Issue #53: Pink, Gaga, Miley, Kesha and the under-appreciated country crossover moments

Screams "Joanne was a country album!!!"

In the mornings, when we aren’t listening to Taylor Swift or Haim or the Barbie soundtrack, we are listening to Pink, my daughter and I. Not early-era Pink (though I am personally a sucker for a good “There You Go” nostalgia trip), or even massive radio hit Pink, but her newest album, Trustfall. I know the first thing you are probably thinking: What does this have to do with roots music? I understand the question, but I will give you an answer.

In the non-stop, obsessive talk about “country’s mainstream moment” (rolls eyes vigorously) or whatever we are calling it, I offer Trustfall into the equation. Because, before listening to it, I didn’t really realize that this was, essentially, an Americana album. And she isn’t the only major female pop star to wade in our country waters, in albums filed under “pop.” I’m not talking about country artists making pop records (Shania, Red, etc). I’m talking about capital P pop stars making covertly twangy records that primed the palate for where we ended up today.

Pink has long had Nashville ties – her (excellent!) song “Try” was co-written by the late, great Busbee, known for his work with Maren Morris and Carly Pearce, and she appeared with Keith Urban on his song “One Too Many” in 2020. But most pop stars these days flirt in and around country music, existing in this giant conglomerate playlist of life we all life in. That’s nothing new. We’ve seen most of them pop up at a stray ACM or CMA awards, but few of them end up recording albums that could be classified as actually part of the genre.

Trustfall takes a deeper dive, though, into roots and Americana. There’s “Kids in Love,” featuring First Aid Kit, “Just Say I’m Sorry” with Chris Stapleton, “Nothing Compares 2 U” with Brandi Carlile on the deluxe edition (and a tour with Brandi to boot) and another called “Long Way to Go” with The Lumineers.

Our favorite, my daughter and I, is “Kids in Love,” which starts off softly on acoustic guitar, Pink’s voice as the only other adornment. I remember Pink responding to some critics that complained that the album was too soft, but I love this side of her, especially with the accent of the First Aid Kit sisters’ harmonies. It’s a perfect mix between pop sensibilities and Americana.

And though it’s not a duet with any Nashville music adjacent folks, the album’s opener, “When I Get There,” could easily be a country ballad. Makes sense - it was written with David Hodges, who’s crafted a hit or two for Carrie Underwood. A song about the pain of death and reunification in the afterlife: what’s more country music than that? Country music is always such a cozy home for a big power ballad, too, even after other genres may have left their taste for them back in the nineties.

Of course, it’s hard to mention huge pop stars making a sneakily country album without mentioning my number one favorite in this category: Lady Gaga’s Joanne. Gaga was a bit more forward about her intentions here: she did a dive bar tour to promote the album, which included a stop at Nashville’s 5 Spot, and sported a pink hat on the album cover. The biggest smash on this album was “Million Reasons,” crafted with superstar songwriter Hillary Lindsay, and it confuses me to this day why country radio didn’t seize the opportunity to play a song by such a massive star (I know why they didn’t, but it would have sounded great).

Of course, there’s also “John Wayne,” a western pop country banger, and the title track, “Joanne.” Gaga was even dabbling in the twangy waters before Joanne when she released “Born This Way,” offering up a “Country Road” version. I’ve been having fun with Orville Peck’s take for the Born This Way tribute LP, who connects all the dots.

Let us not forget the great Miley Cyrus, who went as far as donning Nudie-inspired clothes and collaborating with Dolly Parton on 2017’s Younger Now. “Rainbowland" slaps so hard! Younger Now was Miley looking to find a happy middle ground between her LA and Tennessee selves (cue “it’s definitely not a Nashville party!”) and the result feels like it would be incredibly fresh if released today. Miley…always ahead of her time, as the best pop stars are.

This is the spiritual cousin to Kesha’s Rainbow album, which includes “Hunt You Down,” and if you don’t believe that she’s a country artist, just ask Kaitlin Butts. Of course Kesha has roots to Nashville, her mother was a country songwriter, and the way Kesha crafts her songs always seems to incorporate some of that craftsmanship and/or its love of a good party (both are valid parts of the Nashville tradition, if you ask me). Butts does an amazing version of “Hunt You Down,” which I hope puts it on the road to being some sort of pop/country crossover canon. I think we all know at this point how strongly I feel about a good murder song!

Of course, all hail the original queen of pop and country crossover, who was donning cowboy boots and spurs when your favorite Hot Country Song boy was in diapers….

And perhaps one of the most iconic meetings of country and pop there is, with Whitney making Dolly canon well before her cultural revival:

So while you talk about this moment - of Morgan Wallen’s hold on the mainstream, Post Malone, Lana Del Rey or whoever else is migrating into country (and the more the merrier, I say) - just make sure your historical retelling includes these albums - or, to quote Kesha, I’ll hunt you down.

- Marissa