Lots of musicians from different genres are trying their hand at country music nowadays. This isn’t the first time the trend of going country has started, either. Plenty of pop artists and rock stars alike have tried going country, but many of them ended up missing the mark—more some than others. Let’s take a look back at a few non-country artists whose attempt at going country didn’t exactly go as planned.
1. Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler is widely known as the ultimate rock star persona. His time with Aerosmith has been incredible, and he has one of the most iconic voices in the rock and roll genre. At one point in 2016, Tyler tried to go country with the release of the solo album We’re All Somebody From Somewhere.
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Honestly, he didn’t do too badly with the album. However, it was not nearly as successful as his previous work with Aerosmith. Some fans weren’t vibing with how overproduced and mainstream the album sounded, especially after Tyler said he was trying to stick to an authentic country sound.
2. Ron Keel
Metal vocalist Ron Keel is known primarily for his work with the hard rock and heavy metal outfit Keel. The 1980s were definitely his heyday, though he ventured in the country direction with the formation of the band Iron Horse. Defined as a bluegrass band, Iron Horse is known for covering heavy metal songs with a Southern rock flair.
The concept was interesting but songs like “Dancing With The Devil” and “Let’s Ride” didn’t really do well in Nashville. Regardless, Keel continues to make country music today and its worth giving a listen to.
3. Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson was the it-girl of pop in the 2000s. It was a little surprising when she tried to switch to country music with the 2008 release Do You Know. Unfortunately for Simpson, the album flopped and was so negatively received by critics that she shelved a second country release and left her label.
The country industry is very different from the mainstream pop world, so it’s hard not to feel at least a little bad for Simpson.
4. Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper is a legendary pop icon known for hits like “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” and “True Colors”. Back in 2016, Lauper decided to experiment with a more honky-tonk sound with the release of Detour.
The album was basically a cover album of reimagined classics in Lauper’s signature style. Fans of the singer enjoyed it, but the mainstream country world didn’t really give it much attention.
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5. Brett Detar
The Juliana Theory kicked off during the post-grunge era of the late 1990s, led by Brett Detar and Joshua Fielder. The emo rock band was fairly successful, though they did break up a number of times through the years. Detar, specifically, tried to get into country music with two different solo albums.
He did manage to produce some unique albums, unlike many of the non-country artists out there who struggled to go country. Unfortunately, neither of those country efforts received as much attention as The Juliana Theory’s hit album Emotion Is Dead.
6. Tiffany
Tiffany was a pretty major pop star in the 1980s. Back in 2011, she decided to stage a comeback with a country album. Unfortunately, even her fans from back in the day were disinterested in the release. Tiffany seemed to be fighting for her life when it came to defending her authenticity in switching from pop to country, and that ended up not fully working in her favor.
Photo via Facebook/Jessica Simpson
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