Blending hip-hop-influenced R&B with confessional pop, Kane Brown defied country conventions with his string of Billboard Country Airplay number one hits in the late 2010s. On his singles, Brown alternated between romantic slow jams and party numbers ripe for remixes and collaborations by the likes of Khalid and Marshmello — a fluid mix suited for a variety of genres or moods. Brown’s versatility disguised a candidly emotional and autobiographical streak that surfaced on his albums, an element that added dimension to his music even when it wound up as an accent on a collection of savvy modern pop as it did on Different Man, the 2022 album that confirmed his status as one of the more distinctive country stars of his era.