Month: December 2020

Riser House Entertainment/Columbia NashvilleMitchell Tenpenny’s gearing up to start the new year in style: He’ll release a brand-new song, “Bucket List,” at midnight tonight.

The “Drunk Me” star has been teasing something new to come for several days. Earlier this week, he tweeted an image of himself posing on a beach, with the caption, “You can’t add more days to life but you can add more life to days.”

He also shared the song’s cover art, which features himself and a love interest sitting side by side on a mountaintop, admiring the view. Yet another snapshot associated with the song features Mitchell on horseback riding through desert scrub.

“Bucket List” comes on the heels of Neon Christmas, Mitchell’s festive, seven-track holiday EP. That project arrived in late October. Meanwhile, Mitchell’s current single, “Broken Up,” is climbing the charts.

Ahead of tonight’s release, “Bucket List” is available for pre-save now.

Tonight!!!! Who's counting down? ?? Pre save now here https://t.co/ky1hhhItAt!!!! #NewYearsEve #NewMusic #BucketList pic.twitter.com/dL6ipPNQRe

— Mitchell Tenpenny (@m10penny) December 31, 2020

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

ABCThis week, Keith Urban delivered his last livestream of 2020 with Urban Underground: Holiday Edition, a late 2020 installment of his quarantine-era series, Underground.

But to end 2020 with a bang, Keith surprised fans on social media with one last outtake from that performance on New Year’s Eve, posting an acoustic video of his new song “Polaroid” that was recorded at home during the Urban Underground virtual show.

“Happy new year to everyone!” Keith wrote. “Here’s an extra performance from the Urban Underground. Enjoy ‘Polaroid’!”

He also shared a link to his Facebook live series, so that any fans who missed the virtual show can catch up on all the fun.

Keith first shared “Polaroid” back in April, on the heels of releasing his single “God Whispered Your Name.” Both songs are included on the track list of The Speed of Now Part 1, which the singer put out in full in September.

Happy New Year to everyone !! Here's an extra performance from the URBAN UNDERGROUND. Enjoy 'Polaroid' !

If you missed yesterday's performance, watch here: https://t.co/zqslNdIQLc pic.twitter.com/uRniSK80xm

— Keith Urban (@KeithUrban) December 31, 2020

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

David McClister Parker McCollum’s celebrating New Year’s by giving fans the gift of new music.

“My new song ‘To Be Loved By You’ drops tonight at midnight!” he wrote on social media Thursday afternoon. “Mad love!”

“To Be Loved By You” will be familiar to some fans already, as Parker has performed the song at live shows in the past. He started testing it out on fans during concerts in late 2019, hinting that he was planning to record it for an upcoming album.

A year after fans first got a taste of Parker’s live version of the song, they’ll finally get to hear the studio version of “To Be Loved By You.” The singer also offered up the song’s cover art, featuring a photo of himself wearing shades and leaning up against a car. 

The new song comes on the heels of some big career successes for Parker, who scored his first chart-topping hit at country radio this month with “Pretty Heart,” his debut single. That song also notched gold certification from the RIAA.

“Pretty Heart” comes off of a debut EP from Parker, Hollywood Gold, which arrived in October. Following its release, that project earned the title of highest-selling debut EP for 2020.

My new song To Be Loved By You drops tonight at midnight! Mad love! pic.twitter.com/7hdNnENfop

— Parker McCollum (@ParkerMcCollum) December 31, 2020

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

ABC/Image Group LADolly Parton is bidding farewell to 2020 on a high note, with a new montage video remembering the singer’s favorite moments of the year.

From her creation of a viral social media challenge to her Christian music success early on in the year, to the release of her A Holly Dolly Christmas album and her Billboard Hitmaker award, the video looks at the highlights of Dolly’s 2020.

Of course, perhaps her biggest moment of the year was the success of the Moderna vaccine in the fight against COVID-19. Early in the year, Dolly donated $1 million to Moderna’s research and development efforts.

“Through all the darkness, I’ve tried my best to spread some light in 2020,” the singer wrote in a caption alongside her video. “Thank you for coming along for the ride. See you in 2021!”

Whatever Dolly’s got in store for next year, it’s sure to be big. First up, she’ll celebrate a milestone birthday, turning 75 years old on January 19. While the singer’s birthday plans aren’t set in stone, she has hinted that she’d like to mark the occasion by recreating her iconic 1978 Playboy photo shoot.

Through all of the darkness, I've tried my best to spread some light in 2020. Thank you for coming along for the ride ?? See you all in 2021! pic.twitter.com/3c3R57J88X

— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) December 31, 2020

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

ABC/Image Group LAThe weather’s chilly and gray in Nashville, so Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany, are making a tropical getaway to ring in the new year.

The “Got What I Got” star posted a video to social media this week of himself and Brittany lounging on a beach. “Happy new year,” he tells his wife from behind the camera lens.

“Happy new year!” she replies with a chuckle, as Jason pans the camera across the beach, ocean waves breaking in the distance.

“Spending New Year’s on the beach this year with my boo thang,” Jason captioned his post.

The superstar couple’s two children, three-year-old Memphis and one-year-old Navy, aren’t in the shot, though they’re probably not far away. The Aldeans have made no secret of their love of family vacations over the past couple of years, posting plenty of snapshots of the whole gang relaxing and having fun together.  In fact, Jason used home video footage of his wife and kids to make his music video for “Got What I Got.”

When he returns home in 2021, Jason’s likely going to be gearing up for a busy year ahead. He shared back in October that he’s already planning his tenth studio album.

Spending New Years on the beach this year with my boo thang. #paradise ?? pic.twitter.com/c0meS2iwRO

— Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean) December 30, 2020

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

Terry Wyatt/Getty ImagesCountry and bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs is opening up about a scary health situation he dealt with back in June.

After months of noticing that he got winded more easily than usual, the Hall of Famer and his wife, Sharon, were planning a family visit to North Carolina. The day before they were set to depart, Ricky got a call from his doctor explaining that his last visit had revealed some concerning symptoms that needed further investigation.

Ricky explains to People that originally, he considered putting the appointment off until after his trip. But before he could vocalize that thought, he remembers, “it was like I saw the Lord with a jeweler’s eye glass on. He was peering at me, but never said a word. But just by His look, I knew He was saying, ‘Absolutely no.’”

With the confidence that God was telling him he needed to take care of his health right away, Ricky went in for the appointment, and underwent a quadruple bypass in Nashville four days later.

“It was a major blessing I didn’t have a heart attack,” the “Country Boy” singer adds. “Nothing was hurt, and nothing was destroyed or irreparable. It was just by the mercy and grace of God that all of this happened in this way.”

Ricky spent four days in the hospital, surrounded by his family. Now, he says he feels “150%” better than he did before the surgery. Plus, he’s found renewed perspective on the importance of taking care of his health.

“Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today,” Ricky advises. “That surgery gave me a brand-new heart. Not only a real heart, but a spiritual heart that has been cleaned out, so I can hear Him better than ever before.”

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

Comstock/ThinkstockOn this day in 1999, this famed mother-daughter duo performed a reunion show in Phoenix, Arizona, eight years after their last concert. They opened the set with signature hit, “Love Can Build a Bridge.” Can you name the duo? ANSWER: The Judds. 

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockOld Crow Medicine Show is ringing in 2021 at the Ryman Auditorium with two shows today at 8 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET for a limited capacity, in-person audience. Tickets to view the livestream of the show are also available. 

Walker Montgomery, the son of John Michael Montgomery, is performing as part of the Country Outdoors Concert Series at the Listening Room Cafe in Nashville on January 12 at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets can be purchased to watch the show in-person or via livestream. 

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Kevin Mazur/BBMA2020/Getty Images for dcpBack in July, when seven-time CMA Entertainer of the Year Garth Brooks announced his intention to remove himself from consideration for the coveted category, little did he know he might be ushering in a new era. 2020 seemed to welcome a new age, where stars who were newcomers only five years ago stepped to the forefront.

Indeed, Entertainers of the Year for both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association were completely different from only a year before. Reigning ACM Entertainer Keith Urban presented the trophy to first-time winner Thomas Rhett, who tied in the voting with Carrie Underwood.

Some saw the history-making tie as controversial, feeling the first female winner since Taylor Swift in 2012 shouldn’t have to share the honor. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that the Academy has given Carrie its top award twice before, in 2009 and 2010. 

Critical favorite Eric Church managed to finally clinch CMA Entertainer in November, though he and pal Luke Combs good-naturedly bantered about who would win, as they were seated together.

Indeed, Combs seems to be on an Entertainer-worthy trajectory. Just this year, he took home Album and Male Vocalist trophies from both the ACM and CMA organizations, while Maren Morris could very well be the next Female artist staking her claim on Entertainer. In 2020, Maren accepted Female Vocalist honors from both the CMA and ACM for the first time, while the CMA named “The Bones” Single and Song of the Year. 

Old Dominion first broke Little Big Town’s string of six wins for CMA Vocal Group in 2018. Now, they’ve taken home the CMA trophy three times, and the accompanying ACM honor thrice as well. This year, the Academy also named “One Man Band” Song of the Year. 

Similarly, Dan + Shay have become the ones to beat in the Duo category, assuming the previous momentum held by Brothers Osborne and Florida Georgia Line.

But don’t count out your legendary favorites just yet. In 2020, Miranda Lambert still took home CMA Music Video honors for “Bluebird” and the ACM Music Event trophy for “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.” Ex-husband Blake Shelton also walked away with ACM Single recognition, for “God’s Country.”

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