Any entertainer who tells you that the adoration of fans is not a heady experience probably never had the experience.
The tastes of country music fans are not limited to the narrow range defined by consultants and programmers and record company moguls.
Fans will praise you, scold you, and offer helpful advice. Fans will also defend you.
It isn't reasonable to expect that everyone in the world is a country music fan. Not yet, anyway.
Fans are what make a performer and I've always taken them seriously.