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Since releasing his breakthrough Country Airplay No. 1 “Yours” in 2017, Triple Tigers Records’ Russell Dickerson has established himself not only as an artist capable of lobbing consecutive hit songs at country radio (evidenced by his string of four chart-leaders, also including “Blue Tacoma” and “Love You Like I Used To”), but also an ace songwriter who can hold is own in the writing room, given that he has co-written nearly every song on each of his three albums.
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With his upcoming self-titled third studio album, out Friday (Nov. 4), Dickerson is also building upon a unique career moment — an intersection that highlights his range of musical abilities. His collaboration with electronic music trio Cheat Codes, “I Remember,” is currently in the top 40 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart, while the smooth R&B-tinged “She Likes It,” with Jake Scott, is in the top 20 on Country Airplay — and has even spent 30 weeks on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.
“That’s the closest I’ve ever had to an outside cut,” he says of “I Remember.” “[Writer-producer] Jesse Frasure sent me that song and it was half done. The vibe, the melody, everything was the same, so I rewrote the second verse and a couple of things in the first verse. We sent it to Cheat Codes and they loved it. They were like, ‘We will put our sauce on it, produce it and make our version,’ and then it went straight to pop radio.”
Over the course of these 15 tracks, Dickerson expands his circle of co-writers and co-producer wider than ever. “I’ve never been adamant that I have to write every song on an album, but these are just the songs that spoke to me,” he explains. “It was just a natural progression, really. I wasn’t trying to do an overhaul of writers on this album. But it’s been cool branching out. It’s a new phase, a new era.
“It all started with Ashley Gorley,” Dickerson adds. “We went to his beach house and wrote for three or four days with some of his writers and a few people I wanted to write with and got some great songs. ‘Big Wheels’ came from that trip. Then we did another writing camp at his farm and I believe ‘God Gave Me a Girl’ was written then. And of course, I also wrote with Casey Brown and Parker Welling, who I write with a lot.”
Like most songwriters, Dickerson’s creative mindset doesn’t switch off as soon as a project is done, and he says the dozen-plus tracks on the album are a sampling of his recent favorite compositions. “I just picked my 15 songs that I couldn’t stop listening to from my demos folder,” he says, holding up his cell phone and scrolling through a seemingly endless number of tracks.
Collectively, the songs on Russell Dickerson capture Dickerson’s current life stage as a 35-year-old artist, writer, husband and father. The album’s opener, “Blame It on Being Young,” written with Josh Kerr and Parker Wellington, looks back on his youth with wistfulness and maturity. He also highlights the sleek, pop side of his artistry on the ‘80s-fueled “She’s Why,” written with Sean Douglas and Kerr. “Just Like Your Mama,” written with Lori McKenna and Brown, is a tribute to Dickerson’s wife Kailey and her influence on their son, Remington.
“I just wanted to shine a light on how wise and strong my wife is as a human being, and I hope he grows up to be like her,” he says.
For Dickerson, the writing session was intimidating — and not only because he wanted to get the sweet tribute just right. He wrote the song at Brown’s house, with McKenna joining via Zoom.
“It was my first time writing with Lori. I was so nervous, oh my god,” he says of co-writing with the multiple Grammy and CMA Award winner. “I mean, she wrote [Tim McGraw’s] ‘Humble and Kind’ by herself. I didn’t have any grandiose idea or title or anything, but at some point the idea of ‘Just Like Your Mama’ came up, and if there is anyone who can write a deep, heartfelt tearjerker, it’s Lori McKenna. We just started spitballing lines like, ‘You’re gonna cry when you raise your hands in church/ But you’ll act tough when those sticks and stones and heartbreaks hurt.’ I started playing this song live as soon as we wrote it, and at every show, people would bring up that song.”
Dickerson has a history of using concerts as testing grounds for new material, and says a performance at the Faster Horses Festival led him to include “Blame It on Being Young” on the album.
“My merch guy was kind of walking around the crowd, and I had never played ‘Blame It’ before. He said, ‘There was a group of like three dudes, like bros, and they were just like crying. They were like, “This song is us.”’ I was like, ‘Okay, well that’s definitely going on the album. People are feeling something when they hear this.’”
He also dives deeper into co-production on this album, working with six co-producers: Dann Huff, Zach Crowell, Brown, Kerr, Ben Johnson and Alysa Vanderheym. “I’ve co-produced every album, but this was me being very hands-on, in the room and in the studio,” he says. “With so many co-producers, I had to step up for it to be cohesive — because also, they are not hearing each other’s songs. And especially in the mixing phase, it was just smoothing out the rough edges and molding the songs into a Russell Dickerson album.”
With the success of “I Remember” and “She Likes It,” Dickerson hopes to eventually see his name on the pop charts more often, in addition to extending his list of country chart-toppers.
“I want to, I hope,” says Dickerson of becoming a more prolific and diversified hitmaker. “I love country music and country radio, but there are parts of me that I need to rip out and sing, like R&B, or vibey bedroom pop. I feel like that’s where my music degree comes in… I can do all that stuff.” (Dickerson has a degree in commercial voice from Nashville’s Belmont University.)
He’s also not opposed to putting out more pop-oriented music, even if it means via a different name. “My wife has this indie kind of voice and vibe, and our good friend is a great pop artist and has done a bunch of sync stuff — it would be cool to just form a group, make music, write songs and have no agenda,” he says.
Dickerson recently inked a new publishing deal with Concord Music Group, one which also includes his back catalog, and he hopes the new deal will offer the right homes for his range of music.
“I’ve been independent for the last two years, so this is a huge partnership for me,” he says. “That’s a huge reason I went with Concord, is I know they are huge in the music sync game.”
Asked what his dream music sync would be, he says, “A [James] Bond movie would be sick. I’m a huge Bond fan. To do like Adele and Billie Eilish and have the main song [in the movie] would be incredible.”
Reba McEntire has been placed on vocal rest by her doctor and is rescheduling three upcoming shows, the Country Music Hall of Fame member told fans via social media on Wednesday (Nov. 2).
“My doctor has advised me to go on vocal rest, so I have made the difficult decision to reschedule this weekend’s shows,” McEntire said in a statement on Instagram. “Thank you for understanding.”
She was set to bring her Reba: Live in Concert tour — featuring Terri Clark — to Raleigh, N.C., on Thursday (Nov. 3), Friday (Nov. 4) in Columbus, Ohio, and Saturday (Nov. 5) in Indianapolis, Ind.
Those shows have been rescheduled for December, with the Columbus and Raleigh shows taking place Dec. 2 and 3, and the Indianapolis show set for Dec. 16.
The tour had also previously been extended into 2023, including a stop at the Hollywood Bowl on April 1, and New York’s Madison Square Garden on April 15.
McEntire recently told Billboard that the Madison Square Garden show will be a special one.
“My dad roped there in 1946 and ‘47, maybe more years than that,” she said. “And my grandpa [1934 PRCA World Champion steer roper John Wesley McEntire] did, too. I have two pictures in my living room in Nashville of my daddy being there with all the contestants competing at the Madison Square Garden rodeo.”
McEntire headlined her first solo show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in October, thrilling fans with a string of hits including “Fancy,” “The Greatest Man I Never Knew,” and a collaboration with Clark on a medley of Linda Ronstadt hits.
Meanwhile, the star can be seen in the ABC series Big Sky, which also features her boyfriend and actor Rex Linn.
“When [Big Sky writer and executive producer] Elwood Reid came to me and said, ‘We’d love to have you on Big Sky,’ I said, ‘Doing what?’ And he said, ‘Playing the villain,’” McEntire told Billboard. “I immediately wanted to do it and Rex was sitting at the table and said, ‘That’s what she’s been waiting for.’ He said, ‘Is that Rex? We want you on this, too.’ It’s so much fun that we are in these together.”
See her announcement about her postponed shows below:
Thomas Rhett will bring his Home Team Tour 23 to 40 cities next year, launching May 4 in Des Moines, Iowa. “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” hitmaker Cole Swindell and newcomer Nate Smith will open shows on the tour, which will wrap in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena on Sept. 29.
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“Being on the road is one of my favorite places to be,” said Thomas Rhett, who won entertainer of the year at the 2020 ACM Awards, alongside Carrie Underwood. “I can’t wait to see the joy on y’alls faces next year and with my buddies Cole Swindell and Nate Smith. We’re definitely gonna have a good time.”
Thomas Rhett announced the tour via a humorous video that finds the “Half of Me” singer and company wearing sports jerseys representing teams from cities on the tour. The clip comes complete with a mock press conference.
Pre-sale tickets first go on sale to members of Thomas Rhett’s fan club (also named Home Team) and Citi cardmembers on Tuesday, Nov. 8, while general public tickets will go on sale beginning Friday, Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. local time at ThomasRhett.com. Thomas Rhett previously embarked on a Home Team Tour in 2017. That same year, he partnered with Roc Nation, his longtime manager Virginia Bunetta and his father and fellow songwriter Rhett Akins to launch his own publishing company, Home Team Publishing.HOME TEAM TOUR 23 Dates Include: 5/4/2023 – Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena5/5/2023 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center Arena5/6/2023 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse5/18/2023 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center5/19/2023 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center5/20/2023 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center6/8/2023 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena6/9/2023 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena6/10/2023 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena6/15/2023 – Tupelo, MS – Cadence Bank Arena6/16/2023 – Lafayette, LA – CAJUNDOME6/17/2023 – Bossier City, LA – Brookshire Grocery Arena6/22/2023 -Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena6/23/2023 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Coliseum7/6/2023 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center7/7/2023 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – Mohegan Sun Arena7/8/2023 – Boston, MA – TD Garden7/13/2023 – Biloxi, MS – Mississippi Coast Coliseum7/14/2023 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena7/15/2023 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena7/20/2023 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum 7/21/2023 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena7/22/2023 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena7/27/2023 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center7/28/2023 – Chicago, IL – United Center7/29/2023 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena8/3/2023 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center8/4/2023 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center8/5/2023 – Austin, TX – Moody Center8/17/2023 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center8/18/2023 – Wichita, KS – INTRUST Bank Arena8/19/2023 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena9/14/2023 – Estero, FL – Hertz Arena9/15/2023 – Jacksonville, FL – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena9/16/2023 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center9/21/2023 – Charlottesville, VA – John Paul Jones Arena9/22/2023 – State College, PA – Bryce Jordan Center9/23/2023 – Toledo, OH – Huntington Center9/28/2023 – Birmingham, AL – The Legacy Arena at The BJCC9/29/2023 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Luke Bryan is set for double the hosting duties this year. Not only is Bryan co-hosting the upcoming CMA Awards alongside NFL legend Peyton Manning on Nov. 9, but the two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner is also set to host the ABC News special On the Road to the CMA Awards, giving music fans a behind-the-scenes look leading up to the vaunted awards ceremony.
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The special, which airs Monday, Nov. 7 at 10 p.m. EDT on ABC (and the following day on Hulu), will offer viewers an all-access glimpse into the life of Wynonna Judd, as she returns to the stage following the death of her mother and The Judds musical partner, Naomi Judd, who died in April at age 76. Wynonna will be joined by friends including Martina McBride and Little Big Town.
The special will also feature reigning CMA female vocalist of the year Carly Pearce in London, as well as this year’s most-nominated artist, Lainey Wilson (with six nominations) in New York City. Additionally, the special will feature Russell Dickerson while he’s touring in Belfast with his wife and two-year-old child. Viewers will also get an inside look at Kane Brown‘s journey as his headlining, global Drunk or Dreaming Tour visits Australia and New Zealand for the first time.
Judd has been traversing the U.S. on The Judds: The Final Tour, which recently visited Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and has been extended into 2023. Pearce has five nominations heading into this year’s CMA Awards, as she aims to win a second female vocalist of the year honor, while “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” her collaboration with Ashley McBryde, has earned Pearce her first nomination in the single of the year category, and her second nominations in the music video, musical event, and song of the year categories.
Dickerson is gearing up for the release of his third album on Nov. 4, while Brown recently released his third studio album Different Man, which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and includes his latest chart-topper “Like I Love Country Music.”
See the trailer for On the Road to the CMA Awards below:
The 2023 CMT Music Awards are headed to the Lone Star State.
CMT and CBS have revealed that the 2023 CMT Music Awards will air Sunday, April 2, 2023, live from Austin, Texas’ Moody Center, via CBS. The Paramount Global country music tentpole event returns for its global premiere exclusively via the CBS Television Network and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
Kelsea Ballerini, who recently released her album Subject to Change, will return for a third consecutive year as co-host of the CMT Music Awards. Ballerini surprised Carrie Underwood during her Wednbesday (Nov. 2) stop at Moody Center on her The Denim & Rhinestones Tour, where they revealed Underwood as the first performer for the 2023 CMT Music Awards. Underwood has won the most honors of any artist at the CMT Music Awards, with 25 trophies to date.
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“Both Austin and Nashville are two of the world’s greatest music cities and we couldn’t be more excited to announce the return of the CMT Music Awards on CBS than with co-host Kelsea Ballerini surprising Carrie Underwood, our most awarded artist, in the middle of her incredible live performance at Moody Center – the exact venue where we’ll all be back exactly five months from today!” shared Margaret Comeaux, John Hamlin, Leslie Fram and Jason Owen, executive producers of the CMT Music Awards, via a statement. “Our fans are in for an unforgettable night of music with plenty of surprises, as the Live Music Capital meets Music City for the first time ever on a national stage in what will be a true country music extravaganza.”
“The programming team at Oak View Group and Moody Center has spent the past two years cultivating this relationship and working to endear CMT, CBS and Paramount to Austin and our new, world-class arena. CMT’s commitment to Austin reflects those efforts and we couldn’t be more grateful and excited to host them next year,” added Michael Owens, vp, programming, Moody Center.
“We are beyond thrilled to welcome the CMT Music Awards to Moody Center in 2023! This event will have not only a huge financial impact on Austin and its tourism industry, but it will also showcase two of the top music brands globally, Austin as The Live Music Capital of the World and Country Music Television,” added Tom Noonan, president/CEO, Austin CVB.
This year marked the CMT Music Awards’ debut on CBS, where the show garnered 5.89 million viewers, a 529% increase from June 2021, while also earning 2.7 billion impressions on social platforms.
Country singer Tim McGraw wore his late father’s Phillies jersey at game 3 of the World Series on Tuesday night.
McGraw’s late dad, Tug McGraw, was a left-handed pitcher and a major figure during the 1980 World Series, winning a ring with the Phillies.
While Tim McGraw was enthusiastic about showing off his father’s jersey, the singer had a complicated relationship with Tug.
“I didn’t know he was my dad,” Tim said in a 2013 interview with Larry King. “I was 11 years old, and I was rummaging around in mom’s closet and found a birth certificate. I was growing up in Louisiana, and my mom was divorced, and we were barely getting by.”
The singer then met his father for the first time that year, but would not be reunited with the busy athlete again for another seven years. Despite their physical distance, McGraw says he still felt close to his father and was elated to find out he was his son. “When I found out Tug McGraw was my dad, it gave me something in my little town in Louisiana, something that I would have never reached for,” he said in an interview with Esquire. “How could I ever be angry?”
The motivation from his award-winning father surely was effective for McGraw, who’s experienced extensive success in the world of country music, including 26 No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart.
Country music star Tim McGraw is wearing his father’s Phillies jersey at tonight’s game 🙌His dad, Tug McGraw, won a World Series with the Phillies in 1980. pic.twitter.com/8d49mgABoQ— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 2, 2022
Gabby Barrett and her husband Cade Foehner have welcomed their second child, son Augustine Boone Foehner, born on Oct. 27. They are also parents to daughter Baylah May Foehner, who was born in January 2021.
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On Nov. 2, the couple shared a photo on social media of Baylah May looking at her newborn baby brother, who is dressed in a blue onesie and wrapped in a blue blanket. The photo was captioned, “Soaking up newborn days with baby brother. What a precious gift from our Lord!” The couple also revealed his name — as well as its pronunciation — and the little guy’s birthday in the caption.
Barrett and Foehner met while each was competing during the 16th season of American Idol. Barrett went on to finish in third place. The couple wed on Oct. 5, 2019, and recently celebrated their third wedding anniversary, with Foehner decorating the bed of a pickup truck with lights, hay and blankets.
Barrett’s breakthrough song “I Hope” earned her a label deal with Warner Music Nashville. The song went on to reach No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2020, and topped Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart. Last year, she followed it with the sweetly romantic “The Good Ones,” a tribute to her husband. The song became a three-week No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart. At the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, Barrett won three trophies, including top country female artist and she was named Billboard‘s Rising Star in Music recipient in 2022.
In 2020, Barrett released her debut album, Goldmine. Earlier this year, Barrett told Billboard she is working on new music and still determining how it will shape up.
“I don’t know what the theme exactly is going to be,” she said. “I do know that I’m a country gal at heart, and that’s definitely always the kind of music I’m going to make.”
See the birth announcement for baby Augustine below:
When the 2022 Country Music Association Awards are presented in Nashville on Nov. 9, this will be the fifth time in the past eight years that the new artist of the year winner has been in his or her 30s.
Do I have an inside source at the CMA who tipped me to the result? I do not. But all five of this year’s nominees in that category are 30+. The contenders are HARDY, 32; Walker Hayes, 42; Cody Johnson, 35; Parker McCollum, 30; and Lainey Wilson, 30.
And it’s a matter of historical record that four of the last seven winners had reached 30 when they won. Chris Stapleton was 37 when he won in 2015. Jon Pardi was 32 when he won two years later. Ashley McBryde and Jimmie Allen were both 36 when they won in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
This year is only the second time in CMA history that all five nominees for new artist of the year have been 30+. The only other time this happened was in 1988, when the award was still known as the horizon award. Ricky Van Shelton, 36, won the award. The other nominees were K.T. Oslin, 46; Patty Loveless, 31; Sweethearts of the Rodeo; and Highway 101. Both members of Sweethearts of the Rodeo and all four members of Highway 101 had reached 30 when they were nominated.
There is no formula for winning new artist of the year (which was known as the horizon award from 1981, when Terri Gibbs became the inaugural winner, through 2007, when Taylor Swift became the last winner under the old name). The victors have ranged in age from 15 (LeAnn Rimes in 1997) to 43 (Darius Rucker in 2009). But most winners have been in their 20s.
Of the 41 winners of the horizon award/new artist of the year, 34 have been solo artists. Of those, two (Rimes and Swift) were in their teens when they won; 21 were in their 20s; 10 were in their 30s; and one (Rucker) was in his 40s.
Rucker of course was on his second successful career at the time. He had led Hootie & the Blowfish to a series of hit albums and singles. The pop/rock band won the 1995 Grammy Award for best new artist.
As noted, Rimes and Swift are the youngest CMA new artist of the year winners to date. The youngest male solo winners to date are Hunter Hayes, who was 21 when he won a decade ago, and Bryan White, who was 22 when he won in 1996. In addition, the two male members of The Band Perry were in their early 20s when that sibling trio won in 2011. Neil Perry was 21; Reed Perry was 22.
The other youngest female winners to date, besides Rimes and Swift, are Wynonna Judd, who was 20 when The Judds won in 1984; Hillary Scott, who was 22 when Lady A (then Lady Antebellum) won in 2008; Carrie Underwood, who was 23 when she won in 2006; Natalie Maines, who was 23 when The Chicks (then Dixie Chicks) won in 1998; and Alison Krauss, who was 24 when she won in 1995.
The oldest winners to date, besides Rucker, were John Driskell Hopkins and Chris Fryar of Zac Brown Band, who were both 39 when the band won in 2010; Naomi Judd, who was 38 when The Judds won in 1984; and Stapleton, who was 37 when he won in 2015.
All the members of The Chicks, Lady A and The Band Perry were in their 20s when they won. The members of The Judds, Sawyer Brown and Rascal Flatts were in their 20s and 30s. Most members of Zac Brown Band, including Brown, were in their 30s.
Wilson, who as this year’s overall CMA nominations leader is widely expected to win the new artist award, discussed her age, and how long it took for her to break through, in a recent interview with Mikael Wood, pop music critic for The Los Angeles Times.
Asked how it feels to be feted as country music’s hottest new act after grinding it out for more than a decade, Wilson chuckled. “What do they call it? The 11-year overnight sensation?” she said. “There’s definitely been times when I was like, ‘Dang, I wish this would’ve happened sooner.’ But I feel like I’ve got more to say now. I’ve been through more life. I’ve been through more heartbreaks.”
Wilson also told Wood that when she came to town, “They told me if you don’t make it by the time you’re 23 or 24, you need to take your a– back to the house.” After she passed that age and an interviewer would ask how old she was, she’d smile and say, “’Didn’t your mama teach you better than that?’ Now, though, I’m like, ‘Hell yeah, I’m 30 years old,’” she says. “This is the best year of my life, and I’m proud of that.”
Here are all the CMA winners for the horizon award/new artist of the year, with their ages at the time of their victories.
1981: Terri Gibbs, 27
1982: Ricky Skaggs, 28
1983: John Anderson, 28
1984: The Judds (Naomi Judd, 38; Wynonna Judd, 20)
1985: Sawyer Brown (Mark Miller, 26; Bobby Randall, 33; Gregg Hubbard, 25; Jim Scholten, 33; Joe Smyth, 28)
1986: Randy Travis, 27
1987: Holly Dunn, 30
1988: Ricky Van Shelton, 36
1989: Clint Black: 27
1990: Garth Brooks, 28
1991: Travis Tritt, 28
1992: Suzy Bogguss, 35
1993: Mark Chesnutt, 30
1994: John Michael Montgomery, 29
1995: Alison Krauss, 24
1996: Bryan White, 22
1997: LeAnn Rimes, 15
1998: The Chicks (Natalie Maines, 23; Martie Erwin, 28; Emily Erwin, 26)
1999: Jo Dee Messina, 29
2000: Brad Paisley, 28
2001: Keith Urban, 34
2002: Rascal Flatts (Gary LeVox, 32; Jay DeMarcus, 31; Joe Don Rooney, 27)
2003: Joe Nichols, 26
2004: Gretchen Wilson, 31
2005: Dierks Bentley, 29
2006: Carrie Underwood, 23
2007: Taylor Swift, 17
2008: Lady A (Charles Kelley, 27; Hillary Scott, 22; Dave Haywood, 26)
2009: Darius Rucker, 43
2010: Zac Brown Band (Zac Brown, 32; John Driskell Hopkins, 39; Chris Fryar 39; Clay Cook, 32; Jimmy De Martini, age unknown; Coy Boyles, age unknown)
2011: The Band Perry (Kimberly Perry, 28; Reid Perry, 22; Neil Perry, 21)
2012: Hunter Hayes, 21
2013: Kacey Musgraves, 25
2014: Brett Eldredge, 28
2015: Chris Stapleton, 37
2016: Maren Morris, 26
2017: Jon Pardi, 32
2018: Luke Combs, 28
2019: Ashley McBryde, 36
2020: Morgan Wallen, 27
2021: Jimmie Allen, 36
Maren Morris’ Humble Quest, currently nominated for the Country Music Association’s album of the year, is full of plot lines and small details that emanate directly from her life, her friendships and her marriage to fellow artist Ryan Hurd.
First single “Circles Around This Town” is an autobiographical recap of her ascent in Nashville’s music community, “Nervous” reveals psychosexual passion and sensitivity, and a handful of songs — “Background Music,” the title track and closer “What Would This World?” — grapple collectively with the meaning of life in all its temporal, elusive mystery.
“I definitely made some personal choices on this record, particularly that I was more vulnerable than I maybe had been previously,” Morris says. “Maybe it’s just time and a little bit more wisdom, but I definitely feel like I allowed myself to share a little bit more behind the curtain.”
The project’s second single, “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” is a breezy celebration of making up. Heard on its own merits separate from Humble Quest, that might not be entirely evident — it references hard times and conflict, but there’s no sense that any sort of bitterness might have been in the mix when Morris and Hurd wrote it in January 2021.
But, in fact, the cheeriness in the three-minute jaunt reflects a post-tiff rebound while they visited the Hawaiian home of co-writer/producer Greg Kurstin (Adele, Kelly Clarkson).
“Ryan and I were bickering about something — I can’t even remember what, it was so stupid,” she says. “But we were kind of arguing that morning, and then going into the write, Ryan threw that title out and it just sort of lightened the mood: ‘I can’t love you any more than I do now.’ So the song ended up becoming couples therapy for us.”
That little window in a relationship, when the cloud of negativity has lifted after a spat and the couple reasserts its commitment, is one of the joys in the process, and the positivity of the moment is reflected in both the song’s effortlessly happy melody and its unencumbered lyrics. Morris, Hurd and Kurstin wrote the chorus first, turning out an easy singalong by repeating the I-can’t-love-you-anymore hook six times in a row.
“It’s a very simple one, and yet repetitive,” she says of the chorus. “It just felt good to sing the same hook over and over again. But then I felt like for the verses — because the chorus, lyrically, was so simple, I wanted to really get colorful with the language on the verses. So that’s why there’s a lot of imagery and opposites. And we could really get a little more edgy with the verse.”
That aspect starts right at the song’s opening as she kicks it off with an unlikely rhyme scheme: “Shoulda known what I was gettin’ in/Fallin’ for a boy from Michigan.” It identifies up front that she’s singing about Hurd, who spent his formative years in Kalamazoo.
A follow-up thought, “You like drivin’ to Texas/ You put up with all my exes,” similarly pinpoints Morris’ roots in Arlington, though her exes inhabit their marriage because of her and Hurd’s occupations — not because she keeps them in her day-to-day orbit.
“They’re not in my life, but they are in my songs,” she says with a laugh. “It’s part and parcel of being married to a songwriter who’s had a past. You do have these relationships internalized in songs. I have songs about previous relationships, and so does he. It’s just something we accept about each other.
“But honestly, I was going for the rhyme, and it felt like a cool ode to George Strait. ‘Texas’ and ‘exes’ just go together so perfectly.”
Verse two took some additional edgy steps. Morris sings about the times “when I’ve been a bitch” (the single version blanks out the profanity), and it closes with her singing, “You’re so good-lookin’, it kinda makes me sick” — it’s amusing to consider Hurd helping write a song that lets his wife cast him as a sex symbol.
“We just don’t get awkward anymore,” she says. “I think because we’ve written so many songs together, we’ve been able to tap into this very intimate role with each other in the room and not feel cringey.”
Following the second chorus, they opted for a vocal interlude that ultimately featured Morris in triple harmony with herself, in a spot that would typically support a guitar solo. Appropriate for a song about a rebounding relationship moment, the final verse has Morris self-effacingly calling herself “an acquired taste,” while looking forward to many more years of bliss… and occasional bickering.
“I think that it takes a very strong person to be with someone like me or, really, any artist,” she says. “Maybe it’s my Texas upbringing, but I’m very stubborn and like things done my way. Being in a relationship takes a lot of balance and compromise, which I’ve learned the hard way.”
Kurstin attended to the musical track as the writing session progressed, laying down a light drum foundation and strummed acoustic guitar playing four basic country chords. When the song was completed and the visit to Hawaii was over, Kurstin continued building the instrumental support at his No Expectations Studio in California. Morris, meanwhile, had time to live with the recording from the writing session and wanted to lean heavily on the country component. Kurstin brought in Rich Hinman to overdub steel guitar in L.A., and he captured Bennett Lewis (of Morris’ road band) on Dobro during additional overdubs at Sheryl’s Barn, the recording studio owned by Sheryl Crow in Tennessee.
Morris ultimately decided the chorus was too repetitive and rewrote the fourth and fifth occurrences when she did her final vocal at the studio, nailing it in a single take. Hurd applied harmony to the choruses, underscoring their relationship’s centrality in the narrative. “I wanted it to feel like we were facing each other and just singing it at each other,” she says.
Columbia Nashville released “I Can’t Love You Anymore” to country radio via PlayMPE on Sept. 13. It has slipped on and off Country Airplay a couple of times while it finds its initial footing, but it ultimately feels well-timed for a fan base that craves authenticity but also could use an emotional break.
“I truly listened to my fans’ reaction to what could be potential singles,” Morris says. “It just felt like people don’t want to stew in depressing, heavy shit right now. They want to hum something over and over again that just feels good. We’ve faced heavy truths plenty. So let’s just dance.”
Morgan Wallen‘s “You Proof” dominates Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart (dated Nov. 5) for a fourth week, as it drew 30.5 million audience impressions (down 1%) in the tracking week ending Oct. 30, according to Luminate.
Wallen wrote the song with ERNEST, Ashley Gorley, Keith Smith and Charlie Handsome, the latter of whom also produced it with Joey Moi.
“You Proof,” the Sneedville, Tenn.-born Wallen’s seventh Country Airplay leader, becomes his first to reign for four frames. It surpasses “Wasted on You,” which started its three-week rule in July, and “Whiskey Glasses,” which also controlled the list for three frames, beginning in June 2019.
Wallen’s additional four No. 1s led for a week each: “Sand in My Boots” (this February); “More Than My Hometown” (November 2020); “Chasin’ You” (May 2020); and “Up Down,” featuring Florida Georgia Line (June 2018).
What makes Wallen’s latest, a standalone single, strong enough to stand apart from his prior Country Airplay chart-toppers? “The support from country radio has been astounding,” Stacy Blythe, Big Loud senior vice president of promotion, tells Billboard. “The one thing that I can definitely point to with ‘You Proof’ is that there was much anticipation for new music from Morgan. Morgan continues to up his game with every single release and, as the team responsible for taking each one to radio, we have jointly been committed to upping our game.”
“Proof” concurrently ties Wallen’s longest stay atop the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart. Reigning for an 11th week, it matches the command of “Wasted,” which logged its 11th week at No. 1 in August. “Proof” drew 13 million official streams and sold 3,000 downloads in the U.S. in the Oct. 21-27 tracking week.
Meanwhile, Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album (which houses “Wasted”) rules Top Country Albums for a record-extending 80th week, with 43,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week.
‘Half’ Time
Thomas Rhett rolls up his 20th Hot Country Songs top 10 as “Half of Me,” featuring Riley Green, jumps 15-10. The single corralled 5.5 million streams (up 53%), having received more prominent placement on Amazon’s Country Heat playlist in the tracking week. On Country Airplay, it pushes 6-5 for a new high (23.1 million, up 5%).
Rhett co-penned “Half” with his dad Rhett Akins, Will Bundy and Josh Thompson. It’s from Rhett’s album Where We Started, which arrived at its No. 2 Top Country Albums peak in April. Rhett first reached the Country Airplay top 10 in September 2013 with “It Goes Like This,” his first of 17 No. 1s.
Green hits the Hot Country Songs top 10 for the first time. He previously reached a No. 11 best with his first entry, “There Was This Girl,” in March 2019.