Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and southeastern American folk music. Country music often consists of ballads and dance tunes with generally simple forms and harmonies accompanied by mostly string instruments such as banjoes, electric and acoustic guitars, fiddles, and harmonicas.

The term country music gained popularity in the 1940s in preference to the earlier term hillbilly music. The term country music is used today to describe many styles and subgenres. In 2009 Country music was the most listened to rush hour radio genre during the evening commute, and second most popular in the morning commute.

Immigrants to the Maritime Provinces and Southern Appalachian Mountains of North America brought the music and instruments of the Old World along with them for nearly 300 years. They brought some of their most important valuables with them, and to most of them this was an instrument: “Early Scottish settlers enjoyed the fiddle because it could be played to sound sad and mournful or bright and bouncy” The fiddle, the German derived dulcimer, the Italian mandolin, the Spanish guitar, and the West African banjo were the most common musical instruments. The interactions among musicians from different ethnic groups produced music unique to this region of North America. Appalachian string bands of the early 20th century primarily consisted of the fiddle, guitar, and banjo. This early country music along with early recorded country music is often referred to as old-time music.

Karen Lucille "Lucy" Hale (born June 14, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She won the reality show American Juniors. She is known for her roles as Becca Sommers in Bionic Woman, Rose Baker in Privileged, Sherrie in the horror film Scream 4, and Aria Montgomery on the hit ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars which first premiered in June 2010.

Hale is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. She first appeared on television in the reality show American Juniors in 2003. She was part of the vocal quintet formed with the top 5 finishers.

After American Juniors, Hale appeared as guest roles on shows such as Drake & Josh, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, The O.C., and How I Met Your Mother. She appeared in two episodes of the Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place, which led to her dating co-star David Henrie for a short time.

Hale appeared in "NBC's" short-lived re-imagining of the Bionic Woman as Becca Sommers, younger sister to title character Jaime Sommers (played by Michelle Ryan). She made her big screen debut in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 portraying Effie, the younger sister of Lena Kaligaris (played by Alexis Bledel).

Luke Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country singer. Bryan began his musical career in the mid-2000s, writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington. After signing with Capitol Records Nashville in 2007, he released the album I'll Stay Me, which included the singles "All My Friends Say", "We Rode in Trucks" and "Country Man". Followup album Doin' My Thing included "Do I", which Bryan co-wrote with Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, and the number one singles "Rain Is a Good Thing" and "Someone Else Calling You Baby". Tailgates & Tanlines, released in 2011, includes "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)" and his third number one, "I Don't Want This Night to End". Bryan co-wrote all of his singles with the exception of "Drunk on You" and co-produced all three albums with Jeff Stevens.

Bryan was born and raised in Leesburg, Georgia. At age fourteen, his parents bought him his first guitar, and after learning to play it, he joined various local bands and began to play in local clubs. After graduating Lee County High School, Bryan planned to move to Nashville, Tennessee; however, this move was delayed, due to the death of his brother, Chris, on the same day he planned to leave. Luke attended Georgia Southern University, and is a member of the Eta Zeta chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. After graduation Luke went to work for his dad, despite everyone encouraging him to move to Tennessee. His dad encouraged him to relocate and he arrived in Nashville in 2001, signing a record deal only two months later.

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed to the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of Swift's self-titled debut album in 2006 established her as a country music star. "Our Song", her third single, made her the youngest sole writer and singer of a number one song on the country chart. She received a Best New Artist nomination at the 50th Grammy Awards.

Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in late 2008. Buoyed by the chart success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless attracted a crossover audience and became the top-selling album of 2009. The record won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Fearless also received Album of the Year plaudits at the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards, making it the most awarded album in country music history. In 2010, Swift released her third album, Speak Now, which sold over one million copies in its first week. She then embarked on the 111-date Speak Now World Tour, which was attended by over 1.6 million fans and has become one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. The album's third single, "Mean", won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. Swift is currently recording her fourth studio album, due for release in the fall of 2012.

John R. "Johnny" Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003), was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is primarily remembered as a country music icon, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll—especially early in his career—as well as blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal led to Cash being inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice; for the "boom-chicka-boom" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band; for his rebelliousness, coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor; for providing free concerts inside prison walls; and for his dark performance clothing, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black". He traditionally started his concerts by saying, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." and usually following it up with his standard "Folsom Prison Blues".