Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line revealed they will release their fourth studio album, Can’t Say I Ain’t Country, on Feb. 15.
“We’re excited. In February, we’re releasing our fourth album,” said Tyler to Entertainment Tonight. “I think Feb. 15 is the official date, so we’re really excited. We’ve been working on that album for over a year now, so BK and I are definitely ready.”
“You can say a lot of things,” added Brian, “you can call somebody a lot of different names and have a lot of different opinions, but at the end of the day, when it comes to me and Tyler, you can’t say we ain’t country.”
The duo also revealed they are planning a headlining tour that will kick off in May.
In October, FGL scored their 16th No. 1 single as “Simple” reached the top of the charts. The duo has released three No. 1 albums: 2012’s Here’s to the Good Times, 2014’s Anything Goes and 2016’s Dig Your Own Roots.
Brian and Tyler recently earned their first Grammy nomination for “Meant to Be” in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category.
Jewel Kilcher, better known to the music-loving world as singer/songwriter “Jewel,” has been named one of 13 recipients of the 2019 Horatio Alger Award.
Bestowed annually to accomplished corporate, civic and cultural leaders from across North America, the award recognizes an individual’s ongoing commitment to higher education and generosity toward philanthropic endeavors. Past winners of the award include Reba McEntire (2018), Johnny Cash (1977), Waylon Jennings (1988) and more.
Jewel overcame homelessness, abuse and severe poverty to become an award-winning performer. Her 1995 debut album, Pieces of You, is one of the best-selling debut albums of all time and kicked off a versatile music career that has spanned seven studio albums, including Perfectly Clear, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in 2008.
“This award holds a special place in my heart,” said Jewel. “To be recognized for overcoming adversity—experiences I have given voice to through song and written story—is truly humbling. Early in life and my career, I learned to be my own champion because no one else was going to be. I understand that is the same story for many Horatio Alger Scholars, but I want them to know that they are no longer alone. I promise to be the support these students need as they navigate life’s challenges and come to know the power of their own resilience.”
The Horatio Alger Association will honor the following 13 individuals during the 72nd Horatio Alger Award induction ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on April 4–6.
David P. Abney, chairman and CEO, United Parcel Service
James W. Ayers, executive chairman of the board, FirstBank
Colonel Vance L. Cryer, director of operations and experimentation, IOMAXIS
After spending two week’s at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart (Nov. 24 and Dec. 1), Jimmie Allen’s “Best Shot” was bested by Kane Brown’s “Lose It” last week (Dec. 8).
This week, “Best Shot” is back on top, making Jimmie the first artist in 10 years to have a single return to No. 1 after relinquishing its crown. The last artist to accomplish the feat was Jimmy Wayne in 2008 with “Do You Believe in Me Now.”
Written by Jimmie, Josh London and JP Williams, “Best Shot” is the first single from Jimmie’s debut album, Mercury Lane.
“In writing this song, we just wanted to be honest with ourselves and write something that others can empathize with,” says Jimmie.
Jimmie joined Darius Rucker as the only African-American country artists to hit No. 1 with their debut singles. Darius, who became a household name in the early 1990s as the frontman of Hootie & the Blowfish, accomplished the feat in 2008 with “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” which remained No. 1 for two weeks.
An impressive showing that led Tennessee to a 76-73 victory over No. 1 Gonzaga in the Jerry Colangelo Classic has drawn national recognition for Admiral Schofield.
The All-SEC guard earned NBC Sports National Player of the Week, College Sports Madness National Player of the Week and SEC Co-Player of the Week honors after posting the best game of his career, as he rallied the Vols with a career-high 30 points and six rebounds.
Schofield was responsible for all of Tennessee’s 11 points during the final 3:17 of play while knocking down three of his career-high six 3-pointers. After scoring just five points in the first half, Schofield erupted after halftime to drop 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting with five threes.
None were bigger than a deep ball that banked off the glass with 1:20 remaining to give the Vols a two-point lead. The Zion, Ill., native swished another one from beyond the arc on the following possession to break a 73-73 deadlock. That shot ultimately stood as the difference in the game.
This marks the third SEC Player of the Week selection for Schofield, who received the recognition in back-to-back weeks (Feb. 26 and March 5) last season after his performances against Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Georgia to help Tennessee clinch a share of the SEC Championship.
Schofield, who has scored 20 points in four of his last five games, leads the Big Orange in 3-pointers made (19) while ranking second on the team in scoring (17.9 ppg) and third in rebounding (6.0 rpg) and assists (25).
On Admiral Schofield’s emotions towards the end of the game:
“We’ve been through it enough with our guys to know the last couple minutes of the game, when you fight back and things swing your way a little bit, that the game is never over. I think they realize that. You just know that so many things can happen in a college basketball game. It can turn quickly where guys stop concentrating and start celebrating, thinking it’s over. It’s just never over. He’s been through enough of them to see it. He can get emotional himself at times, and I did think that he was the latter part of the game. I think our team did. The way we closed the first half and the latter part of the game, we showed some grit and we showed some toughness. We were in some foul trouble as was Gonzaga at the end of the first half. I think both teams were just trying to get through there without any more damage done with fouling. Jordan Bowden was big, but Admiral (Schofield), you could tell he was locked in there at the end. There was no question he was.”
On a tough early-season schedule:
“We still go back and talk about some of the games we’ve been in over the last two years. We refer back to what we learned in the Villanova game a year ago. We did talk about the Kansas game, knowing the mistakes that we made. We talked about being overly emotional and not really being as disciplined as we needed to be offensively against Kansas. We had a lot of possessions that we got just too emotional. We took tough shots. I think what these guys have learned more and more through these games is that you truly have to play for 40 minutes. You have to understand how important every possession is. You don’t have to be perfect, we told them that before both of those games, but we have to be able to try.
“You have to know that you’re going against a team yesterday in Gonzaga, that is one of the best transition teams that we’ve coached against in a long time. They really make you pay if you don’t get back and talk. They hurt us there because they’re really good. They know what they’re doing. They get where they need to go and they’re extremely well coached. If you think about Kansas, it’s the same thing. They hurt you. If you take bad shots or turn the ball over, they’re going to make you pay. That’s one of the biggest things that we would take away from both of those games.”
On Grant Williams’ foul trouble and if he was aware of how many fouls he had:
“He did. He and I were talking about it while walking over here and he said, ‘What do you think?’ And I said, ‘Early in the game you have to let that go, but at that stage in the game, you have to make that play.’ He’s got to be willing to sacrifice himself and do that. It’s a one or two possession game at that point in time. I don’t know if he can hold himself back anyways because he’s so competitive and he works so hard, trying to challenge things at the rim. What I did tell him about the fouls he can’t commit was when he tried to pick up a charge 15 feet away from the basket. Admiral (Schofield) picked up a cheap one early out on the perimeter, 30 feet from the basket. Those are the fouls those guys have to stay away from. Grant’s last two fouls, there was a lot of wrist-touching in the lane all night long with both teams. Both teams were contesting shots. That happens. He’s probably more upset about his fourth foul. That one, I told him at the point in the game that he has to make that play.”
On Jordan Bowden’s play on Sunday:
“There are a lot of ways that you can describe toughness. Toughness is when you are not shooting the ball well, you have to keep taking your shots. You are not going to make the next one if you do not shoot it. You think of what he has gone through these last couple of weeks. First time since he has been here that he was not in the starting lineup. You saw him respond really well. I watched him since and he has really responded well. I will go back and tell you I do not care who starts, we are going to do what we have to do to get everyone playing at the highest level they can play. Then you go back and think about him, he was very good in practice. He was really, really good this week in practice, then on Friday he tweaked his ankle. We were having a great practice and it was just one of those freak things. He went out and it just became a hush at Pratt Pavilion court because he was playing great. He did not practice anymore up until the weekend. Chad (Newman) and Garrett (Medenwald) did a great job. From the time he turned his ankle in practice, they never stopped working on him. He told me he would be ready. I thought he was really the biggest key in the game because when we were really struggling to shoot, score the ball and we missed some shots, he got aggressive. He was the guy that got it going. A big play of the game when (Zach) Norvell got going, we knew they were trying to get him going. They did, and we told (Jordan) Bowden to get on him and just take him out. He had no responsibility other than trying to down him and he did a terrific job. He does a lot of that, and I think he got back in the last week and a half playing the way that we need him to play.”
On if he is ready to play in a hostile environment:
“Well it wasn’t a neutral site yesterday. When the president of Grand Canyon emails his students and tells them to come to the game and pull for Gonzaga, by the way that is one of the great student bodies of all time. If you would have heard the introduction before the game, you would not think that it was a neutral site game. I really do appreciate our fans, because there was some orange in that building the other day. Our last two trips we have had over 40 or 50 people travel with us and make the trips. I really appreciate that, because it shows how our program is continuing to grow. Yesterday’s atmosphere was an unbelievable feel in the building. This week we travel to Memphis, and Memphis is one of the great basketball cities. I have always appreciated what Memphis basketball is about. Penny Hardaway has done a great job creating the excitement. I think he, along with all coaches, when you are in December you are still worrying about getting your team better. I do think our guys embrace being in an environment where there are a lot of people there. Yesterday was truly a great basketball environment.”
On Grant Williams’ ability to pass the ball:
“Well Grant (Williams) can pass the ball, sometimes he is a little over-aggressive with it. He likes to pass the ball, he really does. We had to adjust a little bit last night because they were such a well-coached team. They were sitting on that inside-out pass to the backside and they almost got it a few times. Grant was making the right plays, only one time I thought he took a quick, tough shot. He felt like he was not shooting the ball that well and he was really trying to get other guys involved. That is a sign of maturity, but he does like to pass it.”
On if the players celebrated at Waffle House after the game:
“I do not know if they celebrated with Waffle House, but they told me when they got back to their dorms there were a lot of students waiting on them which is really neat. I like to think our guys understand that we are just a small part of this university and people appreciate the fact that people care about what we are doing. I know we all care about what they are doing. Our guys are in exams right now, but I know they appreciate the support.”
On an update on Lamonte Turner and what beating the No. 1-ranked team in the country does for the program:
“First of all with Lamonte (Turner), it’s up to him. He’s still rehabilitating. When he thinks he can play, I guess he’ll play. It’s December. We’re all trying to build resumes. We know that and is it important? I think all of these games are important, I do. The fact is you go back as far as I can remember now, they’ve been there and the fact that they were the No. 1-ranked team in the country, I will tell you, they are really good. There is no doubt that they’re a national championship contender. There’s no doubt. They’re down a man, a really good player. They get him back and Mark (Few) does such a great job, they are really an explosive offensive team and they were averaging 96-98 points coming in. The official came over to me and said this feels like March. I said well let’s referee like March. It did. It had that feel. It did and I think we all felt that. I thought the officials did a good job. It was a hard-fought game inside of 10-12 feet. It was really hard fought. We knew that coming in that it was going to be. They knew it. Again, it is what it is. They were ranked No. 1 and you saw it could have gone either way, but our guys did finish well in the first half. The latter part of the game when we were down, we did have some good defensive plays. Their zone was okay with us and we showed some grit.
“Again, we’ve got to get better. I’m telling you, we have to get better and our guys know that. Grant (Williams), we were just talking. He gave me a list of things that he knows he’s got to get better with. When you have a team that thinks like that, Jalen Johnson can help us. He can really be a contributor to us. Yves (Pons) has done a lot of good things but he made some mistakes last night in transition that he’s going to have to communicate better and understand that some of those transition plays are hard, but he’s got to get better there. But Derrick (Walker) and Fulky (John Fulkerson), those guys are key guys. We’ve still got to get better and I’m happy for our guys. I didn’t think they were overly excited. They were excited, they should be. They won a game against an outstanding team, but we’ve got such a long way to go.”
On Lamonte Turner being a leader for the team off the court:
“I thought he was great yesterday. Twice the officials got fouls wrong, they corrected them, but he was the first guy that jumped up and talked about it. He was great with his teammates, trying to encourage them. He’s locked in with his team, he is. He wants to get healthy, there’s no doubt and he’s the guy that’s got to decide when he thinks he can move and play the way (he needs to). It’s physical. It’s not so much just shooting the ball or any of that. When you’re a point guard, you’re getting hit all the time, screens here or there because he’s on the ball quite a bit. The ball screens come up and get you, so he’s just got to feel good about it. I do know yesterday he was really truly locked in with his teammates.”
On Jordan Bone’s performance:
“I want to read you Tom’s (Satkowiak) notes that he does a good job here with. He does this, I don’t do this. He said Jordan Bone scored five points versus Gonzaga and his nine assists directly led to 25 points. Jordan Bone had three assists in the final four minutes that led to eight points. Through his points and assists, Bone has accounted for 32% of our points this season. How was that Tom? So, that’s Tom stats.
“We felt going in that he had a really tough defensive assignment. We told him that their point guard was the head of the snake and he was going to have to try to control as much as he could. I thought both of those guys went at each other pretty good. They did and (Josh) Perkins didn’t have a particularly great shooting game either and they were really daring Jordan to shoot. They were going way under. We actually told him, if you don’t shoot the ball they’re going under. It’s going to really get us stymied on offense. You shoot it, we’ll go get it. We had seven turnovers but two of those turnovers came off of aggressive offensive rebounds. Yves (Pons) went up and got one there and came down and couldn’t get his feet under him. Then at the end of the game, three guys tripped over each other when we had the ball which was one of those plays. Overall, I think he’s getting better and he’s got to continue to improve.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football senior defensive end Kyle Phillips captured the 2018 Piesman Trophy on Monday. He becomes the fourth winner of SB Nation’s award that honors a lineman “who does something truly special with the ball in his hands.”
Phillips won the award for his 27-yard pick-six against Alabama on Oct. 20 inside Neyland Stadium. The 6-4, 273-pounder intercepted a pass by Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts in the third quarter, broke several tackles and rumbled into the end zone for the first touchdown of his career.
“On behalf of us big guys out there – offensive linemen and defensive linemen – I’m honored to take the 2018 Piesman Trophy award,” Phillips said. “I would like to thank SB Nation for making this award for us big guys. A lot of big guys don’t get a lot of credit. “
He was chosen by a media panel and fan voting among 11 nominees and five finalists.
Phillips joins previous winners Ashton Henderson (Southeastern Louisiana), Brian O’Neill (Pitt) and Brock Riggs (Heidelberg).
“I would like to thank our fans for voting for me,” Phillips said. “It’s been a great ride. Go Vols!”
Phillips had a standout senior campaign on Rocky Top and was selected to play in the East-West Shrine Game last week.
He ranked second on the Vols in sacks (5.0) and tackles for loss (8.0), and finished third in tackles (56), while starting all 12 games this fall. For his career, he finished with 114 tackles, 16 TFLs and eight sacks, while appearing in 41 games with 20 starts.
In addition to being named a permanent captain for the 2018 season, Phillips took home the Bill Majors Award and Defensive Player of the Year honors at the end-of-season team banquet.
Phillips collected SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors after logging a career-high nine tackles and forcing a fumble in a 30-24 victory at No. 21 Auburn on Sept. 13. Phillips was a semifinalist for the 2018 Campbell Trophy as well as the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, and grabbed Google Cloud Academic All-District honors.
Phillips graduated in three years with a degree in sports management and was a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He was named to the SEC Community Service Team in 2017 and traveled to Vietnam as a member of the 2016-17 VOLeaders Academy class.
Pop the champagne . . . Mitchell Tenpenny has a reason to celebrate.
Mitchell’s lead single, “Drunk Me,” from his upcoming debut album, Telling All My Secrets, hit No. 1 on the Mediabase chart this week. Co-penned by Mitchell, Jordan Schmidt and Justin Wilson, the tune has accumulated more than 120 million streams.
“I recorded ‘Drunk Me’ after pitching it to other artists in town for over six months,” says Mitchell. “I believed in my heart it was such a special song and that it would be a hit for someone. I never dreamt it would be the song labels first heard from me, resulting in a record deal . . . or that it would go on to bring us our first single, yet alone a number one. It’s been a two-year journey with this song, yet so many believed, and so, this is one of those moments we all share together—my co-writers, our band and record label, country radio and all the fans that have streamed it over 120 million times. I can’t get over you. You’ve changed my life.”
Mitchell will drop Telling All My Secrets on Dec. 14. The debut album features 11 songs, all of which Mitchell co-penned. In February, Mitchell will join Old Dominion’s Make It Sweet Tour.
Telling All My Secrets Track Listing & Songwriters
“Truck I Drove in High School” | Mitchell Tenpenny/Jordan Schmidt/Andrew Albert/Devin Dawson
“Alcohol You Later” | Mitchell Tenpenny/Sam Sumser/Michael Lotten
“All On You” | Mitchell Tenpenny/Andrew Albert/Nick Fradiani/Jordan Schmidt
Brett Young’s 2017 self-titled debut album was a smash hit, spawning four No. 1 singles, including “Sleep Without You,” “In Case You Didn’t Know,” “Like I Loved You” and “Mercy.” Brett’s ballad-friendly breakthrough album gave fans a heavy dose of “love,” sans the “party” songs that have become so prevalent on country radio.
“Falling in love or falling out of love—those are the easiest songs to write because it’s just straight from personal experience,” said Brett to Nash Country Daily in 2017. “I think everybody’s felt both of those. Everybody’s been in love, everybody’s had heartbreak. We noticed that when we put together the 12 songs that would make the [self-titled debut] record, there was not a party song on this record. I’ve written a ton of party songs and not that there’s anything wrong with that. I think, in trying to tell my story and let people get to know me, it seemed like we should talk about things that I’ve lived.”
In addition to his four No. 1 singles, Brett has had numerous reasons to celebrate since releasing his debut project, including headlining his own tour, playing Nissan Stadium at 2018’s CMA Fest, winning the 2018 ASCAP Songwriter/Artist of the Year award, winning the 2018 ACM New Male Vocalist of the Year award and marrying girlfriend Taylor Mills in November.
With the release of his sophomore album, Ticket to L.A., on Dec. 7, Brett told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown that he’s in a different place in his life since releasing his debut album—and there are some noticeable changes on the new record.
“One thing that we didn’t want to change was just the songwriting,” says Brett. “You know, I wanted to keep coming from the same place of honesty and life experience, and I want to always feel that connection, but one thing that I think is just noticeably different immediately is that I’m in a different place in my life, and so whether the song is happy or sad, the feel is much peppier and up-tempo, and there’s just a vibe in the music itself that just feels different. It kind of shows my heart and where I’m at right now, and so I think that will come across to people.”
Brett co-penned 10 of the 13 tracks on Ticket to L.A., including new single, “Here Tonight.” Check out the new video for “Here Tonight.”
A troupe of Nashville’s top songwriters will embark on a 25-city Hit Makers & Rum Chasers Tour to benefit the Charley Foundation, a non-profit that supports poor, sick and neglected children—and in this case will provide funding for music and arts programs to the hurricane-devastated U.S. Virgin Islands.
The tour will feature songwriters JT Harding (“Somewhere in My Car”), Jim Beavers (“Red Solo Cup”), Justin Ebach (“Sleep Without You”), Jon Nite (“We Were Us”), Jimmy Robbins (“I Could Use a Love Song”), Bridgette Tatum “She’s Country”) and Chase McGill (“When Someone Stops Loving You”) performing their hits and sharing behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the music and the writing process. Guests will enjoy Blue Chair Rum Bay cocktails, a silent auction and an island-inspired dinner menu created by renowned chefs from the Virgin Islands. Songwriter JT Harding will also serve as emcee.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be hosting this Hit Makers and Rum Chasers tour,” says JT. “There’s no app or streaming service of any kind that can give you this kind of experience. Non-stop hit songs performed by the people who wrote them in an island-vibe setting. We’ll make you laugh and pull on your heartstrings. Music City is coming to your city, so don’t miss it!”
All proceeds from the 2019 tour will benefit the Charley Foundation. Tickets are on sale now. More dates will be announced soon.
Hit Makers & Rum Chasers Tour
Jan. 29 | Nashville | City Winery: JT Harding, Jon Nite, Bridgette Tatum and Justin Ebach
Feb. 7 | Chicago | City Winery: JT Harding, Jim Beavers and Justin Ebach
Feb 8. | Kansas City | Cherry Hall: JT Harding, Jim Beavers and Justin Ebach
Feb. 16 | Atlanta | GA Freight Depot: JT Harding, Jimmy Robbins, Bridgette Tatum and Corri English Bentley
March 7 | New York City | City Winery: JT Harding, Jimmy Robins and Jim Beavers
March 8 | Boston | City Winery: JT Harding, Jimmy Robins and Jim Beavers
March 9 | Cambridge, MD | venue TBA: JT Harding, Bridgette Tatum and Jim Beavers
March 20 | Charleston | Galliard Center: JT Harding, Jon Nite and Chase McGill
March 21 | Washington, DC | City Winery: JT Harding, Jon Nite and Chase McGill
April 13 | St John, USVI | venue TBA: JT Harding, Jimmy Robbins and Bridgette Tatum
Reba McEntire returns for a second year as host of the ninth annual CMA Country Christmas, a two-hour music celebration that airs on ABC on Dec. 10.
CMA Country Christmas was taped on Sept. 27 at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center in Nashville. In addition to Reba, this year’s lineup includes performances by Tony Bennett, Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Amy Grant, Diana Krall, Dustin Lynch, Martina McBride, Old Dominion, Brad Paisley, Michael W. Smith, Lindsey Stirling and The Isaacs.
“I’ve always cherished celebrating Christmas alongside family and friends, taking time to reflect on the season,” says Reba. “I’m so excited CMA invited me back to host their show and am looking forward to fun singing carols with my friends.”
CMA Country Christmas airs on ABC on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. CT.
Watch Reba’s performance of “Hard Candy Christmas,” a song Dolly Parton made famous in 1982’s The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
Telling All My Secrets Track Listing & Songwriters
![Watch Reba McEntire Perform “Hard Candy Christmas” in Sneak Peek of Tonight’s “CMA Country Christmas” TV Special [+ Photo Gallery]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/1446/2018/12/10083423/Reba-McEntire-CH1.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
