Nashville may be the home of country music, but it’s also beloved in neighboring Kentucky, which has given birth to a number of country’s biggest stars - Loretta Lynn and Naomi Judd for example. We take a break from Kentucky sports betting topics to bring you some of the Bluegrass state's favorite country singers.
According to research done by BetKentucky.com, these are the five most popular country artists in the state.
Kentucky's Favorite Country Singers
The Top Country Singers in Kentucky
Morgan Wallen. At the moment, Tennessean Wallen is most likely the most popular country music artist in the country, with his 2003 album “One Thing at a Time” topping the Billboard album charts for three months. Wallen first found recognition as contestant on the 6th season of “The Voice” – he didn’t win – and he released his first EP, “Stand Alone,” in 2015. Wallen’s career began to pick up mainstream steam in 2018, but a 2020 arrest over intoxication and a 2021 scandal over his use of racial slur, was a bump in the road. Wallen, however, apologized, and became more popular than ever, with hit singles, offbeat collaborations and a sold-out tour. In 2022, he won the Academy of Country Music Album of the Year Award for “Dangerous: The Double Album.”
Tyler Childers. Childers is a Kentucky native, born in Lawrence County and his style merges country, bluegrass and folk, with religious underpinnings and a social conscience. He’s recorded 5 albums, the first, “Bottles and Bibles,” in 2011. He hit the big time in 2017, with the release of “Purgatory.” In 2020, Childers released “Long Violent History,” on which he played mostly fiddle, with all profits going to help under-served communities in Appalachia. His most recent album, from 2022, is “Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?”
Chris Stapleton. Hailing from Kentucky, but living in Nashville since 2001, Stapleton started primarily as a songwriter, penning hits for others, before his critically acclaimed breakout album, “Traveler,” in 2015. His version of “Tennessee Whiskey” became a monster hit, and his powerful, yearning voice has crossed over to work with artists in other genres. It’s made his brand of country-roots-bluegrass-Americana music trendy with listeners from all walks of life. This year he sang the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVII.
Luke Combs. Combs hails from North Carolina and has been recording for a little less than a decade. His breakthrough came in 2017 with the album “This One’s For You,” which debuted at No.1 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart, and over 2 years spent more than 40 weeks in the top spot. His second album, “What You See Is What You Get,” was released in 2019, followed by “Growin’ Up” in 2022, and “Getting’ Old” in 2023. Hits include “The Kind of Love We Make” and a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.”
Zach Bryan. Bryan is a U.S. Navy veteran, who was born in Okinawa, Japan, when his family served in the navy. He calls Oklahoma his home. Bryan used YouTube as his foray into country music, posting his first songs in 2017. His first album, “DeAnn,” named for his mom, was released in 2019, followed by “Elisabeth” in 2020. Both were released while Bryan was still in the service. His biggest hit single has been “Something in the Orange,” released in 2022, off the “American Heartbreak” album.
Author
Howard Gensler is a veteran journalist who’s worked at the Philadelphia Daily News, TV Guide and the Philadelphia Inquirer and is a founding editor of bettorsinsider.com.
