Mississippi Girl vs. the Canadian Man

I must admit, for not being much of a country music fan until I met my cowboy, it has quickly become my favorite genre now. I still love my eighties, disco, worship, classic rock, dance music, and top 40 music, but nothing beats the way country just moves me, inside and out. It is the rare song from another genre that can do that to me the way country music does. I've always been a huge music lover, mostly loving songs I could sing a long to and for the most part the message of the lyrics wasn't my main reason for liking the music. When I was interested in the lyrics it was so I could project my own feelings into the song and made them about what I wanted them to be about. Country music has been different, and I think it's because of the artists, not necessarily the music. Some of the songs I love the most could have just as easily been playing on 94 fm or 103 fm.
One of the artists who was a stepping stone into liking country was Faith Hill. She had a very pop-sounding album around that time and so she weened me onto artists like the Dixie Chicks, Keith Urban, and Leann Rimes, and from there I allowed myself to try the more twangy (to me anyway) Colin Raye, George Strait, Lonestar, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Tim McGraw and Paul Brandt.
I have stayed a fan of Faith Hill and grown to love her husband's music as well. I watched their Oprah interview and just paid attention to them in general, not entirely sure why I started, maybe because they are the American dream, beautiful, talented, in love, rich, with 3 beautiful children. What don't they have? And the fact that they seem so down to earth despite it all. Not to mention their music, each individually, and their steamy duets. I was so ecstatic to be able to attend their concert this past June, a possibly once in a life time opportunity. They put on a really great show, it was everything I expected and more. The highlights being their amazing stage that allowed us to feel as if we were 10 rows away instead of 20, their cover songs like Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol cover), Abba, and The Joker, and making Faith cry with a standing O. She also surprised me by singing Amazing Grace after that. She hasn't been shy about her gospel roots however the only time I've heard her sing something belief based was on Oprah when Oprah mentioned Faith sang gospel music to warm up during rehearsal.
Yet, as amazing as that concert was, it couldn't beat Paul Brandt. And no, not just because he's Canadian and wore a Bomber jersey on stage last Monday. It's because of many, many things. First, he's there as much for his fans' as he is for his own enjoyment, he chooses small venues (he could have gone bigger than the Pantages because his show sold out in minutes, just as fast as Faith & Tim's) for a couple reasons I suspect, such as; smaller audience for a more personable interaction and cheaper tickets so his fans can afford it (something he also furthers by having a very limited exhibition, just a few lights, nothing fancy). He interacts a lot with the audience, waving to us a lot, responding to the "I love you Paul's" with an "I love you too!". He's sometimes part-standup comedian and sometimes just baring his soul. You begin to feel like you know him during his shows. We've been way more entertained at each of his shows than we were at Tim & Faith.
Second, we always fall in love with his opening act. He has a tremendous nack for choosing who he tours with. First time we went it was Doc Walker. This was before they were really big, and even though we somewhat liked what we heard from them before the concert, we absolutely loved their music after we heard music they didn't release to the radio. Second time we saw Paul he was with Derric Ruttan, who has surprised us by not hitting it big because we thought he was amazing. He has a real talent for telling a story with his lyrics, his writing style is very distinguishable and we love his sound as well. We've become big fans of his. And this last concert was no exception, he brought out Jason Blaine who we haven't been drawn to through his radio releases, but once again, fell hard for him when we heard his unreleased repetoire. This guy sings songs very similar to Derric Ruttan's style, has a voice very similar to Paul's (and personality too, he was very funny) and he's as cute as Dierks Bentely. This guy is going to be a hit.
Third, Paul has never shied away from letting his faith permeate his songs. Sean and I had suspected for awhile that Paul was a Christian but you can never assume based on songs, or even what you hear from the media. Then when we bought Paul's album "This Time Around" and his song "That's What I Love About Jesus", we knew for sure. After that we read on his web page that he and his wife attend a Church in Calgary where they once again reside and we were happy to see how much he was revealing to the public about his faith. Not that his actions haven't spoken much louder than words already. He moved back to Calgary after 9 years in Nashville so that he could put family first, even though he thought it might mean early retirement (people losing interest), but his popularity actually grew! And then there is his involvement in World Vision and Samaritan's Purse, and not just the normal celebrity routine but sacrificing a lot of his own income to furthering their cause. He is even selecting one person who donates $100 to his latest Samaritan's Purse campaign who will join him for a trip to Africa to see their dollars at work first hand. Now what celebrity does that?
And being Canadian doesn't hurt. I may be a little bias, but I kinda like to think that it's partially because he's Canadian that he is such an outstanding human being. I don't want to turn this to a Maple Leaf vs. Stars & Stripes thing, but I do think there is a certain humbleness and compassion that we have that seems more absent from the pursuit of the American dream. There are exceptions, I know some wonderful Americans, but this my general perspective. So, no contest, Paul wins hands down. I will probably never spend money to see Faith Hill & Tim McGraw again, been there, done that, but we will go see Paul Brandt every chance we get.