3 Former Country Stars Who Will Never Return to the Genre

Lots of musicians start in one genre, like rock or pop, before transitioning to country music. For the following former country stars, though, they started in country before moving onto different musical genres, and they haven’t really looked back since.

It’s worth noting that I can’t predict the future, surprisingly. There is always a chance that the following former country singers will return to the genre. However, I just don’t see that realistically happening anytime soon.

Taylor Swift

This is probably the most famous example of a musician who started in country music, transitioned to pop music, and hasn’t looked back since. Taylor Swift started her career in the 2000s as yet another blonde, acoustic guitar-wielding country crooner. She was already writing most of her own music at that point. 

Swift slowly began to add more pop elements to her music before releasing her first fully non-country album, 1989, in 2014. Swift often performs hits from her country era, but she hasn’t recorded a country album since the release of 1989.

Michelle Branch

Kids from the 1990s and 2000s likely remember Michelle Branch quite well. She’s an accomplished singer/songwriter best known for her hit songs “Everywhere” and “All You Wanted”. Those tunes are firmly in the pop-rock genre. Much of Branch’s subsequent releases have been pop and rock-oriented as well.

However, from 2004 to 2007, Branch had a brief country moment as one half of The Wreckers with Jessica Harp. As a country music duo, The Wreckers became country one-hit wonders for their song “Leave The Pieces”. The pair would only release one album together before calling it quits to work on their respective solo projects.

Miley Cyrus

Depending on your age, you might know this entry on our list of former country stars by one of two eras. That first era was the Hannah Montana era of the 2000s, where Miley Cyrus starred in a musical television show about a singer living a double life. The show, reflecting reality, featured Billy Ray Cyrus as Hannah Montana’s famous country star father. The second era was Cyrus’ deep dive into the world of pop music as an adult.

After Hannah Montana ended, Cyrus would continue to release country-leaning music, notably on her 2017 album Younger Now. However, in the years since then, she has focused more on rock, pop, and dance music. Country music is definitely where Cyrus got her start, but it doesn’t look like she’ll return anytime soon.

Photo by Ray Garbo/Shutterstock

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