Suddenly '70s: 'Countrypolitan' Re-Emerges

Billboard reports artists from other genres are seemingly working with country acts in greater numbers than ever, and a flurry of activity surrounding the past weekend underscored the trend:

• Gabby Barrett unveiled an alternate version of "I Hope" featuring pop singer-songwriter-producer Charlie Puth on April 17.
• EDM artist Diplo issued a collaboration with Blanco Brown, "Do Si Do," on April 17 while announcing the May 29 release of a country-themed album, Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil, featuring Cam, Zac Brown, Danielle Bradbery and Thomas Rhett.
• Maren Morris and Hozier teamed on April 18 for an online performance of "The Bones" during the Global Citizen One World: Together at Home concert special.
• Kelsea Ballerini and Halsey officially asked for adds from country radio on April 20 for a new single, "the other girl."

The trend is more intense atop the Country Airplay charts. The Puth collaboration enhances Barrett's No. 1 single; Blake Shelton and pop/rock vocalist Gwen Stefani rank No. 2 with "Nobody But You"; Brett Young, who is at No. 3 with "Catch," is simultaneously working "I Do," a tech-driven duet with European pop singer Astrid S; and Morgan Wallen, whose "Chasin' You" is No. 4, already has snagged a gold single from the RIAA for "Heartless," which is featured on that forthcoming Diplo album.

Perceptions of country's limitations have changed greatly in the 21st century, as documented in the 18-year-old CMT Crossroads series. Most of the series' early pairings — such as Hank Williams Jr. and Kid Rock, Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow or Brooks & Dunn and ZZ Top — were easily explained.

Some of the more recent editions — Chris Young and Gavin DeGraw, Luke Combs and Leon Bridges or Kacey Musgraves and Katy Perry — have been less obvious and frequently more satisfying.

"Because the genre has expanded and is as big as it is right now, it has opened up a lot of doors to a lot of different artists and different genres that want to come in and do these [episodes] with our artists," says CMT vp music and event production Margaret Comeaux.

CMT is not the only network that has aided the shift in collaborations. The music contests — led by NBC's The Voice and ABC's American Idol — have provided country more primetime exposure than it has received in decades, and it has made it easier for the genre's artists to find common ground with their non-country peers. Cross-genre pairings enhance the marketing opportunity that TV provides.

Country traditionalists have historically tried to discourage their artists from these sorts of collaborations, though plenty of crossover pairings have worked in previous eras, including Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias, Alabama and Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton, and Earl Thomas Conley and Bonnie Pointer. Ballerini and Brown have both felt the sting of hardcore dissent, though it's not nearly as prominent as it once was.

In fact, media strategist Mark Ramsey unveiled a study during the Country Radio Seminar in February indicating that while country programmers believe their listeners want fewer cross-genre collaborations, the fans themselves actually would like to hear more. Program directors, it seems, expected pushback from fans when Bebe Rexha or Backstreet Boys showed up on their stations. But the fact that they were accompanied by Florida Georgia Line made it OK.

But country radio is often not the driver when its artists seek alliances outside the genre. Singles frequently take 35-40 weeks to complete their chart run on Country Airplay. While those songs advance slowly, avid fans want more music from their favorite artists. They're able to find it through other platforms, and those platforms are less concerned with idiomatic constraints.

"Streaming makes it so you can release these one-off collabs outside of an album, where it might not fit as well with the other album tracks," says Legend. "Streaming frees up artists to experiment with different release timing, new combinations, etc. And streaming also gives our audience more freedom to try new things."