Episode 1 Released of New 4-Part Short Film, “God & Country,” Featuring Carrie Underwood & Mike Fisher

Episode 1 Released of New 4-Part Short Film, “God & Country,” Featuring Carrie Underwood & Mike Fisher

Carrie Underwood and husband Mike Fisher open up about their faith, love, family, marriage, friendship and more in a new four-part digital short film, Mike and Carrie: God & Country.

Episode 1 of the four-part weekly series aired on May 27 via iamsecond.com, a nonprofit that features athletes and entertainers “who have found hope through a relationship with Jesus.”

“We wanted to do this to share some of our personal journey in hopes that viewers will be inspired by it, and maybe even take one more step in pursuing a relationship with God,” said Carrie.

Episode 1, titled I Cry Easy, features Carrie and Mike talking about:

  • reactions after they met
  • how they pictured their lives/families when they were younger
  • the role of faith in their lives
  • son Isaiah

The remaining episodes of the four-part digital short series will launch over the next three Wednesdays on June 3, 10 and 17 at 7 p.m. CT.

Carrie, 37, and Mike, 39, will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary on July 10, 2020. They have two sons, Isaiah, 5, and Jacob, 1. In 2018, Mike retired from the NHL after 18 years, including eight for the Nashville Predators. Carrie, of course, is a seven-time Grammy winner who has become one of country music’s biggest stars since winning American Idol in 2005.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Dolly Parton Releases New Quarantine-Inspired Song, “When Life Is Good Again” [Listen]

Dolly Parton Releases New Quarantine-Inspired Song, “When Life Is Good Again” [Listen]

Country music icon Dolly Parton released a new quarantine-inspired song, “When Life Is Good Again,” on May 27.

Dolly’s serene voice opens the tune with, “When life is good again, I’ll be a better friend, A bigger person when, Life is good again, More thoughtful than I’ve been, I’ll be so different then, More in the moment when, Life is good again.”

Dolly will debut the song’s new video on May 28 during her interview on the Time 100 Talks. The live virtual event series convenes leaders from different disciplines to spotlight solutions to urgent global problems and encourage cross-disciplinary action.

In addition to recording new music, Dolly has stayed busy during the COVID-19 pandemic by launching her 10-week Goodnight With Dolly book-reading video series via YouTube. She also revealed via Twitter on April 1 that she is donating $1 million to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center for COVID-19 research.

Listen to Dolly’s new song, “When Life Is Good Again.”

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

Morgan Wallen Releases Liberating New Single, “More Than My Hometown” [Listen]

Morgan Wallen Releases Liberating New Single, “More Than My Hometown” [Listen]

Morgan Wallen will try to score his fourth consecutive No. 1 single with the release of “More Than My Hometown,” which impacts country radio on May 27.

Co-penned by Morgan, Michael Hardy, Ernest Keith Smith and Ryan Vojtesak, “More Than My Hometown” will be included on Morgan’s upcoming sophomore album, which is expected to drop later this year.

The new tune features Morgan staying true to his small-town roots as he says goodbye to the girl: “I love you more than a California sunset / More than a beer when you ain’t 21 yet / More than a Sunday morning Lord / Turning some poor lost souls around, and Hallelujah bound / I love you more than the feeling when the bass hits the hook / When a guy gets the girl at the end of the book / But baby this might be the last time I get to lay you down / Cause I can’t love you more than my hometown.”

Morgan has been turning heads with his music, mullet and more since bursting on the scene two years ago. The 26-year-old native of Sneedville, Tenn. (population 1,346) scored back-to-back-to-back No. 1 singles with “Up Down” (June 2018), “Whiskey Glasses” (June 2019) and “Chasin’ You” (May 2020).

Listen to “More Than My Hometown” below.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Kelsea Ballerini Uncorks New Single, “Hole in the Bottle” [Listen]

Kelsea Ballerini Uncorks New Single, “Hole in the Bottle” [Listen]

After only four weeks, Kelsea Ballerini is pulling the plug on her current single, “The Other Girl,” featuring Halsey, to uncork a new single, “Hole in the Bottle.”

“Hole in the Bottle,” which was co-penned by Kelsea, Jesse Frasure, Hillary Lindsey, Ashley Gorley and Steph Jones, impacts country radio on May 27. The new tune is the third single from Kelsea’s 2020 self-titled album, following her Top 20 lead single, “Homecoming Queen,” and the aforementioned single, “The Other Girl,” which peaked at No. 52.

Listen to Kelsea’s new single, “Hole in the Bottle.”

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Jimmy’s blog: Pons forced to delay decision on NBA

Jimmy’s blog: Pons forced to delay decision on NBA

By Jimmy Hyams

One NBA mock draft has Tennessee forward Yves Pons going late in the first round.

Another has him projected as a late second-round pick.

Another doesn’t have him being drafted at all in 2020.

Pons, who blossomed as a junior last year into the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, has entered his name in the NBA draft with the option to return to college.

But Pons’ decision on whether to stay or go has been put on hold because the NBA has not decided when to conduct its draft, much less its combine in Chicago.

“I don’t see how he could make a decision (now),’’ is how Tennessee coach Rick Barnes put it in a recent interview on SportsTalk, WNML radio.

Barnes said he encourages players to test the NBA waters. It allows them to get an assessment of where their game is relative to the NBA.

“In his situation,’’ Barnes said of the 6-foot-6 athletic Pons, “there’s nothing wrong with him having a chance to be on the phone with NBA guys and talking to them and letting him hear directly feedback about his game and what he needs to do.’’

Barnes said there is “not a more mature guy’’ than Pons in terms of going through the process and listening to advice.

“If he could ask them one question,’’ Barnes said, “I know what his question would be: `What do I have to do to play in this league? Tell me every single thing that I have to do from my point of view where I can control fundamentally what I have to do. You tell me.’

“And I’ll promise you, he will take it to heart and go out and try to work on it.’’

Barnes said the feedback Pons will get from the NBA is “pretty much’’ the same feedback “he’s getting from us.’’

Barnes didn’t say what the feedback is, but you can bet part of it is rounding out Pons’ offensive game.

Pons became a scoring threat as a junior, going from averaging 1.6 points per game his first two seasons to 10.8. He shot 34.9 percent from 3-point range last season (30 of 86) after making just 28 percent (7 of 25) the year before. He also improved from the foul line, hitting 63.8 percent as a junior compared to 40 percent as a sophomore.

Pons also developed as a defender, blocking a shot in every game last season, totaling 73 rejections and showing an ability to guard any position on the court.

Pons’ improvement and athletic ability has the NBA interested, but that doesn’t guarantee Pons will be a first-round pick, or even get selected.

At some point, Barnes would like to know whether the man from France will be a Vol for another campaign.

“This is just me throwing it out there,’’ Barnes said, “I don’t think the NBA could even think about the draft because I do think they want to play basketball this summer.

“Right now, their thought process is to get the league up and running, then put the draft in where it doesn’t interfere with the season, and that’s likely late August.’’

The college deadline for players to withdraw from the NBA draft is Aug. 1, Barnes said.

“If you’re a (college) team that has a player or multiple players in this deal, you’d like to know honestly by the middle of July so we can go out and find somebody else (if necessary),’’ Barnes said.


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Luke Combs Tops the Charts With His “Number One Songwriting Hero, Eric Church”

Luke Combs Tops the Charts With His “Number One Songwriting Hero, Eric Church”

Luke Combs’ single, “Does to Me,” featuring Eric Church, ascended to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart this week.

With his latest No. 1 single, Luke is the first country artist in history whose first eight singles have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Eric, on the other hand, scored his ninth career No. 1 with “Does to Me,” his first since “Some of It” in July 2019.

Penned by Luke, Ray Fulcher and Tyler Reeve, “Does to Me” is the third single from Luke’s 2019 album, What You See Is What You Get.

Luke, 30, cites Eric, 43, as his “number one songwriting hero.” Both stars are natives of North Carolina. In fact, both attended Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.

As Luke told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, he’s thankful his hero “dedicated some time” to the song.

“Number one songwriting hero, definitely is Eric Church,” says Luke to Kix. “I think there are these subtleties that he has in his music, just different ways of saying things that have been said a million times that I’m such a huge fan of. It’s something that I try to emulate. And, when I asked my management to reach to his management, you know, I didn’t know him personally at that time. I was definitely nervous, you know, ’cause he’s a very selective guy about things that he’ll attached his name to. So, I made it clear to my management like, ‘Hey, no pressure. I don’t want him to do this if he doesn’t like the song. You know, it’s not gonna hurt my feelings.’ [Luke whispers] It totally would have hurt my feelings, by the way. [Luke stops whispering] But, it would not hurt my feelings. As a man, I would have stomached it. But, I’m very thankful that he dedicated some time to it.”

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Tim McGraw Releases Touching New Video for “I Called Mama” Featuring Fan-Submitted Photos & Clips [Watch]

Tim McGraw Releases Touching New Video for “I Called Mama” Featuring Fan-Submitted Photos & Clips [Watch]

Tim McGraw released a new video for his current single, “I Called Mama,” on May 26.

The new video features fan-submitted clips and photos of their moms.

Penned by Lance Miller, Marv Green and Jimmy Yeary, “I Called Mama” is about the special connection mothers share with their children, especially when times are tough.

“My mom worked hard,” says Tim. “She was a go-getter. She always tried to do her best to provide for us. And there were times where it was almost impossible, but the thing my mom always taught us that I really remember—my sisters and I—always have dreams and always dream bigger than your circumstances. And then always treat people nicely, treat people kind. And so if you can do that, and I haven’t always lived up to that. I can be a jerk sometimes like everybody can, have bad days. But gosh, that’s always a seed that’s been planted in me that if I start getting a little out of control or I feel like I’m not in control of my life or circumstances sort of get crazy, I mean that’s the first person I think of and it’s the first person to call. Along with my wife, of course, because we’ve been together for 23 years now.”

Watch Tim’s new video for “I Called Mama” below.

photo by NCD

Jason Isbell’s “Reunions” Reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart

Jason Isbell’s “Reunions” Reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart

Jason Isbell’s seventh studio album, Reunions, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in the week ending on May 21.

Reunions moved 37,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music, which was also good enough for the No. 9 spot on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. Reunions was released one week early on May 8 via CD and vinyl to independent music stores (7,101 album sales), before the originally scheduled wide release on May 15, which also featured digital distribution.

The 10-song offering, which was recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A, follows Jason’s previous No. 1 albums, The Nashville Sound (2017) and Something More Than Free (2015). Like Jason’s three previous albums, Reunions was produced by Grammy-winner Dave Cobb. The new album features 10 songs written by Jason, who was once again backed by his band, the 400 Unit.

“There are a lot of ghosts on this album,” says Jason. “Sometimes the songs are about the ghosts of people who aren’t around anymore, but they’re also about who I used to be, the ghost of myself. I found myself writing songs that I wanted to write 15 years ago, but in those days, I hadn’t written enough songs to know how to do it yet. Just now have I been able to pull it off to my own satisfaction. In that sense it’s a reunion with the me I was back then.”

Reunions Track List

1. What’ve I Done To Help
2. Dreamsicle
3. Only Children
4. Overseas
5. Running With Our Eyes Closed
6. River
7. Be Afraid
8. St. Peter’s Autograph
9. It Gets Easier
10. Letting You Go

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Luke Combs Scores Record 8th Consecutive No. 1 Single With “Does to Me,” Featuring Eric Church

Luke Combs Scores Record 8th Consecutive No. 1 Single With “Does to Me,” Featuring Eric Church

Luke Combs continues to break his own records. In baseball parlance, he’s batting a thousand.

Luke’s current single, “Does to Me,” featuring Eric Church, ascended to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart this week.

With his latest No. 1 single, Luke is the first country artist in history whose first eight singles have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, following previous chart-toppers “Hurricane,” “When It Rains It Pours,” “One Number Away,” “She Got the Best of Me,” “Beautiful Crazy,” “Beer Never Broke My Heart” and “Even Though I’m Leaving.””

When “Beautiful Crazy” topped the charts in February 2019, Luke became the first country artist in history whose first five singles reached No. 1.

Penned by Luke, Ray Fulcher and Tyler Reeve, “Does to Me” is the third single from Luke’s 2019 album, What You See Is What You Get.

“Eric Church was an obvious choice when it came to finding somebody to do that song with,” says Luke. “Not only does it—I feel—fit his writing style, but also his mentality and approach to music. I think it was just a really good fit.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Brad Paisley Says “It’s Fun to Watch a New Generation Reinvent This Business” With Their Musicality & Social Media Savvy

Brad Paisley Says “It’s Fun to Watch a New Generation Reinvent This Business” With Their Musicality & Social Media Savvy

Since releasing his debut album in 1999, Brad Paisley has seen—and accomplished—some things.

Over the course of his 20-plus-year career, Brad has earned three Grammy Awards, 15 ACM Awards and 14 CMA Awards, including Entertainer of the Year. The Grand Ole Opry member (2001) has scored 19 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, as well as nine No. 1 albums on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. You’ve seen him on TV as the co-host of the CMA Awards, on Nationwide Insurance commercials and as the star of his own prime-time special, Brad Paisley Thinks He’s Special.

Needless to say, Brad is a respected “voice” in the country music community—as a songwriter, musician, singer and statesman. He’s also having a lot of fun.

As Brad told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, he’s having fun watching “a new generation reinvent this business” with a combination of musicality and social media savvy.

“It’s really encouraging in that these are people that have a set of tools that we didn’t have—they’re all social media savvy,” says Brad. “And, some people would see that as a, you know, a hindrance towards the way it used to be, but I don’t care . . . when they’re all so good at things like Instagram and putting new songs online and getting their fans engaged, it’s exactly the thing we were doing back when we were making music videos for CMT and back when we were showing up doing certain little events in stores. Now, they do that on Instagram, and it’s a lot more people and they can immediately impact and its quicker and it catches fire quicker. They are affecting people and its really fun to watch, and I’m a fan of what they’re doing, and musically speaking, too, they’re great, but, you know, I think overall it’s fun to watch a new generation reinvent this business.”

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

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