Month: April 2021

It's been nearly two months since Trisha Yearwood shared a celebratory post on Instagram announcing that she’d officially gotten word that she was COVID-19-free after coming down with the virus in February.

But while Trisha's back to feeling good and resuming her normal activities, there's still one symptom that's still affecting her day-to-day life: Her senses of smell and taste have been dulled.

“It's been about eight weeks,” the singer recounted during a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she also shared that she first noticed the lack of smell and taste when her fellow country star husband Garth Brooks brought her surprisingly “weak” coffee one morning.

“I can tell if something's spicy. That's about it,” Trisha says, adding that it's a particularly inconvenient symptom since she's an avid chef who of course has her own award-winning cooking show, Trisha's Southern Kitchen.

“And I love to cook, so now when I cook, I just ask Garth, like, Tell me if it needs more salt and pepper,'” she continues. “It's the weirdest thing.”

Trisha is gearing up to resume production of Trisha's Southern Kitchen in the coming months. The show's last episode was filmed in 2020.

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Luke Bryan has been named as an ambassador for Cornerstone Building Brands' Home for Good initiative.

In partnership with the organization, which supports Habitat for Humanity, Luke will use his platform to raise awareness of the need for safe, affordable housing, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its launch in 2016,  Home for Good says it’s donated $2 million in building supplies and helped build or remodel over 550 homes in more than 90 communities. 

“I'm glad to be part of Cornerstone Building Brands' Home for Good project again this year,” Luke says in a statement. “Every family deserves a place to call home where children can be happy and memories are created, and it's a privilege to play even a small part in tackling this big need.”

Luke's label, Universal Music Group, has supported Home for Good since its inception, and Luke’s also previously partnered with Cornerstone Building Brands in support of this cause.

Earlier this year, Luke was the recipient of the Country Radio Broadcasters' Humanitarian Artist Award in recognition of his many philanthropic efforts. He also raises money for college scholarships for kids from farming families through his annual Farm Tours, and his family's Brett Boyer Foundation continues to raise awareness of Congenital Heart Disease and fund research for treatment options.

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Thomas Rhett is more than just a country star: He's also a proud dad to three young girls, each of whom is quickly growing into their own distinct personality, he told People recently.

Five-year-old Willa Gray is the oldest of the bunch, while Ada James is the middle child at three years old, and Lennon Love — who turned a year old in February — is the youngest.

“Willa Gray is a mother spirit, a nurturer spirit,” Thomas recounts. “If Ada James or Lennon is crying, she's the first one over there to be like, Are you okay? Do you need your blanket? Want me to get you a bottle of milk?'”

But his two younger children are a little fiestier, the singer admits, describing his middle daughter as “extremely sassy.”

“The first person to say, Hey baby, let's go get on our pajamas,' gets Well, I don't really want to right now.' And then you've got Lennon, who's just starting to talk, and she's just as much of a firecracker as Ada James,” Thomas says, adding, “They're all so different, yet they're all so loving, and they all have their own unique personalities.”

While his girls might be little for the time being, TR knows they aren't going to stay that way forever. He reflects on life as a parent in songs like “Remember You Young” and, more recently, “To the Guys That Date My Girls,” which comes off of his new album, Country Again: Side A.

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Mitchell Tenpenny thinks back to the highs and lows of growing up in a small town in his newly-released song, “To Us It Did.”

Every first kiss, cold beer and small town back road feels bigger and more exciting when you're young, and even though the memories fade over time, Mitchell captures the feeling of those pivotal experiences in his new song.

He debuted “To Us it Did” during a recent appearance on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, before officially releasing it on Friday.

“It feels so good to put out new songs for my fans,” says the singer. “Continuing to write and record over the past year has kept me sane and finally being able to play some of these new tunes at shows has been a long time coming!”

Mitchell will return to the road in the summer of 2021, beginning with a May 7 stop at Sarasota, Florida's White Buffalo Saloon. Check his website for a full touring schedule.

“To Us It Did” was co-written by Mitchell alongside Jordan Schmidt, as well as songwriter-turned-country-star Hardy.

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Rascal Flatts singer Gary LeVox has announced plans for a five-song Christian solo project, called One on One. The EP is due out next month.

Fans got their first taste of Gary's solo project back in March, when he dropped “The Distance,” an epic track that pairs his familiar, stratospheric vocals with an inspirational message of faith. At the time, the singer said that there was more to come, and now he's making good on that promise.

“The Distance” may have been Gary's first solo foyer after parting ways with Rascal Flatts, but it's actually the only song on One on One that features him without a duet partner. The other four tracks on the EP are collaborations.

Grammy-winning gospel star Jonathan McReynolds and Christian group MercyMe each feature on a track. Gary shared his MercyMe duet — “A Little Love” — on Friday ahead of the project's release.

Meanwhile, rising country star Breland lent both his voice and his writing talents to another song, “All I See.” Another track, “While I Wait,” features vocals from none other than Gary's daughter, Brittany LeVox, who’s a rising pop performer in her own right. She released tracks like “Airplane Mode” and “Crime” last year.

One on One arrives in full on May 21. The project is available to pre-order now.

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Gabby Barrett is up for nine awards at the upcoming 2021 Billboard Music Awards ceremony, making her the most-mentioned country artist and female artist overall.

Gabby's up in categories such as Top Country Album, Top Country Artist and the all-genre Top New Artist, according to the list of finalists announced Thursday. The BBMAs will take place on Sunday, May 23, airing from Los Angeles' Microsoft Theater beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Another much-mentioned artist at this year's show is Morgan Wallen, but he won't be invited to the ceremony due to a late January incident in which he was filmed using the N-word as he said goodbye to friends after a night of partying.

“Morgan Wallen is a finalist this year based on charting,” dick clark productions said in a statement. “As his recent conduct does not align with our core values, we will not be including him on the show in any capacity (performing, presenting, accepting.)”

Morgan is nominated six times across five categories. His second studio album, Dangerous: The Double Album, achieved resounding success after its January release, spending a record-breaking 10 weeks atop the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.

Earlier this year, the singer's conduct also resulted in his exclusion from the 2021 ACM Awards, though both the ACMs and BBMAs have expressed that they're not counting him out for future awards shows.

“It is heartening and encouraging to hear that Morgan is taking steps in his anti-racist journey and starting to do some meaningful work. We plan to evaluate his progress and will consider his participation in future awards shows,” dick clark productions added in their statement.

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The Marfa Tapes, Miranda Lambert's stripped-down, acoustic collaborative album with frequent co-writers and fellow Texans Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, comes out next Friday, May 7.

The trio just announced that fans will get a visual element to go along with their new project. May 8, the day after The Marfa Tapes drops, they artists will share a full-length film to accompany the album.

Featuring candid interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and live performances, the film will also focus on the special West Texas town that lends its name to the album. The trio recorded much of the project outdoors in Marfa, Texas, where they’ve frequently gone to write over the years. In fact, it's where they wrote songs like “Tin Man,” Miranda's ACM Song of the Year-winning ballad, which first appeared on her 2016 album, The Weight of These Wings.

“I'll never forget pulling into Marfa that first night at four a.m.,” Miranda recounts of her first trip to the Texas town. “The stars were like nothing I'd ever seen before, just this endless blanket hanging so low you could reach up and touch them. I immediately understood why this place is so special.”

The Marfa Tapes' film will premiere at 7 p.m. ET, and will be available to view for the next 24 hours on Miranda's Facebook page.

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Happy birthday to the Red Headed Stranger — this outlaw country legend turns 88 today. He is among the genre's most prolific artists, putting out his 71st solo studio album — a tribute to Frank Sinatra called That's Life — earlier this year. Can you name him? ANSWER: Willie Nelson.

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The CMT Music Awards will take place in Nashville this summer. The show just announced that it will air on Wednesday, June 9 at 8 p.m. ET on CMT.

The timing is a change from last year's show, which took place in October 2020, but the format will be familiar. The two-and-a-half-hour event promises to feature a packed lineup of performances and collaborations set around Music City.

More details, such as host, performers and nominees information, as well as simulcast networks, are expected to be announced in the weeks ahead.

Last year, Kane Brown and Ashley McBryde co-hosted the CMT Music Awards, their first times hosting an awards show. Like other awards shows taking place in 2020, the event had to find creative ways to keep the party going despite social distancing protocols and COVID-19 restrictions. To that end, the show took place mostly outdoors and across multiple Nashville locations, a strategy it seems the CMT Music Awards might embrace once again this year.

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Charlie Black, hit songwriter for Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson and more, has died, USA Today reports. He was 71 years old. His songwriting credits include a number of hits for Anne Murray, such as the 1983 single “A Little Good News,” which earned a Grammy Award.

Hunter Hayes has been announced as an ambassador for mental health non-profit One Mind. Throughout 2021, Hunter will work to normalize and bring awareness to a variety of mental health challenges, speaking from his own personal experiences.

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