Music has evolved over the years and while country music specifically used to be a way to identify and connect with the region in terms of not only musical instruments but also lyrics, that has completely changed throughout the years. However, country music today has a modern twist to it, but is it an effective strategy for country music?
Over the years, country music has evolved to keep up and try to appeal to the music taste of the era, while sometimes it was successful, other times it was the reason that the music dropped entirely. However, during the past decade, it has been evident that country music has taken inspiration from other music genres and combined them to create a modern-twist. In an interview with country artist Lee Ann Womack on Country Thang Daily, she clearly states her opinion on modern country music. While she believes that it is essential for any type of music to grow and evolve with coming generations, the transformation of today’s country music isn’t actually country according to her criteria.
What made country music different?
When country music was first created, the lyrics used to be relatable and specific to each country, being able to identify the region from the type of musical instruments they used, as well as the descriptions and related experiences that the lyrics offered. When the music evolved, a fusion between different regions was created and a new form of country music that was still appealing and comparable to people from a wider region also made it successful. Further along the line, country music started to become more personal, using common experiences that many people go through to be the core of the lyrics to still hold the values and essence that made the genre popular.
Modern country music with a pop inspiration
In the modern world, the inspiration of pop music is evident in country artist’s songs such as Sam Hunt, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, RaeLynn and many others. While musicians such as Womack and others might not feel that this pop twist is appealing to country music, the audience will beg to differ. This is evident in the success of many singles produced by these artists and others that have merged pop music not only in the music itself, but also in the lyrics and song themes. It is obvious that the general public finds the evolution to be extremely effective as Hunk’s single “Body Like a Back Road” not only received a lot of promotion, but also stayed a record-setting period of 34-weeks as the number one song on Billboard’s Hot Country Song Charts. It was so popular that it not only made it to the top of the charts, but was also the song of the fall, spring and summer, too.
It is normal for music to evolve to start appealing for different generations and introduce new versions of the music that takes inspiration from its history and merges with what the modern times are looking for. While it is not always successful, the modern twist of country music seems to be effective amongst the upcoming generations.
