Jaron And The Long Road To Love: “Country Went Pop”

Jaron, who was once half of the pop duo Evan and Jaron, tells EW that he thinks many crossover artists have just sort of fallen into the country music genre…

“Bon Jovi and Kid Rock have done really well too, and even Uncle Kracker’s got a top ten country song, he says. “It’s not what you think. I think people are still confused by what’s happening, but the reality is that if you ask Kid Rock or Darius Rucker, you ask any of these guys, they’ll tell you the same thing: country went pop, we didn’t go country. I don’t think Jewel wakes up in the morning and just goes “I want to make a country record.” We set out to make music and find an audience, we just need an audience that appreciates us and connects with us. All those Vertical Horizons, Lisa Loebs and Semisonics, when pop radio became rhythmic and hip-hop they had nowhere to go, and country was the closest thing. If you listen to a Keith Urban or Lady Antebellum song, those are straight-up pop songs. There’s that whole wink-wink “I’ll throw a banjo or a mandolin in” thing, but it’s pop.”

Do you agree with Jaron? Do you think that “country went pop?” Or did pop go country?