I was just thinking about this list and thinking about all the great artists who didn't make the cut. And there's a lot! I keep saying it: 2012 was a very good year for country music. It seemed to be a year of artists discovering exactly who they're supposed to be, musically speaking. I get so excited when that happens. It just makes everything that much better. Finding and creating the music one is supposed to make increases their confidence. You can see it. They start seeming a lot more comfortable and in that, having more fun. 2012 was a great year for that. In saying that, it is my hope that those who found their sound keep it. And that the ones who are still looking, still trying to figure it out, find it. That's my hope for 2013. One of them anyhow.
Of course, now it's time to look back. But first it's time to make a change. See, I really wanted to keep this at 12 artists. 12 for 2012. I deliberated over my choices and had to make some tough cuts. There's some people I really wanted to include, but didn't because I decided that others deserved it just a little bit more. In most cases I was able to let it go. Most. Not all. There was one artist in particular that I felt bad for not picking. It's been bothering me since I cut him. Even making me feel oddly guilty - a feeling that was made worse when someone asked if he would be included. So, I've decided to give him an honorable mention. Because I really think he deserves it. Consider him to be lucky #13.
So who is it? Who gets the honorable mention? Well, here's some hints. He's tall. He's handsome. He likes women in black dresses. He's a Tennessee native. He has a great voice. I'm of course talking about...
Chris Young. I, like every Chris Young fan, was so excited when I found out that
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| Taken on November 5th, 2011 |
he was going to be headlining his first tour. This is such a big milestone for any artist and it was great to see him hit it. Not to mention the fact that the first show on said tour happened at the Mother Church of Country Music, the beautiful Ryman Auditorium. I was lucky enough to be able to attend that show and it was one of the best concerts I saw in 2012, one of my favorite concerts I've ever been to in fact. Chris has grown so much as an artist and an entertainer and it's paying off. I think aside from the music, the greatest thing about that show was how often Chris talked about how grateful he was to be where he is. I think he may have even apologized for talking so much, but I loved it. After years of struggling to get heard, he's been rewarded with multiple #1's, tons of new fans and has now established himself as a headliner. I couldn't be happier for him. So there you go. Lucky #13.
Now to pick up from where we left off. My next pick?
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| Taken on April 13th, 2012 |
#6) Thompson Square. There was no way I could've left Shawn and Keifer out. Not after the year they had. Their single "Glass" made it into the top twenty, which is a good thing. It deserved to go higher than it did, but that's another story. What made their year so special was the fact that the broke the duo code. If there's ever an award show category that tends to get stuck in ruts, it's the Duo of the Year category. It doesn't matter which award show you're talking about either. It's the same for all of them. The same people tend to win. And then the 2012 ACM's came around, back in April, and something wonderful happened: Thompson Square was named Duo of the Year. Not only was was it well deserved - they'd had a bigger year than any other duo and they'd spent over a decade paying their dues and waiting to make it. But the win added some long overdue new blood to the category. They would go on to win Duo Video of the Year at the CMT Awards for "I Got You" and then were named Duo of the Year at the CMA Awards. They've just released the debut single "If I Didn't Have You" off of their upcoming album, which will be released on March 26th. This is their fastest rising single to date and they're currently opening up for Luke Bryan on his first headlining tour. All things considered, it looks like 2013 is shaping up to be yet another wonderful year for Shawna and Keifer.
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| Taken on May 12th, 2012 |
#5) Carrie Underwood. It'd been about two and a half years since her last album when Carrie released her newest album, Blown Away, in May of 2012. She'd kind of laid low after her Play On tour, choosing to take her time creating what would become Blown Away. By far her best album to date in my opinion. An album that stretches who Carrie is as an artist, all while keeping a foot firmly in the country genre. Her Blown Away tour has been extremely successful thus far. Carrie is easily one of the best female vocalists in country music these days and it's been fun watching her grow into the artist she's become. She more than earned her spot on this list.
#4) Kellie Pickler. Okay, so I wonder if some people out there are surprised to see Kellie not only on the list but ranked this high. She didn't have the chart success as a lot of artists who didn't make the cut. But there was no way I could leave her out. For starters, 100 Proof was one of the best country albums released in 2012. And perhaps one of the most underrated. The fact that this album hasn't done better than it has is a shame. Kellie left Sony a few months after 100 Proof was released, an album that it sounds like she had to fight to make. She's thankfully now signed on with Black River Entertainment, but it's safe to say that 100 Proof is basically done as far as singles are concerned. And again: it's a shame. I sincerely hope that she keeps the wonderful traditional sound that she's found. It suits her perfectly and it's wonderful to have a female artist making that style of country music. Now, I loved 100 Proof enough to want to include her on this list, but her spot on this list has more to do with Kellie the person. As opposed to Kellie the country singer. Kellie made headlines in September when she, in an amazing show of love and friendship, shaved her head in support of her close friend Summer who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Proving that she is just as beautiful on the inside and she is on the outside. It was an incredible thing to do and it is why she comes in at #4.
Now. Here we are, about to enter the top three. From the moment I decided to make this list I knew exactly who my top three would be. There could be no others. It had to be these three. The problem was that I had no idea how I was going to rank them. A ongoing problem I've had with this group. See, these are some of my favorite artists and I'd say I love them pretty much equally. And can't even say how excited I was when it was announced that all three of them would be featured on a song on one of their albums. I have honestly never looked more forward to hearing a song in my life. Seriously. As you may have guessed, I'm talking about "The Only Way I Know" by Jason Aldean and featuring Luke Bryan and Eric Church. My top three. All three great artists who all have wonderful bands backing them up. Three of the biggest stars in country music these days. Starting with...
#3) Luke Bryan. I think it's safe to say that Luke's career isn't doing too badly. I mean, he was a big part of one of the biggest tours of the year. He had a few songs hit #1, got nominated for a bunch of awards and announced that he'd be going on his first headlining tour in 2013. The first leg of said tour being completely sold out with more dates released earlier this week. He was named one of CMT's Artists of the Year and as far as his nominations? Well, he walked away from the ACA's with nine awards. Yes, you read that correctly. He won nine awards in one night, winning everything he was up for. One of them being Artist of the Year. There was a lot of confusion surrounding his wins and I'd like to take a moment to address that. Seven of those awards were voted on by the fans.. The remaining two awards were radio awards, based on radio airplay and not on fan votes. No one really knew about the radio awards until after the fact and the format of the ACA's didn't help. It was a huge night, not only for Luke but for his fans at well. And I know this is about Luke, but I'd like to give his fans a shout out. The love his fans have for him is pretty wonderful. The fact that they could get him all seven of those fan voted awards is impressive. The support they give him is hard to beat and if that wasn't enough, they're overall one of the nicest fan groups I've ever been. I'm proud to be a member of Team Luke. To be a part of that group and to support Luke as an artist. 2012: the year in which Luke Bryan became a bona fide country music superstar.
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| Taken on July 10th, 2012 |
#2) Eric Church. Another artist who went out on his first headlining tour this year, Eric is one of the best live acts I've ever seen in my life. He's the type of artist I could listen to all night. I had the pleasure of seeing him three times this year. Twice on his headlining tour and once at the Grand Ole Opry and to say his live show is electric would be a huge understatement. I always leave his shows wishing he could have played for another hour or more. Once of the places I saw him was at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and that concert was the best concert I saw in 2012. And I saw some pretty incredible concerts in 2012! He has the best entrance in country music too, appearing from underneath the catwalk in a cloud of smoke with a single spotlight on him. Just him and his guitar. Singing "Country Music Jesus" and then the curtain around the main stage drops, the full lights come on and the band kicks in all at once. I love it. Eric Church: the Undertaker of country music. I've made that comparison before, but if you missed it I'm talking about the WWE (formerly WWF) wrestler the Undertaker. Look him up if you don't know him; you'll see what I mean. His
Chief album is one of the best albums I own, named Album of the Year at the CMAs in 2012. Meanwhile, "Springsteen" was one of the best songs released in 2012. A song that features one of my favorite lyrics of the year: "funny how a melody sounds like a memory".
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| Taken on October 26th, 2012 |
These days people are so quick to call people outlaws and more often than not it's used incorrectly. Being an outlaw, musically speaking, isn't about getting drunk and starting fights. Rather, it's choosing to make the music you want to make and doing so on your own terms. It's not caring about what other people think and daring to do something out there and different. It's putting yourself out there and saying that this is me, this is who I am and this is what I'm about. It's saying that this is the kind of music I make and you can take it or you can leave it, but I'm not changing either way. That's what being a musical outlaw is about and if you ask me, Eric Church is a true outlaw.
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| Taken on October 6th, 2012 |
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| Taken on October 6th, 2012 |
#1) Jason Aldean. Yeah, I probably wrote more about Jason than I did any other artist in 2012. Every single show on the My Kinda Party tour sold out. He set 40 venue attendance records, playing for over 1.9 million fans. Playing for more fans on that tour than Taylor Swift did on her world tour. Think about that for a moment. He sold out his first stadium show last year and was named Touring Artist of the Year at the ACAs and earned his tenth #1 with "Take a Little Ride". His
Night Train album was released in October and has already been certified platinum. His My Kinda Party featured new sets and new lights, adding all sorts of new bells and whistles while stepping up his game as a performer and entertainer. I still believe that he should have been named Entertainer of the Year at the CMAs, but that's another rant all together. If you like you can go read or reread my argument for why he deserved it
here. And if you're still in a reading mood you can also check out the post I wrote about his band
here. The bottom line is that Jason had a hugely successful year last year.
And there you have it! My top artists of 2012. I believe I said this in part one, but I took all of the pictures featured in these posts. I hope you enjoyed seeing them and I hope you enjoyed the countdown. I'd still love to hear who all of your favorite acts were in 2012, so please feel free to tell me. Thanks for reading!
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