3 Country Songs That Became Hits Entirely by Accident

If an audience likes a song, it doesn’t really matter what an artist or label thinks of it. Fan-driven success is often an unpredictable force. This happens a lot in country music. Most country fans have their favorite artists, and they usually comb through every song in their discography. This can lead to surprising hits from time to time. The three country songs below all became hits by accident, meaning they weren’t chosen to be singles. Instead, the audience picked these songs for success.

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[RELATED: On This Day in 1974, Dolly Parton Released a Legendary Single That Topped the Country Chart Twice and Became One of the Best-Selling Songs of All Time]

“Tennessee Whiskey” — Chris Stapleton

“Tennessee Whiskey” made Chris Stapleton famous. There can be no arguments about that fact. But what makes this hit particularly interesting is that it wasn’t chosen by Stapleton to be a radio single. Nevertheless, it was played everywhere and positioned the country singer as one of the genre’s biggest voices.

Stapleton picked several other songs from his breakout record, Traveller, to be singles. But, notably, he performed “Tennessee Whiskey” at the CMA Awards around the same time. The performance was enough to get this song charting, no single status required. It remains Stapleton’s calling card, completely fuelled by the audience.

“Love Your Memory” — Miranda Lambert

Miranda Lambert’s “Love Your Memory” is one of her most poignant songs to date. This song evokes the classic country ballads of decades past. She sings tenderly and with conviction, building herself a reputation as a top-tier vocalist and songwriter.

“Love Your Memory” was never chosen as a single, but it nevertheless became popular—almost by accident. It might not be Lambert’s most famous song ever, but it got way more play than an album cut typically does. This song likely would’ve shot straight to the top of the charts if chosen as a single.

“Blue Collar Boys” — Luke Combs

Luke Combs’ “Blue Collar Boys” wasn’t chosen as a single from What You See Is What You Get. Even without single status, though, this song has become a fan favorite over the years. It plays into country conventions, speaking to many listeners of the genre. The subject matter is no doubt what helped this song thrive as an album cut.

“Bust our backs, barely getting by / Carolina to California up to Illinois / Yeah, there’s guys like us / Blue collar boys,” Combs sings, removing country’s regional barriers. The universality of this song makes it a shoo-in for singledom. Nevertheless, Combs chose to leave this one out of the album rollout.

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