Month: May 2022

Maren Morris only has one special vocal guest on her latest album, Humble Quest, but it's an important one. Her young son, Hayes, lends his voice to “Hummingbird,” a track that Maren wrote the day she found out she was pregnant.

“He’s like the only little feature on it,” the singer tells ABC Audio. “But yeah, his sweet little voice is eternally marked in this song.”

Hayes was born in March 2020, and since then, he's given Maren a new perspective on everything. That includes songwriting and touring to her TV guest spots, like an appearance she made on Sesame Street in February 2020, just before he was born, when she sang a song called “Oops! Whoops! Wait, ah Hah!”

“I actually, a couple weeks ago, showed Hayes my episode of Sesame Street that I did,” Maren says, who notes one of Hayes' favorite Muppet characters, Elmo, sang backup with her.

“He loves Elmo,” says Maren. “But seeing me in the television was very bizarre to him. I don't think he understood what was going on — like, Oh, you're here and you're there.'”

Now that Hayes is getting a little older, though, she hopes that she'll have more opportunities to do guest spots that have some crossover with his interests. “I hope I can do Sesame Street again and bring Hayes, because he will lose his mind,” Maren says.

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It's birthday month in Tim McGraw's house: Just a few days after celebrating his 55th birthday, the country superstar is wishing happy birthday to his oldest daughter.

Gracie, who's the oldest of three girls that Tim shares with his wife Faith Hill, turns 25 today, and the proud papa marked the occasion by posting a tribute on social media.

“So smart, so sweet, so, so talented,” he wrote, alongside a picture of the two of them together. “And such a crazy, big heart! You inspire me every day. Keep dreaming them big ol' dreams, my sweet girl.”

In his tribute post, Tim also shared video footage of Gracie singing Barbra Streisand's “I'm the Greatest Star,” which she performed in the musical Funny Girl.

In addition to Gracie, Tim and Faith share daughters Maggie, 23, and Audrey, 20.

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Jon Pardi is debuting the music video for his song, “Last Night Lonely,” on Facebook.

In case you missed it, Brantley Gilbert announced a tour with Jelly Roll this week. Called the Son of the Dirty South Summer 2022 Tour, the run launches at the end of June, and tickets go on sale Friday.

Lauren Alaina is offering one hometown hero a chance to go to Nashville for CMA Fest. She's lending her voice to a giveaway held by retail brand Maurices, for which Lauren's a brand ambassador. The giveaway begins May 9 and runs through May 18 and spotlights educators, paramedics and more front-line workers.

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Miranda Lambert's new album, Palomino, has been out for just under a week. As fans get to know the project and pick out their favorite tracks, Miranda is reminiscing about the making of the album.

She shared some snapshots on social media this week, including multiple photos of her collaborators Luke Dick and Natalie Hemby. “SCENES from the making of Palomino,” Miranda jokes in the caption of her post, referencing the album's track “Scenes” — which she, Luke and Natalie co-wrote.

Actually, that trio was responsible for writing the bulk of Palomino tracks. “Tourist,” “Music City Queen,” “Strange,” “I'll Be Lovin' You,” “That's What Makes the Jukebox Play,” “Pursuit of Happiness” and “Carousel” are all also the product of co-writing sessions between Luke, Natalie and Miranda.

Speaking of “Carousel,” the photos Miranda posted seem to embody a loose carnival theme. One photo shows an old, defunct carousel horse, while another shows the songwriting trio seated beside a life-size knight in pink armor.

Palomino contains Miranda's current single, “If I Was a Cowboy.”

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