The Week You Couldn't Miss Country's Youth Boom

Anyone who's been paying attention knows that country music is on a growth curve right now.

This was the week that it is becoming so obvious that you can't miss it even if you aren't paying much attention.

Donald Trump put on a cowboy hat John Rich brought him and named Rich 2011's Celebrity Apprentice, which got him on the Today show, Regis & Kelly, Access Hollywood and many others as he delivered a huge check and incredible exposure to St. Jude.

Taylor Swift picked up "top Billboard 200 artist." "top country artist," her “Speak Now” was named top country album and Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” received top country song at this week's Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.

Tonight, according to Townsquare Media's "Taste Of Country," since Interscope UMG is involved with American Idol both Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina will be releasing singles on Mercury Records tomorrow.

Scotty’s is called "Love You This Big" (chosen with the help of George Strait) and Lauren’s is titled "Like My Mother Does" (picked along former Idol winner Carrie Underwood). They will both be singing them tonight and they will be available on iTunes right after the show.

16-year old Alaina is the best singer and more versatile performer, but I'm voting for Scotty, since he makes America feel good about itself. Singing heartland-focused songs about 9/11 and pickup trucks, he's an avatar for the idea that our younger generation is in step with the older one — that there is no generation gap.

No matter who wins, it's great for country, What a terrific development that with the youngest finale matchup of the show's history is also the countriest.

And, it's only Wednesday of this amazing music week that began on Sunday evening with a wonderful event at the Country Music Hall Of Fame and culminates with at least two potential brand new stars!

Crossing Over

Before radio formats were invented every song on the radio was a crossover. Long before country music emerged as a full time "format," country music and its artists were charting and thus 'crossing over.'

Hank Snow's "I'm Moving On" was in the Billboard "Top 40" chart in the top ten for 44 weeks and held onto the #1 slot for 21 weeks in 1950.

Historically, when country music gets airplay on other formats (thank you, Taylor, Lady Antebellum and all of the others who count themselves among the hundreds of country acts who have achieved crossover success over the history of recorded music) that improves our image and bodes well for the overall growth of the genre and country radio's format ratings/rank.

When country radio starts looking outside its traditional boundaries for new music from other formats, is that a sign of desperate times or just another turn of the wheel of pop culture?

For example, Train, just back from a tour of Australia and Asia, has watched their hit from last year "Hey Soul Sister," move from AAA to Top 40 to Hot AC to Rhythmic to AC, even Adult Hits and this morning it hits #57 on the BDS Real Time COUNTRY chart with BNA's release of a country mix.

To add to the multi-formatic irony, this happened just as they learned that the song is up for a Teen Choice Award as "Best Rock Track."

So, what format IS it? Does it matter?

I started this post with the Hank Snow factoid to place all of this into context. Music has always crossed boundaries and its power to mash cultures and bring people together has been well-documented.

One of CMT's most popular and enduring benchmarks is Crossroads as country fans relish the magic that emerges as stars jam together, playing one another's songs.

Uncle Kracker seems to visit our playlists every year or so, receiving a warm research welcome, as some of country's most "country" current songs come from performers from other formats, who for all appearances came to country for the sheer love of their roots, like Darius Rucker (also up for a Teen Choice prize), Jewel (who finds herself on both NPR and working country radio at the same time) and LeAnn Rimes (I'll save a riff on the pro's and con's of cover tunes for another day).

Broadway star Laura Bell Bundy certainly doesn't need to prove anything by going country, yet here she is.

Adding to the goulash, with - it seems - the mission of defying categorization, counting on talent to win out: Gretchen Wilson, John Rich, Colt Ford, Brantley Gilbert and many others who seem to agree that what we need is a little more fun, edge and variety in our lives.

Bring 'em on. Forget about labels. If the people who listen to country radio love them, that's country enough for me.

May the best songs win!

When Huff Po Reviews Country Positively, There Might Be Hope For Bipartisanship After All

How's this for a game of ping pong? I blog about how amazing a nice review of Jamey Johnson and John Rich is from the Huffington Post, and HuffPo blogs about how country radio isn't always known for its daring social relevance:

"...but two singles that are currently rising up the charts--John Rich's politically themed "Shutting Detroit Down" and Jamey Johnson's pharmaceutically themed "High Cost of Living"--prove that the genre that bills itself as "America's music" can still provide bracing jolts of reality.."

Given THAT, who knows what's next? Fox News endorsing President Obama's new budget? The Wall Street Journal liking the stimulus?

Yeah, right.

John Rich Attracts "A Few Hundred" For McCain

The Washington Posts's Juliet Eilperin was in Panama City, Florida, when Rich kicked off the "Country First" show with "Can I get a yee-haw?"

A few hundred? (And The Show Was FREE!) Look for yourself, the video - wouldn't you know it - is on Fox News and decide if someone needs a new publicist OR the Post reporter was underestimating the crowd.