Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope” Is No. 1 on Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart for 5th Consecutive Week

Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope” Is No. 1 on Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart for 5th Consecutive Week

Posted on August 19, 2020

Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope” is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart (streaming, sales and airplay-based) for the fifth consecutive week.

After topping the Billboard Country Airplay chart in April, “I Hope” reached the top of the Hot Country Songs chart in its 64th week, which is the longest trek to No. 1 in the chart’s 76-year history. The tune unseated Maren Morris’ “The Bones,” which had enjoyed a 19-week reign at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

Penned by Gabby, Zachary Kale and Jon Nite, “I Hope” is featured on Gabby’s recently released debut album, Goldmine.

On Aug. 16, Gabby, 20, and husband Cade Foehner, 24, announced they are expecting their first child—a baby girl.

photo by O\’Connor, AFF-USA.com

See It: Luke Combs Drops New Performance Video for “What You See Is What You Get”

See It: Luke Combs Drops New Performance Video for “What You See Is What You Get”

Posted on August 19, 2020

Luke Combs shared a new performance video for “What You See Is What You Get.” Penned by Luke, Barry Dean and Jonathan Singleton, “What You See Is What You Get” is the title track to Luke’s 2019 sophomore album.

The new clip, which you can watch below, features Luke performing the tune at one of his shows during the pre-COVID days.

Luke will release a new deluxe album, What You See Ain’t Always What You Get, on Oct. 23. The new album will feature all 18 songs from What You See Is What You Get, as well as five brand-new tracks. The new tracks will be announced soon.

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

Sevier County Husband Charged in Wife’s Murder

Sevier County Husband Charged in Wife’s Murder

Posted on August 19, 2020

A Sevier County man is facing murder charges in the death of his wife.

73-year-old Sue Ella Gibson was found shot at their home on River Divide Road two weeks ago. Gibson was rushed her to the Leconte Medical Center, but she was pronounced dead.

Authorities have been investigating the case, but arrested the husband Tuesday. 79-year-old Kenneth Gibson was arrested and charged with 2nd Degree Murder.

Lindsay Ell Says Co-Penning 11 Tracks on Her New Album Was About Being “Honest & Vulnerable”

Lindsay Ell Says Co-Penning 11 Tracks on Her New Album Was About Being “Honest & Vulnerable”

Posted on August 19, 2020

Lindsay Ell released her new concept album, heart theory, on Aug. 14.

Produced by Dann Huff, heart theory is comprised of 12 tracks that journey through each stage of grief: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing and acceptance. Lindsay co-penned 11 tracks on the new project with a host of top songwriters, including Brandy Clark, Laura Veltz, Jessie Jo Dillon, Nicole Gaylon and more.

As Lindsay told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, co-writing 11 tracks on the very personal album was about being “honest and vulnerable” as a songwriter.

“I truly feel like [songwriting] is a muscle that you need to work over and over and over and over again,” says Lindsay to Kix. “Practice makes perfect, even though you’ll never be perfect, but I feel like the gift of it is just that desire to keep doing it. And keep doing it to the point where you get to a place where you can be honest and vulnerable and so unique. I don’t really feel like there is a school of right and wrong things to do, but you learn how to be more yourself, and, at least in my personal experience, I’ve found that that’s where you get the furthest. That’s when you can sit in front of an audience and be like, ‘Okay, this is what I went through. And, this is a song about it,’ and then, they can listen to it and be like, ‘Oh my goodness—I know what that feels like.’”

The new album follows the release of Lindsay’s major-label debut album, The Project, in 2017. In 2018, Lindsay released The Continuum Project, a track-by-track cover of John Mayer’s Continuum.

In July, Lindsay revealed she is a survivor of sexual assault. With the release of the new album’s “make you,” Lindsay publicly addressed—for the first time—being a survivor of sexual violence. The deeply personal song explores her life after being raped as a 13-year-old. Penned by Lindsay and Brandy Clark, “make you” is the first song in the acceptance stage, a reflection of Lindsay’s determination to use her platform to help other sexual trauma survivors.

In conjunction with the release of “make you,” Lindsay launched the Make You Movement, a charitable fund that endeavors “to help organizations that support at-risk youth, domestic abuse and sexual assault survivors by providing funds on an as-needed basis.” Lindsay is donating proceeds from “make you” to the Make You Movement.

heart theory Track List & Songwriters
shock
1. “Hits me” (Lindsay Ell, Tyler Hubbard, Corey Crowder)
denial
2. “how good” (Lindsay Ell, Brandy Clark)
3. “i don’t lovE you” (Adam Hambrick, Melissa Fuller, Neil Medley)
anger
4. “wAnt me back” (Lindsay Ell, Kane Brown, Matt McGinn, Lindsay Rimes)
5. “get oveR you” (Lindsay Ell, Gordie Sampson, Kelly Archer)
6. “wrong girl” (Lindsay Ell, Steph Jones, Matt McGinn, Luke Niccoli)
bargaining
7. “body language of a breakup” (Lindsay Ell, Laura Veltz, Sam Ellis)
depression
8. “good on you” (Lindsay Ell, Sam Ellis, Micah Premnath)
testing
9. “The oTHEr side” (Lindsay Ell, Jessie Jo Dillon, Matt McGinn)
10. “gO to” (Lindsay Ell, Nicolle Gaylon, Jordan Reynolds)
acceptance
11. “make you” (Lindsay Ell, Brandy Clark)
12. “ReadY to love” (Lindsay Ell, Jessie Jo Dillon, Matt McGinn, Joey Hyde)

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Listen to Cody Johnson’s Personal New Single, “Dear Rodeo”

Listen to Cody Johnson’s Personal New Single, “Dear Rodeo”

Posted on August 18, 2020

Cody Johnson will ship new single, “Dear Rodeo,” to country radio on Sept. 8.

Penned by Cody and Dan Couch, “Dear Rodeo” is featured on Cody’s 2019 major-label debut album, Ain’t Nothing To It. Admittedly, the new tune is a personal one for the native of the Sebastopol, Texas, who spent many years riding rodeo bulls. Cody gave up his quest to be a world champion, but he’s never gotten over his love of the sport.

“To me, it felt like a divorce when I quit rodeoing, and it felt like something I didn’t want to talk about,” says Cody. “[Publisher] Scott Gunter encouraged me to write about this, and myself and Dan Couch sat down, and when I said it felt like a divorce, Dan said, ‘Well, why don’t we write a letter to her—the sport of rodeo—and talk to her like she’s a woman?’ It’s probably, honestly, one of the most heartfelt songs I’ve ever written. It’s probably the most I’ve bore my soul.”

Listen to “Dear Rodeo” below.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Tim McGraw Shares New Acoustic Performance Video of “7500 OBO” [Watch]

Tim McGraw Shares New Acoustic Performance Video of “7500 OBO” [Watch]

Posted on August 18, 2020

Tim McGraw shared a new video of an acoustic performance of “7500 OBO,” a track from his upcoming 16th studio album, Here On Earth, which drops on Aug. 21.

Penned by Matt McGinn, Jennifer Schott and Nathan Spicer, “7500 OBO” finds Tim crooning about “an ’06, stick shift, dark blue F-150” that he’s trying to sell for $7,500, or best offer.

The new tune is among a handful of songs Tim has shared from the upcoming album, following “I Called Mama,” the title track, “Hallelujaville” and “Good Taste in Women.”

The upcoming project will be Tim’s first solo release since 2015’s Damn Country Music. Tim and wife Faith Hill released a duets album, The Rest of Our Life, in 2017. A press release notes that the album “offers a collection of songs McGraw brought together to create vignettes of shared human emotions such as love, relationships, introspection and fun.”

Watch Tim’s new acoustic performance video for “7500 OBO” below.

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

Loretta Lynn Disagrees With Garth Brooks’ Effort to Withdraw From CMA Entertainer of the Year Nomination

Loretta Lynn Disagrees With Garth Brooks’ Effort to Withdraw From CMA Entertainer of the Year Nomination

Posted on August 18, 2020

From one CMA Entertainer of the Year to another . . . Loretta Lynn shared her thoughts regarding Garth Brooks respectfully trying to withdraw his name from future nominations for the CMA Entertainer of the Year Award.

Loretta, who won CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1972, noted on Instagram that she thinks Garth should vie for the award every year he is in contention.

“I’ve thought a lot about @garthbrooks stepping down from being considered for CMA Entertainer of the Year,” said Loretta. “That’s classic, humble Garth but I think he’s wrong on this one! He’s won it 7 times because he earned it! In my book, he’s earned it 20 times over and deserves to win it anytime they count the votes up and he’s on top. He’s worked his heart out and you can mark it down that I’m his biggest fan. I hope CMA ignores his request! Love you, honey. #hesgarthbrooks #entertaineroftheyear #8timesisokbyme #itsnotaparticipationaward #notsorry #callemhowiseeem #hardtruth #88isgreat #gettingthehangofhashtags.”

Garth won his record-setting seventh CMA Entertainer of the Year Award in 2019. Garth held a virtual press conference on July 29 to announce that he is respectfully withdrawing his name from future nominations for the CMA Entertainer of the Year Award.

“It made winning CMA Entertainer of the Year not that much fun,” said Garth, referring to his 2019 win in which he received backlash for winning the award many fans thought Carrie Underwood deserved.

“I’m expecting to give a standing ovation to Carrie,” says Garth. “I mean, this is her night. And when they said my name, then I was like, ‘I’m lost here ’cause I don’t know what to say, so I’m just gonna recap the night of what I loved.’ I think that was a big jolt of [the backlash]. No matter what the start of it was, the result of the millions of tweets, it was one little tweet that caught my eye that made me go . . . ‘I need to fix that,’ so for eight months it has bothered me, but I gotta tell you, there is a freeing feeling about me right now when I walk out of this building that I’m going to really, really, really enjoy where we stand as a band and crew, because it’s not going to change anything in our perspective, but I really love the fact that someone else . . . is going to get to experience that Entertainer of the Year nod. That’s a wonderful thing. Carrie’s might just be a year later. It might be her year this year.”

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

SEC announces fan health and safety guidelines

SEC announces fan health and safety guidelines

Posted on August 18, 2020
Neyland Stadium / Credit: UT Athletics

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (August 18, 2020) – The Southeastern Conference has announced guidelines for its 14 member schools to establish expectations to manage the health and safety of fans in preparation for the 2020 football season, pending future decisions related to the allowance of fans to attend games as the Conference continues to monitor developments around the COVID-19 virus.

The SEC previously announced its initial COVID-19 management requirements for the fall athletics season as recommended by the SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force, focused on safety measures for student-athletes and others in direct contact with student-athletes in all sports.

“These fan guidelines have been adopted by the 14 member schools of the Southeastern Conference as baseline recommendations for the campus management of fan health and safety,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.  “Although local and state guidelines will determine if and how many fans can attend games, these guidelines provide conference-wide expectations for protection of guests who are able to attend our games.”

Institutions may adopt additional procedures and protocols consistent with their specific needs and circumstances to help protect the health and safety of all in attendance.

Attendance

  • Institutions shall determine the number of guests permitted to attend in accordance with applicable state and local guidelines, policies and/or regulations. In the absence of state and/or local guidelines, policies and/or regulations, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations on physical distancing should be applied.

 

Face Coverings

  • Face coverings (over the nose and mouth) shall be required as a condition of all guest ingress, egress, and movement throughout the stadium, as well as any time guests are unable to maintain the recommended physical distance from others who are not in their same household.
  • Stadium workers and athletics staff should wear face coverings at all times.

 

Food, Beverage and Merchandise

  • Barriers (e.g., plexiglass) shall be installed at all points-of-sale or otherwise all concessions staff shall wear a face shield plus a mask.
  • Queuing lines at points-of-sale shall permit physical distancing between guests.
  • “Grab and go” food/beverage options should be considered at points-of-sale locations.
  • Beverages shall be provided directly to guests. Machines designed to allow guests to fill or refill beverages must remain inoperable.
  • Condiments shall be offered only as single-serve condiments, and condiment carts shall be prohibited.
  • All portable points-of-sale locations shall be strategically placed to ensure physical distancing is permitted between guests who are in line or may be in close proximity to the selling location for other purposes.

Gate Ingress/Egress

  • Signage shall be installed at parking lots, pedestrian paths to the stadium, gates and/or other ingress/entry points that outlines mandates for all guests to wear face coverings, maintain physical distancing and mandates guests do not enter the stadium if they display any COVID-19 symptoms as outlined by the CDC.
  • All tickets shall be digitally scanned.
  • The footprint at all gates and ingress/entry and egress/exit points shall permit physical distancing between guests.

 

Guest Shuttles

  • Institutions that cooperate with and/or arrange for shuttles to transport guests to/from the stadium shall ensure the shuttle operator has sufficient protocols/procedures in place including, but not limited to, the following:

o   Maintaining physical distancing while guests are on the shuttle, entering/exiting the shuttle and while waiting in lines to board the shuttle;

o   Requiring face coverings as a condition for shuttle usage for drivers and guests at all times while aboard the shuttle, entering/exiting and while waiting in line; and

o   Planning to sufficiently and regularly disinfect the shuttle.

Plans for Disinfection, Symptomatic Guests, Communication/Public Relations and American with Disabilities Act

  • Institutions shall have a documented plan that outlines the procedures/protocol for appropriate disinfection of the stadium.
  • Institutions shall have a documented plan that outlines the procedures/protocol for working with guests who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms.
  • Institutions shall launch a communication/public relations campaign for communicating all COVID-19 procedures/protocol to prospective guests.
  • Institutions shall ensure they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act in the development and implementation of all procedures/protocols.

 

Premium Seating – Suites and Clubs

  • “Suite hopping” shall be prohibited.
  • Sufficient signage that promotes and instructs suite holders to wear face coverings and maintain physical distancing shall be installed near ingress/entry points.
  • Furniture shall be arranged in clubs to promote physical distancing.
  • Each suite and club shall be supplied with sufficient hand washing and/or hand sanitizing stations.
  • Guests shall be permitted to access “field level” suites or clubs that are not within six feet (6’) of any team area. Additionally, institutions must ensure guests do not access a pathway to enter or exit a “field level” suite or club at the same time a student-athlete, coach, team staff member, game official or other game participant is utilizing the same pathway.

 

Public Areas Inside Stadium

  • Institutions shall ensure the set-up and operational procedures in all areas accessed by guests permit physical distancing including, but not limited to, the following areas:

o   Guest Seating

o   Concourses and Gathering Places

o   Dining Areas (high top tables, extended countertops, etc.)

o   Concessions Sales

o   Merchandise Sales

o   Restrooms

o   Elevators

o   Escalators

  • Sufficient signage that promotes and instructs guests to wear face coverings and maintain physical distancing shall be in place in areas accessed by guests.
  • Signage must specify the maximum number of guests who may be inside an elevator simultaneously at each elevator entry point (elevator operators shall wear face coverings).
  • The usage of traditional water fountains or other apparatuses providing drinking water shall be prohibited and all must be clearly marked or covered to indicate its use is prohibited.  This does not apply to apparatuses that use touchless technology.
  • Sufficient hand washing and/or hand sanitizing stations should be present throughout the stadium.

Restrooms

  • Entry and exit points shall be clearly designated, and sufficient signage shall be in place to assist with traffic flow and promote physical distancing.
  • Institutions shall implement measures that promote physical distancing, reduce touch points and/or assist with minimizing the spread of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, the following:

o   Installing additional hand sanitizer and hand soap dispensers; and

o   Leaving doors open at entry/exit points.

 

Tailgating

  • Institutions shall determine whether tailgating or other large gatherings of guests (e.g., alumni events, university recruiting events, etc.) are permitted on property owned and/or controlled by the institution in accordance with applicable state and local guidelines, policies and/or regulations. In the absence of state and/or local guidelines, CDC recommendations on physical distancing should be applied.
  • Considerations should be given as to the time parking lots open.

Team Walks

  • Institutions shall determine whether team walks are permitted in accordance with applicable state and local guidelines, policies and/or regulations.
  • If permitted, all institutional personnel (e.g., student-athletes, coaches, team staff, athletic department staff, etc.) and guests in attendance shall wear face coverings.
  • If permitted, institutions shall ensure recommended physical distancing exists and may be maintained at all times between walk participants and guests. Team walks shall be prohibited if physical distancing cannot be implemented during its entirety.

 

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Luke Combs to Release New Deluxe Album, “What You See Ain’t Always What You Get” on Oct. 23

Luke Combs to Release New Deluxe Album, “What You See Ain’t Always What You Get” on Oct. 23

Posted on August 18, 2020

Luke Combs will release a new deluxe album, What You See Ain’t Always What You Get, on Oct. 23.

The new album will feature all 18 songs from Luke’s 2019 sophomore album, What You See Is What You Get, as well as five brand-new tracks. The new tracks will be announced soon.

Luke’s four year-career on the charts has been nothing short of amazing. It’s also been historic. Luke’s latest accomplishment? Luke is the first artist in country music history to have his first two albums—This One’s for You and What You See Is What You Get—spend at least 25 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

In addition, Luke is the first country artist in history whose first eight singles have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart: “Hurricane,” “When It Rains It Pours,” “One Number Away,” “She Got the Best of Me,” “Beautiful Crazy,” “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” “Even Though I’m Leaving” and “Does to Me.” Of Luke’s eight No. 1 hits on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, seven have had multi-week runs at No. 1.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Thomas Rhett Says Wife Lauren Akins’ New Book Is “Hilarious, Sad, Embarrassing, Inspiring” & More

Thomas Rhett Says Wife Lauren Akins’ New Book Is “Hilarious, Sad, Embarrassing, Inspiring” & More

Posted on August 18, 2020

Lauren Akins released her new memoir, Live in Love: Growing Together Through Life’s Changes, on Aug. 18.

The new book chronicles Lauren’s childhood friendship with husband-to-be Thomas Rhett, explaining how they reconnected as young adults, got married and are now raising three girls. The book also delves into many of the “challenges they faced as they adjusted to the reality of becoming first-time parents” and opens up about Lauren’s “life-changing experiences doing mission work in Haiti and Uganda, where she met the precious baby who would become their first daughter.”

The book serves as “inspiring guidance for anyone looking to keep romance alive, balance children and marriage, express true faith, and live a life of purpose.”

As Thomas Rhett told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, Lauren’s new book is about “real life,” with everything from “hilarious and sad” to “embarrassing and inspiring.”

“It is hilarious, it is sad, it is embarrassing to me, it is embarrassing to our family [laughing], but a lot of it is information that a lot of the world doesn’t know,” says Thomas Rhett. “We are pretty open books, but there’s a lot of stuff that we’ve never shared before that, you know, she gets pretty deep on in the book. But, it’s cool, man. It’s just real life. I mean, every married couple goes through their ups and their downs, and being a parent is hard, and, you know, it talks a lot about that kind of stuff. If you follow us on Instagram, you kind of have a little sneak peek of it, but the book goes very deep. And, it’s an inspiring book, even for married couples, for non-married couples, for kids that are dating, for kids who are just becoming new parents. It’s a little bit of a memoir by her, and it’s really nice.” ​

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