Is there much of a country following in the UK? I grew up on it and was surprised to find as an adult how much of it crosses over into pop. It always has crossed over to the pop charts. I think Crosby, Stills and Nash, are a good example, as is the Grateful Dead. They added a lot of country elements to their music which made it more pop friendly for the top 40 crowd. The country music of the 90s was great stuff. It broke out of the mold that originally turned most people against it, the down in the mouth, whining man crying in his beer. I was glad to see it take that turn, but what they're currently making for the younger crowd tends to rub me the wrong way a bit. I can't put it into words too well, but it's sort of like planting a skyscraper in a wildlife refuge, the way they're mixing urban and country elements. It's like wearing orange and black plaid pants with a hot pink and white polka dot top. It's like pouring oil on water and expecting it to dissolve into a mixture. It's a sudden clash of sensory categories that you'd never expect and think WTH whenever you hear it for the first few times. I can't say that I've yet developed a taste for it, but I"m usually slow to come around on these things. By the time I get there, the world has moved onto its next phase. I like both genres, but have trouble enjoying the blended versions.