Released just two days ago, ‘Forever Country’ has generated such a HUGE following that it crushed expectations from almost everyone!
Truly a masterful work of art from our generation, this 30-artist mashup that features three of the most legendary hits in country music that broke down walls that many thought impossible.
As the Country Music Association posted yesterday, after being out for only one day, “Forever Country” had already soared to the the top of the iTunes chart for all genres of music!
In addition to achieving one of the highest climb rates in iTunes history, it also took a huge effort to put together and some have called it a ‘technological marvel’.
The man responsible for this tremendous success is Shane McAnally, one of the foremost country songwriters and producers in Nashville, who opened up about the difficulty of melding three stunning hits and 30 unique voices.
“Everybody kept coming back to ‘I Will Always Love You,’ saying that was sort of the quintessential song. And I kept resisting, saying, ‘How in the world am I going to get that song to work with these other songs?’ I presented another demo that everyone loved, but they kept saying, ‘We need “I Will Always Love You.’” I didn’t disagree with that, but I didn’t know how I was going to get it in there without making the whole thing a ballad. They wanted movement, but they wanted that song!”
Fortunately, he and his co-arranger, Josh Osborne, had an epiphany one day that allowed them to weave the three songs together into a medley, but after the music and artists were set in place – there was still the masterful feat of getting them all together for the video.
They began working with the man responsible for Taylor Swift’s bevy of videos from her recent album, and he’s a born pro at getting everything done in quick succession. The artists also helped create a beautiful video through their dedication to the work and project.
All-in-all, the video contains as many special effects in its 4-minute run time as you would expect in any Star Wars movie – and it all came together beautifully!
Check out this amazing piece of country music history below!