Month: April 2024

The lineup for ALABAMA‘s June Jam 18 has been announced. Joining the group’s Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry are Old Dominion, Shenandoah, Lee Greenwood, Montgomery Gentry‘s Eddie Montgomery, Mark Wills, The Castellows and more. For the full lineup and tickets to the June 1 event, head to ticketmaster.com.

“Burning House” hitmaker CAM has shared that she contributed in various capacities to Beyoncé‘s Cowboy Carter. “My brain and heart have melted. Thank you @beyonce for inviting me to contribute writing, production, engineering and backing vocals across 5 tracks of your masterpiece of an album #cowboycarter,” CAM said. You can read her full post on Instagram.

Dan + Shay have released their debut album, Where It All Began, on vinyl. The record arrived in 2014 and spawned the hit singles “19 You + Me,” “Show You Off” and “Nothin’ Like You.” You can order your signed LP now at Dan + Shay’s merch store.

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It’s been 25 years since Shania Twain released her iconic video for “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” and to mark the milestone, she reveals her thoughts on the clip in the latest installment of Vevo’s Footnotes series.

The concept of the video was to reverse the gender roles of Robert Palmer‘s “Addicted to Love” video and have Shania fronting a band full of vapid-looking men.

“As part of the role reversal, it was important to have the guys be really sexy and androgynous,” reads Shania’s comment. “All of the little details of the fashion were considered and on purpose” — including the top hat with a veil that she wears.

“I remember the art department saying, ‘This is way too sexy! The women listeners are not going to like this! They’re going to feel threatened,'” Shania comments. “They told me I was going to alienate a huge part of my audience. I knew that women would totally get it.”

“I was standing up for myself through the song,” she adds. “I wasn’t being apologetic for all the things I had been criticized for in my life … this was my song that really said … ‘I’m feeling comfortable in my own skin! That’s awesome!'”

Twenty-five years later, Shania says, “It’s everyone’s song and they all take ownership of it in a different way. It’s a signature song for my entire career and I adore performing it and singing it today as much as I did back then.”

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Nate Smith‘s Through The Smoke EP isn’t out until Friday, but you won’t have to wait for a preview of an unreleased track.

Nate recently took to TikTok to share snippets of a forthcoming breakup song titled “Wish I Never Felt.” 

“Damn, rock bottom hits different this time/ I’ve never felt it fallin’ from cloud nine/ They say the crash is always worth the high/ But I’m losing my mind/ I’m closing my eyes at night but I ain’t sleeping/ The forever I saw, I can’t unsee it,” Nate sings in the opening verse.

“I wish I never went down to that bar/ I wish I never walked you back to your car/ Yeah, I should’ve kept my heart to myself/ ‘Cause girl, I spent too many days feeling things I wish I never felt/ Girl, you were something else/ I didn’t know an angel knew how to drag you through Hell/ I drank you from the bottle, shoulda l?ft it on the shelf/ It turns out whiskey ain’t novocain?/ I’m feeling things I wish I never felt,” he continues in the midtempo chorus.

Nate’s Through The Smoke EP is the follow-up project to his 2023 self-titled debut album. His latest single, “Bulletproof,” is currently approaching the top 20 of the country charts.

To catch Nate on his ongoing World On Fire Tour, head to natesmithofficial.com.

Nate’s Through The Smoke EP is available for presave now.

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Songwriters typically tap on real-life experience to write new songs, and Bailey Zimmerman‘s no different.

The “Fall In Love” singer recently reflected on how his live shows and interacting with fans in person has catapulted his drive to write and record more music.

“I hear stories all the time, and some of them are real deep and some of them aren't as deep. But the stories you hear on the road [make] you want to go back and cut more songs and do music more,” says Bailey. “That's what keeps me going every time I'm out there on this catwalk at the end singing these songs or saying what I'm saying.”

“It’s to help people,” he adds. “Knowing that it's impacting all these people over the world is just, man, again, what a freaking blessing.”

Bailey’s currently traveling around the country on his sold-out Religiously. The Tour. On the music front, Bailey’s now in the top 10 with “Where It Ends,” the latest single from his debut record, Religiously. The Album.

Coming up, you can catch Bailey’s performance of “Where It Ends” at the 2024 CMT Music Awards, airing live from Austin, Texas, April 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.

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With over a decade of experience as singers, Dan + Shay are hoping to glean all they’ve learned and give back as first-time coaches on The Voice.

“I think the thing I'm most excited about on The Voice is being able to maybe impart some wisdom to some of these up-and-coming singers who are chasing their dreams,” the duo’s Dan Smyers says. “Shay and I have been through a lot in our journey over the last 10 years. We've seen the highest of highs and we've been through some really low lows.”

“To be able to give a little bit of advice [and] coach them to get to the next step in their career is going to be a really amazing opportunity,” he shares. “Obviously there's going to be shenanigans and antics that come along with all of it. But at the core of it, I feel like getting back like that using our platform is an amazing opportunity that we're super grateful for.”

The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC.

On the music front, Dan + Shay are making their way up the country charts with the title track of their latest album, Bigger Houses.

To see Dan + Shay on their Heartbreak On The Map Tour, head to danandshay.com.

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CMT has revealed the six finalists for its coveted Video of the Year award ahead of Sunday’s CMT Music Awards.

The final nominees are Lainey Wilson‘s “Watermelon Moonshine,” Cody Johnson‘s “The Painter,” Kelsea Ballerini‘s “IF YOU GO DOWN (I'M GOIN' DOWN TOO),” Ashley McBryde‘s “Light On in the Kitchen,” HARDY‘s “Truck Bed” and Jelly Roll‘s “Need a Favor.”

You can cast your votes now at vote.cmt.com. Voting will remain open live into Sunday’s show.

The 2024 CMT Music Awards, hosted by Kelsea, airs live from Austin, Texas, on Sunday, April 7, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.

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Sam Hunt is hitting the road this summer on his Locked Up Tour.

The 20-city trek kicks off June 28 in Bend, Oregon, and will hit Virginia, Ohio, Florida, South Carolina, Utah and more, before wrapping up in London, Ontario, on September 28.

Russell Dickerson will open for Sam on all dates, while George Birge and Dalton Dover will support during the U.S. and Canada legs, respectively.

You can register for the April 3 presale now open via Sam’s presale link. General sale begins April 5 at 10 a.m. local time at samhunt.com.

Coming up, you can catch Sam performing “Locked Up” on the 2024 CMT Music Awards, airing live from Austin, Texas, April 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.

“Locked Up” is the title track of Sam’s forthcoming four-track EP, arriving April 5. He’s currently #3 on the country charts with “Outskirts.”

Here’s the Locked Up EP track list:

“Locked Up”
“Country House”
“Last Hurrah”
“Outskirts”

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As someone who grew up on Keith Whitley, earning a 2024 CMT Music Awards nomination for his cover of Keith’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes” is like a full-circle moment for Dylan Scott.

“I won a CMT Award [for Breakthrough Video of the Year] a couple years ago. But to be nominated for a Keith Whitley cover is pretty special to me,” Dylan shares. “Like a lot of people in town, Keith Whitley was my hero growing up. I mean, I literally sat on the edge of my bed with his greatest hits album and learned how to play guitar and sing and all that stuff.”

“[Keith is], besides my dad, my biggest inspiration in the music,” he says. “So, to do a cover of it and be nominated for an award is pretty cool.”

Dylan’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes” cover from CMT Digital Campfire Sessions is up for Digital-First Performance of the Year at the 2024 CMT Music Awards. You can find out if he wins April 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.

While you wait, check out his newly released 26-track deluxe album, Livin’ My Best Life (Still), which arrived Friday.

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