In case you missed it, Tyler Hubbard made a stop on NBC's TODAY this week to perform his single, “5 Foot 9.” You can watch his performance now.
Randy Rogers Band celebrated the beginning of football season Wednesday with “Heart For Just One Team,” a new song that's a tribute to their favorite football team: the Dallas Cowboys.
Danielle Bradbery has a new song, called “A Special Place,” coming out on Friday.
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Ashley Judd takes an unflinching look back at the traumatic final moments of Naomi Judd's life in a new op-ed penned for The New York Times.
In it, she recounts the experience of finding her mother, who died by suicide: “The trauma of discovering and then holding her laboring body haunts my nights.”
She recalls feeling forced into cooperating with an investigation in the immediate aftermath of that devastating experience — never realizing, at the time, that the information she divulged could be made public.
“I felt cornered and powerless as law enforcement officers began questioning me while the last of my mother's life was fading,” she writes, saying that she was forced to give four interviews to police the same day that Naomi died.
In the wake of the country legend's death, her family members headed to court in an attempt to keep the records of Naomi’s death investigation sealed from the public. At the time of the op-ed’s publication, the family was still awaiting the court's decision.
In the Times, she explains that privacy surrounding the day of Naomi’s death is an important part of preserving her dignity.
“And for those left behind, privacy avoids heaping further harm upon a family that is already permanently and painfully altered,” she continues.
Naomi died by suicide on April 30 at the age of 76. She used a firearm to end her life, a detail that Ashley subsequently shared during an emotional Good Morning America interview. The day after her death, Naomi and her daughter Wynonna were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame for their work as The Judds.
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When Jon Pardi drops his Mr. Saturday Night album on Friday, he'll likely turn some heads with one song on the album: There's a track on the project called “Reverse Cowgirl.”
According to CMT, however, Jon says that the song's subject matter isn't what some fans might think.
“It's the best, dirtiest, cleanest thing you can have,” the singer describes. “It's got a funny, humorous twist to it, but it's also really pretty and really romantic in a way.”
The song's also a big favorite with other country artists, Jon continues. “Jake Owen made sure he called every three months until he knew I recorded that song,” he remembers. “He's like, Well, if you don't want it, you know I want that song!'”
Jake's not the only one. “Chase Rice texts me like, Dude, did you record Reverse Cowgirl' yet? I cannot wait!'” Jon goes on to say.
Mr. Saturday Night also contains Jon's latest chart-topping hit, “Last Night Lonely.”
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Kelsea Ballerini, Zac Brown Band, Brooks & Dunn and Little Big Town have been announced as the first round of performers scheduled to take the stage during Nashville's big New Year's Eve concert this year, according to Billboard.
The event, called New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash, will take place at various locations across downtown Music City. The event promises a five-hour set of 50+ performances on a variety of stages, including the main stage in the city’s Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.
The Big Bash has been a Nashville tradition for many years, but last year was the first time it was televised. In 2022, the event will air live for the second time at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
Additional performers will be announced at a later date. Last year, acts like Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley rocked the stage as Nashville counted down to the new year.
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Dolly Parton's newest venture is made specifically with her four-legged friends in mind.
On Wednesday, the country legend announced her new pet apparel and accessories line called Doggy Parton. Including everything from a Microphone Plush Dog Squeaky Toy With Rope to a Blonde Bombshell Wig, the collection features an array of pet-centric items with a signature Dolly twist.
Doggy Parton, a partnership with SportPet Designs, sends part of the proceeds to Willa B. Farms, a Tennessee-based rescue organization that provides a home for all kinds of animals in need.
“‘Puppy Love’ was my very first record and six decades later, my love for pets is stronger than ever,” Dolly explains. “This inspired me to start my own line of Doggy Parton apparel, accessories, toys and more with a little Dolly' flair.”
The Doggy Parton collection will be available on Amazon and the line's own website, with more retailers to be announced soon.
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Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency on Monday due to the state capitol’s water shortage. Reeves said the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) is also working to prepare an emergency order due to little or no water pressure in the city of Jackson.
The state of emergency declaration comes after Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba declared a water system emergency due to complications from the Pearl River flooding. The mayor said the flooding led to water pressure issues at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Facility, causing little to no water pressure for many Jackson customers. Until the issue at the treatment facility has been fixed, there is no reliable, running water in the city, affecting more than 100,000 people.
State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney said neighbors should boil their water for one minute before consuming it. The state has also created a mobile incident command center, which will be in operation on Tuesday to help with repairs and improvements at the water treatment plant. Reeves said the city of Jackson will be responsible for half of the cost of the emergency repairs that will be made at the facility.
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According to the Gorbachev Foundation, Mikhail Gorbachev — the final leader of the Soviet Union who helped end the Cold War and lead his country from communism to capitalism — died Tuesday at 91. The Interfax news agency said in a statement from the Central Clinical Hospital that “Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a serious and long illness.” Gorbachev will be buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow next to his wife, Raisa Gorbachev, according to the agency.
Gorbachev grew up a committed communist during World War II. After graduating from Moscow State University with a law degree in 1955, he rose through the ranks of the Communist Party and ascended to the party’s top position of General Secretary in March 1985. Gorbachev inacted changes like “perestroika” and “glasnost”– reforms that sought to restructure the Soviet Union’s lagging economy and make its government more transparent.
In 1989, Gorbachev did not send in Soviet tanks to crush the uprisings when pro-democracy rallies began in Poland and swept across the Soviet bloc. The following year, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping end the Cold War. The Soviet Union quickly began to disintegrate as the captive Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia pulled away and other nations that had been under Moscow rule, including Ukraine, sought independence. Months after an attempted coup, Gorbachev resigned on Dec. 25, 1991; the Soviet Union was dissolved a day later.
Russian state news agency TASS reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed “deep condolences” over Gorbachev’s death. Officials including Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres and European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Gorbachev’s leadership Tuesday, saying he changed the course of history and paved the way for a free Europe.
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Jon Pardi is celebrating his fifth #1 hit Wednesday with “Last Night Lonely,” the lead single from his upcoming Mr. Saturday Night album.
But even though he always suspected the song would be a big hit, Jon says he actually didn't cut it right away after he heard it.
“I had Last Night Lonely' for two years before I even recorded it,” he remembers of the song's long journey to country radio. “We've always loved that song. We loved the tempo, the lyrics, the melody, the chorus — everything about it.”
In fact, he adds, the song reminded him of another radio hit off his 2016 California Sunrise project. “It reminded me of Night Shift' a little bit,” he goes on to say. “It just had that thing, and we just knew it.”
But there's one thing about “Last Night Lonely” that's not like Jon's releases to date — it's a ready-made pickup line, a vibe that he played into when he decided to shoot the song's music video in Las Vegas.
“We chose Vegas to shoot the video because [the concept was about] trying to find somebody in this city of people looking for people, you know?” the singer continues.
“And I'm damn well pretty sure that was probably a new pickup line, at some point of … being played on the radio,” he jokes. “You know some guy was like, Could be your last night lonely.'”
Mr. Saturday Night arrives in full on Friday.
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Mickey Guyton is sharing her first new song since the release of her 2021 debut album Remember Her Name last September. The song, “Somethin’ Bout You,” was co-written by Guyton, David Garcia, and Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard. (Garcia and Hubbard co-produced the track too.)
Guyton wrote on social media: “This summer I took the time to unplug, focus on new music, and to really enjoy what life is all about. What I found was so much love. I had such an amazing time writing this with Tyler Hubbard and David Garcia. This song just has a fun vibe and is about being enamored with everything about your partner. I just LOVE love and hope that when you listen to it, it reminds you of the special someone.”
Take a listen to Somethin’ Bout You –here.
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Kip Moore has released his new video for “If I Was Your Lover,” with fellow country artist Morgan Wade as his co-star. Moore and Wade shot the video with Moore’s frequent collaborator, PJ Brown.
Moore co-wrote the song with Matt Bubel three months into lockdown, while talking about the pandemic and their fears over what would happen to the music industry. Says Moore: “He [Bubel] came over with just that opening track, and it felt so eerie, and there was so much angst and tension to me in that track. All he had was the keyboard and the drum track. I just asked if I could live with it. When I first heard it, the whole melody fell out of my mouth.”
Take a look at the video for If I Was Your Lover – here.
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