There have been some amazing songs released in Country music in 2024. We thought it would be nice to share with you the 20 favourite songs we've had on repeat all year to see if you had been listening to the same ones or to give you a nudge if any of them have gone under your radar. Numbers 20 down to 10 are in a list and then you'll get the top 10 and a video to go with each one too.
20. Trouble – Erin Kinsey
19. Oklahoma – Carly Pearce
18. Worst Way – Riley Green
17. Someone Else's Now – Wade Bowen
16. Pour Me a Drink – Post Malone & Blake Shelton
15. Heaven's to Betsy – Jackson Dean
14. I Got a Problem – Drake Milligan
13. Leavin' This Holler – 49 Winchester
12. Time of Day – Jelly Roll and MGK
11. Green – Canaan Smith
10. Texas by Blake Shelton
With a new label in BBR / BMG and a, seemingly, renewed vigour for music, Blake Shelton came in hot towards the end of the year with the best song he's released in a mighty long time. We dig the groove of this song which is kinda like what we think Rob Thomas and Santana jamming in the Lone Star state would sound like!
9. Austin by Dasha
A ubiquitous song that took 2024 by storm. However, what must not be forgotten is away from all the line dancing and viral videos, Dasha is a songwriter at heart and this song works in all the formats we've heard it in this year – full tilt dance mode, stripped back and even slowed down acoustic – the sign of a class song to us.
8. Heartless by Robyn Ottlini
An absolute banger! Huge emotional moments and some terrific vocals from this powerful Canadian singer. If Taylor Swift had put this song on her ‘Red' album it would have been a worldwide smash. ‘Holy shit, just because I'm leaving doesn't mean I don't have regrets,' Ottlini sings in the sweeping chorus, her gravelly voice dripping in emotion. ‘How narcissistic of me, when I was the one who chose to leave,' is one of our favourite lyrical lines of the year too.
7. Creek Will Rise by Conner Smith
We love this Dierks-esque romp from talented newcomer Conner Smith although he also released ‘Faith from a Farmer' later in the year that might be an even better song than this. ‘Creek Will Rise' makes the list by virtue of the amount of times we listened and danced to it. We also loved seeing him singing at the C2C festival in London this year too.
6. You Look Like You Love Me from Ella Langley and Riley Green
Alongside Dasha and Shaboozey, Ella and Riley had one of the year's biggest zeitgeist songs on their hands. A great, classic Country duet, this song was everywhere this year and because of that there's a temptation to not include it on end-of-year best ofs but lets celebrate for what it is – a great duet with a terrific video to boot.
5. Single Again by Josh Ross
Canadian artists had a great year in 2024 and Josh Ross was no exception. This song is an uptempo banger that makes you want to sing, dance and smile. The chorus is a belter that will make your toes tap whether you like it or not. We were thrilled to see Josh make his way across the Atlantic to sing this song earlier in the year too.
4. I Tried a Ring On by Tigirlily Gold
More Country music newcomers who made great headway in 2024 although if, like us, you've been following Kendra and Krista's careers for a while now, you'll new that term ‘newcomer' is not strictly appropriate here! This is a heart-wrenching ballad of the highest order and we have very fond memories of watching the sisters sing this song in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville during CMA Fest week last June.
3. Cowboy Songs by George Birge
Another song that makes us think of Nashville and CMA Fest week as we saw George sing it upstairs at a very hot and sweaty Tin Roof bar on Lower Broadway. Atmospheric and moody, ‘Cowboy Songs' has just provided Birge with his second number one and what a well deserved number one it is.
2. Broke Down in a Truck by Kameron Marlowe
Quite simply the best ballad of 2024. Huge, ‘I Drive Your Truck' sweeping style sonics here on this heartbreak song that we were thrilled to see Marlowe sing only a few days ago at his show in London. The power, passion and intensity in this song should provide Marlowe with a huge hit if it gets sent to radio in 2025 so it might well appear on our list next year too! Country music is weird like that, right?
1. The Fall by Cody Johnson
We wrote a whole article in November about how this song is the Gen Z or Millennial equivalent of Garth Brooks' ‘The Dance.' You can read it here. ‘The Fall' is everything great Country music should be – heartfelt, meaningful, dramatic and bombastic. We can't wait to see Johnson sing it at the C2C festival in London in March to complete having seen the trio of our most meaningful songs having also seen ‘The Dance' and ‘Live Like You Were Dying' there at the O2 there over the years!
