Spotify Celebrates ’90s Country’s Resurgence Of Popularity With Gen Z

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Spotify has launched a campaign to celebrate one of the most iconic decades in country music: the 1990s.

According to unique user data from Spotify, U.S. streams of their ’90s Country playlist have grown 150% since 2018, and 70% among Gen Z users in that time. There are also currently 89 million playlists from Gen Z users containing ’90s country tracks. As many fans between 19-24 listen to Spotify’s ’90s Country playlist as fans over 45.

According to Spotify, albums from The Chicks (Wide Open Spaces and Fly); Shania Twain (Come On Over and The Woman In Me); Alan Jackson (Who I Am and A Lot About Livin’ (And A Little ‘Bout Love)); Tim McGraw (Everywhere); and George Strait (Strait Out Of The Box, Pure Country and Blue Clear Sky) are among the top 10 most popular ’90s country albums for Gen Z listeners. See more of Spotify’s ’90s country catalog data below.

To celebrate the renewed popularity of ’90s country, Spotify launched a creative campaign highlighting the staying power of the platform’s ’90s country catalog. The campaign includes three Spotify Singles from three ’90s babies: with Parker McCollum covering Strait’s “Carrying Your Love With Me,” Tenille Arts doing The Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces,” and Breland covering Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine.”

YouTube video

The campaign includes a ’90s Country Digital Experience that allows users take a short quiz to generate their top ’90s country albums as well as a personalized playlist.

Below is more ’90s country catalog data from Spotify:

Top 10 ’90s Country Albums With Listeners In The U.S. Overall:
1. Come On Over – Shania Twain
2. Down The Road I Go – Travis Tritt
3. Everywhere – Tim McGraw
4. The Woman In Me – Shania Twain
5. Fly – The Chicks
6. Out With A Bang – David Lee Murphy
7. Strait Out Of The Box – George Strait
8. A Lot About Livin’ (And A Little ‘Bout Love) – Alan Jackson
9. Wide Open Spaces – The Chicks
10. A Place In The Sun – Tim McGraw

Top 10 ’90s Country Albums With Gen Z Listeners In The U.S.:
1. Wide Open Spaces – The Chicks
2. Strait Out Of The Box – George Strait
3. Fly – The Chicks
4. Come On Over – Shania Twain
5. Pure Country – George Strait
6. A Lot About Livin’ (And A Little ‘Bout Love) – Alan Jackson
7. Everywhere – Tim McGraw
8. The Woman In Me – Shania Twain
9. Who I Am – Alan Jackson
10. Blue Clear Sky – George Strait

Top 5 Most-Shared ’90s Country Songs By Gen Z listeners:
1. “You’re Still The One” – Shania Twain
2. “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” – Shania Twain
3. “Amazed” – Lonestar
4. “Chattahoochee” – Alan Jackson
5. “Cowboy Take Me Away” – The Chicks

Most-Discovered (First-Time Listened To) 90s Country Songs In The US In The Past 3 Months:
1. “Something Like That” – Tim McGraw
2. “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” – Shania Twain
3. “Chattahoochee” – Alan Jackson
4. “Any Man Of Mine” – Shania Twain
5. “Amazed” – Lonestar
6. “Dust On The Bottle” – David Lee Murphy
7. “Strawberry Wine” – Deana Carter
8. “She’s In Love With The Boy” – Trisha Yearwood
9. “Independence Day” – Martina McBride
10. “Check Yes Or No” – George Strait

Most Discovered Artists in 2021 From The 90s Country Playlist:
1. Billy Dean
2. Alison Krauss & Union Station
3. Ricochet
4. John Anderson
5. Tracy Byrd

Lainey Wilson’s “Things A Man Oughta Know” Tops The Charts

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Lainey Wilson. Photo: Alex Berger

MusicRow’s 2021 Discovery Artist of the Year Lainey Wilson has topped the Mediabase and Billboard country chart with her breakout hit “Things A Man Oughta Know.”

Wilson is the first new solo female artist to accomplish this feat since Gabby Barrett went to the top with “I Hope” in April 2020. Written by Wilson, Jason Nix and Jonathan Singleton, “Things A Man Oughta Know” went No. 1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart on Aug. 13.

“It has been an incredible privilege to see firsthand how this song has impacted people. Thank you, country radio for believing in it, sharing it with the world and taking this thing to No. 1—this is a moment I’ve dreamed of my entire life—and to do it with a song that is all about good character is icing on the cake,” shares Wilson. “To my incredibly supportive team—thank you for always being by my side. I can’t wait to cry, celebrate and climb more mountains with you.”

The track has garnered more than 146 million on-demand streams and has spent several weeks in the Top 10 in country single sales. The single is also having international success, being certified Gold in Canada and reaching the Top 5 on Canadian country radio.

Wilson was also selected as an iHeartCountry On the Verge artist and was nominated for CMT Music Award’s Breakthrough Video of the Year in addition to being named the Opry NextStage artist for August. She is currently on the road on Jason Aldean’s “Back In The Saddle Tour” and working on new music.

Kelsea Ballerini Sets The Stage In Nashville On Jonas Brothers’ “Remember This” Tour

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Kelsea Ballerini. Photo: Catherine Powell

Last week, multi-Platinum songwriter and entertainer Kelsea Ballerini took the stage at the recently opened First Bank Amphitheater on the outskirts of Franklin, Tennessee as support on the Jonas Brothers‘ “Remember This” Tour.

The new boutique venue located at the Graystone Quarry in Thompson’s Station hosted its first event on Aug. 5 with Together: Feeding Nashville where a big topic of discussion was the issues related to traffic. After a handful of shows, the venue still has some of those issues with many concert-goers rolling in late to the first of the Jonas Brothers’ two-night stay.

Kelsea Ballerini. Photo: Catherine Powell

However, once on stage, Ballerini wowed the crowd with many of her No. 1s and fan-favorites, including her 2015 Platinum-certified single “Peter Pan” and her designated drinking song, “Hole In The Bottle.” She also performed her newest single “I Quit Drinking,” which features LANY frontman Paul Klein.

Dipping into the feelings of nostalgia that many of the attendees were experiencing from seeing one of the world’s favorite childhood boy bands, Ballerini shared part of a video she recorded in 2008 that explained her long-time admiration for the trio.

“[In this video] I’m gonna talk about five reasons why I love the Jonas Brothers,” the then pre-teen singer says, earning quite the reaction from the audience. “The first one is their passion for music. I made another video that talked about how we share that because I love to sing and I love to write songs, and they do too. I think it would be really awesome to meet someone who has that same passion that is living their dream out, and I think it would be really cool to talk to them about.”

Kelsea Ballerini. Photo: Catherine Powell

The now 28 year-old followed it up, saying: “So that’s me… If I could go back and tell 12 year-old Kelsea that on a Thursday night at this new, beautiful venue in Nashville freaking Tennessee that I would be able to stand on this stage and not only sing some songs of my own that people might know, but open up for the Jonas Brothers… I wouldn’t have believed it, y’all.”

She continued, “Judging by the fact that you’re here early and you’re standing up with t-shirts, signs, hoodies, and all kinds of things, I’m assuming you feel the same way about the Jonas Brothers as I do. That also means that a lot of us probably grew up on a lot of the same music, and we’re lucky because we got the good stuff.”

The 6x No. 1 singer then broke out into a string of early 2000s covers, including Taylor Swift’s “Teardrops On My Guitar,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway,” and “Lucky” by Britney Spears, before transitioning into her vulnerable, emotion-evoking “Homecoming Queen” which featured a booming chorus choir from the audience.

Ballerini also offered her powerful post-breakup track, “The Way I Used To,” before wrapping with “This Feeling,” her 2018 duet with EDM supergroup The Chainsmokers to which she offered a “secret” third verse for the special Nashville show.

Ballerini and the brothers will continue on to stops in Atlanta, Cincinnati, New York, Boston, Tampa, Dallas, and more before wrapping at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 27.

Kelsea Ballerini. Photo: Catherine Powell

Rhett Akins Leaps Into Top Five On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

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Rhett Akins

Rhett Akins makes a big leap from No. 12 to No. 5 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart this week. The soon-to-be-inducted Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame honoree is a co-writer on the currently charting songs “Tequila Little Time” (Jon Pardi) and “To Be Loved By You” (Parker McCollum).

Ashley Gorley maintains his position at No. 1 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart for the tenth consecutive week. He is a co-writer on “Beers On Me” (Dierks Bentley, Hardy & Breland), “Country Again” (Thomas Rhett), “Give Heaven Some Hell” (Hardy), “Sand In My Boots” (Morgan Wallen), “Steal My Love” (Dan + Shay) and “You Should Probably Leave” (Chris Stapleton).

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital download track sales and streams. This unique and exclusive addition to the MusicRow portfolio is the only songwriter chart of its kind.

Click here to view the full MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart.

Chris Stapleton Earns MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart No. 1

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Chris Stapleton. Photo: Becky Fluke

Chris Stapleton paves his way to No. 1 this week on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart with “You Should Probably Leave.” This single follows his two week No. 1. “Starting Over.”

“You Should Probably Leave” was written by Stapleton, Ashley Gorley, and Chris DuBois. It appears on his album Starting Over which was completed in February of 2020 just days before the shutdown.

Stapleton is currently touring the country with his All-American Road Show. The tour began in July and has dates lined up through June of 2022.

Click here to view the latest edition of The MusicRow Weekly containing the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart.

DISClaimer Single Reviews: Cody Johnson, Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde, Tylar Bryant

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Pictured (top row): Tylar Bryant, Cody Johnson; (bottom row): Carly Pearce, Ashley McBryde

Summer may be winding down, but the country stars are still cranking out plenty of sunshine.

In this week’s edition of DisClaimer, we have terrific tunes by Old Dominion, Sam Hunt, Mitchell Tenpenny & Chris Young, Walker Hayes, Kacey Musgraves and more. We have a tie in the race for the Disc of the Day award. I can’t decide between the sizzling Cody Johnson single and the scintillating duet by Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde. Honor them both with your spins.

One of the most noteworthy trends in country music during the past three years is the unprecedented explosion of Black artists in the genre. Country hopefuls Willie Jones, Chapel Hart, Breland, Karen McCormick, Ashlie Amber, Blanco Brown, Brittney Spencer, Tony Evans Jr., Camo Brian, Priscilla Renae, Shy Carter, Tiera, Kyshona, Charlie Crockett, Norman North, Wendy Moten, Reyna Roberts and Charles Gallaspy have joined an influx from the previous decade—Mickey Guyton, Jimmie Allen, Miko Marks, Simba Jordan, Vickie Vann, Kane Brown, Rissi Palmer, Kamara Thomas, Joy Styles, Tony Jackson, Rhonda Townes, Darius Rucker, Kaia Kater, Aaron Vance, Daniel Houze, Amber Gerard, John Amos and Erika Dunlap.

In this column, we add three more names to the list, Brei Carter, Danielia Cotton and our DISCovery Award winner, Tylar Bryant.

SAM HUNT / “23”
Writers: Sam Hunt/Shane McAnally/Josh Osborne/Chris LaCorte; Producer: Chris LaCorte; Label: MCA Nashville
— Wistful nostalgia for a youthful love. His warm, burnished delivery is enthralling, and the well-crafted lyric is a gem. Check out the acoustic version, too.

DANIELIA COTTON / “(I’m So) Afraid of Losing You Again”
Writers: Dallas Frazier/Doodle Owens; Producer: none listed; Label: DC
— This New Jersey native has dabbled in r&b and rock during the past 15 years. This country-soul tribute to Charley Pride finds her in excellent voice. She could use better production support on her revival of his 1969 classic.

WALKER HAYES & KESHA / “Fancy Like”
Writers: Walker Hayes/Cameron Bartolini/Shane Stevens/Josh Jenkins/Kesha; Producer: Walker Hayes, Shane McAnally & Joe Thibodeau; Label: Monument/RCA
— Nashville native popster Kesha adds her saucy verve to this Platinum-selling song of the summer. Melodically, it has nothing to do with country music. Lyrically, however, it’s a hillbilly delight. And the whole thing is still one nutty ear worm. If Ruby Tuesday, Ocharley’s, T.G.I. Friday, Chili’s, Logan’s or Zaxby’s pay to advertise on the radio station, don’t they object to giving free airtime to an Applebees commercial?

ADAM DOLEAC / “Somewhere Cool With You”
Writers: Adam Doleac/Josh Jenkins/Matt Jenkins/Jared Keim; Producer: Jared Keim; Label: Arista Nashville
— Adam was in the news this week when his sound-equipment trailer was stolen, then recovered. His new track yearns for a romantic getaway. Lulling and gentle, if not exactly memorable.

KACEY MUSGRAVES / “Justified”
Writers: Kacey Musgraves/Ian Fitchuk/Ilsey Juber/Brandon Joyner Burton; Producer: Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves & Daniel Tashian; Label: MCA Nashville/Interscope
— This sweet/sad heartbreak ballad has a spare, echoey production swirling around her tender soprano. Listenable, meandering and atmospheric. As light and lovey-dovey as Golden Hour was, the new LP Star-Crossed represents the darker side of love.

SAM WILLIAMS & DOLLY PARTON / “Happy All the Time”
Writers: Mary Gauthier/Sam Williams; Producer: Bobby Holland/Sean McConnell; Label: Mercury Nashville
— “Glasshouse Children,” the title tune of this guy’s debut album is a very slow dreamy ballad with strings. He picks up the pace a little on the collection’s collaborations with Keith Urban (”Kids”) or, in this case, Dolly. It’s still a ballad, but their voices brush against each other in a way that creates emotional intimacy and intensity. Sam is Hank Jr.’s boy—and the half brother of music makers Hank III, Hillary and Holly—but he is definitely his own man. Highly recommended.

BREI CARTER / “Gave Him a Girl”
Writers: Brei Carter/Mason Douglas/Jason Wyatt; Producer: none listed; Label: BC
— This Louisiana native is a PhD, the author of three books and a veteran Army officer. She’s also a feisty, sprightly country singer-songwriter. In this ditty, she flattens a bully with a right hook and announces that she can catch a bass, change a tire, skin a coon, drink, handle a gun and drive a tractor. Cute and catchy.

MITCHELL TENPENNY & CHRIS YOUNG / “At the End of a Bar”
Writers: Chris DeStefano/Chris Young/Mitchell Tenpenny; Producer: Chris Young/Chris DeStefano; Label: RCA Nashville
— Nobody sings a country song with as much power as Mr. Young, but Tenpenny gives it his all on this chesty, passionate, anthemic collaboration. These are two mighty worthy men.

CARLY PEARCE & ASHLEY McBRYDE / “Never Wanted to Be That Girl”
Writers: Carly Pearce/Ashley McBryde/Shane McAnally; Producer: Shane McAnally/Josh Osborne; Label: Big Machine/Warner
— In a word, sensational. The dobro-laced production, both women’s harmony voices, the story song, the swapped verses, the interwoven solo vocals …. everything works here. Ashley starts off, portraying the mistress. Carly picks up the tale, enacting the betrayed wife. They soar on the choruses together in dual heartache. For the love of country music, play this.

CODY JOHNSON / “Til You Can’t”
Writers: Ben Stennis/Matt Rogers; Producer: Trent Willmon; Label: Warner/COJO
— Cody has been delighting our ears by releasing track after track from his upcoming double album, Human (”Sad Songs and Waltzes,” “God Bless the Boy,” “Let’s Build a Fire,” etc). Now at last that collection has a single, and it is a dandy. It begins as a contemplative look at life and love, then evolves into a roaring barn burner about seizing today, living with gusto and chasing your dreams no matter how big. This is the sound of a superstar.

OLD DOMINION / “All I Know About Girls”
Writers: Shane McAnally/Josh Osborne/Trevor Joseph Rosen/Matthew Thomas Ramsey/Brad Francis Tursi/Whit Sellers/Geoffrey Sprung; Producer: Old Dominion/Shane McAnally; Label: Arista Nashville
— Softly jaunty and airy. The simplicity and open production of this are pleasantly ear-cleansing. As you might expect, the punch line is “I don’t know nothin’ at all.”

TYLAR BRYANT / “Stay Wild”
Writers: Bobby McLamb/Blaine Younger; Producer: Bryan Cole; Label: Riser
— No matter how work and life wear you down, remember to stay free and full of fire. Hang on for the processed-vocal chorus toward the finale. Engaging, energetic and promising.

Honorees Announced For 2021 ‘CMT Artists of the Year’

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Pictured (clockwise): Chris Stapleton, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini

CMT revealed the honorees for its 2021 CMT Artists Of The Year special, taking place on Oct. 13. The premier country artists to be celebrated are Chris Stapleton, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini and Luke Combs.

This year’s CMT Artists of the Year event will honor the top five country artists who, in the last 12 months, led across all CMT platforms, scored chart-topping albums and singles, and created ways to connect with fans and meet the personal and professional challenges posed by the pandemic.

Margaret Comeaux, Vice President, Production, CMT says: “’We are honored to recognize these five incredible artists who have entertained and inspired millions through their music this past year. We look forward to returning to the Schermerhorn with a live show as we celebrate the accomplishments of Chris, Kane, Kelsea, Gabby and Luke.”

The 90-minute CMT Artists Of The Year special will broadcast live from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. CT. Musical pairings, special guests, additional honorees, performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

Curb | Word Entertainment Ups Ciara Shortridge To Publishing VP Role

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Ciara Shortridge

Curb | Word Entertainment has promoted Ciara Shortridge to VP, Country Publishing/A&R. She will help oversee the creative operations of the country roster alongside VP, Country Publishing & Creative, Colt Murski.

Curb | Word Music Publishing has had recent success with chart-topping hits that include Dylan Scott’s “Nobody” and “My Girl,” Luke Bryan’s “Down To One,” Jimmie Allen’s “Make Me Want To,” Lee Brice’s “Rumor” and current hit “Memory I Don’t Mess With,” and many more.

Chairman Mike Curb shares, “We are proud to welcome Ciara as VP, Country Publishing/A&R and we appreciate the wonderful creative contributions she has already made to our company, including helping to lead us through the challenges of this COVID period in a positive way.”

Shortridge is a NY native and a graduate of the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business at Belmont University. She has been with the company since the beginning of 2020, and most recently served as Senior Creative Director. Prior to Curb, Shortridge spent 10 years at Disney Music Publishing Nashville.

“I am so thankful for this incredibly exciting opportunity to help lead our team and it’s deep-rooted legacy into its next chapter of successes!” says Shortridge. “Representing the company and roster in this new role is a very meaningful, full-circle season in my life.”

NOW ACCEPTING: Applications For MusicRow’s N.B.T. Music Industry Directory

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Applications are now open for the N.B.T. (Next Big Thing) Music Industry Directory, which will be featured in MusicRow‘s Touring/N.B.T. print issue which comes out on December 1.

MusicRow‘s N.B.T. Music Industry Directory is the first and only list of its kind, showcasing Nashville music business professionals who are rising through the ranks. This class of industry members occupy mid-level roles at their respective companies, and are on a trajectory of excellence to become future leaders in the Nashville music industry. Applicants should ideally have a minimum of 5 or more years experience in the music industry.

This Touring/N.B.T. print edition also includes the annual Next Big Thing artists listing, with editorial features focused on the touring segment of our industry.

To apply for inclusion in this year’s edition of the N.B.T. Music Industry Directory, please click here to access the application form. (Please note that not all submissions are guaranteed to be listed in the directory.)

Note: If you are submitting multiple candidates, you will need to click on SUBMIT at the bottom of the form before entering another candidate. Head shots can be sent to art@musicrow.com.

New submissions for the directory close on Friday, September 24, 2021. For questions, email lbcantrell@musicrow.com.

NSAI Virtually Honors 2021 Nashville Songwriter Awards Winners

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The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) has announced the winners of the 4th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards. The winners were honored by NSAI and presenting partner City National Bank through an online presentation this afternoon (Sept. 14).

The Song of the Year honor was awarded to Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby and Miranda Lambert for their song “Bluebird.” This hopeful tune was nominated for Song of the Year at the 54th CMA Awards, the 56th ACM Awards, and for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.

Ethan Hulse, a three-time Grammy nominated and Dove Award winning songwriter, was honored with Songwriter of the Year. Hulse, who wrote the recent Christian hits “Rescue Story,” “Stand In Your Love” and “The Father’s House,” also recently took home Songwriter of the Year at the BMI Christian Awards.

Country hitmaker Luke Combs was awarded with Songwriter-Artist of the Year. Combs achieved his eleventh consecutive No. 1 hit, “Forever After All,” this year and was recently revealed as a nominee for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year (“Forever After All”) for the upcoming 55th CMA Awards.

NSAI also honored many songwriters in the highly-coveted ’10 Songs I Wish I’d Written’ category, which are voted on by Professional Songwriter Members of NSAI honoring the work of their songwriter peers. Songs eligible for the award have at least one Nashville-based writer and charted in the Top 20 of Billboard Airplay chart in the Christian, country, mainstream top 40, and/or rock genres during the eligible period. The NSAI Song Of The Year is the highest vote-getter.

The ’10 Songs I Wish I’d Written’ winners include:

“7 Summers” – Written by: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Morgan Wallen

“Ain’t Always The Cowboy” – Written by: Brandon Kinney, Josh Thompson

“Chasin’ You” – Written by: Jamie Moore, Morgan Wallen, Craig Wiseman

“Die From A Broken Heart” – Written by: Taylor Dye, Maddie Marlow, Deric Ruttan, Jonathan Singleton

“Hell Of A View” – Written by: Casey Beathard, Eric Church, Monty Criswell

“I Called Mama” – Written by: Marv Green, Lance Miller, Jimmy Yeary

“I Hope” – Written by: Gabby Barrett, Zachary Kale, Jon Nite

“I Hope You’re Happy Now” – Written by: Luke Combs, Randy Montana, Carly Pearce, Jonathan Singleton

“One Night Standards” – Written by: Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde

“Starting Over” – Written by: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton

Viewers who missed the premiere have the opportunity to revisit the awards on the Bluebird Cafe’s official YouTube channel or NSAI’s official Facebook page.