If you were asked what is the ideal prototype for a modern country singer, it would probably look something like this upcoming sketch of an artist. I'll give the clues, and you try and guess along. Any artist mentioned as an example is not the right answer.
The fellow needs to have came from a reasonably small town. Twenty thousand inhabitants is a fine number. Ideally in an area that has reasonable claim to being country. The suburbs don't count so no Jason Aldean or Zac Brown.
Being from the south/Appalachia or at minimum flyover country; the traditionally more marginalized and ignored areas of the country. It gives a chip on the shoulder of the artists and again contributes a great deal to his perceived authenticity. One of Morgan Wallen’s underrated keys to popularity is his Appalachian roots.
Because appearances matter, after all this is the music industry, gotta try and get the bland and generic attractive look that will appeal to the largest amount of 18-30 year old consumers. White male with some basic sex appeal is strongly recommended. Good hair is a plus otherwise we’ll present him either as a rustic cowboy hat wearer (Warren Zeiders) or a down to earth relatable baseball cap wearer (Parker McCollum).
Belonging to a Christian tradition is good, but not to the point where it actually makes a difference in his musical output. We don’t want to turn off the Christian listeners, but also don’t want to alienate the coastal listeners who aren’t looking for preaching from the radio. Old Dominion would fit this. Granted they give off squeaky clean CCM vibes, but also they never really ever address faith in their music. Literally the lead singer could be a former yoga instructor or a former youth pastor. Neither would surprise. That’s the point.
Very often modern Country does well with graduates of music competition shows. In fact, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Gabby Barret and many other top country artists all spent some amount of time on these shows. Obviously, Carrie and Scotty are the ideal version of this. It’s a great way to pre-filter for stage presence and have a little pre built fan base to capitalize on
Some prior experience in the music world is appreciated. Very often, the "new" artists actually have a good few albums under their belt already. You don't want to risk it all on an unproven talent. Brett Young put out at least four full albums prior to getting signed to a pabel as a "new" artist. Same with Cody Johnson.
Often having enjoyed success in the pop or rock world is a good harbinger for success in the country space. The names may be more familiar to mass audiences. The artist is also more familiar with how the music world works. Darius Rucker. Parmalee. Colbie Caillat.
Lots of guitar. These days, guitar is the defining country instrument. Perhaps in years past, when rock and folk were omnipresent, the mere addition of an acoustic guitar wasn’t enough to assure country bona fides, but now it is. Especially if the artists appears in shows playing the guitar. That’s real country.
One of the ways to elevate a young country stars profile is with high profile duet partners. Luke Combs did it with Leon Bridges. Kane did it with John Legend. Legend does like his duets.
Another tactic is to get the singer a song featured in a high profile movie. Like Thomas Rhett in Scoob! Heck, even Colter Wall owes a good deal of his success to a song of his appearing in the 2017 film Hell and High Water.
Can't forget the random EDM remixes of songs that clearly weren't intended to be EDM tracks. Anything to get streams. We even got down home country folk like Nate Smith getting in on the EDM streaming action.
Also, and this is crucial, acoustic versions of your regular songs are a big one. It's another way to game streams and land your artists in a variety of playlists, thereby opening up more audiences. Even guys like Mitchell Tenpenny do this. Piano version are popular as well. Corey Kent has a few which are nice.
You want a diversity of stylistic influences. If the artists is too beholden to a particular style, it makes it difficult for them to smoothly navigate trends and sail forward. An ambiguity is good. A sort of pop, rock, folk, country hybrid allows maximum flexibility to strike regardless of what the dominant sound is at the moment. Jordan Davis is the master of this.
Let's break down some of this artist's key songs. Immediately some of his more popular songs strike a folksier tone. The artist's biggest song is about mourning a old romance in a small town. No, not Sam Hunt. The sound has a little bit of Townes van Zandt, but also a little Ed Sheeran. We've also got an uptempo guitar and handclap driven song extolling the virtues of freedom, and a plaintive ballad with programmed drums singing about love lost in a city that the artist isn't actually from, but rhymes well in the chorus. Treading the line carefully between rock, country and gospel is a recent release that uses religious imagery (not Bailey Zimmerman though that was a good guess), but directs it towards a description of a romance. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be. Another big one is a nostalgia baiting song describing a romance taking place under the starlight. The song is steeped in sepia toned imagery describing the romance as forever and old school as a "black and white picture".
Recently, as is the way things tend to be these days, he released a deluxe album of his most recent project. This is de rigeour for any artist looking to boost streams. High Valley tried it recently. It was more common five years ago, although Jon Pardi says he has a deluxe expansion of his most recent album in the pipes.
Lastly, cover songs may not be as popular as they once were, but it can still be a useful means of proving your country bona fides and showing audiences that you know and relate to the same things they do. First featured on a radio show, then eventually released as a single, this artist covered one of the more iconic country songs of the last five years, firmly cementing his credibility as a country singer.
Who am I?
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It's Niall Horan, of course. Who did you think it was?
And the song of his that inspired me to write this entire piece was of course his cover of Zach Bryan's signature song, Something In The Orange.
Radio show version from a few months back
Actual release this last week
Hope you enjoyed playing along!
-Joe