Company News · June 10, 2008

From Top 40 To Country (With Irony)

By sross

Two years ago, Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles’ “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” became a surprise Country chart No. 1. When word began circulating that Bob Seger was going to work a new record to Country as well, the consumer press articles began coming about Country as a haven for Classic Rock artists, particularly those who were unlikely to get significant airplay on a new release elsewhere.
That haven didn’t quite materialize. Seger’s “Wait For Me” never charted. John Mellencamp’s “Our Country,” even with massive TV commercial support, only got to No. 40. The Eagles’ “How Long” raced up the charts in its initial weeks, then stalled at No. 21, despite a major sales story, while the follow-up, “Busy Being Fabulous” got only to No. 31. And the next Bon Jovi project, initially reported to be a Country album, was instead only Country-flavored and the two singles from it got to No. 37 and No. 47.
The Country/Classic Rock career route has proved as challenging as the Country/Classic Rock hybrid format that stations continue to try (and then evolve away from) after two decades. Sonically, the compatibility of ’70s/’80s Classic Rock and today’s Country have never been in question. The Country/Classic Rock hybrid format itself has been hampered by a paucity of hit product, new and old. And Country radio seems eager to have something that sounds like a new Eagles record — they’re just happier when it comes from, say, Rascal Flatts, whose “Winner At A Losing Game” was a pretty good channeling of a Glenn Frey ballad.
So it makes sense that while the 40-year-migration of Top 40 artists to Country continues, it actually turned out to be a trio of mid-’90s pop artists who have materialized with recent Country chart singles: Jewel, Hootie & the Blowfish’s Darius Rucker, and Jessica Simpson. Jewel’s “Stronger Woman” recently peaked at No. 11. Rucker’s “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” is No. 27 on the new Country chart, while Simpson’s “Come On Over” jumps 47-39. All three have achieved fast initial traction at a time when debut singles from new Country artists typically require three months of set-up and then take six months to scale the charts.
There’s something logical but also a little meta about all this. In the early ’90s, much of Country’s appeal was being the only place to hear new, acoustic-flavored music in the ’70s Classic Hits/Classic Rock tradition – most notably, Garth Brooks’ ability to channel James Taylor on records and Kiss onstage. But by the mid-’90s, the Top 40/Modern AC side suddenly had its own acoustic ’70s-influenced hitmakers, particularly Hootie and Jewel. (If Sheryl Crow had actually delivered a Country album as once expected, it would have been perfect symmetry.) In other words, Country, instead of just adapting Classic Rock to its own ends, is now adopting the artists who took the Classic Hits sound back from Country. Got that?
Another irony: the artists who are making their way over aren’t necessarily doing so because their sound is unwelcome at Top 40 or Hot AC radio. Jewel, in particular, should ask Colbie Caillat for royalties as acoustic folk-pop resurfaces after many years of Rhythmic domination. Jessica Simpson, meanwhile, did pretty well not-so-long-ago as the bridge between ’90s teen pop and today’s version. But even then, the success of “With You” was hard-fought and there’s a lot of competition in her Rhythmic pop category now.
So it’s hard for an artist with nine to 14 years of history at Top 40 to get a fair hearing at that format. By comparison, it’s a lot easier for those artists to show up at Country than it is for, say, a Classic Rock artist in his late 50s or early 60s. And like the American Idol/Nashville Star alumni who also populate the Country charts at the moment, those artists are able to circumvent the lengthy set-up process, if only because of their familiarity among Country PDs, many of whom made their own move from Top 40 radio over the last decade.
At a different time, there would have been a certain amount of hand-wringing over the infusion of so many former pop acts. There is, seemingly, little this time. As Billboard’s Wade Jessen notes, Nashville — finally suffering from the same sales slump as everybody else — is less likely to turn its back on any potential new infusion of energy. Besides, the pop/Country continuum gets more confused all the time: these days, a wisdom-of-the-rustics lyric like “International Harvester” is the one most likely to be buttressed by power-chords. In a world where Country has incorporated Hip-Hop elements for several years, there may not be a lot of purists left.
In fact, the new pop-to-Country crossover acts are more conscious of making Country-sounding records than some Country-only acts. The Rucker album reportedly underwent some retooling for being too Country at first. And the intro of “Come On Over” has some traditional touches (in between the power-chords) that wouldn’t have been out of place on any uptempo ’70s Country hit.
That said, even when pop-to-Country crossover acts work hard to fit in, or write with established Country songwriters, there’s still a different quality to their records. “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” was one more of the format’s multitude of hits about home and hearth and yet it felt stronger, or perhaps just different, from much of its competition. Rucker has made no secret of his admiration for ’80s Country/Rock pioneers Foster & Lloyd and there’s a certain throwback in all these records to the late ’80s where a first round of rock-flavored acts like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Desert Rose Band, Kentucky Headhunters, and Foster & Lloyd were just about to have their sound codified into the slicker version that propelled the format in the early ’90s.
On the Top 40 side, the fast acceptance of the format’s refugees at Country should reinforce the need to maintain a stylistic balance, and perhaps the importance of not relinquishing custody of the acoustic sound. For all the recent surprise hits like Caillat’s “Bubbly” or Sara Bareilles’ “Love Song,” the Top 10 at CHR this week is still all Rhythmic pop. If the Jessica Simpson record becomes big enough at Country, crazier things could happen than for certain Top 40s to play it.
Besides their infusion of energy, one hopes that the quick traction of Jewel, Jessica and Darius might spur Country PDs to rethink just how long Country records by new artists really need to break. You can argue that the voices might be more familiar, but the real difference between a crossover artist (or an American Idol contestant) and any other new act is how quickly Country PDs become comfortable with them. (The potential downside is that fast-breaking songs go through the callout buzzsaw sooner, which ultimately hurt Jewel.)
As for the Country labels, the new transition artists are indeed providing a welcome infusion of energy. But you worry that former pop artists (or TV contestants) could be mistaken for a long-term A&R strategy. Ultimately, Country also needs its artists who look forward as well as back and sound like nothing we’ve ever heard on the radio.

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