The country music industry is a hard game. We all know this. What we also know is that fame for most is incredibly fleeting. Every day in the music business, someone gets their big break and someone else sees the end of their career. As unfortunate as it is, it is just the name of the game.
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That being said, a plethora of musicians have sniffed promising success, but never gotten the chance to consistently breathe it in. With that in mind, here are three country music artists from the 21st century who looked like the next big thing… and then vanished for various reasons.
Jessica Andrews
A 17-year-old girl named Jessica Andrews was seemingly on her way to becoming country music’s next big young superstar in 2001. Following the release of her hit single “Who I am”, Andrews garnered massive success as the single peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Andrews did release some notable singles after the fact, though, they never replicated the success of “Who I Am”. Consequently, Andrews took a major step back from the music business and went relatively radio silent for quite some time. However, she is seemingly making a slow return to the scene after a lengthy hiatus as she released the single “Poison’s In The Sugar” in July of 2024.
Chris Cagle
In 2001, Chris Cagle made his major country music breakthrough with the single “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out”. After the release of the single, Cagle’s song reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and won the CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year.
However, in 2015, Chris Cagle left country music and announced his retirement from the industry to focus on his family. He wrote in his Facebook statement, “I would like to thank everyone for 15 years of a great time! […] I’ve had a great run and would just like to go home with my dignity.”
Steve Holy
Between 2000 and 2013, Steve Holy released 13 songs that appeared on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart. Most notably, Holy acquired success thanks to his singles “Good Morning Beautiful” and “Brand New Girlfriend”. Though, Holy stopped making music in 2013 when he left his record label.
Holy did release a Christmas album in 2021. However, since then, the musician has seemingly made no major strides in the business.
Photo by Beth Gwinn/Getty Images
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