Country Has Won Our Achy Breaky Hearts
Newsweek Europe|March 22, 2024
The genre has never been so popular-and with the likes of Beyoncé reminding fans of its roots, its mainstream appeal looks set to grow and grow
BILLIE SCHWAB DUNN
Country Has Won Our Achy Breaky Hearts

COUNTRY MUSIC IS ENJOYING A HUGE RESURgence and showing signs that it is becoming more inclusive.

With both Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey having announced that they're releasing country albums this year, and country songs regularly going viral on TikTok, the genre is more popular than ever.

Last month, Beyoncé revealed she would be dropping her album on March 29. A teaser clip was uploaded to her Instagram account before she released songs "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages." The Grammy winner went on to become the first Black female artist to achieve a number-one country song when "Texas Hold 'Em" debuted in the top spot.

Earlier, Del Rey had revealed that she too would be releasing a country LP, titled Lasso, in September. At a pre-Grammys event in January, she declared: "If you can't already tell by our award winners and our performers, the music business is going country. We're going country. It's happening."

Then, country music artist Kacey Musgraves revealed at the 2024 Grammy Awards that her eagerly awaited album, Deeper Well, would be available on March 15. The charts are also full of exciting new country and folk artists, including the likes of Noah Kahan, Lainey Wilson and Zach Bryan.

Newsweek contacted Beyoncé, Del Rey, Musgraves, Kahan and Wilson for comment via email on February 27. Bryan declined to comment.

Country music was one of 2023's fastest-growing streaming genres in the U.S., according to industry data firm Luminate, with on-demand audio streams exceeding 20 billion-a 23.7 percent increase over the prior year. It's safe to say that country music is taking over-but the genre isn't new, and it has an often-debated history.

Denne historien er fra March 22, 2024-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra March 22, 2024-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA NEWSWEEK EUROPESe alt
Falling for Romance
Newsweek Europe

Falling for Romance

A new book, Nora Ephron at the Movies, celebrates the writer/director best known for her iconic rom-coms and strong female characters

time-read
5 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Cracking the Norse Code
Newsweek Europe

Cracking the Norse Code

Walrus DNA has shown that Vikings were likely the first to have encountered Indigenous North Americans

time-read
4 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Monumental Shift
Newsweek Europe

Monumental Shift

The discovery of 165-million-year-old crystals Easter Island has upended the longheld notion of how the Earth's \"conveyor belt\" moves

time-read
6 mins  |
November 15, 2024
'OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC REFORMS ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN'
Newsweek Europe

'OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC REFORMS ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN'

It is a well-known fact across the globe that the North Korean regime is irrational and unpredictable, but we have been consistent in strengthening our defense posture against the threat from North Korea since the Korean War, and I believe that their conventional capability is much inferior to that of the Korean military.

time-read
10 mins  |
November 15, 2024
'They Read My Eulogy As I Lay in an Open Grave'
Newsweek Europe

'They Read My Eulogy As I Lay in an Open Grave'

Like Paris Hilton, Natasia Pelowski claims she was subjected to abuse at a teenage therapy program

time-read
3 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Russian Economy Faces 'Burnout'
Newsweek Europe

Russian Economy Faces 'Burnout'

Vladimir Putin admits difficulties” as the country’s key interest rate reaches a historic high

time-read
3 mins  |
November 15, 2024
China's 'Silent Chemical War'
Newsweek Europe

China's 'Silent Chemical War'

The U.S. must investigate Beijing's role in the manufacturing of fentanyl that is killing Americans, says one mom whose daughter died after accidentally taking the illicit substance

time-read
5 mins  |
November 15, 2024
HARSH HEADWINDS
Newsweek Europe

HARSH HEADWINDS

President Yoon Suk Yeol's BATTLE to reform a South Korea beset with structural problems under the specter of an increasingly aggressive neighbor to THE NORTH

time-read
7 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Bridget Everett
Newsweek Europe

Bridget Everett

BRIDGET EVERETT NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D BE THE LEAD OF A TV SHOW. \"I come from the downtown world in New York, a cabaret singer, and these things just don't happen, you don't find yourself with three seasons of HBO.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Amber Ruffin
Newsweek Europe

Amber Ruffin

A LATE-NIGHT COMEDY SHOW ON CNN? YES, and it's a game show, too.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 08, 2024