The Worst New “Country” Songs of 2025

We’ve run down the Song of the Year nominees, the Single of the Year nominees, as well as the Album of the Year nominees for 2025. Now it’s time to give the WORST offerings in “country” music their fair due. And no, we’re not holding back our feelings at all. We’re rearing back and letting ’em have it.

I’d rather get brained by a flying deck chair from four stories up than be subjected to another nanosecond of Morgan Wallen’s “Miami.” Categories 5 hurricanes with retired names and dedicated Wikipedia pages have inflicted less catastrophic damage and resulted in fewer post traumatic stress diagnoses than what “Miami” wrought 48 hours after its release. This song is such a disaster, it’s visible from Space.

And of course “Miami” comes with NINE songwriters, though this includes the sainted Hall of Famers Hank Cochran and Dean Dillon, along with Royce Porter who wrote the original “Miami, My Amy” song. But something tells me that Hank Cochran, Dean Dillon, and Keith Whitley never envisioned shitty trap beats, and an electronically-generated chorus line of Oompa Loompas screeching out “Miiiaammmeeee…” over and over when they wrote the song originally. (read full rant)

Ready your rape kits America, because the music of Graham Barham is spreading on social media like a bad rash and infecting your little chickadees faster than an ultra-viral avian flu. It’s easier to find a carton of eggs for under $3 these days than it is to uncover anything of value in Graham Barham’s so-called “music.” This dude oozes affluenza more than a mealy-mouthed little $hit whose parents paid off the local judge after he murdered a family of four drunk in his Bugatti.

Imagine using the most advanced surgical procedures enhanced by cutting-edge AI technology to meticulously isolate and extract the very kernel essence of what made performers like Sam Hunt and Florida Georgia Line so sinister and cringe, and then using the latest bio-engineering to increase the mass of this little piece of evilness until it takes a human form. This is what you get with Graham Barham. It’s absolutely everything that was abhorrent about Bro-Country in a purified, unadulterated state, served to the public with no chaser.

If this guy called a spade a spade and admitted this is nothing more than a bad White boy hip-hop act, then it would be none of our business over here in By God country music. But Graham Barham and the weasel-dicks at Sony who signed this asshole actually legitimately think this is country music. (read full rant)

Hey BigXthaButtPlug, just because you’ve got tits the size of Dolly Parton’s and are pre-diabetic like Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts, that don’t make you country, bud. You can’t just declare yourself country like Michael Scott in The Office declared bankruptcy. You’ve got to do your 10,000 hours, and all you’ve done is shoved Ho-Hos down your gullet and vomited back up straight hip-hop verses that are being label “country” because … well, I’m not exactly sure why. Because the TEMU version of Morgan Wallen is featured on this stupid track?BigXthaButtPlug isn’t “evolving” country music, he’s breaking it, like literally. There’s a triage of office chairs with busted casters from his visits to Music Row. Good lord don’t let this guy step into the hallowed circle of the Grand Ole Opry stage or he might splinter the boards.After BigXthaButtPlug had a #1 song in country, I had to explain to my mother what a butt plug was. Wait, “Butt Plug” isn’t actually part of his real name? Maybe it’s a Freudian thing going on because that’s how I read it. Well either way, screw this guy, especially since he made me explain what a butt plug was to my mother for no reason.

I’d rather be stuck on a poop cruise adrift in the Caribbean during a COVID Alpha outbreak, only to de-ship in Cancun and be kidnapped and held for ransom while cartel cronies shove toothpicks up my cuticles than ever suffer another complete second in the audience of this “song.” Gary LeVox trying to act hip in his wife’s cardigan is about the greatest incidental comedy ever constructed. The irony of LeVox singing “Hold The Umbrella” when the guy can only properly clothe himself in plus-sized ponchos is pretty rich. When you think of the exotic and tropical, do you really think of the Rascal Flatts frontman? The only thing LeVox should be reppin’ is Cracker Barrel since his blood is sawmill gravy.Don’t know who the other two losers on this song are, but someone should snitch on them to Kristi Noem and get all three swept up in a plain clothes ICE raid and sent to a torture dungeon in El Salvador to sweat away the rest of their lives. Don’t put LeVox in Alligator Alcatraz though. His cholesterol piss would poison the pristine nature of the Everglades.This song can screw right off.

I heard that Dan + Shay were going viral with their version of Taylor Swift’s song “Back to December,” and decided to give it a quick peep. Next thing I knew, my manhood proceeded to shrivel like a maggot in a microwave, and spontaneously invert into my pelvic region until all that was left was a full-on life-sized Mattel Ken Doll version of a completely featureless man-gina. Thanks Dan + Shay, you twerps.

You crave hearing a new song from Dan + Shay like you crave hearing Christmas music before Halloween. The emasculated tones, the aggressive use of AutoTune, the entirely soul-bereft delivery, it’s everything safe and dull about American music concentrated and purified into its most generic form.

You’d call it a snooze fest, but a sedate, emotionless reaction is not exactly what Dan + Shay’s music inspires. It’s more of a sense of wanting to self-immolate if necessary to permanently and forever remove one’s self from the audience of another single auditory note from this maniacally terrible duo, even if that comes with the complete expiration of one’s life to fulfill this wish. (read full rant)

“Gee, Mr. Brown, we know they’re a pair of custom-made $2,500 Lucchese boots. But how did they get up there sideways?” If Luccheses are the Cadillac of boots, Kane Brown is a pair of returned and remaindered Chinese-made Ariats at the bottom of the clearance bin. The dude’s got a great voice for country, but chooses to use it on a product placement ad that’s so patently terrible, the company being touted publicly distances from it. If you’re going to sell out this hard, at least secure some sponsor cash. But in this instance, even some of Kane Brown’s own fans are like, “It’s a no from me, dog.” Kane Brown’s caught in this song saying “I feel like Nelly.” You mean you feel like a 50-something washed up rapper who whored himself on the country circuit opening for Florida Georgia Line and has been thrice accused of rape? You might want to check your vitamin supplement routine there, Kane. Kane Brown looks like a worm. Instead doubling up on his Lucchese boot inventory, and blowing his music budget on a Florida-based video shoot and renting a glorified Catamaran because they can’t afford a yacht, how about they hire a surgeon to fix his face?

It’s a hip-hop thing. I don’t get it, but I’m obviously the wrong demographic. Looking at it objectively, it’s no sillier than holding a guitar and pretending to strum it, which is what far too many country singers feel they have to do on stage or in videos.

The only good thing about any of this is that “2 Pair” bombed at country radio. Hopefully, this marks the end of his mystifying run of automatic country radio hits or sends him into the hip-hop universe, which he’s been hinting at migrating to for a couple of years now.

“…but someone should snitch on them to Kristi Noem and get all three swept up in a plain clothes ICE raid and sent to a torture dungeon in El Salvador…”
Well, I think this superficial “umbrella” crap is exactly what Kristi Noem likes. Artists with attitude are obviously not her thing. Especially not when their stance contradicts her politics…

All of these songs on this list sound like a dumpster fire. Just awful. I’d like to suggest another Year End category: “Country Music Poser of the Year” to the artist who has done the worst job pretending to be country/pandering to the audience. There could be an AI-generated image of a trophy to go along with the category (i.e., awarding a fake trophy for a fake artist). And the “trophy” could have the figurine of a fake cowboy (i.e., someone wearing the gear, but clearly a poser).

As low of an opinion as I generally have of the “average consumers” taste – I look at many of these songs and still wonder who exactly the audience for this stuff it? Like, I sort of understand the Dan & Shay song since they have always sought the “Swiftie” audience that listens to Country radio. But who is/was Gary f’n Velox and Akon partnering on a song? Who exactly is the Morgan Wallen song attempting to attract? Etc., etc.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Dan and Shay was some kind of music that I can’t figure out, but every single other one of those songs was rap/R&B and there is absolutely nothing that anyone could say that would change my mind. A bunch of clowns making clown music and there is absolutely nothing other than a couple of words in the lyrics that even remotely links them to country. CLOWNS!!!!!!!!!! I will never be able to articulate just how angry it makes me that someone has allowed us to use the word country as it pertains to any part of this absolute clown trash

Major labels really like the idea of male singers who aren’t very talented. As in, they’re relatable because they remind you of your friend, not a musician

Holy shit, no one does a better takedown than Trigger when it comes to music he doesn’t like. Literally laughed out loud about BigXthatPlug having tits the size of Dolly Parton’s, lmao

The silver lining to the cloud: I think pretty much all of these tracks failed to catch fire at country radio. “All the Way” was a hit on CHR and Rhythmic formats, but not Country. In the past, this “worst of” list would have included pretty much the entire year-end airplay Top 10.

Exactly. Today’s airplay top 10 (Mediabase) includes decent songs by Ella & Riley, Megan Moroney and Hudson Westbrook, a tolerable “list song” from Hardy (who has some far better tracks on his album), and one from Jason Aldean that’s actually quite listenable until it turns into butt rock midway through, as so many of his songs do. Compared to the depths of the bro-country era, that’s reason for optimism.

Trigger, am I dreaming or was there once an open discussion forum on this sight? Is that something worth bringing back? There’s been many a time I’ve looked up new (or new to me) music based on folks comments. It sure would be cool to turn the people loose on a variety of topics. I’ve just never been much of a Reddit user. Thanks for all you do.

There was a forum attached to the website for a short period. It was a nice place to post things that otherwise didn’t have a home here. But it ultimately became a ghost town, and a funnel for spam. During some site redesign, it got corrupted and we cut it loose. Have thought over the years of trying to make a new one. But right now the prospects for web 1.0 properties is pretty gloomy.

Right or wrong, a lot of folks jump into the comments sections for the SCM Top 25 playlist updates announcements and throw out random stuff like other good songs that came out recently or live shows folks have seen. That way it’s not sidetracking a specific article or album review. Or an epic and beautifully written piece of prose such as this legendary rant right here.

That’s because, and Trig can correct me if I’m wrong, he once said the playlist post is the place where we can openly discuss the tracks he chooses and our own personal different ones or albums, EPs, and upcoming shows, etc…. like you, I, and others do Rich. There have been times when everyone’s seen I throw whatever I’ve got to say at the end of my playlist post because there’s nowhere else to put it.

I don’t mind people using the comments section to recommend each other music at all. I’m glad this happens. Any way this website can facilitate people finding music that speaks to them is a positive.

What can drive me a little crazy is when this happens on dedicated album reviews and other features where a specific artist is being talked about. If someone says, “Other artists like this are…” that’s fine. But when the discussion veers almost entirely to a different artist, it takes away to whatever artist was originally featured. An album review is their opportunity in the spotlight, and one they may only very rarely get.

In this context: Have you ever listened to the incredibly good Will Slater & the 53? The quality of their music is diametrically opposed to their (relatively low) popularity.

Maybe it’s just because I work in a hospital but do those stripes remind anybody else of the classic blue and pink baby blankets used in every maternity ward and NICU in America?

Can I nominate other pieces of aural radio detritus? How about Blake Shelton’s Stay Country or Die Trying? I mean, if cliche was manure dude could fertilize all of Texas with that song.

“Hey BigXthaButtPlug, just because you’ve got tits the size of Dolly Parton’s (…), that don’t make you country.”
– Made my day! Absolutely terrific!🤣🤣🤣

I assume it’s because not covering a story or album review leaves much more room for creativity, but these articles are your most pure and unadulterated art Trigger. Love it every time.

Chase Matthew’s “Darlin’” was atrocious too. That would EASILY make my list. I can’t for the life of me fathom how that trap-pop song made it to #1 on the Country Airplay chart. =/

Oh, and Josh Ross’s “Single Again” may be my pick for absolute WORST “country” hit of the year in that it is basically Shawn Mendes’ “Treat You Better” all over again.

I feel like I was getting screamed at for 4 and a half minutes by Dan+Shay, but….I would still take that over Parmalee’s “Cowgirl”. That song made me wish I had born without the ability to hear.

Guys like ButtPlug are the reason rap is declining in popularity. Overexposed and dumbed down to the lowest common denominator with an influx of mediocre artists hopping on the bandwagon. Did some marketing genius decide that country was the next used star lot for these wash ups?

Source: savingcountrymusic.com