'Time' Lists Dolly Parton, Kane Brown Among 100 Most Influential People

Time unveiled its 100 most influential people of 2021, and the list of noteworthy individuals includes big names in the country music industry.

Dolly Parton and Kane Brown made the list, and the reasons why were laid out by fellow artists who know the stars best: Miley Cyrus and Darius Rucker, respectively. Cyrus wrote of the country music icon, in part:

“Dolly is not only my idol because of her incomparable career—she’s also my role model because of her steadfast morals and values. At her core, she is the definition of a humanitarian. She’s also the world’s most impeccably purposeful walking contradiction, having developed her iconic look after being inspired by the town tramp. Now she’s known as a saintly, even godlike, figure.”

Rucker hailed Brown’s “unquantifiable ‘it’ factor” and “laid-back” attitude. The “Beers and Sunshine” singer also noted Brown’s boundary-pushing style with his mark of “borderline-rapping” in his music and I collaborations. One way Rucker explained Brown is paving new roads for the next generation of artists:

“Early on, the line I heard from so many radio programmers was, ‘My audience will never accept a Black country singer.’ Now everybody knows that’s not true, and Kane is making it more untrue because he’s having success like nobody else. I’m sure there are kids looking up to Kane right now just like when I looked up at Charley Pride…Kane is setting the bar so high for the next generation. I hope kids see him and now think, ‘I can do that.’”