If the singing gig doesn’t work out, Faith Hill can always go the route of tabloid talk-show host Maury Povich, who’s famous for his onscreen reveals.
During a Soul2Soul Tour stop in Moline, Ill., over the weekend, a couple’s sign caught Faith’s eye: “Will you please tell us boy or girl?”
After a little back-and-forth conversation with the expectant parents—Rodney and Vikki Kula—an envelope made its way to Faith onstage so she could reveal the baby’s gender.
On the country music front, both Sam Hunt and Florida Georgia Line earned two nominations apiece. Sam is nominated for Choice Country Artist and Choice Song: Male Artist, while FGL earned nods for Choice Country Artist and Choice Collaboration.
Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini and Luke Bryan also netted nominations for Choice Country Artist.
Voting is open at TeenChoice.com or fans can vote by tweeting the category hashtag with the nominee’s name. Fans can vote up to 10 times in each category per day until June 22 at 9 p.m. PT.
The Teen Choice Awards air live on Fox on Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. ET.
Check out all of the country music-centric nominees below.
Choice Country Artist (#ChoiceCountryArtist)
Blake Shelton
Carrie Underwood
Florida Georgia Line
Kelsea Ballerini
Luke Bryan
Sam Hunt
Choice Song: Male Artist (#ChoiceSongMaleArtist)
Sam Hunt – “Body Like a Back Road”
Bruno Mars – “That’s What I Like”
Ed Sheeran – “Shape of You”
Harry Styles – “Sign of the Times”
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee (feat. Justin Bieber) – “Despacito”
Niall Horan – “Slow Hands”
Choice Collaboration (#ChoiceCollaboration)
Florida Georgia Line (feat. Backstreet Boys) – “God, Your Mama, And Me”
Cheat Codes (feat. Demi Lovato) – “No Promises”
Kygo & Selena Gomez – “It Ain’t Me”
Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson – “Just Hold On”
ZAYN & Taylor Swift – “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”
Zedd & Alessia Cara – “Stay”
After besting hundreds of other contestants in a four-month-long competition, Todd O’Neill was named the Nash Next champion in October 2016. The title earned Todd national radio airplay on Cumulus Media radio stations, a recording contract with Big Machine Label Group and having an original song produced by Jay DeMarcus.
Todd dropped his debut single, “Love Again,” in April, and now the Louisiana native has released a new video for the tune, which is currently No. 42 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 10 weeks.
“The song was written by Jessie Fraser, Cary Barlow, and Brett Young, and as soon as I heard it, I fell in love with it,” says Todd. “It’s fun, it’s upbeat. I think it’s got a different message from anything that I have heard on the radio. It’s about a guy who was once jaded with relationships and the art of love. And now he has found this new woman that’s got him ready to love again.”
Watch Todd’s new video below.
Nash Next 2017 officially launched on May 31, bringing together a new cache of unknown talent, a major record label in Big Machine Label Group, the power of country radio in Cumulus Media and a national sponsor with Country Inns & Suites by Carlson. The winner of this five-month-long national competition, which will be announced by reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Garth Brooks, will receive a record deal with NASH Next Records under the Big Machine Label Group and radio exposure on Cumulus radio stations nationwide.
Former Lady Vol basketball player Te’a Cooper decided to transfer from Tennessee in part because she faced possible disciplinary action regarding a fight she instigated with teammate Jaime Nared, according to multiple sources.
The fight occurred in a dorm room shortly after the Lady Vols season ended
It was witnessed by several Lady Vols basketball players, the sources said.
Cooper went before the UT student code of conduct board, but the results of that hearing are not known.
A source said Cooper would not have had her scholarship renewed at Tennessee.
Cooper announced May 16 she would leave Tennessee. She later picked SEC rival South Carolina.
The SEC has a rule that can prohibit a player from transferring within the league if the player has a history of questionable behavior.
It is not known if the SEC will make a ruling regarding Cooper since no charges were filed against the redshirt sophomore from Powder Springs, Ga.
UT athletic director John Currie was told by this reporter about the fight between Cooper and Nared but he declined comment.
A Freedom of Information request was made to UT for any incident report from the UT Police Department, but UT spokesperson Karen Simsen said UTPD has no such report.
Cooper will have to sit out a year at South Carolina and have two years of eligibility remaining. Cooper did not play last season due to a torn ACL. As a freshman, she averaged 8.6 points per game, fourth on the team, and 2.1 assists.
She was rated the No. 1 point in the country by at least one recruiting service.
She will join a South Carolina program that just last week hired Lady Vols assistant Jolette Law.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee senior kick returner Evan Berry has been named a Preseason Second Team All-American by Athlon Sports, as announced by the highly regarded college football publication on Tuesday.
Berry earns the accolade for the second year in a row, having been tabbed a first team selection prior to the 2016 season.
A Fairburn, Georgia native, Berry played in nine games last year and returned 14 kickoffs for 460 yards and one touchdown (ranked eighth in the nation and tied for first in the Southeastern Conference). In 2016, he also led the SEC and ranked second in the country with a 32.9-yard kick return average.
In SEC play, Berry’s 33.3 kickoff return average (12 returns for 400 yards and a touchdown) ranked as the best mark in the conference while his 34.2 career kickoff return average ranks as the best mark among all NCAA football players at all levels. Berry’s career average also ranks first in Tennessee history and his 1,677 career kickoff return yards are the third-most by a Vol.
Berry was the country’s top kickoff returner in 2015, pacing the FBS with a 38.3 yards-per-return average to go along with three return touchdowns. For his efforts, Berry was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year and earned first team All-America honors from multiple publications.
Tennessee and Team 121 — previously tabbed with a No. 19 preseason ranking by Athlon Sports — open the 2017 season on Monday, Sept. 4 against Georgia Tech.
Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Jason Isbell sat down for a very candid interview with CBS This Morning’s Mark Strassmann over the Father’s Day weekend to reflect on being a dad to his 21-month-old daughter, touring, dealing with addiction and his new album, The Nashville Sound, which dropped on June 16.
“It was so bad that I can’t have one drink ever again. That’s gotta be pretty bad,” Jason said, when asked about the drinking habits that led to his dismissal from the Drive-By Truckers in 2007.
That low point was followed by a trip to rehab in 2012, marriage to Amanda Shires in 2013 and the birth of their daughter, Mercy, in 2015, as well as critical and commercial success as a solo artist, culminating with two Grammys in 2016. Now, on the heels of the release of his new album, Jason has embarked on a six-month international tour.
Lady Antebellum’s sixth studio album, Heart Break, which was released on June 9, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums this week.
According to Nielsen Music, Heart Break sold 53,000 equivalent albums (47,000 in pure sales), which was good enough for the No. 4 spot on the all-genre Billboard 200.
Heart Break follows Lady A’s four previous No. 1 albums: Golden (2013), Own the Night (2011), Need You Now (2010) and Lady Antebellum (2008). The trio’s 2014 offering, 747, peaked at No. 2.
After taking a hiatus in fall 2015, Lady A’s Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood got their creative juices flowing by spending about two months together in sunny Florida and Los Angeles last summer. In the process, the Grammy-winning trio created Heart Break, a 13-song offering that was produced by busbee and features a number of well-known songwriters, including Hillary Lindsey, Jesse Frasure, Shane McAnally and more.
“When we started working on this record, the goal was to give ourselves some space from the day to day,” said Hillary Scott to Nash Country Daily. “Surrounding ourselves in a new environment with sunny beaches and warm weather really helped free our minds to focus solely on our art. We took some of our favorite writers and other writers we hadn’t worked with before to a new inspiring backdrop, where we were able to just write and soak up the journey.”
Lady A’s recent single, “You Look Good,” is currently No. 12 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 22 weeks.
University of Tennessee President Joe DiPietro announced Tuesday the hiring of Phillip Fulmer as special advisor to the president for community, athletics and university relations.
In this role, Fulmer will serve as an ambassador for the University system at community and athletics events, support the intercollegiate athletic programs at UT campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Martin, and work with UT government relations and alumni affairs leadership to advocate for the statewide system with elected officials and UT alumni.
“Phillip has been a tremendous asset to the University of Tennessee both on and off the field for more than 40 years,” DiPietro said. “I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with him on the UT President’s Council, and I look forward to working with him in a broader sense to advocate for the University with our key stakeholders.”
Fulmer said he looks forward to working with DiPietro in statewide outreach.
“This is a special opportunity for me. I’ve had the chance to work with Dr. DiPietro for a couple of years in a volunteer capacity, and I was excited when he approached me with this position,” Fulmer said. “I look forward to serving UT campuses statewide, our communities, and UT athletics for the greater good for our great state and the university.”
UT Knoxville Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics John Currie described Fulmer as “a perfect ambassador.”
“As a native Tennessean who has given his all for the Vols throughout his life, both as a student-athlete on the field and during a Hall of Fame coaching career leading our program to its most dominant and successful era in modern history, Coach Fulmer is a perfect ambassador for our University and athletics program,” Currie said. “I’ve appreciated and enjoyed numerous visits with Coach Fulmer since I returned to Knoxville, and I am honored to work with him in support of President DiPietro and Chancellor Davenport as we serve the University of Tennessee, our students and student-athletes.”
Fulmer is a 1972 UT Knoxville graduate who has been affiliated with the for more than 40 years. Fulmer came to UT in 1968 as an offensive guard on the Volunteers football team. He returned as an assistant football coach in 1980 before being named head coach in 1992. In 17 years as head coach, Fulmer led teams to a national championship, two conference championships and seven division titles. He was inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
Fulmer has volunteer for the University through the UT President’s Council since 2015. He was awarded the 2016 President’s Council Award for his efforts to advocate for the University system.
The University of Tennessee is the state’s land-grant, higher education institution and flagship public university. It is comprised of campuses at Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Martin; the Health Science Center at Memphis; the Space Institute at Tullahoma; and the statewide Institute of Agriculture and Institute for Public Service.
The University of Tennessee System has a presence in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties. Through the combined force of its education, research, and outreach, the University serves students, business and industry, schools, governments, organizations, and citizens throughout the state.
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By Jimmy Hyams
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