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Is Rascal Flatts ‘Pop-Country’?

There’s been a definite transformation in the country music industry over the past decade, as traditional Hank Williams-type fiddle-and-steel-guitar bands and artists have taken the backseat to hot new (mostly young and beautiful) music acts with crossover pop appeal. Groups like Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban are some of the quintessential “contemporary country” music acts that are currently flooding the scene, but is this a bad thing for country music as older groups like Brooks & Dunn and Alan Jackson float to the background?

In a recent interview when asked about this shift in the industry, Carrie Underwood responded: “I hate saying pop-country – I hate using that.” She’s undoubtedly been put in the same category as Rascal Flatts, as the artists’ fan base and catchy hooks lead them to the same contemporary country genre of music, but if Underwood has been labeled “pop-country,” has Rascal Flatts, also? Take Flatts songs like “Summer Nights” and “Life Is a Highway,” for example. These would probably pass for pop songs had the trio not had a background in country music, but that doesn’t mean that Music City doesn’t love this group as one of its own, anyway. No matter what style of music Rascal Flatts has developed, the one sure thing is that this band has perfected its own tunes, as they are currently one of the hottest groups on the pop-country/contemporary country music scene right now - whatever you want to call it.

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