While Brett Young is climbing the charts with his song “Lady”, he’s also spreading some holiday cheer. Brett released his version of the Christmas classic “Silver Bells”.
When looking for a holiday track to record, he says the choice was easy for him, “Aside from ‘Silver Bells’ being one of the most well-known classic Christmas songs, it’s specifically always been one of my favorites.”
Brett added “I think a song that’s able to lend itself to so many different versions is a special thing and this one seems to be extremely versatile.” But in the end, the real reason Brett record “Silver Bells”, “It just makes me happy when it comes on and that’s what Christmas is all about.”
Check out Brett’s version of “Silver Bells” right here…
Photo Credit: Riker Brothers Photography
Single Image courtesy of GreenRoom PR
Yesterday, Taylor Swift took to her social media to announce she was releasing a new album!
“I’m elated to tell you that my 9th studio album, and folklore‘s sister record, will be out tonight at midnight eastern. It’s called evermore.”
Taylor released folklore earlier this year, in July, and when it came to creating evermore, her message to fans is “To put it plainly, we just couldn’t stop writing songs. To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in.”
Taylor admits that this would be her first sequel to an album of hers, “I’ve never done this before. In the past I’ve always treated albums as one-off eras and moved onto planning the next one after an album was released. There was something different with folklore. In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning.”
Taylor also credited her fans with accepting the songs that she creates, and that allowed her to delve deeper into this creative landscape, “I loved the escapism I found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales. I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives. So I just kept writing them.”
Taylor finished her message by mentioning the people who helped her with evermore, “And I loved creating these songs with Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff, WB, and Justin Vernon. We’ve also welcomed some new (and longtime) friends to our musical kitchen table this time around…”
Thomas Rhett is like most dads, he wants his kids to have a good time at Christmas and during the holiday season, but he also wants to make sure that the meaning of Christmas is not lost on them.
Thomas says “I do think there’s a lot of us that really just look at Christmas in the wrong light. And so yeah, we definitely want to get them what they want and get their gifts and talk about Santa Claus and all that kind of mess. But I really, from a young age, would love to try to ingrain in their heads, like, what Christmas truly is about. ”
Thomas adds, “We say that, but then all we really think about is the gift giving. You know, I know a lot of families that don’t even do gifts anymore and literally they go out and, like, serve on Christmas Day. In theory, that sounds super cool. I’d hope that we can as a family get to a point where that is what Christmas is to our family rather than all the stuff.”
Spreading a little holiday music cheer, here’s Thomas Rhett from this year’s CMA Country Christmas TV special, which he hosted with his wife Lauren, singing his track “Christmas in the Country.”
Happy Anniversary to Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood as their celebrate 15 years of marriage, which Garth describes as “The best 15 years of my life.” He added “This is the second 15 years of our life. That’s the crazy thing,” pointing out the first phase of their relationship, “We met in ’87, ’88…got married in 2005. So, we went through the first phase as friends…and then the first 15 years as husband and wife.”
Trisha thinks it was that first phase, that makes her relationship with Garth so successful, “We have a friendship that’s a great base for all of it. And we made a really conscious effort when we got married, to not be together to be apart. It wasn’t okay to just go, ‘We’re married now; we’re just still going to do our own thing.’ So that meant that we make those decisions together when we married. And we’re together! I mean, 99-percent of the time we’re together. We don’t spend very many nights apart at all. And I think that’s a big part of it. And we actually enjoy each other’s company, which is nice.”
Garth agrees. He thinks that the time spent working on the friendship is the secret to their successful “celebrity” marriage, “just want to be wherever she’s at. Love breathing the same air she’s breathing, whether we’re doing the same thing or not. But this is a celebrity thing. We’ve seen them all come and go. So every day, you put in. The difference is…I don’t have to remember to put in that time. It’s an honor to put in that time. And it’s something that just comes naturally.”
The two are paired personally and professionally as they once again teamed up for a powerhouse duet on “Shallow,” which can be found on Garth’s new album, Fun. Garth and Trisha have also made their mark in 2020 by suppling fans with “by request” concerts, both during Garth’s weekly Studio G sessions on Facebook Live and also on CBS TV, where they have a holiday themed one coming up December 20th, called Garth and Trisha Live! A Holiday Concert Event (CBS, 8:30pm ET/8:00pm PT).
As with the other “by request” events, the secret ingredient is the fans! Garth and Trisha are requesting your requests! You can submit your holiday song choices via their socials, using the hashtag #GarthandTrishaLive, or on his website, where the two plan to post a “sneak peek” of what they’re working on sometime soon!
After tying the knot on December 10th 2005, and everything that has come since, what does Garth think about the next phase of his friendship/marriage with Trisha, “I’m going to put all of my money that the third 15 years is going to be the best 15 years of my life.”
Gabby Barrett is ending 2020 with a few awards on her mantle, like CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year, and being named to some year-end lists, like Billboard’s Top New Country Artist, along with making their 21 Under 2 list. Plus she’s on Variety’s 2020 Power of Young Hollywood, and Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Music lists.
All those might just rival her favorite Christmas gift that she’s received. Gabby shared that when she was younger, she made a wish list that she didn’t think would come true…”One year, I asked for Ugg Boots…like the nicest ones, and I thought there was absolutely no way that I was going to get them but Santa ended up bringing them to my house, and I was so excited and I wore them everyday. Even when it was hot outside I wore them! (laugh)”
Gabby gave fans a special Christmas gift this year with her version of “The First Noel,” which she sang on the CMA Country Christmas special a few weeks ago.
The music video for Dierks Bentley’s “Gone” is out now, and it is definitely one not to miss.
Dierks covers many roles in it and as he says, “It just always ends poorly for me in this video.”
He starts out as the main role of the disheveled guy watching TV…
but as that guy channel surfs, Dierks jumps around from character to character producing some interesting looks…
From a 1970s guy to someone who looks strangely familiar if you’re a fan of The Office, Dierks has it covered.
Dierks admits making the “Gone” video was a blast, “I definitely had a lot more fun making it than it looks though…we got to film a bunch of scenes inspired by some of my favorite shows like The Office, MacGyver, Game Of Thrones and Full House.” The video for “Gone” also allowed Dierks to work with some new directors who energized him throughout the shoot, “I left at the end of a really long day feeling really happy and inspired about a kind of sad song.”
Check out the music video for Dierks Bentley’s “Gone” right here…
Photo Credit: Jim Wright
Video Images courtesy of GreenRoom PR
Who doesn’t love to get away for the holidays? Well, Jimmie Allen has a holiday tradition with his family…they all spend Christmas time at Disney World in Florida. Jimmie shares “We started this tradition. You know, once you introduce your kids to Santa Claus and Mickey Mouse at the same time, you can’t undo that so you kinda gotta just stick with it. And we love it just as much as he does.”
Trying to keep this family tradition going in 2020 has been a little interesting, but Jimmie says, “Listen, if Disney is open for Christmas…Oh yeah, we’re doing Disney for Christmas.”
Here’s to hoping Jimmie and his family have a very Merry Mickey Christmas.
When it comes to keeping the tradition going Jimmie Allen is giving it his…wait for it…Best Shot.
Kenny Chesney knew as soon as he heard “Happy Does,” it was a song that he wanted to record…
“The first time I heard ‘Happy Does’ it made me smile…a lot. Because I love the idea of my audience and the people that listen to this music, living their best life, and I think it’s really hard in today’s world…in this social media world of getting drawn in to what everyone else is doing and how everyone else is living their life instead of concentrating on your own and not necessarily letting outside factors dictate your life, or the mood that you’re in.”
The song is resonating with fans, and quickly becoming another signature hit for the superstar singer.
Check out “Happy Does” from Kenny Chesney right here…
Kellie Harper and Rae Burrell – Lady Vols / Credit: UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Kellie Harper took questions from the media on Wednesday in a Zoom interview session that covered the Lady Vols’ two games this week.
UT (2-1) will play host to Furman (1-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET (SECN+) and hit the road for a contest at No. 23 Texas (3-1) on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT/5 ET (ESPN).
Opening Statement…
“We’re excited about this week and being able to play a couple of games and get some practices in. We’re really grateful that we were able to add our Furman game this week to help replace the FAMU (Florida A&M) game that we lost at the beginning of the season. We’re coming off a West Virginia loss, a tough loss. Hopefully our players come out of it better. I thought they had a pretty good attitude after the game. I thought our practice was good, and I thought their mentality was good. It’s just a matter of being able to improve on some details and use every day to get better. I think we’ve made some strides. There are, obviously, a lot of mistakes left out there that we need to clean up to be able to get a close win.”
On what she has learned from her team through three games…
“I think going up to West Virginia, there was a question of how we were going to compete against that caliber of a team. I was proud of them. I thought our players fought hard and played to win. We were on the floor a lot after loose balls; we had a desire that was really good to see. We just came up short. You look at that game, and you have so many mistakes. Mistakes are turnovers, but mistakes are also a missed boxout. Mistakes are also a missed assignment or falling asleep defensively. There are a lot of different things that add up in that game. We’re really one more free throw away from winning that game in regulation, one more knocked-down jumper or one more boxout where they don’t get a put-back. You look at that entire game and see how many opportunities we had. We could have been better.”
On what it’s been like for the basketball teams with COVID-19 protocols in place this season…
“He (Rick Barnes) and I spoke last week. We talked a little bit about the whole environment and the situation. We had played a couple of games here. At that point, he had not. So, we talked a little bit about what the atmosphere was like. It is different. Every day, you just keep your fingers crossed that you get to continue this day and you get to play tomorrow. We understand. You don’t have to look far to see the men’s team and see how their schedule has ended up. You look in women’s basketball and all of these different sports, that’s just reality. That’s the world we’re living in. You’ve got to understand that at any point, it could be taken away from you for at least a short period of time. You just have to prepare and enjoy the opportunities that you do get.”
On what she likes from the point guard position…
“I think right now, we have three players that have played the point guard position. Both of our Jordans – Jordan Horston and Jordan Walker. I think the really neat thing for those two is that they’re bringing something very different to the table. I think Jordan Horston is a big, strong playmaker, playing downhill. Something’s going to happen. I think Jordan Walker is a little bit more reserved, a little bit more of a manager. I like the fact that both of them can play together. I think that’s really good. Our third point guard is Destiny Salary, who hasn’t been a true point guard in her career, but she’s looked good in practices. We’re trying to get her work up in practice and find her some minutes in these games.”
On preparation for Texas and how to plan for Charli Collier…
“Well, we played them last year, and our post players did a terrific job defensively. They held her to six points, I think. One of the ways they did that was limiting her touches. I think that’s a little bit harder in the system that they’re running now. Sometimes she’s not the primary look, but because she’s the secondary option, she’s getting a lot of touches and a lot of open touches. If you look at some of the games where she’s had big games, that’s where she’s getting those. I think the first thing that strikes me is you when you see her, she looks amazing. She’s physically impressive right now. You have to credit her, because her body looks terrific. So I think, for us, just being prepared to key in on her. But also, it’s easier to guard her when you don’t have to worry about everybody else, so being able to line up and guard everybody else will help us do a better job on her. I don’t think you’re going to shut her down, and she’s going to be hard to keep off the boards, but obviously, you want to try to limit that. And hopefully our size will have a little bit of an effect there.
On Charli Collier’s performance, where it’s able to go and the comparisons to Candace Parker…
“I think for her, I think she’s really projecting high right now. I think early on she did, and I think she’s back on track to project really high. I think she’s got a great presence – very strong, very athletic. Her skill set, to me, obviously, she can shoot out on the floor. As she continues to develop that and get even more comfortable putting the ball on the floor, I think that really gives her a different dimension as a pro. When you talk about Candace Parker, Candace Parker is a guard. And that’s one of the big reasons that she’s so special, she’s a guard in a post frame. I don’t know that I would identify Collier as a guard yet, but she’s got a great skill set and may be trending that way.”
On what she expects to see out of Furman…
“Furman coming in, one of the things that they do well that’s a problem for a lot of their opponents, is they run a lot of stuff. They run a lot of different actions, a lot of quick hits. We’re not going to be able to go over all of that with our team. That would overload them, and then you start worrying more about your opponent than yourself. So, for us, we’re going to have to be able to figure some things out live and figure some things out on the fly. And it’s a great opportunity for us to see how we handle a pretty in-depth scouting report in terms of actions we have to guard. I think that’s one of the things we’re going to see. Their kids are going to play hard. They’re savvy; they’re intelligent. I want to see us come in and really get after it – really get after it on both ends of the court, be sharp, look to get a lot of people involved in the offense and make some plays defensively.”
On the smaller rotation at West Virginia and what it will look like going forward…
“One of the reasons that we shortened our bench that game is that I knew their bench was going to be short, so I didn’t think there was going to be an advantage there. And I wanted to give our players that had the experience, a lot of it, to give them an opportunity. We’re going to continue to work with those players that didn’t get as many minutes. We want to make sure that we continue to work with them, because at any point they could have to step up and give us some time. When you have a team that will buy into, ‘If I’ve got two minutes, I’ve got to have two great minutes… or eight minutes or 12 minutes, but those minutes have to be great.’ I think that’s where you can really take a big jump as a program. But in terms of our rotation, I think we’re working through those. We get a lot of data after every game and every practice on what combinations work and what combinations maybe aren’t the most successful. And then it’s how are we going to take that data and process it for a game.”
On how the newcomers have integrated with the returning players…
“I think our newcomers have all brought something different to our team. I think they’ve come in with a great attitude, great work ethic, great mindset, very competitive. I love that about them. I also think our returners have really embraced our newcomers and embraced what they’re bringing to our team. I think you’ve got to have both. I’ve been proud of how this team has meshed and how they’ve grown together, and hopefully we can continue to do that.”
On if she feels like Vic Schaefer is putting his stamp on Texas’ play…
“I have only seen them play once, and absolutely they are playing Vic Schaefer’s style of basketball. They’re playing the dribble-drive, and they’re playing aggressive man. That’s his thing. They’ve put both of those things in, which I think everybody expected, but I think you can definitely see where he’s wanting to take that team.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In its first game in 276 days, the 12th-ranked Tennessee basketball team took down Colorado in a tight defensive affair, 56-47.
Tennessee (1-0) saw a balanced effort across the board with nine of 10 Vols who saw action getting on the score sheet, while Jeriah Horne led Colorado (2-1) with 15 points.
Tennessee’s John Fulkerson and Santiago Vescovi led the Big Orange in scoring with 11 points apiece, while Yves Pons was a beast on the boards, pulling in a team-high 10 rebounds. Vescovi also added a game-high five assists.
Sophomore Josiah-Jordan James had the most balanced game for the Vols, tallying eight points—knocking down all four of his attempts from the charity stripe—six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Redshirt junior Victor Bailey Jr., who made his debut with Tennessee after sitting out last season as a transfer, earned the start and was explosive in the early going, draining his first three shot attempts to score eight first-half points.
The freshman duo of Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer combined for 10 second-half points and was key to the Vols pulling away late.
The Vols came roaring out of quarantine, opening the night on a 12-2 run through the game’s first four minutes. James and Fulkerson led the way with five and four points, respectively, during that early stretch.
The Buffaloes responded to UT’s initial punch, coming within as few as four points with less than a minute to play in the half. However, Tennessee’s stifling defense and a timely 3-pointer from Vescovi took the Vols into the locker room with a 31-24 lead.
Colorado fed off the momentum it built before halftime to cut the UT lead to 33-31 at the second half’s under-16 media timeout.
Out of that break, Johnson provided an integral spark, forcing a jump ball to halt the Buffaloes possession, then forcing an immediate turnover which led to a dunk. Vescovi then drained a three seconds later to put UT up 38-31 with 14:41 remaining.
The Vols put a stranglehold on the Buffaloes through the remainder of the second half and used several late buckets to close out the season-opening victory.
New Hoopers: Tennessee’s crop of fresh faces combined for 22 of the team’s 56 points in their first appearances inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
Up Next: Tennessee returns to action for a Saturday afternoon clash with Cincinnati. Tipoff from Thompson-Boling Arena is set for 12:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network Alternate Channel.
