And dance moves like this? Straight out of hip-hop choreography. As for the music itself, well, country's sounding a lot like hip-hop too. You've got trap beats. 808 kick drums. Rap-like rhythms.

In May 2019, Morgan Wallen's initial No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, "Whiskey Glasses," began a two-week command. "My first No. 1 on Hot Country Songs happened on my 26th birthday ...

That brief thank-you sparked a surprising outpouring. Dozens of other listeners of the seminal country music show sent in donations — at a total, within a few months, of more than a hundred bells.