Month: August 2020

ABC/Image Group LARussell Dickerson and his wife, Kailey, are counting down the months until they welcome their baby boy this fall. And though the singer says he’s “freaking out in the best way” about the new addition to the family, Russell says that he’s already a hands-on dad when it comes to baby prep.

“We did most of the nursery renovation. Like, I painted the whole thing,” he explained in a recent interview with ET Online. “[Kailey] basically, like, lays it all out how she wants it to look, and then I — or, you know, with some help — take care of the rest.”

Anyone who’s been to one of Russell’s shows can attest to the fact that he’s a stylish dresser, and it looks like baby boy Dickerson is likely to follow suit.

“I built out his whole closet last week to hang all the cute little baby clothes. And made a little shoe shelf,” he adds, holding up a pair of infant’s Nike sneakers. Of course, he’s got a pair of white, adult-sized, “dad”-style sneakers to match.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Russell off the road during what would have been a big touring year for him.

“I’ve been touring for, I think this is our seventh year in a row of non-stop, hundred miles an hour [touring]. And this was the first year that I was actually going to, like, profit,” Russell says with a smile.

But he’s not disappointed to be off the road. In fact, it’s the opposite: He’s incredibly grateful to be spending this time at home with his wife during her pregnancy.

“This time, I would not trade it for a penny of that. It has been the biggest blessing,” Russell says.

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

Big Loud RecordsIt’s been an unconventional journey for Morgan Wallen’s “7 Summers,” a song that the singer didn’t always know if he was going to release. After he tested it on social media and realized what an impact it was having on fans, he decided to put out the studio version.

That song has now taken him to the top of the Billboard Country Songwriters chart for the week of August 29. It’s a first for Morgan, who’s had a handful of songs make the chart in the past but never before landed the number-one spot.

The singer co-wrote “7 Summers” with in-demand songwriters Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne. Though Shane was the one that came up with the title, the lyrics are inspired in part by a real-life experience of Morgan’s from seven years ago, he explained to Hits Daily Double this week.

“I was working for a landscaping company that summer,” Morgan recalls. “I got hurt playing baseball, was going to the community college — and that wasn’t going too well. So there might be someone out there, listening to this song on the radio and wondering if it’s about them.”

The storyline of a lazy summer and an ill-fated romance rings true to Morgan’s experience, and based on the response the song got, it rings true with his fans, too. “7 Summers” first blew up when Morgan put a version of it on TikTok.

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

ABC/Image Group LAIngrid Andress, Jordan Davis and Steve Wariner will share the Grand Ole Opry’s Saturday night bill this weekend.

It’ll be the second time in recent weeks that Ingrid and Jordan have appeared in the spotlight together. As 2020 ACM New Artist of the Year nominees, they both lent their voices to a recent special performance of Willie Nelson’ “On the Road Again” voiced by all the performers in that category. 

For his part, Steve has also recently signed on to a pandemic-themed collaboration. Last month, he appeared alongside Brad Paisley and other performers for a virtual rendition of an aptly titled song, “Quarantine.”

Both Ingrid and Jordan also have new music out. Ingrid dropped her beachy breakup tune, “Waste of Lime,” in early August. Jordan has a new self-titled EP out, which features the song, “Church in a Chevy.”

The Grand Ole Opry performance will take place on Saturday, August 29 at 7pm CT. Due to social distancing regulations, the Opry’s performances take place without a live audience, but you can watch the show live on the Circle network.

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

Mercury NashvilleIt’s been a while since Chris Stapleton fans got new music from the singer, but that all changed this week when he dropped “Starting Over.” An upbeat, acoustic guitar-heavy ode to optimism and new beginnings, it was a fitting first glimpse into the next album cycle that lies ahead.

Chris didn’t leave fans in the dark about what he’s got planned. When he shared his new song, he revealed that it’s also the title track of his next album, due out in mid-November.  He also unveiled the cover art for the project: A minimalist white square, with the album’s title and the artist’s name handwritten in the top left corner.

Also included in the singer’s album announcement was Starting Over’s full 14-song track list, featuring titles that likely will be familiar to fans who’ve seen Chris perform live. He’s been working some of these unreleased songs, including the title track, into his sets over the past couple of years.

Starting Over is due out on November 13 but it’s available for pre-order now. Here’s the full track list:

“Starting Over”
“Devil Always Made Me Think Twice”
“Cold”
“When I’m With You”
“Arkansas”
“Joy of My Life”
“Hillbilly Blood”
“Maggie’s Song”
“Whiskey Sunrise”
“Worry B Gone”
“Old Friends”
“Watch You Burn”
“You Should Probably Leave”
“Nashville, TN”

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

ABC/Image Group LAAshley McBryde’s recent single has earned her a new piece of hardware. “One Night Standards,” off of her sophomore album, Never Will, earned RIAA Gold certification in the U.S. and Canada this week.

The achievement comes as “One Night Standards” sits atop the Canadian country charts, a huge milestone for the rising country star.

“It’s really special to have a song reach an audience this size,” Ashley says. “I grew up listening to albums in addition to flipping through the country radio dial, so some of the biggest songs that influenced my career weren’t the ones you hear on the radio.”

Still, she says, there’s something special about having that broad platform to reach new listeners.

“But that discovery — when the DJ said, ‘And that was Mary Chapin Carpenter,’ or, ‘That was Terri Clark’ — man, it would send me down a rabbit hole,” Ashley remembers of her own early experiences of listening to country radio.

“If you can walk that line, introduce millions of new fans to your music and at the same time give them something to go deeper with on your records, then I think you’re right where you need to be,” Ashley adds. “And right now, I’m very thankful to be here.”

“One Night Standards” is currently a top-20 hit in the U.S.

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

Comstock/ThinkstockOn this date in 1990, one of country’s biggest superstars dropped his second studio album, No Fences. By 2020, he’d released a total of 22 studio albums, but this one is still his best-seller, with 17 million copies sold in the U.S. alone. Can you name him? ANSWER: Garth Brooks.

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

Capitol Records NashvilleWe may still be in the middle of a heatwave, but Carrie Underwood got fans in the holiday spirit this week when she revealed the track list for her upcoming Christmas album, My Gift.

The 11-track project — the country superstar’s first-ever Christmas album — is a treasure trove of seasonal classics, including  “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Silent Night.”

But even more exciting was the news that My Gift will feature some very special guests. Carrie duets with pop superstar John Legend on a song called “Hallelujah,” which he also wrote. On another track, the classic “Little Drummer Boy,” Carrie turns her holiday collection into a family affair, enlisting her five-year-old son, Isaiah, to perform on the track.

My Gift is due out on September 25.

When she first announced the project last month, Carrie said that making a holiday record was “a long time coming” for her, adding that putting out the project during such a tumultuous year made My Gift even more meaningful.

“For me, it’s more important than ever to focus on the true meaning of Christmas in a project like this,” she explained. “Even though it has been a tough year for all of us, sometimes I feel like the greatest realizations can be inspired by the most difficult times, and make us more grateful for the things we do have and for what truly matters.”

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

The songs on #MyGift are a mix of Christmas classics that are close to my heart and new songs that I hope will become close to yours. The album also includes a couple of very special guests… https://t.co/U2KzKpiK0S pic.twitter.com/BQBE3Qozy1

— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) August 27, 2020