Month: January 2021

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for StagecoachTyler Rich‘s 2020 closed out in one of the worst ways imaginable — he stumbled upon a body during his final jog of the year.

Taking to Instagram to share his horrific story, the “Feels Like Home” singer shared a screenshot of the news report on Friday and wrote, “Not the way I planned on closing out 2020… My heart breaks for this poor young man.”

“This will be an image and moment of my life, I’ll never forget,” the 34-year-old continued, saying he first thought he stumbled upon a sleeping homeless person and stopped to see if the man needed help.

“I felt bad for him, he was sleeping facedown and just looked like he was in a bad place.  So, I turned around and went back to check on him,” Rich said, adding that he quickly began to realize something was wrong.

Rich said that the incident has left him shaken and wrote, “I’m doing what I can to process this, the image, the reality.  It’s been a rough 24 hours.”

The singer thanked “first responders and our military that look death in the eye every day, and are able to continue to live their everyday lives.”

The singer also expressed his condolences to the person’s family and, in a separate post, revealed that he spoke with the unidentified man’s mother.

Rich later urged his fans to reach out and ask for help in times of crisis and shared the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The death is still under investigation.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if it feels like it, you are not alone.

By Megan Duley 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Comstock/ThinkstockOn this date in 1969, a young Tennessee native who first came to prominence as the “girl singer” on Porter Wagoner’s syndicated variety show officially became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Can you name her? ANSWER: Dolly Parton.

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

Warner Music NashvilleBlake Shelton debuted his new song “Minimum Wage” and fans aren’t exactly thrilled about it. 

The 44-year-old country star performed the song, which is about how a woman’s “love can make a man feel rich on minimum wage,” during the countdown to 2021 alongside Carson Daly. While many agreed that the sentiment was a sweet ode to his fiancée Gwen Stefani, they also felt that the timing of the debut was off. 

On Twitter one user questioned, “Does anyone else find Blake Shelton’s ‘Minimum Wage’ song to be incredibly tone deaf to our country’s current state?”

Social media users even attached screenshots of Shelton’s estimated net worth — which came in around $100 million, based on the photos — to further prove their point. 

Not everyone took offense to The Voice coach’s new song, though. Some praised the record and focused on the love story behind it. 

“Blake, thought new song great! Do not let negative comments effect you,” another shared. “The point of song with ‘minimum wage’ was that you live Gwen. You rock!!!”

“Minimum Wage” has not been fully released.

By Danielle Long
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ABCTo say that 2020 delivered plenty of curveballs is an understatement, and like everyone else, Ingrid Andress felt relieved to bid farewell to this particularly tumultuous year.

But amid all the tragedy and difficulty the year delivered, 2020 brought Ingrid some good news, too, especially when it came to her career. Ingrid notched her first chart-topping single this year with “More Hearts Than Mine,” and her debut album, Lady Like, became the highest-streamed debut country album by a woman, ever.

“Wow. Whew! I just, I can’t,” the singer laughs when asked to reflect on her success in 2020.

“It all just seemed to happen so fast, but also with everything that’s happened in the past year for the world, it feels like forever ago, too,” she adds. “So it’s like a weird, conflicting time warp of, like, ‘Where am I?’ ‘Who am I?’ ‘What am I doing?’ And here we are.”

Another pinch-me moment came for Ingrid towards the end of 2020, when the list of nominees for this year’s Grammy Awards arrived. The singer is in the running in the all-genre Best New Artist category, alongside acts like Noah Cyrus and Megan Thee Stallion.

Plus, Ingrid’s also up for Best Country Album and Best Country Song. That puts her in a tie with Miranda Lambert as the most-nominated country artist at the 2021 ceremony.

Ingrid says accolades like that make up for the difficult parts of 2020, such as being unable to tour. 

“Amidst such a hard and crazy year, this has definitely made up for a lot of things that didn’t really get to happen this year,” she explains. “This makes it all feel worth it.”

The 2021 Grammy Awards will air on January 31, 2021 on CBS.

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

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockChristian outfit For King & Country have re-imagined one of their hits to create “Together (The Country Collaboration),” their first country team-up since joining Dolly Parton in 2019. This time around, they’re duetting with singer-songwriters Hannah Ellis and Jackson Michelson.

In case you missed it, Austin City Limits celebrated six years of the show’s Hall of Fame performances with a special episode over the weekend. The compilation, which includes appearances by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and many more, is available to stream now at PBS’ website.

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