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Legacy Recordings/Sony Music EntertainmentGabby Barrett and Morgan Wallen are featured on the upcoming album, NOW That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 75.

The milestone edition of the long-running compilation album boasts Gabby’s chart-topping debut single, “I Hope,” along with Morgan’s 2019 collaboration with EDM artist Diplo on “Heartless.” 

Gabby made history when she clinched the number-one spot on the country charts this year with “I Hope,” making her the first solo female artist to hit number one with a debut single since 2017. Morgan and Diplo’s duet is featured on the latter’s cross-genre album Chapter 1: Snake Oil. The song reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.  

Ariana Grande, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga are among the many other artists featured on the multi-genre NOW That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 75, set for release on August 7.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ABC/Mark LevineWhile Tim McGraw has been a longtime country music superstar, he’s also enjoyed a successful acting career. Part of that’s no doubt because the multifaceted star says there are certain stipulations he follows when selecting roles. 

“A series of things has to happen for me to be able to do a movie. First off, it has to be something I really like, and then they gotta want me for that part, and then it’s gotta fall into a time period that I’m able to do it,” he explains in an interview with his label, Big Machine Label Group. “It’s hard for those three things to happen at the same time.”  

The singer also revealed that a few years ago, he was working on adapting a book he’d read into a TV show, but the idea was ultimately scrapped. 

Tim’s films include featured roles in Flicka, as well as The Blind Side and Country Strong, starring opposite Sandra Bullock and Gwenyth Paltrow, respectively, and Tomorrowland, starring George Clooney. 

Tim is set to release his first solo album since 2015, Here on Earth, on August 21. He was scheduled to embark on a cross-country tour of the same name this year, but it was cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic. 

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Capitol Records NashvilleCarrie Underwood is releasing her first Christmas album this fall. 

The superstar announced today that the album, My Gift, has been a “long time coming” and she knew that this would be her next project, following the completion of the Cry Pretty 360 Tour in 2019.

Set for release in September, the album will feature special collaborations, along with original songs and covers of holiday classics. 

In a behind-the-scenes video that takes fans inside the studio with the powerhouse singer, Carrie says she’s always wanted to make a Christmas album and that it was “on my heart” to bring that dream to life this year.

“I love music, I love singing — that is my personal gift that I have that I’m so blessed to do, and I want to use that gift,” she explains of why she named the album My Gift.

While we’ll have to wait a bit for the official track list, Carrie does reveal that My Gift will feature a rendition of one of her favorite Christmas classics, “The Little Drummer Boy,” where she’s joined by a special guest — her five-year-old son, Isaiah.    

Carrie has also unveiled the album cover, which shows her donning a stunning floor-length red gown amid a glistening winter scene in a snow-covered forest. 

“For me, it’s more important than ever to focus on the true meaning of Christmas in a project like this,” Carrie says in a statement. “Even though it has been a tough year for all of us, sometimes I feel like the greatest realizations can be inspired by the most difficult times, and make us more grateful for the things we do have and for what truly matters.”

My Gift arrives on September 25.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ABC/Mark LevineThomas Rhett has returned to the studio to record new music. 

The “Life Changes” singer shared a series of shots on Instagram from inside the studio. A black and white photo shows him beaming as he steps up to the microphone, while another features a wide shot of the mixing board.

Thomas did practice social distancing, and he and his colleagues are wearing masks in the photos. Photographer Spencer Combs, who spent a week with Thomas in the studio, revealed in an Instagrampost that everyone was required to wear masks and get temperature checks before coming into the studio, calling it “the new shooting normal!”  

“Can’t wait for y’all to hear what we’ve been working on in the studio. I truly think this is some of the best music I’ve written,” Thomas describes in the caption.  

Throughout quarantine, Thomas has been sharing a series of new songs he’s written, including “Things Dads Do,” “Want It Again,” “What’s Your Country Song” and many more. 

In March, Thomas released the uplifting single “Be a Light,” featuring Reba McEntire, Keith Urban, Hillary Scott and Chris Tomlin. It’s currently in the top 10 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Warner Music NashvilleBlake Shelton is calling on girlfriend Gwen Stefani for his new single, “Happy Anywhere.” 

Described as a “loving, feel-good tune,” “Happy Anywhere” sees the power couple uniting on a second single following the success of “Nobody but You,” which earlier this year became Blake’s 27th number-one hit and Gwen’s first on the country charts.

Blake shares that he and Gwen felt compelled to share”Happy Anywhere” in light of COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve all been in quarantine and lockdown, and hopefully we’ve been doing that with somebody that we really love and enjoy being around. That’s what happened with me and Gwen this summer, and this entire year,” Blake  says, adding that “there’s never been a better time” to release the track.

“Happy Anywhere” will be released on Friday.  The couple will debut the song with a performance on the Today show during the 8 a.m. hour. 

On Saturday, Blake hosts a one-night-only drive-in concert that will be broadcast at theaters around the U.S. and Canada. Gwen and longtime friend Trace Adkins will join Blake for the pre-taped show where he’s set to perform some of his biggest hits, alongside new numbers.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Comstock/ThinkstockOn this date in 2015, one of the genre’s most high-profile couples rocked the country world when they announced they were divorcing after four years of marriage. Do you know who they are? ANSWER: Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockThe Chicks gave a stark, from-home performance of “March March” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last week. Their appearance was to celebrate the release of their new album, Gaslighter.

The Cadillac Three‘s Neil Mason is now a proud dad. People reports that the singer and his wife, Chelsea, welcomed a daughter named Louella Rosa on July 2.

Country vocal group Home Free shared their take on Americana singer Paul Cauthen’s “Everybody Walkin’ This Land” last week. The song was originally included on Paul’s 2018 EP Have Mercy.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ABC/Mark LevineIt’s been nearly forty years since The Bellamy Brothers encouraged us to “Get into Reggae Cowboy,” and even longer since Webb Pierce topped the chart in 1953 with “There Stands the Glass.”

This week, however, Sam Hunt takes the Bellamys’ suggestion and combines Jamaican rhythms with a sample of Pierce’s country classic to create his latest number one, “Hard to Forget.”

The Georgia native is quick to point out he wasn’t the one who had the stroke of genius to marry the two disparate genres.

“I can’t take credit for coming up with it, but I recognized it immediately,” Sam tells ABC Audio. “I just knew… there was something to it. And [co-writer] Luke Laird played that for me when we were writing that day. And I just wanted there to be an idea that kept up with the track.”

“So it took a little while to find the right idea,” Sam recalls. “But finally, I think [the “Hard to Forget”] idea actually came from another write…  but we combined those worlds and it just came together from there.”

“[I]t was just a perfect storm of a lot of creative people coming together to make that happen,” he reflects.

Sam wasn’t afraid to get a little weird with the music video, either, featuring a depressed clown, a goat, an aging cowboy, and Sam playing checkers with his digital twin.

“That was shot at a really cool hotel outside of Los Angeles…” he reveals. “It’s just this little world that exists at this little hotel where you’ve got this kind of motley crew of characters… whether they’re running from their problems or not, they’re all there just trying to do their best.”

“And I’m inserted into that scenario, just observing and also partaking in the craziness,” he adds. 

By Stephen Hubbard
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.