Taylor Swift Disrupts Country Charts / Radio with New Song
The new big thing on country radio is an old big thing: Taylor Swift. The global superstar released a new song called “I Knew It, I Knew You” on June 5th as part of the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, with the metadata and marketing claiming it’s a country song. In the film, it’s sung by cowgirl character Jessie. Now the song is cresting the Billboard Hot 100, and setting records on country radio for its meteoric rise.
Last week, Swift and “I Knew It, I Knew You” made headlines by debuting at #8 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart—the first time a single from a woman has debuted in the Top 10 on that chart since it was first published in 1990, and only the second single to ever do so behind “More Than A Memory” from Garth Brooks that debuted at #1 in 2007.
The adoption of the song by country radio has been massive, even historic, necessitating a mea culpa from Saving Country Music, which said initially,
“They might try to service ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ to country radio as a single. They tried that with ‘Betty’ from Folklore, but the best it could do is #32. Then the murder ballad ‘No Body, No Crime‘ from Evermore stalled at #54. It’s hard to see ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ doing any better, or competing for CMA/ACM/Grammy country awards.”
Boy was that an mis-under-estimate. The single has not only blown past all of Swift’s previous post-country benchmarks, it now is almost guaranteed CMA/ACM/Grammy consideration, if only because these awards will likely want to entice the superstar into a televised performance.
It’s important to point out that country radio actually has two major charts, and there’s currently a major discrepancy between the two via “I Knew It, I Knew You.” Though Billboard’s Luminate radio panel put the song in the Top 10 its first week, Mediabase had it debuting at #25, and this week still only has it at #17. These are still massive numbers for Swift out of the chute, but that discrepancy is quite significant.
Saving Country Music might have not underestimated the resonance of “I Knew It, I Knew You” as much as the appetite by Swift, Disney, and everyone else involved to push it to country radio as a way to advertise the Toy Story franchise. Really, this feels just as much a lesson of how country radio will adopt most anything they’re told to as opposed to truly having a finger on the pulse of the American country music consumer and serving them what they want. It’s not that America doesn’t want “I Knew It, I Knew You.” But it’s fair to ask how many of those listeners are country fans, and just how “country” the song is.
That doesn’t mean Taylor Swift and “I Knew It, I Knew You” isn’t having major implications on country music. The song has broken Ella Langley’s most recent streak at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Choosin’ Texas,” which comes in at #2 this week thanks to Swift. Incidentally, Ella Langley’s “Be Her” that’s also been on a big winning streak sits at #4 on the Hot 100, but #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart where it’s been for weeks.
Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” is set to depose Langley on radio soon, sitting at #4 this week at Billboard Airplay. Langley is also enjoying another rare feat where she has three songs simultaneously in the Billboard Country Airplay Top 5: “Choosin’ Texas,” “Be Her,” and her duet with Morgan Wallen, “I Can’t Love You Anymore.” For the record, on the Mediabase charts, “Choosin’ Texas” has already been labeled as “recurrent,” meaning it’s not charting at the top anymore, even though it’s receiving plenty of radio play.
Could Taylor Swift and “I Knew It, I Knew You” disrupt the Ella Langley moment? In some respects it already has. But Langley is also disrupting Langley, with “Choosin’ Texas” keeping “Be Her” from hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Langley has proven her resonance is deep enough that it doesn’t matter who else is nipping at her heels, or deposing her from the top spot for a few weeks. Langley’s new album Dandelion is still at #2 this week behind Drake.
Also, Taylor Swift singles have a pretty notorious track record of burning bright, and then fading away quickly. She’ll go through an entire album’s worth of #1 singles in a matter of months, while a song like “Choosin’ Texas” stays at the top for what feels like an eternity. It’s possible “I Knew It, I Knew You” suffers a similar fate.
After all, it still just doesn’t feel like “I Knew It, I Knew You” is that resonant of a track. Name recognition and Stan support might be most of what is propping the song up. Elements of its melody are reminiscent of “Even The Nights Are Better” from Air Supply (and not in a good way), and the song just lacks the “twang” that is so present in today’s country.
But clearly the lesson from the first few weeks of “I Knew It, I Knew You” is to not underestimate it. This is not some 3rd or 4th single from a Swift record they’re “testing” at country radio. It’s an all out blitz. But the song’s success might say more about the country radio format’s permissiveness than it does the resonance or long-term impact the song will have on country radio, or country music.
Will Taylor Swift use the wild success of “I Knew It, I Knew You” to springboard back into country now that Ella Langley has shattered all glass ceilings and country remains the hot new thing? We’ll have to see. But again, the rather wild, unexpected adoption and success of a song from a movie soundtrack is resetting the possibilities of women in country music, and all of a sudden injecting Taylor Swift as a player in country once again, for better or worse. Whether it’s better or worse, we’ll just have to wait and see.
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June 16, 2026 @ 11:37 am
Taylor Swift’s recent #1 songs are much like Drake’s recent #1 songs: making frontloaded impact off of name recognition and commercial clout alone, but lacking any cultural cachet after the initial month of release. “Opalite” was basically for Taylor Swift what “Janice STFU” was for Drake.
I can see “I Knew It, I Knew You” temporarily bouncing back come Oscars season when it inevitably gets nominated for “Song of the Year” there but, again, because of aggressive marketing and promo rather than the song itself really garnering any organic buzz among listeners. I predict this is going to hit a wall at country radio itself.
June 16, 2026 @ 11:48 am
yes it is like drake or even arina grande who got her 10th number 1 last week
the way they get number 1 looks easy compared to the eras of mariah carey or michael jackson or madonna
but a number 1 is still a number 1
in the 90s I dont think (i knew it, i knew you) would go number 1 but this is 2026 with a rabid fan base, over exposure and streaming, you can do it easy and taylor and drake are based in this areas
June 18, 2026 @ 8:40 am
Don’t know if I agree with this. Big artists get number ones. That’s the way it’s always been. Whether we are taking 1965 or 1999 or 2026. Taylor is clearly a supernova of an artist and that’s underselling it. The idea that anything she releases would her near or be at the top of the charts kind of is basic knowledge for anyone who knows anything about music. A new Spielberg or Scorsese movie or a new Stephen King book is going to be number one. It’s pretty basic stuff. Why would I be shocked disclosure day is number 1?
June 16, 2026 @ 1:27 pm
She has had frontloaded hits before (Is It Over Now, Willow) – but Opalite was already one of her longest running top 10s when they released the physical copies that pushed it to #1. The single that preceded it, The Fate of Ophelia, spent 10 weeks at #1. I wouldn’t call that frontloaded either.
June 16, 2026 @ 2:23 pm
That’s largely because of the heavy volume of “album-equivalent sales” that “The Life of a Showgirl” initially enjoyed over its tight, twelve-track runtime, coupled with the early considerable airplay it received due to, again, name recognition.
Also, “Opalite” was artificially inflated to #1 by launching all of these physical sale variants. The week it went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, it coincided with a 1,950% increase in sales. It screams strategic rather than organic.
And it’s not hating on Swift, by the way. Billboard’s chart and data rules are what they are, and the music industry and her label are simply taking full advantage of its current rules. The contention is that many of her more recent #1s don’t have nearly the organic mass appeal that many of her earlier biggest hits had and still largely have.
Most signs are pointing to “I Knew It, I Knew You” ultimately winding up closer to the company of “Opalite”, “Is It Over Now?” and “Fortnight” as her lowest-impacting #1s………….than the likes of “Cardigan”, “Anti-Hero” and even some of her non-#1s like “Love Story”, “You Belong With Me” and “Wildest Dreams”.
June 18, 2026 @ 9:55 am
TS has a large enthusiastic fanbase and she’s known for staggering alternative versions of physical albums to keep her songs on the charts longer. Her fans will buy the alternate versions to support her.
June 16, 2026 @ 11:39 am
Taylor Swift needs to sit down and be quiet while we all listen to the new Olivia Rodrigo
June 16, 2026 @ 2:35 pm
I immensely enjoyed Rodrigo’s new album. Not remotely country obviously, but as long as the music sounds and feels inspired and genuine I will enjoy it.
I genuinely think even though the statistical album-equivalent sales noise certainly makes the following claims seem like full-blown “Derangement Syndrome”……………..make no mistake: Taylor Swift is presently at peak polarization/backlash artistically, where even many of her longtime fans admitted to not liking “The Life of a Showgirl”. And Olivia Rodrigo and Megan Moroney are two perfect examples of singer/songwriters that listeners feeling fatigued from Swift’s recent decline in songwriting quality are migrating to to scratch that itch.
June 16, 2026 @ 2:57 pm
Less wouldn’t be out of place on a country album.
June 16, 2026 @ 2:58 pm
Neither would “Scared Of My Guitar” off of the deluxe edition of her previous album “GUTS: Spilled”. That was a terrific song on its own that would have translated well to country.
June 16, 2026 @ 11:45 am
love or hate her. taylor is unstoppable at this point.
she is worth more than all the female country stars combined with a net worth of 2 billion dollars all from music earnings.
I see some folks are happy because they want taylor to push ella langley of the chat who they think is a MAGA coded trump supporter
be that as it may, taylor has no competition at this point. if she wants to come back to country she will dominate with ease and ella and lainey wilson will be overshadowed.
the song (i knew it, i knew you) as I said already is fairly generic and NOT OSCAR WORTHY but it has gone number 1 because this woman has cast a spell on the world and her rabid fans just eats anything she bake
its crazy that taylor will soon surpass mariah carey 19 no 1 even though she does not have mariah vocals and more mature song writing style
people need to move on from trying to take taylor down at this point. the girl is unstoppable
Also trigger, I need to speak to you personally. I am a lyrical song writer, who writes country songs and i need a composing partner can you help?
June 16, 2026 @ 3:47 pm
“I am a lyrical song writer, who writes country songs and i need a composing partner can you help?”
If you don’t write melodies or play an instrument, you write poetry. I encourage you to join NSAI and search for musicians in your area who are looking to collaborate. Good luck!
June 16, 2026 @ 11:34 pm
Lyricsm is the core of song writing.i am not a poet.i do need partners
I write better than poo taylor swift
June 22, 2026 @ 4:38 pm
“Lyricism is the core of song writing.”
Nah, without melody lyrics are nothing more than words on paper, poetry, like I said. I suggest you check out NSAI, but if you’re delusional enough to think you write better than Taylor Swift (I am not a fan) you really do need to join ASAP for a reality check. 😂
June 16, 2026 @ 11:57 pm
I don’t sing or play an intrument or write melodies, but I have attempted to write lyrics and get some feedback to see if a musician I like perhaps wanted to use the lyrics should they think they might be suitable to make a song with and want to do that. I usually don’t receive much replies.
One set of lyrics had no chorus and I sent it in to some online poetry website, but that has been just as unsuccessful for me. In the process of this all I did learn that I don’t like it very much if the lyrics I write are “merely” posted as lyrics or poetry. To me, words on paper are just words stuck there. I like it when the words take flight, and possibly soar, via music and a song and a musician. These are lyrics I received a positive reply to by someone which did not result in a song, and I later sent in as a poem because it had no clear chorus and such:
Because Of What You Told Me
You said I could look for you at the lake
by watching the surface of the water
And see our reflections looking down
like we used to do, beside each other
But when I go now and sit on the dock
murky water is all there seems to be
That, and ripples on the surface
instead of the picture of you and me
You said I could look for you in the field
by sitting down against the tree
And see the sunlight through the branches
like we used to do, just you and me
But when I go now and walk over there
to see if I can see a ray of light
I can’t find space to see through
the leaves and tangled branches block my sight
You said I could look for you on the hill
by looking up at the moonlit sky
And search for the brightest star
like we used to do, in that place up high
But when I go now to that same spot
clouds and darkness are all I see
I can’t see any of the lights
unlike what I saw when it was you and me
I’m starting to wonder whether you lied
whether you just said those things because I cried
I’m starting to wonder why I can’t see
maybe you told the truth
but it’s just me
Whatever may be the case
Whatever may be
I’ll keep looking
because of what you told me
June 17, 2026 @ 9:00 am
These lyrics are better than 99% of the garbage out there today.
You should go on Hook.
June 17, 2026 @ 9:39 am
Thank you for the positive words about the lyrics. Things are, at least partly, subjective I reason, but I still think the lyrics might be suitable to make a great song with.
I don’t do too well with making accounts on websites and such, and I can’t sing or play myself. I just would like it when a musician I like uses the lyrics, which is why I have send some stuff I wrote to some musicians, but that hasn’t resulted in anything subtantial as far as I know. I don’t want money or royalties or whatever. I just would like it when a great song is made with the lyrics I wrote if the lyrics are suitable for that. The resulting song in turn might hopefully be enjoyed by the musician and the listeners.
There are so many songs I discovered in the last two years or so on youtube, some by relatively unknown musicians, which have brought me much pleasure when listening to them. And now I have discovered The Hook on youtube. I am expecting the 5th episode to appear soon! There is something about some songs and music that does something to me, it’s healing, or it resonates in a certain way that soothes my mind and soul or something like that. I sometimes attempt to contribute to that, or be a part of that, but it ain’t easy not being a musician. I can only write words in a certain way.
Thank you again for the positive reply. I appreciate it.
(Also thanks to savingcountrymusic for letting me post some of my lyrics. I intend to stop doing this now, the comment section here is not necessarily the place for that I reason, but I appreciate being able to have posted the two sets of lyrics I have. One here, and the other in the recent post about Charley Crockett’s album “Clovis”.)
June 18, 2026 @ 7:37 am
Elton John’s Tiny Dancer was one of the songs that Bernie Taupin provided to Elton with no music and Elton came up with the music on the spot. I read thru your poem and what I noticed is that it lacks rhyme and meter. Lyrics need to have continuity in the number of syllables. The number of syllables will vary line to line but there is apparent structure. Tiny Dancer is a good example to look at. Meter is the inflection of the syllables in a word. (‘Watermelon’ completely flat) Meter is another thing to be mindful of because it influences the flow of how something is read or sang. It’s what gives writing “life”.
June 18, 2026 @ 9:07 am
Thank you Strait for the comment! Nice example of Tiny Dancer, and it provides some hope that “merely” providing lyrics might result in a song.
Thank you also for the comments about syllables and meter. If I am not mistaken this poem, orginally lyrics, was the first thing I wrote when trying to write some lyrics after hearing lots of new music via youtube channels like WesternAF, Appalachiauntold, Truthful sessions, radionwv, fat cave studios. I am not a musician but after some wrestling with thinking about what matters (e.g. word count or syllables) I explictly focused on the number of syllables in a “sentence”.
The final section of the poem is different from the rest, that would be a possible “bridge” if I am not mistaken, but the first three sections seem pretty close to me concerning the number of syllables per sentence (all around 9-10 if I am not mistaken). I read some things about meter, just now, but that seems already too complicated for my brain. I think I do try and “sense” whether the words “flow” in a way, which might be tied to the meter thing, but I am not sure I can do that well enough should it even be related to that. Again, I am not a musician, I can only write words, and whistle, and listen to music and singing an sense whether I like it or not.
Appreciate your comment and the information in it!
June 18, 2026 @ 10:05 am
A little bit of criticism:
You repeat “weak” words in many of the lines:
“You said I could look for you at the lake” (You)
“instead of the picture of you and me” (of)
“to see if I can see a ray of light” (see)
Good songwriting is concise with the word choices. Repeating the same word twice in a line makes the line weak. Relay the thought with the fewest words possible and pick powerful words. Bad songwriting uses weak word choice and too long of lyrics for an idea that could be summed up with a few words.
Using Tiny Dancer as an example:
Blue jean baby, L.A. lady
Seamstress for the band
Pretty-eyed, pirate smile
You’ll marry a music man
There are strong syllable accents on “Blue” “L.A” and “Pretty” and “Pirate”
Bernie used very brief and descriptive words to convey imagery in a very short lyric.
June 18, 2026 @ 11:29 am
Thanks again Strait.
I checked out the lyrics, and counted the syllables of the first couple of “sentences” of Tiny Dancer as a result of your comment. It seemed to me to be relatively close to what I did: there is structure, but not necessarily the exact same amount of syllables. Perhaps I can shrink the range though.
I also reason there is likely a part that is subjective in all of this. The brief descriptive words you mention might work in some songs or for some writers, but perhaps not necessarily for other songs or writers. I do appreciate the style of using relatively few words to paint a picture, which may become more apparent or clear when further listening to the rest of the lyrics and by listening to the song more than once. Like pieces of a puzzle.
As a result of your comment I also checked some other lyrics I wrote. I posted what I think is the third thing I wrote in a recent comment on the post about Charley Crockett’s new album “Clovis” dated june 5th on here. I think I may have made more clear mistakes there concerning the number of syllables, which surprised me. Apparently even though I think I focused on that there as well, I could perhaps do better. Most issues concerning syllables I spotted there seem to be easily solved by simply leaving out a word (e.g. leave out “finally” in one of the sentences).
Thanks again for the comments!
June 17, 2026 @ 10:09 am
Keep writing, son, you’re good!
June 17, 2026 @ 12:43 pm
they are good lyrics so you are like me, we are both in the benie taupin camp for now.
benie taupin is the man who writes elton john lyrics, and elton does the music. in case you don’t know song writers are the people that write the lyrics and the music.
I am a lyricist who is learning how to compose that is why i need a composing partner
but don’t count yourself out. if you write words to a song, you are a song writer
do you want me to post my own lyrics? you can judge
June 18, 2026 @ 12:02 am
I was famiiar with the Elton John – Bernie Taupin songwriting, I believe I’ve read something about an advertisement in a newspaper or something like that that started the whole thing. Not sure though.
Anyway, I’m not necessarily looking to judge other’s lyrics, or even music for that matter. I do like to share some thoughts about lyrics or music when they arise, but that’s something that just happens for me. E.g. I commented on some lyrics of Drayton Farley’s “What you gonna do” in a recent post about the best new country songs, but that just pops up in my head. It’s different to me than deciding to read, and want to assess, lyrics up front.
Maybe saving country music’s The Hook can have a lyric writing episode on youtube where musicians can arrange music and melody to lyrics which have been send in, or posted, on the saving country music’s website (and perhaps voted for by the readers).
Good luck with the lyric writing and possibly the music composing! Maybe you will discover a new passion or talent when doing things like that, besides just lyric writing.
June 18, 2026 @ 5:23 pm
I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to like your lyrics, but I really did.
I’ve no idea what melody/arrangement would suit them best – they are a hell of a lot better than some of the puerile nonsense in much of today’s commercial pop.
Hope you can find an artist who can set your writing to music.
June 18, 2026 @ 10:35 pm
I think there could be much more attention given to lyrics in songwriting and music, especially given the whole artificial intelligence thing (which I know nothing of, but feel is just not for me, and seems to play a role in music sometimes nowadays).
Just like when I see some musician perform a song with just a guitar and their voice, there could be an equivalent “something” in lyrics. It’s hard to describe in words, but maybe there could be something “raw” and “pure” or “unique” in lyrics that just can’t be manufactured or produced with the help of computers.
The lyrics I posted for example have a few double meanings concerning some of the words that fit a more literal and a more intepretive version. This became only apparent to me after reading the lyrics over and over again after I wrote them. I think I was conscious of the double meaning of “ray of light” (literal: sunbeam or more interpretive: hope), but many other words were not used consciously but seem to also fit both a literal and interpretive version (e.g. murky water, see, lights, space, sight). Perhaps artificial intelligence can’t produce such things, and perhaps that’s something songwriters can (more purposefully?) bring to the table so to say (compared to commercial stuff and computer assisted stuff).
Perhaps I’ll see and hear someone that made a song with the lyrics on an episode of The Hook, which could be a nice experiment concerning the idea about lyrics and musicians and The Hook mentioned ealier in the comments here. I’m gonna grab myself a cup of coffee and watch episode 5 of The Hook now!
June 16, 2026 @ 12:00 pm
At some point, you may just have to either say “You go your way and I’ll go mine” to country radio (as Stapleton said to Nashville before deciding that he was kind of OK with it after all) and just ignore what it’s doing completely, or realize that there are still millions upon millions of people in this nation who enjoy not only Ella Langley and Zach Top but also Jelly Roll and Luke Bryan, and be grateful that they’re listening and consider themselves country music fans, rather than putting their musical tastes down for daring to have both “South of Sanity” and “Country Girl, Shake It For Me” in their personal playlists.
1989 ain’t walking through that door again. That was a unique moment in the history of the genre, when Nashville jumped on the opportunity presented by the ascendancy of grunge and hip-hop to tailor a nostalgic yet new sound for pop/rock fans over 30. The industry has chosen to continue to chase younger ears ever since, but now it’s the grunge and hip-hop fans over 30 that Nashville is chasing. Yes, there are still the 60-somethings who were 30-somethings when Garth and Clint and Vince were charting, but they’re not the primary group county radio needs to reach out to in 2026.
As for this song, it’s harmless and doesn’t feel like a big thing to me, but I’m too old to “get” much of the Swift phenomenon, including how much of it is organic and how much of it is orchestrated by the multinational media conglomerates. “I Knew It, I Knew You,” like the “Toy Story” franchise, is guaranteed success precisely because there’s a huge population bulge that still loves Swift and would love to hear her back on country radio as a current artist. But don’t pretend that the middle of the Venn diagram of mainstream country radio listeners doesn’t include both Taylor and Ella. It absolutely does.
June 16, 2026 @ 1:16 pm
I’m not saying there’s no appeal for Taylor Swift on country radio. I just don’t hear the appeal of this song for anyone. As Nadia and boy said in their comments, it just feels like a nothing. I think it would be cool of Taylor put out a slight twangy, “Choosin’ Texas”-esque track to see what happens. This is not that. I’m not saying it’s a bad song. It’s a nothing song that’s getting pushed to the top from Standom/name recognition/Disney.
June 16, 2026 @ 2:42 pm
Exactly.
If you were to ask me what Swift’s most recent #1 hit is that’s driven by genuine organic appeal and acclaim: it would be “Cruel Summer”. That genuinely felt massive and had a kind of wide appeal that felt genuinely cultural. I’d argue every #1 hit she’s charted since then has felt largely manufactured either due to 1) being a frontloaded lead single that ultimately isn’t built for the long haul and is largely forgotten about, and/or 2) was artificially catapulted to #1 by gimmicky physical sale campaigns reminiscent of BTS’s strategies.
June 16, 2026 @ 3:45 pm
Yeah, that’s basically what I was thinking when I admitted not getting the whole Swiift thing. Some of the Stans are way too old to be Stans. Parents of tweens aren’t supposed to be into the same pop stars their daughters are into, and yet you’ve got Swifties in their twenties and early thirties. And yeah, I don’t get BTS and the whole K-Pop thing either. What a drag it is getting old …
You know, even Swift returning to country radio with something like “Ours” would be a more positive sign than this nothingburger of a song.
June 17, 2026 @ 3:15 am
It’s a one and done for me, pleasant,but would be bored listening to it a second time, whereas ‘Choosin Texas’ and most any Ella Songs are additive, just ask Freddy from Germany!
June 18, 2026 @ 2:31 pm
If you guys want some authentic twang, check out new music by Trever Keith (from the punk band Face to Face):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbf3v0oyi9U&list=OLAK5uy_mVLgciUUgNVCxaelDC1DeKqB0KfK4iqFw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlePhKtTHAY
June 16, 2026 @ 12:22 pm
Not my cup of tea but I just listened to it and it sounds like it couldve been sung by Amy Grant from the 90’s, vocals and music sound so similar. Country? No way!!!
June 16, 2026 @ 12:34 pm
So much for her walking away from country music and picking a lane.
June 16, 2026 @ 3:50 pm
She was never a country artist. It was simply the genre Borchetta and Big Machine chose to launch her in. This song, like pretty much her entire catalog, is pop.
June 19, 2026 @ 3:51 pm
Annnd..It was twenty years ago today (Where have I heard that before?) a single was released to country radio by an unknown sixteen year old artist.
The song? “Tim McGraw”.
The artist? Taylor Swift.
Where DOES the time go?.
June 16, 2026 @ 3:58 pm
It’s because country music has become the most POPular form of music in America and seemingly in many other countries. It has run hip-hop down mostly by people like Wallen and Jelly doing a lot of numbers on songs with 808 kicks and hi-hat triplets from synthetic drum tracks. These have been in “country” for a while now due to people like Sam Hunt but most modern pop music seems to be about VIBES, which Wallen seems to deliver on over Hunt. Wallen is the absolute perfection of straddling the line between rap and country without being overtly cringy (unless you listen to actual country music, anyway). Same subject matter in the songs, a lot of the same instrumentation. It’s a perfect definition of 2026; bland, confusing, chaotic, and very-much the perfect soundtrack for the ridiculousness that has exploded forth from consumerist, kingdom-building weirdos as well as those with the attention span of a cigarette butt.
June 17, 2026 @ 10:10 am
Country became the most popular genre by going pop. As usual.
June 16, 2026 @ 1:35 pm
That was a nice little song.
June 17, 2026 @ 5:16 pm
Yes, happy to see someone say this. The “is it country?” debate can go on forever, and I’ve been a participant (Shania was bullshit, whether it was country bullshit or some other variety, I didn’t care; bring on the “authenticity” debate). I remember listening to Taylor’s first album driving my daughter to school and as I recall it sounded like country or maybe country pop to me, but I did recognize immediately that this was a hell of a songwriter. This little ditty for an animated film is pretty clearly not country, regardless of the costumes the animated characters are wearing, but like the man says, it’s a nice little song.
June 16, 2026 @ 2:14 pm
Serious question: What makes this song “country” aside from the metadata? There’s a harmonica, but that’s hardly a distinctively country instrument. No banjo, no mandolin, no steel guitar, no baritone guitar. This sounds like a pop/rock three-piece band plus the harmonica and a saxophone. Somehow alt-country bands manage to make pop/rock three-piece bands sound country. How can Taylor Swift’s production crew not pull it off?
Nothing about Ms. Swift’s career has ever turned my crank at all, so it’s no surprise I don’t like this latest effort. It wasn’t unpleasant, I’ll give it that. But whatever it is, it’s not country.
June 16, 2026 @ 3:52 pm
Nothing makes this song country, except for the metadata. It’s a cute little pop songs, but it’s about as country as Justin Bieber.
June 16, 2026 @ 2:33 pm
It is truly baffling how so-called “country radio” promotes pop stars while ignoring genuine country artists. It is equally baffling how the industry manages to simply label certain pop artists – like Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, or Jelly Roll – as “country,” even though they don’t make country music. And it is incredible that this actually works: these non-country artists show up on country charts and at country music awards. Meanwhile, authentic country artists are far too often marginalized. Yet, these are the very artists making country music cool again.
June 16, 2026 @ 4:41 pm
Country radio wants a piece of that Swift money. Industry is hoping they can milk the whole thing. It really is that simple. And Kyle called it. Its nothing but a promo tool for Toy Story. Movies dont sell any more like they used to and Disney NEEDS it to do well. So they probably decided to pay Swiftie whatever she wants to do the song figuring the Swiftie army will buy tickets to the movie. ALL ABOUT $$$
Yawn.
June 17, 2026 @ 7:04 am
Taylor Swift has the strongest and largest fanbase of any modern artist. I listened to the song and it’s certainly decent if not maybe a little vanilla but that doesn’t mean it won’t gain traction like her other songs have. I think people forget how big Taylor Swift was in the 2000’s and early 2010’s in the Country space among women and how many aspiring artists would copy her vocal styling. Taylor Swift is a safe bet.
I have a friend in his early 30’s who is an aspiring Country artist in Nashville who has songs in that Zach Bryan and Turnpike “sphere” of Country. We’ve talked alot about his music and modern Country in general and he doesn’t view the parameters of what is “Country” the same way as I do. To throw out a weird anaology for why many of these newer artists have so little knowledge of prior Country it really feels like some cataclysmic world event happen and Country music history was restarted in Sturgill SImpson/Jason Isbell in 2010 and history started over.
June 17, 2026 @ 9:31 am
Strait,
I won’t argue that the Taylor Swift song isn’t a shrewd business move for Disney. Certainly the country music institutions are happy to exploit it as well.
But this isn’t just some random circumstance where Taylor Swift decides to go all in on Country music again and Disney just happens to randomly select a generic song for the movie. This was 100% a scripted and calculated move that’s very easy to see through. And it’s ALL about maximizing those return on investment dollars. Movie tickets will sell, movie merch will sell, Taylor Swift will continue to sell, country radio will enjoy having the big superstar in rotation on their stations and the CMAs and the like will do their best to award and overhype it all in the hopes Swiftie will grace them with an appearance which will guarantee their advertiser dollar value will be through the ceiling. A whole eco- system tied to the Swift brand. Really in the end, it was never about ” the song”. And you know it’s true.
Your point about a reset on what new artists perceive country music to be is interesting.Guessing your Turnpike inspired friend knows less than nothing about any music prior to the 90s.
June 17, 2026 @ 12:27 pm
Yeah I don’t disagree that it was a shrewd and calculated business decision to use her for that song and throw it into the Country charts. The song on it’s own merits is good enough to be there. I’m no Taylor Swift fan but I don’t hate her. (I could bloviate on why I hate everything about Jelly Roll and his stupid music and persona lol) Considering who has been “allowed” into Country I don’t see why she can’t come back into genre.
That friend used to have 60% of his setlist filled with Zach Bryan songs which lit my fire on what I don’t like about his songs. He also assumed Randy Travis was 60’s Country one time and I had to chime in saying 80’s (and 90’s) Country. I occasionally play gigs with this guy and play his original songs and discuss music theory. We got into a discussion on one of his new songs about “momentum” and chords and I showed him a specific song that had the universal 1-4-5 changes and he made a comment about the song lacking momentum because it didnt have the chord structure similar to a 4-1-5-6m for example. That circular repeating chord structure is very common in Zach Bryan’s songs and these other millenial folk rock stomp clap hey songs and it showed me how the internalized idea of what Country music even is is very different with a lot of these new artists.
June 17, 2026 @ 1:55 pm
Interesting stuff Strait and Kevin. If you guys want to keep writing about this, I’m sure some of us will read it. I am not a musician, so I don’t know about the 1-4-5s, but I’ve kept reading your comments.
As for your friend Strait, I think you need to immerse him in old country music and float away some of that stomp, clap, hey stuff.
June 17, 2026 @ 2:05 pm
Yeah that reversed progression is annoying. A folk thing. No chorus usually. Sounds like a frigging loop. I called that out when Trig first began covering Zach. Its OK now and then but quickly gets tedious. And this new generation thinks that’s real Country music. Im OK with out of the box now and then as opposed to the old reliable 1-4-5 , but country is kind of a sacred traditional music and you gotta understand the bedrock sound to even begin to really weigh in on what it is. Wonder what guys like that would think if you played Mickey Gilley or Don Williams or The Gatlin Brothers. I dont think they would even understand what they are hearing.
June 16, 2026 @ 2:35 pm
And I thought we had turned the corner
June 16, 2026 @ 6:10 pm
Nashville never learns its lesson.
June 16, 2026 @ 3:15 pm
The Stevie Knicks t-shirt was pretty cool though. This song is pop. It reminds me of a less edgy version of Haim, the sisters she was hanging with at the NBA finals. Haim is a good band when you want a some girl pop-rock in your life. This song is Haim-lite but certainly works for a kids movie. Definitely not country.
June 16, 2026 @ 3:24 pm
I guess we are just going to keep bashing on this song. I dont particularly like it but it isnt threatening me in any way. I mean its probably better than choosin texas though really if you are comparing two bad apples. What do you still have, 2 bad apples.
June 16, 2026 @ 3:43 pm
Bashing? Trigger posted an article about a song, there was no bashing. Maybe it’s just your sensitive nipples. Take two Tylenol and get some rest.
June 16, 2026 @ 4:29 pm
Yeah, I would have to start bashing the song to continue bashing it. I don’t think the song is bad. It just kind of is. But if it’s setting historical precedents in country, I’m probably going to comment on it. The other reason I felt compelled to write about this is because I predicted it wouldn’t go anywhere on radio. I’m a man, and a journalist, and I feel it’s important to publicly acknowledge whenever you get something wrong like I did in this case.
June 16, 2026 @ 9:17 pm
Well bashing is prob the wrong word but you have still been pretty negative on it. Anything with swifts name attached to it has the potential to be a big thing. Plus its a song from toy story so you have that going for it. Nothing more really needs said though i get what you are saying about being wrong about it but i dont think anyone thinks you are all knowing except maybe the guy that responded to me above you.
June 16, 2026 @ 3:41 pm
“…as much as the appetite by Swift, Disney, and everyone else involved to push it to country radio as a way to advertise the Toy Story franchise.”
Spot on.
One can only imagine how much money is behind the song’s chart movement. I heard it said back in the day in Nashville, “It takes a lot of money to have a #1 hit.” This isn’t about the song at all, but marketing a movie.
Ralph Murphy once told me that “songs are just the things radio plays between commercials.”
As I said in the last article on this song, Swift could fart into a microphone, and her rabid fanbase of soccer moms and tweens would buy it and stream it.
June 16, 2026 @ 5:44 pm
This is a power move directed at Ella Langley.
June 16, 2026 @ 6:27 pm
I think Ella’s holding her own.
June 17, 2026 @ 12:22 am
…by reptiloids?
June 16, 2026 @ 6:02 pm
Jeezus how I miss the real country.
June 16, 2026 @ 11:44 pm
I remember in years gone by paying some attention to the charts but even then the criticism of many of the hits was that they were not country. Now it is rare I know what is in the charts. They seem fairly insignificant. Country radio also seems to have lost much of its importance and its listeners (because of streaming?). The new Swift song does not sound country to me but I am not sure she was ever country at all.
June 17, 2026 @ 12:17 am
…”Really, this feels just as much a lesson of how country radio will adopt most anything they’re told to as opposed to truly having a finger on the pulse of the American country music consumer and serving them what they want.” this is because country radio has the finger on the pulse of the american consumer in the first place. full stop. anything else would be philanthropy, which is not exactly its business model, is it?
the much bigger impact of the delightfully easy-breezy-touchy “i knew it, i knew you” is the one on all the kindergarden kids that are getting their first exposure of the amazing ms. swift. welcome, next gen swifties.
actually, there ain’t much difference between “choosin’ texas” and “i knew it, i knew you” – apart from one being country and the other straight pop. but at the core it’s a moment of female intuition/realisation in both.
…and the ella thing? the fact that it takes the greatest to dethrone her could be seen as a huge compliment too at this point of her career. just sayin’.
June 17, 2026 @ 4:34 am
Fun fact: it’s the 60th anniversary of the CMA Awards this year. Taylor didn’t show up in 2016; she will certainly do so in 2026.
June 17, 2026 @ 6:48 am
That is why I felt it was important to point out the discrepancy. Usually the charts aren’t perfectly parallel. But to be at #8 on one, and #25 on the other is quite odd, and perhaps speaks to targeting certain reporting stations with featured spins to get this chart placement. I’m not in tune enough with this stuff to make any specific accusations. But it certainly looks suspicious.
June 17, 2026 @ 4:53 am
No one in country radio considers the Billboard country airplay chart at all. Mediabase is the only chart that matters. Just saying.
June 17, 2026 @ 12:56 pm
Which one considers all clips and sweeps?
June 18, 2026 @ 8:23 am
I think it’s a humbling experience for a lot of the new kids in town (and old kids too!) whenever Taylor releases something. As big as Luke, Zach and Morgan are. And as unreal a year as Ella is having where there seems like it’s just been 6 months of nothing but hits by Ella. It’s clear who the top dawg is in country music (despite her leaving) and in all of music overall. Morgan is the biggest artist in our genre of the last 30 plus years. Ella seems to be trying to take a run at him. Maybe she takes his crown via most listeners on Spotify later this year. Maybe she is the most streamed country artist of 2026, taking the baton from Morgan who has had the most streamed country artist of the year since 2021. Maybe Ella’s album is top 2 or 3 most streamed in 2026.
But she’s not Taylor. And I think that’s clear.
Morgan is the most successful country artist of his generation and popular in ways that seemed unfathomable. He is bigger than Garth. But he isn’t bigger than Taylor.
Trigger skirts around it but undersells how huge Taylor is. She is one of the most famous people who ever lived and has a career that really only rivals Elvis, the Beatles or Michael Jackson. One can grumble she isn’t bigger than any of those artists or groups but that’s her peers. Her peers aren’t Ella or Zach or Morgan. Her peers are Elvis and Michael jackson. It’s important to understand this.
So being shocked she knocked Ella out of the top spot kind of is silly, honestly. If Morgan releases an album next year and it sits at the top of the charts for 15 weeks like his previous albums have, if Taylor then releases an album, I’d expect his album to be knocked off its perch. Ella has had amazing success this year, unprecedented in many ways. But I think trigger did a disservice in articles past suggesting she had already overtaken Morgan for top dawg in the genre, but that she was somehow the biggest artist in the world overall. I think it has to be mentioned how even despite January-June 2026 is clearly Ella’s year so far, she STILL is not bigger than Morgan. Her albums are still not as filled with as big of hits as his are. And she is still not the draw he is despite how enormous she is at the moment.
It’s essential to not overhype artists especially when then haven’t achieved the things you hype them uo for. Ella is not as of writing bigger than Morgan. That seems like it’s going to change later on, maybe even later this year. But to suggest she is currently, is just a lie and a dangerous one at that. It’s also important to not overhype her clear and well deserved success. One can applaud her talent, and success and her music. But someone being shocked that Taylor is bigger than her is not really knowledgeable about music and are a dilettante. Ella isn’t bigger than Morgan or Taylor. If she achieves either of those she should be honored and praised. But asking me to assent to either at the current moment would essentially be lying. Praise artists when they achieve goals. But wishcasting a fantasy is deeply dangerous and highly unethical if not immoral.
June 18, 2026 @ 9:18 am
“Ella isn’t bigger than Morgan or Taylor. If she achieves either of those she should be honored and praised. But asking me to assent to either at the current moment would essentially be lying.”
This is such a slanted, misguided take, and a non-sequiter to the conversation at hand. Of course Taylor Swift is bigger than Ella Langley. Taylor Swift has been around for 20 years. Morgan Wallen has been around for going on a decade. Using lagging indicators like monthly Spotify listeners or attendance is not a fair metric for understanding thew here-and-now. As I said in my article on the Grammy Awards, she’s probably going to win Best New Artist, something Taylor was vying for two decades ago. I don’t even understand why were engaging in this practice of trying to marginalize Ella Langley’s success. Just let this moment in history play out. We’ll look back upon it years from now and quantify it.
June 18, 2026 @ 9:33 am
“I don’t even understand why we’re engaging in this practice of trying to marginalize Ella Langley’s success. Just let this moment in history play out. We’ll look back upon it years from now and quantify it.“
In what world is it minimizing her to say she’s talented has amazing success and has great songs? I explicitly said as much. My issue with you is you wrote an article a few months ago anointing Ella as the biggest country artist and bigger than Morgan. You went way overboard with the praise and I thinks it’s more than fair to do what I’m doing. As you directly said “let this moment play out”. Yeah, dude. That’s what I’VE been saying! Maybe don’t anoint her bigger than Morgan unless or until she ACTUALLY is bigger. Maybe don’t say she the biggest artist in our genre until she actually is! Wishcasting your hopes that she is those things doesn’t make it reality.
I find it funny how sensitive you are on this topic relative to anyone else. Zach, and especially Morgan have been criticized by you, in articles. Readers post harsh critiques of both, especially Morgan. And you don’t pushback or say “hey, let’s stop bashing these artists, it’s ok to not like their music but let’s not get personal, let’s let history play out here, guys”! Instead you throw a conniption when anyone dares criticize your over the top praise of Ella. I don’t have to think she’s bigger than Morgan and the greatest country artist ever to enjoy her music. I like her music. But intentionally lying about her place in the genre in 2026 is very disingenuous and gross.
I can appreciate her place in the genre and enjoy the music without the sort of biblical hyperbole of “oh my god, she’s bigger than Morgan”. She’s not. You saying she is doesn’t make it so . And she herself would say she’s not bigger than Morgan. I trust Ella more than you, trigger. If even Ella doesn’t think she’s bigger, what more proof do I need?
You gotta accept pushback, my dude. If you sit back and do nothing when people attack Morgan and Zach. Ya gotta be able to roll with the punches and accept people “attacking” Ella. And saying I’m a fan and she’s successful and talented isn’t an attack. She’s just not Moses level, dude.
June 18, 2026 @ 9:49 am
“Let’s let history play out”
Yeah, like I’ve been telling you to do since you said she’s bigger than Morgan and the biggest country artist. She’s not. Let history play out and maybe choose another tactic other than lying about her place in the genre. Enjoy her music, there’s no need to lie about how big she is. She’s big. But bigger than Morgan? Nah. Sorry dude.
June 18, 2026 @ 2:58 pm
Ella is not a bigger artist than Taylor. Ella isn’t even the biggest artist in her OWN genre. Stop trying to dishonestly tell us Ella is bigger than she is.
June 18, 2026 @ 3:50 pm
Dude, you’ve made this same stupid point over and over again because you can’t hold two thoughts in your head at the same time and you’re a Morgan Wallen Stan. Yes, Ella Langley statistically is dominating the country charts at the moment over Morgan Wallen. Yes, overall, Morgan Wallen probably has more name recognition and is a larger concert draw. We all know that. You’re not saying anything revelatory. And the fact that you need to underscore that is frankly weird.
June 18, 2026 @ 4:28 pm
May 6, 2026
Move Over Morgan Wallen: The Case That Ella Langley is Country’s New #1 Artist
Wonder where I got the erroneous belief trigger said Ella was bigger than Morgan.
She’s objectively factually not bigger.
Trigger, buddy, you don’t think we know how to see archives here?
June 18, 2026 @ 5:08 pm
Fuck you’re dense man. Why are we even talking about this on a Taylor Swift article? If you want to discuss an article from May 6th, go to the May 6th article. As it states in that article, clearly Morgan Wallen is still the bigger concert draw. But since you’re either stupid or insane, you can’t hold that same thought in your brain as someone points out the empirical truth that Ella Langley is charting better than Morgan Wallen as we speak.
All other comments on this topic will be deleted.
June 19, 2026 @ 3:35 pm
Within a year, it’s another one at the top.
That’s how it is in this business.
June 19, 2026 @ 5:37 pm
Which is the point! I wonder why she’s charting higher than Morgan? Maybe because his last album is a year plus old and her album is from this year. Maybe that’s the reason? Cole Swindell’s album isn’t charting from last year either and few people talk about it. Wonder why? Morons gonna moron as the saying goes. Facts don’t care about your feelings!
June 19, 2026 @ 5:48 pm
Megs Man,
I’ve already warned you multiple times. Any more comments on this topic that are off the topic at hand will be deleted.
June 19, 2026 @ 3:04 am
As Kris Kristofferson said, back in 1970; if it sounds country, it is.
To my ears, there are no country songs on any of the lists out there.
June 20, 2026 @ 10:25 am
No matter what you think of her music (I have never cared for it) you have to admire the woman’s business savvy and the marketing machine she’s put together.
I did listen to the song and it sounded generic run of the mill Pop. It’s a hit because it’s her song, not because of the quality.
Just my opinion which two of my nieces would basically go negatively berserk if they knew I felt.