The genre lines between country music and rock music can often be blurred. For decades, crossover hits have occurred within both music styles. These are three recent country hits that boldly feature a rock song.
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“Happen To Me” by Russell Dickerson
In 2025, Russell Dickerson had a No. 1 hit with “Happen To Me”. From his Famous Back Home record, the song includes part of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. Dickerson wrote “Happen To Me” with Chris LaCorte, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Chase McGill. Robert Hazard, who wrote “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, is also credited.
“Happen To Me” says in part, “She said, ‘Shut up, come and dance with me’ / And now she’s singin’ / ‘Girls just wanna have fun’ at the top of her lungs / Don’t even know she’s ’bout to wreck someone / And, boys, I’m in trouble now, ain’t even tryna get out / So, come on, baby, take me down, down, down, yeah / Don’t know what happened tonight, don’t know what happened last week / Don’t know what happened to her, but she’s ’bout to happen to me.”
“Bottle Rockets” by Scotty McCreery and Hootie & The Blowfish
On Scotty McCreery’s 2024 Scooter & Friends EP is “Bottle Rockets“, a song he sings with Hootie & The Blowfish. Not only does the legendary rock band join McCreery on “Bottle Rockets”, but the song also uses part of their debut single “Hold My Hand”.
McCreery wrote “Bottle Rockets” with Bobby Hamrick, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey, Monty Criswell, and Frank Rogers. Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld, the four “Hold My Hand” songwriters, are also credited on the song.
“Bottle Rockets” says, “Bottle rockets in the sky / Bare feet in the sand / Bonfire in her eyes / Cold beer in the can / Moonlight on the waves / Her kiss in the dark / The smile on her face when she’d make me break out my guitar and play / Hold my hand.”
“We started strumming the tune that would eventually become ‘Bottle Rockets’”, McCreery recalls to Billboard. “And at the end of the makeshift chorus we had at that point, Frank went into ‘Hold My Hand.’ It fit like a glove. Everyone was laughing and high-fiving because we knew we were on to something. The song really just spilled out from there.”
“On The Boat Again” by Jake Owen
In 2023, Jake Owen released “On The Boat Again”. The song is a new twist on the country and rock classic “On The Road Again” by Willie Nelson. “On The Boat Again” is written by Devin Dawson, Rocky Block, Kyle Fishman, Blake Pendergrass, with Nelson also credited.
“On The Boat Again” says, “On the boat again / I just can’t wait to get on the boat again / The life I love is drinking cold beer with my friends / Yeah, I can’t wait to get on the boat again.”
Owen released the song as an homage to Nelson, and one of his biggest crossover hits.
“You never want to tarnish something that was always great,” Owen tells Billboard.
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