Who Loves Country Music?
Country music is the patron genre of the Southern United States, and contrary to popular belief, comes in such diverse varieties as bluegrass, folk, and gospel style music. Previously referred to - often derisively - as "hillbilly music," this rather insulting label was tossed aside in favor of the more politically correct "country music." Despite the fact that people from certain regions of the United States - often Northerners and East Coaster elitisits - often turn up their noses at the genre with such comments as "Oh, I'll listen to anything - just not country," country music nonetheless remains staunchly popular in such red states as Tennessee, Mississippi, and other proud anchor states of the South and Southern culture. In particular, the bustling Southern city of Nashville, Tennessee has gained a reputation as a cultural capital of sorts to the entire genre of country music - in much the same sense that Los Angeles, California, and New York City, New York fill the same function to more mainstream artists.
However, country music hasn't always been purely the domain of Southerners - nor is it today. Back in the 1970s, country music achieved widespread popularity throughout the United States - even in the notoriously anti-country Northeast. The notorious, so called "king of rock 'n roll" - none other than Elvis Presley himself - began as a regular on the Louisiana Hayride, and earned the early nickname of "the Hillbilly Cat" long before he became the supreme ruler of mainstream rock music. Moreover, contemporary musician Garth Brooks has sold over a whopping 128 million albums - and happens to be classified in the "country" section of most music stores.
Furthermore, certain country music stars have popped up on the scene in recent years and played an enormous role in popularizing the genre even in non Southern areas, converting former non fans, and generally bringing country music into the mainstream. Perhaps the best known of these are singer songwriters Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. These two blond Southern beauties have become household names. Carrie Underwood first gained her fame for winning the fourth season of hit television series American Idol, and has since become a multi platinum selling record artist, and winner of countless other honors and awards. Taylor Swift, idol to both the preteen and teenaged female crowd everywhere, is perhaps the best known country star to those largely unfamiliar with the genre. She is perhaps best known for her own unique blend of genres and talent for style mixing, producing a brand of "country pop" that combines "countrypolitan" sounds with traditional soft rock, thus making her take on "country music" more widely accessible.
So while country music may always be a staple of the South - and rightfully so, given the genre's original birthplace - it is impossible to deny that this particular style of music is slowly but surely gaining popularity throughout the rest of the United States as well, and given the wild popularity of such stars as Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Swift, perhaps even the rest of the world. International recognition is not such a distant concept for these stars, who indeed have fans in such far reaching corners of the world as Australia, the United Kingdom, and even a number of non English speaking countries.