Pop Covers Proliferate On Country Airwaves

A perennial trend in the country format has been a stream of pop stars trying to cross over to country, with current examples including Jewel and Hootie and the Blowfish front man Darius Rucker. But a more interesting trend is developing on the country charts right now—a sudden influx of pop songs being covered by country artists.

There are currently three pop songs remade by country artists on the charts: Blake Shelton’s cover of Michael Buble’s “Home,” the Sugarland/Little Big Town/Jake Owen cover of British Pop band Dream Academy’s 1985 top 10 hit “Life In A Northern Town,” and David Nail’s new cover of the rock band Train’s “I’m About To Come Alive.” Joining them with a May 5 add date will be Rissi Palmer’s remake of the Jordin Sparks pop hit “No Air,” which Sparks performed on American Idol just a few weeks ago.

Other recent examples include Jack Ingram’s cover of Hinder’s 2006 hit “Lips of an Angel,” Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson’s remake of Clarkson’s solo pop hit, “Because of You,” and (while not successful at country radio), Clint Black’s cover of the Hollies’ “Long Cool Woman.”

Of course, country artists have covered pop and rock songs from time to time since the format’s earliest days, with prominent examples from country’s modern era including such No. 1 country hits as Faith Hill’s “Piece of My Heart,” Mark Chesnutt’s “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” and Brooks & Dunn’s “My Maria.” But the volume of such crossovers right now is the interesting trend.

Surprisingly, most of the country programmers who commented for this column see it as a positive development, and say such songs may have a leg up on the competition.

“I don’t think it’s bad for our format,” says KUPL Portland, Ore., PD John Paul. “Most of these songs are instantly familiar and some of them add a ‘hipness’ to country that may grow our cume, turning P2s and P3s into heavier users of country.

“These are proven songs,” says consultant Joel Raab. “With obvious financial pressure on the music business, these songs are less risky.

“A few pop covers are fine,” adds Raab. “They work especially well in markets that don’t have a strong proclivity to country. They can serve as ‘bridges’ to attract new cume.”

“Everybody’s time and attention span is so short and the choices are so large you have to give the listeners what they want,” says WQXK Youngstown, Ohio, PD Dave Steele. “If a pop song makes them stick around a little longer, so be it.”

“In country music, it’s always about the quality of the song,” says Lance Houston, MD of WUBL (the Bull) Atlanta. “If there are some great songs on the pop chart, what’s the harm in exposing them to a whole other batch of consumers?”

“A good song is a good song, regardless of where it came from,” says KEEY (K102) Minneapolis MD Mary Gallas. “If I hear a great song that sounds good and sounds country, I want to play it . . . Unless I did not like the song, I would never hinder an artist or song just because it came from the world of pop music.”

Still, she adds, “Listener reaction seems to depend on how recently the song was a hit on the pop charts and how attached our crossover audience was to the original version. There are country listeners who will say ‘I like the original version better.’”

“Putting a cover version on the radio boils down to one thing: does the audience accept it,” says Sirius Satellite Radio’s Scott Lindy. “I believe that the first time you hear a cover version you can feel whether or not the artist is covering the song because they’re passionate about it and the song holds meaning to them, or if they’re jumping on the coat tails of a hit from another genre . . . The major factors in playing a cover song is will the audience that already knows the song from the original artist accept your version, or will they even know it’s a cover?”

In fact, several programmers point out that many of their listeners are simply not familiar with the pop versions of these songs, and quite a few programmers admit they haven’t heard the originals of some of them either and, in some cases, weren’t even aware they were covers.

“I only listen to country music,” says Houston. “My only exposure to pop music is what I hear sung on American Idol each week. I had never heard the Hinder song before Jack Ingram’s version. I have never heard Train’s version of ‘I’m About To Come Alive.’ I don’t think I’ve ever heard ‘Home,’ although at least I knew it was a remake. I only heard ‘No Air’ because Jordin Sparks sang it on American Idol. I think a lot of our listeners are in the same boat as me.”

Not everyone is keen on the crossovers.
“I’m not crazy about the remakes, says WBCT Grand Rapids, Mich., PD Doug Montgomery. “It reeks of karaoke night at the Ramada Inn. We haven’t run out of good [country] songs. We have too many people trying to cut corners. Hamburger Helper may be OK occasionally, but I wouldn’t eat it every day. Releasing a remake, especially while the original is less than two years old, looks to me to be the equivalent of Hamburger Helper. Our audience listens to more than just country music, and trying to sell them on a watered down version of a pop song they like is a mistake.”

KBWF San Francisco PD Scott Mahalick thinks pop-to-country crossover songs are “a short term stunt” and “an easy way to turn a quick buck.” But he also believes such shows as “Dancing With The Stars” and, especially, “American Idol,” are focusing attention on “the power of pop hits from the last 20 years.”

Consultant Pam Shane thinks the rash of crossovers may be due to “an industry in trouble fearing the unknown . . . Labels like to think they’re on to a sure thing. With so many new artists at country, perhaps A&R people believe that a song proven in another format has a better chance than [the combination of] new singer plus new song.”

Shane says country labels and singers trying to choose songs that are “safe” is “always a dangerous move.”

Asked if there is a specific kind of pop song that would work as a country crossover, radio programmers had all kinds of ideas. Paul says “anything that has to do with a relationship” is a good bet.

KAJA San Antonio OM George King says the song “has to talk to our country listeners, and many pop songs do.”

Mahalick says pop songs need to pass what he terms the “8/44 filter” to work in country, meaning, “Is it appropriate to play with your eight year old daughter and a 44 year old mother?”

Shane says, “for most country listeners, a successful song is still one that evokes an emotion and does it with word play or vivid imagery.”
“It simply has to connect with the country life group in a visceral way,” agrees Raab. “Sonically, it just can’t be too foreign from what our listeners expect of a country station.”

Montgomery says, “To be effective it needs to be a fresh treatment, not a carbon copy of the original.”

WGAR Cleveland PD Brian Jennings thinks, “the lyrics have to be about real life that the middle class can relate to, and instrumentation is still a dividing line.”

Mike Kennedy, VP of programming and operations for Wilks Broadcast/ Kansas City, says the quality of the song has a lot to do with it, noting that all of the current pop crossovers are “really cool songs.”

Asked what needs to be done to a pop song to make it work for country, Gallas has the obvious answer, “add fiddles and a banjo.”

Consultant Keith Hill jokes about working “Momma and trains” into the songs. More seriously, he answers, “There are lots of songs that are in other formats or genres that could be crafted and produced to work in country”

Lindy is not so sure there is “a formula to apply to pop songs covered in country. Sometimes it’s magic when a fiddle or steel or a country stylized guitar solo is mixed into a pop hit. [It] almost makes you think ‘that’s what the original should have sounded like.’ Other times it’s a train wreck and it just sounds like someone countryfied a song to get on the bandwagon of a hit song.”

In light of the rash of recent country remakes of pop and rock songs (see accompanying column), we asked country programmers what song from another genre they think is just itching to be remade as a country hit? As you’ll see from their responses, however, not everyone took the question seriously!

What Makes A Good Country Cover?

• “I think Montgomery Gentry doing a cover of ‘Strokin’’ by Clarence Carter would have a better chance of making it to the top 20 than some of the stuff we’ve gotten lately.” —Doug Montgomery, WBCT Grand Rapids, Mich.

• “I feel pretty strongly that someone needs to remake ‘Mr. Roboto’ by Styx.” —Mary Gallas, KEEY Minneapolis

• “There are so many. Maybe a U2 song. Look how well ‘Come Together: America Salutes the Beatles’ and ‘Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles’ did.” —George King, KAJA San Antonio

• “Sara Bareilles’ ‘Love Song’ has the reality of a country song. Ed [Shane] says we’re safe from covers of Flo Rida unless Big & Rich try it!” —Pam Shane, Shane Media Services

• “‘Low’ by Flo Rida.” —Mike Kennedy, KBEQ/KFKF Kansas City

• John Mellencamp’s ‘Little Pink Houses.’” —Scott Mahalick, KBWF San Francisco

• “Colbie Caillat’s ‘Bubbly’ could have been a country hit had it been worked that way.” —Consultant Joel Raab

• “Seals & Crofts’ ‘Summer Breeze.’” —Consultant Keith Hill

• “I’d love to see ‘Still’ by Lionel Richie re-done.” —John Paul, KUPL Portland, Ore.

• “How long will we continue to wait for someone to cover Steve Martin’s ‘King Tut?’ Is it just too much of a classic that no one wants to touch it? What’s the deal!?” —Scott Lindy, Sirius Satellite Radio

• “I sure would love Kenny Chesney to bring ‘SexyBack’!” —John Trapane, WDTW Detroit