Month: July 2022

CMA Fest 2022 may be over, but the fun's just beginning for Elle King and Dierks Bentley, who are co-hosting ABC's upcoming CMA Fest television special.

The show, which will revisit some of the festival's best and most exciting performances, gets an extra boost from Dierks and Elle's fun, easygoing onscreen dynamic. Their chemistry comes from a real-life friendship, Elle explains, which developed over collaborations like 2016's “Different for Girls” and this year's new duet, “Worth a Shot.”

“I mean, anything that Dierks and I do together is fun and funny, because we're just kind of, in the nicest way, idiots. In the best way,” Elle says with a laugh.

For a first-hand look at that goofiness she's talking about, check out the music video for “Worth a Shot,” where they star as a couple on the rocks in the Wild Wild West. Even though the song's subject matter is serious, Dierks and Elle's playful friendship shines through, and it'll be even more front-and-center when they take the stage for CMA Fest.

“We just make each other laugh. So nothing we do feels like work,” Elle explains.

CMA Fest — which was filmed at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium — airs August 3 on ABC. It'll be available to watch the next day on Hulu.

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Jake Owen just released the music video for his new song, “1×1“.

Chase Rice will return Friday with a new song, “Key West & Colorado.” The track is available for preorder now.

Kacey Musgraves' debut single from 2012, “Merry Go Round,” is officially RIAA double Platinum. To commemorate the occasion, she posted a memory of when the photo for the single art was taken on social media.

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Country trio Chapel Hart had a major moment on Tuesday night's episode of NBC's America's Got Talent when they knocked the judges' socks off with a performance of their original song, “You Can Have Him Jolene.”

Of course, that song is a nod to Dolly Parton's early 1970s hit “Jolene,” which has gone on to become one of the country legend's signature songs.

After the trio wowed the audience with their updated take on the famous story line — earning a standing ovation and a unanimous Golden Buzzer from all four AGT judges — Dolly got wind of the buzz-generating performance and shared her approval on social media.

“What a fun new take on my song!” Dolly wrote, also sharing a video clip and adding that the performance was especially significant because her husband, Carl — who inspired the original — is celebrating a birthday today.

“Carl's birthday is today so I think I'll hang on to him, and I'm not notifying Jolene that today is his birthday,” Dolly joked.

Hailing from Mississippi, Chapel Hart is made up of sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and their cousin Trea Swindle. Since 2019, they have independently released two albums.

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More than two decades into their career as a band, country foursome Little Big Town is sharing their key to longevity.

During a conversation with Trailblazers Radio With Fancy Hagood on Apple Music, the group's Karen Fairchild explains that for LBT, it all comes down to unanimity. That means that all four of the bandmates have to agree on every major career decision — from deciding on a single to booking a show.

“We just set some rules. It's not really rules. It was things that we knew would keep the band together,” Karen explains, “and that was taking care of each other first over anything, no matter what was going on in the business.”

That approach has served LBT well over the years. If they wanted to stay together for a long time, they knew they had to value each other over individual songs or career moves, Karen continues.

“It's got to be the four of us saying, No, we all want to cut this song.' Then you're looking ahead 10 years and you're singing some c***py song you didn't want to sing and you're mad about it still.”

Years later, Little Big Town still follows that mantra of prioritizing each other over everything else.

“Even today, this morning, it was like, Do you guys want to play this show?' Most of us wrote back and said, That's the time we have off with our kids. So we're going to pass,'” Karen says. “We're very much together in those choices.”

Little Big Town just announced their 10th studio album, Mr. Sun. The lead single, “Hell Yeah,” is out now.

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