Shania Twain Says It’s “So Great” That Artists Are Adding Pop And Hip Hop To Country Music

Not really surprising coming from Shania...or this awards show. If you're not watching the fan-voted People's Choice Country Awards, first off, I'm jealous. The whole show has been a mess so far, with Dasha beating out Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson for Female Song of the Year, MGK winning for "Crossover Song of 2024" (which is for some reason a category) over Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's "I Had Some Help," and host Shania Twain making an entrance to the opening notes of "Man! I Feel Like A Woman" before turning it over for a performance from...Kane Brown. It's a dumpster fire. The only saving grace so far, about an hour and 15 minutes in, have been performances from Miranda Lambert (who was honored with the Country Icon Award) and The War & Treaty, who are massively underrated but finally seem to be getting the recognition they deserve. And Shania pretty much summed up the show while introducing presenters Priscilla Block and Tanner Adell, praising country artists for "broadening" country music by adding sounds from other genres: "What a time to introduce the next generation of country artists, who are breaking boundaries like crazy. It makes me so excited. It's really a full circle moment for me. I mean, I've always walked beyond the genre lines myself. And that's what the artists I grew up listening to did. Like Glen Campbell, who brought symphonic pop to country with "Rhinestone Cowboy," for example. Or Ronnie Milsap, who brought what was referred to then at the time as country blue-eyed soul. So you know what? It's so great to see that spirit carry on today, like with our next presenters who are adding hip hop and pop to the mix." Of course Shania has always been known for pushing the boundaries of what's considered "country" - although at this point, her earlier stuff is still way more country than what's on the radio today. And I'm not really sure that comparing Glen Campbell to artists like Shaboozey is entirely fair. If Glen Campbell pushed the boundary, these artists today are just completely destroying it. But hey, it's working for them I guess. And at least Shania likes it.