Country
Alan Jackson Tests Positive for COVID-19, Cancels Kansas City Concert
Alan Jackson canceled Saturday night’s (Aug. 27) concert in Kansas City, Missouri, after testing positive for COVID-19. “I’m so sorry I can’t be there tonight,” Jackson said, according to a statement published by the venue, the T-Mobile Center. “I hate to disappoint my fans.” A representative for Jackson confirmed to Billboard that the country star has COVID-19 and that the show was called off. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The T-Mobile Center says organizers intend to reschedule the concert date, and that those who purchased tickets for the original date will have them honored at the rescheduled date. The show was part of his Last Call: One More for the Road” Tour, which launched in June and runs through early October. At the ti...
Noah Cyrus and Ben Gibbard Brace for Heartbreak on New Song “Every Beginning Ends”: Stream
Noah Cyrus is gearing up to release her debut solo album, and with her latest single “Every Beginning Ends,” she’s got none other than Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard in her corner. Listen to the two’s new duet below. A slow country ballad, “Every Beginning Ends” mourns the beginning of the end of a relationship. “You went to sleep without saying you loved me,” Cyrus first sings, prompting Gibbard to reply,. “I guess I thought you already knew.” The opening is just one of many call-and-response lyrics in the track, as the artists draw up all those dreaded signs of two people falling out of love. In a statement, Cyrus recalled working with Gibbard, a veteran of emotional songwriting. “That was such a surreal experience,” she said. “I’ve always been such a huge fan, so it was pretty daunti...
Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Scotty McCreery Blend Country Music & a Good Cause at ACM Party for a Cause
“You get country music and a good cause, what could be any better?” Scotty McCreery told the crowd gathered at Ascend Amphitheater in downtown Nashville on Tuesday evening (Aug. 23). The ACM Party for a Cause benefiting ACM Lifting Lives returned to Nashville for a second year, welcoming a stellar performer lineup of reigning ACM duo of the year Brothers Osborne, McCreery, Blanco Brown, Travis Denning, Sara Evans, Caylee Hammack, Darius Rucker, Ingrid Andress, Hailey Whitters and Brad Paisley to downtown Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The balmy summer evening served as a perfect backdrop for a night of music to raise money for ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music. The organiz...
Zac Brown Reveals the Health Advice He Got From Bruce Springsteen
While the Zac Brown Band is crisscrossing America on the group’s current tour, they bring with them a tractor trailer that houses an Iron Paradise gym, outfitted with machines, free weights and more. In a new feature for Men’s Health, Brown shared his fitness journey that led to him being his healthiest ever at age 44. Brown explained that much has changed since his early days on the road, when he says the band’s workout regimen consisted of “a bottle of Jäger before the show, during the show, and after the show.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “One thing I noticed, just bouncing down the road on a bus for days and days in a row, you get hunched over,” he said. “I had L5 issues, a bulging disc, and I couldn’t move my leg. I had to have a surge...
Blake Shelton Is Prioritizing Gwen Stefani & Stepsons in the ‘New Phase of My Life’
Blake Shelton is loving his life married to Gwen Stefani above all else. In a new interview with ET, the country superstar revealed that in his new married life, his career might take a “backseat” to his wife and stepsons. “Look, I love music and I love The Voice. I love all the cool things I get to do with my job, but those things all take a backseat now to Gwen and the kids and it’s just a new phase of my life,” he said. “I’m having fun putting out songs when I feel like it and luckily the record label allows me to do that,” he continued. “They always support it when I do it and my stupid ideas of doing a ’90s country video — they’re always on board and because of that, we have a ‘God’s Country’ once in a while or a ‘Happy Anywhere.’” Explore See latest videos, charts and...
Blake Shelton Brings ’90s Vibe to ‘No Body’: Stream It Now
Blake Shelton released a new song, “No Body,” on Friday (Aug. 19), and it is soaked in ’90s country vibes. Of course, this is par for the course for Shelton, who moved to Nashville in the 1990s to chase his own country music ambitions, and has since earned 28 No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I get excited and feel like a kid every time we release new music,” Shelton said via a press release. “But this song in particular takes me back to the ‘90s when I was in high school and first moved to Nashville, because it feels like what the music sounded like at that time.” “No Body” was written by Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, while the video for the track — which drops at 10am Fri...
Makin’ Tracks: How a ‘Sex and the City’ Episode Inspired a Vocal Challenge for Corey Kent
It’s a hallmark of Southern dialects that one-syllable words are frequently stretched into two: “there” becomes “they-er,” or “damn” – in the title of a Florida Georgia Line album cut – becomes “Dayum, Baby.” Oklahoma-bred Corey Kent figuratively puts the accent on steroids in “Wild as Her,” holding the word “wild” out for 12 “wi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ild” rollercoaster syllables in the back half of the chorus. And for good measure, he repeats the feat immediately, extending the run to 13 syllables. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The thing is, that passage is tough. It covers a wide melodic range, for starters, and without any separation between the notes, it can quickly devolve into non-descript mush. Create too much separation, it soun...
Going There with Jewel: Knowing the Tide of Mental Health Will Always Come Back In
Listen via: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Stitcher | Google | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Jewel joins the Going There podcast to discuss her personal mental health journey and how she learned to except the changing tides of wellness. Advertisement The iconic singer-songwriter shares that the cornerstone of her approach to mental health is what she calls the concept of emotional impermanence. Jewel explains that one of the most difficult issues we face on our mental health journey is that oftentimes when we experience depression, anxiety, or addiction, there is such a powerful feeling that our emotions and behaviors are permanent. But her concept of “emotional impermanence” suggests that we are dyna...
The Chicks Remember Olivia Newton-John With Cover of ‘Grease’ Classic ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’
The Chicks paid tribute to late singer/actress Olivia Newton-John during their concert at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington on Saturday (Aug. 13). Prior to performing a heartfelt rendition of Newton-John’s Grease classic “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines shared a few words with the audience about the impact the late singer/actress had on her childhood. “We lost a worldwide sweetheart last week, Olivia Newton-John,” Maines said. “I thought I was Olivia Newton-John from, like, 4 to 12 (years old), and then I only wished I was Olivia Newton-John. So we worked up today at soundcheck a little Olivia Newton-John song.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Newton-John, best known for her role as Sandy Olsson in 1978’s Grease...
Maren Morris & Zedd Tease a Follow-Up to ‘The Middle’
Is a new Maren Morris and Zedd collab on the way? The country singer and dance producer seemed to indicate that possibility on social media this weekend, where they both teased that a follow-up to their 2018 pop earworm “The Middle” (with Grey) might just be in the works. “Round 2?” Morris wrote Saturday (Aug. 13) on Twitter, where she shared a photo of the pair. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Should we do it again?” Zedd asked in his own tweet, sharing the same picture. “The Middle” was a hit on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, where it held strong at No. 1 for an impressive 33 weeks. It also made it onto the top 10 on the Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at No. 5. “It was one of the fastest sessions I’ve ever done,” Zedd said of recordin...
Dan + Shay’s Shay Mooney Expecting Third Baby With Wife Hannah
Dan + Shay vocalist and songwriter Shay Mooney and his wife Hannah Billingsley are expecting their third child and are set to add another boy to their family. The couple shared the happy news via a video on social media Friday (Aug. 12), captioning the post: “Mooney Baby #3! Thankful. Excited. Tired.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news They are already parents to two boys, Asher and Ames — and judging by the sweet video clip, it seems the two brothers were hoping for a little sister. Asher, 5, made his wishes clear, but took the news in stride. “Do you remember when mommy told you they were going to call us this week and tell us if we’re having a boy or girl? Do you think you’re going to have a baby brother or a baby sister?” Hannah is heard askin...
Makin’ Tracks: Miranda Lambert Navigates a Pandemic-Era House of Mirrors in ‘Strange’
It’s a little early to be thinking about trick-or-treaters, but Miranda Lambert’s “Strange” is perhaps a good soundtrack for ultra-organized planners considering this year’s Halloween costume. “It does sound like this creepy carnival in a cool way,” she says with a laugh. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Strange” is a reaction to the pandemic, an out-of-balance period in American life that threw the population into uncertainty, battling a creepy virus that — particularly in its infancy — was novel and dangerous. Lest we forget how odd it was, Lambert and her co-writers, Luke Dick (“Burning Man,” “Don’t Come Lookin’”) and Natalie Hemby (“Heartache Medication,” “Pontoon”), wrote “Strange” at Lambert’s Tennessee farm in 2020, when vaccines...
