Country
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Country music group Lady A tests its knowledge and sees how well the band members actually know each other!
Lady A:Hey, everybody! We are Lady A, and this is How Well Do We Know Each Other.
Producer:OK, who plays the most instruments?
Charles Kelley:That’s probably the easiest one.
Hillary Scott:You get so stressed out.
Dave Haywood:I do play a lot not, not that well, but just a lot more about quantity than quality.
Hillary Scott:It’s not true.
Producer:Who’s most likely to mess up during the live show?
Charles Kelly:Go ahead.
Dave Haywood:Go ahead. Go ahead
Charles Kelley:But again, we don’t know sober me is pretty strong out there but even then …
Hillary Scott:The best you can give the world is knowing yourself.
Producer:Who is the clumsiest?
Hillary Scott:Maybe me?
Dave Haywood:I mean, I would see it but not like a bad way. Like a cute way.
Hillary Scott:I’ve always said grace is not my middle name.
Charles Kelley:I’ll do it just out of solidarity.
Producer:Who’s the most laid-back?
Hillary Scott:Dave Haywood
Dave Haywood:Chill all day chill vibes.
Charles Kelley:Got a fire steaming up in that brain, though.
Dave Haywood:Don’t cross him.
Producer:Who tells the best stories?
Dave Haywood:I’ll go Hillary.
Hillary Scott:I’m gonna go Charles.
Charles Kelley:Really? I was gonna say you, probably.
Watch the full video above!
Jelly Roll’s “Save Me” with Lainey Wilson ascends to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Dec. 9). The collaboration increased by 8% to 34.6 million audience impressions Nov. 24-30, according to Luminate.
The song, which Jelly Roll wrote with David Ray, becomes the former’s third total and successive Country Airplay leader, encompassing his output in the format, following “Son of a Sinner,” which led for one week in January, and “Need a Favor,” which dominated for four frames beginning in August.
Wilson banks her fourth Country Airplay leader. Her rookie entry, “Things a Man Oughta Know,” led for one frame in September 2021, followed by “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell (two weeks starting in April 2022), and “Watermelon Moonshine” (three, this October).
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Notably, with “Save Me” and “Watermelon Moonshine” both reaching the top of Country Airplay in 2023, Wilson is the first woman to net two leaders in a single year since Gwen Stefani in 2020. Both of the latter’s are team-ups with Blake Shelton: “Nobody With You” and “Happy Anywhere.”
Meanwhile, “Save Me” enters the Country Airplay penthouse a mere six weeks after “Watermelon Moonshine” wrapped its reign, giving Wilson the shortest break from No. 1 for a female artist in the chart’s nearly 34-year history. Previously, two women were tied with 11 frames between holding the top spot: Taylor Swift (“Love Story,” “Should’ve Said No”; 2008) and Wynonna Judd (“She Is His Only Need,” “I Saw the Light”; 1992).
Something’s ‘Different’ About the Top 10
Riley Green’s “Different ‘Round Here” featuring Luke Combs rises to No. 10 on Country Airplay (17 million, up 9%). Green adds his fourth top 10, after Thomas Rhett’s “Half of Me,” on which Green is featured, became his first No. 1 in November 2022 (and Rhett’s 18th of 19 leader).
Combs sends his 19th song to the Country Airplay top 10, with 17 having hit No. 1.
Lana Del Rey is once again paying tribute to John Denver, this time surprise-dropping a cover of the late folk singer’s classic 1971 hit “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Released without notice on Friday (Dec. 1), the cover finds the singer-songwriter fully embracing her Americana musical influences. She and producer Zachary Dawes keep the instrumentation […]
Singer-songwriter and small-town Georgia native RVSHVD didn’t initially set out to make country music. Then he heard Keith Urban’s 2009 hit “Sweet Thing.”
“I was like, ‘Okay, that ain’t bad.’ My dad would listen to all kinds of music — Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, gospel. He did all kinds of jobs, and had me out working with him, washing cars and hauling scraps. He would listen to country while he worked,” RVSHVD (born Clint Rashad Johnson) recalls to Billboard. “He tried to get me to listen to country and I didn’t like it at first.”
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Additionally, RVSHVD’s mother worked in a school cafeteria, and he and his sister would watch television there in the mornings. One day, the television was tuned to CMT and he was introduced to artists like Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker. The combo had him hooked.
Fast forward just over a decade, and RVSHVD (pronounced Ra-shad) has carefully curated his own genre-melding sound, one he describes in his song “Dirt Road” as “a little country and a little street,” and in “Hit Different” as “Alpines bumping dirty south hip hop/ Mix in some country boy Rick Ross, throw in a little Lil Wayne with a little bit of Travis Tritt.” His sound is consequential, given ever-growing presence of hip-hop’s influence on the music of Colt Ford, Jason Aldean, Sam Hunt, Kane Brown and Florida Georgia Line over the past 15 years, as well as the genre barrier-breaking success of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and David Morris’s viral country/hip-hop hybrid “Carrying Your Love,” which incorporates George Strait’s 1997 classic “Carrying Your Love With Me.”
RVSHVD enrolled in the music program at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, before switching his major to music journalism. In 2019, the same year “Old Town Road” became a massive hit, RVSHVD self-released the EP Memories, weaving country lyrics with hip-hop beats. In 2020, he broke through with his country version of Roddy Ricch’s “Ballin’,” which married his rich, Southern drawl vocal with acoustic guitars and bass and has accumulated more than 21 million streams on Spotify alone. The following year, he collaborated with Cooper Alan on “Colt 45 (Country Remix),” which earned over 34 million Spotify streams, and teamed with Trey Lewis on a version of Lewis’ viral hit “D–ked Down in Dallas.
Last year, he partnered with Ice Nine Kills’ Spencer Charnas on “Cottonmouth” — but this year, he’s been largely focused on releasing solo music, including “Hit Different,” “For the Streets,” and his latest, the more traditionally country-leaning “Small Town Talk.”
Written by RVSHVD, Jason Afable, Josh Tangney, Willie Jones and Matty S. Gibbons at a writers camp at The Penthouse LA, the song’s uplifting lyrics about valuing family and hard work reflect his rural upbringing in Willacoochee, Georgia (population: 1,200).
“They came up with the concept of the song and showed it to me. I loved it and tweaked a couple of lines,” he says. “I remember cutting the demo and my wife Angel was there with me. While I’m making the demo, I’m sitting there tearing up. I loved the song as soon as I heard it.”
RVSHVD, who is managed by Jonnie Forster and Empire Publishing, Nashville’s vp, A&R Eric Hurt, is signed to The Penthouse South/Sumerian Records, with an upstreaming deal with Virgin Records for marketing and radio. He also has deals with Empire Publishing and CAA for booking. He also made his Grand Ole Opry debut in September.
RVSHVD, Billboard’s December Country Rookie of the Month, talks about creating his new song “Small Town Talk,” his career journey and his musical aspirations.
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You performed during CMA Fest earlier this year, at Nissan Stadium. What do you recall about that?
When they told me I was going to be playing CMA Fest, I thought it would be a little stage outside in the front of the stadium, and my wife Angel kept telling me, “No, it’s in the stadium.” I couldn’t believe it, and when we started walking out there, I was like, “Oh, man, this is playing in the stadium.” To be playing in front of that amount of people and have that kind of exposure was crazy.
What was the first music you heard that you loved?
The first artist to get me into music was Lil’ Bow Wow. I had the Like Mike VHS tape and I would play the music video for his song “Basketball.” I was like, ‘That’s cool. I think I can do that.” I initially started rapping for a while. But then, when I switched to country, I wrote a whole EP [2019’s Memories] in the first week, because it just flowed out of me. I didn’t feel like I had to put on any persona.
When did you first start making your own music?
My first entry point was probably around middle school. I wanted to record myself, but there weren’t many people where I lived that do music like that. We didn’t even have internet, so I would take a blank CD, go to the library, download some instrumentals and beats and stuff, put it on the CD, come back home and put the CD in the player. [I would] take my earphones and sit in front of one speaker and rap into the other one.
How did the country version of “Ballin’” come together?
I had done covers of country songs and R&B songs, but I had never done a country version of a rap song. I shot a video for Rascal Flatts’ “Bless the Broken Road.” While I was filming the video, I was like, I might as well record this one for “Balling.” I went to post ‘Broken Road’ and [got] copyright blocked… So I was like, “Well, I’m glad I have this other one filmed.” And I posted it, and then that was the one that took off.
How did you connect with Spencer for the rock version of “Cottonmouth”?
I met with Michael Whitworth [Jelly Roll’s “Dead Man Walkin’”] and Michael Lotten [Morgan Wallen’s “Last Drive Down Main,” Willie Jones’ “Back Porch”], and wrote the song. Spencer got on it because for my first CMA Fest, I wore some Air Johns, because David Morris had that shoe out. I had an Ice Nine Kills shirt that matched it. We got the cover art [for “Hit Different”] made and Eric [Hurt] was in the group chat and he was like, ‘Oh, we might run into issues having another band’s name on the shirt.” But we reached out to Spencer and he was cool with it.
Then Jonnie asked, “What do you think about getting Ice Nine Kills on the feature on the remix?” I was already listening to their stuff, so they got on the song and killed it.
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You filmed the video for “Small Town Talk” in your hometown in Georgia. How did it feel going back to film the video there?
It was dope. When we went back, what’s crazy is, it didn’t feel different. It just felt like I was back home and I got to go see all my old teachers and got to see the new band students.
You are working on an album. How is it shaping up at this point?
I have a couple of collabs I’m working on, but the album is basically my life story, what I’ve been through and stuff I feel like people can relate to. That’s one thing I always loved about rap albums, especially an artist’s debut album, was it was always their story. I wanted to do that with my first album, too. We might have about 15 songs on it, but we’re still kind of deciding at this point.
“Small Town Talk” tells part of your story, but what other parts of your story will fans be able to hear for the first time?
I got some of that on the album talking about dealing with depression, anxiety, not really having a lot growing up and stuff like that, things I haven’t said yet.
What do you remember about your first-ever performance?
I remember being super-nervous. My first performance was in a bar in Pearson, [Georgia] called Poole’s Pub. I remember there weren’t many people there, but one guy was like, ‘You sound real good. You should try doing some Conway Twitty.” I did a cover of “Tennessee Whiskey” and “Drinking ‘Bout You.”
What is your dream collaboration?
Probably J. Cole. I listened to him a lot growing up and still do. I always like how just real and honest his music was — and I always related to it, the way he talks about coming up and stuff.
The Black Opry has revealed the initial slate of shows for its 2024 The Black Opry Revue tour, with tickets on sale now at blackopryrevue.com. The shows run from January through April.
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Each show of mostly acoustic performances features a unique lineup of Black artists in the country, Americana, folk and roots music scenes. Newly announced shows for 2024 will feature performers including Sug Daniels, King Jester, Nick Tabron, Crystal Rose, Denitia, Layna, Autumn Nicholas, Justin Reid, Lori Rayne, Deidre Hall, Naomi Wachira, Grace Givertz, LW Watterson, Mehuman, Tylar Bryant, Mia Borders, Jared Michael Cline, Gary Blackchild, Nicky Diamonds, Julie Williams, Rachel Maxann, Ally Free, Roberta Lea, Jett Holden, Whitney Mongé, Nathan Graham, Christine Melody, Isaiah Cunningham, Carmen Dianne, The Kentucky Gentlemen, Leon Timbo, and Ping Rose & the Anti-Heroes.
The Black Opry was formed with a mission to create equity and opportunities for Black artists within the country, Americana, folk and roots music industries and form a space that is safe and helpful to Black artists and creating an inclusive version of these genres for Black artists, fans and executives.
The Black Opry Revue first held three stand-alone shows in 2021, before launching in earnest in January 2022. The Black Opry Revue has been featured in more than 100 venues and festivals across the United States, including CMA Fest, Newport Folk Fest, Americanafest and more.
See the list of 2024 tour dates below:
Black Opry Revue 2024 Tour Dates
Jan. 6, 2024 – Lancaster, PA @ Zoetropolis Cinema featuring Sug Daniels | King Jester
Jan. 11-14, 2024 – South Walton, FL @ 30A Songwriters Fest featuring Nick Tabron | Crystal Rose | Denitia | Layna | Autumn Nicholas | Justin Reid
Feb. 9, 2024 – Berkeley, CA @ Freight & Salvage featuring Layna | Lori Rayne | Deidre Hall | Naomi Wachira
Feb. 9, 2024 – Barre, VT @ Barre Opera House featuring Sug Daniels | Grace Givertz | LW Watterson | Mehuman | Tylar Bryant
Feb. 10, 2024 – Keene, NH @ Showroom featuring Sug Daniels | Grace Givertz
Feb. 15, 2024 – Jacksonville, FL @ JAX Music Experience featuring Layne | Lori Rayne | Mia Borders | Jared Michael Cline
Feb. 16, 2024 – Fort Collins, CO @ Lincoln Center featuring Garry Blackchild | Nicky Diamonds | Rachel Maxann | Ally Free | Nick Tabron
Feb. 16, 2024 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Sandler Center featuring Roberta Lea | Julie Williams | Jett Holden | Whitney Mongé | Tylar Bryant
Feb. 23, 2024 – Detroit, MI @ Detroit Institute of Arts featuring Nathan Graham | Christine Melody | Jett Holden | Isaiah Cunningham
Feb. 29, 2024 – Aspen, CO @ Wheeler Opera House featuring Tylar Bryant | Carmen Dianne | Nick Tabron | Jett Holden | Julie Williams
March 1-8, 2024 – Cayamo Journey Through Song Leon Timbo | The Kentucky Gentlemen | Accompanied by Ping Rose & The Anti-Heroes
March 29, 2024 – Wolf Trap, VA @ The Barns at Wolf Trap featuring Sug Daniels | Grace Givertz | Tylar Bryant | Rachel Maxann | Roberta Lea
April 6, 20024 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Tortuga Music Fest featuring Tylar Bryant | The Kentucky Gentlemen | Julie Williams | Roberta Lea
BBR Music Group senior vp of promotion Carson James and senior director of A&R Chris Poole have exited the company as part of a global restructuring at BMG, which eliminated their positions, Billboard has confirmed. Country Aircheck first reported the news of their exits.
Earlier on Thursday (Nov. 30), BMG revealed a new structure for its global staff, which BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld stated is part of “a strategy for future growth” and “local where necessary, global where possible.” The restructure moves BMG’s catalog, sales and marketing teams in its recorded division into global roles, joining the already global purview of its investments, technology, rights and royalties functions. In local markets, artist relations and marketing campaign managers will have access to these global teams for analytics, content creation and media planning/buying, the company’s announcement noted.
James joined BBR in 2009, having previously spent nine years with Curb Records in a similar role. Prior to his work at Curb, James programmed country station WLWI in Montgomery, Ala.
Poole joined BBR in 2018 and previously worked at CTM/Writer’s Ink, where he served in artist development. Poole initially launched his career working in artist management at Paravel Management, which he co-founded in 2013.
James noted to Billboard in a statement, “I’m honored to have had such an amazing run.”
BMG’s restructuring announcement also outlined a new, Los Angeles-based global catalog team, as well as a “recalibration” of its presence in continental Europe as part of its local-global emphasis, which will focus on “functional centers of excellence within Europe.” This is in addition to the aggregation of budgets and expertise, the further acceleration of its investments in tech and the myBMG system for artists and the clarification of roles/structures, which the company says will make it “more accountable to its artist and songwriter clients.”
“Fifteen years after the emergence of streaming, music is going through another tectonic change,” Coesfeld said in a statement. “It is vital we now reengineer our business to make the most of that opportunity. BMG has challenged the conventions of the music industry ever since we began, bringing music publishing and recordings under one roof with a distinctive service-orientated and transparent approach. Now new ways of creating and consuming music and looming changes in streaming economics are challenging us to do even better for our clients.”
BBR Music Group’s artist clients include reigning CMA Awards entertainer of the year Lainey Wilson and new artist of the year winner Jelly Roll, as well as “Try That in a Small Town” hitmaker Jason Aldean, Dustin Lynch, Elvie Shane, Parmalee, Blanco Brown and Brooke Eden.
Reba McEntire has appointed longtime team member Justin McIntosh to serve as her manager, the singer announced Wednesday (Nov. 29). McIntosh has worked with the Country Music Hall of Famer for more than a decade, ever since he joined her at her former management home, Starstruck Entertainment. At Starstruck, McIntosh served as vp of marketing […]
Elle King and Entertainment Tonight‘s Rachel Smith will reunite to help Nashville ring in the new year, as they co-host CBS Presents New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash.
The celebration will air live from Nashville on Sunday, Dec. 31, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. ET/PT and 10:30 p.m.-1:05 a.m. ET/PT via CBS Television Network, and will stream on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs).
The special will feature nearly 50 performances, including from reigning CMA entertainer of the year Lainey Wilson, as well as Thomas Rhett, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more. The five-hour broadcast will cross multiple time zones, with the traditional countdown at midnight ET, culminating with the Nashville music note drop and fireworks at midnight CT.
In addition to her hosting duties, King joins the performance lineup this year and will perform her hits from Nashville’s Bicentennial Mall stage.
“New Year’s Eve is the one party we celebrate all over the world,” King said in a statement. “I wouldn’t want to spend it any other place than Music City! I’m so excited to get to host another beautiful night of music, friends, love, and joy. I can’t wait to celebrate an incredible year and welcome a new one together.”
“Being back in Nashville co-hosting with my girl Elle is something I look forward to every year,” Smith added. “We’re gonna put on one heck of a show from Music City, and Nashville’s Big Bash will be the perfect soundtrack to ring in another year with family and friends.”
New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash is executive produced by Robert Deaton and Mary Hilliard Harrington in partnership with the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. The special will be directed by Sandra Restrepo.
Hilliard Harrington said in a statement, “Nashville has quickly become one of the hottest destinations for New Year’s Eve, and we get to throw a huge party with the best artists and fans of any genre of music. We are thrilled to be in business with CBS and look forward to working with them for years to come.”
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood were among those who gathered in Atlanta on Tuesday (Nov. 28) to pay their respects and honor the life of former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died Nov. 19 at age 96. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The memorial service took place […]
Brothers Osborne, who picked up their sixth consecutive duo of the year win at the CMA Awards earlier this month, will launch their headlining, 35-date Might as Well Be Us tour in 2024, bringing their show to cities including Atlanta, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Chicago.
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The tour will welcome openers Stephen Wilson Jr., The Cadillac Three, Zach Top, Jackson Dean, Madeline Edwards and Caylee Hammack.
Following the release of their genre-blurring self-titled fourth studio album, the duo earned a Grammy nomination for best country album, as well as a nomination for best country duo/group performance (for “Nobody’s Nobody”) at the 2024 Grammys. The duo earned their first Grammy win last year, earning best country duo/group performance for their song “Younger Me.” Since making their debut with “Let’s Go There” in 2013, the duo has earned two top 10 Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs hits, with “Stay a Little Longer” and the Dierks Bentley collaboration “Burning Man.”
The sibling duo’s John and TJ Osborne co-wrote every song on their 11-track self-titled project, including their radio single “Nobody’s Nobody,” which they wrote with Mike Elizondo and Kendell Marvel.
“We are always pushing ourselves, always evolving and not afraid to change,” John Osborne said in a statement. “But at the end of the day, we are also who we are.”
“This is a defining record at this point in our career, where we needed to put it all on our shoulders,” TJ added. “And we did. Like it was when we were growing up, it’s just John and me.”
Members of the band’s The Family Fan Club can unlock exclusive pre-sale access to shows by logging into the official website at brothersosborne.com. Brothers Osborne fan-club presale will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 10 a.m. local time, with select presales that week ahead of general on-sale which will begin on Friday, Dec. 1 10 a.m. local time here.
See the full list of Might as Well Be Us Tour dates (with openers noted) below:
March 28: Milwaukee, WI – The Rave – Eagles Ballroom*March 29: Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha*March 30: Waukee, IA – Vibrant Music Hall*April 3: Atlanta -Coca-Cola Roxy+April 4: Spartanburg, SC – Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium+April 5: Chattanooga, TN – Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium+April 11 – Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J Brady Music Center^April 12 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company^April 13: New Orleans, LA – Saenger Theatre^April 18: Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway$April 19: Philadelphia, PA – The Metropolitan Opera House (“The Met”)$April 20: Wallingford, CT – Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre$April 25: Saint Augustine, FL – The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre+April 26: Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live Orlando+April 27: Hollywood, FL -Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.+#May 18: Idaho Falls, ID – Mountain America Center%May 19: Sandy, UT – Sandy Amphitheater%May 21: Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall%May 22: Abbotsford, BC – Abbotsford Centre%May 24: Modesto, CA – The Fruityard%May 25: Oakland, CA – Fox Theater%May 29: San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre%May 31: Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl%June 2: Las Vegas, NV – The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas%June 7: Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre@June 8: Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater@June 13: Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live! Outdoor Amphitheatre*June 14: Buffalo, NY – Terminal B at The Outer Harbor*June 15: Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill*June 20: Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE – Outdoors+June 21: Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park+June 22: Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed+June 27: LaFayette, NY – Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards Summer Concert Series*June 28: Newark, NJ – New Jersey Performing Arts Center – Prudential Hall*June 29: Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion*
*Stephen Wilson Jr.+ The Cadillac Three^ Zach Top$ Jackson Dean% Madeline Edwards@ Caylee Hammack# on-sale Dec. 8 at 10am Local Time