My Top 12 Artists of the Year: Part 1

 Well, it's that time of year when blogs and country sites all over create lists just like this one. I always enjoy reading these lists because it's interesting to see who people choose and why. I'll be honest. When I decided to make my own list, there were some artists who came to mind instantly. But choosing the rest was very hard for me. I didn't base this on numbers or sales or anything like that. Rather, I tried to think of which artists interested me the most this year. Which ones stood out among all the others and why. In doing so I realized that a lot of artists impressed me this year. Some of whom it almost pains me not to include. But there could only be twelve. There will be artists that you may be surprised to see on here and some who you'll be surprised to not see on here. Some of which surprised me when I chose or didn't choose them.

So who made the cut? Well keep on reading to find out. Including some of my pictures in here because why not? That said, you'll note that there won't be pictures of some of them and that's just because I don't have pictures of all of them.

#12) Gloriana. This choice was one of the surprises for me. Probably the biggest. You see, I didn't become a fan of theirs until this year. I did like their song "Wild At Heart", but there was just something about them that didn't work for me. But then last year something happened that came as a huge shock to the majority of Gloriana and their fans - Cheyenne Kimball quit the group. Rumor had it that she didn't bother showing up for the bus call after one of their shows. And then a tweet from her announcing that she was leaving the band. Now, this is the kind of thing that can kill a group, but in this case it didn't. The remaining members, brothers Mike and Tom Gossin and Rachel Reinert decided to stay together as a trio. A decision that has proven to be a great one. In losing a member they've found themselves. They've become who they need to be and they've found their sound. And it's good. Really good.

Taken on April 21st, 2012

Taken on May 12th, 2012

#11) Love and Theft. Yeah, so some of what I said about Gloriana applies guys as well. They too lost a member, though in their case they went from being a trio to being a duo. This happened in 2011 when Brian Bandas decided to leave the group. So they were down a member and without a record label, after the label they had been on closed the year before. Two pretty significant blows in a relatively short amount of time. But instead of calling it a day, remaining members Eric Gunderson and Stephen Barker Liles chose to stay together. Luckily for them and their fans, RCA Nashville - part of the Sony Music Group - saw their potential and signed them. They released their first single as a duo in later 2011 and it went all the way to #1. I'm of course talking about "Angel Eyes". Now they've released their second single, "Runnin' Out of Air", which seems to be gaining momentum. Especially with the release of the video. Things are looking good for Eric and Stephen these days. I liked Love and Theft as a trio; I love them as a duo.





#10) Rascal Flatts. I, like countless other Rascal Flatts fans, was stunned when it came out that they almost broke up about two years or so ago. They'd celebrated ten years as a band and things were looking pretty bleak. The label they'd been on for their entire careers was closing, part of the same label group that Love and Theft had been a part of. They'd been sued by a former manager of theirs and just didn't know if they had any music left in them. Luckily for their fans, they decided that they still had some music left in them. And not just music, but what I'd consider to be their best music to date. And as someone who has loved them since "Prayin' for Daylight" came out back in 2000, that's saying something. It's like new life has been breathed into them and they are sounding better and fresher than ever. Earning them a much deserved spot on my list.

Taken on July 25th, 2012

#9) Lee Brice. I will never understand why it took so long for Lee Brice to catch on. He's been around for about six years now, but up until the past year and a half or so he's been struggling to be heard. Things began to change when he released "Love Like Crazy", which was Billboard's Top Country Song of 2010. A song that stayed on the charts for about 56 weeks. It didn't make it to #1 though; it got close, getting as far as #3, but he wouldn't have his first #1 until he released the debut single  "A Woman Like You". He followed that with another #1 with "Hard to Love". Both off of his second CD, Hard 2 Love. Lee just released the third single off of that album, the highly emotional "I Drive You Song". A song that seems destined to follow the path of the two before it and go all the way to the top. This is one of the best new songs out there, one that I consider to be Song of the Year worthy. It's that good. People have finally caught on to Lee Brice and that makes me very happy. He has great songs and is probably one of the best entertainers in country music right now. He doesn't just walk onto a stage; he explodes onto it like the headliner he's destined to be someday. Not to mention that I consider him to be one of the best male vocalists in the genre. I'd love to see him start getting some nominations. He deserves them and all of the success he's been having lately.

Taken on October 18th, 2011

Taken on August 6th, 2011

#8) Jake Owen. To say that 2012 was a good year for Jake would be an understatement. A vast one. And actually, 2011 wasn't too bad for him either. He did earn both his first #1 with "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" after all. His next single, "Alone with You", became his second #1 in March 2012. The rest of 2012 seemed to be full of one highlight after another from that point on. He got married in May and became the father to a baby girl on Thanksgiving Day, which just so happened to be the same week that he earned his third straight #1 with "The One That Got Away". Not a bad week for the boy, wouldn't you say? He headlined CMT on Tour in 2012, selling out the most consecutive venues of the tour of all of the artists who have headlined said tour. And as if that wasn't enough, he was voted Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2012 American Country Awards (the ACAs). Yes, 2012 was very good for Jake Owen indeed. 

Taken on October 25th, 2011

Taken on September 14th, 2010

#7) Little Big Town. Ending out the first part of this countdown with who I believe is one of the best vocal groups of our time. I talk about my love for this group a lot on here, as you may have noticed. And I usually sum up their current amount of success in one word: finally. In 2012 they finally had a song go all the way to #1. Who knew it'd be a song about a boat that would do it? "Pontoon" was the song of the summer and voted Single of the Year at the CMAs this year. They went on to become Vocal Group of the Year that night, their first win in that category. A win that was, in my opinion, long overdue. Their harmonies are some of the best I've ever heard. I say this a lot about them, but I really hope that the people who are just now becoming fans of theirs go back and check out their earlier albums. There's not a bad one in the bunch and I'd say that their harmonies are much more prevalent on some of those than they are on Tornado. Namely A Place to Land, which remains my favorite album of theirs. They're following the success of "Pontoon" with the title track of Tornado and it would not surprise me if "Tornado" becomes their second #1. it's taken 13 years for Jimi, Karen, Kimberly and Phillip to get to where they are. It hasn't been easy for them, but they hung in there and didn't give up. They've earned every bit of their success and I can only hope that they have even more here in 2013.

Taken on June 23rd, 2012

And we've officially reached the halfway point of this countdown! I'm hoping to have part two up in a couple of days, but I'm not making any promises. This is coming way later than I intended for it to, but better late than never right? I will still be doing my favorite albums of 2012 - it's been hard narrowing it down to only twelve! 2012 truly was a great year for country music and it looks like the same will be true for 2013. And speaking of 2013, be on the lookout for my thirteen artists to watch in 2013. Focusing on new artists and those on the lower end of the mid-level. If you would like to "nominate" any particular artist, you can do so in  a comment below. Or wherever you want, really. Facebook, twitter, what have you. I'm also interested in who your top artists of 2012 were and why. Along with your guesses as to who I'll be including in part two of this countdown. Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while can probably easily guess about half of the people left. And there might be a couple of surprises too.

Meanwhile, I didn't get around to doing a post that day but this blog is officially over a year old. My first post was on January 6th, 2012 and in that time I've had just over 9,500 hits. Which I think is pretty amazing! There's so many fantastic country blogs out there and mine is what I call a baby blog. On account that it's still so new and small compared to most of the others out there. I really wasn't sure what to expect in my first year of blogging. You spend so much time writing and then you hit publish and hope it gets a few hits. Well, I've had over 9,500. I think I can safely say I didn't expect to get so many in a year. Not bad for a baby blog! This past year I've been lucky enough to have a few artists respond to some of my reviews or share them with their fans and followers, I've even had a couple ask me to write about them. I conducted my first interview this year, with up and comer Shane Morgan - something I never saw myself doing. It's been a pretty cool year for me with this blog.

And so I want to thank you. YOU, the person reading this right now. Thanks for taking the time to read it, whether you agree with me or not. Thank you to all the people who RT my posts on twitter, who share them on Facebook or wherever. Thank you to everyone who has ever left a comment. To anyone who ever will leave a comment. Thanks to those of you who read everything I write and to those of you who have subscribed. Thank you for a good first year. Here's to a good second one!