Categories
Go Country 105

Reba McEntire is ready to kick off the holiday season in “grand style” with 'Christmas in Tune'

Reba McEntire is a self-professed Christmas movie fan, so it’s only natural that she’s starring in one herself.

The country legend teams up with Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider in the original Lifetime movie, Reba McEntire's Christmas In Tune, which sees the two portraying Georgia and Joe Winter, a former husband-and-wife duo who are forced to reunite when their daughter asks them to perform at a Christmas concert. 

Turns out, the “Fancy” singer is a Christmas movie fanatic and is excited to launch the holiday season with her own production. 

“I love Christmas movies. I watch them all year long if I can find one,” she professes. “John Schneider was so much fun to work with. We’re kicking Christmas off in grand style on Lifetime.” 

And while the two stars were walking in a winter wonderland on set, Reba reveals that getting into the holiday spirit took some extra effort, seeing as they filmed in the heat of summer. Despite the blazing temperatures, the superstar singer says the film supplies plenty of holiday cheer.  

“We filmed it in June. It was hot, as you can imagine. Even when we were inside, the air conditioning couldn’t keep us cool enough with all of our scarves and sweaters and things like that on, we were sweating up a storm,” she describes. “But it’s a sweet movie, and I hope everybody enjoys it.” 

Christmas in Tune premieres on Lifetime on November 26 at 8 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Country Daypop

2022 Grammy Nominations: Chris Stapleton, Mickey Guyton, Jimmie Allen and more lead the country music nominees

Nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards were revealed on Tuesday by the Recording Academy via a Livestream from Los Angeles. Jimmie Allen, Chris Stapleton and Mickey Guyton are among country music’s top nominees. Allen, who is up for Best New Artist, is country music’s only nominee in the all-genre category.

Guyton earned 3 nominations, including for Best Country Album. She is also the first African-American artist nominated in that category since its inception. Stapleton also earned 3 nominations, in the Best Country Album, Song and Solo Performance categories.

Kacey Musgraves made headlines recently when members of the Recording Academy banned her 2021 album “Star-Crossed” from the Best Country Album category (because it was not ‘country enough’), but the project’s “Camera Roll” received nominations for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song.

You can see the full list of nominees here. The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on January 31, 2022, live on CBS.

Editorial credit: Sterling Munksgard / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Sam Hunt & friends heading to Cancun, Mexico for ‘Casa Fiesta’ experience in March 2022

Sam Hunt is heading to Cancun, Mexico for spring break next March, along with Parker McCollum, Nelly, The Band Camino, Surfaces, Tai Verdes, Lily Rose, Shy Carter and Connor Smith, for “Casa Fiesta Featuring Sam Hunt and Friends,” set for March 14-18, 2022.

The five-day experience, presented by tech company Pollen, will include performances on the beach near Cancun’s hottest clubs, activities, pool parties, add-on excursions and much more. Dan Merker, Head of Country & Rock Content for Pollen, said in a statement:  “We’re excited to work with Sam to curate such a unique and intimate experience for his fans, especially with a line up of contrasting genres that brings everyone together for a fun party on the beach.”

Local COVID protocols and guidelines will be observed. More information can be found here.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Pop Daypop

2022 Grammy Nominations: Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish lead this year’s nominees

Nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards were revealed on Tuesday by the Recording Academy via a Livestream from Los Angeles. Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish both earned seven nominations, with Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, and H.E.R. earning eight nods each.  Jon Batiste earned the most nominations, with 11 in total.

Olivia Rodrigo’s seven nominations include Record of the Year (“Drivers License”), Song of the Year (“Drivers License”), and Best New Artist.  Eilish earned nods for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for “Happier Than Ever”, as well as Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Music Video for its title track.  Doja Cat’s Planet Her was nominated for Album of the Year, as well as Best Pop Vocal Album.

Justin Bieber and H.E.R. are each up for eight Grammys. Bieber’s “Peaches” is up for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best Music Video.

You can see the full list of nominees here. The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on January 31, 2022, live on CBS.

Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Pop Daypop

Taylor Swift earns her 8th No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 with ‘All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)’

Taylor Swift just scored her eighth Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with her recently re-recorded track “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”.  This marks Taylor‘s 30th Hot 100 top 10, making her the sixth artist to reach that milestone.

According to Billboard, the two versions of the song – both the original 5-minute track and the extended 10-minute one – were combined into one listing for Billboard‘s chart Streams for the extended mixes the charts dominated, earning 62% of its clicks and 78% of its downloads. As the 10-minute version is the dominant track, it can be considered the longest No. 1 by run time in the Hot 100′s history. “All Too Well” beat out previous record holder, the eight-minute, 37-second 1971 Don McLean hit “American Pie (Parts I & II),” which held the record as the longest song for nearly 50 years.

Red (Taylor’s Version) also debuted at No. 1 in the U.S. making Swift the first artist ever to simultaneously top the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100 for the third time.

Editorial credit: Brian Friedman / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Go Country 105

Nashville notes

Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson are both nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 2022 Grammy Awards. Dolly is nominated for her 2020 holiday album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, while Willie scored a nod for That’s Life

Miranda Lambert continues with her annual Share the Love campaign under her animal-focused nonprofit, MuttNation. This year, 20 animal shelters will receive a $1,000 grant from MuttNation in honor of randomly selected people who have volunteered at the shelter or fostered or adopted a pet. 

Jimmie Allen‘s #1 debut single, “Best Shot,” and his follow-up hit, “Make Me Want To,” have been respectively RIAA-certified double-Platinum and Platinum.

Maddie & Tae are driven into “Madness” on their new song of the same name, which will be featured on their upcoming album.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Go Country 105

“I'm speechless”: Walker Hayes, Mickey Guyton & more react to Grammy nominations

Country stars’ reactions to their Grammy nominations Tuesday were short, but sweet. 

Among those who turned to social media to share their excitement was Jimmie Allen, who scored a nomination in the all-genre Best New Artist category. The hitmaker didn’t use words to express his gratitude, but rather a series of emojis, posting the crying face, prayer hands and mind blown emojis on his Instagram stories alongside the announcement. 

“Holy sh**!” Mickey Guyton exclaimed on Twitter in response to her three nominations for her debut album, Remember Her Name,which is up for Best Country Album. The title track earned Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance nods.

Mickey also gave a shout-out to her co-writer, Victoria Banks. “Love you!” she wrote in response to Victoria’s video celebrating the news. 

Meanwhile, Walker Hayes was “speechless” over his first-time nomination, his wildly popular hit “Fancy Like” scoring a nod for Best Country Song.

Walker found out about his nominations while surrounded by his team, sharing the celebration in a TikTok video. “Are y’all excited? We’re nominated for a Grammy!” he shouts, laughing with excitement. “This is unbelievable.” 

“I'm speechless. So so so grateful,” he adds in the caption. 

Additionally, Ryan Hurd, who is nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance alongside wife Maren Morris for their #1 duet, “Chasing After You,” simply shared “GRAMMY NOMINATED” accompanied by several prayer hands emojis. 

Chris Stapleton, Brothers Osborne, Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood and Jason Aldean are among the other country artists nominated at the 64th annual ceremony, airing live on January 31 on CBS at 8 p.m. ET. 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Go Country 105

Thomas Rhett shares humorous photo of a candid moment between his two youngest daughters

As a father to four young children, Thomas Rhett is well-versed in living with babies, but it looks like one of his daughters is adjusting to her new role as big sister.

The hit singer took to Twitter to share a humorous photo of he and wife Lauren‘s one-year-old daughter, Lennon, sitting next to their newest edition to the family, one-week-old Lillie. The photo shows the new baby in a state of distress, crying next to her big sister on the couch, Lennon giving a look to the camera that suggests she’s clueless on how to handle the situation. 

“Lennon is taking this really well,” the “Country Again” singer captions the candid moment.

“lol! the look on her face is ‘what is that noise and what am i supposed to do about it?!!’ sweetie,” one fan writes in the comment section of Thomas’ Twitter post, while another shares, “Priceless! I would definitely get the picture framed. Precious babies!” 

Thomas and Lauren welcomed Lillie on November 15. She is the couple’s fourth daughter, following six-year-old Willa, four-year-old Ada and Lennon, who was born in February 2020.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Go Country 105

Brett Eldredge on the Glow Live Tour, and the spirit of Christmas: “It's always been in my heart”

For Brett Eldredge, Christmas has always been a part of his spirit. 

Among the new memories Brett’s celebrating is the release of Mr. Christmas, his 2021 album featuring two original songs alongside classics like “Jingle Bells” and “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” That’s in addition to bringing Christmas cheer around the country on his Glow Live Tour, named after his 2016 holiday album, Glow. 

?”It’s just been so good to get to tour again this year. I got to build this Glow Tour where my fans dress up, and they bring their friends and their kids and parents, and the whole family comes along and it’s just become a tradition now,” Brett tells People“I’m so excited to expand that tradition and keep growing it.”

And it seems that getting into the holiday spirit early is something Eldredge has made a habit of. Growing up in Illinois, the “Good Day” singer counts among his fondest memories waking up early on Christmas morning and attending church with all of his family members. 

“I think the memories that we hold in our hearts just give us so much this time of year, and pull us through a lot of tough times, as well…It’s feeling that sense of comfort at the end of the year, and having everybody that you love and that means the world to you close by,” he expresses. “I used to run around the house singing at seven in the morning on Christmas morning, and turn up the Christmas music many weeks before Christmas and get everybody in the spirit. It’s always been in my heart.”

Brett wraps up the Glow Live Tour in his home state with a performance at the Chicago Theatre on December 18.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Go Country 105

Mickey Guyton, Chris Stapleton & Carrie Underwood score nominations at 2022 Grammy Awards

Chris Stapleton and Mickey Guyton are the most nominated country acts at the 2022 Grammy Awards. 

On Tuesday, H.E.R. announced the nominees in the country music categories of Best Country Album, Best Country Song, Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

Both Chris and Mickey scored three nods a piece, Mickey nominated for her debut album, Remember Her Name, while Chris’ Starting Over, which was named Album of the Year at the 2021 CMA Awards, also appears in multiple categories. 

Kacey Musgraves and Brothers Osborne picked up a pair of nominations each. “Camera Roll” lands Kacey in the categories of Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance, while Brothers Osborne are up for Best Country Album for Skeletons and Duo/Group Performance for the personal “Younger Me.” 

Carrie Underwood also scored two nods for her hit duet with Jason Aldean, “If I Didn’t Love You,” and Best Roots Gospel Album for My Savior, her debut gospel album released in 2021.

Among the first-time nominees are Jimmie Allen, who appears in the coveted Best New Artist category, and Walker Hayes, who is nominated for his viral hit, “Fancy Like.” 

Carly Pearce helped announce the nominations at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles where she unveiled the nominees in the Americana, blues and folk music categories.

Here are the country nominees at the 2022 Grammy Awards:  

Best Country Album
Skeletons – Brothers Osborne
Remember Her Name – Mickey Guyton
The Marfa Tapes – Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Jack Ingram
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton
The Battle of Dood and Juanita – Sturgill Simpson

Best Country Song 
“Fancy Like” – Songwriters: Walker Hayes, Cameron Bartolini Josh Jenkins, Shane Stevens, (Walker Hayes)
“Better Than We Found It” – Songwriters: Maren Morris, Jessie Jo Dillon, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz (Maren Morris)
“Camera Roll” – Songwriters: Kacey Musgraves, Ian Fitchuk, Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves)
“Cold” – Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure, Derek Mixon (Chris Stapleton)
“Country Again” – Songwriters: Thomas Rhett, Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley (Thomas Rhett)

“Remember Her Name” – Songwriters: Mickey Guyton, Blake Hubbard, Jarrod Ingram, Parker Welling (Mickey Guyton)

Best Country Solo Performance
“Forever After All” – Luke Combs
“Remember Her Name” – Mickey Guyton
“Camera Roll” – Kacey Musgraves
“You Should Probably Leave” – Chris Stapleton
“All I Do is Drive” – Jason Isbell 

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“If I Didn’t Love You” – Jason Aldean ft. Carrie Underwood 
“Glad You Exist” – Dan + Shay
“Younger Me” – Brothers Osborne
“Chasing After You” – Maren Morris & Ryan Hurd 
“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” – Miranda Lambert & Elle King 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.