It seems like everyone is "going country" these days. When it comes to what makes country "country", it would seem that the lines have gotten a bit blurred. Recently, the Opry announced that pop artist Sabrina Carpenter is going to be playing for the venue's 100th Birthday Celebration. However, she's not the only non-country performer to have taken on the Opry stage. Here are three artists who have graced the Opry stage that aren't country, just for reference.
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1. Elvis Presley
In 1954, Elvis Presley made an appearance at the Opry, even though he was "the King of Rock 'n Roll." It was there that he played Bill Monroe's tune, "Blue Moon of Kentucky", to a reluctant audience. Back then, the Opry crowd was a lot more accustomed to a traditional country sound, and some would say that it's still that way. The Opry manager even told Presley's manager at the time, Sam Phillips, that his sound wasn't suited for the Opry. It was after this that Presley made his debut at the Opry's main rival, Louisiana Hayride. Even though this performance was a massive hit, he vowed never to return to the Opry again. And for the rest of his career, he never did.
3. Paramore
In 2023, for their new album, This Is Why, the rock band played a show at the Opry House. Although this wasn't an official Opry broadcast, it was still special for the band, who hadn't played a "hometown" show since 2018. They played several fan favorites like "Still Into You," "Misery Business," and "Ain't It Fun, as well as new tracks from the album. Even though no one would classify Paramore as a country artist, they still absolutely crushed their Opry debut.
3. Steven Tyler
Tyler is known most famously for his time as the frontman of the band Aerosmith, which is one of the most successful rock bands of all time. However, that didn't stop him from deciding to put his own spin on country music, and what better place to do it than at country's most famous venue. During a performance by Eric Palsay, Tyler walked out and announced that he was working on his country album, We're All Somebody from Somewhere. Even though he's traditionally been more of a rock artist, he announced that he was relocating to Nashville to work on his country project, which shows he knew what he was doing.
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