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Jelly Roll is teaming up with Contemporary Christian Music hitmaker Brandon Lake for a new collaboration on a fresh version of Lake’s hit song “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” Both Lake and Jelly Roll teased the song on social media this week, and the collaboration will officially release Feb. 7.
In November, Lake earned his Billboard Hot 100 debut with “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which also became his sixth No. 1 on the Hot Christian Songs chart. The song’s sound and message resonated with listeners, prompting Lake to release his eight-track EP Hard Fought Hallelujah: Heavyweight Edition, featuring various versions of the song, including live, demo, acoustic and instrumental versions.
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Lake shared a video snippet of the song on his Instagram, and Jelly Roll’s wife Bunnie XO commented on the post, writing of her husband Jelly Roll, “My baby is fineeee.”
Written by Lake with Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings, Elevation Church singer-songwriter Chris Brown and Rodrick Simmons, the song features lyrics including “I’ll bring my storm-tossed, torn-sail, story-to-tell hallelujah.”
“I wanted to give my fans a taste of something special while on the road,” Lake shared of the song, according to CCM Magazine. “This song is about the battles we face, the grit throughout the fight for faith and the praise that comes after. I hope it resonates deeply with everyone.”
The collaboration seems a natural pairing for the two artists, as Jelly Roll often includes faith-centered references in his own music, while Lake’s brand of worship music wraps in hard rock and soulful influences. Jelly Roll’s current album, Beautifully Broken, topped the Billboard 200 last year, while Lake most recently earned Grammy nominations for best contemporary Christian music album (Coat of Many Colors) and best Contemporary Christian music performance/song (for “Praise”). Lake also picked up songwriter of the year (artist) and Pop/contemporary album of the year (for Coat of Many Colors) trophies at the 2024 GMA Dove Awards.
See a preview of “Hard Fought Hallelujah” below:
Bailey Zimmerman recently earned concern from music fans on social media following a shaky performance on Jan. 18 during this year’s Crash My Playa festival, held in Cancun, Mexico. Videos of Zimmerman’s performance show the singer — normally known for his energetic stage shows — seemingly having trouble reaching notes, wandering around the stage and taking a tumble at one point.
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Now, the “Rock and A Hard Place” hitmaker is taking responsibility for his performance and asking fans for their continued support.
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Zimmerman posted a video to Instagram on Tuesday (Jan. 21), directly addressing his Crash My Playa performance.
“I was always raised up to hit my problems head-on, and never to lie, and always be truthful and honest, even when you’re embarrassed,” he started his video message. “So, I’d like to talk about something that’s been eatin’ me alive. Last weekend, down in Cancun, Mexico, I’m sure everybody’s seen the videos of me playing absolutely awful, and singing absolutely awful. And, I feel like you guys deserve an explanation from me, because you’ve had my back through the highs and lows, and through every mistake.”
He continued, “What happened was, I decided to drink that day, which was a mistake, and I got up onstage and I was too drunk to play. And I sang awful, I played awful, nobody got the show that they wanted or paid for, and I’m disappointed in myself. If you’ve been to my shows, you know how much I’ve talked about God since day one, and it was an awful representation of that. And to anybody, like I said, that’s embarrassed of me, I’m there. I’m embarrassed as well, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that this never happens ever again. I want to show you guys the person that I truly am.”
He ended by saying, “So, I’m just asking for a little bit of grace. Man, growing up is interesting. It’s not an excuse, but man, thank you to everybody that’s got my back. Thank you for staying, thank you for showing me love, and grace, and we’re gonna crush this year. But yeah, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I freakin’ love you guys more than anything in the world and I don’t wanna lose ya. Forgive me and I love ya. Thank you for listening.”
Zimmerman’s next concert is set for March 1 in West Palm Beach, Florida. He also recently revealed his 2025 summer tour dates on his New to Country Tour, with the shows launching in June.
Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa event celebrated its ten-year anniversary in 2025, with this year’s Crash My Playa also featuring performances from Bryan as well as Jason Aldean, Kane Brown and Lainey Wilson.
To date, Zimmerman has earned four Billboard Country Airplay chart-toppers, including the six-week No. 1 “Rock and A Hard Place.” He was also nominated for the CMA’s new artist of the year honor during November’s ceremony.
See Zimmerman’s full video below:
Parker McCollum gave a tip of the hat to late Country Music Hall of Famer Toby Keith when the Texas native performed at the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball on Monday night in Washington, D.C. following Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony as the 47th president of the United States earlier that day. Parker performed a rendition of Keith’s […]
Technical issued led to a haphazard Billy Ray Cyrus performance at the Liberty Ball during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration and on Tuesday (Jan. 21), the star responded to critics. “I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not. I was there because President Donald J. […]
Three-time Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert‘s MuttNation Foundation is helping to bring aid to animal shelters in California. Those shelters are among the many infrastructures impacted by the widespread damage in parts of greater Los Angeles since a series of wildfires began in Los Angeles County in early January, impacting thousands of acres of land, homes and businesses.
Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation has teamed with guitar dealer Norm Harris of Norman’s Rare Guitars to help animal shelters in the Los Angeles area. Harris and a close friend have each donated a Gibson R9 1959 Les Paul Reissue Custom Shop Murphy Lab guitar to an online auction to benefit animals.
The auction is now ongoing through Saturday, Jan. 25, at 5 p.m. CT, with 100 percent of the funds raised from the auction going to benefit Los Angeles-area animal shelters.
“The fires have displaced so many people and animals, and I wanted to do something that would immediately help the overcrowded animal shelters,” Harris said in a statement. “When my friend said he wanted to buy one of these guitars — but that he didn’t want the guitar — he wanted to auction it and have the funds go support animals, I jumped right in and said I’d donate one, too. These are two incredibly special guitars, each with a slightly different finish that I hand-selected. The guitars have a value of over $8,000 each, but this is for charity, so I hope people will be generous.”
“Although I haven’t met Norm, I’ve heard about him and his guitar store for years and the next time I’m in L.A., it will be my first stop,” Lambert said in a statement. “There’s nothing better than finding another like-minded music and mutt-loving person and I’m really honored that he chose to partner with MuttNation.”
Harris, known for his deep and expansive knowledge of guitars, was spotlighted in the Netflix documentary Norman’s Rare Guitars, and has authored two books about vintage guitars. Norman’s Rare Guitars was established in 1975 and became a mainstay in the Los Angeles community, drawing artists and musicians to the store to shop for vintage instruments and accessories.
The MuttNation Foundation was founded by Lambert and her mother Bev in 2009 and has since raised over $10 million to support its mission to promote the adoption of shelter pets, advance spay and neuter and education the public regarding the benefits of these actions.
Learn more about the guitars going up for auction to help Los Angeles animal shelters below:
After fellow country star Carrie Underwood‘s version of “America the Beautiful” was delivered a cappella after two awkward minutes of silence at Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Monday (Jan. 20), the technical issues appeared to continue later that night during a shambolic set by Billy Ray Cyrus at the Liberty Ball.
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In video of the performance, a confused-looking Cyrus, 63, begins strumming his electric guitar after playing the video intro to Lil Nas X’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Old Town Road” on the screen behind him. As the audio from the song cued up, Cyrus attempted to play guitar and sing along, with his instrument and vocals inaudible as he looked around in confusion.
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At one point he turned his back to the audience for several seconds, then moved back to the mic to no avail in what turned into a bizarre lip synch ramble that went viral for all the wrong reasons. “I think y’all was just getting warmed up, to be honest. You wanna do a little more of it,” Cyrus croaked, as he strummed the song’s melody on his guitar and whistled the chorus through his teeth to a silent audience just after the video’s credits rolled behind him.
After singing the song’s chorus in a crackly voice and rapidly skipping back and forth across the stage while the crowd finally came to life and sang the lines back to him, Cyrus tried to get the audience to clap along to his a cappella singing, explaining, “they told me to kill as much time as possible,” and wondering if they knew the words to his signature 1992 breakthrough hit, “Achy Breaky Heart.”
“Is my guitar still on?” Cyrus asked. “I think they cut me off. I don’t hear my guitar anymore.” Looking around for help, while saying “check” into his mic, Cyrus said, “is anybody awake? I don’t hear it. Do y’all hear this? Where’s everybody at? Check. Is anyone back there? Can someone turn my guitar back on? We gonna sing a little bit more.”
As the awkward silence continued, Cyrus looked in vain for help, asking the crowd, “Do y’all want me to sing more or do you just want me to get the hell off the stage? I don’t give a damn.” A guitar tech finally came out and tried to remedy the sound problems with the guitar to no avail.
Cyrus then made reference to Underwood’s performance just hours earlier, where she sang without the planned accompaniment from the Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club after a long, awkward silence during the swearing-in for Trump.
“I could try it like this… After what Carrie Underwood did today — wasn’t Carrie Underwood fabulous? — Carrie Underwood, you were amazing today,” Cyrus said, taking off his hat and bandana to mild applause. “They had technical difficulties too. And in life, when you have technical difficulties you just gotta keep going. Or as President Trump would say, you gotta fight!”
After another try, Cyrus asked his fans to “just snap your fingers” as he did a raspy a cappella bit of “Achy Breaky Heart” before leaving the stage. At press time it did not appear that Lil Nas X had reacted to Cyrus’ performance and Cyrus had seemingly not reacted to posts dubbing his set an “epic disaster.”
Cyrus did post a pic from his performance on Instagram, writing, “Honored to kick off the Liberty Ball at the request of our 47th President and Commander-in-Chief @realdonaldtrump. When you get knocked down, you get back up. You fight and persevere,” which followed up an earlier image from his sound check at Capitol One Arena.
Watch Cyrus’ performance below.
Jason Aldean is mashing the pedal this year, announcing the dates for his 2025 Full Throttle North American tour on Tuesday (Jan. 21). The Live Nation-produced outing is slated to kick off on May 23 at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH and take the “Try That in a Small Town” singer across the country to a mix of arena, amphitheater and stadium shows as he winds his way through an Oct. 4 gig at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL.
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The tour will feature opening acts Nate Smith, RaeLynn and Dee Jay Silver, and a previously announced co-headlining stadium show with Brooks & Dunn at Fenway Park in Boston on May 30. Tickets for the tour will go on sale first with an artist presale beginning on Wednesday (Jan. 22), with additional presales slated to run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale slated for Friday (Jan. 24) at 10 a.m. local time.
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According to the release announcing the tour, Aldean is currently in the studio working on new music. A recent interview with Hook & Barrel magazine revealed that the as-yet-untitled LP will feature 10 new songs, “one of which he promises will be another iconic” one of his anthems.
“We got a new one on the album, it’s just a powerful type of song that people are going to relate to,” he teased, adding, “and it has nothing to do with politics or any of those things.” The latter appeared to be a response to the controversy surrounding the video for “Small Town,” which was yanked by CMT in July 2023 after just a few days of airing. The clip features Aldean performing in front of a courthouse festooned with an American flag; the performance footage is interspersed with images of burning flags and protesters clashing with police and robbing a convenience store.
Some critics labeled the song and video as pro-gun and pro-violence, and akin to a “modern lynching song,” noting that it was filmed in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, TN, the site of the 1927 lynching and hanging of 18-year-old Henry Choate over allegations that he sexually assaulted a white girl, as well as the spot of a 1946 race riot in which two Black men were killed.
Speaking to the magazine, Aldean re-iterated that the song was not meant to stir a national discussion, but was a reflection of what he felt as going on in America at the time. “I don’t think that song came about because we were trying to step out there and do something that really moved the needle,” he said. “It was never intended to go in and specifically write something that was gonna stir the pot. It just came from a place of, this is on our mind. I’m 47 years old now, things change.”
Check out the dates for Aldean’s 2025 Full Throttle tour below.
May 23 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center &May 24 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage &May 25 — Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC &May 30 — Boston, MA @ Fenway Park #July 17 — Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center &July 18 — Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP &July 19 — St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre ^July 24 — Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater &July 25 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena ^July 26 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre ^Aug 7 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena &Aug 8 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center ^Aug 9 — Pittsburgh, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake &Aug 14 — Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion &Aug 15 — Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman @Aug 16 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center ^Aug 21 — Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park ^Aug 22 — Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion ^Aug 23 — Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre ^Sept 4 — Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena ^Sept 5 — Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center &Sept 11 — Detroit, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre &Sept 13 — Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre ^Sept 18 — Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena &Sept 19 — Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena &Sept 20 — Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford PREMIER Center &Sept 25 — Lafayette, LA @ CAJUNDOME &Sept 26 — Birmingham, AL @ Coca-Cola Amphitheater &Sept 27 — Charleston, SC @ Credit One Stadium &Oct 3 — Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre &Oct 4 — West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre @
( #) co-headline with Brooks & Dunn
(%) already on-sale
(&) on-sale Jan. 24
(^) on-sale Jan. 31
(@) on-sale Feb. 21
The show must go on! Carrie Underwood proved why she’s a country superstar during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration on Monday (Jan. 20).
After an awkward two-minute technical glitch, the 41-year-old American Idol alum took control of the situation, singing “America the Beautiful” a cappella at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., just as Trump was being sworn in as the 47th president.
“You know the words, help me out here,” Underwood told the crowd before delivering the patriotic anthem solo.
An earlier program indicated Underwood was scheduled to perform with the Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club, with her performance originally slated just before Trump’s swearing-in.
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The country star’s fans quickly took notice of her professionalism and praised her stunning solo rendition on social media.
“Now that is a flex. Imagine being so talented that when technology fails, you just go, ‘Fine, I’ll do it live!’ and crush it a cappella in front of thousands,” one user on X observed. “Carrie Underwood doesn’t need auto-tune; auto-tune probably takes notes from her.”
Another wrote, “Carrie Underwood don’t need no band! That was bada–!”
“This is what a professional looks like,” a third commenter noted on X. “With grace, when the military band audio failed, she sang her song with the audience. All American and perfect.”
Before the event, Underwood shared a statement expressing her gratitude and pride: “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event. I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
Underwood joined a roster of performers at the inauguration, including Lee Greenwood, the Village People, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Rascal Flatts, Kid Rock, Gavin DeGraw, Jason Aldean and Parker McCollum.
Carrie Underwood was among the performers during the presidential inauguration ceremony held for Donald Trump, which took place at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Monday (Jan. 20).
The country superstar’s performance took place after Trump took the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States and made his inauguration speech, beginning his second presidential term.
Technical difficulties delayed Underwood’s performance, causing the singer to stand for two minutes near the podium prior to her performance. An early program showed that Underwood had been slated to perform with the The Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club, and that she had initially been set to perform just prior to Trump’s swearing-in.
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Instead, Underwood — clad in a pale-colored dress — performed a rendition of “America the Beautiful” a cappella. “If you know the words help me out here,” the singer said before her performance, with the audience joining in to sing with her.
Prior to her performance, Underwood released a statement regarding her performance, saying, “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event. I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
Underwood joins a slate of performers who are taking part in presidential inauguration events, including Lee Greenwood, the Village People, Nelly, Rascal Flatts, Kid Rock, Gavin DeGraw, Jason Aldean and Parker McCollum.
News of Underwood’s performance at Trump’s inauguration ceremony was met with both praise and criticism, with LGBTQ+ fans expressing anger and disappointment with the country singer’s decision to perform during the event. Underwood had previously spoken out in support of same-sex marriage in 2012, prior to same-sex marriage being legalized in 2015. Members of the LGBTQ+ community have expressed disapproval with the singer for performing at the event, given that Trump has campaigned for restrictions on trans and queer rights in the United States.
Underwood recently revealed the trailer for her upcoming concert special Carrie Underwood: Reflection, which spotlights her long-running Las Vegas residency. The concert special debuts Friday (Jan. 24), on Disney+ and Hulu. She is set to conclude her Las Vegas run on April 12. Her most recent country album, 2022’s Denim & Rhinestones, reached No. 2 on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart and became her 10th consecutive album to reach the top 10 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
See Underwood’s performance here.
Chris Stapleton fans will have more chances to see him on the road in 2025. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has added nine new concerts to his 2025 All-American Road Show Tour.
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This year will find Stapleton playing shows in Australia and New Zealand in February and March, before returning to the U.S. for shows starting in June.
The newly-added slate of dates find him doubling up performances in nine U.S. cities, adding shows in Charlottesville, Va. (with a new show on June 6), Grand Rapids, Mich. (June 13), Tinley Park, Ill. (June 28), New York, N.Y. (July 26), Noblesville, Ind. (Aug. 2), Phoenix, Ariz. (Aug. 9), Salt Lake City, Utah (Aug. 16), Denver, Colo. (Aug. 23) and Hollywood, Fla. (Oct. 11).
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Special guests on various dates on the tour are Allen Stone, Brittney Spencer, Grace Potter, Maggie Rose, Marcus King, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, Nikki Lane, and The War and Treaty.
Tickets for the new shows will be open for pre-sale starting Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. local time. General on-sale will start Friday, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. local time. Fans can gain early access to tickets through signing up for Stapleton’s fan club.
Beyond his headlining tour, Stapleton is nominated for two accolades at the upcoming 67th annual Grammy Awards: best country album (for Higher) and best country solo performance (for “It Takes a Woman”). In November, Stapleton added three additional CMA Awards wins to his already stacked collection, including lengthening his own record for the most CMA male vocalist of the year wins, with eight trophies.
See Stapleton’s Instagram post regarding the new shows below: