Nowadays, country music can take on a lot of different forms. The genre holds its fair share of imports that artists fervently vouch for over the years. Take Tim McGraw hopping on Nelly's "Over and Over" (great) or Florida Georgia Line fanning out for him on "Cruise" (not so great). Additionally, you have the country stars trying to cosplay as rappers like Jason Aldean or guys trying to do both like Kid Rock. Lastly, you have the country singers that sell country with all pop attributes in its production. There's always a compromise of sorts at its worst. It's surprising when someone like Anella can do all of them without sounding out of place.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Anella (formerly known as Anella Herim) is from Trinity, North Carolina. It makes too much sense that he's a genreless wonder based on his environment. The backroads live just as prominently as he is adjacent to Charlotte and Greensboro. You could experience country just as much as you might grow up on rap and pop radio. It shows clearly in his music too. Take his performance for On The Radar, a generally rap based platform where people perform their songs or freestyle. However, this time Anella changes the tune to a breezy acoustic jam with a twang in his voice. It's the kind of beachy record you might expect Jimmy Buffett to make in 2024.
Anella Balances Country, Hip-Hop, and Pop Without Missing a Beat
Evidently through his Instagram, Anella is a huge Jelly Roll fan too. The Jelly Roll connection makes sense in terms of the general mission statement. Sure, he doesn't have that soulful gargantuan howl to his voice that Jelly does. But he does share that desire to spread his wings out and perform in different genres. Sometimes, it takes on forms like "Don't HMU," where he slides in effortlessly into the kind of pop rap that occupies space on radio. However, you'll still hear moments where his twangy, country voice bleeds through. It's Anella's instincts that shine, where no one genre has to sound so jarring from the other. It's all pure expression, a reflection of what it means to dip your toes in different cultures.
