Music
Country star Kane Brown wanted one of his more recent songs to sound like Motown. Notably, Motown had previously tried to go country!
Country star Kane Brown wanted one of his songs to sound like Motown. Notably, Motown had previously tried to go country! During an interview, Brown discussed what he wants to have a specific legacy within country music.
Kane Brown wrote a Motown-style song before making it more of a rock tune
During a 2022 interview with Billboard, Brown discussed the evolution of his most recent album, Different Man. “We went from a demo to a master recording to redoing everything,” he explained. “I was listening to the album and not liking the sounds.”
Brown nixed one of his early ideas. “For example, with ‘Nothin’ I’d Change,’ I really wanted it to sound like Motown at first,” he said. “We had a lot of strings on it, but after listening to it, it was way too theatrical. We kept revamping things, working and finding the sound I’ve been looking for, adding in more rock and country sounds and all of that affects how I perform onstage and put my show together.”
Combining Motown with country music isn’t anything new. The Supremes are undoubtedly one of the most popular acts on the Motown label. They released a record called The Supremes Sing Country, Western and Pop. The album includes covers of tunes by country icons like Willie Nelson and the Sons of the Pioneers. It’s such an odd duck of an album that it’s surprising it hasn’t received more attention.
The ‘One Thing Right’ singer wants to break down barriers for other artists
Brown is a crossover artist if there ever was one. Two of his most famous tunes are “One Thing Right,” a song that combines country with EDM and rock, and “Thank God,” a pretty ballad that includes some R&B elements in its harmonies. Brown revealed he was very happy to be the first male country singer to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards. “That meant a lot to me, because that’s been my main focus, to open doors for other artists,” he said.
“I just love bringing different fan bases together that you would never see together,” Brown said. “The key is that I’m not forcing anything. It just makes sense for me.”
How Kane Brown’s ‘Nothin’ I’d Change’ performed on the pop charts
“Nothin’ I’d Change” was never a single and it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on the album Different Man. That record reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 55 weeks.
Different Man is Brown’s third record to hit the top 10. His other albums to accomplish that feat are Kane Brown and Experiment. The former peaked at No. 5 and spent 217 weeks on the Billboard 200. On the other hand, Experiment hit No. 1 for a week and spent 97 weeks on the Billboard 200. It’ll be interesting to see if Different Man has the staying power of Kane Brown and Experiment.
The final version of “Nothin’ I’d Change” doesn’t sound like Motown but it shows that Brown is committed to expanding the boundaries of country music.
