The Shires think that country music was made "cool" by Taylor Swift, and believe they have the megastar to thank for bringing the genre back into the forefront.
The Shires (c) Instagram
Made up of Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earle, the country duo said to the Official Charts: "Taylor Swift is really the artist over the last few years who has put the ball up for anyone to hit in terms of making country cool. I mean she has just made it so cool. She's an absolute star...
"So hats off to her, she's the one who should be held up there, because she's incredible. The new stuff as well. I know a lot of the purist country fans have gone, 'Oh, she's gone pop,' but it's great. I think it still has that country sensibility."
Recently making chart history in the UK, the band became the first British country band to reach the top 10 in the Official UK Album Chart with their debut record 'Brave' and admitted they're not sure if they're going to follow in Taylor's footsteps, changing their sound as their career progresses.
"I don't know what the future holds in terms of where we will go with our sound, but I think we'll always be country at our core because that's what we love about music.
"We always focus on the song and that honesty and whatever comes out, comes out. If our tastes start to change and we start listening to other stuff, then maybe."
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