Country music

===Canada===
{{Main|Canadian country music|Canadian Country Music Association|Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame}}
[[File:ShaniaTwainJunoAwardsMar2011.jpg|thumb|upright|Shania Twain in 2011]]
Outside of the United States, Canada has the largest country music fan and artist base, something that is to be expected given the two countries' proximity and cultural parallels. Mainstream country music is culturally ingrained in the [[Canadian Prairies|prairie provinces]], the [[British Columbia Interior]], Northern Ontario, and in [[Atlantic Canada]].<ref name="book">{{cite book |last=Wolfe |first=Charles K. |author2=James Edward Akenson |title=The Women of Country Music |year=2003 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |pages=162=163}}</ref> [[Celtic music|Celtic traditional music]] developed in Atlantic Canada in the form of Scottish, Acadian and Irish folk music popular amongst Irish, French and Scottish immigrants to Canada's Atlantic Provinces ([[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[New Brunswick]], and [[Prince Edward Island]]).<ref name="book"/> Like the southern United States and [[Appalachia]], all four regions are of heavy [[British Isles]] stock and rural; as such, the development of traditional music in the Maritimes somewhat mirrored the development of country music in the US South and Appalachia. Country and western music never really developed separately in Canada; however, after its introduction to Canada, following the spread of radio, it developed quite quickly out of the Atlantic Canadian traditional scene. While true Atlantic Canadian traditional music is very Celtic or "[[sea shanty]]" in nature, even today, the lines have often been blurred. Certain areas often are viewed as embracing one strain or the other more openly. For example, in Newfoundland the traditional music remains unique and [[Music of Ireland|Irish]] in nature, whereas traditional musicians in other parts of the region may play both genres interchangeably.

''[[Don Messer's Jubilee]]'' was a [[Halifax Regional Municipality|Halifax, Nova Scotia]]-based country/folk variety television show that was broadcast nationally from 1957 to 1969. In Canada it out-performed ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' broadcast from the United States and became the top-rated television show throughout much of the 1960s. ''Don Messer's Jubilee'' followed a consistent format throughout its years, beginning with a tune named "Goin' to the Barndance Tonight", followed by fiddle tunes by Messer, songs from some of his "Islanders" including singers [[Marg Osburne]] and [[Charlie Chamberlain]], the featured guest performance, and a closing hymn. It ended with "[[Till We Meet Again (1918 song)|Till We Meet Again]]". The guest performance slot gave national exposure to numerous Canadian folk musicians, including [[Stompin' Tom Connors]] and [[Catherine McKinnon]]. Some Maritime country performers went on to further fame beyond Canada. [[Hank Snow]], [[Wilf Carter (musician)|Wilf Carter]] (also known as Montana Slim), and [[Anne Murray]] are the three most notable. The cancellation of the show by the public broadcaster in 1969 caused a nationwide protest, including the raising of questions in the Parliament of Canada.

The Prairie provinces, due to their western cowboy and agrarian nature, are the true heartland of Canadian country music.<ref name="book"/> While the Prairies never developed a traditional music culture anything like the Maritimes, the folk music of the Prairies often reflected the cultural origins of the settlers, who were a mix of [[Scottish Canadian|Scottish]], [[Ukrainian Canadian|Ukrainian]], [[Canadians of German ethnicity|German]] and others. For these reasons [[polka]]s and western music were always popular in the region, and with the introduction of the radio, mainstream country music flourished. As the culture of the region is western and frontier in nature, the specific genre of country and western is more popular today in the Prairies than in any other part of the country. No other area of the country embraces all aspects of the culture, from two-step dancing, to the cowboy dress, to rodeos, to the music itself, like the Prairies do. The Atlantic Provinces, on the other hand, produce far more traditional musicians, but they are not usually specifically country in nature, usually bordering more on the [[Folk music|folk]] or [[Celtic music|Celtic]] genres.<ref name="book"/>

Canadian country pop star [[Shania Twain]] is the best-selling female country artist of all time and one of the [[List of best-selling music artists|best-selling artists of all time]] in any genre.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2017/04/14/Shania-Twain-joins-The-Voice-as-key-adviser/1801492174760/|title=Shania Twain joins 'The Voice' as key adviser|work=[[United Press International]]|first=Annie|last=Martin|date=April 14, 2017|access-date=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818043346/https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2017/04/14/Shania-Twain-joins-The-Voice-as-key-adviser/1801492174760/|archive-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Gordinier|first=Jeff|url=https://ew.com/article/2002/11/08/shania-twain-does-not-believe-tears/|title=Shania Twain Does Not Believe in Tears|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=November 8, 2002|access-date=March 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925112009/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,386430,00.html|archive-date=September 25, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, she is the only woman to have three consecutive albums be certified [[RIAA certification|Diamond]].