Eight Crossover Mainstream Artists Who Have Gone Country

When people hear the term "crossover artist," they usually think about country musicians who have crossed over to mainstream radio, such as Garth Brooks, Shania Twain or Carrie Underwood. There are still a bunch of mainstream pop, rock and rap artists who have crossed over to the country charts with surprising songs and albums that many fans might not have expected. Here are eight mainstream artists who dabbled in country music... if only to test the waters.

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Kid Rock

Kid Rock has albums titled Rebel Soul and Born Free, so the rapper-rocker has always had Southern pride even though he was born in Michigan. He is considered a pioneer in the country-rap genre and scored a big hit with "Cowboy." In 2002, he crossed over to the country charts with the single "Picture" featuring Sheryl Crow. Since then, Kid's music continues to have a Southern flavor.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga is a musical chameleon who has experimented with many genres since coming onto the scene, including country. Gaga's 2016 album, Joanne, is a stripped-down pop-rock album with country elements. She calls the title song the "heart and soul" of the record and admits to being fascinated with many aspects of country music. She is pictured here on tour in 2017 while wearing a pastel-pink cowboy hat.

Lil Nas X

Rapper Lil Nas X rose to fame with his country-rap single "Old Town Road" featuring a remix by Billy Ray Cyrus. "Old Town Road" spent a record 19 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, although the song only reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart before the magazine made the controversial decision to disqualify the song for not being country enough. Despite the slight, "Old Town Road" still won numerous awards, including Grammys for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video.

Cyndi Lauper

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "True Colors" singer Cyndi Lauper has explored many musical genres, including pop, rock, electronica, blues and, yes, country. The Grammy-Emmy-Tony winner's 2016 album, the aptly named Detour, is a collection of country covers that reached number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The album, which features guest artists Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and Willie Nelson, includes Lauper's unique interpretations of "Funnel of Love," "Heartaches by the Number," "I Fall to Pieces," "Walkin' After Midnight" and many more.

Michelle Branch

Singer-songwriter Michelle Branch released two successful solo albums in the 2000s before forming the country duo the Wreckers with Jessica Harp in 2005. The Wreckers scored a hit with the Grammy-nominated single "Leave the Pieces," but the duo disbanded in 2007 and both artists continued with their respective careers. Branch finally released her third solo album, Hopeless Romantic, in 2017, but the album was more "laid-back rock" (Branch's words) than country.

Jewel

Jewel was always a country artist at heart with her yodeling and songs about heartache and humble beginnings. She went full country with the albums Perfectly Clear and Sweet and Wild, both of which performed well on the country charts. Jewel married rodeo cowboy Ty Murray (pictured) in 2008 and divorced him in 2014, which is curiously right around the time that she returned to her more folksy roots.

Darius Rucker

Darius Rucker gained fame as the lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, but since 2008 he's been making history as a country music artist. His first country single, 2008's "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," made him the first Black artist to top the country charts since Charley Pride way back in 1983. Rucker has had several more number-one country songs since that time, including "Wagon Wheel." His fifth and most recent country album, When Was the Last Time, was released in 2017. He is pictured here on October 30, 2021 at the Grande Ole Opry's 5,000th show.

Steven Tyler

Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler waited until 2016 to release his first solo album, We're All Somebody from Somewhere, which happened to be country rock. The album debuted atop the Billboard Country Albums chart and was embraced by fans on both sides of the aisle. He is pictured here (right) at the CMA 2014 Country Christmas alongside Brad Paisley.