Month: January 2021

ABCAs he celebrates the release of his massive sophomore project, Dangerous: The Double Album, Morgan Wallen is shedding new light on the material with a special Spotify-exclusive enhanced album experience.

The enhanced version features exclusive video, with Morgan sharing some of the stories behind the songs and reflecting on his creative process. For example, he reveals why he waited until January 2021 to put out Dangerous.

“I didn’t want anything else of mine associated with the year 2020. So we waited ‘til now to do it,” the singer jokes, in a clip of the commentary shared exclusively with People.

“Creating this enhanced album was the perfect way to take y’all behind the scenes and share what Dangerous means to me,” he adds. “Thank you to Spotify for making this happen — hope y’all love it.”

Morgan’s new project dropped on Friday after some of the tracks were leaked just days ago. The 30-song project features a large cache of as-yet-unheard tunes, though it also includes hits that have been out for a while, such as “More Than My Hometown” and “7 Summers.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Morgan Wallen talks with Adam Bookbinder about his brand new album, ‘Dangerous: The Double Album.’

Check out the interview below and get your copy of the album here.

RCA RecordsNiko Moon puts an outdoorsy spin on the songs off his Good Time project with the just-released Good Time Campfire Sessions EP.

The tunes were recorded live around a campfire, with Niko accompanied solely by his guitarist, Jared Martin, and percussionist, Jon August. Together, the musicians offer up live versions of the track list on Good Time, an EP that originally came out in February of 2020.

Included in the Campfire Sessions version is the title track, which is currently a top-15 hit at country radio. The Campfire Sessions EP also includes a newer song, the romantic “Dance with Me,” bringing the total track list up to six songs.

In addition to being a rising star in his own right, Niko is also an in-demand songwriter who has seen his share of success penning tracks for other country artists. He’s credited as a writer on Dierks Bentley’s current single, “Gone,” and he also co-wrote “More Surprised Than Me,” one of the tracks on Morgan Wallen’s brand-new album, Dangerous.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Courtesy of BMLG RecordsAs Florida Georgia Line gear up for the release of Life Rolls On, their fifth studio album, next month, the duo is keeping excitement high with a catchy new song. They just dropped “New Truck,” a feel-good anthem about cruising around in a brand-new ride.

“With ‘New Truck,’ we were like, ‘Man, this feels good. I just want to ride around in my truck, listen to this and have a song to jam to.’ When any of our buddies get a new truck now, we can send it to them and say, ‘Yo, bump this in the truck!’” the band’s Tyler Hubbard says of the song.

“It feels really different and fresh,” adds Brian Kelley. “It’s got a fun innocence about it, too.”

“New Truck” the 11th of 16 tracks on Life Rolls On, which also includes FGL hits like “I Love My Country” and “Long Live.” The full project drops on February 12.

The band mates have been busy, as they’re gearing up for some solo projects in 2021 as well as readying their new album. They recently told fans that while they’ve got no plans to break up, they’re both expanding their horizons with some new endeavors outside the band this year. Brian says he’s got some solo songs that will come out as a collection, while Tyler’s working on a number of collaborations. The first of those is “Undivided,” a duet with Tim McGraw that’s coming out next week.

Meanwhile, the pair are still having fun doing what FGL does best. In addition to the song, they also dropped a quirky, playful and ‘70s-esque lyric video to go along with “New Truck.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Comstock/ThinkstockToday, one of country’s biggest stars is celebrating his 13th anniversary of marriage to his wife, Katherine Blasingame. This singer also won his first-ever Entertainer of the Year trophy at the CMA Awards last November. Can you name him? ANSWER: Eric Church.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Big Loud RecordsMorgan Wallen‘s mammoth, 30-track sophomore album, Dangerous, officially arrives in full today, after some of the cuts were leaked just days ago. 

The “7 Summers” hitmaker confesses he originally thought his vision of making a double album might only be a “pipe dream.” 

“I personally didn’t think it was gonna be possible just because I was scheduled to do a lot of touring…” he reveals. “But when everything happened the way it did, I thought, well, maybe this might be possible.”

“Then fortunately, I was able to write four or five songs really at the beginning of quarantine,” he continues, “kinda just right off the bat, which got us to a number of about twenty-five that made me feel confident that it would actually be something that we can do.”

Morgan’s May arrest for public intoxication and disorderly conduct in downtown Nashville may also be due some thanks for the album’s title track.

“I wrote that song after I got into a little bit of trouble,” he admits. “You know, we added a love interest story into the song just to make it hopefully relatable to a larger amount of people.”

“But it’s honestly a song that I wrote to myself a couple weeks later,” he says. “I feel like I learned some things, and I wanted to write it to myself, like a letter almost.”

Now, Morgan seems to see “Dangerous” as a beacon pointing in a better direction.

“It just seemed like, ‘What a better way to describe the album, too, as lessons I’ve learned and things that I wanted myself to know?'” he reflects. “So it felt just appropriate to entitle the whole project that.”

You can also pick up an exclusive Target version of Dangerous that adds two more tracks to the album.

By Stephen Hubbard
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockCollin Raye will hit the Grand Ole Opry stage tonight, in celebration of his new album, Scars. The project is the first batch of original tunes Collin’s released in over a decade; the title track is a duet with Miranda Lambert. Tickets to the show are available now.

In case you missed it, singer-songwriter Steve Earle made a stop on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday night. His new record, J.T., honors the life of his musical son Justin Townes Earle, who died in August of 2020 at the age of 38.

Newcomer Rachel Wammack shared a new performance video this week for her song, “A Million Dreams.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.