Looking back on the best twenty singles from the Country Universe era, it is striking how well these twenty entries signify the seismic shifts in how music is released and consumed.
When Country Universe launched in 2004, country radio was still king, and big money could still be made through a hit song on the radio stimulating healthy album sales. But the digital era had already begun, and consumers turned songs ignored by radio into massive hits, such as Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt” and the Chicks’ comeback single, “Not Ready to Make Nice.”
As time progressed, and we moved from digital sales to the streaming era, the very idea of what constituted a single changed. The old rules of thumb, like whether it was promoted to radio or a music video was produced, still applied. But artists increasingly released standalone cuts and multiple pre-release album tracks, and some of those ended up connecting with audiences more strongly than the designated promotional singles.
So while this list has multiple entries from multiplatinum superstars and features CMA and Grammy Award-winning singles, there isn’t one among the twenty entries that reached No. 1 on a country radio chart, a stunning distinction that could not be replicated in the pre-Country Universe era.
These twenty entries reflect the essence of what we believe makes for great country music in a way that a radio playlist could never capture. We hope you enjoy revisiting these records, that you discover some gems you’ve overlooked, and that you share your own favorite records from the artists featured and the moments of time they represent.
We’ll post two entries a day, ten entries a week over the next two weeks, starting with two classic singles from the year we were founded.
Country Universe: A 20th Anniversary Retrospective
I am totally geeking out about what songs I may discover/rediscover on your list.
It will be interesting to me because this was the era – or timeframe- when I began to become less connected with what was happening on radio and in Nashville.
Incrementally, I felt country music was losing me.
I believe country music magazines were going the way of the dodo around this era as well, so how I learned about country was also changing along with how I consumed it.
I fully abandoned country radio around 2005, even though there were– and still are!– some hit singles and A-list artists that I find worthwhile. I was always an omnivore and drawn equally to the high-caliber mainstream artists and the alt-country acts during the 90s.
So I agree 100% that this era has truly been a time of transition, and I’m happy with how this retrospective feature is going to reflect that!
“I Told You So” was a very important song to me after first meeting Keith Urban in 2003. It became very special to us in 2010-2011. :)
One of my oldest and dearest friends who worked in the high-end hospitality industry met Urban when he was co-hosting American Idol, and she said he could not have been more gracious to her or her team. (Said the same about Mariah Carey, for what it’s worth, while saying Nicki Minaj and her entourage treated the staff abhorrently.)
But that’s always carried a lot of weight with me. Even when I haven’t cared for some of Urban’s music, knowing that he did treat people with kindness at the peak of his commercial popularity still matters!
That is nice to hear about Keith, but I’m also not surprised at all just because he seems so nice.
Re: Mariah, I’ve heard the same about her, too. She’s also terrific with fans. I’ll never forget her appearance on Graham Norton where they had pictures of her fans on a board for a game, and she knew the fans by name and country when it wasn’t even the point of what they were doing.
I found the Mariah clip:
https://youtu.be/ZsS-I-wHh80?si=dXc5vHuRBzNK6Bxw&t=250
It’s funny how Graham tries to tell her she’s wrong, but she’s actually right. It’s remarkable, actually.