Vols long snapper Riley Lovingood / Credit: UT Athletics
IRVING, Texas – Tennessee long snapper Riley Lovingood was selected as a member of the 2020 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF announced Wednesday.
Lovingood joins 12 other VFLs who have received the honor since its inception in 2007.
Qualifications to join the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study, being a starter or significant contributor during the 2019 season and meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.
Lovingood was the primary long snapper for all 13 games of the 2019 season for the Vols. He handled two different punters and snapped for All-SEC Second Team kicker Brent Cimaglia, who made 23 of 27 field goal attempts and was perfect on extra points. During the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, the Hendersonville, Tenn., native injured his knee after snapping on the game-winning extra point, but returned for a crucial snap on a punt in the final minutes.
He was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient while also completing his master’s degree in communications studies in December 2019 with a 3.21 GPA.
E.J. Anosike (pronounced: ann-uh-SICK-ee), a 6-6, 245-pound forward from East Orange, New Jersey, has signed an institutional aid agreement and plans to enroll at Tennessee this summer and play for the Volunteers as a graduate transfer during the 2020-21 season.
The name is familiar to many Tennessee fans, as his older sister, Nicky Anosike, was a two-time national champion with the Lady Vols basketball program from 2004-08 and twice was named to the NCAA All-Final Four Team. He plans to wear her No. 55 next season.
E.J. Anosike will earn his degree in Finance and Business Economics, with a minor in Accounting, from Sacred Heart University in May. He achieved a 3.57 GPA and received the 2020 Northeast Conference Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete Award.
A first-team All-NEC selection last season, Anosike ranked among the top 20 in all of Division I in offensive rebounds per game (4.18, fourth), total rebounds per game (11.6 rpg, sixth), double-doubles (18, seventh) and defensive rebounds per game (7.42, 19th). His career rebounding averages climbed from 3.9 rpg as a freshman to 8.1 ppg as a sophomore to a league-leading 11.6 rpg as a junior. Prior to transferring to Tennessee, Anosike was on track to become the just sixth player in NEC history to reach 1,000 career rebounds.
“Aside from being a great person from a great family, E.J. brings experience and toughness,” Vols head coach Rick Barnes said. “Anyone who averages a double-double for an entire season and displays the versatility he has is impressive. He also plays with tremendous competitive spirit, which is valuable for any team.”
Anosike started all 33 games for Sacred Heart this past season and led the team in scoring (15.7 ppg), rebounding (11.6 rpg), offensive rebounding (4.2 orpg) and minutes played (33.2 mpg) while shooting .484 from the field. He logged eight 20-point games and was a five-time NEC Player of the Week.
His 27 career double-doubles are fifth-most among all returning Division I players nationally.
Over the last two seasons, he started all 65 games in which he appeared. In his 94 career games, Anosike averages 11.7 points and 8.0 rebounds.
As his role expanded year over year, the Pioneers’ win total improved from 10, to 15, to 20 this past season.
A 1,000-point scorer at New Jersey’s Paramus Catholic High School, Anosike spent a postgrad year at St. Thomas More School in Montville, Connecticut, before enrolling at Sacred Heart.
Anosike becomes the second New Jersey native to suit up for the Vols, joining Steve Hirschorn (1968-72, Springfield, N.J.). He will be the sixth incoming graduate transfer in program history, following forward John Fields (2010-11), guard Antonio Barton (2013-14), guard Ian Chiles (2014-15), forward Lew Evans (2016-17) and guard James Daniel III (2017-18).
Tennessee’s crop of newcomers for the 2020-21 season now stands at four. Anosike joins incoming freshmen Keon Johnson, Jaden Springer and Corey Walker Jr.
Singer/songwriter Jameson Rodgers has used his writing chops to co-pen tunes like Luke Bryan’s “Born Here, Live Here, Die Here,” Jason Aldean’s “Camouflage Hat” and Florida Georgia Line’s “Wish You Were On It.”
The Mississippi native, who dropped his debut single, “Some Girls,” in 2019, is back with a new release of his own, “Cold Beer Calling My Name.” The spirited song features vocals from Luke Combs, who took Jameson on the road with him as part of his Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour in 2019.
Thomas Rhett and Little Big Town are among the more than two dozen stars taking part in ABC’s The Disney Family Singalong on April 16. The show will feature “celebrities with their families as they take on their favorite Disney tunes from their homes.”
Thomas Rhett will perform “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman” from Frozen, while Little Big Town will tackle “A Spoonful of Sugar” from Mary Poppins.
Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, The Disney Family Singalong will also include remote performances and appearances by Ariana Grande, Tori Kelly, Demi Lovato, Christina Aguilera, Erin Andrews, Michael Bublé, Kristin Chenoweth, Auliʻi Cravalho, Luke Evans, Jordan Fisher, Josh Gad, Derek Hough, Julianne Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, Kenny Ortega, Donny Osmond, Bobby Bones, Amber Riley, John Stamos and many more.
The Disney Family Singalong will premiere on April 16 at 8 p.m ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.
Many of the announced performances are below.
“A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” from Cinderella – Demi Lovato and Michael Bublé
“A Spoonful of Sugar” from Mary Poppins – Little Big Town
“Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast – Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert, with a special appearance by Julianne Hough
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King – Christina Aguilera
“Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas – Tori Kelly
“Do You Want to Build a Snowman” from Frozen – Thomas Rhett
“Friend Like Me” from Aladdin – James Monroe Iglehart with Broadway Company of Disney’s Aladdin
“Gaston” from Beauty and the Beast – Josh Gad, Luke Evans and Alan Menken
“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana – Auliʻi Cravalho
“I Won’t Say I’m In Love” from Hercules – Ariana Grande
“I Wan’na Be Like You” from The Jungle Book – Darren Criss
“I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” from Mulan – Donny Osmond
“It’s a Small World” – John Stamos
“Let It Go” from Frozen – Amber Riley
“The Bare Necessities” from The Jungle Book– Erin Andrews, Bobby Bones, Carrie Ann Inaba and Marcus Scribner
“Under The Sea” from The Little Mermaid – Jordan Fisher
“You’ve Got a Friend In Me” from Toy Story – Josh Groban
In the face of quarantining and physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brad Paisley is hoping to lift spirits with his upbeat new single, “No I in Beer,” which he released at midnight on April 15.
Penned by Brad and Kelley Lovelass, “No I in Beer” impacts country radio immediately. The tune is Brad’s first official single since his 2019 release, “My Miracle,” which peaked at No. 42.
“So I wrote this song two years ago with my best buddy Kelley Loveless, and it’s crazy as I look around at life right now how everybody is just doing what they can to get through this,” says Brad. “And one of the things that’s so crazy are these drinking parties that people are having from their homes using technology to be together any way that they can . . . it’s like so strange in such a way that we are connected in a way that we’ve never been and one of the common denominators is alcohol. The fact that beer sales, alcohol sales are up, like, I hear, like 60 percent or something ridiculous. And I get it. It’s like people are utilizing this time to connect with people and to feel sort of solidarity as human beings in the face of this pandemic. And this song, which wasn’t written for this pandemic, but it takes on new meaning for me when I hear it now, I just feel like, you know what, life sorta sucks right now in some ways and we gotta do what we can to get through this. And if we’ve ever felt unified as Americans as citizens of the world, it’s in the fact that nobody loves what we’re going through but everybody’s willing to do what we have to do and one of those things is let’s be a team—let’s be a drinking team and that’s what we are right now.”
Chase Rice announced via ABC’s Good Morning America on April 14 that he will release his new four-song EP, The Album Part II, on May 15.
The Album Part II follows the release of Chase’s seven-song EP, The Album Part I, which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in January. Part I was strategically released to coincide with Chase’s drama-filled appearance on ABC’s The Bachelor on Jan. 27.
“We’ve been eager to get more new music out to the fans, especially during this crazy time,” said Chase. “I’m really proud of these songs and hope they can bring a little joy to people while they’re stuck at home . . . and I can’t wait to play them live for you when we’re back on the road together soon!”
The Album Part I and The Album Part II, which are only available digitally, will be meshed with additional songs for an upcoming all-encompassing physical album, The Album.
The Album Part II Track Listing & Songwriters
1. “You” (Chase Rice, Jon Nite, Zach Kale)
2. “Break. Up. Drunk.” (Chase Rice, Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt) 3. “Down Home Runs Deep” (Daniel Ross, Michael Hardy, Mike Walker, James McNair)
4. “Belong” (Chase Rice, Chris DeStefano, Jon Nite)
Songland returned to NBC for Season 2 on April 13 with songwriting mentors Shane McAnally, Ester Dean and Ryan Tedder, as well as guest artists Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum.
The songwriting competition gives four songwriters the chance to have one of their original tunes produced by a mentor and recorded by the guest artists. The episode’s winning song, “Champagne Night,” was penned by songwriter Madeline Merlo, as well as Shane and Lady A.
“Songland was one of the most incredible and inspiring experiences,” says Merlo. “The knowledge I obtained throughout is invaluable, and the opportunity to work with such seasoned and decorated songwriters is something I won’t ever forget. As a young songwriter in this business, I felt so validated and honored by this experience. Lady Antebellum was so kind and gracious to me, and it was incredibly cool to be able to pitch a song to a band that I admire so much. I made lifelong friends, grew as a writer all while getting to share my vocals and songwriting abilities on network television.”
Season 2 of Songland features guest recording artists Boyz II Men, Florida Georgia Line, Luis Fonsi, H.E.R., Martina McBride, Julia Michaels, Ben Platt, Bebe Rexha and Usher.
Watch Lady Antebellum’s new video for “Champagne Night” below.
Sam Hunt’s sophomore album, Southside, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
The 12-song set moved 46,000 equivalent units, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, which was also good enough for No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.
Southside, which features Sam’s recent No. 1 hit, “Kinfolks,” and new single, “Hard to Forget,” also includes his 2017 smash hit, “Body Like a Back Road,” and 2018 Top 20 hit, “Downtown’s Dead.” Southside follows Sam’s 2014 debut album, Montevallo, which spawned No. 1 hits “Leave the Night On,” “Take Your Time,” “House Party” and more.
“[The break] gave me some time to reflect on the two, three years prior,” said Sam to Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown. “It gave me some time to think about how I wanted to approach the next two, three, four, five, 10 years. It gave me some time to reconnect with the girl who I ended up getting married to, and kind of—I guess for lack of a better way to put it—put some roots down. Coming from a world where it was either put roots down now or probably never put roots down, it was a pretty big fork in the road for me, so I just wanted to make sure to get it right, and I took some time to do that.”
Sam’s new single, “Hard to Forget,” which samples Webb Pierce’s 1953 hit, “There Stands the Glass,” was co-penned by Sam, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Ashley Gorley, as well as “There Stands the Glass” songwriters Audrey Grisham, Russ Hull and Mary Jean Shurtz.
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