Ever since Taylor Swift went full-blown pop with her 2014 album 1989, there’s been numerous murmurs, head fakes, false starts, and inferences that certain songs from her have been a return to “country” by the massive global superstar.
Oh great, another list. And just like what always happens with lists these days, people treat them like it’s a “Where’s Waldo?” exercise, scouring through them to find what to tear apart based on their own tastes.
It seems like every time the topic of “King” George Strait comes up in conversation, someone feels the need to pipe up how he’s a fraud of a country star because he never wrote any of his own songs.
What else was Vince Gill going to say to a loaded, ambush question? He wasn’t going to say, “No, Taylor Swift’s pop and her music sucks.” He’s Vince Gill, and will give a Vince Gill answer. But the problem wasn’t Vince’s answer.
The records just keep on coming for Ella Langley and her mega hit “Choosin’ Texas.” But this one might be the biggest of them all, taking Ella somewhere that no woman in country music has ever gone before.
It really is hard to put into words the kind of moment country music is having, and more specifically, the moment country women are having. It’s worth regarding it as unprecedented, because it’s never happened before.
Taylor Swift? A Hall of Famer at the age of 36, and for songwriting no less? That’s what the Songwriters Hall of Fame has decreed, with Swift being inducted in the class for 2026.
as bad of an assessment as one might come to about what’s unfolding on the country charts, nothing compares to the monstrosity that is transpiring over in rock. Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift?
You crave hearing a new song from Dan + Shay like you crave hearing Christmas music before Halloween. The emasculated tones, the aggressive use of AutoTune, the entirely soul-bereft delivery…
Country music is constantly slotted as second-class when it comes to the greater American culture, even when it’s more popular than ever like it is now, and more popular than any other genre.
Charley Crockett has been making more and more public pronouncements that make you want to pump your fists, ranting about the music business, and making David Goggins-like motivational points
The fact that the country music industry supported Taylor Swift so demonstrably and she was able to find top-tier success proves it’s possible for a woman to find her way in the industry, and in recent times.
Beyoncé’s 2024 album Cowboy Carter was supposed to be the biggest phenomenon in country music in 2024. But after taking a step back from all the bluster, it’s easy to conclude that Cowboy Carter’s impact was marginal at best.
Recently, Billboard published a list of what they believe are the “100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time.” As always with these lists, it has stimulated lots of conversation, and some controversy.
At a time when actual country performers are inspiring pop stars more than ever, it should be those country performers represented in the country categories, not the pop and hip-hop stars they’re inspiring.
Zach Bryan’s breakup with Brianna Chickenfry has gone from a matter for the kind of gossip podcasts that Brianna is famous for participating in, to a matter that has touched on serious issues that affect the freedom of artists.
The two Kelce brothers host a podcast together called New Heights, and have the internet all agog after Jason Kelce (the brother NOT having intercourse with Taylor Swift) twisted off on country music during the latest episode.
It was supposed to be one of the biggest events in music in 2024, if not one of the biggest in music in the last many years. Most definitely it was going to be the defining moment in country music in 2024, if not in country history.
It nears the realm of impossibility to put enough emphasis on how monumentally important the seismic shifts occurring in the music business at the moment are, and how they’re reverberating throughout every sector of the industry.
The misconception that Toby Keith helped launch Taylor Swift’s career comes from a now viral clip taken from a Channel 4 WSMV news story shot in 2005 that features a 15-year-old Taylor Swift singing and talking about her career.
Rapper T-Pain recently made some statements that have the music world in a stir. T-Pain claims he’s helped to write some country songs in the past, but left his name out of the credits due to racism.
When we heard that the reclusive Tracy Chapman had agreed to appear at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards to sing “Fast Car” with Luke Combs, we knew it could be something special. It was certainly that.
With outlets now hiring dedicated staff to cover celebrity music stars, it creates a dilemma over objectivity, and runs the risk of widening the gulf between music’s haves and have nots.
Here comes the newest installment of the Hunger Games movie franchise that not only has a bunch of deserving artists on the soundtrack, but has a significant musical element throughout the script.