I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, constantly surrounded by country music on the radio, in stores and on TV. While country music is Nashville’s main trait, around 2016 it became popular and “cool” in my community. Until then, it was something people listened to occasionally, but wasn’t always a big hit everyday
Today, it is shocking how many people have strong feelings towards country music. Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Kelsea Ballerini are some of the biggest names that have risen and expanded country music’s audience to reach more people worldwide today. While I do know many people who strongly dislike country music, I know many people now who share my love for it. It is only getting more popular; for example, Beyonce recently announced that she is releasing a country album and dropped a new single titled, “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
Beyonce is just one of many pop artists that have branched out into the country music genre. Ed Sheeran has done a duet with Luke Combs, and Jason Derulo and Florida Georgia Line did a duet, too. The more genre crossovers there are the more new listeners that are brought to country music. While many people were reluctant at first to allow country music to become more modern, this change has ultimately helped the genre and old country artists to resurface and old country artists to resurface. Country music has also overlapped with rap and reggaeton genres and generally mixes well with other genres, which is what makes it so unique and loved worldwide.
Moreover, country music has become a lifestyle. For example, it has become popular to put on cowboy boots, cowboy hats and blue jeans to go downtown or party with your friends. Sororities and fraternities often have country-themed parties. I think it’s safe to say that country music has never been a fad, but it is becoming cooler than ever worldwide. Even in Europe, country music has begun to spread, as they even have their own country artists.
If you are still undecided about how much you like country music, Spotify is a great place to explore. They now have a swipe feature that resembles TikTok where you can scroll and explore different country albums as well as the top charts. As more pop and country crossovers occur, country stars will continue to rise to fame. There has been a clear change in the genre as it continues to be modernized, which will contribute to its rising popularity. Social media has also played a part in spreading country music to people all over the world. Country music is cool because it celebrates love, nature, family and more. Now that there are so many different genres within country music, there is definitely something in country music for everyone.