Confession

I’ve known a lot of people who say, “I love all kinds of music… except country.” I laugh about it now, but I used to be one of those people. I would go off about how country music is all twang, honky tonks, and whatever nonsense the artists cared to sing about. One of my good friends is an avid country fan and I ended up listening to the music while with her. This is when I started listening to country⎯really listening. Country is some of the most heart-felt, down to earth and soulful music I’ve ever heard. Listening to this music is like getting a shot of endorphins; so much of today’s popular music is full of negative subject matter and country is full of the simplicities in life that make living a beautiful thing.

My name is Kaisa Jarrell and I am a country girl⎯A damn proud country girl at that.

This summer I watched a show on CMT (Country Music Television) that did a countdown of the top country artists: Top 20 Guys and Top 20 ladies. So I decided I would list my Top 5 of each.

5. Lady Antebellum – Hillary Scott She's got a voice like American honey.

4. Carrie Underwood Though I can not do her justice by singing along to her songs, Carrie Underwood is the epitome of girl power music. Her song "Undo It" is my personal favorite.

3. Sara Evans Like Carrie Underwood, Sara Evans is definitely about the girl power, but she has a softer side to her style⎯her voice and music are perfect for a sunny day drive. Born to fly is a good one.

2. Sugarland – Jennifer Nettles She is Sugarland's lead singer. Her song "Stuck like glue" is what originally got me started on my country kick. Her voice is twangy, but she's full of soul and I love her for it.

1. Miranda Lambert is my girl. Hands down she is my favorite female country artist. I can listen to her music no matter what kind of mood I'm in: happy, sad, angry, whatever. There's a song for everything. Some of my favorite songs are "Heart like mine," "Famous in a small town," "Kerosene," and "The House that Built Me."

And now the guys...

5. Chris Young - strong and deep. His song "Voices" is the one I like best because it makes me think of my family.

4. Brad Paisley - The first time I ever heard him was when the song "Whiskey Lullaby" was released several years ago; it is a beautifully tragic duet with Bluegrass singer Alison Krauss. He also does a duet with Carrie Underwood called "Remind Me" which has a similar quality to the duet with Alison Krauss.

3. Josh Turner I loved his before I loved his genre. I think that's because he has a blue grass feel to his songs, but regardless he made it to the top five. My mom is the one who introduced me to him. The song "She'll go on you" has become our song. It takes you through the stages of life; a tear jerker for sure.

2. Jason Aldean His song "She's Country" is one of my all time favorites. All I want to do when I hear this song is drive really fast with the windows down.

1. Blake Shelton - He is married to my favorite country girl Miranda Lambert and is also one of the judges on the hit NBC show The Voice. Watching him on this show made my love for him increase so much more because he was such a great coach throughout the season. His song "Who are you when I'm not looking" was one of the songs that got me into country. Lastly, I love his ability to blend with other genres of music. The following video is a perfect exampe: