Back in my senior year of high school, popular singer-songwriter and southern hero Toby Keith released a song titled "Red Solo Cup" in which he proclaims and personifies his friendship with your standard plastic red solo cup. It transcended the country music genre in 2011 and became a mainstream party hit, leading to a movement that's recently begun sweeping the nation: bro country, also known colloquially as pop country. This new sub genre has received polar criticism, with very little grey area. It seems as though everyone either loves or hates it, and while most of these bands write some pretty catchy jams, it has recently come to light just how one-dimensional they really are.
Let us examine just what it is that makes bands like Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Chase Rice, and numerous others joining in on this lucrative bandwagon, popular.
There is a pretty well known recipe to make a successful bro country summertime tune. The template has become the path more traveled in recent months, and includes your five basic lyrical components: fast cars, lifted trucks, beautiful women, tailgating/drinking, and basically just having a good time all around. Mention at least one of these, and you have your typical country song, but mention all five and you've now somehow someway got an instant hit that women will lose their voices screaming the lyrics of. Because of this, many of the more popular songs that receive substantial playtime on the radio all seem to start to blend together, and in many cases repeat each other's statements, oftentimes word for word.
A prime example of this, for those who need further convincing, or for those who don't listen to country on the radio, is how well parts of these songs can flow into parts of others, in terms of tempo, key, and melody. The YouTube channel Sir Mashalot released a remixed version that synced together six completely separate but very popular songs, and not only is it amazing how fluid they are stringed together, but it showcases just how repetitive the songs' lyrics have become.
Negative critics of the genre have begun to notice that many of these songs have crossed over into mainstream rock so much that it can be difficult to label as country at all. I have even heard on several separate occasions friends stating their dislike of modern country because of the lack of original content. The noticeable absence of twangy banjos and deep southern roots that was all too present in classic country has more or less reached its expiration date, and what we now see is artists relying more heavily on rhythmic, harmonious, electric guitar driven melodies, and emotionally built up choruses that you catch yourself humming hours later.
One argument that could be made is that this is a product of the changing times and music's rate of progression every year. I was not always a fan of country myself, and now that some people are declaring this pop country explosion a completely new genre, I still cannot say I am for sure. What I like more is the atmosphere presented by these new-age artists; if I was a wealthier person, I would definitely find myself at more of these concerts, because from what I've heard they are truly an experience to be had. From the tailgating to the gorgeous women, what else could you ask for?
No one can say for sure if bro country will continue to top Billboard or for how long, but it probably will, at least until the number of ways to talk about how much you love tailgating and southern women runs dry. If you call yourself a country fan, you'd better get used to it because this is what it has become. I will continue to groove to some Blake Shelton and FGL whenever I'm in my car on a warm night, until something better comes out.
