Justin Bieber… Country Artist? Really?

It seems to be happening more and more... country artists crossing over to pop, pop artists crossing over to country. Even Jason Aldean is rapping during his latest release, "Dirt Road Anthem". Think about it... Kelley Clarkson has signed with Reba McEntire's company... Kid Rock has had several songs on the country charts... even Uncle Kracker has made a name for himself in the country music world... not to mention the success of Darius Rucker, who has turned into a full fledged country music star. Heck, even Justin Bieber made waves in the country music world when he collaborated with Rascal Flatts on “That Should Be Me,” and appeared with them on the 2011 CMT Music Awards to accept the award for Collaborative Video of the Year. On the red carpet, he told CMT that he “loves” country music and now some fans are wondering if we’ll hear any country-inspired tunes on his next CD. MTV recently asked the teen pop-idol about his plans for a new album. He said he’s “writing a lot” and won’t “limit” himself on the next project. He also said, “I’ve done a lot on my acoustic guitar, so it’s gonna have that vibe.” No word yet on when Justin will finish or release a new album. (credit: CMT Daily Report, 6/27/11).

But remember, this door swings both ways.  The Janedear Girls are working on a project with Nick Jonas andLady Antebellum recently sat down with one of the finalists in Rolling Stone’s Do You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star? contest, Leila Broussard. Leila and Canadian-based band The Sheepdogs are the final two artists left in the competition which awards the winner with a contract with Atlantic Records and a spot on the cover of the August 18^th issue of Rolling Stone magazine. Lady A met with Leila and shared advice on everything from songwriting, to style and fame.

Seems like there's a lot of this sort of thing going on. It kind of reminds me of 1980 or so. Much the same sort of crossover was going on between country and pop music. Shortly after that, about 1981, George Strait came along. Hmmmm...