When Country Music Television lined up its guests for a recent CMT Music Awards show, they may have been trying to bring in an audience other than country music fans. After the show, Twitter and Facebook exploded with disappointed fans. The lineup for the show included rapper Pitbull, pop singer-producer Pharrell, and pop girl group Fifth Harmony. Not exactly cowboy boots and guitars for this group of artists, who are talented in their own right but maybe not the best fit for CMT fans.
More than the artists CMT chose, some fans felt that country music, in general, has lost its way a bit. And it isn’t just fans who feel this way. Country music artist Jon Pardi is quick to agree with this sentiment.
“I think country music has gone a little bit far left of country,” Jon said to The Tennessean in an interview. “I think at a time being more traditional will be acceptable with all the modern stuff still going on. We’re all in this together. I love everybody who’s making their music and doing their thing. That’s the beautiful thing about country music. Everybody gets to do what they wanna do.”
Pardi recently released his new album, California Sunshine, which is a more traditional country than modern. The album’s debut single in 2016, “Head Over Boots,” quickly hit the Top 20 on both Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts. Watch Pardi’s music video for “Head Over Boots” below.
