Brooks & Dunn - Only In America

2001

Brooks & Dunn - Only In America (2001) Director: Michael Merriman Era: Post-Millennial Country (2001) - Peak mainstream Nashville country pre-9/11, patriotic anthems surging on country radio amid heightened national unity narratives A landmark country music video of the early 2000s, 'Only In America' is a primary artifact of the genre's patriotic turn and the cultural moment surrounding 9/11. Its ACM Video of the Year win, bipartisan political adoption, and continued relevance in American public life make it essential viewing for scholars of country music, American cultural studies, and political communication. Merriman's hybrid concert-documentary approach represents a mature, high-production-value expression of Nashville's video craft at the dawn of digital production. Context: Released June 2001 as the second single from Steers & Stripes, Brooks & Dunn's seventh studio album on Arista Nashville, 'Only In America' arrived mere months before the September 11 attacks. Its celebration of the American melting pot and aspirational opportunity resonated profoundly in the post-9/11 climate, becoming a staple of Independence Day celebrations and political campaign events. The song's bipartisan appeal was demonstrated when it served as a campaign anthem for both George W. Bush in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008. The video's use of The Gorge Amphitheatre's dramatic natural setting amplified the anthem's epic, land-of-the-free visual rhetoric. Director notes: Directed by Michael Merriman; edited by Scott Mele. Primarily filmed at The Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincy, Washington on June 12, 2001. The video blends live concert performance footage of Brooks & Dunn on stage against the venue's scenic canyon backdrop with documentary-style montage sequences depicting diverse facets of American daily life, families, workers, and communities. Released June 18, 2001. Won the Academy of Country Music's Music Video of the Year award in 2002. Also nominated for the Country Music Association's Music Video of the Year in the same year. The rapid intercutting structure (avg shot length 1.55s, 151 scene changes over ~3:55) reflects Merriman's signature high-energy editing style for arena-scale country productions.