Country music has always been the big American music genre, but it has never been as big as this. Most Americans wouldn’t typically listen to country even though it is a big reflection of American culture – since the music was relatively slow, boring, and annoying to those who don’t listen to country. Recently, country music has had some big changes for the better, since the public is now more into it than ever, drawing Americans closer to country music one tune at a time.
This big popularity spike is due to the new influences in the country music culture, with songs blending with music genres such as pop, hip hop, rap and rock. This has drawn fans from all sorts of genres to add some country music to their playlists. Country songs also used to be solely about a mix of land, love and religion – and it still incorporates that. But now songwriters are incorporating other topics into their music such as events going on in the modern day, making lyrics more relatable than ever.
These updates have created a wider range of opportunity in the creation of music, thanks to the new influence. It has become a genre for new artists like Megan Moroney and DASHA, who have never tried making music before and want to make their mark in the country music scene.
Another piece of the new influences to country music are the crossover artists, for example Post Malone, who had previously come from pop and rap. Crossover artists’ previous experiences shaped their music style and came with them to country music. By bringing in their own unique musical influence, these artists are reshaping country music’s name.
Since more people are listening, country artists that have been making music prior to this big boom of popularity are more well known than before. Changes they have made to their music style are catering to the more modern crowd. Morgan Wallen, who has been making music for over ten years now, was not a very popular country star, but has gained so much popularity and has become so famous in recent years. Luke Combs has made hits in the last decade like Wallen, and has never had the success he’s had recently. The one to top all of the recent successes is Lainey Wilson, who started making music as a pre-teen, and has now won the ACM Entertainer of the Year award for two years in a row. This award is determined based on an artist’s overall sales with concerts, appearances, radio success, and other music-related successes. It is one of the most impressive and difficult awards to receive in all of country music.
Country music has made some big hits recently and has pushed many artists’ careers forward, along with the fans themselves. The recent transformation of country music is not like anything this genre has experienced before. It’s country’s time to shine.
