 | | Country music singer and songwriter Dustin Lynch was born and raised in Tullahoma, Tennessee, and grew up influenced by what he calls "the class of '89," Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, and Clint Black, all of whom had their first national success in 1989. |
 | | Country singer and songwriter Lee Brice walks a path between traditional honky tonk sounds and contemporary rock & roll; as Brice puts it, his music sounds like what would happen if Hank Williams Jr. |
 | | Florida Georgia Line is the country singer and songwriter duo of Tyler Hubbard (from Monroe, Georgia) and Brian Kelley (from Ormand Beach, Florida). |
 | | Singer and songwriter Kip Moore mixes tight country narratives with a touch of heartland rock, and at his best, he fashions songs that led one reviewer to call him "a hillbilly Springsteen," although he's probably closer to a less feisty Steve Earle, say, with a focus on how love works and doesn't work between men and women in the blue-collar South. |
 | | Oklahoma native Blake Shelton moved to Nashville in 1994, two weeks after his high school graduation, to launch a songwriting career that would eventually make him one of the leading males in contemporary country music. |
 | | The grandson of onetime Louisiana Hayride performer Richard Yates, country singer/songwriter Chris Young hails from Murfreesboro, TN, and first drew the public's attention when he appeared on the Nashville Star television show in 2006. |
 | | Country singer and songwriter Randy Houser was born and raised in Lake, Mississippi, where his love of music was apparent even as a young child. |
 | | Country singer and songwriter Tyler Farr was born and raised in Garden City, Missouri. He had an early exposure to country music, thanks in no small part to the fact that his father played lead guitar in country icon George Jones' touring band, and he even accompanied his father for a summer on the road at the age of 16. |
 | | A professional recording artist since the age of 13, Florida-based teen vocal powerhouse Whitney Wolanin -- who began singing as early as age two -- has been a familiar sight on the adult contemporary charts since the release of her debut, Funkology XIII, in the summer of 2005. |
 | | When Tim McGraw debuted in the early '90s, few would have predicted that he would eventually take over Garth Brooks' position as the most popular male singer in country music. |
 | | Caitlin Rose's inspirations, from Gram Parsons to Bonnie Raitt to Linda Ronstadt, belied her late-‘80s birth. |
 | | Country singer/songwriter/guitarist Eric Church grew up in Granite Falls, North Carolina, and began singing as a child. |
 | | Cut from the same cloth as fiery crooners Jana Kramer, Miranda Lambert, and Carrie Underwood, country singer Maggie Rose was born Margaret Rose Durante in 1988 in Potomac, Maryland. |
 | | When he was four years old, Chris Cagle moved from Louisiana to the outskirts of Houston, where he grew up. |
 | | Country singer Ashley Monroe was already a seasoned show business veteran when she released her self-titled album in 2007 at the tender age of 19. |
 | | Country singer and guitarist Jason Aldean was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1977. His parents separated when he was three years old, and he spent his childhood with his mother in Macon through the school year while spending the summers with his father in Homestead, Florida. |
 | | When he was just 19 years old, Hunter Hayes became one of the hottest new stars in country music, having signed with a major label and attracted plenty of press attention and airplay, but despite his youth, this wasn't really new for Hayes -- he was playing for paying audiences at the age of five and cut his first album when he was only nine. |
 | | When plans for a professional golfing career were derailed by an injury, country songwriter Jake Owen picked up a guitar and never looked back. |
 | | Contemporary country singer/songwriter Brad Paisley was born October 28, 1972, in Glen Dale, West Virginia; given his first guitar at age eight, he delivered his first public performance at church two years later. |
 | | Singer and songwriter Luke Bryan comes by his country influences naturally: he grew up in Leesburg, Georgia, a small town 100 miles from the Alabama border where his father grew peanuts and sold fertilizer for a living. |
 | | Pop-country trio Love and Theft fell into place in Nashville when singers and songwriters Eric Gunderson, Stephen Barker Liles, and Brian Bandas threw in together, taking turns singing lead while the other two sang gorgeous backing harmonies. |
 | | A husband-and-wife country duo comprised of Keifer Thompson and Shawna Thompson, Thompson Square combine classic rock, country, and singer/songwriter strands into a sharp, pleasant country-pop mix. |
 | | Formed in 2006 by Charles Kelley (brother of singer/songwriter Josh Kelley), Hillary Scott (daughter of Grammy-winning country artist Linda Davis), and Dave Haywood, Lady Antebellum make contemporary country music that relies on the trio's rich harmonies and impeccable instrumental skills. |
 | | Gary Allan hit the honky tonk circuit in his native Southern California at the seasoned age of 12. Playing in and out of the smoky, sweaty bars with his dad's band led Allan to follow in his father's footsteps and start his own band. |
 | | As the frontman of Hootie & the Blowfish, Darius Rucker was one of the most popular frontmen in mainstream pop/rock during the mid-'90s. |
 | | Contemporary country star Kenny Chesney didn't have the immediate breakout success that many of his peers enjoyed upon signing with major labels, but gradually built up a significant following via hard work, pop-friendly ballads, and a likable, "Average Joe" persona. |
 | | Justin Moore hit Nashville in 2009 with a ready-made image. He was the good kid from a small town with a rowdy heart of gold who just happened to be able to sing about it. |
 | | Merging country, pop, and rock elements into a sharp contemporary sound, the Band Perry is comprised of siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Reid Perry (bass guitar), and Neil Perry (drums, mandolin, and accordion). |
 | | East Texas outlaw honky tonk country outfit JB and the Moonshine Band were born in 2009 when singer and songwriter JB Patterson decided to give up his advertising career and start a band. |
 | | Born and raised in rural Gilchrist County, Florida, Easton Corbin remembered wanting to be a country singer as early as three or four years old. |
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 | | Songwriter and country singer Kacey Musgraves was born in East Texas, and made her stage debut at eight years old. |
 | | Although originally known as the guy who, upon Kara Dioguardi’s request, stripped off his shirt during his American Idol audition, Casey James quickly became one of the show’s leading contestants, celebrated for both his guitar skills and bluesy vocals. |
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 | | Country singer and songwriter Chris Janson was born in Perryville, Missouri. A guitarist as well as a stellar harmonica player, Janson first made his mark as a songwriter, penning Tim McGraw's 2012 hit "Truck Yeah," and has co-written with former Guns N' Roses members Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin, among others. |
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 | | The first country singer to win American Idol, Carrie Underwood grew up in the small town of Checotah, Oklahoma, and began singing with her church at the tender age of three. |
 | | Country singer/songwriter James Wesley was born and raised in Mound Valley, KS. Originally signed to Warner Bros. |
 | | Out of all the new country singers to emerge in the early '80s, George Strait stayed the closest to traditional country. |
 | | Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Greg Bates was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, the heart, soul, and center of country music. |
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 | | At the heart of Staind's loud, angst-laden music are the confessional lyrics and introspective personality of frontman Aaron Lewis. |
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 | | The country vocal quartet Little Big Town began with Kimberly Roads and Karen Fairchild, two Georgia natives who began singing together in college. |
 | | Zac Brown is a country singer, songwriter, and bandleader, one of the brightest stars in a generation of performers set on changing the paradigm of the country music business. |
 | | After Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson was the most popular male country singer of the '90s. An heir to the new traditionalist movement of the '80s, Jackson's approach was rooted in classic honky tonk yet remained comfortably within the contemporary mainstream. |
 | | Actor, singer, and songwriter Jana Kramer was born December 3, 1983, and grew up with country music. |
 | | A country trio known primarily for its pleasing harmony and Grammy-winning songcraft, Rascal Flatts are comprised of Gary LeVox, Jay Demarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. |
 | | Fusing a young man's take on heartland rock with the tougher side of Texas country music and the cocky enthusiasm of alt-country firebrands, the Eli Young Band have become a potent draw in the Southwest on the strength of local airplay and extensive touring. |
 | | Country singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Worsham was born September 1, 1985 in Jackson, Mississippi, and music became his main interest at a young age. |
