Country
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Dolly Parton honored her friend, the late actor-comedian Leslie Jordan, by making a surprise appearance on the television series Call Me Kat — on which Jordan co-starred — on Thursday (Jan. 5).
The country icon spoke to Jordan during her pre-taped message, which introduced a collection of the actor’s most memorable moments on the Fox comedy that stars Mayim Bialik as Kat.
According to TV Line, Parton began her message by singing a portion of “Where the Soul Never Dies,” which the show tweeted a brief clip of.
“I know usually at a memorial people talk about somebody. Well, I’m going to talk to you, because there is that place on the other side and I’m certainly going to see you there, little brother,” she then said. “You left a lot of people here with a lot of precious, precious memories. Everybody loved you, but I doubt many of them loved you more than I did. I just want you to know that we all love you.”
“We all miss you, and I bet you’re having a big laugh over all of us being sad and sorrowful, and I know that would be the last thing you would want us to be.”
“You made us happy while you were here and we’re happy that you’re at peace,” she added. “I just want you to know that I will always love you. Goodbye, my sweet Leslie. See you over there.” Parton ended by singing a bit of her hit “I Will Always Love You.”
In 2021, the actor-singer released the album Company’s Comin’, which featured a collaboration with Parton on “Where the Soul Never Dies.”
Jordan died Oct. 24, 2022, at age 67, following a car accident in Hollywood, Calif. He was known for his work on shows including Call Me Kat, Will & Grace, The Cool Kids, and The Book of Queer.
See Call Me Kat‘s brief Twitter clip of the tribute:
Iconic rock group Eagles — Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, along with Vince Gill — are extending their Hotel California 2023 Tour, with the addition of six new shows.
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The tour features the band playing their signature 1976 Hotel California album — which includes classics like the title track as well as “Life in the Fast Lane” and “New Kid in Town” — in its entirety, plus a selection of other Eagles greatest hits.
The new shows find the band making stops in Knoxville, Tenn.; Jacksonville and Tampa, Fla.; Columbia, S.C.; Greensboro, N.C.; and Newark, N.J. A limited number of VIP packages will go on sale Jan. 12, while tickets go on sale Jan. 13.
The tour launches Feb. 19 in Portland, Ore., and runs through April 7 in Newark. The group also has a concert prior to the tour launch, with a show Feb. 17 in Lincoln, Calif.
Country Music Hall of Fame member Gill began playing with the Eagles in 2017, joining the group alongside Deacon Frey, son of late Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey, who died in 2016. Gill’s first performances with the band were a pair of bicoastal festival dates, Classic West and Classic East, in 2017. Deacon Frey left the touring outfit last year.
Hotel California has been certified 26 times multiplatinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and garnered the band two of their six Grammy Awards, for record of the year (“Hotel California”) and best arrangement for voices (“New Kid in Town”). The band, which formed in 1971, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2016.
The group has also seen success in and has had clear influence on the country music genre, with “Lyin’ Eyes” (sung and co-written by Frey) becoming a top 10 hit on Billboard‘s Hot Country Singles chart in 1975. They also earned four Country Music Association awards nominations for vocal group of the year (1976, 1977, 2008 and 2009), while the 1993 tribute album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles (featuring Gill performing on “I Can’t Tell You Why”) won album of the year at the CMA Awards in 1994. The group also won a Grammy in 2008 for best country performance by a duo or group with vocals, for “How Long.”
Tim McGraw spent the holidays having some fun with his family, and Faith Hill took to Instagram on Wednesday (Jan. 4) to spread the joy.
In the short clip, the “Don’t Take the Girl” singer is seen busting a move in the backseat of the car to Olivia Rodrigo‘s “Good 4 U” single, off her debut album Sour. “What is happening?” one of the country superstar’s daughters is heard saying with a laugh off camera.
“This is a rare, very rare look into a side of my husband that only his girls and I get to see,” Hill captioned the sweet, goofy clip of her husband. “I think it is the best way to enter into 2023. Yes, it is not the first day of the new year but I believe the first week still counts. Regardless….. It’s worth it [dancing emojis].”
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She concluded by noting, “Dance everyday, maybe steal some of Tim’s moves. It brings joy, laughter, and the insatiable need for all of us to be present.”
The powerhouse country couple have been married since 1996, two years after initially meeting in 1994. They are also parents to three daughters: Gracie, 25, Maggie, 24, and Audrey, 21.
Watch the hilarious clip below.
A superstar A-team of iconic singers have teamed up for the upcoming single “Gonna Be You.” The Diane Warren-written song featuring Dolly Parton, Go-Gos singer Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan and Blondie’s Debbie Harry will be released on Jan 20 in advance of the upcoming Paramount Pictures road trip comedy 80 For Brady.
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“When I wrote ‘Gonna Be You’ for 80 FOR BRADY, I wanted to write a song that celebrated these women’s deep friendship,” said Warren in a statement. “Since 80 was in the title I got a crazy idea, why not get some of the most iconic singers from the 80s, who are still amazing and always will be, to all sing it?!!!! Everyone I approached said yes and was just as excited as me!! I’m honored to have Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan and Debbie Harry on this song!! ‘Gonna Be You’ is that song you want to sing along to with all your good friends!!!”
The anthem will accompany the film starring an equally star-studded cast of Oscar winners and nominees led by Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field that was inspired by the true story of four best friends who take a trip to the 2017 Super Bowl to see their hero QB Tom Brady play in the big game; the movie will hit screens on Feb. 3. Check out the movie trailer here.
The track is just one of the all-star collabs country icon Parton has on tap for this year. Dionne Warwick revealed earlier this week that she and Parton recently recorded a gospel song called “Peace Like a River” written by Dolly that Warwick promised will be “very special.”
Shania Twain is line dancing into 2023 with a new classic pop country banger, “Giddy Up!” The effervescent celebration of tipping cups and enjoying the time we have dropped on Thursday morning (Jan. 5) as the latest single from the country icon’s upcoming sixth full length album, Queen of Me (Feb. 3).
The track was accompanied by a Marmofilms-directed video in which a bunch of dancers bring the song’s life-affirming lyrics to the dancefloor, which, as it turns out, can be anywhere from a car repair shop to a grocery store aisle, country bar or your local diner.
“The saying ‘Let’s Go Girls!’ is such a wonderfully uplifting sentiment now, but it’s just something I said during the recording in the studio and I guess that’s the same for ‘Giddy Up!’,” Twain said in a statement accompanying the latest single from her upcoming Republic Nashville debut. “These lines come to me when I’m thinking about how to put a little ‘pep in my step.’ I want people to feel good when they hear the new album. I want to set a celebratory tone and ‘Giddy Up!’ is a way to call to the audience and say ‘let’s get ready for some fun!’”
The exclamation point-loving singer runs down the importance of savoring the moment in the first verse, joyfully singing, “I left my heart at a waterin’ hole/ Somewhere in small-town Ohio/ Headed out west to Arizona/ ‘Cause the East Coast weather’s too cold, cold, cold/ Easy come, easy go/ I got a fast car with the nineties on/ Not a soul on the road but the road is home,” before busting into the party hearty chorus.
“Smiles for miles/ All up on my face/ Wear it, share it/ ‘Cause we ain’t got time to waste/ Up in your giddy up/ Giddy, giddy up/ Up in your giddy up/ Drunk in the city/ Got litty in the cup/ Up in your giddy up/ When it gets tough, gotta get a little love/ Put some up in your giddy, giddy up,” she sings over the song’s bouncy rhythm.
The 12-track Queen of Me will feature the album’s first single, “Waking Up Dreaming,” as well as the title track and what is described as the “passionate finale” produced by and featuring Twenty One Pilots singer Tyler Joseph, “The Hardest Stone.” The tour in support of the album is slated to kick off on April 28 at Spokane Arena in Spokane, WA and feature support from Kelsea Ballerini, Lindsay Ell, Hailey Whitters, Breland, Robyn Ottolini, Priscilla Block, and Mickey Guyton, Lily Rose, Talk, and Tenille Townes on select dates.
Watch the “Giddy Up!” video and check out the full Queen of Me track listing below.
Queen of Me track list:
“Giddy Up!”
“Brand New”
“Waking Up Dreaming”
“BEST Friend”
“Pretty Liar”
“Inhale/Exhale AIR”
“Last Day of Summer”
“Queen of Me”
“Got it Good”
“Number One”
“Not Just a Girl”
“The Hardest Stone”
Luke Combs released his most recent project, Growin’ Up, in 2022, but the singer-songwriter has plenty more songs in the tank — so much so that he’s releasing a new album March 24, with a hefty 18 songs. The upcoming set will mark the reigning Country Music Association entertainer of the year’s fourth full-length studio album.
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Though no track list has been released for the album, it’s a fair bet that the upcoming project will include many songs written by the prolific Combs himself. He previously told Billboard that though he’s not opposed to recording songs by outside writers (and indeed, recorded an outside song during the process of making Growin’ Up, though it did not make the final track list), “I just like that part of it so much, the writing thing. I’m sure that my albums would probably be even more successful if I cut outside songs because [there are] songwriters a lot better than I am, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.”
As is his custom, Combs has regularly been sharing snippets of new music on social media, with songs including “Tattoo on a Sunburn.”
Growin’ Up is nominated for best country album at the upcoming Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, which are slated to be held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. He’s also nominated for best country duo/group performance, for “Outrunnin’ Your Memory” with Miranda Lambert, as well as best country song (“Doin’ This,” which he wrote with Drew Parker and Robert Williford). Growin’ Up also landed on Billboard‘s list of the best albums of 2022, as well as Billboard‘s list of the best country albums of 2022.
Tim McGraw recently paid tribute to late journalist and broadcast pioneer Barbara Walters, who died Dec. 30 at age 93. McGraw shared a throwback video from an interview that Walters did with McGraw’s wife and fellow country music artist, Faith Hill.
“Thank you Barbara for all the great work!” he captioned the clip.
“You talk about wanting to have a family and how important that was to you,” Walters said in the interview clip that McGraw shared on Tuesday (Jan. 3). “And then five years ago, as the career is growing, you go on tour with a country music star named Tim McGraw. Was it love at first sight? Did you walk out on that stage and say, ‘This is it’?”
“Well, of course I was attracted to him because he’s so amazingly beautiful,” Hill responded with a laugh. “He’s gorgeous. But he was like comfort to me. I don’t know — I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this person was the one that had to be my mate for the rest of my life.”
Later in the interview, Hill added of McGraw, “He’s my best friend, he makes me laugh. He’s the best father, he loves our children, he adores our children, and he’s sexy as hell.”
Faith also shared how McGraw proposed, telling Walters at the time: “That the moment of truth was we were doing a show together and he goes onstage and I go to the dressing room and he’s taken a sharpie pen and written on his dressing mirror, ‘Will you marry me?’ And I knew that one was for real. I wrote ‘Yes, I’m going to be your wife’ in sharpie and we still have that mirror. We kept it.”
Hill and McGraw wed on Oct. 6, 1996, in McGraw’s home state of Louisiana. They went on to welcome three daughters: Gracie (born May 1997), Maggie (born August 1998) and Audrey (born December 2001).
Hill told Walters that no matter where the couple’s careers took them, their marriage and children would remain the top priority.
“We just have to keep reminding each other that our marriage is the most important,” Hill said. “Our family is the most important thing, regardless of what happens in our careers.”
Most recently McGraw and Hill starred together in the Yellowstone prequel series, 1883, portraying married couple James and Margaret Dutton.
Revisit the clip in McGraw’s post below:
Yellowstone actor Luke Grimes is balancing roles as both singer and actor, portraying Kayce Dutton on the hit television show, while also launching his own music career by recently inking a deal with UMG Nashville, and releasing his current single, “No Horse to Ride.”
Grimes appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday (Jan. 3), telling the late-night host that he does have an album in the works. The artist shared that he begins recording in February and estimates the set will release near the end of March.
As for the ending of the show’s current story arc, Grimes says he does not know how it will end. “I think some of the cast know the end,” he says. “Some have been told, some haven’t.”
He added that he doesn’t want to know how the show ends, but also that Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan doesn’t want him to know. “I don’t think Taylor, who writes our show, wants me to know, either. I don’t know — it might affect the way you do something or play something. And it’s kind of fun to experience it this way, anyway. It’s sort of like life.”
Fallon also asked Grimes to describe his character, noting that many Yellowstone fans have likened Kayce Dutton to Michael Corleone, a character in The Godfather.
“Yeah, that’s kind of a reference throughout, but we’ll have to see. You know, I think that’s what we’re all kind of waiting to see: Can he come up and man up and do the things necessary to help the family keep the place or not? I think that’s what we’re all kind of watching to find out.”
The fifth season of Yellowstone premiered in November 2022, with 12 million viewers tuning in during the premiere’s simulcast. Yellowstone season five is on a mid-season break, and returns this summer. In the meantime, another Yellowstone prequel, 1923, has launched. It follows the Dutton family during Prohibition and the Great Depression.
Zach Bryan notches his first No. 1 on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart (dated Jan. 7) with “Something in the Orange.” In its 36th week on the survey, the song ascends from No. 2 with 15 million official streams (up 2%) and 4,000 downloads sold (up 11%) Dec. 23-29, according to Luminate.
“Orange” debuted on the survey dated May 7, 2022, at No. 11 and reached the top 10 in June. Being promoted to country radio by Warner Music Nashville, the song marks Bryan’s first entry on the Country Airplay chart, where it ranks at No. 31 in its 26th frame with 2.4 million in reach.
Meanwhile, Bryan’s new live album, All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live From Red Rocks), arrives on Top Country Albums at No. 14. Released Dec. 25, it earned 12,000 equivalent album units through Dec. 29. The 24-song set, which includes “Orange,” was recorded at Bryan’s concert Nov. 3 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo.
“Seems there is a massive issue with fair ticket prices to live shows lately,” Bryan shared on social media. “I have met kids at my shows who have paid upwards of four-hundred bucks to be there and I’m done with it. I’ve decided to play a limited number of headline shows next year to which I’ve done all I can to make prices as cheap as possible and to prove to people tickets don’t have to cost $450 to see a good and honest show.”
“Orange” original parent album American Heartbreak debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums last May with 71,000 units – the biggest week tallied by a country LP in 2022. On the Jan. 7-dated list, it ranks at No. 5 (30,000 units).
Notably, Bryan wrote “Orange” solo. It’s the first Hot Country Songs No. 1 penned by a single writer since Taylor Swift’s “Love Story (Taylor’s Version),” which debuted atop the chart dated Feb. 27, 2021. Before that, Blanco Brown’s self-written “The Git Up” reigned for 12 weeks beginning in July 2019.
On Hot Country Songs, “Orange” dethrones Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof,” which dominated for 19 nonconsecutive weeks starting with its debut last May. Concurrently, “You Proof” leads Country Airplay for a record-extending 10th week.
As 2023 gets underway, Lady A member Charles Kelley has been looking back on 2022, which he called “a big year of change” in a recent Instagram post.
In August 2022, Lady A announced they were putting their Request Line Tour on hold in order to support Kelley on his sobriety journey.
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“We are a band, but more importantly … we’re family,” the trio wrote via a statement at the time. “We’re proud to say that Charles has embarked on a journey to sobriety. So, right now in order to be the healthiest, strongest and most creative band we can be, Lady A will take the time with the support of our families and team of professionals to walk through this together. It’s early on this road, but we are determined to do what will best set us up for many more years together. We are grateful for your patience.”
In a new interview with Men’s Health, Kelley opened up about his previous attempts at sobriety and what has made this time different.
Kelley noted that he had been trying to stop drinking on his own since January 2022, following a vacation in Greece with his wife Cassie and several friends. This marked his third attempt at sobriety. Kelley made his first attempt more than six years ago. As with his previous sobriety attempts, Kelley has the full support of his Lady A bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood. Kelley said that this attempt at sobriety has been different, noting, “This is the first time I actually put tools in place.”
When Kelley revealed his plan to one of Lady A’s managers, Callie Cunningham Nobel, she connected with Tennessee nonprofit Porter’s Call, which helps music artists with care and resources. One day later, Kelley went into a treatment center.
Kelley also pointed out a few of the advantages he’s experienced since cutting out alcohol — namely feeling better, having more energy and being in better shape.
“It’s amazing what not drinking will do,” Kelley told the outlet. “You save yourself, I’m ashamed to say, anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 calories a day in booze — you’re bound to lose some weight. But I look back at pictures from just three months ago. It’s my face, my midsection. I’ve found that it all goes hand in hand. When I’m not drinking, I feel better. So then I work out.”
Kelley has found different things to turn to, such as ice cream and LaCroix (Kelley told the outlet that he drinks an estimated 15 cans of LaCroix water per day).
“My wife bought me an ice cream maker, and I unapologetically every night will destroy almost a pint of ice cream. I’m just like, ‘Listen, I gotta have something,’” he said.
Kelley also released what he calls “a goodbye letter to alcohol” with the song “As Far As You Could,” which he wrote with Haywood and Jimmy Robbins.
Lady A and their team are now working through setting up tour logistics, and Kelley says he is approaching the upcoming tour similarly to how he saw some other artists approach their tours — with no alcohol allowed on buses and backstage.
“They’ve been doing this thing for 15, 20 years and are in the same spot that I’m in right now,” Kelley said. “What do you want out of this life? Do you want to wreck your family and your career? Or do you want to put some things into place to keep it successful?”