Month: August 2022

Categories
Country Daypop

Dolly Parton debuts Christmas song and announces deluxe edition of ‘A Holly Dolly Christmas’

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Dolly Parton announced on social media that her upcoming deluxe album A Holly Dolly Christmas is set for release in October. In anticipation of the album, Parton released one of the tracks, “A Smoky Mountain Christmas,” which you can listen to here.

Parton announced: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year! A Holly Dolly Christmas Ultimate Deluxe is coming October 14th, and to celebrate, I’m sharing my previously unreleased track ‘A Smoky Mountain Christmas’ today!  Go give it a listen and head to my story to pre-order now. 🎄♥”

Parton has previously released holiday classics like “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Mary, Did You Know?,” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” and more.  A Holly Dolly Christmas also featured collaborations including “All I Want For Christmas Is You” with Jimmy Fallon, and “Christmas Is,” featuring Miley Cyrus.

Pre-order the deluxe edition of A Holly Dolly Christmas – here.

Editorial credit: Adam Shanker / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Kelsea Ballerini files for divorce from husband Morgan Evans

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Kelsea Ballerini and her husband Morgan Evans are divorcing after nearly five years of marriage. Ballerini took to social media on Monday, Aug. 29 to share the news with fans.

Ballerini, 28, wrote: “Friends, I’ve always tried my best to share my life with you in a real and vulnerable way, while also protecting layers of my personal life as they unfold. This is now public record so I wanted you to hear from me directly that I am going through a divorce. It’s hard to find the words here…but I feel extremely grateful for the years of marriage to Morgan and hopeful for the next seasons. With very active schedules coming up, please be mindful that we are both fragile, actively healing, and showing up the best we can.”

Evans, 37, broke his silence on Monday afternoon via his Instagram Story: “I am very sad to confirm that after almost 5 years of marriage, Kelsea and I are parting ways. I wish it were otherwise but sadly it is not.”

According to PEOPLE, Ballerini filed for divorce from Evans on Friday, Aug. 26. A source also told the outlet that the couple “have been working on their marriage for a very long time.” Ballerini and Evans met in March of 2016 while co-hosting the CMC Awards in Australia. and were engaged by December 2016. The couple tied the knot a year and a half later in an intimate beachside ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Pop Daypop

Taylor Swift announces new album ‘Midnights’ set for release in October

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Taylor Swift is releasing her next album, “Midnights,” on October 21st.  The 32-year-old singer first announced the news at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards during her acceptance speech for the Video of the Year Award: “I thought it would be a fun moment to tell you that my new album comes out Oct. 21. I will tell you more at midnight.”

Swift then took to social media to reveal more details about the surprise project, which tells “the stories of 13 sleepless nights.”  Swift wrote: “We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears. We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren’t – right this minute – about to make some fateful life-altering mistake. This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams. The floors we pace and the demons we face. For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching – hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes 12 … we’ll meet ourselves.”  The post concluded: “Meet me at midnight.”

Swift’s last two albums of new music – “Folklore” and “Evermore” – came out in 2020. She also has been releasing rerecorded versions of her old albums amid her dispute with record executive Scooter Braun.

You can pre-order “Midnights” – here.

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Categories
Pop Daypop

Harry Styles adds additional 2023 dates to his ‘Love on Tour’

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Harry Styles is extending his Love on Tour world tour, sharing on Twitter that he has added 22 new dates to the tour. The 28-year-old singer and actor will now perform shows Oct. 3 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, and Oct. 15 at United Center in Chicago, Ill.

Styles also added new dates to the Latin American portion of the tour and a new U.K. and European leg of the tour for 2023. The European shows will conclude in Reggio Emilia, Italy, in July 2023. Styles also said he will soon announce tour dates in Asia.

Styles initially announced the Love on Tour world tour in November 2019, which was then delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour officially kicked off in September 2021 in Las Vegas.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Go Country 105

Nashville notes: Craig Morgan's deluxe album, Michael Ray's 90s cover + more

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Craig Morgan shared details on the deluxe version of his God, Family, Country album today. The project will arrive on November 11, coinciding with a headlining show for Craig at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.

Michael Ray recently released a cover version of Tracy Lawrence's “Time Marches On” as part of his The Bootlegger Sessions series.

LeAnn Rimes just announced a string of Christmas shows called Joy: The Holiday Tour. Tickets go on sale Thursday, September 1, at 10 a.m. local time.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Go Country 105

Zac Brown Band tap James Taylor as their next 'The Comeback (Deluxe)' collaborator

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Legendary singer-songwriter James Taylor will join Zac Brown Band for a revamped version of “Love & Sunsets.” According to CMT, the duet version of the song comes out on Friday.

James is the latest in a string of collaborators ZBB has named lately; the duets are part of the deluxe version of their latest album, The Comeback.

New versions of The Comeback tracks feature artists like Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson, Marcus King and Jamey Johnson. The Comeback (Deluxe) will be out in full September 30.

Additionally, the band has announced an upcoming Nashville stop at the city's famed Ryman Auditorium. Set for September 22, the show will benefit band mate John Driskell Hopkins' “Hop On a Cure” foundation, which supports research for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS.) Earlier this year, John announced that he'd been diagnosed with the disease.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Go Country 105

Dolly Parton to star in 'Mountain Magic Christmas' with Willie Nelson, Jimmy Fallon + more special guests

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Dolly Parton officially announced a guest star-packed holiday movie in the works on Monday. Called Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas, the film will feature Dolly, herself, in the starring role.

A bevy of other celebs are on the cast list, including several from the world of country music. Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus and Jimmie Allen are all making guest appearances. Miley Cyrus — who's Dolly's goddaughter — Zach Williams and late-night star Jimmy Fallon are set to appear in the movie, too.

Co-starring alongside Dolly are actors Tom Everett Scott, Ana Gasteyer and Angel Parker. More cast members for the film, which will air on NBC, are set to be announced at a later date.

Mountain Magic Christmas revolves around Dolly's special “mountain magic,” which she has always found around her Dollywood theme park at Christmastime. As the musical film progresses, the country legend takes a trip into her past, featuring appearances from her own personal Three Wise Men.

Though she just officially announced Mountain Magic Christmas, fans have had some inkling that something big was coming: Dolly was spotted with Willie Nelson and Jimmy Fallon around Dollywood earlier this month.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Go Country 105

Kelsea Ballerini announces she's getting divorced from Morgan Evans after nearly five years of marriage

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Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans are going their separate ways.

The “Heartfirst” star shared her announcement on her Instagram Stories, telling fans that it was important they hear the difficult news directly from her. “This deeply difficult decision is the result of a journey of love, growth and effort that ultimately has come to an end,” she wrote in her post.

“It's hard to find the words here…but I feel extremely grateful for the years of marriage to Morgan and hopeful for the next seasons,” Kelsea continued.

Kelsea and Morgan got married in December 2017. Their whirlwind courtship began the year prior, after they met while hosting an awards show in Morgan's native country of Australia. Since then, they've supported each other through their respective country music careers.

Though they've given no indication to the outside world that their marriage faced challenges, People reports the pair have already been through one private separation.

“They've been working on their marriage for a very long time,” an unnamed source told the magazine. “Prior to this they had separated privately once before and have been in therapy for several years.”

Kelsea, whose Subject to Change album comes out next month, asked fans for their respect and support during a particularly vulnerable time in both her and Morgan's life.

“With very active schedules coming up, please be mindful that we are both fragile, actively healing and showing up the best we can,” she wrote.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
News Daypop

Gunman still at large after Coney Island boardwalk shooting leaves one dead, four injured

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Police are searching for the gunman who killed one person and injured four others at the Coney Island boardwalk in New York City late Saturday.

The NYPD responded to the boardwalk and West 29th Street in Brooklyn after a 911 call reporting multiple people shot around 11:57 p.m. Saturday night. One 42-year-old man was killed after being shot in the back. The other four victims were described as a 49-year-old woman (who was wounded in the right leg), a 34-year-old woman (who was shot in the right foot), a 46-year-old man (who was wounded in the left leg) and another man shot in the left leg.  All victims were transported to NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn for treatment.

The NYPD has not released a description of the shooter; and the gunman still remains at large. It is currently unclear if the attack was targeted or not and police have not said if the victims knew their attacker. No further details have been given on the moments leading up to the attack.

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Categories
News Daypop

One child killed, 4 injured in multi-vehicle crash involving school bus on Arizona highway

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Authorities say that one child was killed and four others were seriously injured on Sunday morning in a three-vehicle crash involving a school bus on I-40 in Arizona. Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. Jesus Gastelum said in a press release that the collision took place around 9:27 a.m. in Apache County, when the school bus was rear-ended by a commercial semi-truck going eastbound at mile marker 328.

DPS said that eastbound traffic was slowed at the time due to a previous collision that morning, of a single commercial vehicle rollover. Gastelum said: “Due to the impact, the school bus was pushed into the van.”  According to DPS, there were 19 people on the school bus at the time, with one child killed and “four other school bus occupants sustained serious injuries.” It was not immediately clear if the injured occupants were also children. There were no other serious injuries reported, and an investigation is ongoing, Gastelum added.

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