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On Monday (March 27), CMT revealed the six finalists for video of the year at their upcoming awards show, including Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton and more.
Wallen’s visual for “You Proof” is nominated, while Shelton is competing with 2022’s “No Body.” The four other nominees rounding out the category include Carrie Underwood‘s “Hate My Heart” from her latest album Denim & Rhinestones, Cody Johnson‘s “Human,” HARDY‘s Lainey Wilson-assisted “Wait in the Truck” and Kane Brown‘s “Thank God” with his wife Katelyn Brown.
Voting in the video of the year category, which started with a crop of 16 videos, will continue through the weekend, with the top three nominees being announced Sunday (April 2) ahead of the show and the big winner revealed during the telecast on CBS.
Underwood’s inclusion in the top six continues her hot streak at the CMT Awards; the American Idol champ holds the record as the most-awarded artist in the show’s history, and she’s been up for video of the year for five consecutive years.
Shelton coming out on top would make it The Voice coach’s second win for video of the year after being crowned in 2018 for “I’ll Name the Dogs,” though the Browns would make history with a win as the first-ever husband and wife duo to take home the prize. (The Different Man singer also happens to be co-hosting the ceremony opposite Kelsea Ballerini.)
For HARDY, Wilson, Johnson or Wallen, a victory over the country veterans would bring a first-time win in the category. The latter currently holds the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 for the third consecutive week with his sprawling, 36-track album One Thing at a Time (chart dated April 1).
Several Nashville musicians have spoken out after six people, including three students and three adult staff members, were killed during a school shooting on Monday (March 27) at The Covenant School in Nashville.
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A 28-year-old suspect was killed during an altercation with police. The Metro Nashville PD’s official Twitter account revealed that the six victims fatally shot by the active shooter at Covenant School were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all age 9; Cynthia Peak, age 61; Katherine Koonce, age 60; and Mike Hill, age 61. Koonce is listed as the head of School on The Covenant School’s official website.
Nashville musicians spoke out in grief and anger. Singer-songwriter-musician Charlie Worsham wrote via his Instagram Stories, “It seems impossible to find fitting words to say about the shooting in Nashville today. I’m heartbroken and enraged that we can’t seem to provide the simplest, most common-sense safeguards for our own children. If this was something other than a gun problem, it’d be happening all over the world. But it only seems to happen here.”
Kelsea Ballerini, who has previously spoken with Billboard about her own experience surviving a school shooting when she was a high school sophomore, shared via Instagram Stories, “i’m heartbroken i’m triggered i’m angry and i’m terrified for the loss we continue to have in this country due to guns. three f**king kids. what are we doing.”
Contemporary Christian singer Natalie Grant shared a news story about the incident via her Instagram Stories, adding, “I posted this earlier and then deleted it because I had been told people were only injured. I’m so heartbroken and devastated to realize not only was the original report true, but that more are dead, including three children. Several injured. This story is tragically repeated over and over and over again. Only today it hits very close to home. Jesus be near.”
Via Instagram Stories, Maren Morris shared a tweet from the Nashville Fire Department that shared details of the incident, simply commenting, “Oh my god,” accompanied by a broken-heart emoji.
Several artists, including Jason Isbell and Sheryl Crow, addressed Tennessee officials, with Isbell quote-tweeting Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, after Lee tweeted that he is “closely monitoring the tragic situation at Covenant.” Isbell responded, “Is this what we want? Monitoring the ‘tragic situation’ and asking for prayers? Something can be done Bill you just don’t have the spine for it. This must be what you want, because you haven’t done anything to prevent it.”
After Senator Marsha Blackburn sent out a tweet saying that her office was “ready to assist” federal, state and local officials, Crow responded, “If you are ready to assist, please pass sensible gun laws so that the children of Tennessee and America at large might attend school without risk of being gunned down.”
Rosanne Cash also responded to Blackburn’s tweet, saying, “Don’t even. You vote against every common sense gun control bill that comes across your desk, you’ve taken over $1 million from the NRA, and you rank 14th in all Congress for NRA contributions. Spare us the handwringing @marshablackburn”
Shortly after news of the school shooting broke, Margo Price addressed Lee, saying, “4 dead so far in an elementary school shooting in Nashville this am. Can I ask you, @GovBillLee why you passed permit less [sic] carry in 2021? Our children are dying and being shot in school but you’re more worried about drag queens than smart gun laws? You have blood on your hands.”
See several of the responses from Nashville music artists below:
Is this what we want? Monitoring the “tragic situation” and asking for prayers? Something can be done Bill you just don’t have the spine for it. This must be what you want, because you haven’t done anything to prevent it. https://t.co/klWsCbhw0B— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) March 27, 2023
My heart is broken and prayers for all involved in todays horrible school shooting in Nashville.— Chris Janson (@janson_chris) March 27, 2023
We are praying with our Nashville community for everyone involved in today’s horrific shooting— Brett Young (@BrettYoungMusic) March 27, 2023
No words… The Covenant School. Our children deserve better. Praying for all affected. Tragic America.— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) March 27, 2023
Pray for Nashville. A shooting at a school has occurred. Three children dead. Praying for these babies & their families. Absolutely devastating 💔— Carly Pearce (@carlypearce) March 27, 2023
I try to stay off here for my mental health but for the love of God! As a mother, I’m pissed the fuck off. Shame on every single politician ok with doing nothing as CHILDREN are getting assassinated on an everyday basis in a place that is supposed to be their safe haven.— Mickey Guyton (@MickeyGuyton) March 27, 2023
God Bless all the parents of children at The Covenant School. Horrific and sickening.— Randy Houser (@RandyHouser) March 27, 2023
Thank you @MNPDNashville for running toward the danger and neutralizing it without hesitation, or a second thought to your own safety. #Nashville greatly appreciates you.— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) March 27, 2023
Morgan Wallen kept his cool when someone in the audience at Saturday night’s (March 25) show at Melbourne, Australia’s Rod Laver Arena chucked a full cup of liquid at him on stage, narrowly missing a direct hit on the country star while he was singing “Everything I Love” from his Billboard 200 #1 double album One Thing at a Time.
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In video posted on TikTok by a fan who attended the show, Morgan looks irritated at the attempt to interrupt his show by launching the cup, with a few droplets hitting him, but the majority, and the cup, avoiding a direct hit. In fan Chloe Donovan’s video of the incident, Wallen doesn’t miss a beat and keeps singing, but looks in the direction of the liquid launcher and gives them a sideways glance.
In a follow-up clip, Wallen stops the music and stares at the area where the cup came from while the crowd shouts “kick them out! kick them out!” Wallen, pointing, says, “Go ahead. One of y’all own up to it or I’m gonna kick your whole f—in’ group out. One of y’all go ahead and say ‘I did it.’ All right, kick that kid out of here then.”
A spokesperson for Wallen confirmed that a cup of liquid was thrown on stage and that the person who tossed it was removed from the venue.
Meanwhile, One Thing at aTime will notch its third straight week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart (dated April 1) after earning 209,500 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending March 23. It debuted at No. 1 with 501,000 units, then tallied 259,000 in its second frame.
Check out Donovan’s video of the incident below.
A language teacher at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha, Wisconsin has called out her school’s administration after saying that they vetoed the inclusion of a pair of rainbow-themed songs in the spring concert. “My first graders were so excited to sing ‘Rainbowland’ for our spring concert but it has been vetoed by our administration. When will it end?,” she tweeted last week along with hashtags for the school system, Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, GSafe (which create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in Wisconsin schools) and civil rights.
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Teacher Melissa Tempel also included the lyrics to “Rainbowland,” the Cyrus/Parton duet about acceptance that appeared on Miley’s 2017 album Younger Now. “Living in Rainbowland/ Where you and I go hand in hand/ Oh, I’d be lying if I said this was fine/ All the hurt and the hate going on here/ We are rainbows, me and you/ Every color, every hue,” they sing on the song. Why was that track about living in harmony together reportedly banned?
On March 24, Tempel wrote, “The latest I heard is that the song was banned bc @MileyCyrus is controversial. D’oh, I thought for sure it was @DollyPartonvand her beautiful drag queen followers! Oh well, I can’t stop my students if they still sing ‘Rainbowland.’ It’s a fun, catchy song!” First grade teacher Tempel later said her guess as to why the duet was pulled was because of its “beautiful LYRICS. Because saying an ARTIST is controversial would be a very slippery slope and they wouldn’t want to go there. Amirite?,” she wrote.
When a commenter asked why the song was pulled from the concert Tempel responded, “no reason given.” A day later, Tempel reported that the administration also banned the Muppet Movie classic “Rainbow Connection,” writing, “so it seems the reason is rainbows.” Tempel provided another update on March 23 when she reported that “Rainbow Connection” had been unbanned after “parents sent emails to admin,” though it seems “Rainbowland” is still off the menu.
At press time spokespeople for Heyer Elementary and the Waukesha Country board of Education had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on the reported song bans. At press time it also did not appear as if Parton or Cyrus had responded to the reported “Rainbowland” ban on their socials.
In a statement to People, the Alliance for Education’s Becky Gilligan said that their organization, “continues to advocate for our community… This is the most recent decision by a school district administration intent on stifling the diversity and denying equality to the community it serves, further ostracizing Waukesha in the eyes of the nation.”
The mother of a first-grader at the school, Sarah Schindler, told the Los Angeles Times that her daughter came home last week with a list of songs she was going to perform at the spring concert. Among the tracks Schindler pulled up on YouTube were “Rainbowland,” Kermit the Frog’s “Rainbow Connection” and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” Schindler said both she and her daughter were very excited because they love Parton.
Then a few days later, her daughter came home and told Schindler, “we can’t sing it anymore. We can’t sing ‘Rainbow Connection’ and we can’t sing ‘Rainbowland.’” Schindler said she reached out to Tempel, her daughter’s teacher, and the school’s principal as well as the district superintendent for answers and was told that the administration had pulled the songs because they were too “controversial.”
Schindler told the Times that the school board had undergone a “conservative flip” recently in the wake of COVID-19 mitigation strategies during the global pandemic that has has killed more than 1.2 million Americans to date. “One of those is a controversial topics policy saying that teachers can’t have any kind of signage that could be deemed political. … Discussion of pronouns with students was another thing that came up. And teachers aren’t allowed to wear rainbows,” Schindler said.
Another parent with a student enrolled in the district told the paper that the Waukesha school district has “really cracked down on anything LGBTQ… so this song being an ‘issue’ has not in any way come as a surprise… My daughter is 17 and has been in the marching band community for four years. It’s a very welcoming community for kids that are LBGTQ. She has a lot of friends that identify as part of that community so it hurts her deeply. All that Miley and Dolly are saying is that they want to live in a world that is accepting, with no judgment and where people can be who they want to be.”
See Tempel’s tweets below.
Today they banned Rainbow Connection, so it seems the reason is rainbows.— Maestra Melissa (@melissatempel) March 23, 2023
The latest I heard is that the song was banned bc @MileyCyrus is controversial. D’oh, I thought for sure it was @DollyParton and her beautiful drag queen followers! Oh well, I can’t stop my students if they still sing Rainbowland. It’s a fun, catchy song!— Maestra Melissa (@melissatempel) March 25, 2023
This week in country, Brandy Clark returns with new music, Luke Combs takes on a Tracy Chapman classic, and Rissi Palmer and Miko Marks team up for a powerful collaboration. All that and more below, as Billboard takes you through the new country releases you need to hear this week.
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Brandy Clark, “Buried”
Clark returns with the announcement of an upcoming self-titled album (out May 19), with production by Brandi Carlile (their previous collaboration, “Same Devil,” earned Clark her 10th Grammy nomination). Clark, known for co-penning country hits including “Mama’s Broken Heart” and “Follow Your Arrow,” is well-versed with Nashville’s music row writing rooms and machinations. But here, she moves further away from writing-by-committee, unearthing personal revelations. With the album’s first single, “Buried,” Clark exhumes the sense of emotional tethering to an ex-lover, even as she attempts to move on. “I’ll be an over you achiever, I’ll make you a believer/ That I don’t love you either,” she sings — though the song’s denouement offers a glimpse at the devotion behind the defiance. As she envisions one day getting remarried, she confesses, “But I’ll love you ’til I’m buried.” Above all, Clark continues to convey her inexorable talents as both a song-crafter and vocal interpreter.
Luke Combs, “Fast Car”
When Luke Combs released his 18-song latest album, Gettin’ Old, on Friday (March 24), one of the most gut-wrenching songs on the project wasn’t a new track, but his cover of the 1988 blues-folk hit, “Fast Car,” written and recorded by Tracy Chapman. The song’s gritty tale chronicles a woman’s escape from a low-income, alcoholic family situation, only to end up in a similar situation, working a low-income job, living with an alcoholic partner, and once again faced with the decision to leave. The timeless song has earned several cover attempts since its release 35 years ago; Combs’s laudable cover stays steadfast to the song’s iconic guitar riffs, while his gravelly vocal phrasing at times approximates Chapman’s, encapsulating both the aspiration and desolation recounted in the song.
Jordana Bryant, “Penniless & Broke”
Bryant brings an atmospheric, country-pop polish to her new song, while laying waste to a lover’s litany of clichéd excuses for ending a relationship. “We could’ve been giving each other our hearts/ You gave it up before you even tried,” she sings, layering her staccato vocals over this spunky-yet-contemplative track. Written by Bryant with Jason Earley and Jonathan Gamble, this auspicious single melds conversational, ripped-from-the-diary lyrics with deft pop melody and rhythm. “Penniless and Broke” is the first release from Bryant’s upcoming six-song EP, out April 21.
Randall King, “Green Eyes Blue”
King follows his 2020 EP Leanna and 2022 album Shot Glass with his latest single, a nod to the life-changing power of love. “It’s like I was saved from the hell I raised/ When my gaze locked on you,” King sings. Written by King with Randy Montana, this song is so steeped in traditional country sounds that you can nearly smell the sawdust on the floor of the honkytonk. As with all of King’s music, it’s the honeyed, distinctive timbre of his voice and the vitality in his songs that hoist his staunchly traditional sound above the plethora of recently released, ’90s country-tinged songs.
Maggie Baugh, “Mystery Whiskey Woman”
Singer-songwriter and touring musician Baugh teamed with fellow songwriter Larry McCoy for her latest outing, a song which finds Baugh watching a woman alone in a bar, and pondering what circumstances led her to that moment. “Are you drinkin’ ’bout something worth drinkin’ ’bout tonight?” Baugh muses. A sparse accompaniment, stripped down to only guitar and pedal steel, lends a hushed, haunting feel to the track.
Rissi Palmer and Miko Marks, “Still Here”
This swampy track teams Palmer with close friend and fellow Black country artist Miko Marks, for a celebration of perseverance, ambition and ultimately triumph, imbued with sizzling vocals and shades of soul-elevating gospel. Singer-songwriter Palmer also hosts Apple Music’s Color Me Country, while Marks returned to country music in 2021 with her project Our Country, following a decade-plus hiatus from the genre.
The song shares its title with the recently-released PBS documentary, which traces Palmer’s career journey as one of a handful of Black women to have charted songs on country radio — also including Linda Martell, Dona Mason and Mickey Guyton. Starting in May, Palmer and Marks will team up for a co-headlining tour later this year.
Chancey Williams, One of These Days
Williams, a former saddle bronc rider, has previously released five studio albums. On his latest project, the 11-song One of These Days, he continues to wrap his pleasant baritone around a slate of honky tonk songs. The album features production by and nine co-writes with Trent Willmon, a singer-songwriter in his own right, who also produced Cody Johnson’s CMA-winning “‘Til You Can’t.” Among the gems on this project are the coolly swaggering “Bordertown Whiskey,” the gentle-yet-impactful “If I Die Before You Wake” (one of the few outside cuts here, written by Dave Brainard, Dustin Evans and Rick Tiger) and the fiddle-drenched title track (Williams with Jody Stevens).
Ashley Ryan, “Too Far Gone”
In 2018, California native-turned-Nashville resident Ashley Ryan got a career boost when she was invited to sing with Keith Urban at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena during his Graffiti U Tour. Ryan is all swagger on this full-fledged barn burner: “Your mama gave you her mama’s hand-me-down clothes/ My mama gave me a half-smoked pack of Marlboros,” she sneers on the track, contrasting her own down-home upbringing to that of someone else’s relative wealthy origins. Deftly navigating spitfire lyrics, this newcomer brings an abundance of firepower.
On March 24, 2018, Chris Stapleton’s “Broken Halos” became his first of two No. 1s on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. Stapleton wrote the song with Mike Henderson and produced it with Dave Cobb.
The track was released on Stapleton’s LP From A Room: Volume 1, which arrived at the Top Country Albums summit in May 2017 and led for eight weeks, marking his second of four leaders. It followed his highly acclaimed album Traveller, which ruled for 29 frames.
Born April 15, 1978, in Lexington, Ky., Stapleton co-penned hits for other artists before breaking through as a recording act, include five Country Airplay No. 1s starting with Josh Turner’s “Your Man” in 2006.
“Halos” was named best country song at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, and both single and song of the year at the 52nd Annual Country Music Association Awards.
Stapleton has recorded five Country Airplay top 10s, through his second No. 1, “You Should Probably Leave,” in February 2022.
Stapleton, 44, sang the national anthem at Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., Feb. 12. He became the third consecutive country singer to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl, following Eric Church (with Jazmine Sullivan) in 2021 and Mickey Guyton in 2022.
Stapleton is currently touring on his All-American Road Show tour, set to run through Aug. 25 in Alpharetta, Ga. Plus, Stapleton, Kane Brown and Luke Bryan are scheduled to headline the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, Calif., April 28-30.
Luke Combs dove deep into songcraft on his newly-released album, Gettin’ Old, which released Friday (March 24), as the counterpart to his 2022 LP Growin’ Up. The new 18-track album features 15 Combs co-writes, as well as a cover of the 1980s Tracy Chapman classic “Fast Car.”
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“This album is about the stage of life I’m in right now, one that I’m sure a lot of us are in, have been through, or will go through,” Combs said via social media when announcing the record back in January.
He added, “It’s about coming of age, loving where life is now but at the same time missing how it used to be, continuing to fall for the one you love and loving them no matter what, living in the moment but still wondering how much time you have left, family, friends, being thankful, and leaving a legacy. Me and so many others have poured their hearts and souls into this record and I hope you love it as much as we do.”
Of the two songs on the project that Combs didn’t write, Eric Church is a co-writer on “My Song Will Never Die,” alongside Travis Meadows and Jonathan Singleton, while Randy Montana and Dave Turnbull co-wrote the song “Where the Wild Things Are.”
Combs currently resides at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart for a second week with “Going, Going, Gone,” from his Growin’ Up set. Combs is gearing up to embark on a world tour, which launches March 25 in Arlington, Texas. In addition to stateside shows, the trek includes stops in Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, France and Switzerland. Combs also recently announced that he and wife Nicole are expecting baby number two.
See the full tracklist for Gettin’ Old below:
“Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old” (Luke Combs, Rob Snyder, Channing Wilson)
“Hannah Ford Road” (Luke Combs, Jamie Davis)
“Back 40 Back” (Luke Combs, Ray Fulcher, Jeff Hyde, Driver Williams)
“You Found Yours” (Luke Combs, Thomas Archer, Dan Isbell, James McNair)
“The Beer, The Band, and The Barstool” (Luke Combs, Rob Williford, Reid Isbell)
“Still” (Luke Combs, Jamie Davis, Ray Fulcher, Dan Isbell, Dustin Nunley)
“See Me Now” (Luke Combs, Kenton Bryant, Ray Fulcher, James McNair)
“Joe” (Luke Combs, Erik Dylan, James Slater)
“A Song Was Born” (Luke Combs, Casey Beathard, Dan Isbell, Reid Isbell)
“My Song Will Never Die” (Eric Church, Travis Meadows, Jonathan Singleton)
“Where the Wild Things Are” (Randy Montana, Dave Turnbull)
“Love You Anyway” (Luke Combs, Ray Fulcher, Dan Isbell)
“Take You With Me” (Luke Combs, James McNair, Rob Williford)
“Fast Car” (Tracy Chapman)
“Tattoo on a Sunburn” (Luke Combs, Ray Fulcher, Ben Hayslip, Dan Isbell)
“5 Leaf Clover” (Luke Combs, Jessi Alexander, Chase McGill)
“Fox in the Henhouse” (Luke Combs, Jamie Davis, Dan Isbell, Dustin Nunley)
“The Part” (Luke Combs, Kenton Bryant, Ray Fulcher)
Listen to the album in full below:
Morgan Wallen will headline an all-star benefit concert for ACM Lifting Lives during ACM Awards week in May. ACM Lifting Lives LIVE: Morgan Wallen & Friends, Presented by VGT by Aristocrat Gaming, will be held Wednesday, May 10, on the golfing green at Topgolf The Colony.
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The show will take place a day prior to the 58th annual ACM Awards show on Thursday, May 11, set to be held at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
Joining Wallen will be reigning ACM new female artist and song of the year winner Lainey Wilson, “Rock and a Hard Place” hitmaker Bailey Zimmerman, and Wallen’s Big Loud Records labelmates HARDY and ERNEST. Also on the bill is DJ 13lackbeard.
Just prior to the benefit concert, ACM Lifting Lives will welcome the return of Topgolf Tee-Off and Rock On Fundraiser at Topgolf The Colony.
General Admission tickets on the green are separate from the Topgolf Tee-Off and Rock On tournament access and will be available to ACM Members, ACM A-List subscribers, 58th ACM Awards ticket holders, and Topgolf Friends and Family through an exclusive presale, which launched Thursday (March 23). Remaining tickets will be available for a general public on-sale beginning this Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m. CST through AXS. Those who have purchased bays for golf will be able to remain in their bay for the concert, with the bay serving as a suite to watch the show.
“ACM Lifting Lives does great work providing aid in times of need to folks inside and outside of the music industry,” Wallen said via a statement. “My band and I are excited to help them raise funds to continue doing this amazing work.”
“The support of Country Music artists and the industry as a whole are who make the impactful work of ACM Lifting Lives possible,” added ACM Lifting Lives Executive Director Lyndsay Cruz. “We are so thankful to Morgan, HARDY, Lainey, ERNEST, Bailey and DJ 13lackbeard for volunteering their time to help us raise money and awareness, and we know music fans in Texas will be blown away by this all-star lineup!”
In addition to distributing more than $4 million to date through its Covid Relief Fund, ACM Lifting Lives provides critical support through the Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund, significant annual commitments to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Music Health Alliance, and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, and individual grants to organizations that reach communities all across America.
The ACM Awards will air live on May 11, exclusively via Prime Video.
Wallen recently broke the record for the most songs simultaneously charted on the Billboard Hot 100, entering 36 songs on the chart on the survey dated March 18, marking the entirety of his new album, One Thing At a Time. The album also marks a second week at the pinnacle of the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart.
Ashley Gorley rises to No. 1 on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 Songwriters chart (dated March 25), leading as the top songwriter in the United States for the first time thanks to 12 writing credits on the latest Billboard Hot 100, including 10 by Morgan Wallen.
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All 10 songs by Wallen are on his new LP, One Thing at a Time, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated March 18) with 501,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate. The sum marks the biggest week of 2023 for any album, in terms of units earned, and the largest week for any country album since Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) opened with 604,500 units in November 2021. One Thing at a Time spends a second week at No. 1 on the latest list (259,000 units).
Leading Gorley’s Hot 100 entries is the set’s single “Last Night,” which ranks at No. 2 after hitting No. 1 a week earlier. It earned Gorley his first leader on the chart as a songwriter.
Here’s a recap of Gorley’s songwriting credits on the March 25 Hot 100:
Rank, Artist Billing, Title
No. 2, Morgan Wallen, “Last Night”
No. 10, Morgan Wallen, “You Proof”
No. 17, Morgan Wallen, “Thinkin’ Bout Me”
No. 20, Morgan Wallen, “One Thing at a Time”
No. 29, Morgan Wallen, “Everything I Love”
No. 51, Morgan Wallen feat. ERNEST, “Cowgirls”
No. 52, Carly Pearce, “What He Didn’t Do”
No. 61, Morgan Wallen, “Whiskey Friends”
No. 76, Morgan Wallen, “Tennessee Fan”
No. 81, Morgan Wallen, “Me + All Your Reasons”
No. 87, Brett Young, “You Didn’t”
No. 96, Morgan Wallen, “180 (Lifestyle)”
Gorley has been one of the most in-demand country music songwriters since the mid-2000s. He’s written or co-written 96 Hot 100 entries, dating to his first, Carrie Underwood’s “Don’t Forget to Remember Me,” in 2006.
His country chart achievements are even more impressive. Gorley has written or co-written 51 No. 1 hits on Country Airplay and 15 No. 1s on Hot Country Songs.
Gorley has also spent 32 weeks at No. 1 on the Country Songwriters chart, the second-most after Zach Bryan (38 weeks).
On the Hot 100 Producers chart, Joey Moi tallies a 23rd week at No. 1, thanks to 29 production credits on the Hot 100 – with all but one via songs by Wallen. Only Dan Nigro has spent more weeks at No. 1 (27). As previously reported, Moi concurrently becomes the first artist to spend 100 weeks at No. 1 on the Country Producers chart.
Billboard launched its Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts, as well as genre-specific rankings for country, rock & alternative, R&B/hip-hop, R&B, rap, Latin, Christian, gospel and dance/electronic, in June 2019. (Alternative and hard rock joined in 2020, along with seasonal holiday rankings in 2022). The charts are based on total points accrued by a songwriter and producer, respectively, for each attributed song that appears on the Hot 100. The genre-based songwriter and producer charts follow the same methodology based on corresponding “Hot”-named genre charts. As with Billboard’s yearly recaps, multiple writers or producers split points for each song equally (and the dividing of points will lead to occasional ties on rankings).
The full Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts, in addition to the full genre rankings, can be found on Billboard.com.
Milwaukee’s beloved Summerfest festival will celebrate its 55th anniversary this summer with the usual jam-packed lineup of 100 artists taking the stage over three weekends in June and July, including headliners Eric Church (with Elle King), the Zac Brown Band (with Marcus King) and James Taylor & His All-Star Band (with Sheryl Crow) on the first weekend (June 22-24).
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The second weekend (June 29-July 1) will feature headliners Dave Matthews Band, Odesza (with a Bonobo DJ set) and another artists to be announced and, on the final weekend (July 6-8) Zach Bryan and Imagine Dragons (with AJR).
“Celebrating 55 years of live music is a true testament to this festival. Together with the City of Milwaukee, we look forward to hosting music fans from across the globe at Summerfest and delivering a world-class lineup with hundreds of artists during our nine-day run” said Milwaukee World Festival Inc. CEO Don Smiley in a statement.
Other acts on the bill include: The Avett Brothers, Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Bleachers, Three 6 Mafia, Brett Eldredge, Sofi Tukker, Gryffin, Fitz and the Tantrums, NLE Choppa, Cheap Trick, Lyle Lovett, Tegan and Sara, Santa Fe Klan, Earth, Wind & Fire, Noah Kahan, Ava Max, Lord Huron, Yung Gravy, Vance Joy, Cypress Hill, The Pretty Reckless, Sean Paul, Coi Leray, Brett Young, Spin Doctors, Jesus Jones, Japanese Breakfast, Lauren Daigle, Tyler Hubbard, Yellowcard, Smokey Robinson, Fleet Foxes, The War on Drugs, Yungblud, Styx, Grupo Niche, Tesla, Dinosaur Jr., Jenny Lewis, Scotty McCreery and many more.
Tickets for Summerfest are on sale now here, with single-day general admission starting at just $26.
Check out the full 2023 Summerfest lineup below.