This is the only group that has covered every possible sub-genre of country music. They’ve performed ballads, country pop, country rock and even gospel. Brooks & Dunn are also given credit for introducing new country style – “rocked-up honky-tonk”. Although Kix and Ronnie are both vocalists, Dunn is leading in most of the songs.

Duo’s first four singles have all topped Billboard country charts, and their debut album, Brand New Man, has become 6x platinum. They have been named the Vocal Duo of the Year fourteen times and the Entertainer of the Year in 1996 by the Country Music Association.  

Brooks & Dunn have recorded ten studio albums and one Christmas album; over twenty of their songs have reached number one spot of the country music charts. Among their biggest hits are “My Maria”, “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You”, “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” and “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone”. The duo has collaborated with the biggest country artists like Lee Roy Parnell, Reba McEntire, Keith Urban and Sugarland. Brooks & Dunn’s songs were used by George W. Bush for his election campaigns in 2000 and 2004.

The duo has recently announced separation after the final 2010 tour. I really hope they will change their mind.

His first album One Lucky Man was released in 2003. It is a traditional country album with pleasant songs and down-to-earth lyrics. Anybody coming from a middle class family with simple values would relate to Billy Arnold’s music. The album includes singles like “Middle America” and “I Never Will”.

The second album named When I’m Over You was released the following year. It is very different from the first: a lot deeper, full of ballads about lost love, with more sophisticated lyrics and sounds. You can feel how much the artist has grown professionally in just one year and how much he has gone through in his personal life. The featuring singles are “I Can’t Stand to Watch You Go”, “I Tripped Over Your Memory” and “Getting Over You”.
 
The third album, Do You Remember, recorded in 2009, has a much more positive tone. The songs are very inspirational, and the lyrics is as good as ever. Billy has a very big vocal range. Often he sounds like several different people throughout the song. I’ve seen him performing once at a charity event and was really impressed by Billy Arnold’s guitar skills on top of just being a great performer.

After moving to America, Keith Urban started his own band that recorded a studio album and two singles which were featured on the Billboard country charts. Among the most famous Urban’s songs are “Somebody Like You”, “You’ll Think of Me”, “The Lucky One” and “Tonight I Wanna Cry”, that have touched millions of hearts worldwide. He plays electric as well as acoustic and bass guitar. He is also skilled in the piano and mandolin.

Urban’s first American #1 was “But for the Grace of God” while “Somebody Like You” was the breakthrough hit of his album Golden Road. This album also earned him his first Grammy Award. Although Urban became a frequent cocaine user, in 1998 he decided to give up the habit for good and checked himself into the Cumberland Heights treatment center in Nashville. In 1999, Keith Urban managed to produce 5 top hits and in 2001 was named Top New Male Vocalist.

In all, Keith Urban has released six studio albums and four compilationalbums.  He has also achieved 10 American country number 1 hits.

Patsy Cline’s rich, emotional as well as expressive bold voice has been praised and used as inspiration by many country vocalists. Also eulogized for being a mover and shaker in the world of country music as well as being the subject for various movies, books, documentations, plays and articles, the story of Patsy Cline’s life has never been short of fascination.

Cline became the first female solo inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame ten years after her death. Being renowned for country hits such as “I Fall to Pieces”, “Walkin’ After Midnight”, “Crazy”, “She’s Got You” and “Sweet Dreams”, she was also voted as #1 in the 40 greatest Women of Country Music in 2002. Her hit song “Walkin’ After Midnight”, released in 1957, reached #2 on the U.S country charts and #12 on the pop charts.

Paisley’s first album which was released in 1999 was titled ‘Who Needs Pictures’. Brad Paisley has recorded fourteen Number One hits on the U.S Billboard Hot Country Songs including 10 of which were in a row. Paisley has also won numerous awards such as the ‘Best Country Instrumental Performance’ in 2008 and the ‘Best Country Instrumental Performance’ and ‘Best Male Country Vocal Performance’ in 2009.

All of Paisley’s records have included his live band ‘The Drama Kings’. The first of their gigs together was on 7th May, 1999. Brad Paisley married Kimberly Williams, an American actress on 15th March, 2003. Together they have two children Megan F and Jasper Warren.

In total, Paisley has recorded 7 albums along with another Christmas compilation. Each of his albums has been certified gold by the RIAA. In 2009, in celebration of country music, Brad Paisley also performed at the White House which was streamed live on the internet.

Martina started her music career in 1992 with the release of her debut single “The Time Has Come”. But her real break through into the industry was after her 4th album, Evolution, came out in 1997. It reached number 4 on the Top Country Albums chart, and issued hits like “A Broken Wing”, “Wrong Again”, “Happy Girl” and “Valentine” (a duet with Jim Brickman). The album itself sold over two million copies and went double platinum. In addition, McBride was named “Female Vocalist of the Year” by the   Country Music Association the following year.  

I had a chance to attend her concert once, and let me say: that singing voice is just unbelievable! You should hear how she takes and bends the big notes up and down. You should hear her live. Martina started the concert with some old country classics and finished with her own songs, which sounded more like rock ballads in comparison. She somehow managed to cover all stages of country music in that one concert, giving each song her personal elegant touch. No wonder, Martina McBride has one of today music’s most successful careers.

Being in the music business since the early age of ten, Krauss has won 26 Grammy awards in less than 30 years, which is an absolute record among female singers. Without doubt, she is a very exceptional and outstanding artist.

Alison Krauss has released 11 albums, but is most famous for her contribution to two soundtracks: O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Cold Mountain. Krauss started her musical career as an instrumentalist and then became a vocalist. Her amazingly clear singing voice is described as soprano with a bit of vibrato. Most of the songs are ballads, often about lost love. Alison is also a songwriter, but she rarely performs her own music. She plays mainly country and bluegrass, but also experiments with rock and even pop genres. Krauss collaborated with artists like Robert Plant (“I’ll fly away”), Gillian Welch, Brad Paisley (“Whiskey Lullaby”), Phish, Sting and Dolly Parton, whom she names as her main inspiration.

In my opinion, Alison Krauss and Union Station should stick to what they do best – hillbilly music. Other genres just don’t suit the band, don’t sound convincing enough. Also, as it happens to many artists after a certain point in their career, new releases lack former originality and flavor.

Cash devoted many songs to America and its culture; his latest music contains themes of grief, pain and redemption. His most famous song “I Walk the Line” was recorded in 1956. Among other signature tracks are “Folsom Prison Blues”, “Without Love”, “Get Rhythm” and “Man in Black”. Johnny Cash released many duets with his wife June Carter, the most memorable of which is “Jackson”; he also collaborated with Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson. 

Remembered for his unique deep baritone and black outfits, Johnny Cash recorded over a thousand songs in the course of his admirable singing career that lasted almost half a century. “The Man in Black” started every concert with “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash”.

Since the early days in the 50s he influenced and inspired numerous country singers, and continues to do so. Johnny Cash is definitely a legend and his music is not to be forgotten.

In 2001 Toby Keith was named Male Vocalist of the year and his 5th album How Do You Like Me Now?! was named Album of the year by the Academy of Country Music.   

The following year Keith released his controversial record “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)”, as a response to September 11. He became a strong supporter of George W. Bush and his administration, which caused mixed response from the fans. I think he lost his good old country boy image at that moment and never got it back. Further albums were as popular as the previous ones, but a lot more commercial, and very much alike.  

Overall, Toby Keith is a traditional contemporary country singer and doesn’t experiment much with different music genres. Lots of his latest songs resemble each other.