Sorry USA Network, But Shania Twain & Jake Owen Know Nothing About “Real Country”
Well, it’s happened. After Music Row hijacked the term “Outlaw” and ran it into the ground with uncool pop country douchewads to the point where the term is virtually unable to be rehabilitated, they’re now moving on to the term “real country.”
Announced on Monday (4-30), a new reality show is coming to the USA Network called, you guessed it, Real Country. Perhaps if the plan was to make it into a launching pad for some of the unheralded real country artists waiting tables and working construction jobs across Nashville because the business won’t give them a break, we’d have something to celebrate here. But when they announced the judges, that’s all we needed to know.
Judging who will be deemed “real country” for yet another reality TV singing competition will be the Queen of Pop/Country interpolation, the one and only leopard-printed Shania Twain. And joining her will be a man that despite some decent songs early in his career, has become the new King of Bad Talk-Singing and is currently making his way up the singles chart with a ripoff of an old John Cougar tune, Mr. Melanoma himself, Jake Owen.
Someone cue up Dale Watson’s “That’s Country My Ass.”
The two will attempt to prop up their lagging careers by cutting eight hour-long episodes to see who will be country music’s next “breakout artist.” And any remaining hope in what this show might turn out to be is squashed by the quotations from Sania Twain about it, who also is named as an executive producer.
“It’s beyond thrilling to be leading the charge with Real Country,” Shania says. “And I’m on a mission to find artists who will keep country music diverse and dynamic. The kind of diversity that inspired all of us.”
Yeah well if Shania’s version of “diversity” would be to ask real country artists such as Aaron Vance or Tony Jackson to participate, or maybe some women such as Mickey Guyton or Lindi Ortega, then I’d be fully on board. But here, Shania’s use of “diversity” is code for “not country” just like the artists who inspired her, and the artists she’s since inspired (see: Taylor Swift, Kelsea Ballerini, et al).
So yeah, this will probably suck. And maybe it won’t. But let’s be honest, we all have better shit to do than watch a 3rd rail cable station take yet another run at a reality TV competition.
May 1, 2018 @ 8:19 am
Amen , Trigger ……..how many versions of ” Star Search ” does the world need to be subjected to ?
We get it . There are literally thousands of incredibly gifted , supremely talented unknowns trying to be the next big thing . We’ve seen it , we’ve heard it , we’ve seen it and heard it again and again .
But these folks NEVER become the ‘ next big thing ‘…..or the next ANYthing !
Isn’t that like a company hiring you based on your talents and experience , teaching you the ins and outs, promising you advancement and a GREAT position if you hang in …….then hiring a kid outa high school with NONE of the above attributes and making him CEO his first week on the job ? THIS is what radio …..especially ‘country’ radio is doing . NO-TALENTS are tarted up, tuned and teamed up with other NO-TALENTS and shopped to radio and an uncaring public as stars . leaving the thousands of gifted , hard-working passionate and deserving lifers waiting for the slightest sniff of success .Guess they just wouldn’t play the game .
I don’t need anyone , least of all Jake Owen or Shania , to tell me what’s worth my attention when it comes to talent . No one needs them . We’re swimming in amazing talent and waiting for radio and no-talent game show hosts to decide that for us ??WTH….?
May 1, 2018 @ 8:55 am
Good point. The idea we need to ferret out talent from the amateur populous when there’s already so much going unrecognized and under-supported is ridiculous.
May 1, 2018 @ 8:22 am
Here’s an article about Shania Twain we can all get behind. 😉
May 1, 2018 @ 8:27 am
An article would be the last thing I’d get behind when it comes to her
May 1, 2018 @ 12:05 pm
Really? As wide as it’s gotten?
May 1, 2018 @ 8:53 pm
Please stop ass shaming Shania.
May 2, 2018 @ 12:19 pm
Yeah i don’t care.
May 1, 2018 @ 8:25 am
Unbelievably
Shitty shows
Always
May 1, 2018 @ 8:38 am
Put Chris Funk in charge. Here’s an example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvDNt9UQb9o
May 1, 2018 @ 11:06 am
That was good.
May 1, 2018 @ 8:44 am
Boy, I bet y’all wished she’d been run out of music over those comments from last week now, dontcha?
May 1, 2018 @ 11:40 am
No, I don’t. No artist should be rebuked for what they feel politically, regardless of what that is. Shania should have been run out of music simply for the vocal effect they put on her last album, let alone the dozens of other obscenities she’s been a part of over the years. But how she votes is none of our business.
“Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under” is a good country song, though.
May 1, 2018 @ 8:55 am
Country music is fast becoming a joke, people keep coming up with their version of “country”.
May 1, 2018 @ 10:33 am
It would have been far more relevant if they would have chosen any of the following:
Brad Paisley
Jon Pardi
Tim McGraw
Eric Church
Alan Jackson
The King George Strait
“Diversify” Between George Strait, Johnny Cash or Eric Church and Tim McGraw, I think that’s pretty good.
Diversify is just another way of saying that they want to blend it all together until it has no flavor left.
Calgary AB is known to be the one of the most “country town” in Canada and two pop country stations. You have to turn the AM channel to get some classic country (Strait, Jackson etc). Who wants to suffer listening to FGL when you want to listen to country music!…
May 1, 2018 @ 11:34 am
There’s only one king George Jones!
May 1, 2018 @ 1:35 pm
Good point! 🙂
May 1, 2018 @ 5:20 pm
I thought Bob Wills is still the King!
May 1, 2018 @ 5:27 pm
Yes Bob Wills is still the King! Thanks for bringing him in the discussion. I approve.
May 2, 2018 @ 7:02 am
Can I add in a few names?
How about Miranda Lambert….Patty Loveless….Tanya Tucker…Martina McBride….Natalie Maines…Trisha….Reba…
May 2, 2018 @ 11:52 am
Absolutely agree. I was thinking more about the male side here. Jake Owen is no where near being close to country music. At least Shania is “iconic” but Jake Owen has nothing special to offer.
May 1, 2018 @ 11:00 am
Yep, another cheesy rehashed reality singing competition for more mouth breathing, in the way people. Congrats to whoever wins, and then bend over because the label is going to screw you so hard that whatever you earn will just be leftovers after mgmt, cable networks, and labels get their portion to the point that you can’t even sustain yourself and will never be heard of again. But, I will remain somewhat optimistic as it was CMTs “Can You Duet” that brought us Joey & Rory, so who knows, maybe the potential for another great traditional artist or group could make it’s way through it.
May 1, 2018 @ 11:21 am
Sometimes I curse the internet and what it’s doing to society. However, on the other hand, the fact that we can now bypass all this type, and other forms of corporate sponsored, half-assed “music” garbage, is a godsend.
May 1, 2018 @ 11:26 am
Come on Trig, Jake Owen sang some of the most hardcore country lyrics this side of Coe’s Divers Do it Deeper
“We got 2-for-1s, we’re at a margarita bar, whatever happens happens
And there’s a reggae band, full of dread head, just sittin’ in the corner laughin’
Well my baby walks over, drops a 20 in a jar, she smiles and shakes it at me
Yeah, she gets ’em goin’, she gets ’em playin’ a little, don’t worry be happy
And it’s sunshine, blue eyes, tan lines, slow tide
Rollin’ white sand, cold can koozie in my hand, just a summertime strolling
Chillin’, breazin’, sippin’, singin’ whoaoaoh”
May 2, 2018 @ 2:29 am
My husband and I discovered Coe’s awful Jimmy Buffet-esque albums about a year or two ago and I’d literally rather listen to those 10000x over any new stuff… and they are terrible. But hilarious. Glad someone else in the world has heard any of it. Haha.
May 1, 2018 @ 11:42 am
I’m going to say something a little skeptical here but it’s true. “Country” music represents the people of our country… it’s an anthem for them… every lyric of every song. Johnny Cash was a cotton picker. Loretta Lynn was a coal miner’s daughter. Merle Haggard was in prison. Their hard lives brought us the best music and the people of that time could relate to it because they lived the same lives. Fast forward to today… Shania Twain did what? Jake Owen did what? Taylor Swift did what? Nothing. But they sing about the things that the people of today (mostly our youth) can relate to. It’s not about hard living and growing up anymore. It’s about getting drunk on a tailgate and sleeping with girls. They say the circle rebuilds it’s self every generation or so… I just don’t see the building here.
May 3, 2018 @ 8:51 am
Shania Twain’s upbringing – poverty, domestic violence, singing in bars at age 8 to help pay the bills, having to bathe and wash her clothes in a lake when she was with her dad – is really the stuff good country songs are made of.
Unfortunately she chose not to draw on her own experiences when writing songs.
May 1, 2018 @ 11:47 am
Season 2 will probably include Bebe Rexha and Flordia Georgia Line as the judges. Or maybe perhaps the great A.J. McLame after his debut country album goes up in flames. This show, like all other singing contests before it, will ultimately fail. People just aren’t into this anymore, particularly when you pick a genre most pop people don’t like, country, and that most country people don’t like, pop country. I wonder where they hope to get viewers…
May 1, 2018 @ 12:14 pm
Feel like “Jake” has had Shawn Mullins’ “Lullaby” and Snoop’s “Gin And Juice” stuck on repeat in his head since he left FSU.
May 1, 2018 @ 1:06 pm
😀
May 1, 2018 @ 12:46 pm
I’m already sick enough ty. Won’t be watching that crap!
May 1, 2018 @ 1:02 pm
I pass
May 1, 2018 @ 1:27 pm
I agree there’s no need for another singing competition Show. There are many different genres of music so everyone can find their own favorite. Many of u seem to prefer what I call Classic Country. I prefer Todays Country. My daughter likes Pop. Her Dad, classic Rock. If u dont like it, no need to condemn it. Simply change the channel????
May 2, 2018 @ 6:39 pm
I don’t prefer “classic country”. Do I love Haggard, Nelson, and Cash? Of course, they’re legends. But do I also love Eric Church, Jon Pardi, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Brett Elderedge, Chris Stapleton, and countless other “today’s country” artists? Heck yeah I do. But when you get people who are so blatantly not country whatsoever, i.e. Walker Hayes, Sam Hunt, bebe rhexa or whoever, and so many other people infiltrating our genre, or “country” artists who don’t have a passion for the genre but just use it as a platform to boost their mediocre careers, like FGL, Kieth Urban, or Shania twain, it starts to get you down. I have nothing wrong with pop music, literally one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to was Ed Sheeran, but keep genres separated. Your argument of “change the channel” is unacceptable. I turn on country radio and expect to hear country music. If I bought a ticket to see the latest action/war movie and they started playing The Notebook i wouldnt just accept it, i would get upset and demand a change. It’s getting to the point where you either have to say “I like country music, but not -fill in the blank with whatever is crappy on the radio at the moment-” or I just tell people I like Americana because it’s an embarrassment to say you like country because people think of the crap on the top 10.
If you have any sort of rebuttal to this I’d love to hear it, but I think I rest my case.
May 3, 2018 @ 8:57 am
Benjamin is absolutely correct. “Changing the channel” in order to hear something you like is becoming less and less of a viable solution due to the continued move toward a genre-less society.
May 1, 2018 @ 2:48 pm
I shouldn’t judge it before it drops and I watch it but Shania Twain was the worst thing to happy to country music and I am ashamed to admit I lost my voice screaming along with everyone else at one of her shows in her 90s peak. The ticket may have been free but is cost my voice. LOL!
The show was fun but there was about as much country music there as you’d find on Yo MTV Raps!
And I assume as with every other singing show NONE of the judges will be an asshole, which is what we really need on these shows. And forthright no BS asshole to people what is fucking what.
He wouldn’t do the show but I would LOVE to see Shooter Jennings as a judge. They could use “Outlaw You” as the theme song.
May 1, 2018 @ 3:27 pm
The BBC put out a good four part documentary called The Lost Highway. While not an entire history of country music it encompasses a good portion of how country music got to where it is today (2003).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/02_february/06/lost_highway.shtml
Part 1 and 2 are on YouTube, parts 3 and 4 might require some more advanced internet skills but is out there.
May 1, 2018 @ 4:47 pm
Barbara art intErview with Rolling Stone. Getting to work with Jon and so many of the people we manage. Obviously Bruce is the top, but we managed Shania Twain for quite a while through an incredible period of her career [during the 1990s and early 2000s]. She came to us and said “I’d like to go from being a country artist to being a pop artist,” and that’s what she got to become. [JLM’s] Jan Stabile and I must have gone to Australia with Shania four or five times in one year because that’s where we first broke a pop single for her.
May 1, 2018 @ 10:48 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe diversity is an old, old wooden ship that was used during the Civil War Era, no?
May 2, 2018 @ 1:23 am
No need to bash Shania or Jake. Shania actually had a medical condition and I have a family member that’s in Jake’s very talented band. So turn the dial idiot. I listen to 60 70s 80s 90s and 2000.pop,rock country,heavy metal and hip hop. Diversify is being able to sing Cash w my mother, Tim McGraw with my daughters and Jake w my grandkids
May 2, 2018 @ 4:04 am
Shania Twain is partly to blame for pop country, but Faith Hill also went down that road with her “pop remixes” in the late 90s. It’s pretty telling that Faith Hill’s “pop remix” of “This Kiss” in 1998 was basically just the normal song with the steel guitar stripped out. How many of the Top 40 country airplay songs today have any steel guitar? They would all probably have been considered pop songs in 1998, or at least adult contemporary pop if not teen pop.
May 2, 2018 @ 4:41 am
What s joke… although I have enjoyed some of the music from both singers that will participate in this waste of time they have become as uncountry as have so many that grace the airwaves today. I never thought I would see the dismantling of my beloved country music as I have over these last several years. It actually sickens me that with all the genres of music in this world those execs have managed to destroy country music as we once knew it. How dare you? You just couldn’t leave country music “Country” … you had to go and tear it all apart and throw hip-hop and rap into it … which by themselves as their own genres is fine but you just had to mess with country music. Money grabbers….not keeping it pure… it’s all about the almighty dollar….
May 2, 2018 @ 4:49 am
Here’s the thing about real artists of any genre- they don’t care about anything but playing, performing their art. They don’t show up for singing competitions. They don’t care if they get heard on the radio. They don’t care if they get a record deal. They don’t care about money. As producer I have “discovered” some amazing talent and getting any of them into a studio is really difficult. Nevermind all the other tasks ie radio tours, TV appearances, required to promote the product. From the perspective of those of us that live a 40 hour, 8-5 workday, they are batshit crazy. If any do rise to national prominence it is due to a lot of hard work on the part of a dedicated and equally batshit crazy manager. So, the likelyhood of any genuine talent showing up for the show in question is nil, zero, nada.
May 2, 2018 @ 5:55 am
Interesting that they wouldn’t just do a reboot of “Nashville Star”, seeing as how it’s the same network that ran that show. I would think that they would still have at least a little name recognition from it, instead of having to start over with a new name.
May 2, 2018 @ 7:02 am
Lazy crap like this is why I don’t have cable television. Why pay a premium for an all access view of a garbage dump?
May 2, 2018 @ 7:12 am
Shania Twain was NEVER country. Pop with a lean toward country at best. Since her break with Mutt…she is even more irrelevant than ever.
Jake Owen had a shot at being country…once…but he sacrificed that in pursuit of album sales. Both are now royalty of ineptness. They are about as country as Taylor Swift…who was NEVER country.
May 2, 2018 @ 7:37 am
Shania started the downward trend in country music. Garth receives a majority of the blame for no discernible reason. He placed many songs in the country music canon. Shania was nothing more than a producer’s puppet destined for a poster.
May 2, 2018 @ 9:45 am
Hope no one watch that crap and no one sets up, It’s all going down down down down down.
May 2, 2018 @ 5:20 pm
The only that would make Jake Owen authentic is if he covered Shania’s “man i feel like a woman”
May 3, 2018 @ 7:27 am
Trigger:
The best part of this article was the names of the real “real country” singers. I try to keep up with new stuff, but I had missed Tony Jackson. Good stuff! Tell us more people like that we should be listening to instead of the dreck from FGL, Sam Hunt, etc.
May 3, 2018 @ 8:20 am
The truth is often when I’m expounding on things that are bad in country, I’m dropping little Easter eggs about what’s good. Though most people think this is primarily a site for traditional/independent country fans, you would be blown away how many readers are pop country fans, or people who work in the mainstream industry. Introducing them to good music and artists through osmosis is part of the chemistry that makes the website effective for growing name recognition for worthy artists.
May 3, 2018 @ 9:38 am
When USA launched Nashville Star 15 years ago their stated goal was to find an artist who was new and different rather than a copycat artist following the current trend. And I’d say they accomplished that by crowning a heavyset 41-year-old outspoken Christian with average looks at best who relied on a great southern baritone and solid songwriting chops to carry the day.
Unfortunately the original premise of the show was discarded the second year when the winner was milquetoast supreme Brad Cotter.
I don’t expect anything new or original from this dog.
November 26, 2018 @ 8:16 am
Thank God they added Travis Tritt who he actually did invite Tony Jackson to be on the show! Can’t wait to see Tony perform Wednesday night.