Month: December 2021

In case you missed it, CMA Country Christmas will re-air tonight on ABC. The holiday special features performances from Carly Pearce, Gabby Barrett, Lady A and lots more.

Dolly Parton is a guest on filmmaker Ken Burns' UNUM Project, speaking about her decision to split professionally with Porter Wagoner for the sake of her own career. The clip is available to watch on People.com.

Carrie Underwood will give a special Christmas performance on NBCs TODAY during the 10 a.m. hour tomorrow morning. Check local listings to see when to watch.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jason Aldean's used to performing in sold-out stadiums, but he recently got a front-row seat at an intimate house show for a very special up-and-coming artist: His two-year-old daughter, Navy.

The singer's wife, Brittany, posted the adorable video clip to social media this week, showing Navy treating her off-camera parents to her own spirited rendition of “Jingle Bells.” Both Jason and Brittany show their appreciation with cheers and applause at the end of the performance.

Navy is the couple's youngest child, along with older brother Memphis. Jason also has two teenaged daughters from a previous marriage.

The younger kids have made appearances on tour with Jason recently — and four-year-old Memphis has even come out onstage to say hi to the crowd — but Jason recently joked that Navy's still pretty “oblivious” to what her famous dad does for a living.

Still, when she posted the video, Brittany noted the family resemblance, writing “Sings like her daddy” in the caption of the post.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Brittany Aldean (@brittanyaldean)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The old saying goes that Nashville's a ten-year town, and for Lainey Wilson, that's true. Exactly ten years and one month since she moved to Music City, she got her first number-one country radio hit with “Things a Man Oughta Know.”

During those ten years, it often seemed like “I could not get my foot in the door [no] matter what I did. It wasn't until year seven that I signed a publishing deal,” the singer recounts to Rolling Stone Country.

Still, she never gave up — not even during the years when she lived in a bumper-pull camper that she parked by a studio that a family friend owned.

“I had some of the darkest days of my life in that camper,” Lainey admits. “There's a lot of days I probably should have hooked it up and drove it back to [my hometown of] Baskin [Louisiana.] I guess I am a little borderline crazy, because it never crossed my mind, even on those dark days.”

As she struggled to get her name out into the music business, the singer was working hard to make ends meet with her camper living situation. “I flooded it one time and my floor started rotting out and I had to replace the floor. You name it, I was on the struggle bus for a while,” she says.

Lainey's poised to have an even bigger year in 2022. Her duet single with Cole Swindell, “Never Say Never,” just dropped.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Merry Christmas from Dan + Shay!

The duo got merry and bright on their social media feed this week, getting all dressed up in Christmas sweaters and posing with their similarly festive friends in front of a decked-out Christmas tree.

With twinkling lights in the background and stockings hanging on the mantle, the pair start singing their new holiday song, “Pick Out a Christmas Tree,” with their friends — and apparently, they're taking requests for what to sing next.

“Going Christmas caroling with the boys tonight. If we show up at your door, what is the first song you want us to sing?” they wrote in the caption.

Dan + Shay have plenty of holiday material to choose from, as they've shared several original Christmas tunes over the past couple years. Among those are this year's “Officially Christmas” and the 2020 release, “Take Me Home for Christmas.”

“Pick Out a Christmas Tree” became the most-streamed holiday song across all genres in the U.S. after it came out this holiday season.

going christmas caroling with the boys tonight. if we show up at your door, what is the first song you want us to sing? ???? pic.twitter.com/IgsdxgXi2l

– Dan + Shay (@DanAndShay) December 23, 2021

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

It may not feel like it as country artists settle in for the holiday break this week, but a bustling new year is just around the corner, and many stars — like Maren Morris — have got big plans for 2022.

The singer teased…well, something to come on her social media, sharing a short video clip of herself walking alongside a tan, retro car with a California license plate that reads “Go.” A snippet of new music plays in the background, and the caption reads, “Pedal down, 2022.”

It comes as no surprise to fans that Maren's working on her next album: She's been teasing it all year. In November, the singer described her new project as a turn back in the direction of her country roots.  That follows her 2018 studio album, Girl, which brought Maren crossover success — particularly with “The Bones,” a massive hit that found a home on pop radio along with country radio success.

First up in 2022, Maren's nominated for a Grammy Award thanks to “Chasing After You,” her number-one duet with her singer-songwriter husband, Ryan Hurd.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by ?????????? ???????????? (@marenmorris)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Brett Young grew up in a family with plenty of holiday traditions, although some were a little quirkier than the usual traditions of caroling around a tree or decorating cookies.

“For me, there were weird ones,” the singer says. “Every Christmas Eve — my dad was a pastor, and a woman from my dad's church would make him homemade tamales. Not a Christmas dish, but we would have tamales every Christmas Eve.”

The unusual holiday eating didn't stop there: “My mom, every Christmas Day, would make homemade chili,” he continues. “Not a Christmas dish, but it was our Christmas thing.”

These days, Brett and his wife, Taylor, celebrate the holidays with their own young family: they've got two little girls, Presley and Rowan. The family welcomed baby Rowan this July, so she'll only be a few months old this Christmas, but Presley — who turned two in October — is starting to understand some of the spirit of the season. That means it's time to start establishing some new holiday traditions, Brett goes on to say.

“She's talking, and she's active, and so I think this is the year where the traditions will start,” he relates. “I think this is the first year where Presley is old enough, where I think things will start locking in and become traditions. And I don't know what those will be yet, but I'm excited.”

Making this year even merrier is the fact that Brett has a new holiday album out: Brett Young & Friends Sing the Christmas Classics. It's a collection of holiday hits, sung by Brett and a host of musical pals.

As an additional pre-Christmas gift to fans, Brett just shared a behind-the-scenes video about the making of that album.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.