COUNTRY

MUSIC: NEW OR OLD?

Jenna Smith


Today, country music is different than its ever been. Traditional, twangy
styles are mostly a thing of the past, and country music has stepped into the 21st
century. Its been a hot topic in the country music world with some artists getting
upset over the new direction that country music is headed.
For example, the Zac Brown Bandwhose music is very representative of
countrys bluegrass rootsopenly bashed Luke Bryans new song Thats My Kind of
Night during a radio interview. He called the song the worst song Ive ever heard
despite the songs popularity on the charts. Brown has since clarified that he is a fan
of Bryan, just not the song.
Blake Shelton, another popular country artist, recently said, Country music
has to evolve in order to survive. Nobody wants to listen to their grandpas music.
Now more than ever, country music is reaching a wider audience and has a
larger fan base. This is largely due to country music artists having popular
crossover hits.
A popular example is Taylor Swift. She started her career as a country music
singer and after having crossover after crossover hit, her new albums have had
primarily a pop feel. Its been a controversial topic for several yearsmany die-
hard country fans are offended that Swift is still being nominated for awards at
award shows like the CMA Awards.

Another popular example is Lady Antebellums crossover hit Need You Now
and this summers anthem Cruise by Florida Georgia Line. The song was a huge hit,
and then Nelly, an R&B artist, remixed it, and the song was taken to new heights.
Winner of the CMA New Artist of the Year award Kacey Musgraves has also
been vocal about identifying with the new country music sound, and in an interview
she said everyone is bored of hearing truck songs.
These feuds were highlighted in Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwoods
opening monologue at the 2013 CMA Awards. However, this was a night for
everyone to come together. Zac Brown and Luke Bryan hugged on-screen to show
that there are no hard feelings.
Taylor Swift, despite being not-so-country anymore, won the most awards
during the broadcast. She was honored with the Pinnacle Award that has only been
given to one other artist, country legend Garth Brooks. To cap off the night, the king
of country music, George Strait, was given the highest honor of the night
Entertainer of the Year.
Whatever side of the fence you might be onnew country or oldthe
passion and love of the music will always be there.