Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is known for performing a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country", as well as penning many of his own songs. Jackson has recorded 21 studio albums, including two Christmas albums, and two gospel albums, as well as released three greatest-hits albums.
Blake Tollison Shelton is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin" from his first album, Blake Shelton. "Austin" spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The now Platinum-certified debut album also produced two more top 20 entries.
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Underwood's single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the first country artist to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to have a number-one song on the Hot 100. Her debut album, Some Hearts (2005), was bolstered by the successful crossover singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats", becoming the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history. She won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist. The next studio album, Carnival Ride (2007) had one of the biggest opening weeks of all time by a female artist and won two Grammy Awards. Her third studio album, Play On (2009), produced the single "Cowboy Casanova", which had one of the biggest single-week upward movements on the Hot 100.
Miranda Leigh Lambert is an American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place on the television program Nashville Star, a singing competition which aired on the USA Network. Outside her solo career, she is a member of the Pistol Annies, a group she formed in 2011 alongside Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. Lambert has been honored by the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards. Lambert has been honored with more Academy of Country Music Awards than any artist in history and was named by the Chicago Tribune as the "greatest country music artist of all time" in 2019.
Kenneth Eric Church is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released nine studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's Sinners Like Me, produced three singles on the Billboard country charts including the top 20 hits "How 'Bout You", "Two Pink Lines", and "Guys Like Me".
Jean Shepard was an American honky-tonk singer who is often acknowledged as a pioneer for women in country music. Shepard released a total of 73 singles to the Hot Country Songs chart, one of which reached the number-one spot. She recorded a total of 24 studio albums between 1956 and 1981, and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1955.
Love and Theft is an American country music duo consisting of vocalists Eric Gunderson and Stephen Barker Liles. They originally recorded as a trio with vocalist Brian Bandas; after he exited the band, Gunderson and Liles continued as a duo. Signed to Lyric Street Records subsidiary Carolwood Records in 2009, Love and Theft made their chart debut in early 2009 with the single "Runaway," which reached the Top 10 on Billboard Hot Country Songs. The band's debut album, World Wide Open, was released on August 25, 2009.
Steel Magnolia was an American country music duo that won season two of the television talent show Can You Duet. The duo consisted of Meghan Linsey and her fiance, Joshua Scott Jones. After becoming the top winner on the show, the duo signed a recording contract with Big Machine Records, and released its debut single "Keep On Lovin' You" in August 2009, which was a Top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth is an American singer and songwriter from Rossville, Georgia. She was the runner-up on the tenth season of American Idol. Her debut studio album, Wildflower, was released on October 11, 2011. Her second album, Road Less Traveled, was released January 27, 2017. Alaina later achieved her first number one on the Country Airplay chart with the album's title track. Her second number one came later that year when she simultaneously topped five Billboard charts with her friend and former classmate Kane Brown on their duet "What Ifs". In addition to this song with Brown, Alaina became an in-demand duet vocalist throughout the next few years, appearing on number one collaborations with Hardy, Devin Dawson, and Dustin Lynch. Her third studio album, Sitting Pretty on Top of the World, was released on September 3, 2021.
Luke Robert Laird is an American country music songwriter and producer. He has written over 20 number one Billboard singles, including Carrie Underwood's "So Small", "Temporary Home", and "Undo It"; Blake Shelton's "Gonna"; Sara Evans' "A Little Bit Stronger"; Rodney Atkins's "Take a Back Road"; Eric Church's "Drink in My Hand", "Give Me Back My Hometown", and "Talladega"; Little Big Town's "Pontoon"; Luke Bryan's "I See You" and "Fast"; Thomas Rhett's "T-Shirt"; Kenny Chesney's "American Kids"; Lady Antebellum's "Downtown"; and Jon Pardi's "Head Over Boots." He has also written and produced songs for Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Kacey Musgraves, Toby Keith, Ne-Yo, John Legend, Darius Rucker, and many others.
Racheal Lynn Woodward, better known as RaeLynn, is an American singer and songwriter who was a contestant on The Voice in season two (2012). She was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Brandy Lynn Clark is an American country music singer-songwriter. Her songs have been recorded by Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, the Band Perry, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, and Kacey Musgraves. She debuted as an artist in her own right in 2013 with her album 12 Stories and has released four additional studio albums. Clark is a sixteen-time Grammy Award nominee, including the 2015 Best New Artist award, and won the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year as a co-writer on "Follow Your Arrow". In 2023, Clark and frequent collaborator Shane McAnally wrote the music and lyrics for the musical Shucked, earning a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Original Score.
Danielle Simone Bradbery is an American country pop singer. She won season 4 of NBC's The Voice in 2013, becoming the youngest artist to win the competition at age 16. Since then, she has released three albums and multiple singles.
Jesse Vernon Frasure, also known as DJ Telemitry, is an American music publisher, record producer, songwriter, and DJ. He has written 22 number one songs and has cuts with various artists including Chris Stapleton, Marshmello, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Thomas Rhett, Leon Bridges, Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell, Meghan Trainor, Florida Georgia Line and more.
Runaway June is an American country music group consisting of Stevie Woodward, Jennifer Wayne, and Natalie Stovall. Wayne co-founded the group in 2015 with Hannah Mulholland and Naomi Cooke. Wayne was a former member of Stealing Angels and had co-written singles for other singers prior to the group's foundation. Signed to BBR Music Group's Wheelhouse imprint in 2015, the group charted two singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts prior to their breakthrough hit "Buy My Own Drinks" in 2018. This was the first of three singles from their 2019 studio album Blue Roses. Mulholland quit the group in 2020 and was replaced by Natalie Stovall, former lead singer of Natalie Stovall and the Drive; Cooke quit in 2022 and was replaced by Stevie Woodward.
The 50th Annual Country Music Association Awards, commonly known as CMA 50 or the 50th CMA Awards, were held on November 2, 2016 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The ceremony recognizes some of the best country music released during the eligibility period. It is the eleventh ceremony to be held at the Arena, the seventeenth to be held in November and the ninth night to be co-hosted by country stars Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. The ceremony was directed by Paul Miller.
Carly Pearce is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her material contains elements of both traditional and contemporary country-pop music. Pearce began performing professionally in her teens, appearing on several albums of bluegrass material in the 2000s. After moving to Nashville, Tennessee, she began gaining more widespread notice.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2020.
Lainey Denay Wilson is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress. Wilson performed from an early age, before going to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career as a country performer. In 2014, she released her first album on Cupit, followed by a second on Lone Chief in 2016. Wilson secured a publishing deal and later released an extended play (EP) in 2019, which included the song "Things a Man Oughta Know". In 2020, it was issued as a single through the BBR Music Group and eventually reached number one on the American country songs chart.
