In September, country singer Zach Bryan decided to climb a barbed-wire fence to get at newcomer Gavin Adock, and the music community watched replays with jaws hanging open.
It was a shocking attack on a fellow star, but fortunately cooler heads security prevailed, and the men never actually fought. Fans only got to debate over who’d win.
That began a very shocking week in country music. Four of the items listed below took place before Oct. 1, and none of them are happy. Fall introduced a sad season.
READ MORE: See the Top 26 Country Songs of 2025
2025 Deaths In Country Music
This list of country music’s most stunning moments includes two deaths that rattled us for days, but exclusion doesn’t equal unimportant. It’s sad when older country stars pass, but not shocking.
Dolly Parton‘s husband Carl Dean, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson and country legends Johnny Rodriguez and Jeannie Seely are four who died this year who deserve extra attention.
So too does Raul Malo of the Mavericks, who died on Dec. 8 after a battle with cancer.
READ MORE: Remembering the Country Stars Who Died In 2025
We’ll pay tribute to each elsewhere as we look back on a very up-and-down year in country music.
Red Clay Strays
Country Music’s Surprise Breakout Artist of 2025
In 2025, there wasn’t a viral moment from an artist we’d never heard of or paid attention to previously. Shaboozey and Morgan Wallen dominated most charts, and Lainey Wilson was the big winner at awards shows. That’s hardly surprising.
The 2025 ACMs looked a lot like the 2024 ACMs and the CMAs celebrated many of the same artists, with one big exception.
The Red Clay Strays broke Old Dominion‘s seven-year run in the Vocal Group of the Year category. That was shocking and should serve to catapult them to great things in 2026.
The rest of this list of shocking moments isn’t quite that positive. Several breakups, two divorces, a pair of tragic deaths and one terrible decision backstage at a country festival shape our list.
9 Most Shocking Country Music Moments of 2025
This year’s list of the most shocking moments has a theme: unexpected endings.
Breakups, cancelations, divorces and more drive most of these stunners from 2025. These 10 stories were among the biggest in country music this year. Some are sad, one or two will make you angry and at least one — the first one — will leave you shaking your head in disbelieve.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
The Top 26 Country Songs of 2025, Ranked
The Top 25 Country Songs of 2025 list is not a roll out of the biggest radio hits of the year. Original duets, Christian cross-overs, meaningful deep cuts and breakout independent artists also help shape the year’s best.
Airplay charts, sales data and streaming numbers helped make this list of country music’s Top 25 songs of 2025, but staff and Taste of Country reader opinion were also influential.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
