Ten Of These Artists/Bands Aren’t Country in the Slightest, One Is a Lie….
Stupid list thing going around the innernets these days asking music folks to list off then bands they’ve seen live, but one is a lie. As a similar exercise to get your country music brain muscles firing and to test your true acumen on the genre, let’s see if you can navigate this difficult intellectual exercise. I know this is tough, but really bear down and concentrate!
Ten Of These Artists/Bands Aren’t Country in the Slightest, One Is a Lie….
1. Florida Georgia Line
2. Sam Hunt
3. Kelsea Ballerini
4. Luke Bryan
5. Chase Rice
6. Dan + Shay
7.»»!!!!♠♣♥♦ CODY EFFIN’ JINKS® ♦♥♣♠!!!!««
8. Cole Swindell
9. Chris Lane
10. Canaan Smith
© 2025 Saving Country Music
April 27, 2017 @ 9:05 am
Sam Hunt?
August 23, 2018 @ 10:31 am
Yeah these and others are tearing the heart and soul outta Country music with their candy coated bubblegum nashpop trash…Its so lame …poor ol Hank and lefty must be spinning in their graves….There certainly has been murder On music row like the song says.
July 19, 2023 @ 7:08 pm
so music isn’t allowed to evolve? It would be pretty fucking boring if everyone sound like Hank and Jimmie Rodgers 70 and 80 years later
April 27, 2017 @ 9:13 am
I actually really like Dan + Shay. Their current single “How Not To” is one of my favorite songs on the radio. Then again I like Cole Swindell’s music lately too so my taste in music isn’t the best I guess.
April 27, 2017 @ 12:02 pm
At least you admit your terrible taste in music. Thank you for your honesty.
April 27, 2017 @ 12:32 pm
Cole Swindell is absolute shit….
April 27, 2017 @ 3:40 pm
I actually like the song “I Just Want You” by Cole Swindell. But it is the only one.
April 27, 2017 @ 4:36 pm
That is totally okay! I actually like some pop country myself. I really like Lauren Alaina, Dan + Shay, Maren Morris, and some of RaeLynn’s stuff. I also admit that Brett Eldredge isn’t too bad either.
April 27, 2017 @ 6:02 pm
“How Not To” is one of the better contemporary pop country songs in quite some time. It’s also the best-sung song they’ve ever recorded, because they actually sound like men. If it weren’t for their usual helium vocals, I’d have liked all of their singles so far.
May 4, 2017 @ 10:24 pm
I saw your comment and listened to “how not to”. No offense but that was some of the worst pop country I’ve heard. All that fake country shit they play on the radio is unbearable but that was especially bad.
May 5, 2017 @ 2:59 am
Good for you. I like the song you don’t more power to you.
I take no offense. But people better not take offense that I like artists like Cole Swindell, Dan + Shay and LoCash. Everybody has different tastes. No offense this site would be very boring if everybody had the same opinion.
April 27, 2017 @ 9:15 am
Nope can’t see it can you give us a clue
April 27, 2017 @ 9:17 am
That list should have been titled all these bands are unbearable to listen to and make you want to stab out your eardrums with an ice pick except one.
April 27, 2017 @ 9:24 am
I like Otis Day and Knights!
April 27, 2017 @ 9:27 am
9 have at least one top 10 single and 1 doesn’t?
April 27, 2017 @ 3:06 pm
Paris Hilton had a top 10 single, does that make her a top tier artist? Or how about the “I’m Too Sexy For My Shirt Guy?” But guess who didn’t? Led Zeppelin, back when they were fresh. But their music withstood the test of time and they have more fans then both of the people I mentioned put together.
Oh, oh! And that one out of 10 that didn’t have a top 10 song? His album sales TRIPLED those of one of the douchebros in this list who released his album around the same time. So…yeah. You clearly don’t know much about the music industry. Having a top 10 hit doesn’t make you successful. Having a timeless standard does.
April 27, 2017 @ 3:49 pm
Right Said Fred … Still more country than Sam Hunt.
April 27, 2017 @ 5:57 pm
About Led Zeppelin not having a Top Ten hit…that isn’t quite true. “Whole Lotta Love”, that blistering track from their second album (released in late 1969), was released as a single, and actually got up to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the end of January 1970.
April 27, 2017 @ 3:31 pm
We all know that you are a pop music fanboy/girl Darth no need to remind us. Go listen to your Kane Brown mix tape while we discuss country music.
April 28, 2017 @ 8:04 am
Nice try!
April 27, 2017 @ 9:35 am
Speaking of Cody Jinks, I saw him last night in Charlotte. Sold out. It’s the second time I’ve seen him, and it’s so refreshing to hear the audience sing along to songs that have never been played on the radio (certainly not “country” radio in Charlotte). Also, Colter Wall opened, and I love what he’s doing. I hope to see a lot of him in the future.
April 27, 2017 @ 10:04 am
I have to wait till July to see him again..
Man I hope Colter is still on tour with him.
One of his flockers face booked live a huge portion of a show I think it was last week.
Crowd was the same way..
April 27, 2017 @ 10:37 am
Yeah, we were all roaring along to Turnpike in Boston last night, too.
April 28, 2017 @ 7:32 am
I will be at the Turnpike concert tonight in Philly.
April 27, 2017 @ 2:26 pm
Thats an amazing bill. I saw him with whitey in NYC and was surprised at how many people knew every word and got into it. I hope colter was awesome live as I would anticipate
April 27, 2017 @ 9:36 am
And 9 of these arent playing the Tumbleweed Fest in KC and one is….
April 27, 2017 @ 11:09 am
Good, now we know where to drop the bomb
April 27, 2017 @ 11:12 am
Sorry, I think I may be the one who’s bombed
April 27, 2017 @ 9:37 am
The only two I see that even have a slight modicum of talent are Dan + Shay and Cody Jinks. Cody Jinks is actually country, Dan + Shay are pop country and basically Rascal Flatts 2.0. Sam Hunt and Kelsea Ballerini would make okay pop singers. The rest absolutely suck, no way around it.
April 29, 2017 @ 10:15 am
I absolutely cannot stand Kelsea, her music has no redeeming values in my opinion. She’s more like a girl who is trying to impersonate Taylor Swift at her high school “talent” show, than a music artist.
Amanda, were you a Taylor fan, a Carrie fan, or perhaps a Shania fan? The list of artists you mentioned in your comments on this article suggests to me that you might be one of those.
May 1, 2017 @ 7:05 am
I loved Taylor Swift’s first album. I still love it to this day. Granted, I was in middle school and high school when Taylor was a huge deal, and she’s not country at all (except for the first album and her single “Mean”), but I will always have a great deal of respect for her. She is so talented.
I am a huge Carrie fan. I think I speak for everyone when I say that Carrie is one of the better mainstream artists in the genre nowadays. She isn’t country, but what she is doing is unique and I don’t mind her being in the genre. At least she isn’t just completely fucking up mainstream country left and right like FGL, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt (who I would actually somewhat like if he called a spade a spade and moved to pop music, where he actually belongs. The same could be applied for Kelsea Ballerini.), Cole Shitdell, Canaan Smith (who?), and Kane Brown and the like. Carrie was never the problem anyway.
I have also always loved Shania. I was a kid when she was a huge deal, but even then, I loved her and her music. I love traditional country like George Strait, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Alan Jackson, Josh Turner, Kacey Musgraves, Ashley Monroe (my favorite artist of all time), Jon Pardi, William Michael Morgan, Patty Loveless, Lee Ann Womack, Brad Paisley, and Midland, but I also like some music that is considered “country” but is anything but country. Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Tim McGraw (who has always leaned more towards adult contemporary but actually sounds more country than a lot of people), Miranda Lambert (who has some traditional sounding songs but also experiments with Americana and rock), Brothers Osborne, Maren Morris, Dan + Shay, Rascal Flatts (their early stuff), and Lauren Alaina are all fantastic options if traditional country isn’t exactly your thing. The one thing I hate is all of these stupid, unoriginal, misogynistic bro-country shit. Truck beer girl sex on tailgate girl beer river bank truck girl. No thank you. But not all pop country is bad. 🙂
May 1, 2017 @ 11:30 pm
Amanda, while we differ in some of our music tastes and probably represent different generations, I thought the honesty of your comments was refreshing. It is good to know that there are younger folks like you who also listen to more traditional country in addition to pop country, and can understand the difference between the two. I know sometimes I may sound harsh in my comments about pop country’s audience. But having read your perspective in more detail you sound like a nice girl with an open mind and some genuine interest in the country genre. I think we can agree on our distaste for the stupid unoriginal bro country shit that has been turning country radio into a cultural wasteland. While I won’t be buying Shania’s next album, I think if most of the young people who listen to country stations were like you, country music will be ok.
Kudos for acknowledging that Carrie isn’t country, at least from a music perspective. I actually think her music identity seems to be schizophrenic. Carrie #1 is a pop singer who in my opinion has recorded below average songs. Carrie #2 is a Christian country artist who has recorded some pretty good songs. Carrie #1 shows up about 70% of the time, and Carrie #2 shows up about 30% of the time. When I see her sweet and pretty face I want to believe that I’m looking at Carrie #2. But if I turn on the radio usually I hear Carrie #1 and change the station. Oh Carrie, the talent is there, I can’t help but wonder what could have been.
April 27, 2017 @ 9:41 am
Remember when Randy Travis was denied a contract cause he was too country?
February 4, 2021 @ 11:35 pm
Those were the days country music was real I can’t believe people have the audacity to say most modern day “country” is good.
April 27, 2017 @ 9:54 am
Okay so that means Maren Morris is still country…
April 27, 2017 @ 10:38 am
I don’t mind these type of posts; It is better than all the political BS. Plus they have been fun. If someone doesn’t like ’em scroll on by.
April 27, 2017 @ 11:45 am
Uh…Kelsea Ballerini?
April 27, 2017 @ 1:44 pm
“and one is a lie”…? I’m not sure I understand…. 🙂
But if this is the game: “One doesn’t belong here” .That should be Cody Jinks…
April 27, 2017 @ 3:33 pm
You should have added “9 out of 10 people get this wrong”.
April 27, 2017 @ 4:02 pm
All Ten of These are Lies
April 27, 2017 @ 6:43 pm
Cody Jinks is country, I really like Dan + Shay, Kelsia Bellarni is okay and the rest is pure crap.
April 28, 2017 @ 1:31 am
Cody Jinks
April 28, 2017 @ 4:17 am
Cody Jinks isn’t just country, he is countrier than country.
May 1, 2017 @ 7:14 am
As a D.J. Once said to Iris Dement on why he couldn’t play her music on his station. “I can’t play your music to my audience, I’ts too country. We only play Real Country.” About all you need to know about the current state of country music, and that was said probably 20 years ago.
April 29, 2017 @ 10:46 am
…and they all sound terrible. Auto-Tune, fake urban sound, stereotype women, lackluster voices (to say they least). Florida-Georgia Line is but a stereotype onto themselves.
April 29, 2017 @ 4:19 pm
That is insulting to shit. At least, unlike Cole Swindell’s “music,” shit has redeeming qualities!!
May 1, 2017 @ 7:06 am
Cole Shitdell
May 1, 2017 @ 9:08 am
I think it is good to be able to pick out a few ‘good’ pop country songs–just to have in your back pocket. But most of these are too much of a stretch:
1. Florida Georgia Line: 0 (Yeah–I don’t like Dirt nearly as much as Some People)
2. Sam Hunt: 0
3. Kelsea Ballerini: 0
4. Luke Bryan: Maybe 3? I really like ‘Is Someone Else Calling You Baby’. And maybe a couple more.
5. Chase Rice: 0
6. Dan + Shay: 0
7. CODY EFFIN’ JINKS: I’m not aware of any bad/non-country Cody Jinks songs–only Baddass Country.
8. Cole Swindell: 0 (Even though I am not a CS hater.)
9. Chris Lane: 0
10. Canaan Smith: 0
Blake: Maybe 3?. Jason: 1 (The Truth), but at least his bro-country comes across as legit to me.
I even like a Dallas Davidson song–Tell Me You Get Lonely by Frankie Ballard, which I think is as good as That Look by Aaron Watson.
But then again–none of the songs I mentioned are pure country (except The Truth)–so not disputing the list. Just challenging the listener to find the few nuggets in the shithole.
Charlie Out.
May 2, 2017 @ 2:41 pm
Growing up, my favorite country singers were Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, Anne Murray, Earl Thomas Conley, and Ronnie Milsap. There was some minor backlash against these artists for being crossover artists or what they called ‘slick country’. But then again, Willie Nelson was also a crossover artist as well.
I like Dan + Shay and I’ve enjoyed some of Kelsea’s songs (not ‘Yeah Boy’, but some others). Not fond of Sam Hunt’s latest (as it spends it’s 11th week(!) as the #1 country song on Billboard). But I do like some of his Montavello singles. No, this is not country music, but each generation has had its share of ‘not real country’ artists. Everything comes in cycles and traditional country will find its way back soon enough.
In the end, I’ll take the late 70s/early 80s over any era of country music. But that’s just me.
January 12, 2018 @ 9:45 pm
Today’s “new country is not country music at all. Bunch of whimpy little babies crying and singing about alcohol. Pathetic. It’s nothing but trash.
April 13, 2019 @ 8:13 am
To be fair. If you take out all of Bro country songs from Luke Bryan? You would still have the traditional country sound with fiddles and all that.
Sam Hunt’s Take Your Time do sound like a traditional song. People said his speaking lines is rap. I disagree with that. It is not any different with Tennessee Earnie Ford’s hits in the past that he spoke words as part of story telling.
Cole Swindell’s You Should Be Here is one of the best he have done that is heartache and tragedy that a lot of country music in the past was about. He wrote it as a heartbreak song about losing his dad.
Cody Jinks is listed as traditional country which is why he is being ignored.
I can’t blame Kelsea one bit. She is more closer to traditional country, but she is being forced to sing bubblegum songs.
Canaan Smith is mainly Religious Country act where Alan Jackson have his hits now. He never got a hold into country music.
Funny that you got Sheryl Crow, Darius Rucker, Aaron Lewis, Jewel, Kelly Clarkson and some others from the pop/rock genres are more traditional country than you have with artists today.
October 12, 2021 @ 6:49 am
One of the most country songs I have heard is a song that will NEVER get radio airplay. Trey Lewis – Dicked Down in Dallas. But since then he has gone the poptry route and now sadly deserves to be on this list.
December 10, 2021 @ 11:28 am
I think luke bryan shouldt be on there but he has some non country songs
January 3, 2022 @ 11:13 pm
I’d wager that 99% of these country artists never got their hands dirty. So many of them sing about tractors, farming, and blue collar work…but have they ever got animal $hit on their pretty manicured hands? Have any ever hauled hay bales before sunrise till after sunset?
That’s what I’m finding funny as hell and makes many of these country artists totally fake.
Sorry to burst many of your bubbles.
June 27, 2024 @ 4:37 am
Listen how bout we all go. Listen to some. George straight that’s the real country but in my. Honest opinion most these young artists all they want is. Fame the music the industry the way of country doesn’t matter anymore to. Most it’d just the oh I’m a country singer act when it’s just a guy singing all the same shit the last artist did and it’s now I’m going to. Drive my truck around back roads blearing about drinking so I’m a dam rough cut hillbilly now lol like my. Honest opinion listen to what ever the fuck you. Want it’s America but that doesn’t make it pure country just cuz there’s some talk about trucks and drinking and some. Twang thrown in there country is no doubt George straight and willi Nelson, van zandt , kid rock, Garth brooks, Cody Johnson those are pure country artists but who cares at the end of the day no. One gives a fuck if you blear Dan and Shay or. Justin Bieber it’s all music it’s all about what sounds good to. Each so. Who. Fucking really. Cares people fighting over music no. Wonder why Joe Biden was elected bunch of ignorant Americans fight over the most arrogant things like if you like justin Bieber or Garth Brooks it doesn’t make you. Any more bad ass than someone like we all like what we like the hole world is in a competition it stupid why can’t people just live and enjoy there own life everyone thinks they know it all and is like oh I go to. Be better than u my music’s better like fuck who cares waste of. Time