Michael Hardy, known professionally as Hardy, scored his first No. 1 single as an artist with “One Beer,” which features Devin Dawson and Lauren Alaina. The tune ascended to the top spot on both the Billboard Country Airplay chart and Mediabase chart this week.
Penned by Hardy, Hillary Lindsey and Jake Mitchel, “One Beer” is the lead single from Hardy’s 2020 album, A Rock.
“I am so thankful for the writers and my label for helping me take this song all the way to number one,” says Hardy. “My first number one as an artist means so much to me and it’s a feeling I’ll never forget.”
Before his success as a singer, Hardy earned a rep as one of Nashville’s hottest songwriters, having co-penned recent No. 1 singles “God’s Country” (Blake Shelton), “Simple” (Florida Georgia Line) and “Up Down” (Morgan Wallen). Hardy also had a hand in writing FGL’s “Talk You Out of It,” Chris Lane’s “I Don’t Know About You” and Blake Shelton’s “Hell Right.”
A Rock Track Listing & Songwriters
1. “Truck” (Michael Hardy, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps)
2. “Boyfriend” (Michael Hardy, Zach Abend, Andy Albert)
3. “Give Heaven Some Hell” (Michael Hardy, Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps)
4. “Boots” (Michael Hardy, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
5. “Where Ya At” (Michael Hardy, Jessie Jo Dillon, David Garcia)
6. “Ain’t a Bad Day” (Michael Hardy, Jake Mitchell, Hunter Phelps)
7. “One Beer” feat. Lauren Alaina & Devin Dawson (Michael Hardy, Hillary Lindsey, Jake Mitchell)
8. “So Close” feat. Ashland Craft (Michael Hardy, Mark Holman, Hillary Lindsey)
9. “Broke Boy” (Michael Hardy, David Garcia, Brett Tyler)
10. “Hate Your Hometown” (Michael Hardy, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
11. “Unapologetically Country as Hell” (Michael Hardy, Smith Ahnquist, Nick Donley, Jake Mitchell)
12. “A Rock” (Michael Hardy, Smith Ahnquist, Jake Mitchell)
Gabby Barrett followed up her No. 1 debut single, “I Hope,” with the release of “The Good Ones,” which is currently No. 27 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Penned by Gabby, Zach Kale, Emily Landis and Jim McCormick, “The Good Ones” is featured on Gabby’s debut album, Goldmine.
Gabby co-penned the new single about her then-boyfriend, now-husband Cade Foehner.
As Gabby tells Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, the optimistic tune really flipped the script from her smash hit, “I Hope.”
“This song was very special, of course,” says Gabby. “When we wrote it, it was inspired by my husband Cade, which made making the music video even more special with an even more special message, but for the song, I wrote it with a group of friends of mine. And, at the time, I was just thinking of when I was dating my husband when I was on American Idol in 2018. Family members would kind of come up and ask me, ‘How’s your boyfriend doing?’ And, I’d always be like, ‘Oh, he’s good. He’s a good one. He’s a keeper,’ and so I had heard other girls use that phrase before. I’ve heard ‘He’s a good one’ a good amount of times [laughing], and so, I was like, ‘You know what? Let’s write a song about the good ones.’ Because with ‘I Hope,’ I don’t want everybody to think that I’m just saying, ‘Everybody stinks and never get in a relationship!’ There are good ones out there and I’ve definitely found mine.”
In April, Gabby became the fourth solo female artist in 14 years to score a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with her debut single, following Carly Pearce’s “Every Little Thing” (Nov. 2017), Kelsea Ballerini’s “Love Me Like You Mean It” (June 2015) and Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel” (Jan. 2006).
Lady A released a deluxe version of their 2012 holiday album, On This Winter’s Night, on Oct. 30.
On This Winter’s Night Deluxe features the 12 tracks from their 2012 album, with four new recordings: “Wonderful Christmastime,” “Little Saint Nick,” “That Spirit of Christmas” and “Christmas Through Your Eyes,” which the trio co-penned.
“We’ve always loved the holiday season, but it has become even more magical now that we’re parents,” says Lady A’s Hillary Scott. “So, we thought we’d add on a new, original song that was inspired by our kids and our take on a few of our favorites, which has brought us so much joy. I think we could all use a little extra holiday cheer this year!”
Lady A dropped a new video for “Christmas Through Your Eyes,” which you can watch below. The new clip features home videos and photos of the trio and their families.
On This Winter’s Night Deluxe
“A Holly Jolly Christmas” (Johnny Marks)
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector)
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” (Walter Afanasieff, Mariah Carey)
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas” (Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck Ram)
Here’s everything you need to know about Carrie Underwood’s new holiday special, My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood.
Premiere Date: Dec. 3
Streaming: HBO Max
What to Expect: Carrie will be performing holiday classics along with new Christmas songs from her No. 1 album, My Gift, which was released in September.
Accompaniment: Carrie’s band, as well as a live orchestra and choir conducted by Ricky Minor
Carrie says: “Just like the album, I hope this special will help bring some much-needed joy and become part of the soundtrack to people’s holiday festivities this year as it streams throughout the season and beyond.”
Special Guest: Carrie will team with John Legend to sing “Hallelujah.”
Bonus: Viewers will get a behind-the-scenes look at Carrie recording “Little Drummer Boy” with her son Isaiah, 5.
Chase Rice reunited with old friends Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line for his new single, “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.”
The new tune, which was penned by Chase, Hunter Phelps, Cale Dodds and Corey Crowder, will impact country radio on Dec. 7.
“We actually wrote this song before the pandemic, which is crazy because it’s almost like God was intervening in the song just to say, ‘Hey y’all, get ready, you’re gonna have a lot of time to sit around a fire, drink some beer and hang out with me,’” says Chase. “It’s a special song in that way because it really is a celebration of what 2020 became for us and a lot of other people—slowing down to enjoy these moments with our loved ones and having deeper, more meaningful conversations with each other.”
Chase, Brian and Tyler were three of the co-writers behind FGL’s 2012 smash hit, “Cruise.”
The Grand Ole Opry will tally its 4,953rd consecutive Saturday night broadcast on Dec. 5 with a showcase featuring Carly Pearce, Sister Sadie, Del McCoury, Darin & Brooke Aldridge and Jeannie Seely.
A one-hour portion of the show will air live on Circle Television at 8 p.m. CT. The show will also stream live on Circle’s YouTube.
Tickets are on sale for a limited in-venue audience in compliance with operating plans developed with the Nashville Public Health Department that include socially distanced seating, mandatory masks for all guests and staff, and more.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee’s Dec. 5 home game against No. 6/5 Florida will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT live on CBS as the Southeastern Conference unveiled next Saturday’s slate of games.
The Volunteers (2-5) return to Neyland Stadium for the first time since Oct. 24. Tennessee was open on Nov. 28 after its game against Vanderbilt was postponed due to the purpose of facilitating the rescheduling of the Vanderbilt at Missouri game and for the continued opportunity for all 14 SEC teams to play 10 games this season.
The Vols and Gators (7-1) will meet for the first time in December since 2001 in Gainesville, a game that was rescheduled after the events of 9/11. It will also be the first December game played in Neyland Stadium since UT defeated Vanderbilt, 17-10, on Dec. 2, 1989.
The television schedule for Dec. 5 includes:
Texas A&M at Auburn, 12 p.m. ET, ESPN
Arkansas at Missouri, 12 p.m. ET, SEC Network Florida at Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Vanderbilt at Georgia, 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network
South Carolina at Kentucky, 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Alabama at LSU, 8 p.m. ET, CBS
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Lady Vols opened the 2020-21 season with an impressive 87-47 win over Western Kentucky in Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Junior guard/forward Rae Burrell led Tennessee with 18 points and a career-high seven assists. Four other Lady Vols found their way into double digits with redshirt junior guard Jordan Walker adding 13, freshman guard/forward Marta Suárez scoring 11, and senior forward Rennia Davis and freshman guard Destiny Salary each pitching in 10. Davis also tallied 11 rebounds to record her 30th career double-double.
WKU was paced by Ally Collett who finished the day with 16 points and three rebounds. Meral Abdelgawad was the second-leading scorer with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Tennessee started the game with a balanced attack, with seven Lady Vols contributing to UT’s 17 first-quarter points. Davis scored Tennessee’s initial points of the season, hitting a layup in the opening seconds. She followed it up with a second layup a couple minutes later to fuel a 7-4 Lady Vol lead by the media timeout. Immediately following the break, Jordan Horston snagged a steal and found Suárez in transition to put Tennessee up 9-4 with 5:48 remaining in the half.
The Big Orange built their lead to 15-7 before Collett answered with a 3-pointer to close the gap to 15-10 at the 2:38 mark. Horston fired in two free throws for Tennessee, but Myriah Haywood countered with a three, cutting the Hilltoppers’ deficit to 17-13 by the end of the period.
Both teams started the second quarter in a shooting slump, playing more than two minutes before Davis put in a layup off a Burrell assist. Burrell followed it up on the next possession with a 3-pointer, and Walker added a fast-break layup to extend UT’s lead to 24-13 with 6:35 remaining in the half. A Walker trey and a Suárez layup extended Tennessee’s run to 12-0 bridging the first and second stanzas before Haywood knocked down a jumper, moving the score to 29-15 with 4:36 on the clock. WKU countered with a 5-0 run of its own, but Burrell and Salary each responded with 3-pointers for UT, and the Lady Vols headed into halftime up 38-20.
Collett opened the scoring in the second half, knocking down a trey for WKU. The teams traded buckets in the opening minutes until Walker scored on back-to-back possessions to push UT’s lead to 20 at the 6:36 mark. Tennessee maintained its 20-point advantage through the media timeout and launched into a 10-0 run coming out of the break, fueled largely by six-straight points in the paint from Kasiyahna Kushkituah. A Fatou Pouye 3-pointer ended the run and cut the Lady Vols’ lead to 27 at 63-36, but Salary scored on back-to-back possessions, including a buzzer-beater three to send UT into the final stanza up 68-36.
Tennessee continued to build its lead in the fourth quarter with eight Lady Vols combining to score 19 points while holding the Hilltoppers to just 11, giving Tennessee a 40-point win to open the season.
Next Up: The Lady Vols will host ETSU on Tuesday. Tip time is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be available for streaming on SECN+ and carried on Lady Vol Radio Network stations.
New Faces: Three Tennessee newcomers earned starting spots in their debuts – freshman Marta Suárez and graduate transfers Jordan Walker and Keyen Green. Prior to this, only two transfers had started in a season opener (Shannon Bobbitt and Jaiden McCoy) in the NCAA era. Suárez became the 23rd freshman to start in her first game as a Lady Vol.
Double-Digit Debuts: Redshirt junior Jordan Walker and freshmen Marta Suárez and Destiny Salary found their way into double digits, scoring 13, 11 and 10, respectively. They are three of just 45 Lady Vols all-time to score 10 or more points in their debut.
Balanced Attack: Of the 12 players active for the Lady Vols against WKU, 11 contributed points to Tennessee’s win and five were in double figures.
Dishin’ and Swishin’: Rae Burrell led UT in scoring with 18 points while also dishing out a career-high seven assists. Her previous career-high assist total was four against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 26, 2019.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — #RV/RV Tennessee (0-0) will play host to Western Kentucky (0-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena in the 2020-21 opener for both schools. UT opens the campaign receiving votes for the second straight season.
The Lady Vols were slated to pop the top on the campaign Friday night vs. Florida A&M, but FAMU announced on Nov. 23 that it was opting out of the season due to concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19) global health crisis.
UT is coming off a campaign in which it posted a 21-10 record and tied for third in the SEC with a 10-6 record during the first year of the Kellie Harper era.
WKU, meanwhile was 22-7 a year ago, tying for second in Conference USA with a 14-4 mark under now third-year coach Greg Collins. The Hilltoppers had an impressive RPI of 31 at the end of last season.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday’s game will be live streamed by SECN+ with Michael Wottreng (PxP) and LVFL Andraya Carter (Analyst) on the call.
The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network radio stations and by audio stream, with Mickey Dearstone calling the action for the 22nd season and Bobby Rader serving as the studio host.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on Vol Network Affiliates in the black bar at the top of the page.
Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
SECN+ games are online broadcasts and are available only on WatchESPN via computers, smartphones and tablets.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) and the SEC Network will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
LADY VOLS IN OPENERS
The Lady Vols are 42-4 in season openers over the past 46 years, including 8-1 on the road, 26-3 at home and 8-0 at neutral sites.
UT has won its last seven season openers and 19 of its last 20.
Tennessee has a 43-3 all-time record in its first home contest of the year and a 39-7 mark in its first road game of the season.
UT has won five straight while playing the team’s first road game of a season.
Kellie Harper is 5-0 while coaching a Power 5 school (4-0 at NC State, 1-0 at Tennessee) in season openers after defeating ETSU last season.
HOME SWEET HOME
This is the 34th season that the Tennessee women’s and men’s basketball teams have called Thompson-Boling Arena their home, and the Lady Vols own an incredible 465-48 mark (.906) in the venue.
The Lady Volunteers have built a combined 618-72 (.896) home record in contests played at Thompson-Boling Arena, Stokely Athletics Center and Alumni Gym.
Kellie Harper is 13-3 overall and 6-2 in SEC play in games played on The Summitt.
UT RETURNS MOST OF ITS FIREPOWER
Tennessee returns five of its top six scorers and rebounders from 2019-20, including the top four in each category.
Kellie Harper welcomes back 80.8 percent of her scoring, 76.4 percent of rebounds, 78.6 percent of blocks, 71.0 percent of steals and 64.8 percent of assists from a year ago.
The Big Orange women also return 80.6 percent of their field goals, including 73.3 percent of their three-pointers, and 84.8 percent of free throws from last season.
FOUR STARTERS ARE BACK
Tennessee returns four players who were in the starting lineup during the 2019-20 season. That group includes senior Rennia Davis, junior Rae Burrell and sophomore Tamari Key. Sophomore Jordan Horston earned 22 starts before giving way to Burrell in the final nine contests.
Davis is Tennessee’s top returnee. The 6-foot-2 guard/forward was a first-team All-SEC choice a year ago and an All-America honorable mention recipient from AP, the USBWA and WBCA. She averaged 18.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 2019-20 while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 80.2 percent from the free throw line.
Burrell is a 6-1 guard/forward who averaged 10.5 ppg. and 5.5 rpg. while knocking down 21 three-pointers. The team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, she was the top reserve for the first 22 games before starting the final nine contests of the season. She averaged 12.3 ppg. and 5.7 rpg. during that end-of-year stint in the first five.
Key is a 6-5 center who averaged 7.3 ppg., 4.7 rpg. and 2.8 bpg. while shooting 56 percent from the field. She finished No. 1 in the SEC in blocked shots (86) and blocks per game (2.8) and ranked 11th and 13th in the NCAA in those categories, respectively.
Horston, a 6-2 point guard, averaged 10.1 ppg., 5.5 rpg. and 4.6 apg. in 2019-20. She ranked first on the team in assists (143) and steals (39), second in blocks (25) and three-pointers made (27), and third in points scored (313) and rebounds (170) en route to SEC All-Freshman honors.
Her 143 assists and 4.6 assist average both ranked second all-time among freshmen at Tennessee, and she was fourth in the SEC for assist average.
FOUR MORE LETTERWINNERS ARE BACK
In addition to returning Davis, Burrell, Key and Horston, the Lady Vols welcome back four more letterwinners.
Regulars off the bench include 6-4 senior center Kasiyahna Kushkituah (5.4 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 49% FG, 31 games played), 5-8 sophomore guard Jessie Rennie (2.7 ppg., 25 3FGs, 46% 3FG, 30 games played) and 6-3 redshirt senior forward Jaiden McCoy (2.7 ppg., 1.8 rpg., 26 games played).
Rennie became UT’s three-point shooting ace as the season wore on, connecting on 25 of 54 attempts for an impressive 46.3 percent accuracy and the second-best season percentage in UT history. Rennie was even better in league play, knocking down 54.2 percent (13-24) of her tries.
At 6-5, sophomore center Emily Saunders saw action in only 10 games but averaged 3.7 ppg., 2.2 rpg. and 1.0 bpg. while shooting 71% on field goals.
TWO GRAD TRANSFERS OF IMPACT
Tennessee welcomes a pair of highly-productive graduate transfers in Keyen Green from Liberty and Jordan Walker from Western Michigan. Walker graduated after three years at WMU and redshirted her second season there due to a knee injury, so she has two years of eligibility remaining.
An All-MAC guard, Walker brings quickness and depth to the UT backcourt. The 5-8 redshirt junior averaged 16.0 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 2.5 apg. and 2.1 spg. while knocking down 66 three-pointers in 2019-20.
Green, a first-team All-ASUN forward/center, should bolster UT’s inside presence. The 6-1 redshirt senior averaged 13.9 ppg. and 7.5 rpg. and shot 59 percent from the field. She was the Big South Player of the Year in 2017-18 and a three-time all-league performer.
ESPN picked Green No. 15 in its 2020-21 preseason Newcomer Impact Rankings.
Green and Walker are the third and fourth grad transfers for UT, following in the footsteps of Schaquilla Nunn (2016-17) and Lou Brown (2018-20).
FRESHMAN TRIO
UT’s three-member rookie class includes 6-0 guard Destiny Salary (four-star prospect, #57 by espnW HoopGurlz), 6-1 guard/forward Tess Darby (#86 by Blue Star Media, four-star prospect by ProspectsNation.com, three-star prospect by espnW HoopGurlz) and 6-2 guard/forward Marta Suárez (a four-star prospect by Blue Star Europe).
Salary, Darby and Suárez should provide the Lady Vols options for length and versatility at guard and wing.
Darby was a four-time all-state selection (16.7 ppg., 6.3 rpg. as a senior), while Salary was a three-time all-state pick (21.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg., 4.0 apg. as a senior).
Suárez was the leading scorer for Segle XXI Barcelona in Spain’s LF2 League, averaging 12.7 ppg. and adding 5.6 rpg. while shooting 46 percent from the field, 44 percent on threes and 81.5 percent at the free throw line.
ABOUT WESTERN KENTUCKY
The Hilltoppers return five players, including three starters from a squad that finished 22-7 overall and 14-4 in C-USA play a year ago.
Western is picked fifth in the C-USA poll.
WKU welcomes back Raneem Elgedawy, a 6-4 senior forward from Alexandria, Egypt, who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season at 17.6 ppg. and 11.0 rpg. She was an All-Conference USA First Team selection.
Elgedawy is on the 20-player Katrina McClain Watch List for the nation’s best power forwards and also is on the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year watch list.
A WKU press release on Nov. 12 said Elgedawy “is currently in her home country and could rejoin the Lady Toppers at a later time.”
The other returning starters are 5-11 junior guard Meral Abdelgawad (8.3 ppg., 3.7 rpg.) and 5-7 senior guard Sherry Porter (6.3 ppg., 2.2 rpg.), although Porter announced she is opting out this season due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Hilltoppers welcome seven newcomers, including six true freshmen. One of those is 5-10 freshman guard Jenna Kallenberg of Maryville. She attended William Blount High School.
The Lady Toppers defended Diddle Arena, going a perfect 13-0 on their home court in 2019-20.
WKU was one of only 10 NCAA Division I teams to complete an undefeated home slate in 2019-20.
UT-WKU SERIES HISTORY
Tennessee is 7-1 all-time vs. Western Kentucky, including 5-0 at home, 1-0 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites.
Tennessee and Western Kentucky last met on March 16, 1998, when the No. 1-ranked Lady Vols defeated the #15/18 Hilltoppers, 82-62, in Knoxville in the NCAA Second Round.
Kellie (Jolly) Harper was Tennessee’s point guard in that game and piloted her team to four more victories that season en route to the 1998 NCAA title, the Lady Vols’ third in a row.
Harper had five points, seven assists and two steals vs. Western Kentucky in that contest.
The Lady Vols’ only loss to the Hilltoppers came on March 26, 1992, in West Lafayette, Ind., when No. 15 WKU upset No. 2 Tennessee, 75-70, in the NCAA Mideast Regional Sweet 16.
Saturday’s meeting will mark the first time the Lady Vols and Hilltoppers have met in a regular season game since 1990.
The schools clashed during the NCAA Tournament the last four times they’ve met, including 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1998.
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