One day after receiving the news of her two Grammy nominations for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for “Vice,” Miranda Lambert stopped by Ellen yesterday (Dec. 7) to perform the Grammy-nominated song.
“Vice,” the first single released from Miranda’s sixth studio album, The Weight of These Wings, was penned by Miranda, Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally. The tune climbed to No. 11 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Watch Miranda’s addictive performance below.
Since dropping his debut studio album in 1990, Alan Jackson has been keeping it country—selling nearly 60 million albums worldwide and ranking as one of the 10 best-selling country artists of all-time. As you probably imagined, Alan will be keeping it country in 2017 during his 27th year in the biz.
Today (Dec. 7) Alan announced the first 13 dates of his new Honky Tonk Highway Tour. Kicking off on Jan. 20 in Tulsa, Okla., Alan will play a smorgasbord of arenas, amphitheaters and festivals, including stops in Atlanta, Minneapolis and Tortuga Music Festival in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Special guest Lee Ann Womack will join Alan on select dates, with several more dates to be announced soon. Tickets to some dates are on sale now.
| Month | Date | Location | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. | 20 | Tulsa, OK | Paradise Cove ** |
| 27 | Pensacola, FL | Pensacola Bay Center **++ | |
| 28 | Atlanta (Duluth), GA | Infinite Energy Center **++ | |
| Feb. | 25 | Laughlin, NV | Laughlin Events Center ^^ |
| March | 10 | Durant, OK | Choctaw Casino Resort ** |
| 24 | Rancho Mirage, CA | Aqua Caliente Casino ** | |
| 25 | Rancho Mirage, CA | Aqua Caliente Casino ** | |
| April | 8 | St. Augustine, FL | St. Augustine Amphitheatre ~~++ |
| 9 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL | Tortuga Music Festival ** | |
| May | 27 | Forest City, IA | Tree Town Country Music Festival ** |
| June | 23 | North Platte, NE | Nebraskaland Days ** |
| 24 | Manhattan, KS | Country Stampede ** | |
| Oct. | 28 | Minneapolis, MN | Target Center ** |
| **Date is already on sale ^^Tickets on sale Friday, Dec. 9 ~~Tickets on sale Friday, Dec. 16 ++with special guest Lee Ann Womack | |||
Keith Urban has been known to bring fans onstage during his concerts to share the spotlight. He did just that during a stop in Adelaide, Australia, on his Ripcord World Tour with Carrie Underwood.
Keith kicked off his tour Tuesday night (Dec. 6) at the Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Australia, and made the dreams of one fan come true. Amy Jennifer was in the audience with her own guitar, hoping Keith would share the spotlight. As luck would have it, she was invited onstage by the Aussie singer and he proceeded to have a hilarious interaction with Amy, to the point of becoming her very own guitar tech.
“I kinda like dreamt that this would happen, but I didn’t really know it would actually happen,” Amy said from the stage before singing an original song she wrote, “Closing That Door.”
Proof that dreams do come true.
Check out Amy’s performance and Keith’s interaction.
In May, traditional-leaning country crooner Josh Turner delighted his fans by releasing “Hometown Girl,” his first single in nearly two years. The new tune, which was penned by Mark Beeson and Daniel Tashian, is expected to appear on Josh’s upcoming sixth studio album.
Josh, a family man in his own right with wife Jennifer and four sons, was drawn to “Hometown Girl” and its message of family and tradition.
“I love the third verse where it talks about Her mamma’s mamma was born right here, and her roots run deeper than that old town square,” says Josh. “There’s a heritage there, there’s a tradition there, there’s a family lineage there.”
On August 30, Josh took his message of family to the Grand Ole Opry, where he performed “Hometown Girl” for the Opry faithful. Since debuting on the Opry stage in 2001—and being inducted in 2007—Josh has become a regular favorite of the Opry family.
During his three-song set, Josh performed his No. 1 hit “All Over Me,” “Long Black Train” and “Hometown Girl,” which is currently No. 28 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Check out the video premiere of Josh’s “Hometown Girl” on the Opry stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8S_dA7EcCI
Video courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry
Naomi Judd, one half of the power duo The Judds, is talking about dealing with a very difficult diagnosis. The country singer stopped by Good Morning America Tuesday morning (Dec. 6) to talk about her battle with severe depression, which she reveals in her new memoir, River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged With Hope.
About six years ago Naomi found herself battling severe depression and anxiety, which lead to time in psychiatric wards and an over-abundance of medications. Naomi is now sharing her story through her new book. In an exclusive interview, the singer sat down with GMA host Robin Roberts to talk about her ordeal in hopes of helping others who are going through the same issues.
“What I’ve been through is extreme. My final diagnosis was severe depression—treatment-resistant because they tried me on every single thing they had in their arsenal. They really felt like, if I live through this I want someone to be able to see that they can survive because there are 40 million of us out there.”
Check out Naomi’s interview on “Good Morning America.”
For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, a country artist has three of the Top 5 albums on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. His name? Mr. Garth “The Thunder Rolls” Brooks.
According to Billboard, Garth holds slots No. 2, 3 and 4 on the chart with Christmas Together, the Christmas Together/Gunslinger boxed set and Gunslinger, respectively.
The last artist to accomplish this feat? Yup, you guessed it, Garth Brooks in 1992 with The Chase, Beyond the Season and No Fences.
Garth, who was named the CMA Entertainer of the Year in November, has had a monster year. In addition to performing more than 100 shows on his World Tour with Trisha Yearwood, Garth raked in $70 million according to Forbes, which topped the list for country artists in 2016.
photo by Paul Morse/Points of Light Foundation courtesy Schmidt PR
Looks like Christmas has come early for some folks in Macclenny, Fla., thanks to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. The superstar couple paid off $5,000 worth of layaway items at the local Walmart.
According to Toni Foxx at WQIK in Jacksonville, Tim’s mom, Betty Trimble, went to the Walmart near Jacksonville, Fla., on behalf of her son and daughter-in-law to help pay off the items on layaway. Betty even retweeted pics from those recipients she helped at the store. Along with the paid receipt came a card saying “Merry Christmas, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.”
Now that’s getting in the Christmas spirit.
@TheTimMcGraw & @FaithHill thank you for your love and kindness spread throughout Macclenny today! You blessed many families and my mom! pic.twitter.com/SPlOtR4jr2
— HaleyThigpen (@heyyouknow) December 7, 2016
;
Tim Mc Graw’s mom lives in my co. FB going wild..She was in Wal Mart paying off layaways for peeps courtesy of he and wife, Faith Hill. XMAS
— Kitty Sullivan PhD (@kittyinfl) December 7, 2016
So… Tim McGraw and Faith Hill just came to the Walmart in my town and paid everyone’s layaway off.
— Claudia Quintero (@Claudiaaaq2) December 6, 2016
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNt5zlCjLHW/?taken-by=richjonesjax
Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Fresh off of receiving the news of her two Grammy nominations for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for “Vice,” Miranda Lambert stopped by Late Night With Seth Meyers last night (Dec. 6) for the debut television performance of her new single, “We Should Be Friends.”
The new tune, which was written by Miranda, is currently No. 37 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and is the second single from her sixth studio album, The Weight of These Wings, which was released in November.
Watch Miranda’s charming performance below.
Blake Shelton stepped away from his judging duties on The Voice last night (Dec. 6) to perform his current single, “A Guy With a Girl.”
The soulful tune, which was written by Ashley Gorley and Bryan Simpson, is currently No. 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and is the fourth single from Blake’s 10th studio album, If I’m Honest, which dropped in May.
Check out Blake’s flirty performance below.
Since the inception of the CMA Awards in 1967, only three country artists’ albums have been nominated for the all-genre Grammy Award for Album of the Year and NOT been nominated for the CMA Award for Album of the Year, according to my hasty research.
Bobbie Gentry was the first to earn the dubious honor in 1968 when Ode to Billie Joe was nominated for Grammy Album of the Year but did not garner the CMA Album of the Year nod. Linda Ronstadt matched that feat in 1976 with Heart Like a Wheel, as did the Dixie Chicks in 2007 with Taking the Long Way.
Well, ladies, you’ve finally got some male company.
Sturgill Simpson can now add his name to the list.
Today (Dec. 6) Sturgill received Grammy nominations in the all-genre Album of the Year and Country Album of the Year categories for A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, but he earned no such nomination at this year’s CMA Awards in November.
Perhaps Sturgill was onto something when he lambasted “Nashville” during a lengthy Facebook post in August, closing the message with “Some days, this town and this industry have a way of making we wish I could just go sit on Mars and build glass clocks.”
1968: Bobbie Gentry: Ode to Billie Joe*
1969: Glen Campbell: By the Time I Get to Phoenix
1970: Johnny Cash: At San Quentin
1974: Charlie Rich: Behind Closed Doors
1976: Linda Ronstadt: Heart Like a Wheel*
1980: Kenny Rogers: The Gambler
1988: Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris: Trio
1999: Shania Twain: Come on Over
2000: Dixie Chicks: Fly
2003: Dixie Chicks: Home
2007: Dixie Chicks, Taking the Long Way Home*
2008: Vince Gill: These Days
2010: Taylor Swift: Fearless
2011: Lady Antebellum: Need You Now
2014: Taylor Swift: Red
2016: Chris Stapleton: Traveller
2017: Sturgill Simpson: A Sailor’s Guide to Earth*
*Albums did not earn CMA Album of the Year nominations.
photo by Reto Sterchi/Sacks & Co
