The recent Grammy Awards were notable for a few reasons, including the decision to award R&B singer Beyoncé with a trophy for best country album:
Beyoncé won the Grammy for the best country album.
Even she knows it's rigged pic.twitter.com/NzncvWTal2
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) February 3, 2025
Beyoncé is not a country singer.
Her winning a Grammy for best country album is all the proof needed to show that the Grammys are is nothing more than music industry propaganda.pic.twitter.com/FpwQMXA4id— Kerry Slone(Stilettos&Shotguns) (@thereal_SnS) February 3, 2025
But when it comes to traditional country music, there are plenty of artists eager to give fans a dose of the attributes that made the genre so popular to begin with.
For his part, Grammy nominee Lee Brice thinks country music could be in another golden era, as Fox News reported:
“There’s been other versions of country music, but sort of the roots of country music have come back to be not just a popular thing, but I think something people are craving,” Brice said.
Brice recalled how “blown away” he was by the positive response to his “really, really” country song with Carly Pearce back in 2020, before commenting on the rise of country music in pop culture.
“And so I see it changing,” Brice admitted. “Even with TV and just the whole world, and country music has been on top. It’s been on top for a long time.”
Brice described what he believes is drawing people to country music as a “craving” for “real and honesty,” and “God and country.”
A number of songs fitting that bill have created significant cultural buzz in recent years:
Jason sits down with Tucker and explains his thoughts behind "Try That In A Small Town". pic.twitter.com/2503Fa9lbN
— 𝓢𝓹𝓾𝓷𝓴𝔂 Conservative 𝓟𝓪𝓽𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓽🙏🏻🇺🇸🍎 (@SpunkyPatriot_) September 6, 2024
This song is called "Rich Men North of Richmond." It has been viewed MILLIONS of times.
The artist's name is Oliver Anthony. I just got off the phone with him.
With his permission, I'd like to share the story he told me that moved the deepest parts of my soul…
Thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/sPb7Iylx3d
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) August 11, 2023
As The Tennessean reported, 2024 was a banner year for country music in general:
John Stein, who has served as Spotify’s head of North America editorial for two years, has been with the company since 2013. His career highlights include developing Pollen, the platform’s first genre-free playlist, in 2018.
“Country’s evolution into a genre that’s not a monolith, but embracing wildly different musical influences, has created something that unprecedentedly connects with anyone interested in good music,” said Stein, noting that there has been over a 20% global increase in monthly streams for country genre in 2024 versus the year previous.
The cross-genre acclaim Post Malone and Morgan Wallen achieved in 2024 with “I Had Some Help” can be compared with the runaway success EDM kingpins Diplo and Skrillex pairing as Jack Ü and collaborating with Justin Bieber for “Where Are Ü Now” in 2015.
Here’s a clip of Brice’s recent remarks:
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!