Chanel West Coast Reveals Inspiration Behind Country Music Era

Chanel West Coast detailed the inspiration behind her latest country music era in an exclusive E! News interview at MTV VMAs 2026. BySep 28, 2026 5:10 PM| Updated 23 minutes agoTagsChanel West Coast Reveals Inspiration Behind Country Music EraChanel West Coast isn’t doing country just for the look of it. After the Ridiculousness star made the transition into country music in 2025, she explained that her jump into the genre is deeper than you might think. “I love being in country and really being a female representing from the West Coast in country,” she explained in an exclusive interview with E! News’ Keltie Knight at MTV VMAs 2026. “There’s no females that are repping country from the West. We’re out here to rep for the Wild West outlaws.” And the former TV star (real name Chelsea Chanel Dudley) noted it’s a bonus that her fans are into her new chapter. “The country fans are loving it,” she mused. “The TV fans from Ridiculousness are loving it. It’s really blowing up for me, overnight type of thing.” Meanwhile, Chanel proved with her single “Giddy Up” earlier this year that she’s not going to box herself in to any one genre. “‘Giddy Up’ is a country-pop record, but it's really about bridging worlds,” Chanel explained in a February statement shortly after the release of her single. “I wanted it to feel familiar to country fans while still hitting for pop, hip-hop, and dance listeners too.” The MTV VMAs were yet another setting for musicians across genres to gather and support each other. In fact, Bebe Rexha proved that there’s always room for more than one woman at the top in pop, recalling a time when Taylor Swift supported her amid not finding a designer to dress her for the Grammys in 2019. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images“I couldn't find a dress, and she had reached out to me because we're the same age,” Bebe detailed in a separate exclusive E! News interview on the VMAs red carpet. “I thought that was really, really, really kind of her. Nobody really reached out—like some people did, but for her, at such a high level, to make me feel like I belong was really, really nice.” For more stars who stepped out at the VMAs red carpet, keep reading… Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesTaylor SwiftFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesTeyana TaylorFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesParis HiltonJohn Shearer/WireImageCharli xcxJohn Shearer/WireImageDave Grohl & Jordyn BlumMonica Schipper/WireImageLisa RinnaFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesCiara MillerFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesNic VansteenbergheFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesLISATodd Williamson/CBS via Getty ImagesRayeFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesSombrFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesTeddy SwimsDoug Peters/PA Images via Getty ImagesPinkPantheressJohn Shearer/WireImageNormaniFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesRachel DratchJohn Shearer/WireImageTylaFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesAlex WarrenJohn Shearer/WireImageDavid CorenswetLISA O'CONNOR / AFP via Getty ImagesNicky HiltonLISA O'CONNOR / AFP via Getty ImagesFrench MontanaFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesEmma BuntonMonica Schipper/WireImageShaboozeyFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesBebe RexhaLISA O'CONNOR / AFP via Getty ImagesAdam LambertFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesJesse SolomonFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesFlavor Flav & Chuck DFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesNirvanaFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesSienna SpiroKevin Mazur/Getty ImagesChloe BaileyFrazer Harrison/Getty ImagesOlandriaFor the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App