Country music consumers need to stop.
Currently, the Country music fan base/industry has decided to try and start a war between who is the best/most popular/number one in the genre right now. This is unnecessary, childish, irrelevant, and only divisive. So, stop it.
Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, and Zach Bryan all only have the following single thing in common: they released too much music in one small time frame. Other than this, they should not be compared. Each artist has their own very passionate fan base, and these super passionate fans rarely overlap into the other artists’ super passionate fan base; however, just like in a Ven diagram (Kamala Harris’ favorite thing to talk about) some fans do overlap. The fans that overlap would be the general Country fan/consumer that appreciates a variety of musical styles and artists. The industry and those specific passionate fans think it is necessary to have an irrational war between the stated artists.
First off, this debate is acting like they are crowning a new king of Country music when we all know George Straight is the forever and always king, so no real title is even being earned.
Secondly, comparing these artists is like comparing penguins and french fries. It cannot be done! (everyone definitely thought I was going to say apples and oranges)
The following is a description of the lane each artist has carved out for themselves to describe why they should not be compared.
Morgan Wallen: He is the perfect mix of everything the largest demographic of music consumers wants.
• He has an R&B appeal to some of his music
• He is a fun Country artist that isn’t too “country”
• He never makes music that is too serious
• He is a regular guy just casually living his life
• He is in an age range that appeals to most music consumers
• His songs are easy to sing to
• The content in his songs is general enough for most people to relate to
He is “general” enough in most areas that it draws in a crowd from most demographics. Think of him as a male Taylor Swift (people will either love this comparison or hate it). I am not saying they are exactly alike, but these two artists have managed to take over the modern music scene like no one else. Morgan Wallen isn’t specifically trying to be anything, which is why he has gotten as large of an audience as he has (as stated in one of my previous blogs, this could, however, also eventually be his downfall).
His audience is composed of young adults who are general music fans and enjoy listening to most genres. His audience is vast and is not one specific type of person.
Luke Combs: He is a modern Country artist that really stays true to the genre but is able to bring Country music into present day.
Luke Combs is a storyteller, song writer, and has a voice that brings to life his songs. These are all classic traits of genuine Country artists throughout time. Male Country artists had gotten caught up in the bro-country phase for a while, but Luke Combs was able to bring it back home while still keeping it modern. Country music needed him at the exact time he emerged so that the genre didn’t veer too far off track. He is good for the genre and has made actual Country music a little more popular than it was before.
His audience is composed of a larger age range that does mainly consist of Country fans, but it also draws in some general music fans also. I would say the main difference between Combs and Wallen is that Wallen splits his fan base between legit Countryfans and general music fans, while Combs has a larger percentage of dedicated Country fans while also bringing in some older generations who might have lost hope in the genre. Combs is also what the industry would probably prefer as its top mainstream Country artist.
Zach Bryan: He is hard to be put into a category……but that’s the exact category he wants to be in.
Zach Bryan does everything in his power to not be labeled; however, the world likes to categorize for the sole purpose of mental organization, so just let it go. (I read a comment on a post about Zach Bryan that said “Zach Bryan uses Twitter like an overly dramatic 9-year-old girl” and it could not be more true)
His music is made for the person who doesn’t want to fit in, the person who thinks mainstream Country isn’t “country” anymore, for the person that wants to space out to very abstract lyrics, and for the person who has the desire to be nothing other than just themselves.
Zach Bryan makes music for literally one reason, and it’s because he can. He has carved out his lane for listeners of every type of person that connect with his songs for any number of reasons. His songs are extremely different than any mainstream Country artists’, and that is part of his brand. People love an underdog that challenges the system, and that is exactly who he is. (shoutout to him for single handedly trying to take down Ticketmaster, someone had to)
Zach Bryan sets himself apart by not being part of the establishment, writing in a more foreign style, and composing his songs differently. It is worth mentioning though that he is not the first artist to do this. Tyler Childers is my personal favorite in this sub-genre of Country.
Morgan Wallen: wide general audience consisting of most music listeners
Luke Combs: solid Country artist keeping the genre alive and bringing in new fans
Zach Bryan: anti-establishment keeping it real and not “mainstream”
So, clearly, each of these artists have carved out their own lane that appeal to different fans; however, these fans will also overlap. With all this being said, the industry and extremely passionate fans of each artist should stop trying to compare them and stop trying to determine who is the “best”. No one is the best. They are all different and cannot be compared. I don’t even think it is acceptable to simply claim whoever has sold the most albums as the best (Morgan Wallen by far) because again, he has the biggest crossover reach. This means he has the largest general audience, not that he is the “best”. It is also worth noting that these artists all have their flaws. They are not the first of their kind or even doing anything new or innovative. They are simply the most popular right now.
I think people who listen to country music can appreciate all of these artists’ music but there is most definitely a favorite usually picked out of the three