New Country

Country music's popularity took off in the early '90s like never before. Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, and Alan Jackson were among its top-selling artists. All came from a Neo-Traditionalist background, but to varying degrees, each incorporated elements of 1970s rock into their sound as well. Brooks, who soon became the top-selling country artist of all time, frequently cited arena rockers Journey and the Eagles as musical inspirations, and even covered a Billy Joel song, "Shameless." This was "New Country," which would later be dubbed "young country" for all the fresh, young and clean-cut new faces it brought to the country music landscape. In the mid-'90s Shania Twain entered the picture, bringing an MTV-ready pop sound to the music and selling millions of copies of her albums The Woman in Me and Come on Over. Newcomers like Mindy McCready and Bryan White seemed barely out of high school, whereas LeAnne Rimes was literally just starting high school when her hit "Blue" became a top-selling country smash.