If Greta Gerwig is looking to cast a country-singing Barbie to co-star alongside Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in a sequel to her highly anticipated 2023 blockbuster Barbie, Becca Bowen is the ideal candidate. The South Carolina-raised singer-songwriter goes by "Country Barbie" on social media and the moniker fits -- due to Bowen's downhome glam fashion and blonde locks as well as her open-hearted lyrics, showcased on songs such as "Glitter," "Who I Am" and more.
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Bowen, who won season five of the Outdoor Channel's popular reality show For Love or Likes in 2021, credits the King of Country himself, George Strait, and his 1996 love song "Carried Away" with setting her on the path to country music.
"It was the first country song I had ever sang," Bowen tells Wide Open Country. "Because of George Strait I'm singing country today."
Bowen recently shared her cover of Strait's hit song exclusively with Wide Open Country readers.
Bowen, who's been singing since she was five years old and is inspired by country legends such as Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and Shania Twain, released her debut EP Like You've Never Been Loved in 2022.
Bowen's current single "Son of a Gun," which she co-wrote with her guitar player Sam Woods, was inspired by a personal heartbreak.
"I was singing at an event and I looked out in the audience and the guy I had been dating was with another girl," Bowen said in a statement. "I was in shock but I kept it together and made it through the song. We both locked eyes from the stage and he just looked at me with these sad puppy dog eyes because he had just been caught."
