Artists Who Dominated the Country Music Scene in 2009

In a memorable year that has produced so many hits and some noteworthy crossover artists, who are to be considered as the ones who dominated the scene in 2009? Let us take a look back at the year that was…

Keith Urban
Heading the list is Keith Urban whose single “Sweet Thing” off of his “Defying Gravity” album was hailed as one of the most popular country singles of the year. This album marks Urban’s entry as a top artist in the Billboard 200 charts. The album, Urban says, reflects the positive direction of his life—including his marriage to actress Nicole Kidman. In an interview, he mentioned that he was “very grateful for where I’m at in my life.” He further added, “We went in to record this album, and it turned out to be a very uplifting and very joyous record.”

Kenny Chesney
Next on the list is Kenny Chesney who has steadily made a name for himself as the top crowd drawer of 2009. In fact, Chesney has sold an unbelievable one-million plus concert tickets for almost a decade bow. Another notch in his successful career is his sold out Sun City Carnival Tour, which was named as the highest-grossing Country tour of 2009, besting fellow  crowd drawers Sugarland (“Love On the Inside Tour”), Keith Urban (“Escape Together World Tour”), and Taylor Swift (“Fearless 2009 Tour”), among many others. Chesney, along with fellow artists Rascal Flatts and nd Brad Paisley have also been named as the only Country acts among the overall Top 25 tours of 2009.

Lady Antebellum appears on this list courtesy of their upset victory over heavy favorites Rascal Flatts in the Vocal Group of the Year category in the recently concluded Country Music Association Awards. It was considered a milestone because their win—which ended Rascal Flatts’s six-year winning streak—established them as a group to watch out for in 2010. Lady Antebellum, consisting of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood, released their top selling self-titled debut album in 2008, and its single  “I Run to You” also won the Single of the Year  award in the same year, making their hit single the Number One Country song of 2009.

Of course, no year-ender list will not be complete without the inclusion of teenage country sweetheart Taylor Swift who has had a great year courtesy of her chart-topping debut album, “Fearless.” Not a single country music blog was able to ignore the undeniable success of this artist especially when she garnered awards from various groups foremost of which are the ones she receive from the CMAs (Album of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year), songwriting honors from BMI, and five nods from the American Music Awards. She even made history as the first Country artist to win an MTV Music Video Award.

With these artists slated to release their upcoming albums in 2010, we can be sure that we will get the same good music and live shows from our favorite country artists. Here’s to another year of superb entertainment!