3 Huge Country Musicians Who Abandoned the Genre

Most country musicians are always country musicians. If you come to a genre as such, you typically never leave. On the contrary, and as we’ve seen recently, several pop musicians have transitioned and are transitioning into the genre. Still, it is very rare to see a country musician transition to another type of music. However, it has happened, and when it did, it benefited the musicians in question quite well.

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Country music is a very particular genre; hence, not everybody can do it. However, once mastered, the musical skill set it entails seemingly allows one to play any kind of music they want. So, here are three musicians who did just that, as these three country musicians abandoned the genre that made them famous.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift would not be Taylor Swift if it wasn’t for her early country music days. With her songs “Tim McGraw”, “Picture To Burn”, and “White Horse”, Swift was a bona fide country star in her youth. However, in 2010, Taylor Swift left the genre after releasing her album Speak Now.

Taylor Swift hasn’t completely left the genre behind, but she certainly does not brand herself as a country musician anymore. Consequently, the singer has gone on to become one of the most successful musicians of all time. Though, again, she wouldn’t be Taylor Swift if it wasn’t for Nashville and country music.

Shania Twain

One could make the argument that Taylor Swift followed a similar career path to Shania Twain, but that is a discussion for another time. Regardless, Shania Twain is one of the biggest country musicians of all time, and even though she has seemingly returned to country, there was a point in time when it looked like she wasn’t going to come back after she abandoned the genre.

Twain’s transition into pop music roughly transpired in 1997 after the release of her third studio album, Come On Over. Even though the album certainly resonates with both pop and country fans, the songs on the album established a new sound for Twain, a sound that starkly contrasted her earlier days.

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus’ transition away from country music does not have a solidified time stamp. However, now, everybody and their brother would surely agree that Cyrus has nothing to do with the genre anymore. Some of her more notable songs in the genre include “The Climb” and her cover of Dolly Parton’s iconic hit “Jolene”.

Since straying away from country music, Cyrus has had an absolute monster of a career. She boasts a career and musical catalog that leans into pop, R&B, rap, and some other mainstream genres. However, once upon a time, she was part of the country music scene.

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