Quote of note:

just as generations of rock stars have posed as rebels, and rappers try to "keep it real" while flaunting their wealth, country stars try to defend or reconcile their success with their roots.

Down Home in the High Cotton
By HENRY FOUNTAIN

FAITH HILL'S new song, "Mississippi Girl," was one of the hottest songs in the nation last week, rising four spots to No. 9 on the Billboard country singles chart. It's a paean to Ms. Hill herself, juxtaposing her humble roots with her considerable celebrity.

In the chorus she tries to reconcile the two. And just as John Denver once thanked God he was a country boy, Ms. Hill appeals directly to fans to treat her as one of their own. "A Mississippi girl don't change her ways, just 'cause everybody knows her name," she sings. "Ain't big-headed from a little bit of fame."

Country stars have always flaunted their wealth, but as popular entertainment has become more obsessed with wealth and celebrity, the stakes have been raised.

"The currency of wealth-flaunting has been much inflated in recent years," said Curtis W. Ellison, a professor of American studies and history at Miami University in Ohio. "If you've got stars who do what stars have always done, which is show off, they can show off even more." And that can make it more difficult for stars to maintain their image among fans as regular Joes.