Whatever gets people listening.
There’s obviously a lot of debate about the role Morgan Wallen plays in country music. He’s undeniably one of the biggest artists in the world, in any genre, so for country music to be able to claim him as one of its own is a pretty big feather in its cap that helps make country music “cool” for new listeners to get into.
But longtime country fans, and fans of more traditional country, often criticize (that’s a nice word for “outright hate”) him because a lot of his music leans more pop and rap.
There’s no doubt that he’s released some songs that lean more country, and anyone who denies it simply wants to hate him for their own moral superiority and isn’t worth debating. But he’s released plenty of songs that you’d be hard-pressed to find anything “country” about, and even more that I would say fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
Zach Top, on the other hand, is stone cold country.
For fans of actual country music, you’d be hard-pressed to find a new artist who’s carrying the banner more for traditional country than Zach. He’s likeable, authentic, and he actually includes fiddle and steel in his music.
But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t also see a role for Morgan Wallen in country music too.
During an appearance on the God’s Country podcast, Zach spoke about winning a Grammy award for Best Traditional Country Album. He believes, though, that what he’s making IS country music – and that it’s the others that should be given their own category:
“Just call mine country. Qualify the other stuff if you want. Make the contemporary country category, that’s fine.”
As for the “other stuff” though, Zach believes that’s what’s bringing new fans into the genre, and so he respects the role that those artists are playing in country music:
“I think it’s exciting that there’s a bunch of edgy stuff now – it’s not edgy, it is the mainstream, I guess I’m the one not in the mainstream. But there’s like there’s new stuff and innovation that happens in all genres of music. So, it’s exciting and it’s fun that it gets more people in the door to country music.
I don’t want this to sound bad but Morgan Wallen’s almost like a gateway drug to country music, cause from what I can see, people who love country music will go just as quickly to a Morgan Wallen show and then go to my show the next night and have a blast the whole time.
I’m a, come one, come all, if people are loving it and it’s working and fine and dandy and it’s getting more people in the door to country music.”
Zach is of course spot on here. While there are a vocal minority on social media who hate Morgan Wallen and won’t give him any credit for what he’s done for country music, there are many, many more fans who listen to both Morgan AND Zach Top – and plenty who listen to Zach because they discovered country music through Morgan.
I’m not saying I’m a huge Morgan Wallen fan, or that I would consider most of his stuff “country.” But like Zach, I don’t hate the role that he plays either, which has been to lead more fans to the good stuff – like Zach Top.
