Sure, there’s a little bit more race to run. But at this point, Ella Langley has gotten so far out in front and lapped so much of the field, it’s a forgone conclusion how this race is will end, and against some massive competitors.
Some will read the headline and say, “Come on. This is ridiculous and alarmist.” Others will say, “Well of course it is. You’ve been reporting on this stuff for going on two decades. Aren’t you being a master of the obvious?”
Country isn’t the only music community scratching its head while a fairly innocuous and forgettable pop song rewrites history by hitting record marks for its time at #1 on a genre specific chart, or a performer or group who doesn’t even seem to belong in the genre dominates that genre’s most important chart metrics.
We’re supposed to be avoiding discussion of Taylor Swift in country music. That wasn’t just the hope of traditional country fans who were glad to see her finally come out a few years ago and say that she wanted to be considered pop and pop only henceforth. That was the wish of Taylor Swift herself and the entire point of her “I’ve gone pop” declaration.
“Bro-country” is the phrase that has been on the tip of the tongue of many country music and culture writers when they try to describe the current phenomenon gripping popular country music that calls heavily on pickup trucks, beer, backroads, etc. etc., but according to Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley, he’s clueless to what the term stands for.
Yesterday Billboard announced a new rule impacting their industry-standard music charts that will take into consideration YouTube views as part of the broader algorithm that determines the chart placement of songs. This is part of a bigger movement by Billboard that started in October of 2012 to update their charting to include data from the new habits of music consumers, including digital downloads and song streaming.