Turning Point USA’s All-American Halftime Show is in the past but hardly behind us. The impact is still unknown and that’s both good and bad news for fans of country music.
Now that we know the truth about the Kid Rock lip syncing allegations — and now that we’re sure the show was pre-taped for playback on YouTube — it’s time to evaluate what’s next for the four singers, and for the future of NFL halftime shows.
Read More: What Kid Rock Said About Lip Syncing
How Will Performing Affect Brantley Gilbert, Gabby Barrett and Lee Brice?
Ideally, an artist gets a boost after performing in front of millions of people. This could be short term — a spike in sales or streams — or long term (new forever fans). Kid Rock operates on a strange island where controversy doesn’t affect him but the other three are stilly vying for mainstream country success.
That’s typically measured by chart success, something Lee Brice, Gabby Barrett and Brantley Gilbert have sought for a few years. While each has a collection of hit songs, it’s been awhile for all three. Barrett’s “The Good One” (released in 2020) was the last song from this group to hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart.
That’s important to note should anyone try to claim they were blacklisted because they aligned themselves with TPUSA, which probably isn’t a worry. Country men in particular do well when singing conservatism (see Jason Aldean hitting “Try That In a Small Town”). It’s a bit harder for women, but most things are in country music.
Look for Brice to get traction with “Country Nowadays” and the others to continue to search for the right song to return to radio with. Neither Gilbert nor Barrett won the headlines, so the longterm impact of playing this show may only be neutral.
Will There Be Copycats at Super Bowl 2027?
Turning Point USA would be foolish not to come back next year. They created an alternative that people are passionate about and rolled out a pretty stout 35 minutes of music and entertainment. Maybe you loved it, maybe you didn’t but it’s hard to argue that it was anything less than professional.
Now that they’ve cracked the code, what’s to stop another group with a cause and a few million dollars to spend from doing similar? What’s to stop two of them?
Country music is underrepresented at the Super Bowl but so too is Christian music, rock music, metal … Fans can step away from their televisions and pick up a phone to watch for a few minutes.
Is Turning Point USA Done With Country Music?
About 15 years ago, the National Rifle Association and country music were closely aligned. The gun rights group would name an NRA artist of the month and host events and concerts for fans. This was hardly controversial — who could forget the Celebrity Shoot from 2011?
Ethan Miller, Getty Images
All of this faded away after the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting and subsequent internal issues and lawsuits against the NRA and CEO Wayne LaPierre. Minus the guns, what’s to stop an alignment in 2026?
For fans, this would mean events, concerts, possible media exposure. For artists it’d mean a handsome paycheck and a chance to share their values without really saying anything political. It’s a win-win as long as the group keeps its name clean.
60 Artists Not in the Country Music Hall of Fame
Which county singer is most deserving of a Country Music Hall of Fame induction? Here are 60 artists who don’t have a medallion yet, with some thoughts on when each is eligible and if their fans can expect that nod soon.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
