Country Artists Who Successfully Crossed Over to Other Genres

Many country artists have reinvented themselves and experimented with other genres. Some collaborated with artists from different genres, while others completely jumped ship. (Don’t worry, most of them didn’t forget their roots and eventually came back.) It works the other way around, too, as some artists from other genres have gone country.  

Country artists have crossed over into various genres, including pop, rock, hip-hop, and R&B, giving fans memorable songs. This blending of genres has been happening for decades and continues to influence modern artists. Let’s take a look at the brave cowboys and cowgirls who kicked open the barn doors and tap-danced their way into another genre. Here are the country artists who crossed over and proved they can ride more than just one horse.  

There’s no better way to start this list than Dolly Parton. Her first crossover hit, “Here You Come Again,” released in 1977, topped the US country singles chart and reached number 3 on the pop singles chart. The country legend not only crossed over to another genre, but she also managed to cross over into another industry: Hollywood. Parton appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. She continued to do music until the present and continues to make country and pop music, including “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” and “I Will Always Love You.”  

Another icon who seemed to follow the same career trajectory as that of Ms. Parton is Taylor Swift. Swift, who started as a country artist, strumming her guitar and singing about Tim McGraw, is now a full-on pop powerhouse, starting with her album 1989. She continued to experiment with other genres like indie-folk for her other albums, Folklore and Evermore. She even went back to her country roots in her Taylor’s Version re-recordings of her earlier albums.  

Like Parton, Swift also crossed over to Hollywood and appeared in several films, including an animated one.  

Swift is one of the world’s best-selling artists with 14 No. 1 albums, the first artist to win the Album of the Year Grammy four times, and was named Billboard’s Woman of the Decade in 2019.  

After the release of her 1995 album, The Woman in Me, Shania Twain became one of the best-selling female country artists. Twain also crossed over to pop with Come on Over in 1997. Her crossover success earned her the title “Queen of Country Pop.”  

Billboard also named her “the leader of the ’90s country-pop crossover stars for a reason.”  

It’s not just country artists crossing over to other genres who have found success; plenty of artists from other genres have gone country and struck gold, too. Case in point: Post Malone. He started as a hip-hop and R&B artist, but his latest album, F-1 Trillion, marks his official transition to country. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200chart in August 2024 and features collaborations with country superstars like Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll, and Dolly Parton. Malone sure knows how to make a grand entrance into the country music scene.  

Of course, we mustn't forget about Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, which not just reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Top Country Album Charts in March 2024, but she’s also the first female Black artist with a No. 1 country album. Cowboy Carter is also Queen Bey’s first Grammy Album of the Year award.  

Crossing over from country to other genres, or vice versa, is no hayride. Country artists faced challenges and criticisms, including authenticity concerns and backlash from hard-core country audiences, who prefer their country tunes served straight.  

Even the greats have faced backlash: when Dolly Parton leaned pop in the ’70s, critics accused her of abandoning her roots, to which she famously replied, “I’m taking it with me to new places.” Beyoncé’s recent foray into country sparked even more debate. Traditionalists often resist artists who want to try their hand at country, even if crossing over and genre-blending has been going on ever since. (Remember: Willie Nelson released a reggae album, Countryman, and no one staked him to the cross).  

Fortunately, this did not deter artists from experimenting and innovating. Good music is good music, and great artists know how to make it, no matter the genre.