Month: August 2022

Naomi Judd‘s will has been released and it does not specifically mention daughters Wynonna or Ashley Judd. 

In the will, obtained by Entertainment Tonight, the late country legend leaves her estate in the hands of her husband, Larry Strickland, appointing him executor of the estate. The will, which dates back to November 20, 2017, states he has “full authority and discretion” to handle anything related to her “real property” that she has requested be declared as “personal property.” 

Naomi also says in a statement that should something happen to her husband and he is no longer able to serve as the executor, then she appoints her brother-in-law Reginald Strickland and Daniel Kris Waiter to assume the role of co-executors. 

Two people who are not specifically identified in the will are her daughters, Golden Globe-nominated actress Ashley and Wynonna, the latter of whom she won five Grammys with as part of The Judds. However, she does acknowledge her children under “Allocation of GST Exemption,” which asks the executor to handle the exemption in a manner that is “most beneficial to my children and my more remote issue.”

Naomi was pronounced dead at the age of 76 on April 30, the day before The Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Ashley confirmed in an interview with Good Morning America in May that Naomi’s death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

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While fans are pregaming before the show, Keith Urban is having his own fun backstage. 

The “Wild Hearts” singer took to Instagram to offer a peek into what life is like backstage on his tour, and it’s a wild ride. In the video, Keith is racing around the concert venue in a small Crazy Cart, doing spins past the snack bar and proving himself to be dexterous as he drives through the rows of seats, laughing all the while. 

“While you guys are tailgating outside the venue.,” Keith writes in the caption. 

It seems Keith’s soon-to-be tour mate Tyler Hubbard wants in on the action, asking in the comments, “drift cart races on tour?” “Challenge beyond accepted T!!!!!!!” Keith replies. 

The country superstar is currently on his The Speed of Now World Tour, with Ingrid Andress as the opening act. Tyler will join the lineup for the fall leg beginning on September 3. 

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Kane Brown‘s eldest daughter may be his biggest fan. 

Katelyn Brown, wife of the hit country singer, took to Instagram Stories to share an adorable video of their 2-year-old daughter, Kingsley, dancing to her dad’s new song, “Grand.” 

Kingsley can be seen standing in front of the TV screen on which the neon-clad music video is playing, bouncing and flailing her arms to the beat. The tot also makes her best attempt at singing along to the lyrics and imitating her dad’s dance moves.

“Daddy’s biggest fan,” Katelyn captions the clip with a crying laughing emoji, which was reshared by her husband. 

Kane dropped the video for “Grand,” the third single off new album Different Man, last week. The album is set for release on September 9. Its current single, “Like I Love Country Music,” is inching its way to the top of the country charts.  

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Things are about to get Heavy for Mitchell Tenpenny. 

The hit singer has announced that his third studio album, This Is Heavy, will be released on September 16. He teased the announcement with an Instagram video with a graphic of a UFO beaming a light down to Earth as the phrase “are y’all f****** ready for album #2” scrolls across the screen.  

The album will feature 20 tracks, including his current hit, “Truth About You,” which is climbing up the top 10 on country radio, as well as the unreleased “Always Something With You.” The full track list will be unveiled on Friday. 

After “Truth” went viral on TikTok last summer, Mitchell featured it on his 2021 EP, Midtown Diaries, and released it as an official single. 

“I hope the fans are as excited as I am that this music will be out soon. I spent an enormous amount of time writing during the pandemic and sharing bits and pieces of what I was working on along the way. The fans really showed up for me by giving me feedback on what they were liking,” Mitchell said in a statement. “Their direction helped shape this album and stretched me as a songwriter and artist.”

Heavy follows the release of the Nashville native’s 2018 sophomore album, Telling All My Secrets, which featured “Drunk Me,” his debut, chart-topping single that has now been certified Platinum. Additionally, Mitchell has amassed 1.3 billion career streams thus far. 

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Jake Owen has the #1 song in country music this week, and he couldn’t be more excited about it. 

Jake scored his 10th #1 hit with “Best Thing Since Backroads,” the lead single from his forthcoming album. “Having the #1 song in America is unbelievable,” Jake says in a celebratory video filmed on his Nashville property, thanking the songwriters, his team, his fans and his family. 

“I’ve been seeing you sing this song all summer. We’ve been kicking our show off with it. You are the best thing since back roads, you’ve given me this life,” he told the fans.

Having 10 #1 singles also brought to mind the first time he topped the charts with “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” in 2011. 

“I have 10 #1 songs; I can’t even wrap my head around that. It took me seven years to get my first #1 song, ‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night,’ and to think all these summers later we’re thankfully still cranking them out,” he said, also lending praise to his peers in the genre. “You guys make country music what it is and I’m proud to be a part of it.” 

Among his peers who shared congratulatory messages in the comments are Cole Swindell, Dustin Lynch and Parmalee. 

Jake will resume his Up There Down Here Tour later this month. 

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Ahead of his appearance on the CMA Fest special this week, Jason Aldean is looking back on his first performance at the festival, which proves what a difference a year makes. 

Jason Aldean recalls performing in the parking lot of Nissan Stadium in 2005, but even then, he had his eyes set on those stadium lights, hoping one day he’d reach them. 

“My first CMA performance ever was in the parking lot. I didn’t play the stadium, I played the parking lot, and I think there was about 15 people watching the show. Out of those 15, maybe two of them knew who I was,” Jason says. “I was outside and I kept looking at the stadium … I knew that’s where I needed to get to if I wanted to really make a splash.” 

That dream soon became reality, as Jason was one of the headlining acts at the massive venue at the 2006 festival, following the success of hits like “Why” and “Amarillo Sky.” The superstar notes that getting to headline the stadium during the annual festival is a career milestone. 

“The following year, I was playing the stadium and there’s nothing like it. That was the first time I think I’d ever played a stadium, so to walk out and see that many people, and we were starting to take off about that time too and people were knowing our songs,” he recalls. “It was a big difference from that year to the year we were playing in the parking lot, so it was definitely a game-changer.” 

Jason will perform a pair of hits spanning his decadeslong career — “She’s Country” and “Trouble With a Heartbreak” — when CMA Fest airs on ABC on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. 

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