when Beyonce announced the March 29 release of an album expected to be country, Cowboy Cartershe referred to a time when she felt unwelcome in the genre.
But the current chart numbers suggest that the rug has been laid for her, assuming she's willing to keep walking the path. Her single “Texas Hold 'Em” jumps to No. 33 in its sixth week on the Country Airplay chart dated March 30, while remaining at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs. The Airplay position is lower than the song's slots on other genre charts, where it has historically been established. But country radio is growing slowly. Only two of the 32 songs ahead of her on Country Airplay — Nate Smith's “Bulletproof” and Keith Urban's “Messed Up As Me” — have been on the chart for six weeks or less. The interpretation of “Texas Hold 'Em” suggests that the genre may be as open as ever to invasion of countries by other forms of entertainment.
“I'm kind of seeing things start to open up,” says the owner and CEO of Country's Radio Coach John Sobie.
Beyoncè isn't the only artist making a move to the format from another entertainment base. Post Malone spent 18 weeks on Country Airplay in a pairing with the late Joe Diffie, Diplo released two country projects, and Lana Del Rey is reportedly recording a country album. In addition, actors Charles Esten and Luke Grimes recently released their debut country albums, contemporary Christian artist Anne Wilson signed with Universal Music Group Nashville, and retired St. Louis Cardinals Adam Wainwright made his Grand Ole Opry debut on March 9th.
There's no guarantee that any of them – let alone all – will stick. But it's not like country music is a closed society.
“Check out the Jelly Roll,” says Shomby. “This guy was a rapper, for crying out loud—he wasn't even a famous rapper, but he was around. He is welcomed with open arms.”
It wasn't always like that. There have been plenty of figures from other music acts — like Jessica Simpson, Connie Francis and La Toya Jackson — who made brief forays into country and then disappeared. So did former NFL quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw and Danny White, as well as actors Dennis Weaver and Maureen McCormick.
The country music business has long been leery of people it perceives as doormats. Even artists who had some success jumping into country — like Tom Jones, who scored a No. 1 single with 1977's “Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow” and a top five hit with “Touch Me (I' ll Be” from 1983 Your Fool Another Another)” — have been irritated by her expectation of commitment.
“With the country stations, if you don't record country all the time, they feel like you're not a country artist,” he complained in '83. “If you only come out with an occasional country album, it's hard to get it played on certain stations because they stick with their regulars.”
R&B and adult contemporary stations, he allowed, operated with the same parochialism.
But plenty of artists have made successful transitions to country, too—Conway Twitty, Dan Seals, John Schneider, Exile, and Darius Rucker, to name a few. All of them faced skepticism on their way to acceptance. Former Seals director Melody Place COO Tony Gottliebhe remembers when Seals was confronted about it on late night television.
“This guy who's from Nashville — obviously tuned into the Nashville scene — asks Dan, 'What about failed pop artists who come to Nashville to pursue a career in country music?' ”, recalls Gottlieb. “Of course, as Dan's manager, I wanted to strangle the guy because he had just ambushed him right on live TV.”
The seals were bred in the country — Ernest Tubb and the Louvin Brothers — and he proved himself in the long run. His fourth single, “God Must Be a Cowboy,” became the first of 16 top 10s, including 11 No. 1s. Like Twitty and Kenny Rogers before him, Seals did three things that most have successful outsiders to become insiders: Committed to the country. His music aimed for the center of the figure, not its sonic periphery. and recorded high quality songs.
“You can only be young once,” he observes Mike Reed, who went from his early career as a pro NFL lineman to a singer-songwriter in the 1980s. “But you better always be good, you know. The public will tell you if you're good or not.”
The public will also decide whether members of the current crop – including Beyoncè and Post Malone – make an authentic connection with their country's efforts. Pushback is to be expected at first.
Maverick Partner Clarence Spalding he saw this play out in the early 1980s as road manager for Exile, which began making country records five years after a No. 1 pop single with “Kiss You All Over.” Spalding's current list of management clients includes Rucker, who was best known as the frontman of the multi-platinum pop/rock group Hootie + the Blowfish before recording as a solo country artist.
“There's a divide — there always is — when anything new comes to town,” notes Spalding. “It's, you know, 'This isn't country,' 'This is country,' 'What is country?' I don't know the answer. it's a subjective thing. If the consumer accepts it as a country, then it is a country.”
Genre transitioning can actually be easier now than ever for a number of reasons, starting with the makeup of the music itself. From the soulful sound of Thomas Rhett's seminal hits to the hard-rock influence of HARDY's material, the genre is much more versatile.
“It's a wider avenue to go down, so it's going to be more forgiving than if it was the traditional country song,” suggests Reid. “You better not go near it if you don't know what the hell you're doing.”
Additionally, Taylor Swift's reverse transition more than a decade ago from country singer to pop stadium filler has made genre-hopping more acceptable.
“A country album could probably come out tomorrow and nobody's going to question anything,” Shomby says.
Like Swift, Beyoncé, Post Malone and Del Rey flirt with country while still going strong in their original genre. Many of their predecessors tried to make the jump to country only after their pop careers had floundered, creating a negative view of the practice in Nashville.
Radio programmers also work differently. Many modern PDs came to the country from other formats and see the boundaries of the country with more flexibility, and since they often work for stations in multiple formats, they worry less about the exclusivity of any single genre. In addition, digital service providers have created a more fluid environment.
“Clearly technology has changed that,” says Gottlieb. “This conversation wouldn't have been happening in the same context six, eight years ago before DSPs had such a significant impact on what we do.”
Perhaps the biggest factor, though, is sheer quality. The country's industry has historically felt undervalued by the rest of the business. The fact that visiting artists are approaching the country while they're hot is welcomed on Music Row. But the quality and authenticity of the work weighs more heavily on the reception it receives.
“If it's a really, really good song, I hope they play it,” explains Spalding. “And if it's not a really good song, if it's just got a big name — you know, don't spread the crap.”
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