“It’s the summer of yeehaw,” Mikey Piff declared to his listeners on Hits 1, SiriusXM’s Top 40 outlet.
Then he rattled off all the recent crossover with country and pop stars such as Post Malone, Beyoncé, Dasha, Shaboozey and Marshmello collaborating with Kane Brown.
“There are so many songs right now that are country-influenced or country- or Americana-adjacent,” the host and Hits 1 program director said in an interview this month. “I would argue that country maybe is even more popular than we all think it is.”
On the Pandora streaming service, Today’s Country is the most popular playlist. At Sirius XM, the Highway, a mainstream country outlet, is a highly rated channel. On terrestrial radio, country music is the dominant format in the United States, with nearly four times as many stations as Top 40 operations.
Last year, country superstar Luke Combs’ remake of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 pop hit “Fast Car” zoomed to the top of both the country and pop charts. This spring, Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” held No. 1 on both lists. Big Nashville names, including Kenny Chesney and Chris Stapleton, have been packing Twin Cities stadiums and arenas this year before the usual run of popular summer festivals in the Upper Midwest.
And there’s the big kahuna, Morgan Wallen, who walks the line between country and pop and tops both charts. He’s bringing the party to U.S. Bank Stadium on Thursday and Friday.
Why is country so hot — or cool — again?
In short, newer artists with songs of substance are attracting new fans via new platforms. Garth Brooks and Shania Twain are golden oldies. Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan are so yesterday. It’s a new era with new stars like Zach Bryan and Lainey Wilson.