It’s always intriguing to talk about the “what ifs” and “what could have been.”
Country music fans are actually doing that right now on the beautiful, online forum known as Reddit. I don’t know about you, but I love going to Reddit for reviews and advice on certain things (big emphasis on “certain”). The site acts as a great sounding board that often gives unfiltered, non-sponsored reviews on just about anything you could think of.
There’s one Reddit thread that’s been firing off the past couple of days about country music artists that seemed destined for greatness when they first burst onto the scene, and have since tailed off a bit. The discussion got started with this prompt, asking:
“Who are country artists you thought would be big, but never quite got there?”
The Redditor that posed the question included artists like Brett Eldredge, Travis Denning, and Maddie & Tae, among others. And it is a very interesting thought. Think back to hearing an artist for the very first time and being blown away by them. Are they an A-List headliner now? Or did they lost momentum at some point?
I always like to think of the old saying that was really pushed by my old elementary school. They always used to tell students, “Shoot for the moon, at the very worst, you’ll land among the stars.” Inspirational right? I think it can also be applied to this conversation.
None of these artists that are mentioned are bad by any stretch of the imagination. Let’s be clear. However, this Reddit thread did bring to light some names that really seemed like they were heading straight for the moon at some point, only to end up landing on a nearby star.
Check out some of the replies to the prompt below:
“Ashley McBryde and Midland… if you told me 5 years ago they’d be headlining arenas in 2025, I’d believe it. Instead, they both seem firmly established as B level acts.”
“Josh Turner. At his peak he was a solid 1-A and had some #1’s and awards but with a voice like his he should’ve been THE GUY for country music.”
“Easton Corbin.”
“Man, after Kip Moore’s first album, he could have went through the stratosphere. I love Kip but it’s been a down hill trajectory since Up All Night.”
“Rodney Atkins had that one banger of an album and then kind of dropped off the face of the planet.”
“William Michael Morgan… figured he would be what Zach Top is right now.”
“Maddie and Tae. I think Maddie and Tae’s label went under after their first album or something like that.”
“Chris Young. So much of his stuff has an old country vibe and I can’t believe he’s just cruised in the lower-middle of the pack his entire career.”
“I thought Morgan Wade would be more popular than she is.”
“Brett Eldredge and Travis Denning. They had a couple songs that were played all the time on the radio but I don’t hear a lot of them anymore.”
“I thought Randall King would be bigger.”
So what do you think? Any names that you agreed with or disagreed with there? Did the Reddit Thread leave any out that are on the tip of your tongue?
Not every country artist can be a star, but there are certainly a lot of names mentioned above that sure seemed like they had the star power early on. And what happens to stall that momentum? That’s the thing that’s hard to put a finger on. Sometimes it’s a label change, and other times it just comes down to that introduction into the music world being the best of what an artist had to offer. But most of all, a lot of it is probably just… timing. One thing I do know is that this is going to be a great conversation starter at bars, and the question could really come in handy while sitting around the camp fire…
Chris Young’s first #1, “Gettin’ You Home,” is still fire… shame he ditched that cowboy hat and tried to ride the bro country train:
