When it comes to being a celebrity, one thing is for sure, you can’t win ’em all. And HARDY knows that to be true.
The Mississippi native has successfully carved out his own path in music by blending elements of country and rock. Above all, HARDY is a master songwriter and a gifted performer, and he’s extremely talented at navigating different musical landscapes. But because he often ventures into two lanes, making him a versatile artist, his genre-bending approach has led to plenty of online criticisms, with fans labeling him as either “too country” or “too rock.”
Regardless, HARDY has his own way of handling the hate across the internet, and it’s to pay no mind to those who have something negative to say.
“Just tell them to shut the f**k up and just enjoy the music,” he tells Music Mayhem in regard to the naysayers during a recent interview. “I never clap back on people online because it’s not who I am. I let people have their opinions and get into their own fights, but, in my head, I’m just rolling my eyes.”
“Dude, you just can’t win with stuff like that, man,” he added, knowing full well that internet trolls aren’t willing to back down when they share opinions on social media.
2023’s The Mockingbird & The Crow introduced fans to HARDY’s strength of being able to shift genres. The project layout included 17 tracks, with the first half of the record showcasing country music while the second half leaned heavily into HARDY’s rock influences. Follow-up albums like 2024’s Quit!! and 2025’s COUNTRY! found him toeing the line a bit more between genres, with the first of the two showcasing his rock side and COUNTRY! marking a return to his roots.
“You put out a rock record, and then I’ve seen comments where ‘Luckiest Man Alive’ is probably the most kind of down-the-gut country song on that EP,” HARDY said of one of the songs featured on COUNTRY! “And I put that out, and there’s comments where they’re just [saying] ‘Be the Crow.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, f**k you, you didn’t like the rock record, bro.’”
“But, let me say this. All of those people that comment, I know for a fact are not like my diehard fans because my diehard fans are the people that love every record and every subgenre of anything that I do,” HARDY said confidently. “And I know that for a fact. I really I’m very thankful for my fans, and I know that they’re just ride or die, man. And so the people giving me criticism can just get fu**ed or whatever.”
A trailblazer in his own right, it’s surprising no one has come up with a name for HARDY’s unique genre-bending sound. And while there’s still time for that, the singer/songwriter himself has an idea for whoever decides to come up with a name for the country/rock mashup.
“Oh, man. Southern Metal, I think, maybe is like a good place to start,” he says. “I’m not the first person to ever do that or coin that term, but I feel like that’s what I fall under.”
Additionally, HARDY released his latest collection of songs with his COUNTRY! EP. The five-track project, which includes songs “Buck On The Wall,” “Car That Drove You Away,” “Girl With A Gun,” “Luckiest Man Alive,” and “Favorite Country Song,” dropped on May 2 via Big Loud Records.
For more information on HARDY’s upcoming tour dates and new music, visit his official website.
