Carrie Underwood Updates Fans on Wrist and Face Injuries as She Prepares to Release New Single, “Cry Pretty”

Carrie Underwood Updates Fans on Wrist and Face Injuries as She Prepares to Release New Single, “Cry Pretty”

Carrie Underwood will drop her first single in more than two years as she releases “Cry Pretty” on April 11 at 6 a.m. ET.

Carrie penned a note to her fan club members on April 10, revealing many of the details surrounding her new single, as well as her health. In November 2017, Carrie broke her wrist—which required surgery—and suffered a facial laceration that required numerous stitches.

We’ve included some of the note’s highlights below. You can also read its entirety after the bullet points.

  • Carrie’s wrist is back to “about 90%.”
  • Carrie’s face “has been healing pretty nicely as well.”
  • Carrie has been in the “studio writing and singing a ton” over the last few months.
  • Carrie is co-producing her new album with David Garcia.
  • Carrie co-penned “Cry Pretty” with Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose and Lori McKenna.
  • The new single is “emotional. It’s real. And it ROCKS!”

Hey everybody,

I just wanted to say hello and share some updates with you all…lots of exciting stuff happening!

First off, physically, I’m doing pretty darn good these days! My wrist is almost back to normal, about 90% there…and the docs say that last 10% will come in time. And my face has been healing pretty nicely as well. I definitely feel more like myself than I have in a while. One of the silver linings for me in this healing process is the time I’ve gotten to spend with Mike and Isaiah. I’ve been calling it “forced relaxation.” Sometimes I think things happen in order to make us slow down. It also means I’ve been home to support my favorite hockey player coming out of retirement! I hope you’re all ready for more silly posts of me at Preds’ playoff games! One more run for the Cup! Go Preds!

And speaking of the Predators, I would definitely like to thank you all for making “The Champion,” such a success (see what I did there?)! I’ve been so touched seeing how people around the world have been inspired by it and have shared their personal “champion” stories and photos and videos. The song has become so meaningful to so many people, myself included, in ways I never could have imagined when I wrote it last year. I’ve always been a fan of Ludacris and getting to work with him has made me a die-hard fan for life. What an incredible talent! You guys will definitely have to help me out by singing his part when we play it on the road!

The other thing I’ve been up to over the past few months is of course making new music. I’ve been in the studio writing and singing a TON, but I’ve also been able to be creative in a way that I’ve never been before, which has been very fulfilling and empowering. While I was writing last year, I met a writer/producer named David Garcia. We hit it off in a big way and I’m excited to say that we are co-producing my album together. I’ve always been lucky to have a voice in the writing and recording process, but this is the first time I am this involved in the production of my music. It’s been challenging and incredibly rewarding to be involved in every aspect from start to finish. David has been an amazing teacher and partner, and I’m so proud of what we have created.

The first single is a song I love so much and can’t wait to share with you. It’s called “Cry Pretty” and I wrote it with three incredible women: Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose, and Lori McKenna, who also write under the name Love Junkies. I joined one of their writing sessions last year to see if we could come up with some magic…and we did! The title refers to when emotions take over and you just can’t hold them back. It really speaks to a lot of things that have happened in the past year and I hope when you hear it, you can relate those feelings to those times in your life. It’s emotional. It’s real. And it ROCKS! It comes out TOMORROW at 6am ET, and I’m so excited I’ll be performing it live on the ACM Awards this weekend, so I hope you’ll all tune in to see it!

Needless to say, I am beyond excited for this new album and everything that comes with it…more on that soon. Of course, we’re already talking about a tour, but that’s a blog for another day! Thank you all so much for your love and support this year and always. I feel it and I appreciate it. And I can’t wait to start this new chapter with you!

xoxo,
Carrie

Carrie’s last studio album was 2015’s Storyteller, which spawned hits such as “Smoke Break,” “Heartbeat,” “Church Bells” and “Dirty Laundry.” Carrie was also recently featured on Keith Urban’s 2017 smash, “The Fighter.”

Reba and Brooks & Dunn Can’t Get Enough of Las Vegas as They Extend Residency Again

Reba and Brooks & Dunn Can’t Get Enough of Las Vegas as They Extend Residency Again

You can never have too much of a good thing . . . especially in Vegas.

On that note, dig this: Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn have extended their Sin City residency—Reba, Brooks & Dunn: Together in Vegas—with 12 new dates at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in 2018.

In addition to the previously announced dates on August 15, 17, 18, 22, 24 and 25, newly announced dates include:

  • October 10, 12, 13, 17, 19 and 20
  • December 5, 7, 8, 12, 14 and 15

Since premiering the residency in June 2015, the trio has played more than 45 shows over the course of the last three years.

“We’re having a great time on the Las Vegas residency with Reba,” said Ronnie Dunn to Nash Country Daily. “Kix and I kid all the time that we ran up and down the road on buses for 20 years just to get a chance to do this. It’s as fun and convenient as you can get in this business. We’re having a great time.”

Tickets go on sale on April 13 at noon PT.

photo by Russ Harrington/The Greenroom PR

Watch Lindsay Ell’s Criminally Good New Video

Watch Lindsay Ell’s Criminally Good New Video

If you like simple yet compelling storytelling in the songs and videos you consume—without overproduction—look no farther than Lindsay Ell’s “Criminal.”

Over the weekend, Lindsay dropped a criminally good new video for the single, which she co-penned with Chris Stevens and Fred Wilhelm. The song is currently No. 21 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, making it the highest charting single of Lindsay’s career.

“When we started writing ‘Criminal,’ I really was falling in love and I felt like somebody was stealing my heart away from me, so we kind of wrote it backwards.” says Lindsay. “When you see a song title like ‘Criminal,’ you think it’s this scary song, but it’s really this wonderful thing.”

The video for the single takes a more literal interpretation of the title. Check it out.

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

Infamous Maren Morris Heads West in “Rich” New Video [Watch]

Infamous Maren Morris Heads West in “Rich” New Video [Watch]

Maren Morris dropped a new video for her single, “Rich,” which is currently No. 41 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after seven weeks.

The twangy tune, which was co-penned by Maren, Laura Veltz and Jessie Jo Dillon, is the fourth—and feistiest—single from Maren’s award-winning 2016 album, Hero.

“I wrote this song, basically, as a kiss-off to any guy that tries to pull a fast one on you,” says Maren. “And it’s happened so many times that if you had a dollar for every time it happened, you’d be rolling in it.”

Maren’s new video was filmed in Arizona at the Old Tucson movie studio, one of the most active filming locations for Western-themed films and television shows.

It was the most fun [and] easy shoot I’ve ever done,” says Maren. “It was this old movie town in Tucson where they shot Three Amigos and Tombstone. It had all these movie posters that they shot at this like little movie town. And it rained the whole day. And, yeah, it’s gonna be cool.”

Check out Maren’s infamous—which we all know means “more than famous”—new video below.

Thomas Rhett Ships Life-Changing New Single to Country Radio [Listen]

Thomas Rhett Ships Life-Changing New Single to Country Radio [Listen]

Thomas Rhett has dropped 13 singles since 2012—10 of which have hit No. 1.

TR will go for his 11th No. 1 with the release of “Life Changes,” the title track of his 2017 album, which he shipped to country radio on April 9.

“This song is basically my autobiography in three minutes,” Thomas Rhett said. “It covers my college years, marrying Lauren, becoming a dad and the evolution of my music career. It’s definitely the most personal song I’ve ever written, but we all go through a lot in life whatever the story is, so I think the sentiment is something a lot of people can relate to.”

TR kicked off his headlining Life Changes Tour on April 5. The tour, which runs through October 27, features a combination of openers, including Brett Young, Midland, Russell Dickerson, Jillian Jacqueline and Carly Pearce.

Listen to “Life Changes” below.

photo by Jason Simanek

Good Hombres! Midland Releases Spanish Version of “Drinkin’ Problem” [Listen]

Good Hombres! Midland Releases Spanish Version of “Drinkin’ Problem” [Listen]

Midland’s Mark Wystrach, Cameron Duddy and Jess Carson are continuing to forge their own path in country music with the release of a Spanish version of their No. 1 hit, “Drinkin’ Problem,” which also features vocals from Jay De La Cueva of Mexico’s Moderatto music group.

Midland’s frontman, Mark, learned to speak Spanish while growing up on his family’s ranch in southern Arizona and suggested the idea of recording the song in Spanish to his bandmates in early 2017. The trio first developed a friendship with De La Cueva in 2014 while recording demos at El Paso’s Sonic Ranch studio.

“‘Drinkin’ Problem’ has made an impact bigger than we could have ever imagined in such a short amount of time,” said Mark. “We loved going back into the studio and re-recording this with Jay. There are many country music fans who are Spanish-speaking, and this is for them.”

Check out the re-recorded tune below.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

If You’ve Got the Money, Honey, Vince Gill Has a Guitar for You

If You’ve Got the Money, Honey, Vince Gill Has a Guitar for You

Vince Gill has been selling 29 of his guitars and banjos on guitars.com.

The instruments range in price from $2,500 to $20,000, with more than 20 already sold.

The statement on Gruhn Guitars’ site reads: “Gruhn Guitars is proud to offer for sale a collection of instruments from Country Music Hall of Fame artist Vince Gill. Vince has been a Nashville icon for many years and is one of the most highly regarded musicians in a city rich with musical talent. His career has spanned over four decades and has earned over 20 Grammy Awards and countless other accolades. It is an honor to represent these instruments for Vince and guide them to new homes.”

You’d better act fast if you want one. Check out the Facebook post below.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Carrie Underwood to Release New Single and Perform It Live on the ACM Awards

Carrie Underwood to Release New Single and Perform It Live on the ACM Awards

The Academy of Country Music announced that Carrie Underwood will perform the world television premiere of her soon-to-be-released single live on the ACM Awards on April 15.

After revealing on Instagram on April 6 that she was back rehearsing with her band, Carrie teased on April 8 that a big announcement is imminent—and it sounds like it’s a new single. Carrie has not released a new single since 2016’s “Dirty Laundry,” although she was featured on Keith Urban’s 2017 single, “The Fighter.”

Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line with Bebe Rexha, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Kane Brown, Kelly Clarkson, Alan Jackson, Little Big Town, Jon Pardi and Thomas Rhett are also set to take the stage at the ACM Awards.

In addition, Cam, Dustin Lynch, Kiefer Sutherland, Sam Elliott, Ashton Kutcher, David Boreanaz, AJ Buckley, Max Thieriot and Eve have been added as presenters. Previously announced presenters include Drew Brees, Nancy O’Dell, Rebecca Romijn and Lindsey Vonn.

Reba McEntire will return as the host of the upcoming show. The gig will mark Reba’s 15th time as the emcee, her first since 2012 when she teamed with Blake Shelton.

The ACM Awards will air from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

photo by Jason Simanek

Jason Aldean Makes Surprise Visit to Las Vegas Mass Shooting Survivor

Jason Aldean Makes Surprise Visit to Las Vegas Mass Shooting Survivor

Jason Aldean stopped by the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix on April 6 to pay a visit to a very special patient, as reported by KVOA.com.

Jovanna Calzadillas was one of the survivors of the mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017, that left 58 people dead and more than 800 injured during Jason’s headlining set at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.

Jovanna, who was not expected to survive, made a remarkable recovery at Barrow after being shot in the head. During his visit, Jason presented Jovanna with an autographed guitar.

Barrow posted a photo of Jason, Jovanna and her husband on Facebook to commemorate the visit: “Country music artist Jason Aldean made a very special trip to Barrow today to visit patient Jovanna Calzadillas and her family. Jovanna has made a remarkable recovery at Barrow after being shot in the head at the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival in October where Aldean was the headliner. Thank you Jason Aldean for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit one of your #1 fans!”

Check out the pic below.

photo courtesy of JPA/AFF-USA

Carrie Underwood Teases Big Announcement With “Glittery Eye”

Carrie Underwood Teases Big Announcement With “Glittery Eye”

After revealing on Instagram on April 6 that she was back rehearsing with her band, Carrie Underwood teased on April 8 that a big announcement is imminent.

Carrie posted a photo of an extreme close-up of her eye, which is caked in glittery mascara, with the caption: “This Wednesday, April 11. 6am ET.”

Take a look at Carrie’s two Instagram posts below.

This Wednesday, April 11. 6am ET.

A post shared by Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) on

Missed these guys. #bandrehearsals

A post shared by Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) on

Carrie’s last studio album was 2015’s Storyteller, which spawned hits such as “Smoke Break,” “Heartbeat,” “Church Bells” and “Dirty Laundry.” Carrie was also recently featured on Keith Urban’s 2017 smash, “The Fighter.”

photo by Jason Simanek

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