Country music is having a major moment.
While plenty of music lovers have always enjoyed what the genre has to offer, several people are just beginning to recognize the appeal of country music. Legends like Dolly Parton are collaborating with newer artists, while mega-stars like Beyoncé are throwing their hats into the ring for the first time.
Industry experts spoke to Fox News Digital about why so many artists are making the move to country music, and what they might gain from entering the scene.
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Dolly Parton and Pitbull
Dolly Parton and Pitbull collaborated on a new song. (Getty Images)
Dolly Parton is one of the most beloved country stars of all time, and one of her most well-known hits is “9 to 5,” a song she wrote for the 1980 movie of the same name, which she also starred in. In February, she collaborated with rapper Pitbull to put a new spin on the tune.
Pitbull released “Trackhouse (Daytona 500 Edition),” a collection of seven new songs, on Feb 16. One of them, a track called “Powerful Women,” features Parton. She speaks in the intro to the energetic song, and the chorus from “9 to 5” is featured in its entirety. Later, Parton has a spoken verse about the same subject matter of the original song. She also does the outro along with Pitbull — she gives a shout-out to Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, her co-stars in the film.
Dolly Parton has been a fixture in country music for decades. (Jon Morgan/CBS via Getty Images)
While the music is more in line with Pitbull’s typical style, fans of Parton’s original will likely recognize the beat.
David Nathan, co-founder and president of Happy Jack Records, told Fox News Digital, “The shift of artists into country music is about creative exploration, reaching new audiences and a genuine appreciation for the genre’s storytelling tradition and diversity. Additionally, the boundaries between genres have become much more fluid, allowing artists to experiment and blend a multitude of different styles together.”
Rod Stewart
In February, Rod Stewart said in an interview with The Associated Press that he had a country album in the works.
Rod Stewart says he’s started working on a country album. (Roberto Ricciuti/Redfern)
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“I plan on doing it,” he said. “We actually started it. We started making a country album. And I went off and made another solo album, but yeah, it’s in the pipeline. The record company would like me to do it. They don’t push me to do it. You know, there will come a time.”
Stewart’s comments come years after he originally said he wanted to make the album — in 2019, he told Rolling Stone, “I’m trying to put together a country record. Not just country music, but folk music and older stuff I was brought up on. It’s an opportunity to let people hear another side of me.”
Rod Stewart said that he enjoys the lyrics of country music. (Don Arnold/WireImage)
He explained, “I want to do songs that aren’t necessarily catchy, but have the most wonderful lyrics. One reason I want to do it is because my wife says she always loves it when I do my acoustic set in concert because she can really hear me sing as opposed to the rock & roll stuff.”
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Cliff Oxford, founder of CliffCo., a “business think tank” that serves entrepreneurs, spoke with Fox News Digital and touched on the importance of lyrics in country music, explaining, “Ken Burns’ country music series on PBS removed the stigma of honky tonk down and out to a cult of great storytelling. And some trial balloons worked — Merle [Haggard] asking Jewel to sing ‘Silver Wings’ and we were like, ’Had he lost his mind?’ They knocked it out of the park.”
Beyoncé
On Feb. 11, in the midst of Super Bowl Sunday, Beyoncé dropped several teasers for her upcoming album, “Act II,” the follow-up to 2022’s “Renaissance.” Soon after, she released two new songs, and it became clear that she was going country.
Beyoncé is releasing a country album this year. (Getty Images)
The official first single is a song called “Texas Hold ‘Em.” After it was released that Sunday, it managed to land the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, then climbed to the top spot the following week. In doing so, she became the first Black woman to reach the top of the chart with a country song.
While Beyoncé has an undeniable appeal to a wide audience, Nathan told Fox News Digital that the country music scene might offer her something new, saying,”Nashville has a strong sense of community as well, which resonates with both artists and fans.”
The record executive mentioned the singer by name, explaining, “The crossover success of Taylor Swift, Florida Georgia Line, Luke Combs, Dan and Shay and most recently Beyoncé has also demonstrated the genres’ ability to embrace diverse influences, making it attractive for artists of all kinds to connect with a much broader fan base.”
Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey’s music has a unique quality to it, though most of her songs would fall somewhere in the pop or rock genres. At the Billboard x NMPA Songwriter Awards on Jan. 31, the singer announced that she’d be releasing a new album with a new sound.
Lana Del Rey has been working on a country record for years. (Kristy Sparow/Getty Images)
While onstage to celebrate producer Jack Antonoff, she said, “If you can’t already tell by our award winners and our performers, the music business is going country. We’re going country. It’s happening. That’s why Jack has followed me to Muscle Shoals, Nashville, Mississippi, over the last four years.”
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Del Rey explained that in September, she’d be releasing a country album titled “Lasso.”
Oxford told Fox News Digital that artists from other genres putting out country music is “really no different than Apple going from computers to phones to watches and electric cars.”
He was to the point when he speculated on the reason why this change has been happening so frequently: “Changing lanes is dangerous territory, so we will see if it works, but we know the why — more fans means more money.”
Post Malone
Post Malone rose to fame as a rapper, but he’s also following the new trend of going country.
Post Malone, left, and Luke Combs pose backstage during the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 2019. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
On Feb. 15, just days after he wowed the Super Bowl crowd with a stripped down rendition of “America the Beautiful” with his acoustic guitar, he took to Instagram to share a snippet of a new song he’s doing with country music star Luke Combs. He didn’t share a title, but the phrase “Ain’t Got a Guy for That” was repeated, leading some to believe that could be the title.
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It isn’t exactly his first experience with the genre — in November, he performed at the 57th annual CMA Awards with Morgan Wallen and HARDY. The group paid tribute to the late singer-songwriter Joe Diffie by performing his song “Pickup Man,” and the next day a version of the same song, billed as “Joe Diffie featuring Post Malone,” was released for streaming.
Post Malone and Morgan Wallen perform onstage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, on Nov. 8, 2023. (Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage)
In June 2022, Malone told Howard Stern, “To be honest, there’s nothing stopping me from taking a camera or setting up in my studio in Utah and just recording a country album and me just putting it on f—ing YouTube.”
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“I’m allowed to do that,” he continued. “I split my time between a lot of different things because I am happily obligated to do concerts and show love to my fans… and then I’m happily obligated to write music and make beats by myself. And I’m happily obligated to, you know, take care of my family. So, it’s a lot of time, and it’s about finding that space to allot that time. If I get another year to myself, maybe I’ll make a f—ing country album.”
