Month: December 2020

ABC/Image Group LADolly Parton this week shared the next music video off of her holiday album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, and you may notice a theme starting to emerge.

Just like the music video for her Michael Bublé duet, “Cuddle Up Cozy Down Christmas,” Dolly becomes a Christmas cartoon version of herself in the video for “Pretty Paper.” But while her last clip was set in the snow-capped mountains of “Holly Dolly’s Ski Resort,” Dolly’s newest video takes place in Fort Worth, Texas.

It’s an appropriate setting, as Dolly’s duet partner on the song is native Texan Willie Nelson. Willie’s animated version joins Dolly in the video, the pair of them sitting in the back of a wagon and singing as they’re rolling through town.

“Pretty Paper” is just one of the many duets included on Dolly’s first Christmas album in three decades, A Holly Dolly Christmas, which arrived this October. Other guest artists featured on the project include Jimmy Fallon, Billy Ray Cyrus and more.

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

Comstock/ThinkstockOn this day in 2006, this duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush scored their first #1 hit with “Want To.” Can you name them? ANSWER: Sugarland.

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

ABC/Image Group LAJust in time for Christmas, Dan + Shay have teamed up with the Safe Haven Family Shelter to give three Nashville-area families the gift of a lifetime.

The duo recently surprised three families experiencing homelessness with their own starter homes, fully furnished and even decorated for the holidays. When the families arrived to check out their new homes, the band mates were waiting inside to greet them in person, wish them happy holidays and even play a song or two.

“For us to be able to come here and sing some songs and help people get back on their feet, to get into a home, to get some amazing new furniture — it’s an incredible feeling for us,” the band mates explain in a video.

Dan + Shay also told People that the experience was a deeply meaningful one for both of them.

“I speak for both of us when I say it was life-changing,” explains Dan Smyers. “It put everything into perspective, and made us truly appreciate all the blessings in our life that we can sometimes take for granted.”

The pair is getting into the holiday spirit from a musical standpoint, too. They recently released two festive original songs, “Take Me Home for Christmas” and “Christmas Isn’t Christmas.”

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

BBR Music Group In a year when many are seeking comfort in Christmas cheer, Runaway June‘s Jennifer Wayne got a head start by writing a Christmas song in the middle of a scorching hot Tennessee summer. 

Jennifer co-wrote “When I Think About Christmas” alongside Tiffany Goss and Josh Matheny, which describes the joy of having someone to celebrate the season with. The jazzy song ultimately became the title track to Runaway June’s Christmas EP. 

“It’s funny, we weren’t even trying to write a Christmas song. It was like in the middle of August and we were so hot. It was two of my friends and they were over at my house and we were drinking wine and we were like ‘gosh, I wish it was Christmas,’ so we just started writing it,” she explains to ABC Audio about the writing process.

“We were like, ‘When I think about Christmas, I think about all these things,’ and that’s kind of what inspired it,” Jennifer adds. “So we wrote a Christmas song in the middle of August.” 

When I Think About Christmas features another original song, “Christmas on the Radio,” along with covers of holiday classics including “O Holy Night” and “Let it Snow.”  

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

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockHome Free teamed up with the Oak Ridge Boys and Jeffrey East for a performance of “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem.”

Jimmie Allen is performing “What Does Christmas Mean” with Louis York and The Shindellas this morning on Today with Hoda & Jenna.

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