Month: August 2020

Capitol NashvilleKeith Urban’s brooding latest release, “Change Your Mind,” tells the story of a breakup, and the lingering feeling that maybe it might not be too late to try again.

“You changed your number / And got some friends that I don’t recognize / But I wonder sometimes / Is it too late to try? / If I change, would you change your mind?” Keith muses in the chorus.

It’s the fifth track on Urban’s next studio album, The Speed of Now Part 1. He shared the full track list for the project earlier this week, revealing that the album features 16 songs and three as-yet-unannounced duet partners.

“Change Your Mind” delivers a heavy dose of nostalgia and wondering what might have been, and it’s not the only song on The Speed of Now Part 1 to do so. Other previously-released tunes include the memory-laden “Polaroid” and the wistful “We Were,” a look back at young love that Keith wrote with fellow country star Eric Church.

Keith shared his current single, “God Whispered Your Name,” back in February, heralding the start of his next album single. Also, he first dropped “We Were” as a stand-alone single in 2019. Both songs have become top-10 hits.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockJon Pardi will make an appearance on NBC’s Today on Monday. He’s planning to perform his chart-topping hit, “Heartache Medication,” which is the title track of his latest album.

Cassadee Pope this week unveiled her hopeful new tune, “Rise and Shine.” It’s the title track off her acoustic album, which drops Friday.

Kylie Morgan debuted the music video for her song, “Break Things,” this week. It’s available to watch at CMT.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Capitol NashvilleFor the title track of his seventh studio album, Born Here Live Here Die Here, Luke Bryan chose a song that takes him back to his beginnings in Leesburg, Georgia. 

“It tells the story of my hometown,” the four-time Entertainer of the Year explains. “Now, I’m a little bit hypocritical because I did leave my hometown and move to Nashville and chase my dreams.”

“I think it says who I am,” he adds.

In fact, if Luke hadn’t been “nudged out of the nest,” he expects he’d still be living in the Peach State. 

“I would have been that person that stayed right there in my hometown, and I would have loved every aspect of that, too…” he reflects. “If you’d told me that I would have ever called Tennessee [home], I mean, Tennessee’s my home, too, and Georgia’s my home.”

“But, you know, I thought immediately I’d move back to Georgia and live right there in that small town,” he reveals.

Ultimately, Luke believes “Born Here Live Here Die Here” conveys a message that’s at the heart of country music.

“It just pays homage to so many people that live that kind of life,” he reflects, “where they love to wake up, drink their coffee, go put in a hard day’s work, swing by the gas station, get ’em a six-pack of beer.”

“Go home,” he continues, “watch some baseball, football, and start it all over. And that’s what country music is all about.”

Luke’s album, which already boasts three number ones, is new today. 

Incidentally, “Born Here Live Here Die Here” was co-written by newcomer Jameson Rodgers, who’s enjoying his first top-fifteen hit with “Some Girls.” He says it reminds him of his hometown: Batesville, Mississippi.

By Stephen Hubbard
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ABC/Image Group LAKane Brown’s latest song, “Worldwide Beautiful,” provides a poignant message of the importance of unity during a divisive time.

He released the song early in June, as millions of Americans were in the midst of turning out in protest against racism and police brutality. As a biracial man, Kane has firsthand experience with the prevalence of bigotry in America.

“The Black Power thing — Black Lives Matter — it’s important to not get lost in what’s being said,” the singer reflects to  HITS Daily Double. “It’s not that all lives don’t matter, it’s that all lives can’t matter until Black lives really matter.”

In 2019, Kane became a dad. He knows that his daughter, Kingsley, will have to face the same bigotry he does, but he admits he’s a little relieved that she’s too young to remember this year.

“2020’s been tough in general,” he notes. “I’m glad my daughter doesn’t know what’s going on, and she’s not going to remember.”

Still, Kane’s often asked how he’ll teach Kingsley about racism one day.

“I have a lot of people coming at me, asking ‘How are you going to explain to her when she’s pulled over?’ And, ‘What are you going to tell her about the difference between her and her white friends?’” Kane continues.

And while it’s difficult to make sense of a complicated legacy of racism in America, the singer says he’s tried to understand all sides.

“If I’m coming from my Black side, I’m super-scared if a cop pulls me over. But the cop? They’re in the line of fire every day, and that’s part of it,” Kane points out. “So I try to love everybody — the cops who do their jobs, anyone who’s a good person in society.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ABC/Image Group LAJennifer Nettles is the voice behind a PSA by the National 4-H council, in support of its newly-launched Opportunity4All campaign.

The project marks a push to close America’s education and economic opportunity gap, which affects millions of children across the country. In the PSA, Jennifer seeks to raise awareness about the lack of opportunities that children face as a result of their race and economic status, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s time we provide opportunities for all our kids,” she declares in the short video. “It’s time to invest in their potential, so they can help our communities and our country thrive: Not in the future. Right now.”

Jennifer, who is a 4-H alumna herself, spoke out on social media about her role in the new partnership.

“55 million kids face a widening opportunity gap in America. Nothing should hold them back,” she wrote. “Not now. Not ever.”

The singer also shared a montage video featuring an array of young girls explaining what opportunity means to them.

As one half of country duo Sugarland, Jennifer is hard at work on new music with her band mate Kristian Bush. The pair postponed their planned spring tour due to the pandemic, but hinted that they would have brand-new music to share soon.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Courtesy of The Cadillac ThreeAs the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep country artists off the road, The Cadillac Three have found a creative way to safely return to the stage.

The band is establishing a curated livestream series called Country Fuzz Presents, which will feature performing acts like Hailey Whitters, Kristian Bush’s Dark Water, A Thousand Horses and many more.

Broadcasting from Nashville venue The Basement, the series will use specially-installed autonomous cameras, enabling a crew-less production, and provide thorough cleaning services between performances. The series kicks off on August 13 and will run through September.

“We are so excited to partner with Grimey and the Basement in our hometown to bring high quality livestream concerts from not only TC3 but a number of our artist friends that have been sidelined from touring as well,” explains the band’s Neil Mason. “Country Fuzz Presents is a way to give fans direct access to music in a time when we all desperately need and miss it.”

You can pick up your tickets to the virtual event now. Country Fuzz Presents will also drive donations to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, with a goal of providing 100,000 meals in 100 days.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.