The internet has been flooded with debates on whether or not certain country singers are actually country or not. These debates include Morgan Wallen to Kelsea Ballerini, and everyone in between. Should artists deemed “not country” air on country radio? Artists such as Dan and Shay, Taylor Swift, and Kane Brown are NOT country and should not be played on the country radio. But artists such as Morgan Wallen, Kelsea Ballerini, and Luke Combs ARE and deserve the spotlight. 

Lets focus on Taylor swift. Swift is from Pennsylvania, but grew up in Nashville so she could continue her dream of being a country musician. I do agree that she used to be a country artist in the beginning of her career, but since 2010 after her folklore album, she became more of a pop artist. Listening to her music, you cannot hear any country in her songs. Some people would say she is southern because she lived in Knoxville, but she was not born there, and only moved there to write and produce country music, which didn’t last long. In my opinion, she is not a country singer. 

Morgan Wallen on the other hand, I think is an actual country singer. He is from Sneedville, Tennessee and then lived in Knoxville. His albums such as If I Know Me, Dangerous, and One Thing At a Time, are country. Wallen was given the “Country Artist of the Year” award at the 2023 iHeartRadio music awards and also won the “Favorite Country Song” award at 2022 AMA’s. Lastly, even if you listen to his voice, you can tell he is southern, versus when you listen to artists such as Taylor Swift, and Dan and Shay. 

Lastly, let’s look at Kelsea Ballerini. She is from Knoxville, Tennessee and started writing songs when she was 13 years old. Some of Ballerini’s albums include Rolling up the Welcome Mat, The First Time, and Subject to Change. Her music is a mix of country and pop, but when you learn more about her, you’ll see that she is a country singer. She concluded 2021 as the “Third most played female artist on country radio” and in 2022, she was nominated at the  People’s Choice Awards for “Country Artist of 2022”. Personally, I really like Kelsea Ballerini and would put her in the category of being a country singer. 

After hearing debates and seeing posts on social media about whether or not these artists are country or not, I believe Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Kelsea Ballerini are country singers whereas Dan and Shay, Kane Brown and Taylor swift are not. Overall, I like all of these singers, but there is definitely a line separating them when it comes to if they are country singers or not.