It only takes one song to forever change a country artist's career. Whether it's a debut single or a viral hit released well into their career, one song can change everything.
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With that in mind, we picked four songs that completely changed an artist's career, in the best way possible.
1. "'Til You Can't" by Cody Johnson
By the time Cody Johnson released "'Til You Can't" in 2021, he had already found plenty of success in Texas as an artist. He had also released three singles in partnership with Warner Music Nashville, including his "Dear Rodeo" duet with Reba McEntire.
But when Johnson relased "'Til You Can't," written by Ben Stennis and Matt Rogers, everything changed for Johnson. The song became his first No. 1 hit, officially starting his reign as a country music superstar, one he still enjoys today.
"After the song was recorded, I really started thinking about our fanbase," Johnson says. "With our fanbase, I have an opportunity to be the guy that says that message and reminds them that yes, we're all at shows and drinking and partying and having fun. We're there for the moment and just letting life go for a little bit. But just a reminder, the important things are to do it while we're here because we're not always going to be here."
2. "Can't Even Get The Blues" by Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire is talented, but she's also tenacious. It took McEntire six years, and 17 singles, before she had a No. 1 hit, with "Can't Even Get The Blues." Out in 1982, from McEntire's fifth album, Unlimited, the song kick-started a career for McEntire, one she is still enjoying more than 40 years later.
"Can't Even Get The Blues" also gave an early indication of the kind of business person McEntire was going to be, and her determination to get what she wants.
"The first time I heard 'Can't Even Get The Blues,' my producer at the time, Jerry Kennedy, said it was just a song for a male singer," McEntire tells American Songwriter. "I said, 'Wait a minute. What about me?' He said it wasn't a girl's song. If you say, 'Reba, you can't do that,' well, I'm gonna do it."
3. "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)" by Luke Bryan
When Luke Bryan released "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)" in 2011, Bryan already had two back-to-back No. 1 hits, both with "Rain Is A Good Thing" and "Someone Else Calling You Baby." But Bryan went from star to superstar with the release of "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)." The song, which remains his biggest-selling song to date, went viral.
"I'll never forget, I played a private party one time, and it was a pool party for some young kids who had some money," Bryan recalls (via Songfacts). "Their parents wanted Luke Bryan to surprise them. And the time I got done playing, they put on dance music and rap, and the pool party was just rocking!
"I was like, 'I've gotta try to write some music that maybe some kids like that will want to rock at their pool party or play at a honky tonk,'" he continues. "I told that to Dallas [Davidson], and we went on that. We didn't have a title. If you had told us the title, 'Country Girl Shake it For Me,' we'd have said that's too cheesy."
4. "Need You Now" by Lady A
Not only did Lady A not predict that "Need You Now" would be a major, crossover hit for them, but they almost didn't record it at all. Written by bandmates Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, along with songwriter Josh Kear, "Need You Now" is the title track of Lady A's sophomore record.
"It was literally the last song we played in our A&R meeting for this record," Scott recalls to Billboard, adding that they were meeting with their record label president and producer of what would be their next project. "We had written so many songs. ... At the end of our meeting, Charles was like, 'OK, there's one more and it might be crap but I'm going to play it.' We played [the simple work tape] and they heard something in it. They said, 'You have to at least go in and try this.'"
"Need You Now" spent five weeks at the top of the country charts. It was also a No. 1 pop hit for Lady A as well.
