Month: December 2021

Scotty McCreery will be the musical guest on Lone Star NYE: Countdown to 2022, a live, local North Texas celebration to ring in the new year. Check local listings for ways to watch, or stream it live here.

Bonnie Raitt will receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, the Recording Academy announced today. She'll be celebrated on January 30 as part of the Grammys' Special Merit Awards ceremony.

Brett Eldredge shared a poem on social media this week that addresses his struggles with mental health. He's been open in the past about his journey with anxiety and other mental health challenges.

 

 

 

 

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As a father of three, including seven-year-old son Aadyn, Jimmie Allen interacts with the American school system on a daily basis — and he's got some thoughts.

The singer took to Twitter this week to share those thoughts, which range from light-hearted to serious. First, he wondered why school has to start so early every morning, saying that he thinks it would be easier on everyone if the school day ran from 9:30-4:30.

“Why does school start so early?” he wrote. “If they moved start time back to at least 9:30 I'm sure students, parents and teachers would be cool with it.”

Next, the singer offered a more serious point: The plight of underpaid educators. “Teachers need to get paid more. They are overworked and underpaid,” Jimmie tweeted.

“They are educating our children and future leaders. They have all these educational requirements they have to achieve,” he went on to point out. “Teachers go to college and some collect a lot of debt just to get out and be underpaid.”

Finally, Jimmie ended his constructive criticism with a final, more light-hearted thought: “I also do not understand the purpose of homework,” he wrote.

Jimmie's interest in education and bettering the lives of children everywhere is well-documented. Last year, he was a CMA Foundation ambassador to promote music education everywhere. He also recently released My Voice Is a Trumpet, his first children's book.

Jimmie also recently experienced a much scarier parenthood moment when his newborn daughter, Zara, was hospitalized after she contracted respiratory syncytial virus and stopped breathing. He shared the experience — as well as the sub-par care the says they received at one unnamed hospital — with fans, and subsequently provided the happy update that Zara was on the mend.

Teachers need to get paid more. They are over worked and underpaid.
They are educating our children and future leaders. They have all these educational requirements they have to achieve. Teachers go to college and some collect a lot of debt just to get out and be under paid.

– Jimmie Allen (@JimmieAllen) December 9, 2021

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Over their 25 years of marriage, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have had their share of ups and downs, but ultimately, they've always found strength in leaning on each other.

Tim's long been open about his struggles with alcohol, for example, and he says Faith's support was key to his recovery.

“Those demons always come back,” he reflects to People, 13 years after getting sober. “But you always have a partner that's willing to fight them with you. We made a commitment to each other a long time ago that we're not going to give up.”

“When you love someone, you commit to be there for them for the highs, the lows, anytime. You face the struggles,” Faith agrees.

The two country stars have also seen each other through family challenges, such as through the deaths of their parents. Tim's dad, major league baseball pitcher Tug McGraw, died in 2004, and Faith lost her father more recently, in 2019. Her mom had died just three years earlier. It was a painful time in her life, the singer remembers.

“It's difficult to lose parents just a couple of years apart and watch them pass right in front of you,” she says, but adds that Tim's support helped her through that time.

“He was so present for the passing of both my parents,” she recalls. “You reveal yourself when you are going through struggles and that's just another layer of partnership.”

These days, Tim and Faith are embarking on a new venture together: They're co-starring in Yellowstone prequel 1883, which premieres December 19 on Paramount +.

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Chris Young and Kane Brown's number-one duet, “Famous Friends,” has earned another superlative to close out 2021. The song tops the year-end chart for Billboard's Country Airplay songs.

“Famous Friends” is the most-played song on country radio from this year, and also lands inside the top 5 Billboard Hot Country Songs for 2021.

“It's pretty incredible when you get to write/record/produce a song that not only makes people want to sing along with you at concerts, but also becomes the most played Billboard country song of the entire year,” Chris reflects. “I couldn't be any happier that Famous Friends' will go into the record books for this, and that I get to celebrate it alongside my buddy Kane Brown.”

Other songs earning high marks on the year-end Country Airplay chart include Luke Combs' “Forever After All,” Thomas Rhett's “What's Your Country Song,” and Cole Swindell's “Single Saturday Night.” Notably, there are no female artists inside this year's Top 10.

Also missing from the list is Morgan Wallen, who put out Dangerous: The Double Album in January but was ousted from many country radio playlists soon after, due to a video that emerged showing him yelling a racist slur.

Though he became persona non grata in the music industry, fandom for Morgan hasn't cooled: In fact, Dangerous topped Billboard's all-genre 200 Albums chart for 2021.

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If you've ever wanted to hang out at Reba McEntire's house, you're in luck: A Southern Colonial mansion in Lebanon, Tennessee that the country superstar formerly called home is now becoming a five-star luxury venue and resort.

Originally built in 1960, the stunning, 13,000-sq. ft home, called The Estate at Cherokee Dock, has been an event space since 2017. It's been available to host various high-profile and celebrity events for years, and just last month, The Bachelor stars Ben Higgins and Jessica Clarke held their wedding reception at the estate.

Now handled by Nashville management company Infinity Hospitality, the estate will be turned into a luxury resort, also offering event experiences to guests. The full-service venue will boast amenities like spa treatments, golf, live music and even horseback riding, according to a statement from Infinity Hospitality CEO Nathaniel Beaver.

Meanwhile, Reba's continuing to expand her empire in her home state of Oklahoma: She announced plans for a restaurant and venue called Reba's Place last month.

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Eric Church is celebrating the holidays from Washington, D.C. this season, appearing as part of a stacked bill for In Performance at the White House: Spirit of the Season.

The hour-long TV special finds acts of all stripes performing from various historic rooms in the White House, including the State Dining Room, the East Room, and the Blue Room, which is the location of the Official White House Christmas Tree.

Eric is the lone artist representing the country genre on the special. He's performing alongside acts like Camilla Cabello, Pentatonix, the Jonas Brothers, Norah Jones and several others.

Also during the event, viewers will be able to get an up-close look at the First Family's holiday installations currently on display, which revolve around the theme “Gifts from the Heart.” The resilience of the American people will be a major theme during the special, featuring performances from the Northwell Health Nurse Choir — a collection of New York-area front-line workers — and Voices of Service, a vocal quartet made up of four military service members.

In Performance at the White House: Spirit of the Season will be filmed between December 11-14, and will premiere on PBS on Tuesday, December 21 at 8 p.m. ET. You can watch the series on PBS channels and on the network's website.

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