Author: Brennen Kelly

It’s no secret that country music had one of its best years ever in 2023. From Morgan Wallen dominating the charts and winning 11 Billboard Music Awards to Zach Bryan picking up RIAA certifications seemingly weekly, it seems like country is finally getting the mainstream appeal that many have been craving for years. In a year that saw three country songs occupy the top three tracks on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for the first time ever on August 26 (Oliver Anthony’s Rich Men North of Richmond, Morgan Wallen’s Last Night and Luke Comb’s Fast Car) along with a plethora of…

“I don’t belong to anyone, nobody belongs to me.” John Mayer has flirted with country for years, appearing on CMT Crossroads episodes with Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. Between his criminally underrated songwriting ability and his legendary guitar work, it’s not hard to see how he’s influenced today’s country stars. Today, Parker McCollum is the latest artist to cover one of Mayer’s songs, the underrated 2009 deep cut, Perfectly Lonely. McCollum has stated in the past that Mayer has been a huge influence on his style in the past on Twitter before, noting that every song of his has been…

It’s hard to argue the fact that Sam Barber is one of the fastest-rising talents in independent country today. Recently picking up his first gold record with his breakout hit, Straight and Narrow, the Missourian singer/songwriter looks to keep the ball rolling with his newest release, S.O.B.. Barber took to Instagram back on Jan. 23 and teased three brand new songs with the caption, “Need y’all’s help! Whatcha like best? 1, 2, or 3???” Though many people were begging him to release all three, the second option, which was later revealed to be S.O.B., prevailed as the winner. Flash forward…

What a performance. It’s no stretch to say that the success of Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit, Fast Car, has been nothing short of incredible. The song landed Combs’ another #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart as well as a career-high #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would also go on to win Single and Song of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards, making Chapman the first female black artist to ever win a CMA Award. A collaborative performance between the two has been a long time in the making, being teased by Chapman…

With Grammy night in full-swing, Chris Stapleton led the way for country artists, taking home Best Country Song and Best Country Performance for White Horse. Now, it’s Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ turn to take home some hardware. The pair officially took home Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit, I Remember Everything. I Remember Everything was released to country radio on Sept. 11 and immediately skyrocketed to #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Hot Rock and Alternative and the Hot 100 chart. The song is currently spending its 18th straight week at #1 on the…

Along with Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers is one of the founding fathers of the indie country renaissance we are currently in for good reason. The Appalachian singer/songwriter has been consistently releasing some of the best music in the genre over the past 13 years. From infamously calling out the Americana awards to racking up three nominations at this year’s Grammy’s, the Feathered Indians singer has quickly risen to living-legend status. With all that being said, he doesn’t truly have a bad song released to date which makes this ranking incredibly hard. For the sake of simplicity, this list ranks all…