Every successful country artist started with a fierce devotion to at least one country musician who turned them into country music fans forever and ever, amen.
For Hunter Hayes, he became completely obsessed through albums by Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban and Brad Paisley. All inspired him to want to be a better musician.
Chris Janson admits he’s an odd one. The only country crush he’s ever had is on his wife, Kelly Janson.
Find out which country crushes made Carly Pearce, Cole Swindell, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Sheryl Crow and Trisha Yearwood into the artists they are today below.
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Carly Pearce: Vince Gill
“I was a huge Vince Gill fan from the time I was a little girl and even now if I see him backstage at the Opry or any sort of event, I kind of freak out and fan-girl.”
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Chris Janson: Kelly Janson
“I never had a crush other than my wife really. That’s the truth.”
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Cole Swindell: Reba McEntire
“She was the one country artist that came to my little small town year after year and not to mention she was one of the biggest things in country music. She had the best acts opening for her just the outfits, her stage presence, she’s an entertainer, and I always think back to those days some of my first concerts were seeing Reba.”
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Luke Combs: Eric Church, Brooks & Dunn, Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill and Alan Jackson
“I mean, the list goes on for sure.”
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Morgan Wallen: Shania Twain
“She was just hot, you know? And she wore hot things, and I loved it.”
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Hunter Hayes: Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban and Who Needs Pictures?
There was one year where [Rascal] Flatts put out their first album, “Praying for Daylight,” “Everyday Love,” c’mon. Keith [Urban] put out his debut album, which had “Where the Blacktop Ends” and “Everything.” There’s also another one, oh, “It’s a Love Thing.” And then Paisley put out his first album, which was just pure money — Who Needs Pictures?. It was such an incredible record — great songs, great production.