So, evidently this year Def Leppard will be appearing on the CMT awards show.
I’m honestly not sure what to make of this. I realize that country music is the latest goldmine for rock acts, so it’s kind of understandable that everybody is jumping on the bandwagon. Especially with the success of Who Says You Can’t Go Home, it makes sense for rock acts to put out one or two country songs. It’s a very viable way for bands to gain new fans who otherwise might be biased against them. Especially if the band has a milder sound, like Bon Jovi, or Def Leppard.
But it seems like lately it’s more CMT that has lost its way. Aren’t they supposed to be Country Music Television? And yet they invite every rockstar to come along and perform on their awards. One, it doesn’t seem fair to the musicians who really are making country music. Two, it just reinforces the prejudice that most rock fans have that country is a lesser form of music. If country was really so great, why do they want rock stars so bad?
And in the same vein, why is it that most new country doesn’t really sound like country at all? It’s the same syndrome–in trying for pop legitimacy, the new generation of country singers has become more rock than country. I remember once overhearing a comment–”New country music sounds more like Wanted Dead or Alive than Ring of Fire.”
And it definitely seems true. Not only are former hair metal bands like Bon Jovi and Def Leppard creating country music, supposed country musicians are covering hair metal songs. If this continues, country may become nothing more than a subgenre of rock.