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.
A pretty universal consensus from the country fans who did suffer through the presentation to see the extended Alan Jackson tribute at the end was that in 2022, the CMA Awards seemed to do a 180-degree turn, and started going back in the right direction toward featuring more actual country music.
“I said something that was self-deprecating, probably meant to be, ‘Oh, well, we’re just musicians’ or something to that effect, to which [Katy Perry] said, ‘Well, you know, that’s offensive to me and you. You do what you do. We’re healers. We have an important job.’”
Just like the malaise we’re seeing in music and movies, attempting to reboot ‘American Idol’ is the sign of a lack of new ideas or originality. America has moved on from American Idol, and unless it’s willing to dramatically adapt to the times, it will be like an anchor on ABC and its cast.
On December 4th, Billboard will roll out new changes to their Billboard 200 album chart, and the effect will be big on some of your favorite music artists, including legends like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, and up-and-comers like Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell. The changes will be the first major overhaul to the album chart since 1991.
Taylor Swift, who just made her big switch from country to pop, is the focus of Rolling Stone’s cover story in the latest issue, and the in-depth feature finds Miss Swift dunking in the ocean fully clothed and dropping some very interesting tidbits that could help country music perform its postmortem about why Taylor Swift left and what it really means.
The underlying problem is that free music is quickly becoming seen as an inalienable right for all Americans, and all of the world’s consumers, if we haven’t reached that dangerous plateau already. And the even more dangerous step of expecting musicians to pay to have their music heard is becoming more of a reality every day—evidenced by this Super Bowl Halftime news.
Though Taylor Swift leaving country music could very much be seen as a victory from the Saving Country Music perspective, to the country music industry perspective, they just lost this generations biggest music star, and an money-making powerhouse. And the cultural and economic impact of this development cannot be overstated.
“The Trailer Song” is nothing special. But it shows off Kacey’s infectious and endearing wit, and her keen sense of perspective. And it’s catchy, and kitschy, and so very Kacey, and deliciously Country with a capital ‘C’ in both approach and sound. Is “The Trailer Song” a hit? No. But neither was “Merry Go ‘Round”, and it still became one because it was just weird enough to work.
I don’t have any data to back my assertions up. But I’ll be damned that if in 2014, your average pop star isn’t more likely to outpace your average country star when it comes to substance and depth in their music. The dynamic has flipped, and it leaves one wondering if in the future “country” will be that bad word that infers a lack of artistic merit. Or if we haven’t already arrived there.
Mid January is the season that most of the big mainstream country music acts unveil their touring plans for the year. Country music critical favorite Kacey Musgraves announced she would not be touring with one of her country music bunk mates, but of all people, the buxom purple-haired pop star Katy Perry. ome Kacey Musgraves’ supporters were disappointed…
Tonight in New York City at the Lexington Avenue Armory, Taylor Swift will be the musical headliner for the Victoria’s Secret annual fashion show, set to air on CBS December 10th. It’s not necessarily how much skin will be on display at the show that is so alarming as much as the appearance seems like such a calculated assessment of Swift’s public perception and an attempt to recalculate it.
The objective of the joint venture is “to allow the two companies to co-publish songwriters with the goal of bringing country and pop writers into each other’s realm.” In other words, the deal will likely mean even more pop on country radio, as pop songwriters and producers collaborate more intimately with Big Machine’s growing roster of country talent.