonce “wrote a country song” and no one cared. It’s simply not an “urban” art form and it will never be one either.
April 17, 2018 @ 3:48 pm
Completely disagree, mainstream country music fans are some of the most passive and easily-manipulated people out there. Go into any country dance club and ask around or ask a country fan on the street, anyone will tell you that the “old” stuff is way better, but they stream and buy all the new crap anyway.
April 17, 2018 @ 11:32 pm
what Grant said …below…….you only need to listen to country radio for a half hour to understand that this comment is undeniable ..
”…. mainstream country music fans are some of the most passive and easily-manipulated people out there……
April 17, 2018 @ 3:46 pm
He’s too late, already happened.
April 17, 2018 @ 3:46 pm
it’s a bitter truth is that America is now, for the first time in its history, majority urban
that fact requires no further thought, like “let’s turn country music into another pop-zombie”
but to those who hate the independent individualist outlaw streak out here, it does
the monogenre is an empire and means to kill off its rivals — don’t be a pollyanna and sing la la la
April 17, 2018 @ 4:01 pm
Ya lost me after the first 4 words in the header
April 17, 2018 @ 4:03 pm
Maybe he’s gonna try to make a modern day Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Maybe he thinks he’s like Ray Charles. Or maybe he doesn’t think at all
April 17, 2018 @ 4:46 pm
I will always wonder why pieces of worthless shit like this scumbag dont die, instead of awesome good people like Daryle Singletary. This article infuriates me.
April 18, 2018 @ 9:46 am
Death is pretty serious. Saying things like what he said does not make him worthy of death
July 2, 2019 @ 7:42 pm
Because the rain falls on the just and the unjust. And God wants the good singers in Heaven. Daryle is in the choir. AJ will be in charge of cloud cleaning.
April 17, 2018 @ 4:56 pm
I bet Bobby Bones is sucking this guy’s dick right now.
April 17, 2018 @ 9:04 pm
Probably has an appointment with him tomorrow at 4:30. Mr. Bones has to fit everyone in, you know.
April 17, 2018 @ 10:30 pm
Don’t forget the balls. Bobby never forgets the balls.
April 17, 2018 @ 4:59 pm
Man oh man. I told you Meant to Be hitting the country charts was the worst day in country music. Now its opened the floodgates for an invasion.
April 17, 2018 @ 5:38 pm
I have to wonder about the ass clowns like that reporter(?) – how can a person with any self respect act that way? From an entertainer I get it- they’re the epitome of narcissist- that’s not to say I condone their behavior- but, I do wonder about reporters since they don’t have a bevy of yes men surrounding them- are they the same way off camera?
Anyway, I hope this article, and the comments in particular, are read by the yes men and passed on to the “special” people- LOL- I’d sure enjoy reading a rebuttal- LOL
April 17, 2018 @ 6:24 pm
I can’t even read this shit. Tell AJ (not Alan Jackson} to come on over to my house.
April 17, 2018 @ 7:02 pm
Hey AJ. I’m gonna disrupt the administration of your medication. You got that asswipe?
April 17, 2018 @ 7:07 pm
Can we just call him Aging Joke McLoon?
April 17, 2018 @ 7:11 pm
Just how relevent is A.J. McClean in the grand scheme of things? Not very. Ive never even heard of him (or her). I take great comfort in knowing i am in no way alike anything today’s media desperately attempts to portray as ‘mainstream’. Its a joke. These people exist solely on the internet. Log off and they all go away. Sorry but a bunch gender-confused, crossdressing, perpetually-offended, irresponsible and unaccountable drains on society do not represent America’s “gold standard”.
April 17, 2018 @ 7:12 pm
So, Led Zeppelin is Southern Rock. Thanks A.J. Now I can call you an idiot and not wonder if anybody thinks I’m being harsh.
April 17, 2018 @ 7:26 pm
trig, this the best article yalls have ever written
April 17, 2018 @ 7:33 pm
someone outta tan that guys hide!
April 17, 2018 @ 7:41 pm
Let him at it. Once he starts having some hits, we’ll start to see 2 guns up for Sam Hunt and the good old days.
April 18, 2018 @ 8:09 am
Yeah Sam will be a 2 gunner soon, what does that make Ernest, Marty R., Waylon and Willie and the like? 1000 gunners?
April 18, 2018 @ 9:11 am
The window keeps moving, and one of my biggest disagreements with Trigger is that he keeps moving with it.
April 22, 2018 @ 9:28 pm
Then please post a link to your own superior blog.
April 17, 2018 @ 7:43 pm
On a totally unrelated note, there has been a lot of buzz on Taylor Swift. What is your opinion of her Spotify singles? Also, what are your thoughts on her forthcoming collaboration with Sugarland’s “Babe?”
April 17, 2018 @ 7:50 pm
I may address the Taylor Swift stuff at some point. Been a few busy news weeks, and meanwhile there are a lot of great albums being released that I want to make sure don’t go ignored.
April 17, 2018 @ 11:45 pm
Since you asked , MR , I’ve never been a fan of TS ….never . Her ‘songs’ are dreadful …no narrative , forgettable ,childish talk-singing —not RAP ….talk-singing trend-chasing assembly-line manufactured short -shelf- life drivel . And I didn’t even talk about her weak no-range whining vocals
HOWEVER …brace yourself cuz I know I’m in the minority on THIS: Thos weak vocals aside , I like her Earth Wind and Fire cover . Yeah yeah ..I know I shouldn’t cuz EW and F are amazing and so is this track by them and her take is 180 degrees from the classic . BUT here’s the thing . I believe Swift has finally recorded a SONG …. a song with a very strong melody which lends itself to re-interpretation . So whatever her motivation ( desperation ) I’m down with her doing this. Maybe she needs to listen to MORE classic , timeless stuff to get a handle on what makes a song transcend trend and musical eras . .
April 18, 2018 @ 4:37 am
I’ve always been a fan of hers. I’m not saying she was ever country, but at least she writes songs that mean something to her and not about getting drunk on the tailgate.
April 17, 2018 @ 7:49 pm
Will you look at that he covered all the typical bases for a pop artist going country…
a. State how much you love the genre and a connection to some rural area where you family used to visit or how you “almost moved to Nashville”.
b. Name drop some artists in the industry or part of its past that you know off the top of your head like Stapleton and Hunt.
c. Act as though you have some sort of personal connection to country, as though you “just felt it” even though you just see green…
No part of this industry is about taking risk, FGL, Rexha, and Derulo are not taking risks. They are all multi millionaires for the exact opposite reason.
April 17, 2018 @ 8:22 pm
Dude, not for nothing, but take a chill pill! Country hasn’t been county since the 1980s. You have Reba, whose ego has gone so far to hell that she’s selling fucking KFC!! So what if AJ wants to go country. You let Taylor fucking Swift in, and welcomed her no talent ass in. AJ and the rest of Backstreet have been around for 25 years, they have gone diamond multiple times, selling out Vegas…what have you done?
April 17, 2018 @ 8:47 pm
I’m with you Trisha. Country Music was murdered, mutilated, and then buried in an unmarked grave.
It’s grave has had swimming pools of piss sprayed all over it to the point that grass will no longer grow. It’s high time it starts being defecated on as well.
#it’stime
April 17, 2018 @ 9:07 pm
You’re missing the point.
April 17, 2018 @ 10:38 pm
Well, I don’t recall us “letting” Taylor Swift in. Radio and the awards shows may have let her in. But we most certainly did not.
Backstreet Boys went diamond, stop the presses! They sold out Vegas, Holy Shit! That must mean they’re good then! In all seriousness, who gives an everloving fuck?
April 17, 2018 @ 8:45 pm
To all the Timberlake comments….he did recently put out a great country song. Hard to tell it’s him with the hat and glasses though! One of the best songs in any genre over the past several months too! : ) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=svAhBzcnMKk
April 17, 2018 @ 10:26 pm
This is sarcastic right? That’s not Justin Timberlake.
April 18, 2018 @ 8:36 am
Ha! Yes. It is Blake Berglund. Check out his album Realms. Came out in October. Great album.
April 18, 2018 @ 11:49 am
Damn, that’s good.
April 17, 2018 @ 8:52 pm
All I can say Trigger is, keep presenting us with real country artists and songs. My hope is that fans might eventually notice that (what is marketed as) “Country” is indistinguishable from all post-millennial pop offerings. It might bring on an epiphany which leads to this site in the hope of rescuing the genre. Clearly you chose “Saving” Country Music as your moniker for good reasons.
April 17, 2018 @ 8:54 pm
Just ignore this dude. Some people get coverage saying something so stupid or outragous that the media will pick up on it and fans it up. Meanwhile, the humble people with talent who won’t play that PR game are seen as boring and get no media coverage. Controversy sells. This Backstreet Boy’s time is up so he knows he has to light a fire to get a drink of water.
Don’t take that bait, keep using your platform to continue giving “the little guy or lady” coverage they’d otherwise rarely get.
As you have said, there is a lot of good stuff coming out right now (like Josh Hedley) to waste your limited time and valuable space giving this guy the time of day.
April 17, 2018 @ 10:11 pm
Did King Honky Of Crackershire get a sidekick? Countrygirl? Like Batman and Batgirl? Joker and Harley Quinn?
I want to give her a jello mold recipe, but I’m afraid.
April 18, 2018 @ 4:12 am
Nobody can be my sidekick. I’m a King, not a peasant.
But hey, what’s up with giving out jello mold recipes? I was confused the last time you started doing it. Is it a joke that’s gone over my head?
April 18, 2018 @ 7:07 am
I hand those out to sweet old ladies who genuinely defend Keith Urban (or any mainstream country artist). They remind me of my grandma who made jello salad for every occasion.
April 18, 2018 @ 5:19 am
whoa dude, I’m the original traditionalist around here. if anyone gets a sidekick its me.
April 18, 2018 @ 7:05 am
My apologies Fuzzy.
April 17, 2018 @ 10:24 pm
Don’t ever take anyone with a neck tattoo seriously. They have no self-respect.
April 21, 2018 @ 9:55 am
That’s solid advice there
April 17, 2018 @ 11:35 pm
I’M SORRY but if he wants to put a Nashville crap so called country cd let him…..its not worth listening to anyway. I challenge him to get on stage with CODY JINKS, WADE BOWEN, STONEY LARUE, WHITEY MORGAN, WARD DAVIS, JASON BOLAND etc. He wouldn’t last a minute against real talent and he shouldn’t be allowed to mention CHRIS STAPLETONS name! So go ahead AJ give it a shot but before you do ya might want to research how REAL COUNTRY MUSIC FANS react when you try and fuck with out shit! We don’t take kindly to it so you might for your own safety just stay home but if you want to come on but bring a helmet I hear those beer bottles hurt when thrown!
April 18, 2018 @ 1:18 am
Earrings ✔
Neck tattoos ✔
Painted finger nails ✔
Fruity sunglasses ✔
Receding hair line ✔
No talent ✔
No respect ✔
April 18, 2018 @ 1:37 am
Thank God for Texas red dirt music…i don’t even bother myself with this crap!
April 18, 2018 @ 1:38 am
What a wanker!
April 18, 2018 @ 3:53 am
This dude is laughable at best. Pay him no mind.
April 18, 2018 @ 4:21 am
I am sure the Zoltar of country music, Shane MacAnally, will take this guy under his wing!!!
April 18, 2018 @ 5:29 am
The Country Music Industry is dead. You are all arguing over a corpse. Radio, award shows, Nashville – dead, dead, and dead. Why do we care? We have satellite radio and the internet and a huge list of legit country writers and performers to entertain and inspire us. Look away.
April 18, 2018 @ 5:49 am
Craig,
I’ve been trying to tell them. They won’t listen.
April 18, 2018 @ 7:16 am
While the industry is near dead, there are still plenty of talented and passionate musicians that are doing this for more than just the money. And there are still plenty of listeners that can easily tell the difference between forced product and music that comes from the heart and experience.
April 18, 2018 @ 6:48 am
He just looks like a douche nozzle
April 18, 2018 @ 7:59 am
ONE thing ya gotta say for this guy . At least he’s telling us EXACTLY what he wants to do musically and it has nothing to do with trad country ideas , songs and sounds. All the other clowns try to disguise their evil , self-serving schemes with some backstory about a great-uncle who taught them how to play ‘ Your Cheatin Heart ” on a mail-order 6 string when they were 4 which makes them country . Then they go ahead and do exactly what this guy wants to do anyway and the ‘country’ market seems none the wiser . Shit….
April 18, 2018 @ 7:05 pm
“A barbarian at the gates is less formidable. For he is known and carries banner openly.”
-Cicero
April 18, 2018 @ 8:03 am
Ok some points.
1) This is splitting hairs but the title isn’t accurate. He doesn’t say he “wants to” disrupt. He says “I’m coming in to disrupt country music” which drives home his arrogant and misguided “I used to be a tool puppet in a boy band so you better watch out” bullshit.
2) sometimes in these type of bullshit bashing articles, some bullshit supporters pop their heads in to defend the artist. This guy seems to have none. Go figure.
3) I’m super confused about what he intends to do. Make beats and sing like Chris Stapleton? I think he’s confused about what the word disrupt means, as some have pointed out already.
4) Forget breaking up California. Break up Country Music already. Let the tools have the CMAs and ACM or whatever label propaganda shows are out there, take “country” radio and go have fun patting yourselves on the back for the shallow garbage “music” you reward.. I’d love to see things like the Ameripolitan awards etc gain steam. Chris Stapleton shouldn’t go to this type of shit like ACMs, because one of the new criteria should be that The “urban” shows use drum machines and virtual instruments made on laptops. The new award show nominees must have a real fucking human being drummer. That right there will in itself separate a lot of the bullshit from the real music. Nothing against drum machines or drum machine music, they just should have nothing to do with country. Really, if people like Stapleton just boycotted this shit, and there were ZERO country (I know he’s not even that country) music artists there, it would shine even more of a light on what a joke they are. As many have pointed out, the industry is dead or dying. Start a new one! It’s long overdue. I can’t watch all the garbage just to see a glimpse of someone good anymore.
April 18, 2018 @ 8:04 am
What you are and have been witnessing is a death of one of the biggest industries in US history. Record companies. This movement is the sad last breath of the former behemoths of music row. They were once a necessity and artists traded their souls for the chance to be represented. Why? Because it was a closed loop of writing, publishing, recording, distribution, merch, royalty distribution, and airplay. Look at the history of the charting singles – same players, same names. A recording once costed $200k – sold to the company and paid for by the artist – now it’s a living room project producing a master of equal measure (musicianship is another story). It’s been a hard change, but guys are making great Country product, touring hard, selling merch, and saying fuck you to the historical success process boundaries and radio stations. Still there are millions of sheep, but enough of those sheep are waking up to keep the inevitable from happening… quality Country Music. Teen girls and boys will still like what they are fed, but then there are the rest. Goodbye MCA, you had your time. Your services are no longer needed.
April 18, 2018 @ 8:38 am
For anyone interested. I found this theses online from someone at Tennessee State. Itexplains how Hillbilly music died due to “urbanization”. I find it very similiar to how mainstream country music is also dying due to “urbanization”. https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3420&context=etd
April 18, 2018 @ 10:12 am
I read an article recently that went in to great detail about how water was found to have moisture in it. It was an interesting read, though I don’t recall the author’s name.
April 18, 2018 @ 11:31 am
smartass 🙂
April 18, 2018 @ 9:16 am
Country music is for people who look the white corporate color. It has a long and beautiful history of showing its bigotry, racism and prejudisms. It not worth my time no matter if the music is good. It may be in now but it will be out again because of how it limits who can get big in that genre of music.
April 18, 2018 @ 10:00 am
Country music is for people who look the white corporate color. REALLY? MUSIC IS ONLY ABOUT RACE? WE SHOULD DICTATE MUSICAL GENRES BY RACE? It has a long and beautiful history of showing its bigotry, racism and prejudisms. FAIR ENOUGH, AND SADLY SO, TO A DEGREE MORE THAN PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO ADMIT. HOWEVER, MOST OF THE GREATS AND MORE RECENTLY I’D ARGUE THAT MOST OF THE REAL ARTITS ARE NOT THAT WAY AT ALL. BONUS POINTS THOUGH FOR YOUR USE OF “PREJUCISMS.” It not worth my time no matter if the music is good. OK. HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU WASTE COMING HERE? It may be in now but it will be out again because of how it limits who can get big in that genre of music. YOUR PUPPET POP-STAR RICH FAKE ASS “ENTERTAINERS” APPRECIATE YOUR BLIND LOYALTY BASED ON THEM BEING BIG AND POPULAR AS THE CRITERIA FOR YOUR MONEY.
April 18, 2018 @ 10:13 am
Sarah is not trolling, folks. She’s dead serious.
April 18, 2018 @ 10:24 am
Blasting country music on a site dedicated to country music is trolling, in that way. But I understand your point, she’s not being sarcastic or silly just for the hell of it.
April 18, 2018 @ 6:26 pm
Sounds a little prejudiced, hmm?
April 18, 2018 @ 6:33 pm
Ummm… country music has been made by mostly white people yes… because it’s target demographic and culture from which it gets its theme is mostly white. Not by design or bigotry, just how it happens. *Most* rural areas are white. Nothing racist about that, it’s just the way things happen to be.
And no, AJ does not need to hip-hoppify country.
April 18, 2018 @ 8:19 pm
Really Sarah? Because I know a lot fans of real country music, who, like myself, are fans of a wide range of other music besides just country. But the common denominator is the music has to be authentic and make you feel something. For example, I love old country and newer traditional country, but I also appreciate and love the hell out of many of the old Black Blues/folk artists. Guys like Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, so on and so forth. In fact, much of country music has at least in part drawn on a lot of that traditional type of music. It’s a melting pot of different cultures that combined to make it what it is. It’s not for any one person or any one group.
Before you accuse other people of being bigots and racists, you may want to look in the mirror and consider your own behavior in doing so.
April 18, 2018 @ 9:35 am
What pisses me off most about this stuff is that he’s using country music because he can’t hack it in any actual urban genre. I love country music, but right now pop, EDM, rap, and hip-hop are all experiencing a renaissance. The talent that is allowed to compete blows my mind. Anyone who loves country music lyricism should check out some of the best rap out there and really take a hard listen. Even if you don’t like the style, you have to appreciate and marvel at the cleverness, depth, and honesty. It makes me jealous to hear some of these amazing artists getting so much recognition and money… if only some of the country artists with that kind of talent had the same avenue of success.
Those genres have actual systems that let the cream rise to the top. It takes actual talent to do well in the “urban” genres. It seems like all you need is money to do well in country music. Just look at Chance the Rapper. He swept awards from a SoundCloud account and ZERO radio airplay.
Country is fucked until people with some talent and integrity have positions of power.
The country music genre is just a cesspool for talentless hacks that got the dough.
April 18, 2018 @ 9:41 am
If you think his album is going to suck, don’t buy the damn thing. All of you are bitching about a record that’s not even in existence yet. Get over yourselves, and don’t let him any mind about what he has in store.
I don’t think a country album from AJ is a good idea, but I’m not gonna throw a bitch fit over it; last I checked, I’m not a child.
April 18, 2018 @ 6:27 pm
Thanks for letting us all know. We were all wondering. While we’re at it, I want to let the world know that I am a vegan.
April 18, 2018 @ 7:04 pm
Tyrone, I want to let the entire world know that I do crossfit!!
April 18, 2018 @ 10:31 am
The black nail polish and the double ultra extra jet black hair dye are giving me the creeps.
April 18, 2018 @ 10:37 am
Change is good it will be different n new. Collaborations are awesome it don’t have to be permanent but to try something new is different. This person calling A.j McLean all these names obviously is scared jealous racist or just can’t think out the box. He is an idiot. I say go for it. So what if it was the register in his head we all need n like money. Some get it more then others but stop hating. I’m a single MOTHER of 3 girls not rich or famous but I’m happy for those who make it.
April 18, 2018 @ 10:54 am
I don’t know what is bigger his ego or his forehead
April 18, 2018 @ 11:00 am
What is the difference between Backstreet boys and a bucket of shit?
The bucket
April 18, 2018 @ 8:22 pm
That there was a good one.
April 20, 2018 @ 2:46 am
No It was not a good one
April 20, 2018 @ 7:06 pm
what exactly does that mean?
April 18, 2018 @ 11:04 am
Can’t say that I’d ever heard about this guy A.J. McLean until I read this. My life would have been so much better too if I had never heard about him. So I’m off now for some “Patsy Cline and a bottle of wine” and when I wake up in the morning I’ll have forgotten that I ever heard his name. There’s got to be a few country song ideas in that last sentence!
April 18, 2018 @ 2:11 pm
I hope the guy isn’t getting his hopes up because if you look at the current track record for those in pop to come over to our field you will see that Darius Rucker is the only person to have any real consistency. After him it would be Kid Rock and Uncle Kracker with one big song each, “All Summer Long” and “Smile” that is. Other than that its just those like Jewel, Steven Tyler, and Jessica Simpson who only got so far with what they put out there for country music listeners.
God bless you and them and AJ always!!!
Holly in East Tennessee
April 21, 2018 @ 1:56 pm
I’ll never forgive Rucker for leaving Hootie and the Blowfish. That was a great band. Their last album was about 2007, it was awesome, and there hasn’t been anything since.
April 18, 2018 @ 5:28 pm
Thanks to you, I think “fuckstick” is my new favorite word. I think I’m gonna start using it more often. When I go to the drive thru at McDonald’s I’m going to order Chicken McFucksticks and see what they say
April 22, 2018 @ 4:31 am
Country “Radio” who the F listens to radio? Y’all need to get over it.. It just a generational thing going on.
Our generation ain’t the ones paying the bulk of the money anymore, not enough of us… The Younger Generation will be the one to decide what the future of Country music will be.. I wish it weren’t so but it is what it is…
April 23, 2018 @ 12:08 pm
I would love to stick my fingers in those stupid looking holes in his earlobes and rip his ears off..
May 31, 2018 @ 10:48 am
I (don’t) want it that way
June 2, 2018 @ 6:01 pm
A.J. McLean, the so-called “bad boy” of The Backstreet Boys. What a joke! The entire band is a joke and a bunch of pussies, but McLean is the biggest joke, biggest pussy of all. YOU CANT BE A BAD BOY IN A FAGGOT PUSSY BOY BAND!!!!!!!!!! The guy actually thinks he’s the shit! He’s a joke, a pussy, a fag and a talentless lump of shit. But he’s going to “shake up country.” Please. Dream on, fake poser!