Country Time
Lack of Black Artists
By: Matt Bjorke
Last updated March 5th , 2010

Being a huge fan of music, I learned of American Idol and watched it from the first season. The success of Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken and Carrie Underwood may have made Idol a viable television property and given the music industry one more outlet to find talent. But rarely has it offered up an interesting topic for debate such as the presence of teen country singer Haeley Vaughn on Season 9's roster of 24 contestants.  While she ultimately didn't make it past the Top 20 round, Haeley Vaughn brings out an interesting discussion: race and country music, and in particular, the lack of diversity in the genre. If you were to head to any record store (or Best Buy) near you, the only non-white country singers you'll find are a couple of Hispanic artists, and Darius Rucker and Charley Pride. And maybe, if the store still has them, a Rissi Palmer record. 

There simply aren't enough black artists and as Haeley Vaughn proves, it's not because there aren't black fans. There are. In fact, there are many more African-American fans of country music than people think. It's a universal music, it's real, it's honest and it's true-to-life. In other words, it will tug on the same heart strings that tug on my lilly-white heart-strings.  

In fact, country music's rooted in the blues and it's prominently considered a 'southern' style of music, just like the blues. The current success of Darius Rucker does prove that an African-American artist can be successful if they have the right songs and team behind them.

Actually, in all honesty, I don't think the average listener really cares what an artist looks like as long as the songs are good. It really is just getting the industry to realize that people of color and backgrounds do listen to and love country music. If Haeley Vaughn had been more ready, she could've stormed through Idol and eventually forced the recording industry's hands. Perhaps she'll take Kara DioGuardi's advice and work on her voice with a coach, perhaps she won't. But she is but one of hundreds of potential new country artists out there if talent scouts and A&R folks are just willing to look and listen.

Time will ultimately show whether we get more Haeley Vaughn's out there interested in pursuing a career in country music. They need to know that the industry is blind to color and while looking good is important, the pigment of one's skin need not determine whether the artist is given the chance to shine or not.

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