ACM Winners Brothers Osborne Explain Why Not Getting as Much ‘Love’ From Country Radio Is OK
Just a week before the ACM Awards on Monday night (March 7), Brothers Osborne's latest single, "I'm Not for Everyone," got pulled from country radio — a fact that the duo's T.J. Osborne brought attention to when they took the stage to accept their trophy for Duo of the Year.
"About a week ago they pulled our single from country radio, so I needed a little wind put back in my sails," T.J. admitted during his portion of the sibling duo's acceptance speech.
Backstage in the ACMs press room, the bandmates elaborated a little on that sentiment, with John explaining that T.J.'s statement was made partially "in jest." While there was truth to it, he said, the statement was made "more in fun and in the moment."
Still, it's true that the Brothers Osborne haven't had anywhere near the country radio success of some of their peers, including Dan + Shay, who they edged out to win Duo of the Year.
"We don't necessarily get the love that some other artists do on radio. And it's just a fact. Tonight, I guess some people were upset that I said that," T.J. added with a shrug. "But I said a true statement: Our single literally got pulled last week and we just won an award. If you're upset about that, maybe you're part of the problem."
But the duo weren't feeling bitter about their lagging radio airplay on Monday night; instead, they were riding high from the validation of their Duo of the Year award and invigorated by country music's changing landscape, in which there are many paths to success. Artists aren't necessarily beholden to terrestrial radio anymore: Stars are made through awards, social media, even apps like TikTok.
"To have a lot of success at radio really is amazing and has done a lot of people a lot of good, changed a lot of lives," John continued. "But there's more than one way to do it, and at one point there wasn't. Now there are a lot of ways...In my own humble opinion, I think that's amazing. I think it's incredible and a beacon for us in the industry."