One of the most popular genres of music, country music is mainly known for its origin from genres like soul, folk, rhythm and blues, etc. It is also known as Western music at times, for the roots it has in American folk music.
But unlike hip-hop and pop music, country music is not everyone’s cup of tea. Instead, it is said that this genre is not for the mass but is reserved for the class.
This article will provide insights into the following topics:
- Who is the highest paid country singer?
- Highest Paid Country Artists
- Who is the richest country singer in 2020?
- The top 10 highest-earning country music stars
Here is a list of some of the best and the highest-paid country music stars, thanks to whom, this genre is one of the evergreen ones.
Luke Bryan - $52 Million
An American country music singer and songwriter, Bryan is one of the most famous ones from this genre of music and is known for his excellent vocals and guitar skills.
He has managed to pull off a sale of 15 million albums and 60 million singles all over the world, earning more and more success and popularity.
Both Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association elected Bryan as the “Entertainer of the Year”.
Garth Brooks - $45.5 Million
Brooks is widely known for his invigorating live performances of country rock as well as country-pop. He continues to be the only artist in the entire music history who has been able to receive a “diamond” status on 9 of his albums, beating the former record of The Beatles, that was of 6.
Brooks took a long break from recording and performing from 2001-05, due to troubles and conflicts between his work and family. But this did not stop his earning through his music. During this time, he was still able to sell millions of albums, thanks to his exclusive deal with Walmart.
According to statistics and other figures, Brooks has surpassed even Elvis Presley by being the best-selling solo albums artist in the United States.
Kenny Chesney - $37 Million
Kenneth Arnold Chesney, or popularly known as Kenny Chesney, is a country music singer, songwriter, and a record producer.
More than 40 of his songs have been regarded as Top 10 singles on Country Airplay and the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts; the best part is that 31 of those songs have reached up to number one!
Chesney has also received numerous awards and titles, including Academy of Country Music Awards, and awards from the Country Music Association and many more.
Having sold over 30 million albums all across the world, Chesney is regarded as one of the most admired and exceptional country music stars of all time.
Blake Shelton - $28 Million
“Austin”, the single with which Shelton made his debut in 2001, continued to slay the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart as the number one song for almost five weeks. Gradually, his debut album became a Platinum-certified one, gaining him a monumental amount of success, fandom, and recognition.
He is also popular for his role as a coach on The Voice by NBC, and as a judge on singing competitions such as Clash of the Choirs, and Nashville Star. And what else would one expect from a 9-time Grammy Award nominee!
Florida Georgia Line - $27 Million
This country music duo is undoubtedly the best one that one could come across! It consists of vocalists Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley.
“Cruise”, their debut single, was the first-ever country song to receive Diamond certification after the massive stardom and success it attained. It even became the best-selling digital country song and remained as number 1 for almost 24 weeks. The single was such a big hit that it has still not lost its touch and remains as popular as ever. It literally pioneered a whole different type of country music!
Florida Georgia Line has been nominated for numerous awards and titles and has also won many of them including the Vocal Duo of the Year at the CMA Awards, the Breakthrough Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards, and many more!
Jason Aldean - $23 Million
Aldean has been rocking country music charts ever since 1998. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified his 2010 album, “My Kinda Party” as quadruple-platinum. Another one of his albums that he released in 2012 popped on the charts and gained him more popularity as it received a double-platinum certification.
Not only this, almost all his albums, including his 2005 debut album, are platinum certified!
One of the major reasons for his worldwide admiration is because Aldean has been an active part of philanthropy and has managed to raise about $4 million for cancer research, which he pulled off by donating portions from the money that he earned through VIP meet and greets, merchandise, ticket sales, etc.
Toby Keith - $22 Million
Keith has been blessing the country music industry with his talents for almost 27 years now. His debut “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” happens to be the most-played country song in the ‘90s and also topped the country charts at that time.
According to stats by Broadcast Music Incorporated, his debut single has received around 3 million spins ever since its release.
Apart from being a country music singer and songwriter, Keith is also a known record producer. His talents are also vested in acting, and he has starred in a number of Tv shows and movies like Broken Bridges, Touched by an Angel, Beer for My Horses, and many more.
Brad Praisely - $20 Million
All the albums of this American country music singer and songwriter have been certified either Gold or higher by the RIAA.
Praisely has been able to reach the top spot on the country music charts after setting a new record for the most consecutive singles (10) in 2009.
Winning 3 Grammys, 14 Country Music Association Awards, 2 American Music Awards and numerous other awards and titles, Praisely continues to be one of the most recognised and successful country music stars of all time.
His sale of about 11 million albums around the world also adds up enormously to his success.
Dolly Parton - $19 Million
Finally, a female country music star! Dolly Parton is the most successful and known female country music singer and songwriter in the industry, who also happens to be a successful actress, humanitarian, businesswoman and multi-instrumentalist.
She initially earned success by writing songs for other artists, till she dropped her debut single after which she started skyrocketing the charts with hit singles and albums.
From her innumerable successful songs, 25 of them have topped Billboard Country Music Charts by being the Number 1, gaining her a record for a female artist.
Parton has composed around 3000 songs, 44 career-charting albums and has won numerous awards and titles as well
She was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
Conclusion
All these artists have made a breakthrough in their music careers and are known to be the shining stars of country music, thanks to their never-ending determination, immense hard work, and a bucket load of talents.
No matter what position an artist is in, each of them has gained colossal success, popularity, and respect for their work from all over the world, at some point of time.
Co-author: Khushi Shah
Khushi has just passed her school and is now studying at PDPU. Apart from writing, she likes to sketch and dance. She also has other blogs where she posts proses and poetry.
