50 Fun Facts About 2000s Country Music

Carrie Underwood won American Idol in 2005. Which numbered series of the show was it?

Her debut Some Hearts became the best-selling solo female debut in country music, and 'Before He Cheats' was the first country song certified multi-platinum.

Carrie Underwood won which Grammy in 2007, only the second country act ever to take it?

Garth Brooks inducted her into the Grand Ole Opry the following year.

Which pair co-hosted the CMA Awards every year from 2008 to 2018?

Paisley had a streak of ten straight number-one hits from 2006 to 2009.

How old was Taylor Swift when she became the youngest CMA Entertainer of the Year in 2009?

Her album Fearless was that year's best-selling album in the US and went on to win the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Taylor Swift's self-titled debut album, released in October 2006, came out on which label?

She was 16 and wrote or co-wrote every track, the first female country artist to do that on a platinum debut.

Taylor Swift's debut single was named after which country star?

'Our Song' and 'Should've Said No' from the same album both went to number one on the country chart.

Which Taylor Swift album won Album of the Year at the 2010 Grammys?

It also took Album of the Year at both the CMA and ACM awards, making it the most awarded country album in history.

In which city did Natalie Maines make her March 2003 comment about President Bush?

Their single 'Landslide' fell from number 10 to 43 on the Hot 100 in one week; the band dropped 'Dixie' from its name in 2020.

Which record won The Chicks Album of the Year in their five-Grammy sweep of 2007?

'Not Ready to Make Nice', their answer to the backlash, won Song of the Year the same night.

Shania Twain's 2002 album Up! was unusual for being released in how many different musical versions?

Country, pop and world/dance mixes; her 1997 album Come On Over remains the best-selling studio album by a female solo artist.

Which two illnesses forced Shania Twain into a long hiatus in the 2000s?

The 'Queen of Country Pop' from Timmins, Ontario, later documented her vocal rehab on television.

At which awards show did Alan Jackson debut 'Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)' in November 2001?

He wrote it in one morning after waking at 4 a.m. with the melody; it won the Grammy for Best Country Song.

Johnny Cash's acclaimed 2002 cover of 'Hurt' was originally recorded by which band?

Trent Reznor said 'that song isn't mine any more' after seeing Mark Romanek's video; Cash died in September 2003, seven months after filming it.

Which award did the video for Johnny Cash's 'Hurt' win at the 2003 CMAs?

The video also won the Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video and was later named the greatest music video ever by NME.

Who produced the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack that won the 2002 Grammy for Album of the Year?

It sold more than eight million copies and was only the second soundtrack ever named CMA Album of the Year.

Who sang lead on 'I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow' as the voice of the Soggy Bottom Boys?

Ralph Stanley's a cappella 'O Death' from the same soundtrack won him a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

Which artist won the CMA Entertainer of the Year award four times between 2004 and 2008?

He also won four straight ACM Entertainer of the Year awards from 2005 to 2008 and named his fan club No Shoes Nation.

Which country star's brief 2005 marriage, annulled after four months, was to actress Renée Zellweger?

They wed on the island of St. John in May and announced the annulment that September; he named his fan club No Shoes Nation.

Which country act won CMA Entertainer of the Year in both 2005 and 2006?

The New Zealand-born, Australia-raised singer married Nicole Kidman in 2006; Billboard later named 'Somebody Like You' the biggest country hit of the decade.

The country star who married Nicole Kidman in 2006 was born in which country?

His family moved to Queensland when he was two, and he arrived in Nashville in 1992.

Toby Keith wrote 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue' after 9/11 and which personal loss?

The Marine Corps commandant told him it was his duty to record it; ABC then dropped him from a Fourth of July special over its angry tone.

Toby Keith's 2003 duet 'Beer for My Horses', which spent six weeks at number one, featured which legend?

Keith launched his own label, Show Dog Nashville, in 2005.

Rascal Flatts' 'Bless the Broken Road' won which Grammy for 2004?

The Columbus, Ohio trio of Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney also had 2006's second-best-selling album, Me and My Gang.

Rascal Flatts recorded a cover of 'Life Is a Highway' for which 2006 Pixar film?

The same year 'What Hurts the Most' topped both the country and adult contemporary charts.

Gretchen Wilson's 2004 debut single, which went straight to number one, was called what?

It won her the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and the CMA Horizon Award.

Gretchen Wilson, Big & Rich and Cowboy Troy were part of which Nashville songwriters' collective?

Big & Rich's John Rich had earlier played bass in Lonestar.

Big & Rich's only number-one single, from 2007, was which song?

'Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)' from their 2004 debut Horse of a Different Color peaked only at number 11.

When Garth Brooks announced his retirement in October 2000, what condition did he attach?

He married Trisha Yearwood in December 2005 and began a Las Vegas residency at Wynn in 2009.

Which country singer did Garth Brooks marry in December 2005?

Brooks holds the record for the most Diamond-certified albums, nine, ahead of the Beatles' six.

Brad Paisley's 2004 duet 'Whiskey Lullaby' featured which bluegrass singer?

Paisley was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2001 at age 28 and married actress Kimberly Williams in 2003.

Which country star's 2004 crossover duet 'Over and Over' paired him with rapper Nelly?

It spent 10 weeks atop the top 40 chart; the same year he earned acclaim as an actor in Friday Night Lights.

Faith Hill's country-star husband is the son of which former Major League pitcher?

McGraw and Faith Hill's Soul2Soul II tour was one of the highest-grossing tours in country history.

Faith Hill recorded 'There You'll Be' for the soundtrack of which 2001 film?

Her album Breathe won three Grammys and she voiced the NBC Sunday Night Football intro from 2007 to 2012.

Which founding member left Sugarland in 2005, leaving Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush as a duo?

The Georgia group's debut single 'Baby Girl' arrived in 2004 and they won CMA Vocal Duo of the Year in 2007.

Lady Antebellum's 2009 hit 'Need You Now' went on to win which two top Grammys in 2011?

The Nashville trio formed in 2006 and shortened its name to Lady A in June 2020.

Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott is the daughter of which country singer?

Bandmate Charles Kelley is the brother of pop singer Josh Kelley.

Zac Brown Band's first number one, in November 2008, was which song?

In 2010 they became the only country group ever to win the Grammy for Best New Artist.

Miranda Lambert first came to attention by finishing third on which 2003 TV talent show?

Her 2005 debut Kerosene went platinum and 'Gunpowder & Lead' became her first top-ten hit in 2008.

Whose deep-voiced 2003 debut 'Long Black Train' spent 40-plus weeks on the country chart?

The bass-baritone from Hannah, South Carolina, followed it with the number ones 'Your Man' and 'Would You Go with Me'.

Which act won the CMA Entertainer of the Year award for 2000?

McGraw won in 2001, Jackson in 2002 and 2003, and Garth Brooks made a surprise win in 2007.

Be Here (2004), its Australian-raised singer's best seller, went how many times platinum?

He later served as an American Idol judge from 2012 to 2016.

Which 2002 album, named after a beach-bar sign, launched its singer's four Entertainer of the Year wins?

Its hit 'The Good Stuff' spent seven weeks at number one and was Billboard's top country song of 2002.

Which 2001 debut single by Blake Shelton spent five weeks at number one on the country chart?

Giant Records closed soon after releasing it, and Shelton was shifted to parent label Warner Bros.

Darius Rucker's 2008 country number one was the first by a Black artist since which singer in 1983?

The former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman's song was "Don't Think I Don't Think About It", from his album Learn to Live.

Which Lonestar power ballad topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000 after a pop remix?

Boyz II Men were reportedly offered the song first and turned it down; it spent eight weeks atop the country chart.

Lee Ann Womack recorded her 2000 crossover hit "I Hope You Dance" with which group?

It won the CMA Single of the Year and the Grammy for Best Country Song; the group's Womack brothers are no relation to Lee Ann.

Which duo announced their retirement in August 2009 after racking up 20 country number ones?

They played their final concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena in September 2010, then went solo on Arista Nashville.

What was Dierks Bentley's chart-topping 2003 debut single?

He had self-funded an independent album in 2001 before Capitol Nashville signed him.

Which label, later renamed BBR Music Group, signed Jason Aldean in 2005?

His 2005 self-titled debut on the label went platinum, launching hits such as "Amarillo Sky" and "Big Green Tractor".

Little Big Town's 2005 hit "Boondocks" came out on Equity Music Group, a label owned by which star?

The quartet's harmony-driven album The Road to Here went platinum before Equity closed in 2008.