EssieCountry.com: Promoting and Recognizing Real Country Music of the 21st Century!
Essie Country's Real Country Music Song of the Week:
(For the week of 12-08-24 - 12-14-24)
If We Make it Through December by Cody Johnson
Real Country Music Song of the Week Archives
This website promotes real country music artists and songs that haven't gotten past the pop/hip-hop hijacking of today's country music. Excellent real country music talent and outstanding real country music songs like those listed on our webpage are not given a chance to become the real stars of country music and are, therefore, kept off the charts of Billboard’s Hot Country chart.
Read my thoughts about a song I first discovered on
the Billboard Hot Country Chart at number 17 on 10/22/24.
This song is a prime example of what is wrong with today's country music!
Whiskey Whiskey
by Moneybag Yo featuring Morgan Wallen
A little over 25 weeks ago, I created a website about real country music of the 21st century. Why? Because the pop and hip-hop genres have hijacked country music. Country music radio, Billboard’s Hot Country Charts, and the country music scene in general have become dominated by bogus so-called country artists and songs.
I recall reading a few years ago what one of the stars of today’s bogus country music charts, Sam Hunt, said about his music being classified as country. He said, and I’m paraphrasing, “I don’t know why they are calling me country, but if it sells, I don’t care what they call it.” At least he was honest.
Sam Hunt’s music is not country music! Neither is the music of Kane Brown, Shaboozey, Dasha, Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, and even Carrie Underwood, to name a few.
Does anyone really believe the current (as of 10/15/24) number one and number two songs on Billboard’s Hot Country Chart, A Bar Song by Shaboozey and I Had Some Help by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen, is country music? They are not! It’s country music malpractice!
I have nothing against any of the pop, hip-hop artists now dominating the country charts. It’s not their fault. Actually, I have liked some of the so-called country songs, just don’t call it country.
I get it! Pop, hip-hop country sells better than real country music. I don’t have a problem with that, but, damn it, get it off country music radio and Billboard’s Hot Country Charts because it “ain’t “ country music!
My goal in creating a real 21st-century country music website is to promote the talented, real country music artists and their music that are out there and being ignored by the country music industry.
I have spent many hours searching country music videos on YouTube and songs on Amazon for contemporary real country artists and music. I found plenty of talented real country music artists performing awesome country songs.
The executives, producers, and promoters in the country music industry have turned their backs on real country music artists and their music because of money.
I don’t have a problem with anyone making money. We live in a nation where capitalism, creativity, and hard work pay off. That’s great. I approve.
Use those same principles to create a new genre for pop and hip-hop music and take it off of country music radio and out of the country music scene and genre.
I named my real country music website Essie County. Why? Essie is my mom’s name, and I grew up listening to real country music. Because of her, I understand and appreciate real country music.
As of this writing and since the creation of Essie Country. Com, 25 real country songs have been selected for Essie Country’s real country song of the week.
Fortunately, those songs are now available on a YouTube playlist. That playlist is available on Essie Country. Com or by clicking on the link below.
If you want to listen to some of the best real country music available anywhere, I invite you to click the link below and enjoy.
I also invite you to visit Essie Country on the internet at essiecountry.com and explore what we offer concerning real country music of the 21st Century.
One of the items we offer on Essie Country is a list of the best country songs of every year since 2000. Check it out.
If you are still reading this promotion of real country music, Essie Country. Com, and my opinion about the current state of country music, thank you for your time. I’m not sure I would have made it this far. As you can tell, I am very compassionate about this issue, and I have much to say.
I hope that you will find your time well spent and rewarding as you listen to Essie Country’s playlist of real country music songs of the week (25) by clicking on the link below:
Playlist for Essie Country's Real Country Songs of the Week
It is said that money corrupts, and the country music industry (executives, producers, and radio station managers) has decided to include the admittedly more popular and better-selling pop/hip-hop fake country music in the country music genre. Billboard accepts the corruption of country music with fake pop/hip-hop country music and rewards that corruption by including the fake pop/hip-hop music in the Billboard Hot Country chart rankings. Therefore, real country music artists and songs are kept off the charts.
However, like the phoenix rising from the ashes of its past, country music has three talented real country music artists rising above the gauntlet of the pop/hip-hop country bias towards real country music artistry and songs.
Lainey Wilson, turned down seven times each by The Voice and American Idol because she was too country, recently won the 2024 Academy of Country Music’s (ACM) highest award, Entertainer of the Year. She also won ACM’s Female Vocalist of the Year. Way to go, Lainey! Take that American Idol and The Voice! A great American has said that success is revenge. Sweet revenge, I mean sweet success, Lainey!
After years of staying true to real country music, Cody Johnson received three nominations from the ACM. He was nominated for Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (Leather), and Song of the Year (the Painter). He may not have won any of those categories, but his presence with those nominations was a win for real country music. It's about time!
Scotty McCleery came from a small town in North Carolina and blew away the competition on American Idol. Since then, he has earned ACM, BMI, CMT, and NSAI music awards, including one Triple Platinum, five Platinum, three Gold-certified singles, and one Platinum and two Gold albums. Keep it up, Scotty. You are a true country superstar!
Because of their success in a world of pop/hip-hop fake country music, we are “proud as hell” of them. Therefore, we want to honor each of them with a playlist of their songs, even though they are no longer off the charts.
Lainey Wilson Cody Johnson Scotty McCreery
Playlists by EssieCountry.Com
Best Real Country Playlist (26 Songs)
EssieCountry.com's real Country Song of the Week playlist
EssieCountry.com's Real Country Music Playlist (over 50 songs)
EssieCountry.Com All Stars
Mo Pitney Playlist Catie Offerman Playlist
William Michael Morgan Playlist Thomas Mac Playlist
Bruce Leatherwood Playlist Jenna Paulette Playlist
Zach Top Playlist Randall King Playlist Dillion Carmichael Playlist
Will Banister Playlist Kalsey Kulyk Playlist Triston Marez Playlist
Off the Charts
By Gene Johns 4/14/24
The phrase “off the charts” usually refers to something that exceeds the normal limits or expectations, is better than most, is successful, and is accomplished. It generally means something very good. But that is not why I titled this essay “Off the Charts.” This essay is about how country music has been hijacked by today's country music executives, producers, and radio station programmers heavily influenced by the pop and hip-hop genres. As a result, leaving many outstanding real country music artists off the airplay list of country music radio station programmers and subsequently “off the charts.”
Before I continue with my "off the charts" commentary, I think defining pop and hip-hop music is important to clarify what I am talking about.
Pop music is a melting pot of styles and genres and appeals to a wide audience. As defined by musicgrotto.com, today's pop music will nearly always have a danceable rhythm or beat. It tends to have repeated choruses and hooks and is written in basic formats, such as verse-chorus-verse-chorus. Today's pop music often uses electronic instruments (techno music) such as drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers. Pop music borrows from and overlaps with rock, urban, dance, Latin, and country music. The simplest definition of pop music is music with a wide appeal and the largest audience.
Hip-hop music is a mélange of rhythmic tunes and rhyming words that articulate personal pain and is often accompanied by hand clapping or finger snapping. The most familiar aspect of Hip-Hop is rapping lyrics to a background of lively music.
Country music is a form of popular music originating in the rural southern US. It is traditionally a mixture of ballads and dance tunes played characteristically with the fiddle, guitar, steel guitar, drums, and keyboard. Traditional country music has a recognizable melody featuring the singer's vocal skills and a distinctive country sound. In the early years of country music, it also included western ballads, which resulted in the name Country and Western music. Sadly, western ballads are no longer included with country music, and the term country and western has been shortened to country.
A critical review and critique of the songs played today on country music radio and television will discover the heavy influence of pop, hip-hop, and techno music. Gone are the days of traditional country music with the sounds of the fiddle, steel guitar, or both, and an easily identifiable artist. Today's so-called country music artists reflect a hip-hop singing style with a pop sound that includes techno instrumentation.
I don't necessarily blame them. After all, it is a business, and the number one goal of business is to make money. I get it! Just don't use country music radio to promote your fake country crap! Create a new genre, call it Americana or perhaps even the obvious name, pop country; don't call it country. Develop a new radio network for pop hip-hop country and get out of country music radio and off the country music charts. Make country music country again!
As I mentioned, plenty of "real" country music artists continue producing outstanding "real" country music. You can find them on the internet or any music platforms, such as iTunes, IHeart, Spotify, and even Amazon!
The songs played on today's country music radio and television are shamelessly presented by the Academy of Country Music (ACM), Country Music Television (CMT), and the Country Music Association (CMA) as the best in the genre. Clearly, most of the music played on country music platforms, including awards presented by the ACM, the CMA, and CMT, is mislabeled as country music. It's only a matter of time before fake country artists and songs are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. It will be a sad day in country music history when that happens.
I will tell you that I like some songs and artists on today's country music radio, even though they are not real country singers or songs. It may surprise those who know me that I like other music besides real country music. I have a problem with calling those artists and songs country when clearly they are not.
I suppose one could say the success of Carrie Underwood after winning American Idol is off the charts. She was promoted as a new country music artist and exploded into the world of country music. In a relatively short time, she became a superstar in country music. Her style and selection of releases for airplay and promoting her artistry have produced (at the time of this writing) 16 number ones on the Billboard Country charts. Her popularity and success have earned her a net worth of over 140 million dollars. Not bad for a “country” girl from Muskogee, Oklahoma.
There is only one thing wrong with Carrie Underwood's success: apart from a few releases (Jesus, Take the Wheel, and Before He Cheats), her string of hits is mostly pop in style, not real country music artistry. The Pop and Hip-hop sound has hijacked country music, and Carrie Underwood has become the Queen of Hijacked Country.
Carrie has plenty of company in the takeover or (do I dare say) the insurrection of country music. Other fake country artists include Sam Hunt, Kane Brown, Chris Lane, and Dustin Lynch, to name a few. They and numerous other so-called country stars today have (paraphrasing Barack Obama) fundamentally changed country music. It makes me sick when I review today’s Billboard Top 40 Country. It’s full of fake country.
A few holdouts from real country music still chart on the Billboard Country Charts, such as Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson, Jon Pardi, Miranda Lambert, and a recent surprise, the very talented real country music artist Lainey Wilson. Please, Lainey, do not go the way of Carrie Underwood and drift over to the pop side.
I’m sure I have left out a few others off my list of real country music artists still managing to make the Billboard Country charts. I haven’t listened to county music radio in years because of the insurrection of country music by the pop and hip-hop takeover of the world of country music.
Scotty McCreery (an American Idol winner) has charted a few of his releases on the Billboard Country charts, but Scotty is too country for the lost world of country music on the radio. I think Scotty is an outstanding real country music talent and, in the world of real country music, is a superstar. Keep going, Scotty!
Over the years, I have discovered tons of real country music talent by searching YouTube and Amazon Music. I found Cody Johnson years ago on Amazon Music before his recent noteworthy hits like Human and Working Boots. In the years before the pop takeover, Cody would have been a huge country star. In today’s world of so-called country music, I think George Strait and Alan Jackson would have trouble even getting airplay on country music radio if they were starting their career today.
I won’t list all those great real country music artists I have discovered on YouTube and Amazon Music. Still, I want to highlight a few of my favorites: Will Banister, Randall King, Dillon Carmichael, Mo Pitney, Ashley McBryde & Carly Pearce, Mitch Russell, Kylie Frey, Kyle Jennings, Kyle Park, and the group Midland.
There are plenty of real country music artists that I did not name above. In the future, I plan on writing a new book about country music and listing all those real country music artists I discovered buried beneath the trash pile of pop, hip-hop country. In the meantime, I will continue to dig deep down into the fertile fields of the internet and enjoy real country music that is off the charts.
Please leave any comments or suggestions for all to see by clicking on the
Bulletin Board below or email the website creator by clicking on the email icon below :
Please return periodically to see updates and new developments.
Visitors since
April 21, 2024