Month: June 2022

Keith Urban is officially back out on the road.

The country superstar headed to Florida over the weekend, where he brought his The Speed of Now World Tour to stops in Tampa and West Palm Beach. It marked the first time in almost four years that he's toured the U.S., and Keith and the crowd were in full-blown party mode as he took the stage for a turbo-charged set.

“We made it!” Keith said from the stage during his tour's opening night in Tampa. “Am I a bit nervous? Just a little! But, I've never been more excited to see so many people in one place!”

A short clip of the opening weekend captures the electricity of Keith's set in Tampa. The next night, in West Palm Beach, that electricity returned — a little bit more literally — with storms in the area that delayed the show by more than an hour. Undeterred, Keith kept the party going late into the night, despite the fact that the storms had also forced him to cancel a night of rehearsals.

The tour, which features Ingrid Andress as an opening act, wrapped a string of U.K. shows last month and is now about to embark on a massive stretch of North American tour dates that will run through early November. First up are back-to-back Toronto shows on July 8 and 9, followed by a lengthy run across the U.S., including a hometown show at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on October 7.

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Russell Dickerson and Jake Scott have a hit on their hands with “She Likes It,” but the country singer says the collaboration came about naturally and grew over time. 

Russell was inspired to write with the pop singer-songwriter after their mutual friend, hit songwriter Josh Kerr, shared some of Jake’s music. Russell reached out to Josh to set up a writing session for the three of them. 

“This collaboration with Jake is the definition of how something naturally happens. A friend of ours who we wrote the song with, Josh Kerr, posted one of Jake’s songs, and I was like, ‘Amazing, let’s get with him, let’s write,'” Russell recalls. “He ends up coming to town, and this is the second song we wrote together. And I was like, ‘Dude, we should put this out,’ because he’s got his fans, I’ve got mine. Why not reach a broader audience?” 

That’s exactly what the song did, as it expanded both singers’ fanbases. Russell cites it as his fastest-climbing song at country radio (it’s currently in the top 30 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart), accumulating the most streams of any song from his catalog. 

“A broader audience is exactly what’s happened,” he says. “It’s been absolutely explosive, and it makes me so happy that people are loving this song. It’s a perfect summertime jam, so I just can’t believe it.” 

“She Likes It” has been certified Gold by the RIAA. 

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Luke Combs certainly had a happy Father’s Day: He became a father for the first time.

On Twitter, Luke posted a photo of himself and wife Nicole, cradling their newborn.  He wrote, “Welp he decided that Fathers Day would be a good time to show up. I couldn't agree more. Me and Nicole are over the moon in love with this little guy. Mama and baby are healthy and we're back home now with family. Life is good. Everyone welcome Tex Lawrence Combs to the world!“

Nicole posted the same photo, and wrote, “It's going to be hard to top this past Father's Day. Welcome to the world, Tex Lawrence Combs. You are the best chillest angel boy and I'm so happy I was chosen to be your mom. These are the days.”

Prior to Tex’s arrival, Nicole said on her Instagram Stories, “Picking a boy name was EXTREMELY difficult for us,” adding, “It's a family name but also pretty unique, I think.”

Luke, meanwhile, told the Tennessean  that he’s totally down to change Tex’s diapers, explaining, “She had to grow him for nine months, so I figure I can at least do something at this point.”

Luke’s next impending arrival is his new album, Growin’ Up, out this Friday.

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Jimmie Allen and Lindsay Ell team up in the video for “Tequila Talkin‘,” their duet that’s featured on Jimmie’s album Bettie James Gold Edition. 

Brett Eldredge has released livestream footage from the album release event for Songs About You live in Nashville. 

Kip Moore teased in a Twitter video that he’ll be releasing new music this week on TikTok. 

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