There are just a few landmark records that you can point back to in the history of country music and legitimately claim they revolutionized the genre in fundamental ways.
Luke Bryan made an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast in an episode published on Wednesday (10-23), and participated in a little revisionist history about his career and how it careened into Bro-Country.
Clearly the crowd in attendance thought the duet was killer. Most of the reception has been positive. But there has also been quite a few criticizing Tyler Childers for agreeing to the collaboration.
Along with clarifying that Beyoncé herself believes her upcoming release “Ain’t a country album,” she also further reiterates that the project came about from, “taking my time to bend and blend genres together…”
Boy didn’t the idea of Post Malone making a big country album or releasing country songs seem like a sexy idea over the last few years. Back in 2020 when he was running around in T-shirts from Tyler Childers.
Every single year, the Country Music Association is going to find someone from outside of the country music genre to perform on the CMA Awards. That’s just the way things are. This year it’s Post Malone.
The 2023 CMT Awards could very well go down in country music history as a significant moment, but it won’t be for the reasons the producers of the presentation or their proponents in the media hoped for, or will purport it to be. And no, we’re not just talking about the polarizing political moments…
For the last dozen years or so, one of the most contentious battles within the realm of commercial country music has centered around the incursion of hip-hop influences into the genre, and specifically the use of verses that are rapped as opposed to sung, and electronic beats replacing organic drums.
Luke Combs said it best while accepting the trophy for Entertainer of the Year Wednesday night (11-9) at the 2022 CMA Awards: “This is my fifth or sixth year being at this awards show, and country sounded more country than it has in a long time tonight.” In truth, the CMA Awards righting the ship goes back even further.
There is one thing that can’t be disputed about the song “Wagon Wheel.” It is unequivocally now one of the biggest songs in country music history. Darius Rucker and his label Capitol Records Nashville celebrated the song going Certified Diamond by the RIAA, meaning it has now racked up 10 million in sales.
If you asked me point blank what the single most important moment in country music over the last ten years has been, without any hesitation, I would answer conclusively that it was Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake performing “Tennessee Whiskey” at the CMA Awards.
Far and away, the best performance of the night was turned in by an artist entirely outside of the country music fold when Jennifer Hudson took the stage to sing Willie Nelson’s “Night Life,” leading into “You Are My Sunshine,” with assistance from Chris Stapleton on guitar.
Alan Jackson is bringing country music back. On Friday, May 14th, his first new album in some six years arrives, and all indications are he means business. Delivering 21 songs of country music goodness, he offers up some drinking songs, some heartbreak songs, and few sentimental songs for his mother and daughters. But he also […]
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the inaugural episode of Country History X. We start by telling the crazy story of how a box of unheard and currently-unpublished George Jones reel-to-reel master tapes ended up being used as the bond collateral for two international drug smugglers.
Five years ago today—on November 4th, 2015—the biggest event and paradigm shift in country music occurred most certainly in the last 10 years, likely in the last quarter century, and possibly one of the biggest moments in the totality of country music history.
This new Trolls movie is very explicitly lashing out against the monogenre, and the intrusion of other musical forms into other genres, just like what Saving Country Music has been actively advocating against for a dozen years now.
A website whose beat is country music really doesn’t have any business broaching a discussion on this song. Not that it’s completely out-of-bounds or objectionably opportunistic to do so. It’s just that despite the characterization of some, this song really doesn’t have anything to do with country music.
You now can argue that one of the biggest songs in country music in the last decade was originally written and released nearly 40 years ago, and this time around, wasn’t even released as a single. Of course we’re talking about “Tennessee Whiskey,” and the soulful version of the song released by Chris Stapleton.
When you hear certain albums from some of country music’s mainstream performers, it’s patently clear to large portions of the audience that these albums aren’t pop country, they’re just pop, period. But in the pop world when artist dabble in country influences, they tend to be more honest about how the end result is still pop.
So what happened? It’s less likely that Justin Timberlake and Timbaland were lying, and more likely that the country record Justin Timberlake envisioned never got made. At some point in the process, Timberlake must have had a change of heart. The entire pursuit was scrapped for what became “Man of the Woods.”
What happened to Justin Timberlake making a country record, or at least including some country or “earthy” Americana on it? I can’t tell you. However “Say Something”—the studio track that is—delivers somewhat on Timberlake’s more updated promise of Man of the Woods being “Americana with 808’s.”
Justin Timberlake’s long-anticipated original song with Chris Stapleton will be arriving Thursday (1-25), and it will be called “Say Something.” It has also been announced that he will be performing with country legend Emmylou Harris at Sunday’s 60th Annual Grammy Awards. The details:
On Tuesday, January 16th, The Americana Music Association launched its brand new charting system with the help of technology company CDX. The new system will more easily and more accurately report the activity on Americana’s radio stations and shows across the Americana reporting network.
Radio sure as hell won’t play him, but recognizing the greater cultural impact Chris Stapleton has accrued in the last couple of years, SNL has invited him back for a 2nd performance. But that’s not all Stapleton has going for him in early 2018 …