Ashland Craft has joined Zach Top and up-and-comer Jenna Paulette as an artist on Leo33‘s roster. “I am beyond excited to join the Leo33 family,” shares Ashland. “This label understands my vision and supports my creative journey. I can't wait to continue to create and share new music with the help of this amazing team!”
Jonathan Hutcherson is set to drop his new song, “Country Hymn,” on June 21. “Yeehaw cmon. Can't wait for y'all to have this one,” says Jonathan. While you wait, presave the track now and hear a snippet on Jonathan’s Instagram.
An all-new episode of CMT Crossroads, CMT Crossroads: NEEDTOBREATHE & JordanDavis, airs Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on CMT. Jordan and NEEDTOBREATHE‘s two-song project, Among Friends, will drop simultaneously and is available for presave now.
Ever wanted to be in a Blake Shelton video? Well, here’s your chance.
Blake and his team want you, the fans, to be featured in an upcoming official fan video. The request arrives ahead of the upcoming 20th anniversary of Blake’s third album, Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill, which arrived Oct. 26, 2004, and spawned the hit single “Some Beach.”
“We’re celebrating 20 years of Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill this year. Join in on the celebration and submit your videos of you on ‘some beach’ for a chance to be featured in an official fan video!” Blake’s team shared on social platform X.
Get excited, Kelsea Ballerini fans. A new album’s on the way, and its lead single is arriving soon.
“Half of it is in mixing and half of it is in finishing vocals and doing overdubs,” Kelsea tells People at CMA Fest. “We’re really close to being done. And the first single is right around the corner.”
While a release schedule’s not quite ready, the “Miss Me More” singer says she’s already recorded a bunch of album and song promotion content.
“We’ve shot everything. A million things! This feels like the most ahead of it I’ve gotten to be where it’s like, OK, I’ve had all this time to work on the record and now that it’s taken shape, be able to bring it to life visually and have the time to really plan a proper show,” shares Kelsea. “It feels really nice to be able to have that all laid out and not rush into it so much.”
Issuing a follow-up to the acclaimed Rolling Up the Welcome Mat is no easy feat – Kelsea knows that. But, she’s trusting her gut and truly letting art imitate life.
“I took the truth-telling and the integrity of my songwriting and I just moved it into this chapter of life,” says Kelsea. “It’s being 30 and being in a relationship and being a friend and being a daughter, and feeling like an adult but also still feeling like a kid – all of those nuances and really writing about it from that same place of honesty. And now I feel like I’m ready to follow it up.”
While you wait for more details on Kelsea’s new album, catch her performance on this year’s CMA Fest television special, airing June 25 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” comes to life in Miranda Lambert‘s “Wranglers” music video.
The visualizer – which Miranda’s longtime collaborator Trey Fanjoy directed – opens with Miranda walking into her heartbroken friend’s home to comfort her, along with two other friends.
“He told me to send him his stuff to this address,” Miranda’s friend shares in tears.
“All right. Well, if he wants his s*** back, we’re gonna send him his s*** back,” the singer responds with a vengeful undertone.
The women then pack up his belongings before bringing yet another lyric to life: “She set it all on fire, and if there’s one thing that she learned/ Wranglers tak? forever to burn.”
“‘Wranglers’ is a classic tale of a woman taking her power back,” Miranda says of the female empowerment anthem. “I think we can all identify with the character in this video, because we have all had a time in our life where we needed to find our strength, and also get a little revenge on someone who did us wrong or hurt us.”
“This offers such a cool, raging take on how something like this unravels; I am so proud to sing this song,” she adds.
You can watch the “Wranglers” music video now on YouTube.
“Wranglers” is Miranda’s debut single with Republic Records and Big Loud, and it’s the first preview of her forthcoming new album.
For Shay Mooney, his dad’s more than just a fatherly figure – he’s a role model and personal hero.
“There’s so many things I could [say] about my dad. He's definitely my hero. I respect him more than anyone in the world,” Shay shares with the press. “He's always been one of those guys that everyone looks up to. He's a leader, and that’s something I aspire to be and I've watched him ever since I was a kid.”
“He's just the best guy I know,” continues the father of three. “There’s not enough [good] things I could say about him. There [are] so many qualities that he has that I aspire to be.”
Dan + Shay will kick off their Heartbreak On The Map Summer Tour July 18 in Cincinnati, Ohio. For tickets and a full list of dates, head to danandshay.com.
The duo are currently #28 and ascending the country charts with “Bigger Houses.”
If there’s one thing not on Scotty McCreery‘s bucket list, it’s being a judge on American Idol.
Chatting with Jennifer Hudson on her namesake talk show, Scotty shared why he’s adamant about not judging contestants.
“I’ve been asked, ‘Would you ever want to be a judge?’ And I’m like, ‘Absolutely not.’ I don’t want to do that,” Scotty tells Jennifer. “I know what it feels like being on the stage being judged. I don’t want to put that on somebody else.”
The “Cab in a Solo” singer also recalled his favorite performance during his run on Idol‘s 10th season – singing Elvis Presley‘s “That’s All Right” during rock ‘n’ roll week.
Not only did he enjoy performing the song, he also got high praise from Priscilla Presley.
“The kicker was that Priscilla was there at the show and I got to talk with her kind of between commercial breaks. She looked at me and she said, ‘Scotty, can I tell you something?’ I said, ‘Absolutely, Priscilla.’ She said, ‘Elvis would have loved you,'” the country star recounted.
You can watch Scotty’s The Jennifer Hudson Show interview about American Idoland his latest album, Rise & Fall, now on YouTube.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced in a statement that was keeping its key interest rates steady, stating that it projects just one interest rate cut is possible before year’s end. The central bank said economic activity “has continued to expand at a solid pace,” while job gains “have remained strong, and the unemployment rate has remained low.”
The central bank kept the federal funds rate in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%; it has remained at that level, the highest in 23 years, since July of 2023. Though inflation has eased over the past year, it remains elevated — even as there has been “modest further progress toward the Committee’s 2% inflation objective.”
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters that the Consumer Price Index report released earlier Wednesday is encouraging, but noted that the central bank wants to see more evidence in coming months that inflation is on a path to return to about 2% before moving to cut the benchmark rate. Powell said that inflation has eased from a high of 7% to 2.7%, but is “still too high,” adding: “we see today’s report as progress and building confidence, but we don’t see ourselves as having the confidence that would warrant beginning to loosen policy at this time. My colleagues and I remain squarely focused on achieving our dual mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices for the benefit of the American people. Our economy has made considerable progress toward both goals.” Powell said the Fed’s “restrictive stance on monetary policy” is to “keep demand in line with supply and reduce inflationary pressures,” and that economic activity has continued to “expand at a solid pace,” while growth of consumer spending has slowed from “last year’s robust pace but remains solid .. Committee participants generally expect GDP growth to slow from last year’s pace with a median projection of 2.1% this year and 2.0% over the next two year.”
On Wednesday afternoon, House Republicans on voted on a resolution to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur on his handling of classified documents.
The final vote along party lines was 216 to 207, with Rep. David Joyce of Ohio the only Republican who voted against the contempt resolution. In a statement after the vote, Joyce said, “As a former prosecutor, I cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points.” Joyce also suggested the vote was a partisan act: “as a former prosecutor, I cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points. The American people expect Congress to work for them, solve policy problems, and prioritize good governance. Enough is enough.”
The lower chamber’s vote to hold Garland in contempt now makes him the third attorney general in U.S. history to be held in contempt of Congress. The resolution includes a referral to the U.S. attorney of the District of Columbia for criminal prosecution, however, GOP investigators are expected to enter into a legal fight with the Justice Department to obtain the recordings.
Speaker Mike Johnson called the outcome “a significant step in maintaining the integrity of our oversight processes and responsibilities .. It is up to Congress – not the Executive Branch – to determine what materials it needs to conduct its own investigations, and there are consequences for refusing to comply with lawful Congressional subpoenas.” Johnson added: “The Committees need the audio tapes to verify the accuracy of the written transcripts given this White House has been known to heavily edit the President’s statements. This is a simple matter — we have the transcript, and we need the audio.”
Garland stated that it was “deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon. Today’s vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the Justice Department’s need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the Committees. I will always stand up for this Department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”
Carly Pearce‘s journey of self-discovery and healing takes center stage in her new album, hummingbird.
The 14-track project is the follow-up to 2021’s critically acclaimed 29: Written In Stone, which chronicled Carly’s real-life heartbreak.
“I think I’ve been on a healing journey over the last few years, and I think I’ve done a lot of work inside and kind of turned the mirror to myself and realized there was a lot that I needed to figure out,” Carly tells ABC Audio. “You know, I wrote [29: Written In Stone] in real time and then it became a huge success. I didn’t really heal as me.”
“And so, I’ve taken this time to just kind of really find joy again and open my heart back up again, and get it broken again and open it back up, and just stay open and stay joyful,” she shares. “I felt so much love and so much support and so much happiness.”
While hummingbird‘s deeply personal, Carly’s hoping it also resonates with fans and reminds them to trust their journey.
“I think this album is kind of showing people that you can be right on time in your journey, and everything is working out exactly how it should be,” says Carly. “It’s OK to not have it figured out. You can be happy in that.”
Hummingbird is out now on all digital platforms.
In case you missed it, you can watch Carly’s performance of “Truck on Fire” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon now on YouTube.
Here’s the hummingbird track list:
“Country Music Made Me Do It” “Truck on Fire” “Still Blue” “Heels Over Head” “We Don't Fight Anymore” featuring Chris Stapleton “Rock Paper Scissors” “Oklahoma” “My Place” “Things I Don’t Chase” “Woman to Woman” “Fault Line” “Pretty Please” “Trust Issues” “Hummingbird”
As first reported by TMZ, Billy Ray Cyrus has filed for divorce and is seeking an annulment from his third wife Firerose after seven months of marriage.
PEOPLE reported that the 62-year-old Cyrus filed for divorce from the 37-year-old Firerose (legal name Johanna Rose Hodges) in a Tennessee court on May 22, citing irreconcilable differences and “inappropriate marital conduct.” Cyrus is also seeking an annulment due to fraud on Hodges’ part, saying in the filing that he would not have married Hodges “had he known” about the alleged fraud. TMZ stated that Cyrus gave Firerose a deadline of May 24 to vacate their house and agreed to pay her $5,000 per month to obtain suitable housing for the following 90 days, or until the divorce is finalized. The filing gives no further details on the alleged inappropriate conduct of fraud, but says each should be able to keep property that they own separately.
Cyrus has been married twice previously, including ex-wife Tish Cyrus whom were divorced in 2022 after nearly three decades together. Billy Ray and Tish shares five children, including musicians Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus, Braison Cyrus, and he legally adopted Tish Cyrus’s two children, Brandi and Trace. Cyrus also has a son, Christopher, with a previous partner.
Neither Hodges nor Cyrus has commented on the divorce via their social media accounts, while representatives for Cyrus and Hodges did not immediately return requests for comment.
Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com
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