Josh Ross's Junos success showcases country music's resurgence

Josh Ross's Juno nominations could be a sign that Canadian country music is gearing up to once-again dominate the awards. This year, multiple country acts have made inroads in many of the categories — highlighting the growing popularity of country music in Canada, and the genre's resurgence in pop culture in general. 

Ross's five nods put him neck-and-neck with Tate McRae, the pop singer who has often competed with the likes of The Weeknd for most nominations at the awards. For her main competition to be a country star, it says something about the genre's return to more mainstream popularity.

"You're looking back in the day at Shania Twain," said music and entertainment reporter Rudy Blair, pointing to the early 2000s as the last time a country singer led nominations at the Junos. "So that tells you just how [long] this has been coming — not just with what's going on with the Juno Awards, but also what's been going on across Canada."

Ross is far from the only country musician among this year's Juno nominees. In the audience-voted fan-choice, he has three country music compatriots (Jade Eagleson, Dean Brody and the country-inspired Les Cowboys Fringants), while Shawn Mendes' nomination there is largely based on the strength of his country-esque single, Why Why Why. 

Meanwhile, Beyoncé's Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter catapulted three musicians to the Canadian awards this year. Both Jack Rochon and Shawn Everett are nominated for Jack Richardson Producer of the Year for their work on the album, while Alberta's Lowell is up for the inaugural songwriter of the year, non-performer award for the Beyoncé tracks Bodyguard and Texas Hold 'Em.

Paired with a litany of other country and country-inspired musicians — from newcomers like Owen Riegling to relative veterans like MacKenzie Porter and Brett Kissel — it mirrors a rise in the music industry at large.

Spotify reported a 20 per cent global increase in country music's monthly streams in its 2024 Wrapped report. Shaboozey's A Bar Song (Tipsy) was the longest-running number one song of the year — tying Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus's smash country hit Old Town Road for the longest run ever. 

Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's I Had Some Help recently became the second country song in a row — after 2023's Last Night — to top Billboard's "songs of the summer" chart. Noah Khan's country-pop hit Stick Season was the biggest song of 2024 in the U.K. — where country has shot up 67 per cent. And Teddy Swim's genre-bending country/soul/R&B track Lose Control became Billboard's year-end top hit as 2024 came to a close.

The timing for that success has proven a boon for country artists north of the border. 

"Canadian country artists have always been this bubble that is going to explode, and it's been that way for years," Blair said. "Maybe some people are finally taking some notice."

There's also evidence that people are taking the same kind of notice about country music south of the border. Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter was largely credited with both riding and significantly enlarging a wave of renewed interest in the genre.

By highlighting Black people's historical contribution,  Beyoncé and artists like Reyna Roberts, Allison Russell, Kane Brown and Rissi Palmer have participated in what some have called a renaissance for Black country artists.

Paired with their melding of genres — bringing hip-hop and pop elements into country and vice versa — other artists like Shaboozey, Lil Nas X and Blanco Brown have been able to produce giant, audience-crossing hits.

Everett says that tendency to borrow elements from various other schools of music has contributed to country's mainstream allure, eroding the stereotype of arena rock country obsessed with traditionalism and the past.