Month: December 2020

ABCCarly Pearce is taking the lessons she’s learned in 2020 and applying them to the new year. 

In June, Carly and Michael Ray announced that they were divorcing after eight months of marriage, a source telling People at the time that it was a “hard decision” for the Kentucky native. 

But on the music front, Carly experienced a series of highs as her duet with Lee Brice on “I Hope You’re Happy Now” soared to the top of the charts and earned the twosome the CMA Award for Musical Event of the Year.

The singer says she’s moving forward with the wisdom she gained during this challenging year. 

“I think 2020 for me was the biggest learning lesson of my life. And I think that you have to remember the stillness and remember what you learned, implement what you discovered about yourself, and don’t forget that,” Carly explains of her process.  

“I think it’s so easy for us to kind of just be robots and do day in and day out and not check in with ourselves, and not just kinda make sure we’re okay,” she adds.  

Carly’s 90s country-inspired single “Next Girl” is currently climbing the charts.

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

ABCLeave it to Reba McEntire to summarize 2020 in the best way.

In a holiday video to fans thanking them for all their support throughout the year, the country legend urged her followers to stay safe and healthy heading into the new year as the U.S. continues to battle the pandemic. 

“Please stay safe and healthy so we can all get together in 2021. This has been a booger bear of a year and I’m very thankful and grateful that we got through it,” Reba declares. “It’s coming to a close and we can start looking forward and thinking positively for the next year.”

“I love you very much and thank you so much for everything. Your support, your love, your prayers, your comments. I love you,” says Reba, adding, “Take care of yourself, pretty please.” 

Reba’s mother, Jacqueline, passed away from cancer in March at the age of 93. Reba spent the first two months of quarantine with her family in Oklahoma. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! pic.twitter.com/90pNOXS89h

— Reba (@reba) December 25, 2020

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

ABCWith the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, Eric Church feels hopeful that 2021 will be a better year than 2020. 

“I think, for me, the thing I’m looking forward to most next year is getting around the corner from this virus and getting some kind of normalcy. I’m confident that next year is when we’ll finally put this in the rearview at some point in time,” he says. 

“We’re all looking for a vaccine early in the year and the more we can take the cases down between January and May, I think the higher likelihood that we’ll be on a stage somewhere in the fall, late summer/fall, and then certainly into the fourth quarter,” Eric adds. “So, I’m looking forward to that.”

Like many of his peers, Eric has been longing for the stage ever since the pandemic led to the mass shutdown of live concerts and events. The 2020 CMA Entertainer of the Year was playing to audiences of thousands in 2019 and misses the vibrant energy of his fans and live shows. 

“I know there may be some early stuff where we can’t be at capacity. I get that, but I’m looking forward to being back at capacity and being, seeing people grouped up and arms around each other’s shoulders and just, I miss that. I miss playing. I miss the camaraderie. I miss going town-to-town and doing that,” he says.

“It’s just what I was born to do, and I miss seeing the fans. Next year, we’re all hopeful, I’m hopeful and quite confident, actually, that next year will be the year that we get to start doing that and then hopefully more and more as we go,” Eric declares. “That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

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

Trae Patton/NBCWhen it comes to Gwen Stefani’s impending nuptials to Blake Shelton, one thing’s for certain: her children will be by her side. 

A source close to the couple tells People Gwen’s sons Kingston, 14, Zuma, 12, and Apollo, 6, “will have a large part” in the wedding.

“Gwen’s sons are just really solid, sweet kids, and they’re so excited for Blake and Gwen to get married,” the friend says of the children Gwen shares with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale. “They can’t wait to stand by their sides.”

Gwen and Blake announced their engagement in October after dating for about five years. They met on the set of The Voice, where they were both serving as coaches.

“From the beginning, Gwen made it clear to Blake that her boys were No. 1 in her life, and Blake always respected this,” another source close to Gwen tells People. 

“Gwen always gushed about how amazing Blake is with the boys,” the source adds. “She feels so lucky that he helps her raise them. His love and guidance is something that Gwen is beyond grateful for.”

The two are rumored to be marrying in early 2021 at a chapel Blake built himself on the grounds of his Oklahoma ranch.

By Andrea Tuccillo
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Andrew Chin/Getty ImagesBrad Paisley is opening up about the impact of The Store in the ABC News special, The Year: 2020. 

In March, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Brad and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley opened a free grocery store in Nashville to help families experiencing food insecurity. At the time, Brad’s World Tour had just been shut down due to the pandemic, leaving him fearful of the unknown. 

“I found myself really scared in the beginning of this. It really hit me that a lot of people were probably going to die,” he confides to host Robin Roberts. “The sadness of that hit me pretty hard.”

But the tragedy inspired the singer and his wife to open The Store as a way to support families in need. In September, the couple participated in the Million Meals Donation Tour in collaboration with Feeding America to donate meals to local food banks across the country.

Brad says the initiative restored his sense of hope and purpose. 

“When we’re delivering food or doing something that’s helping, I feel less helpless,” he says. “For me, it was all about trying to find something that really felt like we were going to get through this.”

Hear more from Brad when The Year airs tonight on ABC at 9 p.m. ET.

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

Comstock/ThinkstockOn this day in 2001,  “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” began its five-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Inspired by the September 11 attacks, the song later earned this artist his first Grammy Award for Best Country Song. Can you name him? ANSWER: Alan Jackson.

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

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockProducer David Malloy, who’s worked with Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire and others, says a law enforcement officer saved his life during the Nashville bombing on Christmas morning. WKRN reports that Malloy lives on Second Ave where the explosion took place and was walking his dog on the street nearby when an officer approached him and told him to evacuate, just before the blast.  

Bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs has released a statement honoring IBMA Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame member Tony Rice, who passed away on Christmas Day.

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

ABCIn 2020, perhaps more than any year before, country music made strides toward social change. But it wasn’t without its share of controversy.

The Dixie Chicks became the Chicks, while Lady Antebellum opted to officially adopt their nickname, Lady A, to remove words associated with slavery. The latter transition sparked an ongoing legal battle, as Seattle-based singer Anita White accused the trio of trying to co-opt the name from a Black artist who’d been using it for years.

Artists like Maren Morris, Cassadee Pope and Charlie Worsham showed their support for Black Lives Matter on social media, while “Mississippi Girl” Faith Hill championed removing the Confederate symbol from her home state’s flag — which the state ultimately did.

Leave it to none other than Dolly Parton to say it best: “And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white a**** are the only ones that matter? No!” she told Billboard.

Meanwhile, both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music worked to give Black artists a bigger platform. Darius Rucker co-hosted the 2020 CMA Awards, which included Jimmie Allen’s presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Charley Pride. Sadly, country’s first Black superstar passed away just weeks later from complications of COVID-19.

Both shows included appearances by Nashville-based gospel legend Cece Winans, while Kane Browndelivered a moving rendition of his anthem “Worldwide Beautiful” on the ACMs. Keith Urbanaccompanied Mickey Guyton on piano for one of the night’s showstoppers, a stripped-down version of “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” The up-and-coming female vocalist ended the year with a Grammy nomination for her thought-provoking track, “Black Like Me.”

2020 was also a year where female artists continued to make strides in the male-dominated format. In April, Gabby Barrett and Ingrid Andress made history, becoming the first female artists to ever to consecutively top the chart with their debut singles, “I Hope” and “More Hearts Than Mine,” respectively.

Though she’s won lots of awards, Ashley McBryde also managed to clinch her first top-ten hit in September with “One Night Standards.” Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce and Miranda Lambert continued to find success on the airwaves, while newcomers Tenille Arts, Caroline Jones, and Priscilla Block made their mark on the chart for the first time.

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