2017 was a breakthrough year for Chris Young, Chris Stapleton, Brett Elderidge, Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris and Eric Church. It’s hard to believe we’d be saying this, but congrats to Garth Brooks for reminding us how talented you really are with your awards, tour, songs, and optimism.
We salute Dolly for her generosity during a Tennessee time of need, and the stars who gave their time and money for various hurricane relief efforts. A big shout out to George Strait for being named the ‘Texan of the Year’ for his hurricane support.
We raise our glass and iPhone to salute Blake Shelton for being the ‘most streamed’ online country artist in 2017. This year we heard a batch of great new songs, with ‘Better Man’ becoming our favorite. 2017 ended with Garth Brooks earning the most pre-tax monies, Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, Dolly Parton, and Georgia Florida Line/Toby Keith rounding out the top five earners.
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