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As introspective, detailed singer-songwriters such as Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan and Tyler Childers have topped Billboard charts and sold out amphitheaters and stadiums recently, Stillwater, Oklahoma native Wyatt Flores is primed to ascend to their ranks with his full-fledged debut album Welcome to the Plains, which came out last Friday (Oct. 18) via Island Records.
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The album follows a trio of EPs: 2022’s The Hutson Sessions, 2023’s Life Lessons, and this year’s Half Life that have led to Flores’ rise in the public consciousness thanks to a blend of his unrefined, folksy sound and unflinchingly honest lyricism. It’s made him the latest in a strong lineage of musicians such as Cross Canadian Ragweed, Stoney LaRue, Turnpike Troubadours and other architects of the Red Dirt sound that has risen from Oklahoma since the 1970s.
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Flores, 23, began releasing songs in 2021, but it was “Please Don’t Go,” a raw-throated, emotional plea for a loved one to refrain from taking their own life, gained traction just over a year ago, ultimately earning over 154 million streams on Spotify alone. He’s followed such resonant songs as “Break My Bones” and “Losing Sleep.”
The songs’ success threw Flores into an ascendant surge, along with it a grind of being on the road, playing shows with 49 Winchester and headlining his own rapidly growing shows.
“We just played a 3,300-capacity venue in Oklahoma City,” he notes to Billboard. “The last time we played OKC, it was like a 500-capacity room. It’s crazy.”
He made his Grand Ole Opry debut seven months ago and played Stagecoach and the revered venue Red Rocks Amphitheatre for the first time this year. He also earned a nomination for emerging act of the year at this year’s Americana Music Honors & Awards. But when it came time to record Welcome to the Plains, Flores tells Billboard he was “so scared, honestly.”
“I sat there in Asheville and just went over the lyrics,” he recalls of recording at Echo Mountain Studios there, as well as in Los Angeles and Nashville. “I was like, ‘I don’t think I’m good enough for an album yet.’ But it came to a point where I was like, ‘Just let the songs be what they are and capture the moments of where I’ve been without overthinking it.’”
Welcome to the Plains was born during what Flores calls “a really dark spot in my life,” as he was meeting the demands of his skyrocketing career while battling anxiety and imposter syndrome, and also struggling to process and grieve the loss of a few people close to him, including Flores’s maternal grandfather, who took his own life in 2023.
In song and in conversation, Flores makes no secret that his utmost motivation lies not in massive sold-out shows, but in helping listeners through hard times. In releasing songs such as “Please Don’t Go,” Flores has also had to navigate the emotional weight of realizing that while his songs can be a balm and healing agent for some, music can’t always be a life-saving force. He delves into that feeling the new album’s “Oh Susannah,” particularly on lyrics such as “Why did I believe that I could save you, darling/ Without killing me?”
He had previously included a version of The Fray’s “How to Save a Life” on his Half Life EP, but in February, Flores had his own emotional moment onstage, breaking down during a performance in Kansas City, Missouri. “This is the only thing I ever cared about and for some reason I can’t figure out, I don’t feel a thing,” he told fans during a vulnerable moment in that show. “I’m struggling with it. I’m sorry, guys. I’ve gotta tell my truth. I don’t know why… I’m sorry that I can’t give y’all what y’all deserve. And I love y’all and I’m very grateful for y’all being here.”
Flores took a four-week break from recording and touring, cancelling a slate of shows and seeking help at mental-health counseling facility Onsite near Nashville.
“I’ve learned so much because, truthfully, people don’t go through this phase in their life until they are maybe 30,” Flores says. “I went to Onsite when I quit the tour, and I looked around the room and there were maybe three other people my age and the rest were mostly in their 60s. I felt like the last thing I want to do in this life is be that age and look back and go, ‘How have I been unhappy this entire time?’ I started doing a lot of personal work and I’m still working on myself.
“I knew I had to be a better leader than what I was,” he continues. “I wasn’t taking the time to process things that I needed to, and I wasn’t putting up boundaries in my own life between me and the fans. It just crippled me to the point where I couldn’t do it anymore. I was like, ‘I don’t even know if I like the music’—and that’s the only thing I ever loved.”
Unlike the primarily acoustic-driven songs on his previous releases, Welcome to the Plains is a harder-edged, full band project. The songs on the new album that flowed from that time away from the spotlight are often anything but somber, such as the driving heartland rock and nod to Red Dirt in the album’s title track, which he wrote with Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor. Elsewhere, in the pulsing “Don’t Wanna Say Goodnight,” he longs for his last minutes with a lover to linger before they have to part ways.
“You would’ve thought that I would have written some of the most depressing songs, but I had this weird way of daydreaming about a better time, I guess. That’s where it was all coming from, just wanting to get out of that dark place,” he says. However, multiple songs, such as “The Good Ones” and “Angels Over You,” do touch on mortality, as does “When I Die,” a song Flores calls “the weirdest love song I’ve ever written.” The song brings levity on lines such as “When I’m in the ground, if I hear you talking s—t/ I hope I get the chance to be a ghost and scare your kids,” while also weaving in heartfelt sentiments.
“I get that humor from my dad,” he says. “I’ve written so many songs about living and dying because I’ve lost a lot of people in my life, so that’s where my head space was. I’m sure people are going to be listening to it around the time they’re grieving over someone and I hope it gives them a bit of a smile instead of just sobbing.”
Flores’s father is a retired welder and former drummer, while Flores’s family also runs cattle. Growing up in Oklahoma, Flores credits his family’s hard-working lifestyle with instilling the discipline that has benefited him on the road.
“Without that life, I don’t know that I’d be responsible enough to do this,” he says. “You’re up at 5:30 in the morning when you’re 12 years old, going out to the barn, working in the freezing cold, then doing your homework then going to school. Hard work and dedication is where it’s at.”
Flores grew up in a household filled with a mix of country and blues. He briefly attended Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, before realizing the time he spent sneaking into local clubs to play music held more value for him. He eventually moved to Nashville, and immersed himself in folk and Americana music, including the works of Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson.
“I became obsessed with that music. It’s a huge influence,” he says. His new album offers a sampling of sounds, with deep emotional excavations sitting alongside flashes of sharp wit. (“I’m still figuring out what my [own] sound is,” he explains.)
“I also want to be a motivational speaker,” he adds. “I’ve always wanted to do speeches. I want to be good enough to where I can do that as a part-time thing. I’m also working on a bucket list of starting my own cattle company, branching off from what my parents have. We’re just waiting on buying land right now. We used to have 80 head back in the day. I want to get into the show cattle world again, to give kids a chance to show cattle, for those who don’t really have the money to do it, to let them learn from it.”
Eight months removed from that pivotal onstage moment in Missouri, Flores says he’s learning how to just be himself amid rising acclaim but knows he can always find refuge in Stillwater.
“It’s an odd feeling. I truly feel like I can just come back here and be myself, though I’m taking pictures [with fans] every single time I go to town. It’s an odd feeling because I went from being a nobody to everyone knowing who I am. It’s a feeling of being able to hide in plain sight, and then can’t hide anywhere. I don’t like hiding myself from people. I just keep going out and about and showing people I’m just a normal human.”
Ever wondered what Dolly Parton‘s songs would sound like backed by a full orchestra? Fans can find out next year when the country icon’s new multimedia symphonic story-telling experience, Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony, makes it debut with the Nashville Symphony on March 20, 2025.
The world premiere of the show that features Parton’s songs and the stories behind them will feature images of the singer on screen, “leading audiences in a visual-musical journey of her songs, her life and her stories,” according to a release announcing the event. With the help of guest vocalists and musicians, the show will debut new and innovative orchestral versions of Parton’s songs “woven together into a full-evening multimedia symphonic story-telling experience.”
“The threads of my life are woven together through my songs. That’s why this project, Threads: My Songs In Symphony, is so special to me,” Parton said in a statement. “It’s all about sharing my music and my musical journey with audiences in a new way. I’m really excited for fans to experience it for the first time with the Nashville Symphony!”
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The show will feature such beloved hits as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You,” as well as some of Parton’s personal favorites. The March premiere with the Grammy-winning Nashville Symphony, led by Principal Pops conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez, will feature a special appearance by Dolly.
“We are honored to help launch this extraordinary production with Dolly Parton in Nashville at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center,” said Nashville Symphony president/CEO Alan D. Valentine in the statement about the show that is being produced by Parton along with Schirmer Theatrical and Sony Music Publishing. “Enhanced by the stories and images that make up the threads of her extraordinary life and career, her legendary and timeless catalog – combined with the power and majesty of our Nashville Symphony orchestra – will create an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone.”
Check out the dates for the 2025-2026 performances of Threads: My Songs in Symphony below.
March 20, 2025 — Nashville Symphony Orchestra
May 17, 2025 — Fort Wayne Philharmonic
June 17, 2025 — Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
June 29, 2025 — San Diego Symphony Orchestra
Sept. 7, 2025 — The Cleveland Orchestra
Sept. 18-20, 2025 — Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
Oct. 10, 2025 — The Alabama Symphony Orchestra (Birmingham)
Jan. 23-25, 2026 — Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Feb. 14-15, 2026 — Oregon Symphony (Portland)
March 28, 2026 — Phoenix Symphony Orchestra
May 1, 2026 — Eugene Symphony Orchestra
Brianna LaPaglia, known online as Brianna Chickenfry, is asking fans to let her heal her heartbreak following her breakup from country star Zach Bryan.
The Barstool Sports personality shared a nearly four-minute video to YouTube on Tuesday (Oct. 22) titled “Love you guys, be back soon,” in which she’s seen teary-eyed on her bathroom floor. “I just woke up to Zach posting on his Instagram that we broke up,” she tells the camera. “I had no idea that post was going up. He didn’t text me, he didn’t call me. I just woke up to a bunch of texts being like, ‘Are you OK?’ I’m like, ‘Did my f—ing dad die?’ I’m completely blindsided by that.”
Earlier in the day, the “Something in the Orange” singer took to his Instagram Stories to reveal that the couple, who had been dating since last summer, have parted ways. “Brianna and me have broken up with each other and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart,” he wrote. “She has loved me unconditionally for a very long time and for that I’ll always thank her. I have had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things. I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go our different ways. I am not perfect and I never will be.”
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He continued, “Please respect Brianna’s privacy and space in this and if you have it in your heart, mine too. With everything I am and to anyone I let down, I am sorry. I try my best in everything. I failed people that love me and mostly myself.”
In her video, LaPaglia shared that she wasn’t expecting such a public announcement just a day after their breakup. “I’m at the point where it’s like, how can you give someone everything and love them so unconditionally, like, through stuff that you shouldn’t because you just love them and you see the good in them? How can you give every ounce of yourself to someone and then be discarded of in a few days?” she shared. “It’s really heartbreaking and I don’t want to talk about details right now. I don’t want to talk about it yet. I will, obviously, but right now, I wanted to heal privately.”
She continued, “I wasn’t ready to do anything publicly and now I’m just getting a bajillion freakin’ texts and s—. I just wanted to handle this as a human first and now it’s not that. I’m just asking if you could please respect my privacy right now and when I’m ready to talk about everything that happened, I will.”
LaPaglia concluded by thanking fans for their support, adding, “I’m going to be OK, I’m going to be fine. I’m just obviously really, really hurt right now. I just wanted to be hurt for a week and lay in bed.”
Speculation that the two had broken up swirled online after LaPaglia posted a cryptic note on her Instagram Stories on Oct. 21 that said, “And eventually you’ll find that life goes on, even if you don’t want it to. The days will pass and the world will move while you ask it to stop. You’ll believe life is cruel for continuing on while your feet are stuck.”
See her full video below.
Scott Stapp acknowledges that the 99-year-old Grand Ole Opry, whose storied membership includes Johnny Cash, George Strait and Tanya Tucker, is not the natural setting for “outliers like me.” But as the singer known for bombastic hard-rock Creed hits like “One Last Breath” and “Higher” prepares for his Opry debut Wednesday night (Oct. 23), he suggests he may be more country than people expect. “When I was young and poor, my grandparents were huge fans of country music and bluegrass. They would watch The Opry on TV in Florida. I can remember laying down on the floor with my hands under my chin with my grandparents behind me,” Stapp tells Billboard. “That’s why it’s a tremendous honor, and I want to do my best to bring my A-game.”
In the past six years, the Opry, which began in 1925 with Uncle Jimmy Thompson playing his fiddle at Nashville radio station WSM, has been more aggressive about opening its stage to non-traditional country performers. Post Malone, the pop and hip-hop star who this year released a chart-topping country album, performed in August; retired Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, a singer-songwriter who put out an album this year titled Hey Y’All, made his debut in March; jam band Leftover Salmon and Andrew Farriss of INXS are scheduled for dates later this year. In 2018, 53 artists made their Opry debuts; last year, that number increased to 131, plus another 101 so far in 2024. For its 100th anniversary in 2025, the Opry is planning 100 debuts, beginning Jan. 18 with Shaboozey, whose “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” this year became the first song in history to reach the Top 10 of the Country, Pop, Adult Pop and Rhythmic Airplay charts.
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“It’s a great thing. It’s important, because it expands what country music is,” says Jared Cotter, Shaboozey’s co-manager, adding that the singer accepted the Opry invitation “in about two seconds.” “It needs to evolve. We’re really excited to be what I think is at the forefront of it.”
Shaboozey
Eric Ryan Anderson
Dan Rogers, the show’s senior vp and executive producer, says his artist-relations team has emphasized “artists you might not normally expect to see at the Opry” — whether that’s African-American stars, like Shaboozey, who have historically been largely absent from the Opry stage, or performers who’ve built their music careers outside country, like Stapp. This is part of the broadcast’s tradition, Rogers adds — James Brown and Stevie Wonder, not known for their country inclinations, performed in 1979, as did rocker Peter Frampton in 2013. Similarly, in a throwback to Hee Haw, Jerry Clower, David “Stringbean” Akeman and others, the Opry inducted comedians Gary Mule Deer and Henry Cho as members last year. Until that point, the Opry had not inducted a comedian since 1973.
“It’s no secret we have opened our doors more broadly since the pandemic,” Rogers adds. “We’re always working to be steadfast in our programming philosophy, which is [to] present the past, present and future of country music every time that big red curtain goes up.” The strategy has worked so far — although he declines to provide attendance numbers, Rogers says “visitation” and “demand for Opry performances” has increased yearly since 2020 in terms of increased numbers of the 4,400-capacity shows.
The Opry’s inclusive definition of “country” in recent years reflects pop music in general, according to Brian Mansfield, a Nashville writer, historian and managing editor of radio-industry trade publication Country Insider. “You don’t really think of Post Malone as a country artist, but if you talk to him, he grew up knowing that stuff,” he says, then cites Beyoncé‘s Cowboy Carter album, even though the pop superstar has never performed at the Opry. “She wanted to show how the country music she grew up with in Houston, which has this unique blend of country and R&B and everything in its DNA, was part of what she was.”
Stapp, by contrast, did not set out to make a country song when he and his Nashville songwriting collaborators came up with “If These Walls Could Talk,” even though he spent his childhood watching Hee Haw on TV when it was recorded on the Opry stage throughout the ’80s. “The song was just born and created as-is,” says Stapp, who has lived in Nashville since 2016. “I don’t have any intent to try to change it into some kind of more country-leaning song just because I’m playing it at the Opry.” For his debut, Stapp plans to perform the song for the first time with Dorothy, the hard-rock singer who duets with him on the recording.
In emphasizing new and unexpected performers, the Opry is being savvy about expanding its audience. “Our research shows that 50% of the audience in the seats love country music, and that’s why they came to the Grand Ole Opry. And the other 50% are in Nashville, and they know they’re supposed to see the Grand Ole Opry,” Rogers says. “Both of those halves will appreciate when someone they wouldn’t expect shows up at the Opry.”
Post Malone at his Grand Ole Opry debut on Aug. 14, 2024.
Chris Hollo
NBCUniversal and a private-equity firm, Atairos Group, invested $296 million for a 30% stake in the Opry’s parent company, Opry Entertainment Group, in 2022. (The group also owns the Ryman Auditorium, which hosts numerous Opry shows, and Blake Shelton‘s Ole Red brand of country bars.) It makes sense that investors are happy to see the lineup expand as widely as possible — in the first half of this year, Creed’s catalog streamed 263 million times, and its 2024 reunion tour is headlining arenas, including Madison Square Garden next month. Of Stapp, Rogers says, “I’ve read two or three times now, people saying to him, ‘This sounds country, were you influenced by country artists?’ So that made sense. And the fact that he is so passionate about songwriting feels really authentic. It turns out, as it often does, he fits really interestingly with the show.”
Another recent unexpected Opry debut was Katharine McPhee, the former American Idol runner-up who is best known as a pop singer, although she starred on 2021’s Netflix series Country Comfort. In her Oct. 12 debut, McPhee performed two songs, “She Used to Be Mine” and Gretchen Wilson‘s “Redneck Woman,” and dueted with fellow performer Riley Green on “Don’t Mind If I Do.” Unlike Stapp, McPhee didn’t grow up watching country music on TV, although she was a fan of Martina McBride, Shania Twain and Faith Hill.
“I didn’t know [Opry attendees] would be so attentive and friendly. They’re just music lovers. They just want to be there and root for whoever’s up on that stage,” McPhee tells Billboard. “I walked out to an audience full of smiling, warm faces, and that was really delightful.”
The same week Jelly Roll scored his first-ever No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Beautifully Broken, the country star revealed he also hit another impressive milestone: losing 100 pounds. In a video update shared with fans on Instagram Monday (Oct. 21), Jelly pulled back the curtain on his fitness regimen while touring. “Next […]
When Warner Music Nashville released Cody Johnson‘s collaboration with Carrie Underwood, excited programmers took note, giving the ballad enough first-week spins that it debuted at No. 21 on the Country Airplay chart dated Oct. 12.
Parmalee took note, too, but the band was far less enthusiastic. Guitarist Josh McSwain texted lead singer Matt Thomas about what seemed a potential threat. Johnson’s single, “I’m Gonna Love You,” had almost exactly the same title and lyrical hook as “Gonna Love You,” a Parmalee ballad that had reached the top 10 on that same chart, just 11 slots ahead of Johnson and Underwood. Thomas was mildly stressed about it until he was able to give it a listen.
“I think I would have been a lot more concerned if we weren’t moving up in the top 10 and the song’s researching and doing well,” Thomas says. “If we’d have heard it was coming out right before ours dropped, then it’d be like, ‘Shit.’”
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There’s no legal issue at play — songwriters live by the general rule that titles can’t be copyrighted — but the programming ramifications are significant. Country broadcasters make an effort to keep the sound of their stations changing, while staying within the perceived boundaries of the format. Playing the same title back-to-back is the opposite of variety. Programmers have periodically faced the issue for years, though many outside of radio may not have contemplated it before.
One harsh scenario from 1982 illustrates the potential consequences. The music scheduling software at WKHK New York inserted a Dolly Parton & Willie Nelson duet, “Everything’s Beautiful (In Its Own Way),” next to Ray Stevens‘ “Everything Is Beautiful.” The programmer eyed the comparable titles and ran a line through Stevens’ single, costing it a spin.
“That is heartbreaking right there,” Thomas says.
That scenario is a bit different, though, than Parmalee’s situation. The Parton/Nelson single was current in ’82, while Stevens’ record was 12 years old. A gold title losing a single spin wouldn’t hurt anyone’s chart position and was unlikely to make much difference in Stevens’ royalties as a songwriter. In fact, programmers generally make an effort to keep their current singles’ spins at their assigned rotation, even if similarities in individual singles create separation hurdles.
“A great example, maybe more so than title separation, is artist separation,” WWWF Farmingdale, N.Y., PD Patrick Shea says. “When you’ve got 14 Morgan Wallen songs and 14 Post Malone songs, how do you make them work? You don’t want to lose spins, because they’re all good and they’re all researching really well, so you juggle to the very best of your ability to make sure that those songs are all getting heard.”
The issue arises more often than one might expect. Jelly Roll‘s”I Am Not Okay” is sharing space on many current playlists with Megan Moroney‘s “Am I Okay?” Meanwhile, Johnson’s “Dirt Cheap” and Justin Moore‘s “This Is My Dirt,” two songs with plots and sentiments that were even more similar than their titles, rose through the chart at the same time. KUZZ Bakersfield, Calif., had both of those titles among the seven singles that were simultaneously in heavy rotation.
“If those are the two of the seven best songs we can play,” KUZZ PD Brent Michaels says, “we’re going to do it, even though thematically — and even sonically, a little bit — they’re sort of the same.”
Labels pay attention to those kinds of details, particularly if the titles emerge from the same firm. Triple Tigers issued a Jordan Fletcher focus track, “Fall in the Summer,” to digital service providers in July, just two months after releasing Scotty McCreery‘s “Fall of Summer” to radio. Executives considered the problem, then shrugged it off.
“How many times has the song ‘Gone’ been written by how many different artists?” Fletcher asks rhetorically. “Or ‘Wasted Time?’ Or, you know, ‘Love Me Tomorrow’? How many times have those names been rewritten and connected with different people in different ways, and nobody gave it a second thought?”
Likewise, Warner Music Nashville released Tyler Braden‘s “Devil You Know” while it was already working Ashley McBryde‘s “Devil I Know” earlier this year. It wasn’t the original game plan — consumption spurred WMN to send Braden’s “Devil” to radio — but programming partners didn’t protest the move.
“If I’m being honest, that shocked me,” Team WMN vp of radio Anna Cage says. “I myself thought that there might be an issue there. But at the end of the day, they’re two completely different songs. Obviously, one’s a female vocal, one’s a male vocal, even though they have the same anecdotal ‘Devil You Know,”Devil I Know.’”
It might create some branding issues, she allows, if consumers search for the song by title online and don’t know the artist’s name. It’s not a concern with Braden and McBryde.
“It wouldn’t take long for them to realize, ‘This isn’t the one I was looking for,’ ” she says.
Programmers are prepared to manually create separation if the titles appear in the same window. Shea would want them in separate quarter-hours, though with the two “Gonna Love You” singles, their tempo already solves that problem: His rotations only allow one ballad per 15-minute sweep. Michaels has even less of an issue — both songs are among the 11 titles KUZZ has in medium rotation, and they play in order. One is slotted at No. 1 in that tier, while the other is entered at No. 6; they automatically appear about four hours apart.
“Right away, we tried to separate those,” Michaels says, “so they didn’t come up too close to one another.”
So even though those repetitive titles get noticed on Music Row and in station music meetings, they may not be the obstacle one might expect.
“I don’t think it’s a radio programming problem,” Shea says. “I think it’s a radio nerd problem because I don’t think your average listener is going to notice anything at all.”
Still, one music nerd understood the conundrum in a heartbeat. Asked about “I’m Gonna Love You” mirroring the Parmalee title, Johnson was immediately sympathetic.
“That was not intentional,” he says. “If you know those guys, tell ’em, ‘My bad.’”
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This week’s crop of new country tunes includes Benjamin Tod highlighting a range of country sounds on his new album Shooting Star. Elsewhere, Bailey Zimmerman and Max McNown both offer up songs about finding and offering hope when mental health struggles rage, while Scotty Hasting teams with Lee Brice and Dolly Parton for a new version of a song previously recorded by Trace Adkins.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard’s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.
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Benjamin Tod, Shooting Star
Tod, known for his work as part of the Lost Dog Street Band, issues his fourth solo album with Shooting Star, a set that weaves through a sampling of sounds drawn from the spectrum of country music decades, with each song helmed by his raw, aching vocal. He articulates the honkytonk of “Tramp Like Me,” the string-laden countrypolitan in “Nothing More,” and the heaps of gospel-tinged, piano-laced sounds on his Sierra Ferrell collaboration “One Last Time.” His raw, aching vocal shines on “I Ain’t The Man.” Elsewhere, on the title track, this Nashville-area native delivers a stinging criticism of machinations of Nashville’s Music Row, singing, “I don’t kneel for you or anyone.” As with his previous output, Shooting Star evinces Tod’s masterful songwriting and offers a balm for lovers of traditional country sounds.
Midland feat. Kaitlin Butts, “Vegas”
Midland just released a deluxe version of their recent album Barely Blue, including a revised version of “Vegas,” their satiny, Strait-esque ode to Sin City. This time they welcome Red Dirt stalwart Kaitlin Butts, who earlier this year made waves with her theatrical album Roadrunner! The trio’s knack for preternatural harmonies remains front and center, further elevated by Butts’ self-assured twang, as the song bristles with a neo-traditional country sound.
Max McNown, “Hotel Bible”
The Oregon-born, Nashville-based McNown first broke through with “A Lot More Free,” which propelled him to the top of Billboard’s Emerging Artist chart this year. He follows with “Hotel Bible,” a raw, heartland-folk track shot through with textured guitar and a burst of joyous percussion. Here, he comes alongside a lover who “can’t shake that sinking feeling,” provides a heartening, hope-filled reassurances, reminiscing on times they “sipped on wine and swore we’d change the world.” Overall, “Hotel Bible” marks a solid follow-up to McNown’s breakthrough hit, one that positions him as a newcomer worth watching.
Bailey Zimmerman, “Holding On”
Zimmerman follows his “Holy Smokes” single with this pleading track written by Austin Shawn and Blake Whiten. “Holding On” finds Zimmerman delving into themes surrounding mental health on lyrics such as “There was a time when I had the fight/ And I could’ve made it through one more night, but I’m losing my mind.” Ultimately, however, he finds the strength and comfort he’s seeking in the commitment of a loved one, which helps him overcome darker moments. Sonically, this bruising track falls squarely within Zimmerman’s wheelhouse, a vessel for his grainy vocal — though it pares back slightly on the heavily rock-oriented instrumentation of some of his previous efforts, enough to let the song’s timely message shine through.
Kelsea Ballerini, “First Rodeo”
Ballerini offers a preview of her upcoming album Patterns with this languid track about taking risks and establishing new patterns in the wake of a breakup. “Take my heart but take it slow/ ‘Cause this ain’t my first rodeo,” she sings, infusing her vocal delivery with a tenderness as she examines a newfound relationship with hope and a bit of trepidation. Meanwhile, as she continues to deepen her emotionally-excavating style of songwriting, she melds it with her signature brand of hazy, glistening country-pop. Ballerini’s album Patterns releases Oct. 25.
Scotty Hasting, Lee Brice and Dolly Parton, “’Til The Last Shot’s Fired”
Hasting welcomes Brice and Parton for this remake of Trace Adkins’s somber 2009 tribute to fallen military personnel. Hazy guitar lays the soundscape, as U.S. Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient Hastings takes the first verse, sung from the perspective of a soldier killed during the Civil War, before Brice picks up the second verse depicting the story of a soldier who dies during World War II. Both plead for the end of life-taking battles and wars; toward the end, their weathered voices are balanced as Parton’s airy, shimmering soprano joins in, offering levity and infusing the song’s somber message with hope.
On Sunday (Oct. 20), the Country Music Hall of Fame ushered in its 153rd, 154th and 155th members — Oklahoma native Toby Keith (modern era category), Florida native John Anderson (veteran era category) and Louisiana native James Burton (recording and/or touring musician category) — during a ceremony held at the CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville.
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The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CEO Kyle Young called the trio “three people who took very different paths to greatness and to this evening’s induction,” later adding, “each of these inductees has left a deep and distinctive stamp on our music.”
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After graduating from high school, Anderson moved to Nashville at just 17 years old, joining his older sister Donna, who was already singing in Music City’s clubs. In addition to performing around town, Anderson also did construction work, which included working on the roof of the Grand Ole Opry prior that building’s opening in 1974.
Anderson’s rich, distinct voice soon caught the attention of music publisher Al Gallico, who connected Anderson to signing with Warner Bros. Records in 1976. In the 1980s, he earned several top 10 singles and a trio of chart-toppers (“Wild and Blue,” “Swingin’” and “Black Sheep”), before falling from the upper echelons of the chart until his career shifted into an upward trajectory yet again in 1992 with “Straight Tequila Night,” followed by “Seminole Wind,” “Money in the Bank,” “I Wish I Could’ve Been There,” and more songs that would become Anderson’s signature hits.
In 2014, Anderson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2020, he teamed with Dan Auerbach, and Dave Ferguson brought Anderson into the studio again to record the album Years; Auerbach then created the Anderson tribute album Something Borrowed, Something New, featuring artists including Luke Combs and Eric Church performing his songs.
During Anderson’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Shawn Camp tributed Anderson by performing “I Just Came Home to Count the Memories,” while Del McCoury and the Del McCoury Band performed “Would You Catch a Falling Star,” and Lucinda Williams performed “Wild and Blue.”
“This is such an honor to be asked to participate. I’ve fallen in love with the songs that John Anderson wrote,” Williams said.
Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Bobby Braddock inducted Anderson, praising his instantly recognizable voice. “You hear two or three words and you know its him. He’s a great song stylist and that’s why his fans love him, because he’s distinctive,” Braddock said, before later securing the Country Music Hall of Fame medallion around Anderson’s neck.
After Anderson’s bronze plaque had been revealed onstage, Anderson called the honor “overwhelming” and “a once-in-a-lifetime deal.” He added, “It’s a long way from Apopka, Florida, to standing on this stage, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything because it was my way… It’s one of the greatest honors anyone in our profession could ever have to be on this stage.”
When the time came to officially posthumously induct Keith into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Country Music Association’s CEO Sarah Trahern said, “I so wish I could be looking into the front row to see Toby Keith sitting by his family.” Keith was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2021 and revealed the diagnosis the following year. Keith died in February at age 62, before he could be notified of his upcoming induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Young noted that during his career, Keith “didn’t play the Nashville game, but chose to roll the dice and face the consequences.”
Born Toby Keith Covel, Keith earned 20 Billboard Country Airplay chart-toppers and wrote or co-wrote the bulk of them. He initially followed his father into work in the oil fields, and played semi-professional football, before launching his Easy Money band. Keith later made his way to Nashville and one of his demo tapes made its way to producer and Mercury Records executive Harold Shedd, known for his work with Alabama. Keith released his self-titled debut album in 1993, with the album’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” penned solely by Keith, becoming his first No. 1 hit. He followed with songs including “Who’s That Man,” “Wish I Didn’t Know Now,” and “He Ain’t Worth Missing.”
Eventually, Keith parted ways with Mercury Nashville and signed with DreamWorks Nashville. He then released How Do You Like Me Now?!, spurred by the hit title track, and in the process, began displaying what would become his signature assertive persona on songs such as “I Wanna Talk About Me,” written by Bobby Braddock. Following the passing of his father, and the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Keith was inspired to write what would become another of his signature songs, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).” A fierce supporter of the U.S. military, Keith would go on to release songs such as “American Soldier.”
Keith also proved an astute businessman thanks to ventures including his Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill restaurants, his Wild Shot mezcal brand and the launch of his Show Dog Nashville label (during which time he also acquired a stake in the then-fledgling label Big Machine Records, which launched Taylor Swift’s career).
During the Country Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Keith’s expertise as a songwriter was noted, as were his accolades from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the BMI Icon Award. Post Malone celebrated Keith with a rendition of “I’m Just Talkin’ ‘About Tonight,” while Eric Church offered a somber, stirring take on Keith’s solo-written “Don’t Let the Old Man In.”
“I’ve said I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Toby,” Church said. “As a songwriter, I’ve never heard him write about anything that he wasn’t living at that time.” Church also noted that he was immediately struck the first time he heard “Don’t Let the Old Man In,” and said, “I want nothing more than for Toby to have been able to do this tonight, but I’ll do my best.”
From there, Keith’s fellow Oklahoman and country artist Blake Shelton took the stage, playing Keith’s signature American flag-emblazoned guitar, as he offered up “I Love This Bar” and attempted to bring some levity to the moment with the party anthem “Red Solo Cup,” which reached the top 15 on Billboard’s all-genre chart in 2011.
Randy Owen of Alabama inducted Keith into the Country Music Hall of Fame, welcoming Keith’s wife nearly 40 years, Tricia, to the stage.
“He didn’t just sing those songs. He was those songs,” she said of her late husband. She added of his dedication to performing on USO Tours and for scores of military members, “He loved the troops. He loved getting to go and be a part of that. He didn’t get to serve, but his Dad did so in his mind, that was him giving back.
“Toby loved hard and he lived big,” she continued. “He enjoyed everything he did. He had no regrets through his life. he was a wonderful husband, father, son, grandfather, brother, friend, singer, producer, businessman. He was masterful at everything he did… Whatever he put his mind to, he excelled and he did the best he could do.” That work included the founding of the OK Kids Korral, a cost-free home for families of children facing life-threatening illnesses.
She also noted that instead of moving to Nashville as many aspiring singers and songwriters do, he stayed in Oklahoma. “He took that as a challenge, so we stayed in Oklahoma. He would say, ‘There may be better singers, there may be better songwriters, but they’ll never outwork me,’” she said. “He had to work twice as hard. He didn’t fit into the normal, mainstream Nashville and politics and the business. Hard work, toughness and God-given talent. Toby didn’t have to be branded as authentic — he was the example of authentic.
“There will never be another Toby Keith,” she continued. “We’re all brokenhearted that he’s not here to get to accept this… there will be generations of people who will continue to play Toby’s songs so even through our pain we know Toby’s spirit is still alive. … Thank you to the Country Music Hall of Fame Hall of Fame for honoring Toby with this induction. He didn’t get the chance to hear the news that he had been inducted, but I have a feeling Toby, we know you know you are in the Country Music Hall of Fame.”
By the time guitarist Burton was 14 years old, he was playing as part of the house band on the Louisiana Hayride and soon he was playing in clubs around his hometown. At those club shows, he began performing an instrumental number that bandleader Dale Hawkins would later add lyrics to, creating the rockabilly song “Susie Q,” which Hawkins released in 1957.
He soon began playing in teen performer Ricky Nelson’s band, which was featured on the popular television show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Burton went onto to become an guitar stylist and innovator, becoming known for his rhythmic “chicken-pickin’” style, and joined the Wrecking Crew, which backed artists including The Mamas & The Papas, Sonny and Cher and more.
He also played on songs by Buck Owens (including “Open Up Your Heart”), and on many of Merle Haggard’s signature songs, including “Swinging Doors,” “Sing Me Back Home,” “Mama Tried,” “Lonesome Fugitive” and “Workin’ Man Blues.” In 1969, Burton was persuaded by Elvis Presley to put together and lead Presley’s TCB Band for his shows at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. Burton was in Presley’s band until Presley’s death in 1977.
Burton also played on Gram Parsons’ 1973 album GP and his 1974 album Grevious Angel, and played an essential role in Emmylou Harris’s Hot Band, as well as recording with Harris in the 1970s. He also played with John Denver, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Costello.
In 2001, The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards inducted Burton into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2009, Burton won a Grammy for best country instrumental performance for his work on Brad Paisley’s “Cluster Pluck.”
Both Richards and Paisley appeared during Burton’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, with Richards performing “I Can’t Dance” alongside Harris and Vince Gill.
Harris, Gill and Rodney Crowell also performed “‘Til I Gain Control Again.” Paisley performed a version of Merle Haggard’s “Workin’ Man Blues.”
“The only reason it’s cool to play anything with paisley on it at all is that man,” Paisley said, nodding to Burton’s role in bringing a pink paisley Telecaster to Presley’s TCB Band. “The first thing I did with a royalty check is buy a paisley guitar,” Paisley added.
Gill returned to the stage to induct Burton into the Country Music Hall of Fame, saying, “He made an impact on the world with his playing and he was quite the showman.”
“What a surprise, they’re all my heroes, all these guys I work with,” Burton said. “And I want to thank God for giving me a small part of being with these people. I’m so honored, I love them all.”
Earlier in the evening, Young also took a moment to recognize two Country Music Hall of Fame members who passed away in recent months: Kris Kristofferson and The Oak Ridge Boys’ Joe Bonsall.
The evening, which marked country music’s highest honor being given to these three creators, concluded with Country Music Hall of Famer Tanya Tucker continuing the tradition of leading an “all-sing” version of The Carter Family classic “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.”
Morgan Wallen has revealed the multi-genre lineup for his previously announced Sand in My Boots Festival, set for May 16-18, 2025 in Gulf Shores, Ala.
The stacked lineup includes Wallen, Brooks & Dunn, Post Malone and Hardy headlining the fest.
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AEG Presents and Wallen, a 15-time Billboard Music Awards winner, have put together the festival, with Wallen curating a lineup that also includes Riley Green, Chase Rice, Ernest, Ian Munsick, Nate Smith, Ella Langley, Paul Cauthen, Kameron Marlowe, Josh Ross, Morgan Wade, Hailey Whitters, Lauren Watkins, John Morgan and Laci Kaye Booth.
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Alongside country music hitmakers, the lineup also features hip-hop luminaries T-Pain, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, Three 6 Mafia, Moneybagg Yo and BigXthaPlug, as well as indie alternative bands including The War on Drugs, 3 Doors Down, Future Islands, Real Estate, Wild Nothing and more.
“Morgan Wallen here to share some exciting news me and my team have been working on for a while for y’all,” the country star previously said on social media when announcing the festival. “We’re heading south to the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama and I’m bringing some good friends with me. Mark your calendars for May 16 – 18, 2025 for the Sand In My Boots Fest. Stay tuned and we’ll get you some more info soon!”
The Sand in My Boots festival will offer multiple pass types, including a three-day only general admission pass, Party Pit, VIP, Super VIP and “Livin’ the Dream” options. Amenities across the various pass tiers can include access to exclusive viewing areas and lounges, main stage in-ground swimming pools, complimentary bar and gourmet food options, private restrooms, dedicated festival entryways, and more.
Tickets go on sale Oct. 25 at 10 a.m. CT at the festival’s website.
See the full Sand in My Boots 2025 lineup below:
2 Chainz
3 Doors Down
49 Winchester
Bailey Zimmerman
BigXthaPlug
Brooks & Dunn
Chase Rice
Diplo
Ella Langley
Ernest
Future Islands
Hailey Whitters
Hardy
Ian Munsick
John Morgan
Josh Ross
Kameron Marlowe
Laci Kaye Booth
Lauren Watkins
Moneybagg Yo
Morgan Wade
Morgan Wallen
Nate Smith
Ole 60
Paul Cauthen
Post Malone
Real Estate
Riley Green
The War on Drugs
Three 6 Mafia
T-Pain
Treaty Oak Revival
Wild Nothing
Wiz Khalifa
Jelly Roll racks up his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as Beautifully Broken bows atop the list dated Oct. 26. The set enters with 161,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 17, according to Luminate – the artist’s best week ever by units. The set’s first week was largely driven by album sales – 114,000 – likewise marking Jelly Roll’s largest sales week yet. The album also opens at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart.
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Beautifully Broken marks Jelly Roll’s second top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200, following the No. 3-peaking Whitsitt Chapel in 2023.
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Beautifully Broken additionally achieves the third-largest week, by units, for any country album in 2024, following the debut frames of Beyoncé and Post Malone’s premiere country sets. In total, Jelly Roll scores the fifth country album to lead the all-genre Billboard 200 in 2024 – the most in a year since 2014, when there were also five. (Country albums are defined as those that are eligible for, or have charted on, Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.)
Elsewhere in the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200, Rod Wave secures his seventh consecutive top 10 – the entirety of his charting efforts – as Last Lap debuts at No. 2, Charli XCX’s Brat bounds 14-3 (matching its debut and peak rank) after a deluxe reissue, GloRilla lands her first top 10 with the No. 5 bow of Glorious, and BigXthaPlug notches his first top 10 with the No. 8 arrival of Take Care.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Oct. 26, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday, Oct. 22. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of Beautifully Broken’s 161,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week, album sales comprise 114,000; SEA units comprise 44,000 (equaling 58.86 million on-demand official streams of the 28 songs on its streaming edition); and TEA units comprise 3,000. The album was issued as a 14-track standard release (on CD, vinyl and cassette), a 22-track expanded album (as a digital download and streaming set), a 27-track deluxe edition (sold as a download in Jelly Roll’s official webstore) and a 28-track deluxe album (dubbed Beautifully Broken [Pickin’ Up the Pieces], widely available as a digital download and streaming set).
The album’s opening week sales were bolstered by its availability across seven vinyl variants, three CD variants (the CDs sold a combined 65,000, including a signed edition sold through the artist’s webstore), a cassette tape and three download album variants (the downloads sold 32,000). Net profits from pre-orders of the CD and vinyl in his webstore benefitted four charity organizations: Folds of Honor, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Shatterproof and Wounded Warriors.
Beautifully Broken was preceded by a trio of charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100: “I Am Not Okay,” “Lonely Road” (with MGK) and “Liar.” They are three of Jelly Roll’s nine songs to debut on the Hot 100 in 2024 – the others include collaborations with the likes of Eminem, Post Malone and Falling in Reverse.
Rod Wave lands his seventh top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 – the entirety of his charting efforts – as Last Lap bows at No. 2 with 127,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 125,000 (equaling 173.35 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 23 songs; it’s No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 2,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
Last Lap was previewed by a pair of Hot 100-charting songs: “Passport Junkie” and “Fall Fast In Love.”
Wave has logged at least one Billboard 200 top 10 every year since 2019, beginning with his first charting set, Ghetto Gospel (No. 10, 2019) and continuing on with Pray 4 Love (No. 2, 2020), SoulFly (No. 1, 2021), Beautiful Mind (No. 1, 2022), Jupiter’s Diary: 7 Day Theory (No. 9, 2022), Nostalgia (No. 1, 2023) and Last Lap (No. 2, 2024). The only other act with at least one new top 10 in every year over 2019-24 is Taylor Swift.
Charli XCX’s Brat bounds 14-3, matching its debut rank and peak position, following the album’s deluxe reissue on Oct. 11. It earned 105,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Oct. 17 – the set’s biggest week yet. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 57,000 (equaling 73.63 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 48,000 and TEA units comprise less than 1,000.
Brat was originally released on June 7 as a 15-song standard album. It was reissued in a deluxe form on June 10 with three bonus songs, dubbed Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not. After its first tracking week, Brat (with both versions combined for charting and tracking purposes) debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 (dated June 22).
On Oct. 11, the album was reissued in a 34-track super deluxe form (named Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat), containing the original album’s 15 songs, the three bonus cuts added on June 10, and then 16 remixes of the set’s tracks featuring a star-studded guest list (including The 1975, Bon Iver, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Lorde and many more). Then, on Oct. 14, the completely different album was reissued, adding a remix of “Spring Breakers” with Kesha to its tracklist, bringing the total track count to 35.
The 34-track completely different edition of Brat was released for sale as a digital download, CD, three-LP vinyl and a double-cassette tape, plus as a streaming album. The 35-track edition of the album was available to purchase as a download, and to stream.
All versions of Brat are combined for tracking and charting purposes.
Sabrina Carpenter’s former No. 1 Short n’ Sweet slips 2-4 on the latest Billboard 200 with 85,000 equivalent album units earned (down 8%).
GloRilla grabs her highest charting album, and first top 10, as Glorious bows at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with 69,000 equivalent album units earned – the rapper’s best week yet. Of its first-week sum, SEA units comprise 56,000 (equaling 77.98 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 12,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000. The album was available in both a standard and bonus track digital download edition, as well as a signed CD edition.
Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess falls 3-6 on the Billboard 200 (55,000 equivalent album units; down 2%) and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft descends 5-7 (50,000; up less than 1%).
Rapper BigXthaPlug visits the top 10 for the first time – and the entire top 40 – as his new album Take Care enters at No. 8 with 48,000 equivalent album units earned, marking their biggest week ever. The artist previously notched two chart entries, reaching No. 97 with Amar and No. 111 with The Biggest (both earlier in 2024). Of the album’s first-week units, SEA units comprise 46,500 (equaling 62.77 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 1,500 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
Rounding out the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 are Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time (4-9 with 48,000 equivalent album units; down 5%) and Taylor Swift’s former leader The Tortured Poets Department (6-10 with 44,000; down 1%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.