Country music is one of those things that is so deeply ingrained in our culture that being bullied for loving it just seems unimaginable.
But, strangely enough, it's something that lots look down upon in other countries. And that's something country artist Wade Forster, who hails from rural Australia, knows all too well.
Per Taste of Country, it turns out the country artist got bullied for loving the genre. He'd gone to boarding school as a teen, and tried to be honest with others about his taste... and it didn't go so well.
"I got bullied for it," he recalled. "I got bullied, and I was like, 'What are you going to do? These are city kids, I could knock your teeth out.' They stopped bullying me pretty quick." Turns out being from a rural area gives you some hardiness, no matter what country you're from!
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The Country Artist Can Thank His Parents
Of course, such a deep-rooted love for music often comes from the tastes of your parents. And for Forster, his parents just couldn't get enough of country music. In fact, they couldn't get enough of practically everything!
"I grew up rodeoing with my dad and mom ,and they had the big CD folder, and it was a mixed bag," he recalled. "We'd go from Limp Bizkit, to George Jones, then to a Tom T. Hall CD straight into a Gorillaz CD. I was very blessed to live a very cultured life in music."
In terms of who exactly he liked, he remembered, "I think the first band that I sort of fell in love with was Brooks & Dunn. Who doesn't love Brooks & Dunn?" Well, your old bullies... but they were wrong anyway!
The country artist also revealed that he always had a soft spot for Reba McEntire. Who can blame him?
I think this serves as a pretty poignant reminder that country music isn't always going to be seen as this wonderful thing. And we should all be grateful for being able to listen to our twangy tunes freely!
If nothing else, we're glad Wade Forster fought off the bullies for the right to listen to country.
