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Kane Brown and Blake Shelton turned in an intense duet, complete with fire and pyrotechnics, when they performed the live debut of their collaboration “Different Man” on the season finale of NBC’s The Voice on Tuesday evening (Dec. 13).
“Different Man,” which serves as the title track to Brown’s 2022 album, features lyrics all too relatable for anyone pursuing a career in music: “What if I was made for the stage/ What if I was made for the lights/ What if I was chosen to write the stories, wasn’t built to work the line.”
“I was driving to the gym — that’s where I really have time to think and listen,” Brown previously told Billboard of bringing Shelton in on the track. “I wanted one more feature on the album, and Blake was the first person I thought of. The song just reminded me of the ‘God’s Country’ kind of Blake Shelton, so I felt like it made sense.”
Shelton has served as a coach on The Voice since its launch in 2011, and previously brought in Brown as an advisor for Team Blake in 2020. Brown has frequently included a cover of Shelton’s “Ol’ Red” in his concerts. Brown previously said that serving as an advisor on Team Blake was a full-circle moment for him.
“I always wanted to go on The Voice and try out for Blake,” Brown previously told Parade. “I think I said that on the show. I always wanted to go and sing ‘Ol’ Red’ in front of Blake and see if I could get him to turn around. And then, it was just a full circle moment getting to come and be his advisor.”
The season 22 finale of The Voice also featured performances from OneRepublic, Breland, Maluma and Adam Lambert. Meanwhile, Team Blake earned a ninth victory with this season’s win, as country singer and Team Blake member Bryce Leatherwood emerged as the competition’s victor.
Shelton recently announced he will step away from The Voice after next season.
Watch Shelton and Brown’s performance above.
Universal Music Group Nashville has signed actor-musician Luke Grimes, in association with Range Music. Grimes is known for his role portraying Kayce Dutton on the hit Paramount Network series Yellowstone.
Grimes previously released a snippet of his new song “No Horse to Ride,” which will release Friday (Dec. 16). He wrote the song with Tony Lane and Jonathan Singleton and is currently working on his debut major-label album with producer Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton).
“As an actor, Luke Grimes has effortlessly brought the cowboy lifestyle to the forefront of American culture,” said UMGN president Cindy Mabe via a statement. “As a country music artist, Luke has tapped into that same honesty and authenticity to capture a raw grit and pure depth of artistry that will expand the sound and reach of country music. We are so excited and proud to welcome Luke Grimes to Universal Music Group Nashville.”
“Luke is a special spirit who puts honesty above all else in his art,” added Range Music managing partner Matt Graham. “We at Range are excited to partner with Brian, Cindy and the rest of the UMG team to help him fulfill his dreams of sharing his songs with country music fans.”
Prior to his role on Yellowstone, Grimes appeared in movies including American Sniper and The Magnificent Seven. The Ohio native also grew up playing music in church, picking up drums, guitar and piano. Prior to becoming an actor, Grimes was a drummer and songwriter for a country band in Los Angeles.
Universal Music Group Nashville’s roster includes Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson, The War and Treaty, Chris Stapleton and Darius Rucker, among others.
Given that Brad Rempel’s hometown of La Crete, Alberta, is closer to the North Pole than any other country artist’s, High Valley is perhaps better qualified than any other act in the format to cut Christmas songs.
Although, truth be told, Rempel is hard-pressed to get overly sentimental about the holiday. He’s not a Scrooge about it, but he’s often underwhelmed by the music.
“It’s always kind of a joke among my friends that, ‘Well, you live up there near Santa Claus. You should love Christmas stuff,’ ” he says. “There’s nowhere on Earth that feels more like Christmas than northern Canada. You can literally skate on frozen ponds and ride snowmobiles, you know, watch the snow falling down. I mean, everything about it is kind of your stereotypical Hallmark Christmas movie kind of vibes.”
Rempel’s resistance to holiday tracks may have played a role in making High Valley’s new seasonal release, “Back Home Christmas,” an engaging, and pandemically appropriate, piece for 2022. When he showed up at Full Circle Studio — the workplace of songwriter-producer Seth Mosley (for King & Country, Michael W. Smith) — on May 23, the assignment was to craft new yuletide material with Jon Nite (“Pick Me Up,” “You Didn’t”) and Zach Kale (“I Hope,” “The Good Ones”). And Rempel admitted up front that they would have to clear a rather high bar.
“I was like, ‘Hey, full disclosure, guys: I’m not a huge fan of Christmas music,’ ” recalls Rempel with a laugh. “Jon and Zach were like, ‘OK,’ and then they pretend-like packed up their guitars and walked out of the room. And I was like, ‘But I love a great Christmas song. I just want to make sure this feels like a legitimate High Valley song and not just your token “Here Comes Santa Claus” type of deal.’ ”
As it turns out, Rempel was feeling disconnected from his roots as he considered Christmas. La Crete isn’t easy to reach (flying from Nashville to Edmonton takes seven to 11 hours, and then it’s a four-plus-hour drive north from there), and under COVID-19 circumstances, he hadn’t been home since 2019. He felt a need to return for this year’s holidays, and Mosley suggested they get in the spirit by writing something in 6/8 time.
“For me, 6/8 just always feels like Christmas,” Mosley explains. “It automatically just puts you in a more nostalgic head frame.”
Indeed, the holiday songs written in waltz-time signatures 6/8 and 3/4 — “Silver Bells,” “The First Noel,” “We Three Kings” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” just to name a few — have a classic feel about them. Mosley developed a chord progression for that format, called up plug-in sounds of sleigh bells and church bells, and turned the lights down to mimic the feel of a Tennessee Christmas. And they found a musical style with an old-world vibe.
“I remember playing some Celtic-y stuff, kind of an Irish singalong — almost like a reverent drinking song or like a hymn,” says Nite. “That helped change the direction of the sound.”
Rempel’s desire to get back to Canada for the holiday resonated throughout the room as they began to craft a story.
“I wanted to feel that feeling of going back home when you’re just out of high school and you go to college, and you go back that first or second time,” Nite says. “There’s something magical about when you’re 18 or 20 years old, you’re coming back for the first time after leaving town. It’s so amazing to come back home and be like, ‘OK, this is a safe place that made me who I am. These people love me no matter what.’ ”
Even though the song was about returning somewhere, it took some work to nail down a hook that would serve as the song’s destination. “At one point, we were like, ‘I’ll be back on Christmas,’ ” remembers Kale. “ ‘Back Home Christmas’ seems to land that hook a lot better and makes you feel something — just the word ‘home.’ We started writing toward that.”
The first lines of the chorus — “I miss those O holy silent nights/Popcorn-on-pine-tree traditions” — knitted the titles of two classic carols together, setting up an occasional theme: phrases from “Joy to the World,” “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” and “Away in a Manger” all find their way into the lyric, though they’re dropped in as casual conversation rather than obvious puns.
They avoided Santa Claus entirely, and the only mention of gifts wasn’t about what might be under the tree; it was a simple recognition that the one gift Mama wanted was for her son to be home. Appropriately, the bridge ramped up to a highly rhythmic fever, celebrating a sacred Christmas Eve church ceremony while capturing the sense of arrival.
“If you’re on that journey, on the way back home, the last mile and a half or two miles, it’s the excitement of seeing the people that you love,” Kale says. “I think that energy, we unknowingly put into the bridge.”
Mosley layered instruments onto the demo that day, and a fair amount of those sounds remained on “Back Home Christmas” all the way through to its release. “He is some kind of savant,” says Rempel. “It’s insane.”
Meanwhile, High Valley guitarist Raymond Klassen whipped up a scenic sonic side trip with an effective Dobro solo. Additionally, a group of around seven musicians gathered in Santa hats to sing an anthemic, Coldplay-like signature theme, stacked over a unison mandolin and electric guitar, creating an easy singalong for listeners who share the “Back Home” spirit.
Mosley brought the whole thing to a close with a church bell effect that brightened the ending but also leaves the listener with a complex cluster of notes. “Any time there’s a tubular bell, it’s always really hard to make them be perfectly in tune because a tubular bell has like five harmonic notes to it,” he explains. “I actually use it a lot in production, but you have to use them in the right spot. It’s one of those things where you can’t really tune it. Otherwise, it sounds fake.”
“Back Home Christmas” sounds quite authentic; it’s a fairly universal topic, and Rempel’s desire to get back to Canada is real, allowing the song to pass even his holiday-music skepticism. He released it to terrestrial radio through his Cage Free label and Sony Music Canada on Nov. 11 via PlayMPE. And yes, after three years away, Rempel and his family will be back in La Crete for Christmas.
“I was able to book flights for my family just a few weeks ago, and I was able to call my mom and let her know that,” Rempel says. “That’s definitely, definitely special.”
When Shane Profitt received the potentially career-elevating opportunity to have his first co-writing session with “Done” hitmaker Chris Janson last year, there was one person standing in Profitt’s way — his boss.
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Profitt’s day job at the time was bush hogging grass in the road medians for the City of Columbia, an hour outside of Nashville.
“All your buddies would be driving by, honking at you. It’s like, ‘Man, this sucks,’” Profitt tells Billboard. “But it did give me time to come up with song ideas.”
Profitt had met Janson and his family by chance a few weeks earlier at a Nashville sushi restaurant. Janson and Profitt ended up talking about music for over an hour that evening, and exchanged numbers. Janson later called Profitt early on a Wednesday morning to see if they could write together later that day.
Profitt recalls, “He said, “I know you’re a real outdoorsman, like I am. I have this song idea called ‘The Reel Bass Pro,’ and I want you to be a writer on it. Can you get off work today?’ I called my boss, and he said, ‘No way’.”
So Profitt devised a plan.
“I didn’t want to have to call one of my musical heroes back and tell him I couldn’t write a song with him, so I asked if we could write over FaceTime, and we wrote it over FaceTime on my lunch break,” Profitt says. That song, “The Reel Bass Pro,” ended up on Janson’s 2022 album All In, as did a subsequent co-write, “My American World.”
Profitt quit his day job last November and has since inked a co-label deal with BMLG Records and Janson’s Harpeth 60 Records, signed a co-publishing deal with Anthem Entertainment and Janson’s Old Tom Music Publishing, played the Grand Ole Opry, and opened tour dates for Janson. But Profitt’s blue-collar roots remain clearly evident on his debut EP Maury County Line, including his current top 30 Billboard Country Airplay song “How It Oughta Be.”
Billboard caught up with Profitt to discuss his rapid journey from cutting grass to cutting hit songs.
In a year, you’ve gone from working a day job to signing publishing and label deals, touring with Chris Janson and having a song rising on country radio.
It’s been crazy. When I quit my old job, at the time I had only ever been to four states. Now, a year later with the Chris tour and radio tours and everything, I’m up to 44 states.
You are just getting your big break, but you’ve played music since you were a kid.
I played banjo a bit when I was about eight years old, and later dobro. My parents were part of a bluegrass band. I picked up guitar when I was 18; my granddad taught me some basic chords and from there, I started watching YouTube videos to learn how to play different songs. Maybe a year or so later, I started trying to write songs.
You wrote “The Reel Bass Pro” with Chris Janson, who is also signed with Big Machine. How did that lead to your publishing and label deals?
About a week after we wrote “The Reel Bass Pro,” I went deer hunting with Chris and his son and when we got back, we wrote another “My American World,” in person, this time. He’s got a guitar in just about every room in his house and we wrote that song in about 30 minutes. After that, he offered the publishing deal and asked me to open shows on his Halfway to Crazy tour. When I opened for Chris at the Ryman Auditorium, [Big Machine Label Group founder/president/CEO] Scott Borchetta came backstage and offered me a label deal.
“How It Oughta Be” is a rising hit. From the lyrics, it seems family is super important to you.
My parents have been so supportive of anything I’ve wanted to do. My mom would cook supper every night when I was growing up and my parents thought it was important that we sit at the table every night and spend that time together. I feel like if everybody in today’s world had more of that family life going on, the world wouldn’t be quite so crazy. I have an older sister and she’s about to have a baby. It’s my parents’ first grandchild, so they are excited. We’re all excited. It’s a boy, Luke, and my present to him will be a lifetime hunting and fishing license here in Tennessee.
You wrote every song on your EP. Who else would you love to write songs with?
My dream co-writer would be Hank Williams, Jr., and I wish I could have written a song with Waylon Jennings, Keith Whitley or Merle Haggard.
If you could see anybody, living or dead, in concert, who would it be?
Merle Haggard, hands down. “Misery and Gin” is probably my favorite song in the whole world.
What TV show or movie could you watch repeatedly and still enjoy?
O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Walk the Line. Absolutely love both of those.
Favorite music-related book or podcast?
I don’t really listen to many podcasts or anything, but I was on the [Bobby Bones’] BobbyCast, and I’ve listened to it. I love that it is longer and it gives him more time to delve deeper into things.
What else is on your bucket list?
Just to grow as an artist and to grow my fanbase. “How It Oughta Be” is getting heard in so many places. I was in the Baltimore airport the other day, and someone came up to me and asked for my picture. That just made my day.
What is your favorite story of meeting a fan?
I got to go to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital a few months ago and I met some of the patients. Just seeing the smiles on their faces. They are real survivors and a few of them were talking about how they loved “How It Oughta Be.” That in itself — there were some tears shed, for sure. Just getting to talk with them and their families, and help take their minds off what they are going through for a little bit. I’d say that has been the highlight of my career, because the ultimate goal as an artist and songwriter is for people to use music as therapy.
After a two-year, pandemic-induced hiatus, the Country Music Association’s CMA Touring Awards will return Monday, Jan. 30 at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works.
Members of the teams supporting artists including Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley and Eric Church are among the nominees for the upcoming awards ceremony, which honors country music industry members in categories including advertising/public relations/media, touring musician, record label, touring, venue, personal manager and talent agent.
“I am thrilled that we will be returning this year to host the CMA Touring Awards after a two-year hiatus,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA CEO, via a statement. “The touring industry was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic, and I have been amazed at the continued resilience and dedication from this community as they rebuild. These behind-the-scenes heroes are the ones that keep the music playing, so to be able to honor and celebrate them again is especially exciting. We can’t wait for January 30!”
Final voting for the 2022 CMA Touring Awards launches Wednesday (Dec. 14) and closes Dec. 28.
See the full list of the nominees below.
Manager of the yearClint Higham – Morris Higham ManagementMary Hilliard Harrington – Red Light ManagementChris Kappy – Make Wake ArtistsMarion Kraft – ShopKeeper ManagementJohn Peets – Q Prime South
Business manager of the year Renee Allen – Arnie Barn, Inc.David Boyer – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.Jamie Cheek – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.Duane Clark – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.Stephanie Mundy-Self – Farris, Self & Moore, LLC
Tour manager of the year David Farmer – Kenny ChesneyLuke Holton – Brothers OsborneCurt Jenkins – Miranda LambertEthan Strunk – Luke CombsJon Townley – Thomas Rhett
Talent agent of the yearMike Betterton – Wasserman MusicJoey Lee – WMEAustin Neal – The Neal AgencyNate Towne – WMEJay Williams – WME
Touring musician of the year Jimmie Deeghan – Kane BrownDan Hochhalter – Dierks BentleyHarmoni Kelley – Kenny ChesneyJimmy Mattingly – Garth BrooksJosh Reedy – Thomas Rhett
Venue of the year Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TNBank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NHBridgestone Arena – Nashville, TNRed Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CORyman Auditorium – Nashville, TN
Coach/truck driver of the yearRonnie Brown – Zac Brown BandRhett Evans – Thomas RhettCaleb Garrett – Luke BryanJon Long – Dierks BentleyJohn Stalder – Kenny Chesney
FOH (front of house) engineer of the yearAaron Lain – Morgan WallenTodd Lewis – Luke CombsRobert Scovill – Kenny ChesneyFrank Sgambellone – Luke BryanTrey Smith – Thomas Rhett
Lighting director of the yearZac Coren – Morgan WallenPhilip Ealy – Kenny ChesneyKevin Northrup – Luke CombsChris Reade – Dierks BentleyAlec Takahashi – Thomas Rhett
Monitor engineer of the year Jimmy Nicholson – Thomas RhettPhillip Robinson – Kenny ChesneyScott Tatter – Dierks BentleyPhil Wilkey – Keith UrbanMichael Zuehsow – Luke Combs
Production manager of the year Chris Alderman – Blake SheltonErik Leighty – Miranda LambertJerry Slone – Luke CombsKevin Twist – Thomas RhettEd Wannebo – Kenny Chesney
Publicist of the yearJanet Buck – Essential Broadcast MediaEbie McFarland – Essential Broadcast MediaTyne Parrish – The GreenRoomJensen Sussman – Sweet Talk PublicityJennifer Vessio – 1220 Entertainment Publicity
Talent buyer/promoter of the year Jered Johnson – Pepper EntertainmentLouis Messina – Messina Touring GroupBrian O’Connell – Live Nation NashvilleAaron Spalding – Live Nation NashvilleAdam Weiser – AEG Presents
Tour videographer/photographer of the year *Due to a tie in this category, there are six nominees.Zach Belcher – Dierks BentleyDavid Bergman – Luke CombsTanner Gallagher – HARDYGrayson Gregory – Thomas RhettJeff Johnson – Carrie UnderwoodJill Trunnell – Kenny Chesney
Tour video director of the yearJohn Breslin – Garth BrooksJay Cooper – Kenny ChesneyRon Etters – Chris StapletonTyler Hutcheson – Luke CombsPhil Nudelman – Keith Urban
Thomas Wesley is riding his horse back into the collective consciousness.
In a video uploaded yesterday (Dec. 12) to TikTok, the producer sidles up to the check-in counter at a lavish hotel. “Checking in for Diplo?” the hotel concierge says. “No, this time it’s Thomas Wesley,” counters the artist. He then winks at the camera before the video cuts to a shot of him strutting down a hallway while putting on a white cowboy hat while a clip of what is presumably his forthcoming country crossover plays.
The clip’s caption notes that “Thomas Wesley is back in business” and IDs the song as “Wasted,” a project with Kodak Black and emerging outlaw country singer Koe Wetzel. No release date for the song has been announced.
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“Wasted” marks a return to country for Diplo, who released his debut album in the genre, Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil, in 2020. The lead single from the album, the Morgan Wallen collaboration “Heartless,” spent 39 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 29. The album, which also included collaborations with Leon Bridges, Noah Cyrus, Cam, Zac Brown, Julia Michaels and more, spent 25 weeks on the Billboard 200, and peaked at No. 50.
“We’re reaching people without Nashville giving us the approval,” Diplo told Billboard of his work in the country genre in a 2020 cover story. “We don’t really need it. With streaming services, you don’t need to be on the radio. Country records go for, like, a year to reach the charts. I’m into that. I’m learning from that.”
Watch Diplo’s TikTok teasing his new song “Wasted” below.
Morgan Wallen becomes the first artist to rank at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 simultaneously on Billboard‘s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart (dated Dec. 17), since the survey began as an all-encompassing genre ranking in 1958.
“You Proof” hits 17 weeks atop the tally, tying Thomas Rhett’s “Die a Happy Man” (2015-16) for the 10th-longest reign. Just ahead is Florida Georgia Line’s “H.O.L.Y.” (18 weeks, 2016), while FGL and Bebe Rexha’s crossover smash “Meant To Be” dominated for a record 50 weeks in 2017-18.
“You Proof” corralled 28.3 million all-format airplay audience impressions and 12.6 million official U.S. streams and sold 2,000 downloads Dec. 2-8, according to Luminate.
Plus, Wallen debuts three songs on Hot Country Songs in the top 10: “One Thing at a Time” (No. 2), “Tennessee Fan” (No. 5) and “Days That End in Why” (No. 7) – while his former 11-week No. 1 “Wasted on You” holds at No. 3, granting him his unprecedented triumph in the top three.
On Country Digital Song Sales, “Thing,” “Tennessee” and “Days” – all released Dec. 2 – arrive at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 with 13,000, 12,000 and 10,000 sold through Dec. 8, respectively. Wallen ups his career count to 17 top 10s on Hot Country Songs, and eight No. 1s among 19 top 10s on Country Digital Song Sales.
All three new Wallen songs are slated to appear on his next album. Wallen is the second act to infuse the Country Digital Song Sales top three with debuts, after Taylor Swift did so twice, in November 2010 and November 2011.
Wallen, thus, owns five of the Hot Country Songs top 10 – a feat that only he has achieved. The record is six songs in the tier, set on the Jan. 23, 2021, chart as Dangerous: The Double Album began its 81-week-and-counting command on Top Country Albums. He also claimed half the Hot Country Songs top 10 the following two weeks.
Meanwhile, “You Proof” rebounds from No. 2 to top Country Airplay for a seventh week (23.9 million, down 7%). It joins five other titles for the second-longest reign since the chart started in 1990. The record is eight, shared by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (2003) and Lonestar’s crossover ballad “Amazed” (1999). “You Proof” now solely boasts the longest No. 1 stay of the 2020s, surpassing Dustin Lynch’s “Thinking ‘Bout You,” featuring MacKenzie Porter (starting last December), and Luke Combs’ “Forever After All” (starting in June 2021).
“You Proof” is additionally the first Country Airplay No. 1 with multiple other leaders amid its command. After it ruled for five weeks (Oct. 15-Nov. 12), Tyler Hubbard’s “5 Foot 9” topped the Nov. 19 chart, followed by Thomas Rhett’s “Half of Me,” featuring Riley Green (Nov. 26), and – after “You Proof” led again on the Dec. 3 tally – Bailey Zimmerman’s “Fall in Love” (Dec. 10).
“We are finding that the smash hits are hanging on much longer than the labels anticipate or want,” muses Charlie Cook, Cumulus Media vp of programming. “Research indicates that big songs are rarely finished when they peak on the chart.”
Among songs enduring past their Country Airplay peaks, Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” up 3-2, spends a 10th week in the top five following its four-week reign, rewriting two longevity records: the most weeks totaled in both the top three (14) and the top five (17).
Kane & Katelyn Climb
Elsewhere, Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown’s “Thank God” hits the Country Airplay top 10 (12-10, 18.1 million, up 6%). The former adds his 10th top 10, with eight of his nine prior top 10s having hit No. 1. Wife Katelyn claims her first top 10 in her initial chart appearance.
It all comes down to five. The season 22 finale of The Voice kicks off Monday night (Dec. 12), and Billboard wants to know which hopeful you’re rooting for going into the big night.
The five singers performing for the crown only represent three of this season’s four coaches, with Gwen Stefani‘s final contestant being knocked out in the semifinals.
That leaves John Legend with Omar Jose Cardona, freshman coach Camila Cabello with Morgan Myles and OG coach Blake Shelton with a whopping three finalists — bodie, Brayden Lape and Bryce Leatherwood — for his chance to win a ninth and final trophy before he leaves the show.
Bodie impressed early in the competition, earning a four-chair turn with his cover of The Fray’s “You Found Me.” Cardona’s mile-high voice, meanwhile, has soared on everything from Journey’s “Separate Ways” (another four-chair audition) to Foreigner’s classic “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
Floppy-haired heartthrob Lape has proven his country prowess all season long on tracks like Niall Horan’s “This Town,” Kenny Chesney’s “Come Over” and Jordan Davis’ “Buy Dirt,” and Leatherwood has donned his trusty black nine-gallon hat for every round of country crooning on covers of Conway Twitty’s “Goodbye Time,” Zac Brown Band’s “Colder Weather” and more.
As the lone female artist in the finals, the Nashville-based Myles has a one-in-five chance to become the first solo female to win the crown since season 16’s Maelyn Jarmon and also to bring Cabello a win on her rookie season in the show’s famous red chairs.
Part 1 of The Voice season 22 finale will air Monday night on NBC. Vote for the singer you want to win below.
Maren Morris is weighing in. After seeing that Meghan Markle was getting quite a bit of vitriol online following the release of her and husband Prince Harry’s new Netflix documentary series, the 32-year-old country music star came to the Duchess of Sussex’s defense.
In a recent TikTok, Morris revealed that though she hasn’t yet watched Harry & Meghan, she has seen what she feels is a confusing amount of public disdain directed toward the former Suits star following the Dec. 8 release of the docuseries’ first three episodes.
“This profound hatred and annoyance at Meghan Markle specifically — mostly coming from women, I have to say — it’s unfathomable to me,” she said. “People are saying, ‘Oh a woman should never take a man away from his family.’ Have you seen this family?”
She went on to give examples of past royals whose relationship to the British monarchy became strained over romantic relationships, including former King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne in 1936 so that he could marry American socialite and divorcée Wallis Simpson. “[Princess Margaret] did not leave the family, but I kind of wish she had,” Morris continued, referencing the princess’ forbidden love with Peter Townsend, a British Royal Air Force office.
“Apart from Diana, Princess Margaret’s story is one of the saddest,” she added. “And if we talk about Princess Di, she didn’t leave her children, but she left the family.”
Though the final three episodes of Harry & Meghan won’t be released until Dec. 15, the show’s first half has already drawn mounting criticism from viewers. Some were particularly bothered by a scene in which Markle reenacts a moment she awkwardly curtsied for Queen Elizabeth. And NPR London correspondent Frank Langfitt has attributed reviewers’ negative reactions to a perception that Harry & Meghan was “self-indulgent” of the Duke and Duchess to make.
Morris, however, clearly disagrees. “Now, I don’t know these people, and neither do you, but I do have a moderate fascination with the monarchy and the royals,” the 2023 Grammy nominee said, noting that she’d watched Netflix’s The Crown. “But I don’t understand this very specific hatred to Meghan herself. I just don’t — I never have.”
“This all feels very pointed at one woman, as it mostly always has in history,” she concluded.
Watch Maren Morris come to Meghan Markle’s defense below:
Every year, country radio personnel vote on the artists who are most likely to become future country radio mainstays. The top five vote-getters perform during the New Faces of Country Music Show, which serves as the culmination of the annual Country Radio Seminar, putting the newcomers in front of numerous influential country radio industry members.
This year’s includes UMG Nashville singer-songwriter Priscilla Block, who broke through with “Just About Over You,” as well as Big Machine Label Group artist Jackson Dean, who earned a hit with “Don’t Come Lookin’,” and Sony Music Nashville newcomer Nate Smith, who is surging with “Whiskey on You.”
They join BBR Music Group artist and “Country’d Look Good on You” singer Frank Ray, as well as BMG’s Jelly Roll, who has a Billboard top 10 Country Airplay chart hit with “Son of a Sinner” and played a triumphant sold-out hometown arena show in Nashville on Dec. 9.
The 2023 New Faces of Country Music Show will take place March 15, concluding the 2023 Country Radio Seminar slated for March 13-15 at Omni Nashville Hotel.
CRB New Faces Committee Chairman Chuck Aly said via a statement, “The radio and streaming partner constituencies of CRS have spoken and, word is, the future of country music is bright. This year’s New Faces class comprises artists with admirable creative depth and burgeoning commercial impact. Translation: Don’t miss it!”
The first New Faces of Country Music show was held in 1970 and featured Jack Barlow, Jamie Kaye, Karen Kelly, Wayne Kemp, Lynda K. Lance, LaWanda Lindsey, Dee Mullins and Norro Wilson. Since then, a who’s who of country artists have performed on the show early in their careers, including Lefty Frizzell, Eddie Rabbitt, Vern Gosdin and Gene Watson. Reba McEntire, Alabama and Sylvia were among those on the 1980 lineup, while George Strait, Rodney Crowell and Ricky Skaggs performed at the event in 1982. Randy Travis and Marty Stuart were among the 1986 lineup, while Keith Whitley, Dwight Yoakam, Holly Dunn and Lyle Lovett were on the bill a year later.
Tim McGraw met his wife, fellow country singer Faith Hill, during the 1994 New Faces of Country Music Show; that year’s lineup also included Toby Keith, Lari White, Clay Walker and John Berry. Keith Urban and Brad Paisley shared the 2000 lineup, while Miranda Lambert and Eric Church were on the 2007 bill, and Taylor Swift and Luke Bryan were on the same bill in 2008.