Month: September 2021

Lainey Wilson just scored her first #1 hit with “Things a Man Oughta Know,” from her freshman Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ album. The song, written by Lainey, along with Jason Nix and Jonathan Singleton, is extra special to the singer, for a specific reason.

“An unknown fact about ‘Things a Man Oughta Know’ is, it almost did not make the record,” Lainey reveals to CMT. “A couple of weeks before we went in to record the record, I had this overwhelming feeling that it had to be on there.”

Lainey previously spoke out about her gratitude at seeing her debut single land at the top of the charts. 

“Thank you to everybody who has given me a chance,” she said on social media. “That's all I've ever wanted. I was taught if you want something, you go get the dang thing. There were so many hands on deck to get this song to #1 & a “thank you” just don't do it justice.”

 

 

 

 

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Luke Combs and Garth Brooks are among the most in-demand acts for 2021, according to ticket marketplace StubHub. Luke came in second on the list, while Garth — who canceled the remainder of his Stadium Tour amid COVID-19 concerns — came in fourth.

Chris Stapleton landed at fifth place on the list, with the Eagles — which now include Vince Gill — landing in the ninth spot.

The list, which is based on StubHub’s ticket sales from now through December, is topped by pop star Harry Styles. The Rolling Stones came in third, with Phish landing in the seventh spot, followed by the Dave Matthews Band, and Genesis rounding out the top 10.

Kenny Chesney made the decision to cancel his Chillaxification Tour in 2021, but will he hit the road next year on his Here and Now Tour. Kenny lands in ninth place on the top 10 list of most in-demand tours of 2022. Elton John comes in the first spot on that list, followed by Mötley Crüe, Billie Ellish, Bad Bunny and Rage Against the Machine.

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Before Lee Brice attempted to find success as a country music singer, he had big aspirations of being a professional football player — a dream that almost came true. Lee earned a scholarship to play football at Clemson University, until an elbow injury permanently derailed any hopes of a career in sports.

Instead, he switched his focus to country music, applying the same hard work ethic he did on the football field and not only writing for himself, but also for artists like Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw.

“I turned my music career into how I played football, treating it like two-a-day practices,”Lee told ESPN. “I was always working.”

Once Lee decided to pursue music instead of sports, he never looked back.

“I made a life decision,” Lee says. “I moved. I wasn’t going to Nashville thinking I’m going to make it in the music industry by tomorrow. So I worked very hard. There was no turning back for me.”

Lee’s current single, “Memory I Don’t Mess With,” is in the top five.

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Carly Pearce has found an unlikely, and perhaps unfortunate, connection with Kacey Musgraves.

While plenty of fans are clinging to Carly’s story of recovering from a devastating break-up in her 29: Written in Stone album, Carly is finding inspiration from Kacey, in Kacey’s just-released star-crossed record, released after Kacey and Ruston Kelly ended their marriage.

“They filed for divorce right after I did, so I understood what she was going through,” Carly tells Country Now. “We're very similar in age, and we have a very similar approach as far as how we approach writing songs. I was excited to have an album come out that I could listen to and probably feel not alone musically.”

Carly also enjoyed the film that accompanied star-crossed, and experiencing how Kacey approached her own heartache.

“I think I watched it five times in a row,” Carly says. “I was just blown away by how two artists going through similar situations had such different approaches visually and musically.”

Carly added of Kacey, “I'm obsessed with everything that she's doing right now.”

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Scotty McCreery found more success in his teenage years than most, winning season 10 of American Idol when he was just 17 years old. Even so, now that he is 27 and has a successful career in country music, the North Carolina native knows exactly what he would tell a younger version of himself if he could go back in time.

“I would have probably told myself to be patient and let things happen, and dig into the songwriting aspect of it,” Scotty tells Billboard. “If I could give that advice from a 27-year-old me, to a 17-year-old me I would have taken it — but you have to grow up and you have to live life. I didn't have a lot of those life experiences that I'm writing about today.”

Scotty just released his latest album, Same Truck. His latest single, “You Time,” is currently sitting at #1 on the charts.

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On this day in 1999, this “Jolene” singer and songwriter was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Can you name her? ANSWER: ?Dolly Parton.

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Blake Shelton is back for Season 21 of The Voice, this time joining fellow returning coaches John Legend and Kelly Clarkson, along with newcomer, Ariana Grande. For this season, Blake has added a “win cam,” for contestants to pose with him when they choose him as their coach.

“If you watch this show, you know that I brag a little bit when somebody chooses me as their coach, and so I wanted a win cam,” Blake tells People. “It’s something I can put in people’s face, like, ‘This artist chose me.’ That’s really what keeps me coming back.”

Apparently, Blake didn’t need to look farther than his own ranch to find his new camera.

“It’s a nice piece of security equipment I tore off my house,” he jokes, adding that, “It’s been good for me, it’s been good luck. It brings bragging to a whole new level.”

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