The year 2024 marked a major milestone in the world of country music, a milestone that has seen a plethora of cross-genre country music collaborations. You have Post Malone and the entirety of his album F-1 Trillion, Machine Gun Kelly and Jelly Roll, as well as Beyoncé and her album Cowboy Carter. Needless to say, popular country music is heading into a totally new direction.
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Even though 2024 saw a good deal of cross-genre collaborations, country music is no stranger to these types of projects. As a matter of fact, they’ve been around for quite some time and match the quality of the most recent ones. That being said, here are three cross-genre country music collaborations of the 21st century.
“10,000 Hours” by Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber
Dan + Shay are one of the most commercially successful contemporary duos in country music. They have exceptional voices and a diverse style that allows them to bend the foundation of country music. Hence, they were perfectly equipped to collaborate with one of the biggest superstars on Earth, Justin Bieber.
Released in 2019, this collaboration, of course, became a domestic and international sensation. Upon its release, the single peaked at no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at no. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. This is one of Dan + Shay’s many no. 1 hit country songs, but it is Justin Bieber’s only one.
“Daddy Lessons” by Beyoncé & The Chicks
Before Beyoncé turned into a solo country musician, she collaborated with The Chicks on the 2016 single “Daddy Lessons”. At first, the single was released on Beyoncé’s album, Lemonade, and then was released as a promotional single with The Chicks shortly after. Subsequently, the two performed their collaboration at the 2016 CMA Awards, and that is when it gained mass traction.
This single weirdly foreshadowed the country music career Beyoncé would go on to have nearly 10 years after its release. Also, given the success of this single, it seemingly made Beyoncé’s transition all more easy and less stressful.
“Picture” by Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow
Kid Rock is deeply associated with the country music genre. However, in the early 2000s, he was a pretty strict rock and roll star. In order to dip his toe into the country genre, he collaborated with Sheryl Crow on the single “Picture”. He struck gold with the 2001 single, and it helped him take his career to a whole other level.
Upon its 2001 release, the song didn’t acquire much chart success. However, when 2003 came along, the single peaked at no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains Rock’s highest charting single on the chart. In addition to that, it also peaked at no. 21 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
Photo by ABC/CMA via Getty Images
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