Despite the widespread and all-ages audiences of their performers, modern country songs can be a near-impossible sell to those that dismiss pretty much anything ready-made for commercial radio.
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By no means is this resistance to what's new unique to this moment in country music history. Truth is, for the 100 years that the genre's been a money-making business, there's been acts written off by some for not representing "real country music." Even Dolly Parton, who nowadays is about as close to a universally-loved celebrity as you'll find, caught flack in the past for chasing crossover hits. Indeed, it's quite a stretch to claim that "country isn't country anymore" because of rap and modern pop influence when artists blurring pretend genre lines date way back, as exemplified by all-time greats with ears for jazz (Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline) and rock (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings).
Changes inevitably happen in popular entertainment. Anyone complaining that country radio doesn't play artists that sound like Randy Travis, much less Hank Williams, must not notice that pop radio doesn't play artists that sound like Janet Jackson, much less Bing Crosby. Had the country music business locked in on one sound at any point, that ironically would have prevented the rise of the past-honoring yet innovative groundbreakers now held up as "real," from Buck Owens and Loretta Lynn to George Strait and Garth Brooks. So, it's completely ahistorical to pretend that nothing but pure, unfiltered, steel guitar-driven twang dominated the charts every single week until Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan and other targets of internet abuse arrived in Nashville.
Plus, some artists dismissed because of unfair assumptions about contemporary country make the occasional song that might surprise you, from homages to an ever-evolving tradition's past (Little Big Town's "Little White Church") to small-town celebrations that amount to more than disposable party songs (Blake Shelton's "I Lived It").
This playlist of 12 modern songs for pop-country haters sticks with acts to emerge since 2000 that aren't widely upheld for having a sound that's more "authentic" than that of their peers. Artists with staying power beyond the '90s (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Kenny Chesney) don't qualify, nor do the handful of mainstream stars from this century typically embraced by traditionalists. (Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton and Dierks Bentley, to name four).
"Dirt," Florida Georgia Line
One of the most criticized acts eligible for this list topped Billboard's Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts with a celebration of rural life that lyrically would've suited the singles discography of someone like Joe Diffie or Ricky Skaggs.
"For My Daughter," Kane Brown
Kane Brown has one of most captivating baritone voices in the game and on this streaming-only addition to 2018 album Experiment, he sings the sort of heartfelt story about home and family that traditional country fans crave.
"It Was Me," Lauren Alaina
Lauren Alaina made her '90s country allegiance known by co-writing this throwback to the story-driven hits of Deana Carter and Martina McBride and including it on 2021's Sitting Pretty on Top of the World. It's from the same album as an honorable mention pick: Trisha Yearwood duet "Getting Good."
"Things You Can't Live Without," Chris Janson (Feat. Travis Tritt)
Chris Janson turned back the clock to the high-octane approach to country music that made Confederate Railroad, Travis Tritt and others famous for this highlight from 2022's All In. Tritt guests on this reminder that Janson deserves better than "bro-country" dismissal.
"She Had Me at Heads Carolina," Cole Swindell
Cole Swindell's blend of modern elements with '90s nostalgia points fans of the former to the latter, which should only grow the streaming audiences of Alan Jackson, Shania Twain and the artist behind the original "Heads Carolina, Tails California," Jo Dee Messina.
"Little White Church," Little Big Town
If a constant flow of jaw-dropping performances on awards shows haven't sold you on Little Big Town, soak in this example of up-tempo, heavy-hitting modern country that's as potent as anything by frequent tour mate Miranda Lambert.
"Hard Days," Brantley Gilbert
Though he's best known as a rambunctious rocker with a Georgia accent, Brantley Gilbert sometimes slows things down to a power ballad pace. In this instance, Gilbert proves his ability to co-write and sing something with as much heart and grit as any of Eric Church's signature songs.
"American Honey," Lady A
Lady A took this amalgam of the past and present to the top of the Hot Country Songs chart in 2010. A drum machine gets featured as prominently as folk and bluegrass instrumentation on a single that struck the right balance between sounding progressive and comfortably familiar.
"The Man Who Loves You the Most," Zac Brown Band
Zac Brown Band's purposefully all over the map musically, but when its namesake hones in on his country roots, he's a proud purveyor of the story-driven songwriting that's supposedly absent from the big time.
"The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost," Craig Morgan
Grand Ole Opry regular, reality TV star and Army veteran Craig Morgan might've won you over already with songs that don't entirely fit the contemporary pop-country mold. If not, give him a chance by checking out this heartbreaking yet hopeful single inspired by the 2016 death of his 19-year-old son, Jerry Greer.
"I Lived It," Blake Shelton
Songs about simpler times date back to the very roots of what was once known as "hillbilly" music. Blake Shelton nodded this tradition in 2018 with a single every bit as old-fashioned as his early-career "hat act" material.
"Build Me a Daddy," Luke Bryan
If you've written off Luke Bryan forever for "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)," then you missed out on this tear-jerker from 2020's Born Here Live Here Die Here. Themes of love, loss and child-like innocence shatter misconceptions about the lyrical limitations imposed on today's country stars.
