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Country music has been all over the pop charts this summer.

Mary Poppins is out and Matilda is in, according to the new high school theater rankings from the Educational Theatre Association. The organization has been publishing its list since 1938.

By the time she was 18, Wang had carved out a niche as a performer to call when older big-name pianists couldn't make it to their engagements. But now, at 22, she's headlining a project of her own: Her debut CD, Sonatas and Etudes, has been nominated for a Grammy.

Guitarist Sean Shibe pushes his instrument to the limit in new music written for him by Thomas Adès, and softens the vibe with intimate pieces by Bach, Mompou and the eccentric street musician Moondog.

Sabrina Carpenter currently holds down both the No. 2 and No. 3 songs in the nation according to Billboard Magazine. That puts her in rare company.

"Colors" is the buoy that floats to the top of Smith's new record: It's an up-tempo jaunt that illustrates one side of a long-distance relationship, not lamenting the isolation but instead looking fixedly to the future. Both a plea for the separation to end and a promise to remain steadfast, "Colors" is at least as much a ballad of heartfelt yearning as it is a stomp-and-swagger jam.

Rice's music demands close attention: Whether he's singing in an aching whisper or yelling amid strings and other pomp (often in the same song), he's a nuanced performer who isn't afraid to lay his feelings bare. "Elephant" finds him carrying on in top form, in an epic ballad that showcases his considerable emotional and vocal range.

Walker's sweet tenor carries an edge of pain, as well as affection for blue notes. His blues music isn't just about guitars and drums, just as it isn't about the torn jeans and unshaven face he presents on his Web site. Topping off that hobo look is a fedora with a sharp crease — a cool, nostalgic hat that's the sartorial equivalent of "I Got a Song."

Always provocative, the band jettisons post-punk thrash in favor of a sturdier Top 40 pop sound that recalls the early to mid-'80s.

Commentator Rob Kapilow explains how Copland's pure, American sound springs from two simple chords that open the ballet Appalachian Spring. Stacked upon each other, the chords reveal a sound like all of America, like the purest values, and like Shaker simplicity.