Month: December 2025

Via her MuttNation Foundation, Miranda Lambert has announced that this year’s Idyllwind Award, which honors outstanding equine rescues and sanctuaries, is being given to Horse Haven of Tennessee in Seymour, Tennessee. Horse Haven will receive a $25,000 donation toward its work, which includes providing emergency equine rescue to the entire state. “That's huge,” Miranda says in a statement, while praising the “amazing work” that the rescue facility does “to help rehabilitate and rehome the animals that come into their care.”

Lainey Wilson will appear on Talk Shop Live on Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. ET to chat about her Peace Love & Cowboys holiday EP, which will be available on 7-inch or 12-inch vinyl, bundled with the deluxe edition of her album Whirlwind. Also included: an autographed insert signed by Lainey. You can preorder her items now.

The 2025 Country vs. Cancer benefit concert, held at Nashville’s Pinnacle Club on Tuesday, featured performances by HARDY, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley, Lanie Gardner and McCoy Moore. The show raised $350,000 for the American Cancer Society.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bailey Zimmerman and Ella Langley aren’t even 30 yet, but they’ve certainly accomplished a lot. That’s why both of them have made Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 list in the musicians category. According to the publication, they’re just some of the young artists who are determining “what the future sounds like.”

Bailey, 25, has “already proven that he’s more than just a flash in the pan by notching two back-to-back No. 1 hits on country radio,” Forbes writes. The publication also notes his award nominations, his strong TikTok game, his 14 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and his “playful and refreshingly unpolished presence.”

Forbes says Ella, 26, has “emerged as a major force in contemporary country music,” thanks to her multiple award nominations and wins. She’s also scored a string of hit singles, including her two Riley Green duets, “you look like you love me” and “Don’t Mind If I Do,” plus “weren’t for the wind” and “Choosin’ Texas.”

Other under-30s on the list include Jessie Murph, pop star Alex Warren and Audrey Nuna, one of the singing voices behind the KPop Demon Hunters group HUNTR/X.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jimmy Buffett was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 in the Musical Excellence category, and even though he passed away in 2023, it turns out he was still able to attend the ceremony.

Kenny Chesney and James Taylor performed in honor of Buffett at the induction. In a recent interview with Howard Stern, Chesney revealed that he and guitarist Mac McAnally, a member of Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, snuck some of the “Margaritaville” legend's ashes into the ceremony.

“We were sitting back there warming up, trying to figure out our parts and stuff, and Mac comes up to me and he goes, Look at this,' and it was a small urn. He had Jimmy’s ashes in his coat pocket,” Chesney said. “So Jimmy's ashes were in Mac McAnally's coat pocket onstage with us as he was getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

Turns out, it was Buffett's daughter Savannah Buffett who gave McAnally the ashes.

“So even after he passed, Jimmy found a way to join the party,” Chesney added.

Buffett passed away Sept. 1, 2023, after battling a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billboard is trickling out its year-end charts, and when it comes to country, Morgan Wallen and Shaboozey ruled.

The Billboard chart year runs from Oct. 26, 2024, through Oct. 18, 2025. The publication has shared the top 10 slots on its 2025 Year-End Top Country Albums chart, and Morgan grabbed the top three positions with, respectively, I’m the Problem, One Thing at a Time and Dangerous: The Double Album.  

Post Malone‘s F1-Trillion was at #4, followed by Jelly Roll‘s Beautifully Broken and Shaboozey’s Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going.

Slots 7, 8 and 9 were filled by three Zach Bryan albums – American Heartbreak, Zach Bryan and The Great American Bar Scene – while Zach Top rounded out the top 10 with Cold Beer and Country Music.

On the 2025 Year-End Hot Country Songs chart, the #1 song was Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” That’s followed by Morgan’s “Love Somebody” and “I’m the Problem” at #2 and #3; his duet with Post Malone, “I Had Some Help,” at #4; and “Just In Case” at #5.

Then it was back to Shaboozey with “Good News” at #6, followed by Morgan’s duet with Tate McRae, “What I Want”; Bailey Zimmerman‘s duet with BigXthaPlug, “All the Way”; Morgan’s “I Got Better”; and, finally, Zach Top with “I Never Lie.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

If you’re looking for a great gift for your favorite country music fan this holiday season, you may want to try bidding on some unique collectibles up for grabs at a new charity auction.

The money raised from the fifth annual ASCAP Foundation Holiday Auction will go to support the foundation’s mission of helping young people who want to become songwriters and composers. Currently open for bidding is a package that Old Dominion has donated that includes a signed “Hotel Key” lyric sheet, an autographed guitar, a signed vinyl copy of their album Time, Tequila & Therapy and an O.D. hat.

Jordan Davis fans, meanwhile, can bid on a package that includes two tickets to an upcoming concert, a signed Learn the Hard Way vinyl LP and a bundle of merchandise.

An Alan Jackson package is also on the auction block: There’s an autographed Stetson hat, a signed photo book, a framed and signed ticket to AJ’s Last Call tour, and a selection of merch. Kacey Musgraves has donated two tickets to an upcoming concert and a signed copy of her album Deeper Well on vinyl.

The priciest country-related item in the auction is a Gibson Les Paul Custom 70s electric guitar, autographed by Jordan, OD, Shaboozey, George Birge, Dan Smyers of Dan + Shay, Dylan Scott, Tyler Hubbard and many others.

Bidding is open through Dec. 17 at CharityBuzz.com.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Lainey Wilson and Ella Langley are tops on the Billboard country charts, both with songs inspired by the Lone Star State.

Ella’s song “Choosin’ Texas” is #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, while Lainey’s “Somewhere Over Laredo” is #1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. This is only the sixth time since those charts have existed side by side that the #1 spots have been held down by solo female artists.

The charts, one of which combines radio airplay with sales and streaming, and one of which focuses solely on radio airplay, came into being in 2012. The first two women to top them were Carrie Underwood with “Blown Away” on Airplay and Taylor Swift with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” on Country Songs that year.

In 2016, Kelsea Ballerini was tops on both charts. In 2020, it was Gabby Barrett and Maren Morris, and then Gabby and Miranda Lambert. In 2021, it was Gabby on both charts. 

This is Ella’s first #1 on Hot Country Songs; it’s Lainey’s fifth #1 on Country Airplay.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Spotify is out with its annual “Wrapped” list of the most popular artists, songs and albums of the year, and Morgan Wallen leads the way.

His album I’m the Problem is Spotify’s #1 album of 2025 in the U.S, and his previous album, One Thing at a Time, lands at #9. Those are the only country projects in the top 10, which also includes releases by Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar and Morgan’s “What I Want” duet partner Tate McRae.

I’m the Problem also made the top 10 on Spotify’s list of the top albums globally.

In addition, Morgan is #3 on the Spotify list of the top 10 artists of the year in the U.S. None of his hits are in the streaming platform’s top 10 U.S. songs of the year.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.