I have a friend who was born in Vietnam and she told me that everyone listens to country music over there. My friend learned English by listening to country lyrics. I asked her they ever listen to rock music and she said not many because you can't understand what they are saying; rockers mash their words together.
When I visited Spain, U.S. country music CDs were in every store I visited. So, our country music is really the world's country music.
I’m not a huge fan of country music, but I like a few Don Williams, Marty Robbins, Glen Campbell, and John Denver. The old guys. That’s great that such original American music is appreciated world wide.
Your post reminded me of this though from 2008:
John Denver karaoke sparks Thai killing spree
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982679/posts