Country music seems to be infiltrating almost every genre. Everyone from rappers to pop princesses have opted to make the move towards a twangier sound. The list of artists who have “gone country” grows by the day. If we had to add any names to it, we’d pick the four musicians below. Here are the artists I think should go country this year.
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran has toyed around with the idea of going country in the past. At least he’s explained his affinity for the genre. “I love the culture of it — I just love the songwriting,” Sheeran once said of country music. “It’s just like brilliant songs.” We could see Sheeran making a hard turn into country music. Though his music is already folky in some aspects, we think he could turn the twang up tenfold and get away with it.
A large part of what makes country great is the songwriting–as Sheeran speaks about in the quote above. Sheeran has long been considered one of the best songwriters of his generation. We think he’d find a comfortable home amongst the country storytellers of today.
Most countryfied songs: “Autumn Leaves,” “Tenerife Sea,” “Life Goes On (Feat. Luke Combs)”
Miley Cyrus
Going country would be a sort of homecoming for Miley Cyrus. Though she got her start as the pop princess Hannah Montana, her southern roots were more than accounted for. She’s delivered countless country covers that never fail to wow us. All that’s left now is for her to do a full blown country album.
Though Younger Now has some folky elements to it, we’d love to see her make an album akin to Dolly Parton or Shania Twain. Something that mixes her polished pop tones with country accoutrements. Given Cyrus’ penchant for experimenting with her sound, we feel an album like this is only a matter of time…
Most countryfied songs: “Malibu,” “The Climb,” “When I Look At You”
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson can sing just about anything. Truthfully, we haven’t come across a cover of hers that hasn’t eclipsed the original. Given her past experiences with country covers, we could see Clarkson making the move to Nashville and becoming a bonafide country star.
I mean, think of the power ballads…The emotion Clarkson could imbue in a country song about heartache. It would be transformative. We’re banking on this dream becoming a reality.
Most countryfied songs: “You’re Drunk, Go Home” (with Kelsea Ballerini and Carly Pearce), “A Moment Like This,” “Because of You” (with Reba McEntire)
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
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