Kip Moore doesn’t know Nick Jonas, and he has nothing against him or his music. For the purpose of this conversation about how to fix country music awards shows, Jonas is just a symbol.
Taste of Country asked the country veteran about pop stars going country, and Moore admits he doesn’t spend much time thinking about that, and he certainly isn’t going to waste energy bad-mouthing someone.
Quickly, he pivoted to awards shows.
“I feel like we’re desperate in a way and we don’t need to be,” the singer says. “It’s already such a powerful format, but we’re like, ‘Like us! Like us! Like us! Please like us!'”
“You don’t see other genres doing that,” he adds.
- Last month, Kip Moore released his Solitary Tracks album on Virgin Music Group.
- The new project comes after five full-length albums on MCA Nashville.
- The full conversation with Taste of Country Nights can be heard below. Watch highlights from the interview here:
Most awards shows include a pop-crossover collaboration, and Jonas appeared with Kelsea Ballerini at the 2016 CMAs. Katy Perry was picked for the 2016 ACMs. Dua Lipa, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Backstreet Boys, Avril Lavigne, Ludacris, Pink … it’s a very long list over the last decade.
In fairness, there are as many classic rock collaborations. Also, some of the pop collaborations make sense, because the two artists who shared the awards show stage also shared a big country radio hit. Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha are an example (“Meant to Be” wouldn’t be the same if they’d done it solo).
That’s not what Moore is referring to, however.
“We’re so desperate to get this look, but what they’re missing — and I hope they’re listening, I hope somehow somebody hears this … (they think that) to get Nick Jonas to play with whoever, that that’s gonna be more powerful than, let’s say, before Cody Johnson became a really big star.”
“If I’m them, I’m putting Cody up there even before he became (a mainstream name), because Cody already had a killer fanbase,” Moore explains.
“That’s where this town is too insular. They don’t get it. They really don’t understand that Nick Jonas, just because he’s on the show, number one, his fans aren’t gonna tune into the show, and then the people that really love country are going to be like, ‘What is this? Turn it off.'”
Whiskey Myers is another act Moore makes a case for who deserves some time on primetime television. They’re not household names, but they’re talented with an extremely passionate fanbase.
“That’s actually an artist, and they’re actually playing these songs that they’re connected to and not just playing some weird collab that makes no sense,” he says.
“If you’re listening, pay attention, because that’s how you get the shows to get credibility again.”
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