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Ahead of her forthcoming new album Something Beautiful, pop star Miley Cyrus hosted an intimate screening of the visual album on Tuesday night (May 6). During a Q&A session with fans, the singer shared some of her favorite advice she’s received — and it came from from her godmother Dolly Parton.
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When asked about the best advice she’s received in her career, Cyrus did an impersonation of the country legend: “You do you, I’ll do me, and together we’ll be us,” she said, as fans cheered in agreement. She continued to explain the quote, saying, “I can’t be giving you and you can’t be giving me … We all just need to be ourselves.”
In taking the advice, Cyrus explained that Parton helped her understand the difference between being admired and being understood. “I don’t love the word ‘idol,’ because it feels like something you’re worshipping and I don’t want or need to be worshipped,” she said. “I just want to be loved like everyone else.”
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A fan interjected by calling the singer a “goddess,” which Cyrus playfully used to underline her point. “Well, hello! You do you and I’ll do me, and together we’ll be us!”
The screening comes nearly eight months after genealogy website Ancestry.com revealed that 79-year-old country icon Dolly Parton and 32-year-old pop star Miley Cyrus are distant relatives. But their bond goes far beyond family ties. The two have shared a deep personal and professional connection for years, from Parton’s recurring “Aunt Dolly” role on Hannah Montana to their 2023 reimagined duet of “Wrecking Ball” on Parton’s Rockstar album.
The event also spotlighted key moments from Cyrus’ upcoming album Something Beautiful, providing both a visual and emotional lens into the project’s themes. At another point during the screening, Cyrus called the new album her “gayest” project yet, sharing that it deals with themes of “beauty, but not what beauty represents by a standard of someone else’s idea.”
Watch the clip of Cyrus impersonating Parton below:
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Who will be the big winner at Thursday night’s (May 8) 60th annual ACM Awards in Frisco, Texas?
Ella Langley leads the pack this year with eight nominations, and she’s already picked up two wins prior to the ceremony, earning new female artist of the year and visual media of the year (for the music video clip for “You Look Like You Love Me,” her hit collab with Riley Green).
Cody Johnson, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson follow with seven nominations apiece, while Chris Stapleton earned six. Green and Post Malone earned five nominations each.
Kelsea Ballerini, who has four total nominations, aims to earn her first entertainer of the year win. Elsewhere, Rascal Flatts returns to the group of the year category, after last being nominated in 2017. Meanwhile, Muscadine Bloodline picked up their first nomination in the duo of the year category, while Flatland Cavalry and The Red Clay Strays both vie for the group of the year honor.
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Zach Top and The Red Clay Strays are two other early winners, with Top earning new male artist of the year, and The Red Clay Strays picking up the new duo/group of the year accolade.
Reba McEntire will host the ACM Awards for an 18th time, with the show streaming live on Prime Video from the Ford Center at The Star. The ACM Awards will stream beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The eligibility period for the 60th ACM Awards was Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024.
Below, Billboard offers picks on who will likely take home this year’s trophies in key categories:
Entertainer of the year
Kelsea Ballerini
Luke Combs
Cody Johnson
Jelly Roll
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson
Wilson is the reigning ACM EOY winner and looks to defend her crown this year, while every artist nominated in this category has had a stellar year marked by No. 1 hits, sold-out tours (either domestically or internationally), and/or numerous media looks. Alongside Wilson, Combs, Ballerini and Johnson all released new albums, with Ballerini celebrating her first project to debut atop Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart. Over the past year, Jelly Roll not only spearheaded a sold-out arena tour, but also earned his first all-genre Billboard 200 chart-topping album (Beautifully Broken), while releasing hits including “Liar” and “I Am Not Okay,” and continuing to charm fans and fellow artists alike with his charismatic personality. And Stapleton continued on his headlining All-American Roadshow tour and earned a top 15 Country Airplay hit with “Think I’m in Love With You.”
Meanwhile, Wallen wrapped his massive One Night at a Time Tour — a stadium-headlining trek that drew audiences both domestically and internationally — in 2024, as he continued to send hits (“Love Somebody,” Post Malone collab “I Had Some Help”) to the Hot 100’s pinnacle. All of those achievements could be enough to push Wallen into the winner’s circle.
Winner Prediction: Morgan Wallen
Female artist of the year
Kelsea Ballerini
Ella Langley
Megan Moroney
Kacey Musgraves
Lainey Wilson
Wilson looks to extend her current two-year reign as the winner in this field, while Musgraves could earn her second W in the category (she previously won in 2019). Ballerini, Langley and Moroney are each hoping to earn their first win in the category, as each has seen her career soar to new heights this year. With a headlining arena tour and a debut atop the Top Country Albums chart this year with Patterns, it is likely Ballerini could notch a win in this category.
Winner Prediction: Kelsea Ballerini
Male artist of the year
Luke Combs
Cody Johnson
Jelly Roll
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Stapleton is a four-time winner in this category, while his fellow stadium headliners Wallen and Combs are each looking to earn a second win (Wallen previously won in 2023, while Combs won in 2020). Johnson and Jelly Roll each could pick up their first wins in the category. While Jelly Roll’s reputation as a multi-faceted star continues to surge, and Johnson continues earning top hits with neo-traditional songs such as “Dirt Cheap,” Stapleton is a long-time favorite in the category and could emerge triumphant again this year.
Winner Prediction: Chris Stapleton
Duo of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Muscadine Bloodline
The War and Treaty
Brooks & Dunn have been on a roll this year thanks to their headlining Neon Moon Tour, and their 2024 project Reboot II, which teamed the duo with fellow country hitmakers like Morgan Wallen and Jelly Roll. Brothers Osborne released the EP Break Mine, The War and Treaty issued the Plus One project and reigning category winners Dan+Shay released their first Christmas album over the past year. Meanwhile, indie duo Muscadine Bloodline earns its first ACM nomination. Still, it will be hard to beat out Brooks & Dunn, who are vying for a record-extending 17th win in the category.
Winner Prediction: Brooks & Dunn
Group of the Year
Flatland Cavalry
Little Big Town
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
The Red Clay Strays
Rascal Flatts came roaring back into the spotlight this year, reuniting for a headlining tour and announcing its collaborations album, which finds the group teaming with artists including Kelly Clarkson and The Backstreet Boys. Little Big Town celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and also issued a Christmas album last year and teamed with Sugarland for a co-headlining tour. Reigning category winners Old Dominion also embarked upon its How Good Is That World Tour. Meanwhile, Flatland Cavalry picks up its second nomination in the category, and “Wondering Why” hitmakers The Red Clay Strays earn its first. Despite the newer blood in the field, look for Rascal Flatts to potentially return to the winners circle.
Winner prediction: Rascal Flatts
Album of the Year
(Awarded to artist(s)/producer(s)/record company–label(s))
Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine) – Megan Moroney; producer: Kristian Bush; Columbia Records / Sony Music Nashville
Beautifully Broken – Jelly Roll; producers: BazeXX, Brock Berryhill, Zach Crowell, Devin Dawson, Charlie Handsome, Ben Johnson, mgk, The Monsters & Strangerz, Austin Nivarel, SlimXX, Ryan Tedder, Isaiah Tejada, Alysa Vanderheym; BBR Music Group / BMG Nashville / Republic Records
Cold Beer & Country Music – Zach Top; producer: Carson Chamberlain; Leo33
F-1 Trillion – Post Malone; producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins; Mercury Records / Republic Records
Whirlwind – Lainey Wilson; producer: Jay Joyce; BBR Music Group / BMG Nashville
Each of the albums nominated for album of the year embodies the artistic vision of the artist and fellow creatives who crafted them, each with their own unique sound. “Emo cowgirl” Moroney continued issuing signature songs such as “Am I Okay?” and “No Caller ID,” while Zach Top played a key role in bringing ’80s and ’90s-inspired country music back into vogue with his debut album. Post Malone teamed with numerous fellow country artists for his debut country set F-1 Trillion, earning a Billboard 200 No. 1 debut with the project. Jelly Roll scored his own Billboard 200 chart-topper with his latest album, Beautifully Broken, spearheaded by songs including “I Am Not Okay” and “Liar,” while Wilson kept her Whirlwind career swirling with her Jay Joyce-produced album, which featured “Hang Tight Honey” and “4x4xU.”
Still, Jelly Roll’s project has further spurred his reputation as a genre-fluid hitmaker who has proven an inspiration for scores of fans — and likely makes him the favorite in this category.
Winner Prediction: Beautifully Broken
Single of the Year
(Awarded to artist(s)/producer(s)/record company–label(s))
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey; producers: Sean Cook, Nevin Sastry; American Dogwood / EMPIRE
“Dirt Cheap” – Cody Johnson; producer: Trent Willmon; CoJo Music LLC / Warner Music Nashville
“I Had Some Help” – Post Malone, Morgan Wallen; producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins; Mercury Records / Republic Records
“White Horse” – Chris Stapleton; producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton; Mercury Nashville
“you look like you love me” – Ella Langley, Riley Green; producer: Will Bundy; SAWGOD / Columbia Records
This category has tender ballads and chart-dominating hits, as well as enduring collabs. Johnson released one of the most endearing songs of the year with “Dirt Cheap,” while Stapleton offered a potent reminder of his country-rock bona fides with “White Horse.” Meanwhile, Langley and Green gave their careers a mighty boost with their flirty collab “You Look Like You Love Me.” Wallen and Post Malone combined their star power for a four-week Country Airplay chart-topper, which became a ubiquitous 2024 summer anthem. Meanwhile, Shaboozey’s runaway smash became a record-tying 19-week Billboard Hot 100-topper, while also spending 43 weeks atop the Hot Country Songs chart and seven weeks atop Country Airplay.
Winner prediction: “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Song of the Year
(Awarded to songwriter(s)/publisher(s)/artist(s))
“4x4xU” – Lainey Wilson; songwriters: Jon Decious, Aaron Raitiere, Lainey Wilson; publishers: Louisiana Lady; One Tooth Productions; Reservoir 416; Songs of One Riot Music; Sony/ATV Accent
“The Architect” – Kacey Musgraves; songwriters: Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves, Josh Osborne; publishers: Songs for Indy and Owl; Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing
“Dirt Cheap” – Cody Johnson; songwriter: Josh Phillips; publishers: Warner-Tamerlane Publishing; Write or Die Music; Write the Lightning Publishing
“I Had Some Help” – Post Malone, Morgan Wallen; songwriters: Louis Bell, Ashley Gorley, Hoskins, Austin Post, Ernest Keith Smith, Morgan Wallen, Chandler Paul Walters, Ryan Vojtesak; publishers: Bell Ear Publishing; Master of my Domain Music; Poppy’s Picks; Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing; Universal Music Corporation
“you look like you love me” – Ella Langley, Riley Green; songwriters: Riley Green, Ella Langley, Aaron Raitiere; publishers: Back 40 Publishing International; Langley Publishing; One Tooth Productions; Sony/ATV Tree; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp
The song of the year category has a mix of hit collabs and heart-tugging, introspective ballads. This category tends to honor songcraft over hit status. Johnson’s Leather album picked up album of the year at November’s CMA Awards, so look for the album’s “Dirt Cheap” to likely pick up a song of the year win.
Winner prediction: “Dirt Cheap”
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EA / Battlefield
The installment of EA’s first-person shooter franchise, Battlefield, is coming next year.
During a recent earnings call, EA revealed that the next Battlefield game will be released in March 2026. EA CEO Andrew Wilson shared details on the next installment, calling it a “pivotal step in delivering on our next generation of blockbuster entertainment.”
EA also revealed that Skate will be dropping sometime next year.
The news about Battlefield follows the report that Respawn, one of the studios owned by EA, canceled a new entry in the Titanfall franchise and laid off more than 300 employees.
Despite that bad news, the video game publisher beat both analysts’ expectations and its own projections in earnings, revenue, and net bookings, despite its most popular title, Apex Legends, growing stale.
Strong performances from co-op Split Fiction, which has sold more than 4 million units since its release, and franchises EA Sports FC, EA Sports College Football 25, and The Sims.
“The incredible success of ‘College Football’ and the enduring strength of ‘FC’ drove another record year for EA Sports, while ‘The Sims’ capped FY25 with a historic Q4,” Wilson said in a statement accompanying the financial results. “As we look to the future, we’re confident in our ability to execute across a deep pipeline — beginning this summer with the highly anticipated reveal of ‘Battlefield,’ a pivotal step in delivering on our next generation of blockbuster entertainment.”
The news about Battlefield also follows recent massive Battlefield 6 playtests that EA and DICE held to gather tons of data and player feedback in hopes of avoiding the mistake that was the launch of Battlefield 2042.
The game was a disaster when it arrived, but eventually rounded out to form after numerous updates and bug fixes.
Based on what we hear and see, the new Battlefield looks like a massive step in the right direction.
The Ataris are honoring the late father of lead singer Kris Roe with a new 7-inch single that includes Roe’s father’s ashes mixed in to the vinyl.
“Car Song,” now available in limited edition 7-inch vinyl, was written in honor of Roe’s father, who passed away in 2014 due to complications related to alcoholism. In his honor, a portion of the proceeds from the “Car Song” 7-inch release will go to Shatterproof, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending addiction.
“I’ve always been so lucky to have my dad’s unwavering support for The Ataris. He wasn’t just a fan — he was a fixture of our community. He would often interact with fans on the band’s message board, film live sets, and share them with everyone—everyone knew him. He was a huge part of the band’s journey,” Roe said in a press release. “When I read about a service that would press a loved one’s ashes into vinyl, it instantly hit me. What better way to honor my dad than making him a permanent part of the music he always loved? It felt like the most meaningful tribute I could give him.”
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“Car Song” is the first new release in 15 years for the Ataris, who also released a Breaking Bad-inspired video for the track that pays tribute to Walter White, Saul Goodman and the cinematic universe of one of modern television’s most celebrated franchises.
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The video comes amid the band’s continued reunion around the original lineup for their 2003 So Long, Astoria album, which began late last year and includes Roe, bassist Mike Davenport, guitarist John Collura, and drummer Chris Knapp. So Long, Astoria was released through Columbia Records in 2003 and sold over 700,000 copies in the US, making it the sole record from The Ataris’ to be certified gold.
“Car Song” is the first release from The Ataris’ yet-to-be-announced album and comes after Roe purchased the white Volvo featured in the final season of Breaking Bad. Roe reportedly purchased the Volvo from a friend who worked as an assistant director on the show and later found a receipt in the car signed by actor Bryan Cranston in the glovebox.
“I like to say that Walter White’s Volvo was the catalyst for ‘Car Song’ and the new album,” Roe said in a press release announcing the single. “It all just came together from there, and now, here we are.”
Watch the full video for “Car Song” below:
Who would’ve ever thought — a Regional Mexican artist doing reggaetón music? But it works. Earlier this year, Billboard editors predicted “corridos experimentation” as a Latin music trend in 2025. Yes, in recent years, we’ve seen Latin urban stars like Karol G, Bad Bunny and Arcángel famously dabble in regional Mexican music, but lately, the […]
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Michelle Obama is embracing a new phase in her life—one where she finally puts herself first.
In a candid conversation on Jay Shetty’s podcast, she shared that she’s actively in therapy, using it as a space to reflect, heal, and better understand herself after years of public service and motherhood. With her daughters grown and leading their own lives, Michelle spoke about the shift from constantly giving to others to now focusing inward.
She explained that therapy has become a vital tool in helping her navigate this transition. Rather than seeing it as a sign of struggle, she views it as a form of guidance—comparing it to having a coach who helps her break through long-standing emotional patterns and unpack feelings she’s carried for years.
Michelle emphasized how important it is to have a neutral, supportive voice outside of family and friends—someone who can help her sort through complex emotions without judgment. Therapy, for her, is about growth, not weakness. She also highlighted a larger message about the importance of mental well-being, especially for women who often feel pressure to prioritize everyone else. By being open about her journey, Michelle is encouraging others to make space for their own healing and self-care.
Her reflections mark a powerful moment of self-discovery—showing that even those who appear strong and successful still need time, support, and space to evolve. And for Michelle, that means finally giving herself the attention she deserves.
Ye (formerly Kanye West) stormed off the set of a contentious interview with Piers Morgan on Tuesday (May 6), and the Uncensored host has provided some context about why Yeezy pulled the plug on the combative, short-lived chat.
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Morgan hopped on X on Wednesday (May 7), where he claimed that West and his team were giving him the run around leading up to the interview. “He was costing us time and money,” Morgan said. “And my patience was almost running out.”
After getting the go-ahead to conduct the interview, Morgan says the conversation got off to a rocky start when Morgran addressed Ye as “Ye West,” which the rapper took issue with since he’s trying to lose his “slave name.”
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“I did talk to him for about three minutes,” Morgan said. “When I asked him how he was, he pointed to the backdrop behind him. Actually a pleasant backdrop, this time of Mallorca, which implied he was in a great place. I said, ‘You seem happy and content. Which is a direct contrast to what is going on with you on social media.’”
Morgan then got West’s follower count on X wrong, which upset the rapper. The host said Ye had 32 million followers when, in actuality, Ye has compiled just over 33.3 million followers as of press time.
“At that point, he went into a great theatrical strop. It’s not 32 million — it’s 33 million,” Morgan recalled. The interview came to a halt as Ye got up and left, leaving Sneako to deal with a frustrated Piers Morgan.
*NEW* Here’s a snippet of my inside take on the whole Kanye interview debacle that’s now making news around the world. For the full inside story, go to the link in my bio… pic.twitter.com/SCpIuxKfT3— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 7, 2025
So, I interviewed Kanye West again today. As I expected, given what I’ve said about him recently, it didn’t last long or go well. This was him right before he stomped off like a big baby. Drops on @PiersUncensored later… pic.twitter.com/m8TDGDpwgs— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 6, 2025
“You’re not gonna take inches off my di–, bro.” the Chicago native said before he left the interview. “I’m a gift, bro. Why do all you people in media act like you haven’t played my songs at your weddings, or graduations or at funerals or when your child was born?”
He continued: “You take someone like that’s living, like a [John] Lennon or a Michael Jackson. That nuance right there is idiotic. It just shows the hate that you put out for people that put out love. There’s so much love in the art that I put out. This is what you get for now, we can circle back when you can count.”
Morgan referred to Ye as a “sniveling coward” and proceeded to pepper Sneako with questions about Yeezy’s recent tirades on X that have included antisemitic remarks and praise for the likes of Hitler and Diddy.
Watch Ye’s full interview with Piers Morgan below.
This year’s Met Gala was a very different experience for Lorde than the last time she attended the event in 2021.
In a vulnerable voice note sent to fans Tuesday night (May 6), the pop star opened up about having overcome her issues with body image in the four years since she last walked the Metropolitan Museum of Art red carpet, revealing that last time she was there, she’d unhealthily restricted her eating for weeks in preparation.
“I was so hungry,” she recalled of the 2021 gala, the theme of which was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” “I didn’t eat properly for weeks thinking about my little tummy on that carpet.”
This year, Lorde attended once again, sporting a chic slate Thom Browne look that matched the 2025 theme of “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” Returning to the Met four years later, the singer said it was “moving” to be back in the same place with an entirely new mindset regarding her body.
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“I was there last night fully in myself, and I didn’t have to not eat, I didn’t have to go to the gym a million times,” she told her fans. “I was just fully in myself. Quite beautiful.”
Lorde has slowly been sharing more and more about her struggles with eating and body image in the lead-up to her new album Virgin, which arrives June 27. On lead single “What Was That,” released in April, she sings, “I wear smoke like a wedding veil/ Make a meal I won’t eat.”
In a recent interview with Document Journal, the New Zealand native elaborated on the lyric: “I had made my body very small, because I thought that that was what you did as a woman and a woman on display … I thought, ‘I’m small. This will communicate to people that I’m taking my position seriously.’”
Now, Lorde says she feels fully “embodied,” meaning this year’s Met — which took place one day prior to her voice note — was a much better experience. “It was definitely my favorite Met,” she said in her message before remarking, “It’s really a reality check of where you’re at in relation to, you know, your own public image and how you feel in your body, how you feel among your peers and how you feel in culture and all that sort of stuff.”
One moment from Monday night (May 5) that did make her “so cringed out” at herself, though, was when she commented that her dress was an “Easter egg” in an interview with Vogue correspondent Emma Chamberlain, leading fans to believe the singer was teasing something musical through her attire. “More will be revealed,” she’d added during the red-carpet chat. “To me it really represents where I’m at gender-wise. I feel like a man and a woman, kind of vibe.”
But in her voice note, Lorde clarified, “Just as it was leaving my mouth, I was like, ‘What are you talking about? No, it’s not [an Easter egg]. The language of Easter eggs, I love it as a concept … [but] for what I was referring to, it was not my vibe,” she said. “Please accept me feeling like a loser, I’m sure you don’t care at all.”
Moby is currently matching donations to Los Angeles NPR affiliate KCRW, up to $10,000. The donation match began Tuesday (May 6) and extends through midnight on Wednesday.
“As we all know, public radio is in grave danger right now,” the electronic artist says in an ad currently airing on the station about this donation match. “If you care about KCRW; if you care about public radio and about free access to music and information, this is a very important moment to act.”
This special effort happens amid KCRW’s annual spring pledge drive, which this year has been titled “Mission Critical” due to an executive order signed last week by President Trump that directed the board of directors at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to “cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” the nation’s primary public broadcasters. The order was made on the claim of ideological bias by NPR and PBS.
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As reported by Billboard last week, this move follows a pattern of Trump leveraging executive powers to defund or dismantle institutions he deems oppositional, including cultural and educational organizations like the Kennedy Center and National Endowment for the Humanities. The legality of Trump’s order is in question, however, as CPB is a private nonprofit entity and not a federal agency.
In any case, KCRW’s chief development officer Jill Smayo tells Billboard that “the funding for public media, both NPR and PBS, is in flux right now… We’re not exactly sure what’s going to happen at this point. It’s evolving. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is investigating more what this truly means and what will come of this, but what is at stake for KCRW specifically is $1.3 million dollars annually that we receive from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”
Such “challenge grants” like Moby’s current $10,00 offer are a common element of KCRW pledge drives, with various public figures, often musicians, actors and other artists, making the offer in order to incentivize donations. As part of Moby’s offer, one person who donates will win tickets to performances he’s doing as part of the Cercle Odyssey tour in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, May 9. The musician also relaunched his MobyGratis sound library, which offers creators high-quality, royalty free music to use in projects.
“We’re very grateful for his belief that KCRW is a treasure for the curious and the artistic and worthy of supporting,” says Smayo. The Mission Critical spring pledge drive extends through May.
The first time Reba McEntire heard “Trailblazer,” she cried. So did Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert as they wrote it.
The star trio are debuting the emotional, mid-tempo ballad about thanking those who came before them — and lifting up those who come after — at the ACM Awards tomorrow (May 8). The song will be available on all streaming services at 8 p.m. E.T. Thursday.
Wilson and Lambert wrote the song with Brandy Clark on Lambert’s back porch, specifically as a song that the pair and McEntire could sing together.
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“We were like, ‘OK, we’re going to do a song with Reba — what kind of song do we write?” recalls Lambert on Wednesday after rehearsals at The Star in Frisco, Texas, in the only interview the three artists are doing together. “We were calling her on the set [of sitcom Happy’s Place] and trying to figure out, ‘What’s the right message for this trio? What do we really want to say in three minutes?’”
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They decided they wanted a country song that talked about influences —the song namechecks “Dolly and Loretta, Patsy and Tammy, too”— and how to pass it down. “We were just having a conversation about how both [Lambert and McEntire] have influenced me and [about] passing the torch and blazing trails for each other,” says Wilson, who came up with the title. “Generation after generation, it’s going to continue, but we got to keep blazing those trails for the next one.”
It was also important to drop some Easter eggs into the song that tied back to each artist. For example, the lyrics include “Kerosene,” the title of one of Lambert’s biggest hits, and also talk about being from Louisiana, Wilson’s home state, and Oklahoma, where McEntire grew up.
“We wanted to lean in pretty hard to paying tribute to each person,” Lambert says. “We had to do it strategically though, because we didn’t want it to be so blatant — but more like a secret thing that you would have to listen to it twice.”
But they still needed to keep the song’s appeal universal and beyond music. “I remember thinking that this could be a song that a grandmother and a daughter and a grandchild could listen to,” Wilson says. “And not just about the history of country music… If we’re not thinking about the people that we’re singing to then they’re not going to be able to relate.”
The song came together quickly and felt, Wilson says, divinely inspired. “When you’re writing a song and you get that like feeling, it’s like the Holy Spirit feeling. And you just feel it all over your body. Definitely had that.”
Wilson, Lambert and Clark had butterflies when they sent it to McEntire, but they needn’t have worried. “I remember listening to it in the dressing room. I couldn’t find a flaw in it, not a word,” McEntire says. “It was that great. I was very emotional when I heard it.” The three recorded it together in Nashville with McEntire and her longtime producer Tony Brown co-producing.
Another overarching theme in the song is friendship and the three have clearly cultivated close ties. They giggle conspiratorially when they talk about their group text. “We can’t tell you what’s in it,” Lambert says. “It’s off-color.”
Their relationship exists in a way that McEntire says couldn’t have when she was coming up, in part because of technology.
“There’s something different totally in these generations than the earlier generations, mainly because of the social aspect,” McEntire says. “We’ve got texting, we’ve got emails, communication at our fingertips, and we didn’t have that starting out. And I like it that things are more approachable. When I was getting started, I wouldn’t have even thought about talking to Dolly when she walked by me in 1977. I was brand new. She was a huge, mega, beautiful star. And I don’t know if it’s confidence that’s totally different, but I had [my musical heroes] all up on this pedestal where you can’t touch, you can’t talk. Now, we’re more friends and it’s a family. It’s totally different, and I like it this way.”
The three stress their friendship and McEntire says that is another big takeaway from “Trailblazer.” “We’ve got that camaraderie; we’ve got that helpful nature. If somebody needs something, the others come in to help. That’s very important. A lot of people think it’s backstabbing and so competitive. There’s enough room in this business — and all businesses — for everybody to be successful. We’ve just got to help each other and share what we’ve gone through and say what didn’t work. ‘Now here’s what did work. Maybe it will work for you.’”
There’s a line in the song about paying tribute to those who “gave me a seat at the table.” “One of the very first people to give me a seat at the table was that one right over there,” Wilson says, looking at Lambert. “She made me feel like I was welcome, and like she was my cheerleader. I think a lot of times people like to pit women against each other, and I think we’re just proving otherwise.”
That group text isn’t all about jokes: It provides a tremendous support system. “Sometimes you need someone to talk to when you’re so exhausted,” Wilson says, looking at McEntire. “I know I texted you one timem and you told me, ‘Sometimes I have to get up [on stage] and sing for a different reason. Sing for my sister. Sing for whomever it is.’ I remember those things when I’m on stage and feel like I can’t do it anymore.”
“I remember at the end of one of my long Vegas runs, I texted you,” Lambert says also looking at McEntire. “I was like, ‘I’m crying getting ready. Just wanted to let you know. It’s one of those tiring days.’ And I feel like I’m not alone in that, because they’ve been there.”
When they sing “Trailblazer” tomorrow on the ACM Awards, they will be singing it for more than themselves. “It’s not about us,” Lambert says. “It’s about what the song means to little girls out there watching, or anyone out there watching that really has a dream or needs to be surrounded by people they love, and needs a little nudge to know they’re not alone.”
And there will hopefully be more coming. When asked if “Trailblazer” is their last collaboration, McEntire says “No, ma’am” before the question is even finished. “I love singing with these gals. They’re a lot of fun. They’re great singers. Our harmonies blend so well. So why not?”
The ACM Awards stream live on Amazon Prime Video May 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
