LADY A are soon to become the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry. The surprise invitation was extended Opry member Darius Rucker while Lady A was taping their performance for the upcoming two-hour NBC-TV special, “Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music.”
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CMT has annually released a list of up and coming female singers called their Next Women of Country campaign. Since 2013, CMT has honored artists such as Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris, Gabby Barrett, Maddie & Tae, Kelsea Ballerini, and more.
The 10 women included in 2021’s list for CMT’s Next Women of Country is Tenille Arts, Priscilla Block, Ashland Craft, Brittney Spencer, Sacha, Mackenzie Porter, Harper Grae, Reyna Roberts, Hannah Dasher, and Chapel Hart.
This year’s 2021 class marks a total of 85 female acts that have been named as part of the program since its inception.
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Billboard announced Monday that the 2021 Billboard Music Awards will take place in May, airing live May 23 at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.
This year’s host, musical performers and nominees have yet to be announced. Nominees and winners are based on fan interactions with music, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement, as tracked by Billboard.
The 2020 Billboard Music Awards took place in October after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic with singer Kelly Clarkson hosting the event.
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Following the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, “Better Days” — a duet by Justin Timberlake and Ant Clemons — topped the record for most-Shazamed song in a single day in the United States.
“Better Days” was performed by Timberlake and Clemons during the Celebrating America primetime inaugural special honoring President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to stats released by Shazam, the song was Shazamed more than 90,000 times within 24 hours of the performance, bringing it to No. 1 on the U.S. Shazam chart and breaking previous records. “Better Days” also saw immediate gains after Wednesday’s inauguration programming.
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American Idol’s Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner have welcomed their first child together. Barrett captioned a pic on Instagram that partially showed their newborn on Monday, January 25, saying, “Gotten to spend a very sweet week with our newest addition.. meet our girl Baylah May Foehner 1.18.21.” Her husband shared the same photo and wrote, “Baylah May Foehner The Lord Jesus has given me so much that I scarce can believe it. Not only to be saved from sin because of His Gospel but to also be given a Wife who is not only my best friend in the whole wide world but who also has bore me a child. I am a blessed man beyond my understanding.” Foehner also commented on Barrett’s post, “What an honor to be your husband. Thank you for bearing me a child my Wife!”
The American Idol alums announced in August that they were expecting. Barrett and Foehner met and fell in love on season 16 of the ABC show, and in October 2019, they tied the knot in Texas, seven months after their engagement.
Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com
American Idol’s Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner have welcomed their first child together. Barrett captioned a pic on Instagram that partially showed their newborn on Monday, January 25, saying, “Gotten to spend a very sweet week with our newest addition.. meet our girl Baylah May Foehner 1.18.21.” Her husband shared the same photo and wrote, “Baylah May Foehner The Lord Jesus has given me so much that I scarce can believe it. Not only to be saved from sin because of His Gospel but to also be given a Wife who is not only my best friend in the whole wide world but who also has bore me a child. I am a blessed man beyond my understanding.” Foehner also commented on Barrett’s post, “What an honor to be your husband. Thank you for bearing me a child my Wife!”
The American Idol alums announced in August that they were expecting. Barrett and Foehner met and fell in love on season 16 of the ABC show, and in October 2019, they tied the knot in Texas, seven months after their engagement.
Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com
ABCDarius Rucker made the day of his fellow iHop patrons.
ABC affiliate WCIV reports that over the weekend, Darius foot the bill for the entire iHop restaurant he was dining at in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Manager Stephen Vitale said in addition to paying for everyone’s meals, the singer also left a “generous” tip for the servers.
“It was a full restaurant. There were a lot of people. I added it up and he paid,” Stephen explains to WMBF News.
Though Darius was wearing a mask, some of the fellow diner-goers who recognized him thanked him for the act of kindness. “It caused a lot of excitement,” Stephen adds. “It was a good morning at IHOP.”
Apparently, the South Carolina native dines monthly at that location.
The good deed comes as Darius continues to climb the charts with “Beers and Sunshine,” which has cracked the top 10 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.
By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Zack MasseyLuke Combs is giving back to the small business community.
The country superstar has partnered with The Normal Brand to release a custom camouflage-print ball cap featuring an emblem with his logo.
Priced at $30, all of the proceeds from the hat will be donated to the Barstool Fund to help small businesses across the country impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus far, the fund has raised nearly $30 million and donated to 178 businesses, including 82-year-old diner Nick’s Family Restaurant in Kingsport, Tennessee, Jackbar, a dive bar in Brooklyn and historic Martin’s Tavern in Washington, D.C., along with educational institutions such as St. Luke’s Day School in Philadelphia and Victor Child Care Center in New York.
Luke recently scored his 10th consecutive #1 single with “Better Together.”
By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
John Shearer Andy Fickman has been tapped to direct the upcoming country music-themed musical, May We All.
Andy’s previous film directorial credits include She’s the Man, The Game Plan and Race to Witch Mountain. He’s also directed several TV shows such as the Disney series Austin & Ally, Kevin Can Wait and more.
Named after Florida Georgia Line‘s 2016 hit, the musical — written by producer Justin Halliwell and actors Troy Britton Johnson and Todd Johnson — focuses on small-town America through the fictional story of Jenna Coates, an aspiring country music singer who returns to her small town roots after her career fails to take off in Nashville.
The score is composed of songs by generations of country acts ranging from Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash to Shania Twain and The Chicks, along with modern superstars Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves and more.
FGL will also debut two original songs in the musical feature, which is backed by Brian Kelley‘s production company, CuzBro Productions, in partnership with Lively McCabe Entertainment.
Originally slated to take place last November, production on May We All has been moved to sometime this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of staging a commercial residency in Nashville.
By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
ABCMorgan Wallen‘s Dangerous: The Double Album continues to dominate the Billboard 200, which is adding a little insult to injury for Luke Bryan. As it turns out, the country superstar really hoped to wrestle one of the album’s singles away from Wallen.
Speaking to Apple Music over the weekend, HARDY, who co-wrote the track “Sand in My Boots,” revealed to Wallen that the American Idol judge “fell in love” with the song.
When speaking about how the single came to be, HARDY — born Michael Wilson Hardy — told the 27-year-old singer, “I just had that idea in my phone for forever… I just had this idea about just a summer love kind of thing and I wanted to call it ‘Sand in My Boots.'”
Wallen noted he “immediately fell in love with it” the second he heard it, which forced HARDY to divulge some pretty big news to the “Dangerous” singer.
“[Luke Bryan] fell in love with it, too,” the songwriter confessed, but attested he had no idea how the “One Margarita” crooner even got his hands on the demo.
But, as HARDY revealed, “Sand in My Boots” was already a done deal because “We wanted you to have it. We thought you could make it cool.”
“Sorry, Luke,” Wallen closed out with a laugh.
“Sand in My Boots” is currently number 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart while Wallen’s Dangerous album has notched its second consecutive week on top of the Billboard 200.
By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
