Luke Bryan has earned his 26th No.1 on the country charts with his single “Down To One.” The song tops both the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase charts and is the fourth consecutive No. 1 from Bryan’s latest album, Born Here Live Here Die Here. The song follows the chart-topping success of “One Margarita,” “What She Wants Tonight” and “Knockin’ Boots.”
Bryan will release a deluxe edition of his latest album, Born Here Live Here Die Here on April 9. The project will feature six new tracks, including the newly-released song “Country Does.” You can pre-order Born Here Live Here Die Here (Deluxe Edition) at the link – here.
For the second year in a row, the Country Music Association has canceled CMA Fest, its annual June four-day event, due to the ongoing pandemic. CMA CEO Sarah Trahern said in a statement issued Tuesday, March 2: “After thoughtful deliberation, we are saddened to share that CMA Fest will not take place in 2021. We know our fans near and far have hoped that the festival could safely return this summer, and while we are encouraged to see COVID-19 vaccines becoming more widely available, we still face several challenges that prevent us from bringing our fans around the world the CMA Fest experience they have come to expect. But rest assured, we have already started planning what will be the most epic celebration of country music next summer. Mark your calendars for CMA Fest June 9-12, 2022!”
CMA Fest utilizes Nashville venues such as the Ascend Amphitheater, Nissan Stadium and Music City Center. Trahern said the decision was made to cancel instead of postpone to later this year because of logistics. The 2019 CMA Fest drew attendees from all 50 states and 37 other countries. The event had not announced its 2021 lineup, but tickets from the canceled 2020 fest had been rolled-over to this year. Fans who are holding on to their tickets can again roll them over to 2022 or request a full refund.
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak have officially announced they are joining forces as “Silk Sonic,” with new music scheduled to drop on March 5th. Mars posted the album cover on Instagram along with the caption: “We locked in and made an album. The band’s called Silk Sonic. First song drops next Friday 3/5.”
Mars released his last solo album, 24K Magic in 2016, one year before going on tour with .Paak in 2017. 24K Magic was certified three-times platinum in the United States, selling over three million units. It also won seven Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. Anderson .Paak released his last album, Ventura, in 2019, debuting at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart. Ventura also won Best R&B Album at the 2020 Grammys.
Finneas and friend/collaborator Ashe have teamed up for the new single “Till Forever Falls Apart,” co-written by Ashe, Finneas, and Big Taste, and produced by Finneas and Big Taste. “Till Forever Falls Apart” marks the second time Finneas has collaborated with Ashe. In 2020, he served as executive producer of Ashe’s double EP, Moral of the Story, as well as co-writer of the EP’s title track.
Said Finneas: “Ashe to me, is a timeless artist. Her music will be as relevant and important 30 years from now as it is today. Making music with her has always been an extension of our friendship and I could not love this song more.” Ashe added, “`Till Forever Falls Apart’ is one of my favorite songs with one of my favorite people…Finneas is one of the most talented people I know and it’s fitting to release this song with someone I love so much. I’m lucky to know him, and I hope to never know a life without him in it.”
Take a look at the video for “Till Forever Falls Apart’ – here.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday that the Biden administration plans to allow migrant families separated under the Trump administration to reunite in the United States. Speaking during a news conference, Mayorkas called the separation of children from their parents at the Mexican border “the most powerful and heartbreaking example of the cruelty that preceded this administration.” Mayorkas said families will be given the option of reuniting in their country of origin or in the United States.
The administration is working with lawyers representing the separated families along with nongovernmental organizations, the nations of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and the private sector. So far, about 105 families have been reunited.
On Monday, the Senate judiciary committee approved President Biden’s nomination of appellate court judge Merrick Garland to be the United States’ attorney general. The committee voted 15-7 early Monday afternoon to advance Garland’s candidacy. The nomination now advances to the full Senate for final confirmation. Most likely the Senate will hold a floor vote later this week, and is expected to approve the nomination.
If confirmed, Garland will be sworn in immediately. Garland, 68, was nominated to the post of U.S. attorney general almost two months ago and appeared before the committee for a confirmation hearing last week, saying his top early priority would be overseeing the prosecution of rioters involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6. He told the panel: “I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 — a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government. We will pursue these leads, wherever they take us.”
Garland first rose to prominence as a potential Supreme Court nominee in 2009 and 2010 for vacancies that ultimately went to Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, respectively. In 2016 he was officially nominated by former President Barack Obama to replace late Justice Antonin Scalia, however senate Republicans denied Garland a vote and argued then that whoever won that November’s presidential election should choose Scalia’s replacement.
Scotty McCreery has dropped the music video to accompany his latest song “You Time.”
“‘You Time’ is a fun, romantic, upbeat song,” McCreery tells CMT. “The video captures all of that, moving back and forth between my performance and the scenes with the couple who are starting their life together. There are some moments [in the video] that really make me smile,” the singer continues. “I don’t want to give anything away, but the final scenes are based on what inspired me to write ‘You Time’ in the first place. … We all need ‘You Time’ with our significant other — for fun, romance, a recharge and more. It’s important we make time for that to happen often.”
Check out the video for “You Time” at the link – here.
Miranda Lambert and Elle King have dropped the music video for their new collaboration, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).” In the video, the ladies travel back in time to 1986 for a scene on King’s wedding day, where she and Lambert kick off the special day with a cigarette and beer. The video ends with a mic drop by the two singers.
King opened for Lambert on her 2019 Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars Tour and appeared on “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” recorded by Lambert, King and fellow opening acts Maren Morris, Caylee Hammack, Ashley McBryde and Tenille Townes.
Take a look at the video for Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home) – here.
Taylor Swift has officially canceled her previously postponed “Lover Fest” tour dates. In a note on Twitter, Swift admits that “no one knows what the touring landscape is going to look like in the future.” An additional note on her website adds that refunds will be processed automatically. Check out the full statement on her Twitter – here.
Swift first announced European and U.S. tour dates in support of her then-new album Lover in September 2019. After the dates were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she released two new studio albums, folklore and evermore.
Justin Bieber has announced his new album Justice isdue out March 19. Justice is the follow-up to last year’sChanges and will include the songs “Holy” (featuring Chance the Rapper), “Lonely” (featuring benny blanco), and “Anyone.”
“JUSTICE the album March 19th. In a time when there’s so much wrong with this broken planet, we all crave healing—and justice—for humanity,” Bieber said on Instagram. “In creating this album, my goal is to make music that will provide comfort; to make songs that people can relate to, and connect to, so they feel less alone.”
