Month: October 2022

When Peyton Manning takes the stage at the CMA Awards, he’s showing up as a fan of country music as much as he is co-host of the show with Luke Bryan. 

Many familiar faces will be in the audience, with Peyton citing Luke, Eric Church and George Straitamong the friends he’s made in the genre over the years. 

The Pro Football Hall of Fame member says it’s been fun to follow the careers of his country music friends, including Kenny Chesney, a Knoxville native whose career was starting to take off when Peyton played college football for the University of Tennessee Volunteers in the 1990s.

“I went to school in Knoxville at University of Tennessee, so it’s hard to go to school there and not become a fan of country music. I’ve enjoyed getting to know some of these singers and following them throughout their careers; 1994, 1997, Kenny Chesney was just starting his career. He was from the Knoxville area, and to watch him flourish in his career, it’s been awesome,” Peyton says. 

Peyton’s appreciation of country music has grown the more he gets to know the artists, an element he’s applying as co-host of the show. 

“That’s what country music means to me. It’s still about the people. It’s about the stories of where they came from, how hard they’ve worked to get there. But the fact that I’ve had a personal relationship with a number of them … that’s made it even more fun,” he says. “I’m still a fan of the music all the way.” 

The 56th annual CMA Awards air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. 

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Seaforth is bringing their About Time Tour across the U.S. in 2023, beginning on February 2 in Athens, Georgia. Tickets go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. local time. 

Presale tickets for Shania Twain‘s inaugural concert at Geodis Park in Nashville with Kelsea Balleriniand Breland on June 7 are available now until Thursday at 10 p.m. local time. 

Presale tickets for George Strait’s six stadium shows next year are available Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m. local time and ending on November 3 at 10 p.m. local time. 

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Blake Shelton has a secret weapon to get energized for The Voice. 

While driving to the set in Los Angeles, Blake’s wife — and fellow Voice coach — Gwen Stefani reveals they often carpool to work. But Blake has his eyes on something other than the road. 

“I’m so excited, I get to go to work with Blake, we’re carpooling together,” Gwen says, panning the camera over to her husband, who’s munching on a piece of beef jerky while in the driver’s seat. 

“Having a little jerky. This is how I get pumped up, have a little protein, headed into the Battles,” the country singer remarks as he steers the wheel and bites off a piece of the jerky.  

“Finally letting y’all in on how I get pumped up for show days… it’s alllllllll in the jerky! Now let’s do this thing!” he adds on Twitter. 

The Voice is currently in the Battle Rounds of season 22, with Jimmie Allen serving as the advisor for Blake’s team.  

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Scotty McCreery has officially become a father. 

He and his wife, Gabi, announced on Tuesday that they welcomed their first child, son Merrick Avery McCreery, into the world on October 24.

Gabi gave birth at 4:34 a.m. ET at a hospital in their hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, with the baby weighing 7 pounds and 13 ounces.  

“Next to his mother, he is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. We have been waiting and preparing all year, and now we are so excited to have our little man here with us. We have begun a grand new adventure that will continue for the rest of our lives,” Scotty says in a statement, adding that he “could not be more proud” of his wife.

“Never known a love like this,” he writes on Instagram, alongside photos from the hospital that show the new mom and dad proudly smiling as the newborn lies on Gabi’s chest.   

Merrick is named after Gabi’s father, but the couple will call him by his middle name, Avery. 

Scotty will be on paternity leave for a month, returning to the road on November 30 with a show in Las Vegas. 

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Walker Hayes is commemorating an important milestone in his life with a new song. 

In honor of his seven-year anniversary of being sober, Walker debuted an unreleased song, “Same Drunk,” during a recent live show. 

In a fan video retweeted by the singer, he introduces the track by saying, “pretty much anything I touch, I can turn it into an addiction. He continues, “So I wrote this song…It’s called ‘Same Drunk.’ It’s not out yet, but I love testing new stuff out.”

The lyrics speak to all different types of addictions, whether it’s his father cutting grass or his mother being “hooked on looking young.” “Maybe we’re all just the same drunk/Different beer/Trying to cope with all the crazy down here,” Walker sings in the chorus. 

The hitmaker addressed his sobriety in his previous single, “AA,” which peaked inside the top five on country radio earlier this year. His current single, “Y’all Life,” is climbing up the country charts. 

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Hardy drew inspiration from his real life to create the story of “wait in the truck.” 

The song about a man who comes across a battered and bruised woman one night while driving in his truck is inspired by how Hardy anticipates he would react if his fiancee, Caleigh Ryan, were to find herself in a similar situation. 

“The inspiration for the song came from my fiancee Caleigh having a non-physical altercation with a guy at a party. I got really fired up and basically thought ‘I wish I knew where he lived.’ I would tell Caleigh to get in the truck with me, find his house and tell her to wait in the truck,” Hardy explains. “We decided to make a really deep story-song as opposed to ‘I’m going to kick your a** and be right back.’ We wanted to get as dark as we could; I think that’s what pulls the emotion out of people.”

Hardy’s duet partner, Lainey Wilson, also drew from a personal place while shooting the video. In recent months, Lainey shared that her father is experiencing health issues and was admitted to the ICU the day they shot the video. She expressed her grief on camera. 

“The part I was playing was emotional, so I let myself feel all the things I was feeling and channeled them the best I could to fit how we wanted my character to come across,” she says. 

Hardy and Lainey will perform “wait in the truck” at the CMA Awards, airing November 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively. 

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