Month: October 2021

This weekend, Nashville’s legendary Grand Ole Opry marks its 5000th Saturday night show — a feat that would take more than 96 years to repeat.

So what does it take to become the world’s longest-running radio show? Jeannie Seely — the Grammy-winning Opry legend who’s been a member since 1967 — has a theory. 

“It’s not like anything else,” she tells ABC Audio. “Quite often there are three generations on the stage, and three generations in the audience. You don’t see that. You may see three generations in the crowd at a sporting event, but you don’t see them on the field.”

“I think that is one thing that knits [the Opry] together,” she explains. “One generation gets to know the one before, and the one after.”

It’s a phenomenon the “Don’t Touch Me” hitmaker demonstrated backstage, as she and Ashley McBryde visited about the recent Opry induction of Carly Pearce, Ashley’s duet partner on “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.”

“I’m in [dresssing] room 18 tonight, [themed] ‘The Women of Country,'” Ashley said, “And we walked in, the first thing I did was walk over to [Carly’s] picture and take a selfie, and I was like, ‘She looks so beautiful!'” 

“It was such a whirlwind for her, and I knew that…” Jeannie reminisced. “We live in the same hood and I get to be around her now that she’s a little Opry sister — Little? You know, that I look up to,” she added.

Saturday night, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Darius Rucker, Chris Young, Vince Gill, Connie Smith, Dustin Lynch, Chris Janson and many more, will help Jeannie and the Opry mark the milestone.

“After all these years, I can’t even explain what that extended family means to any artist that’s here,” she reflects. 

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Carrie Underwood‘s debut album, Some Hearts, has been certified nine-times platinum, and hit song, “Before He Cheats,” has been certified seven-times platinum by the RIAA. The singer was surprised with plaques commemorating the accomplishments during a recent appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. 

Garth Brooks was at the National Museum of African American Music yesterday in Nashville to present Charley Pride‘s son, Dio Pride, with an RIAA Lifetime Achievement Award for his late dad. “One of the greatest American Icons is Charley Pride, Charley Pride is love,” Garth said during the event. 

Gabby Barrett is performing her latest single, “Footprints on the Moon,” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight. It airs at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS. 

Walker Hayes will be appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tomorrow night, airing at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC. 

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Kane Brown shared a heartwarming moment with a young fan battling illness. 

Following a recent show, Kane dedicated an Instagram post to Mia, a young girl who has cancer. The post shows a series of photos of Mia onstage with the country superstar, one with his back to the camera and his arm wrapped around her with two spotlights shining upon them. Another shows him signing the back of a handmade poster that reads, “Sorry for being Xtra. Help me get my cancer fighter meet Kane?”  

“This post is dedicated to this sweet little girl Mia. You're so strong and I know everyone in this crowd prayed for u that night. Hope you see this!!!!” Kane wrote in the caption. 

The sweet gesture came days before Kane twisted his ankle during a show in Memphis over the weekend. He’s in the midst of his Blessed & Free Tour, which continues through February.

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Kelsea Ballerini is ready for all the holiday seasons — and she has some special hacks to prove it.

The country hitmaker turned to TikTok to share some of her foolproof tips to prepare for the upcoming holidays, including Halloween and Christmas. 

“Here are some perks from being an occasional lazy piece of s***,” she jokes, pointing to a shriveled, decayed pumpkin that’s been sitting on her porch since last year. “Still here,” she affirms. “So I don’t in fact have to get new pumpkins this year.” 

Kelsea then leads viewers upstairs to reveal a fully decorated Christmas tree standing in the corner, where it’s sat since 2020.

“Couldn’t be the Christmas tree from last year still up. But it is. And see, the thing here is it’s decorated, it has the lights on, it’s still ready to go,” she points out, turning on the lights to transform the tree from a dormant decoration into a sparkling holiday display. 

“You tell me, lazy or genius?” she declares at video’s end, with a laugh. 

While Kelsea gets into the holiday spirit, she’s also wrapping up an opening stint on the Jonas Brothers‘ Remember This Tour, which ends on October 27 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Her current single, “Half of My Hometown” featuring Kenny Chesney, is in the top 20 on country radio.

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Scotty McCreery‘s chart-topping hit, “Five More Minutes,” is getting a Christmas makeover.

The singer’s #1 single, originally released in 2017, is the inspiration behind an upcoming Hallmark holiday movie of the same name that follows a young woman as she finds her grandfather’s old journal and learns of a secret romance.

The song was inspired by Scotty’s own relationship with his grandfather and was written after he passed away in 2015. Scotty is an executive producer on the film. 

The American Idol winner debuted the song at the Grand Ole Opry in 2016. It later became the lead single off his 2018 album, Seasons Change, and his first #1 hit. 

Five More Minutes is slated to premiere on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel on November 20 at 10 p.m. ET. 

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