The old adage, “If you want something done right, do it yourself,” is holding true for Sara Evans. The “Stronger” singer has announced that she will launching her own record label, Born to Fly Records, which is named after her 1997 No. 1 hit and album of the same name.
In addition to the new label, Sara announced that she will be releasing a brand-new album, under her label umbrella, due out this summer. The upcoming project will be Sara’s eighth studio album, the first since 2014’s Slow Me Down.
“I’m extremely excited to be launching this venture and I love that the label is Born to Fly. I wrote that song about my own life, coming to Nashville and following my dreams,” said Sara. “It’s a dream come true to surround myself with my own team and truly embrace my entrepreneurial spirit, taking complete control of my career and brand is so freeing. I can’t wait to share this new project with everyone!”
Sam Hunt’s 2017 musical experiment is off to a sound start.
In January, Sam told Nash Country Daily that he was going to break the mold by releasing songs as he finishes them—sans an album.
“As I write these songs, I don’t want to sit on them for as long as it takes me to finish a record before I put them out, so I’m just going to try to put them out as I write them and finish them,” said Sam to NCD. “As quick as I can get them done, I’ll be shooting them out.”
Sam released his latest single, “Body Like a Back Road,” on February 2. After 11 weeks, the single has reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
The tune is Sam’s fifth No. 1 on the Airplay chart, following four singles from his debut album, Montevallo, including “Leave the Night On,” “Take Your Time,” “House Party” and “Make You Miss Me.”
To put the success of Sam’s “Body Like a Back Road” into perspective, take a look at the sales figures of the previous two No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in relation to Sam’s “Body Like a Back Road,” according to Nielsen Music as of April 19.
“Body Like a Back Road” (Sam Hunt): 730,723 units sold
“Road Less Traveled” (Lauren Alaina): 203,524 units sold
“Any Ol’ Barstool” (Jason Aldean): 147,892 units sold
“I’ve been writing songs over the past, I guess, year and a half, trying to conceptualize a new record and it kinda started taking a heavy direction, and I sat down at one point and was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna lighten this up a little bit, it needs a lighter flair,’” said Sam. “‘Body Like a Back Road’ sort of swings, and hopefully it’s easy to listen to and will put a smile on some folks’ faces. I wrote it with my producer Zach Crowell, Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally. [I wrote] it after I got engaged. I connect music to the emotions that come from relationships, so most of the songs that I write are inspired by those circumstances, emotions, feelings, all that kind of stuff.”
Imagine you’re on the stage of The Voice and you have to sing one of Shania Twain’s biggest hits in front of millions of people on live television. Add to that, the superstar herself will be seated right in front of you as you sing.
That’s exactly what happened to Lilli Passero Monday night (April 24) on The Voice during the Live Top 12 round when she performed Shania’s “Man, I Feel Like a Woman.” Shania was asked to be this week’s mentor to the remaining 12 finalists, following in the footsteps of fellow country artists Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks.
Coach Adam Levine decided that his team member, Lilli, should sing Shania’s song for the live round. But because Lilli fell ill during rehearsal, Adam and Shania had to share mentoring advice with the singer via FaceTime. Therefore, Lilli didn’t have the chance to run through her performance with Shania—leaving her only performance to take place during the live show.
Undeterred and feeling better, Lilli hit the stage dressed in a short black mini-dress and thigh-high black boots, reminiscent of Shania’s attire in the memorable, “Man, I Feel Like a Woman,” video. For the first time in The Voice history, a fifth coaches chair was added to the set, putting Shania front and center for the performances. No pressure Lilli.
“I think it was just awesome and a huge compliment to me,” Shania said after Lilli’s performance. “You really do have the sass. I’m just so happy that you’re better. It’s really fun to see it in person and its a huge compliment to hear it done so well.”
Check out Lilli’s performance of “Man, I Feel Like a Woman,” on The Voice.
She may best be known for her role as Erica Goldberg on ABC’s hit comedy series, The Goldbergs, but Hayley Orrantia was singing and writing songs long before she ever became an actress.
“I started out singing when I was 9,” Erica tells Nash Country Daily. “For me, music’s always been that thing that you do—like a kid going out for soccer or volleyball. Music was my thing. I did that for forever. I wrote songs. I actually came out to Nashville when I was 14 and started writing. I met with different people and then record labels were the ones that told me that I should get a platform like a TV show, if I wanted to get signed.”
As crazy as that sounds to anyone trying to break into the music business, Hayley did it. She went and got cast in her very own hit comedy show, The Goldbergs—an ABC sitcom that takes place in the 1980s in Jenkintown, Pa., and follows the lives of—you guessed it—the Goldberg family. The show stars George Segal, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Jeff Garlin, Hayley, Troy Gentile and Sean Giambrone.
Hayley with TV Mom, Wendi McClendon-Covey – Photo by Adam Taylor/ABC
“So because of the record labels, I got involved in acting classes. I had no idea what I was doing. I was horrible at it,” says Hayley with a laugh. “I just kept auditioning, and pretty much The Goldbergs was my first thing. It’s just kind of a freak accident that it worked out the way that it did. So I start meeting with labels again and it’s kind of a Catch 22. They said, ‘Well, you’re an actress. How much of a musician really are you?’ I’m like, ‘I’ve been doing this a lot longer than acting.'”
In the interim, the shows producers learned of Hayley’s singing talent and subsequently incorporated her music background into the show, giving Hayley a platform to showcase her vocals in a few episodes—something she hopes will become a more regular event.
“It was really great that they did that, but people don’t think that it’s actually me singing. It’s great that they did it because it’s really helping promote my music, which I still want to do—even though I’ve been working on acting. It’s weird. Both things fell in my lap at different times, and The Goldbergs worked out. I love that show.”
Growing up an only child in Texas, Hayley filled her time singing and listening to R&B and pop music—artists like Luther Vandross and Brian McKnight. For the aspiring singer, it was all about soul and the powerful voices of artists like Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill and Shania Twain.
“Rascal Flatts has always been a huge thing for me. Every song of theirs just makes me feel good,” she says. “Carrie Underwood, of course. I remember watching her on American Idol. Shania Twain and Faith Hill—my mom really got me on all that. The big voices are what I always grew up listening to, whether it was Shania, Faith or Carrie, or all the way to the other side to Whitney [Houston] and Celine Dion. It was always big voices, no matter what genre.”
With aspirations of being the next JoJo (Pop singer, songwriter, actress), Hayley appeared on Fox’s talent show, The X Factor, where she decided that she really wanted to be singing country-pop music. “That’s just where my heart is,” said Hayley. “When I’m writing—that’s just how it comes out.”
Today, Hayley’s heart is with her new single, “Give Me Back Sunday.” A song she co-wrote with Jason Saenz and Todd Clark, about missing home and recalling those nostalgic memories that bring her comfort.
“I actually wrote this song when I first came out to Nashville,” recalls Hayley. “This was one of the first songs I wrote—about three years ago. I wrote the song when I was 19 and I moved out to L.A. Being an only child, this was the first time I was away from my parents. I was away from home. It was new to me. While it was very exciting, I really missed home. I missed my parents and I missed that small town feel. Los Angeles is a whole different world. I was very inspired to write a song about all the things that reminded me of home, specifically Texas, growing up in the South and being close with my parents. We were able to tie in things that not everyone’s gonna know are personal to me. Like having ‘Amazing Grace’ in the song—doing that little snippet. My Nana’s name was Grace. I used to sing that to her and I sang that song at her funeral. For me, that has a lot of meaning.”
“I’d trade every star on the ground for one in the sky in my home town / Slow down but hurry up and wait for a little bit of rest on the seventh day / The only day we can’t have Chick-fil-a / Daddy’s cursing at the football game / Mama’s at church just praying away / We sing ‘Amazing Grace’ / Give me back, give me back Sunday / Give me back, give me back Sunday / Only for a moment even if I can’t stay / So give me back, give me back Sunday,” Hayley sings in the chorus.
“Give Me Back Sunday,” could very well be the first country song that name checks the fast food chain Chick-Fil-A.
“I have to say that when we were writing it, I was like, ‘I don’t know if this is a singable word, much less is this going to resonate with anybody?’ I remember growing up in Texas—really in the South, wherever there’s a Chick-fil-A—we would get up early enough to go to Chick-fil-A and get chicken minis and a sweet tea before school every day in high school. It was the best,” remembers Hayley. “It’s how you start your day. Every time, to this day, I will go to a Chick-fil-A on Sunday [when the restaurant is closed], and I’m like, ‘Crap! Why did I not know [it was closed] when I got in the car?’ Everyone who loves Chick-fil-A has gone on a Sunday and been like, ‘Well, this ruined my entire day.'”
Photo by Jason Simanek
While Hayley is getting her singing career on track, a slight setback will prevent her from performing and singing as much as she would like this summer.
“Sadly, I’ve been having some vocal issues. I found a cyst on my vocal cords,” she reveals. “I thankfully don’t need surgery, but I’ve been having to go to speech therapy. I’ve limited my performances for the summer, because I have to get back to the show and I had originally hurt my voice while working on the show, because there’s so much yelling.”
All is not lost for the Texas native. There’s more music to come following her current single, “Give Me Back Sunday.”
“My plan is to just release singles over the course of the year,” she adds. “Especially, when we start the show again—releasing one every month or every two months to keep it going. I hate that feeling of letting go of music for a whole seven months [during filming].”
While L.A will need Hayley back to start filming a new season of The Goldbergs soon, she will be sticking around Music City for the foreseeable future. With co-writes and friendships keeping her in her newly adopted hometown, Nashville just may have found it’s newest permanent resident.
“I love Nashville. It’s been four years since I moved out of Texas. Even though I miss it and my friends and stuff, I really feel at home in Nashville. I could see myself here for a long, long time. I’m here for the long haul.”
During his show on April 18 in Philadelphia, the 23-year-old told the crowd that he asked girlfriend Katelyn Jae to be his wife.
“It’s hard to do this job—you know, there’s girls involved—you’ve got to stay out of trouble, it’s really hard,” said Kane in a Twitter video posted by fan @_meagannn. “You know, some people found out on Instagram today and I had to delete this video. I just got engaged to a girl from Philadelphia two days ago. This is my first time making this announcement, but we’re in Philly, so I thought I had to go ahead and make the announcement, so thank you Philadelphia.”
If Spotify streams and YouTube views are any indication, Tennessee native Russell Dickerson has a bona fide hit on his hands with his single, “Yours,” which he released to country radio today (April 24). The tune, which was co-penned by Russell, Casey Brown and Parker Welling, has been streamed more than 30 million times on Spotify and the video has more than 3 million views on YouTube.
With that kind of Internet-friendly momentum behind him—as well as being a part of Thomas Rhett’s current Home Team Tour—Russell is ready for you to hear “Yours” on country radio.
“People just connected to ‘Yours,’ and shared it and it became this wedding song,” says Russell to Nash Country Daily. “We didn’t write it for that. We weren’t like, ‘Hey, what would couples love to hear for their first dance?’ But it’s turned into the perfect first-dance song. It was just writing an honest love song. I wrote it with two people that had seen my relationship with my wife from day one and so it was just this super honest love song and I think that’s what connects with people. It is an honest love song because when you meet that one person, it changes you.”
Russell’s wife, Kailey, obviously liked the song so much that she took it upon herself to direct, shoot and edit a music video for “Yours” (she also co-stars in it).
“We were just going to shoot some test footage and we were out on this back road and it just happened this giant storm was rolling in and so we were like, ‘All right, this is getting real. This is the magic right here,’ so we just shot up and down that road as many times as we could,” says Russell. “Then it just like started pouring down rain and I was soaked from head to toe and we just kept going and kept going just to capture as much as we could.”
Gildan Activewear rolled out a new advertising campaign this week that does not feature Blake, who has been Gildan’s underwear spokesman since 2015.
The ad agency that created the new campaign, O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul, inherited Blake as a spokesman when they came aboard in 2016. The new campaign is pushing the slogan “Not Your Dad’s Underwear,” and will feature spots on television, radio, online and Tinder.
Check out Gildan’s new Blake-free commercial below, which features a couple of “dads” sporting a pair of old-school undies.
Kaylee Rutland got her musical start in a children’s choir at her local church at the tender age of 8 years old. From that moment, the young singer was hooked. “This is it for me. I’m doing this forever,” she said after stepping in front of the microphone for the first time. While still in high school, Kaylee met singer/songwriter Jamie O’Neal (“There Is No Arizona”), who would later go on to become her co-writer and producer. Kaylee also entered the talent search competition, Nash Next, where she finished in the Top 10 in 2015. Today, the Texas native is a senior at Nashville’s Belmont University—majoring in music business—and is working on her full-time music career. Her current single, “Pick Me Up,” is available now and will be featured on an upcoming EP, due out later this summer.
GROWING UP TEXAS
“I’m the oldest of four kids, and I’ve been singing since I was eight years old. I joined the kids choir for a Christmas musical at my church. In hindsight it’s really shocking that they actually let me have a solo because I was the shyest kid you could possibly imagine. I still get nervous if I have to give a speech in front of my class. It was just shocking that they let me sing in front of people. Then the minute that I was in front of the microphone, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. This is the best feeling ever. This is it for me. I’m doing this forever.’ By the time I was in high school and I started singing on the worship team at my church as well as the high school choir, it kind of went from the elementary school, ‘I love doing this,’ to the more serious, ‘Not only do I love doing this, but this is something that I could truly make a living at—something that I could feasibly do for the rest of my life.’”
NASH NEXT COMPETITION
“I remember when I first heard about Nash Next, it just seemed like a pipe dream, like, ‘Oh, that would be really cool to do. Might as well give it a shot.’ When I ended up in the top 100, it was kind of like, ‘Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I was in the top 100. Time to get to work.’ I think my favorite part was just trying to do different creative things with all the challenges that we were given— the music videos, the pictures and the Periscope live challenge. My whole thought throughout was like, ‘I could win or I could not win. But how cool would it be to make it into the top 10 and get to perform with all these other artists?’ It happened, which was kind of a surreal dream. I was so excited about it. I got to meet all these people whose challenges and whose music I had been following for the past six months. Then I got to perform with them, and that was crazy cool.”
NASH Next Competition – Photo by Tyler Andrews/NASH Country Weekly
HIGHER LEARNING
“I feel like I’ve gotten to learn a lot more about [the music business] since, not only moving to Nashville, but being at Belmont [University]. A lot of my friends were a little suspicious of me going to college while trying to be a full-time musician. They were like, ‘Well, won’t that take away from it?’ I think that’s the beauty of being a music business major—a lot of my professors have or currently work in the music industry. So you get a lot of real-world experience and I get to learn about music publishing or music industry contract law and different sides of the business that I wouldn’t necessarily get to see just as an artist. I love that because I feel like it helps me get a better look over my career as a whole, instead of just being like, ‘Oh, you handle this.’ It’s really like, ‘Yeah, help me to learn about this. How can I do X, Y, and Z for myself as well?'”
A MENTOR’S ADVICE
“When I first met [Jamie O’Neal], I was 17 years old. I was still in high school. I had heard her songs, and so I was a little bit starstruck. This scrawny high school kid was coming to Nashville to write with her. I’ve never met someone so instantly open and warm, who just took me under her wing as a mentor. A couple months after that, I moved to Nashville, started going to Belmont [University] and started really immersing myself in the music industry. I’ve been working with her ever since then. She’s absolutely incredible. She really knows how to bring the best out of you in the studio. She’s always been a very big proponent of just truly being yourself. In the music industry, a lot of people want to change you into what works best for them. Especially when you’re trying to find your own brand as an artist and you’re writing songs that come from your heart. She’s very encouraging about being you—don’t try to change yourself for other people, and don’t turn from what your values are to try to do what you think other people want out of you, because being genuine is really the best thing you can do for yourself.”
PICK ME UP
“I got out of class on a Friday afternoon and I drove over to Jamie’s house. She and [her sister] Minnie [Murphy] and I were just venting about what a long week we’d each had and how we were all so happy it was Friday. What started off as a casual conversation about, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s finally Friday,’ turned into, ‘Well, why don’t we write a song about that?’ I would say the song is about having had a really long week and when Friday comes, you are ready to go out with that special someone or your group of girls and just have a good time.”
FUTURE EP
“I think as a genre in general, it’s definitely more contemporary country. It’s always really important to me to have the traditional elements of country thrown in, whether that’s through the lyrics or maybe through some of the more traditional instruments—a banjo, a steel guitar, a fiddle. Just some of those classically country elements that I really love. As far as what you can look forward to hear? More of that style of music, if you will. Whether it’s a slow song or something upbeat and encouraging, I want it to be either positive or something that people can listen to and think, ‘Oh, I’m not going through this situation alone.’”
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” — Mark Twain
photo via Brett Young’s Instagram page
From the look of Lee Brice’s social media pages, Brett Young’s dog—a Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix—is full of fight. The fluffy little mutt took a bite out of Lee’s hand on Saturday (April 22), but there doesn’t seem to be any long-term damage. Apparently, Brett warned Lee about his dog’s penchant for biting, but Lee was undeterred in his quest to pet the little guy.
Brett is serving as the opener on Lee and Justin Moore’s co-headlining American Made Tour.
Check out the carnage below, as well as pic of Lee onstage Sunday night with his hand wrapped.
The 14-song project features covers of classics such as the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody,” Glen Campbell’s “Southern Nights” and John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and “Annie’s Song,” among others
In an exclusive video, Jimmy gives Nash Country Daily an inside look at the inspiration behind the song—done as a request of his wife’s best friend, who found out she had cancer and later passed away. Jimmy’s version of the song was played at her funeral for the first time.
“Recently, a little over a year ago my wife’s best friend, she got cancer and her favorite song was ‘Annie’s Song.’ Her name was Mindy,” Jimmy explains in the video. “She found out that we were doing this project. She said, ‘My favorite song is ‘Annie’s Song,’ you gotta do that song on that project.’ So we recorded it for her. She just passed away recently. I was supposed to sing ‘Annie’s Song’ at her funeral. There was no way I could do it, so I used my recording from this project to play it at the funeral, because I knew I just couldn’t get through it. The song has such wonderful, wonderful words. Again, John Denver—one of my favorite writers, one of my favorite performers. We did it for Mindy though and I’m glad we did.”
NCD is sharing the exclusive video of Jimmy talking about his cover of “Annie’s Song.”
“I’d trade every star on the ground for one in the sky in my home town / Slow down but hurry up and wait for a little bit of rest on the seventh day / The only day we can’t have Chick-fil-a / Daddy’s cursing at the football game / Mama’s at church just praying away / We sing ‘Amazing Grace’ / Give me back, give me back Sunday / Give me back, give me back Sunday / Only for a moment even if I can’t stay / So give me back, give me back Sunday,” Hayley sings in the chorus.
PICK ME UP
