Y'Alternative: Where the Same Old Brand New Me Feels Pretty Damn Good

Y’ALTERNATIVE; y'all plus alternative. What does that mean to you? To me this made up contraction stands for living and identifying in the genre-less world. It isn’t just a crossover for alternative country or a mix of country punk rock. It literally represents making your own damn thing if the boxes predefined don’t work for you. Own what makes you “you” and don’t waste your time doing anything but!

Last month Cassadee Pope performed at the Gramercy Theatre rocking out in her own y’alternative crop top merch. She is a prime example of an artist carving out her own music and paving her own path. From her Hey Monday days to season 3 of The Voice to her first solo country single Wasting All These Tears to her first #1 hit with country star Chris Young, Think of You. There’s something so attractive about owning your own space. As Cassadee writes in her song Same Old Brand New Me, all the different sides of her will always be there and shape the person she evolves into.

It isn’t just the music industry trying to identify artists into limiting genres that is restricting, it is also society’s preconceived notions of what it means to belong into those genres. What does a country star look like? How do they sound? Not just country, but the entire music spectrum gets stripped down to these artificial, shallow, and alienating labels that leaves a lot of diverse individuals and their talents homeless. One of my favorite middle fingers to this conundrum is Maren Morris’ 2019 Playboy spread. There’s this taboo that country music stars can’t be sexy. Maren is flipping that narrative on its head. Who says Country can’t be sexy? With this issue and her entire music career Maren is breaking boundaries and owning her sexuality. Her songs RSVP, Make Out with Me, and Takes Two just to name a few.

Maren had huge crossover success with her major pop hit The Middle with Zed. If you listen to My Church radio on Sirius XM or now Humble Quest Radio on Apple Music you will hear all the different influences for Maren’s music from Shania Twain to Dua Lipa.

New categories of music come about every month it feels like. Contemporary country, pop country. However you slice it, it’s just people with a story to tell in the way they want to tell it. Magic happens outside your comfort zone, so don’t be afraid to push those limits! Genres are safe. You know what to expect and Cassadee said when trying to win a singing competition on a singing show staying in your lane and knowing your strengths is an important strategy. But, you can also thrive in the unexpected. And if you are unhappy with what you are hearing take a play out of the Cassadee Pope handbook and quit listening and mind your own.

Let people create what feels right to them and stop trying to put a label on it. Be authentically you, don’t try to fit in, and create your own damn box. Be sexy, be daring, but be you and be humble. It is a quest to find yourself, especially musically, but it is an even harder quest to remember your roots as you grow, evolve, hone your craft, and own your art.

There are a lot of voices in this industry. Critics that share their opinion without anyone ever asking. These voices can get stuck on a loop in your head. Jana Kramer’s song Voices speaks to all these voices that try to tell her she’s not good enough, broken even, but it is these broken pieces that make our story. Jana specifically has a very public family story with her divorce, but she decides to own her story and rewrite the narrative. The story she had to tell her kids and the world as a public figure might not be the one she wanted to tell, but it is the truth and her truth is her perfect family. She is giving single moms everywhere the strength to believe in their version of perfect. Whatever your story, it is perfect the way it is, no matter what box you check or whatever box you create for yourself. Don’t let anybody else define you or put a label on your situation.

Andy Grammer’s song Damn It Feels Good To Be Me says it best. Stop trying to be like everyone else/stop trying to fit inside their box/I’m no good at being you because I’m me. When you carve out your own space what makes it great is that it's your own. Forging your own path provides a model for other misfits to follow. So be y’alternative if that feels right. Be sexy in country music, be pop, be rock, be funk. Rewrite your own story, be your own happy ending. Don’t listen to all the other voices because the only one that matters is yours. Whatever you decide to be, however you decide to be it, be happy that you are being you because damn that feels the best.

With Confidence

XOXO Rockin Rox