10 Country Songs That Break The Mold And Defy Stereotypes

The world of country music can be a divisive place, especially in the many varied debate spaces that surround the genre. For instance, some fans might argue that there are plenty of underrated modern songs from country singers you should know. Others may favor old-school, classic country tracks compared to the more pop-heavy direction contemporary country sounds have often favored.

There are also listeners who simply can’t stand the art form at all. But this group may want to look again, as there are plenty of well-known, country-influenced songs that don’t fit the stereotypical mold of what they might be thinking of/disliking. From the unexpected collaborations to the cross-genre gems, country music isn’t as two-toned as it might seem.

Neil Young, Harvest (1972)

The title track from country folk-rocker Neil Young’s acclaimed 1972 album is as quietly diverse as the famed artist himself, who has been a chameleon of sound since first bursting onto the creative scene in the ’60s. Backed by mellow guitar, percussion, piano, and pedal steel, “Harvest” has country flavors, but is almost more reminiscent of a folk music screenplay.

In it, Young goes through movie scenes of his characters, led by a young woman who experiences emotional turmoil and loss of identity as she goes through emptiness, trying to find meaning and “promise” to fill in for the loss of significant figures in her life. “Harvest” may come from the country, but it longs to root for something deeper.

Jason Isbell, Cover Me Up (2013)

A great number of listeners may know “Cover Me Up” from the well-known cover version that country musician Morgan Wallen put out back in 2019 for his LP Dangerous: The Double Album. Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell was the originator of “Cover Me Up,” however, releasing the song as the lead track from his 2013 solo comeback album Southeastern.

Isbell’s version holds the vulnerably sandpaper heart of “Cover Me Up,” written just after the musician had left rehab about his love for then-wife Amanda Shires. Led by acoustic guitar, spare electric guitar lines, and traced backing vocals, Isbell promises his devotion to Shires and that his substance abuse is finished.

While that happy ending wasn’t so happy for the pair (they’d later divorce), the power of “Cover Me Up” is still a force. There’s a country sound, yes, but there’s also blues-rock, folk, and the true swelling of emotion one person can express for another through the power of a melody.

Darius Rucker, Wagon Wheel (2013)

Written by country-folk group Old Crow Medicine Show (with an assist from Bob Dylan) and released in 2004, “Wagon Wheel” was covered by Hootie and the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker in 2013. Rucker was looking to strengthen his career as a solo country music artist that year, and wound up taking “Wagon Wheel” to mainstream success and a Grammy win.

While the more twangy, Americana instrumentation around Rucker certainly differs from his ’90s pop-rock stardom, he isn’t trying to put on a faux accent or lean into something that doesn’t sound like himself. This is Rucker going light, rootsy, and more rural, yes, but no less enjoyably pleasant. Just call it Hootie with a few Banjo Blowfish in this incarnation.

Sheryl Crow, If It Makes You Happy (1996)

Unlike Rucker, Sheryl Crow didn’t have to leave the ’90s to lean in more of a countryfied direction with her musical sound. Crow just took her already charming, radio-rock-friendly tone and added Americana into the mix, proving that country didn’t have to be quiet to effectively make a statement outside the stereotypical mold.

This was true of 1996’s “If It Makes You Happy,” which found Crow lamenting about the struggles and hardships that came with trying to successfully pursue her passion as a singer-songwriter. The track is glossier than the grittier rust of the alt-country movement of the decade, but still translated mainstream country style down another pathway.

Bonnie Raitt, Something To Talk About (1991)

Five years before Crow added a slight dip of country into a louder feature presentation, Bonnie Raitt did something similar with the Shirley Eikhard-written 1991 song “Something To Talk About.” While Raitt (the famed blues guitarist) strays more towards a blues-pop edge than Crow, there’s still that similar tinge of rootsy rock that’s prevalent in the mixture.

Released on Raitt’s album Luck of the Draw, “Something To Talk About” remains the highest-charting single of Raitt’s storied career. With the song being about false gossip and giving those spreading false rumors something to really see, there’s a familiar lyrical sensibility wrapped in an entirely different type of bow here for those not into the traditional country sound.

Chris Stapleton, Tennessee Whiskey (2015)

Chris Stapleton’s 2015 solo debut album Traveller was a revelation of modern and classic country music brought together by Stapleton’s skillful writer’s pen and growling, mountain-high Southern rock-inflected voice. One of the many highlights created for the long-time songwriter’s record was Stapleton’s cover of the David Allen Coe song entitled “Tennessee Whiskey.”

Both Stapleton’s recorded version and his live take with musician Justin Timberlake brought the song to mainstream levels of success, and the result was no surprise. Stapleton might have country genre notoriety, but he’s also bluesy, soulful, and a Southern-rocking unicorn that makes “Tennessee Whiskey” smooth for any type of listener.

Shaboozey, A Bar Song (Tipsy) (2024)

Musician Shaboozey came out of nowhere quickly in 2024 with “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” the fourth single from his third album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going. The track mixes the clean version of rapper J-Kwon’s 2004 song “Tipsy” with Shaboozey’s own country groove, making for an insanely infectious, country-rap song hybrid.

The two genres of rap and country don’t often overlap like this, and rarely as well as this barroom cocktail does. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has the country sing-along vibe without getting stereotypical, and the rap interpolation only makes the track even more rhythmic and upbeat. This is mainstream country with a new angle for audiences willing to hear it.

Lil Nas X, Old Town Road (Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) (2019)

Of course, before Shaboozey crossed rustic sound with hip-hop rhythms, there was the country-trap-rap of Lil Nas X and 2019’s “Old Town Road.” Featuring “Achy Breaky Heart” singer (and Miley’s father) Billy Ray Cyrus, “Old Town Road” went even harder into bringing the two genres together, almost to the point of feeling like a parody.

What sold it as a legitimate hit was the charm of Nas himself, who seemed downright gleeful as the accent-inflected, ice-cold cowboy paired alongside the ex-one-hit-wonder-maker Cyrus (an unexpectedly perfect partnership). Lil Nas X and “Old Town Road” were a mainstream example of brand-new ways that country music could still take itself progressively forward.

Eminem, Somebody Save Me (Featuring Jelly Roll) (2024)

The superb team-up of rap and country music struck again with veteran rhyme-spitter Eminem’s 2024 track “Somebody Save Me.” From his album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), Slim Shady sampled country musician Jelly Roll’s “Save Me” on the choruses of a song that depicts an alternate reality of the rapper’s life.

In actual events, Eminem was successfully able to kick drug addiction and be there more capably for his family. “Somebody Save Me” paints a scene in which Em dies instead, and spends his verses atoning to his three daughters for his failures as a father. The mashup with Jelly Roll (who beat darkness himself) delivers a strong country-rap morality kick.

Avicii, Wake Me Up (2013)

“Wake Me Up” represents another fascinating, modern mashup of musical sounds that includes country, folk, and EDM in one rippling, shape-changing track. The late Swedish DJ and producer Avicii supplies the summer anthem-y beats, while singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc provides the lyrical heart and singing voice beneath the trippy surface.

At first glance, it’s almost hard to hear how country music could influence something that sounds so far away from it in stylistic terms. But it’s in this way that country music is so variable compared to how it’s stereotyped, and how listeners who claim to hate the genre can digest it in so many alternative fashions.