Country
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In this most recent crop of new country releases, Charley Crockett issues a somber look at “the American Dream,” while Drew Parker draws on his traditional country roots. “Austin” hitmaker Dasha makes a bid for her latest hit with “Didn’t I,” while Russell Dickerson and Wynn Williams also offer up new music.
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Check them out in our roundup below.
Charley Crockett, “America”
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For years, musical troubadour and Americana Music Awards winner Crockett has crisscrossed the country, rising from busking on the streets of small towns to selling out headlining shows. Along the way, he’s gleaned keen perceptions from across America’s heartland, and he distills the stories and views into this swaggering, pleading track from his recently-released $10 Cowboy album. Soulful horns, bluesy guitar and Crockett’s distinct, commanding voice are front and center, adding a sonic lift to the song’s somber petition of a man who spends his days laboring in the fields and hopes to be seen and heard, and that the dreams that he’s toiled for will come to fruition. Another well-crafted, thoughtful outing from this musical luminary.
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Drew Parker, “Tomorrow”
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Georgia native Drew Parker is known for co-writing hits for Luke Combs (“Doin’ This”) and Jake Owen (“Homemade”), but for the past four years, he’s etched his own artist path as a singer-songwriter steeply influenced by traditional-minded country artists such as Alan Jackson and Ronnie Dunn. “Tomorrow” gleams with a radio-friendly, softly enhancing production, and lyrics packed with sentiments of gratitude for life and love, all led by Parker’s muscular twang, placing him squarely in the path of today’s new crop of country neo-traditionalists. “Tomorrow” is featured on Parker’s newly-released Warner Music Nashville project Camouflage Cowboy, which released July 12.
Dasha, “Didn’t I”
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Dasha saw a surge in her pursuit of stardom this year with her boot-stomping, ex-lover-skewering sensation “Austin.” With her latest, “Didn’t I,” she’s out to prove she has plenty more ammo in her musical arsenal. This plucky mix of acoustic guitar and crisp production elevates the underlying tension in Dasha’s vocal, as she sings of a couple who toss aside their previous pledges to end the relationship, as neither can deny the mutual draw to one another during a boozy night of passion — or, as Dasha sings, “We’re backsliders/ Bad liars.” The production here is leaner and sparse when compared to “Austin,” but retains the dancefloor-ready (and TikTok-ready) grooves that pair deftly with the singer’s throaty, sultry voice. Dasha wrote the song with Ben Johnson and Emily Weisband, with production from Johnson.
Russell Dickerson, “Bones”
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Tennessee native Dickerson is known for a string of No. 1 Country Airplay hits including “Love You Like I Used To” and his top 5 hit “God Gave Me a Girl.” He returns with this gracefully sung romantic vow of enduring devotion. On this personal track, he recounts key moments in his relationship with his wife Kailey, before asserting that his is a love that will last a lifetime. Dickerson wrote “Bones” with Chase McGill, Chris LaCorte and Parker Welling and seems aimed at further building his reputation as a top-notch vocalist and earnest songwriter.
Wynn Williams, “Country Therapy”
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Texas native and former steer wrestler Williams has already released four projects to date and on his latest, brings a mesh of acoustic guitars and fiddle to this slice of ’90s country nostalgia, which he wrote with Ryan Tyndell and Jeff Hyde. He takes a respite from the workweek via what he calls “old-school country therapy”: enjoying fishing and the outdoors, or downing shots of liquor while absorbing classic country music at a local bar. Williams sings this lively honky tonk track with believability, while the swirling production makes this a summertime jam.
Country star Jason Aldean turned up the political heat at his recent concert in Nashville on July 13, dedicating his controversial hit “Try That in a Small Town” to former president Donald Trump.
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The singer, who has long been a vocal Trump supporter, took his admiration to new heights during the performance.
In a TikTok video shared by user @susanelizabethphoto, the “Dirt Road Anthem” singer is heard saying, “What happened in Pittsburgh today with our former president, Mr. Trump, you guys know about this, right?
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“President Trump’s a friend of mine so I want to send this next song out to him. We all know what’s going to happen come November, so it’s all good.” He continued, “Just goes to show you there’s a lot of bullshit in the world, and that’s kind of what this song right here was about, so this one goes out to the pres.”
Aldean also shared his support via Instagram, “This is what a warrior looks like! This is MY guy,” sharing the famous photo of a bloodied Trump raising his fist in defiance.
“Donald Trump, we are thinking about you and praying for you and your family. God has a bigger plan for you, my friend, and I think we all know what that is by now.” He also extended his condolences to the families of the victims affected by the incident, calling it a “cowardly act.”
The dedication aligns with Aldean’s ongoing support for Trump. He and his wife Brittany have been fixtures at Trump events and recently promoted merchandise supporting Trump’s campaign.
Aldean wasn’t the only musician to rally behind Trump following the apparent assassination attempt. Kid Rock posted a fiery video on social media, declaring, “You f— with Trump, you f— with me,” and shared a link to a GoFundMe page for the victims of the shooting, which has raised over $2 million.
“Try That in a Small Town” has been at the center of heated debate since its release, with critics arguing the lyrics promote vigilantism and contain racial undertones.
Aldean has consistently defended the song, maintaining it celebrates small-town community values.
The controversy surrounding the track, however, has not hindered its success; the song rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Aldean’s first leader on the chart. It generated major buzz after CMT pulled its video after some labelled it as pro-gun, pro-violence and akin to a “modern lynching song”.
“Try That in a Small Town” also topped the Digital Song Sales chart and vaulted up the Streaming Songs chart, and topped Google’s 2023 Trending Musicians list, with “Try That in a Small Town” leading song searches.
Watch Jason Aldean dedicate “Try That in a Small Town” to Donald Trump in Nashville below.
Jelly Roll performed a surprise club show in Tampa, Fla., on Friday (July 12) after Morgan Wallen postponed his stadium concert.
The “Need a Favor” singer-rapper, who was scheduled to open for Wallen at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Friday night, announced the intimate gig after Wallen called off his concert due to an illness.
“TAMPA! Dallas Bull tonight— doors open at 7pm. If you have a ticket to the show you get in for free. (This is for ticket holders only) FIRST COME FIRST SERVE,” Jelly wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
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Hours before gates were set to open at his Tampa stadium show, Wallen announced on social media that we was too sick to perform.
“I hate to reschedule shows but I powered through being sick in Tampa last night, and unfortunately woke up feeling way worse today,” Wallen wrote on X.
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As a result of the illness, the “Last Night” singer postponed his concert at the city’s Raymond James Stadium to Oct. 4. He also moved his upcoming shows at Charlotte, N.C.’s Bank of America Stadium to Oct. 18 and 19. Wallen’s next performance is scheduled for July 25 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Wallen’s global One Night at a Time tour has been a concert juggernaut, often selling out multiple stadium shows in various cities, such as his three-night, sold-out stint at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium earlier this year. Openers on select dates include Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Nate Smith, Bryan Martin, Bailey Zimmerman, Ella Langley and others.
The Tennessee native recently had a five-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his and Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help” collaboration, which dropped mid-May. The track was dethroned by Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” in late June.
See Wallen and Jelly Roll’s announcements on X below.
I hate to reschedule shows but I powered through being sick in Tampa last night, and unfortunately woke up feeling way worse today. I would not give you guys anywhere near 100% tonight and as a result, I need to move tonight’s Tampa show to Oct. 4 and next week’s Charlotte shows…— morgan wallen (@MorganWallen) July 12, 2024
TAMPA! Dallas Bull tonight— doors open at 7pm. If you have a ticket to the show you get in for free. (This is for ticket holders only) FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. pic.twitter.com/QedPCmZZNF— Jelly Roll (@JellyRoll615) July 12, 2024
Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, commands Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated July 20) for a fourth week, becoming the first song to lead that long among the 15 singles that have scored their initial weeks atop the tally in 2024.
The collaboration increased by 1% to 33 million audience impressions July 5-11, according to Luminate.
The song became Post Malone’s first Country Airplay No. 1 (and Wallen’s 13th), after he notched 10 leaders on Rhythmic Airplay and five on Pop Airplay beginning in 2016. His new album, F-1 Trillion, is due Aug. 16; second single “Pour Me a Drink,” featuring Blake Shelton, ranks at No. 34 on Country Airplay (3 million, up 37%).
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Post Malone “deserves to be a superstar in country music, primarily because he is being real,” WJVC Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y., program director Phathead tells Billboard. “He’s put together a team that created one of the best songs we’ve heard, while singing it with the biggest act in the format. And he has a monster to follow with Shelton. A good boss in any business is only as good as the people around them. Great to see Post put his ego aside.”
Wallen 1, 2 for 3rd Week
For the first time in Country Airplay’s 34-year history, an act has ranked at Nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously for three weeks, as Wallen’s “Cowgirls,” featuring Ernest, holds at its No. 2 high (31.6 million, up 4%). Luke Bryan locked up the top two spots for two weeks in May-June 2014, while Luke Combs landed such a double-up for a week in September 2023.
Speaking of Combs, he earns his 21st consecutive career-opening top 10 single on Country Airplay as “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” pushes 11-10 (17.5 million, up 8%). The song introduces the soundtrack to the film Twisters, with both due July 19.
Baldridge Makes History
Drew Baldridge’s “She’s Somebody’s Daughter (Reimagined)” rises 10-8 on Country Airplay (19.3 million, up 5%). After becoming only the second self-released single ever to reach the top 10, it’s now the sole highest-charting, passing Aaron Watson’s “Outta Style,” which peaked at No. 10 in 2017.
Jelly Roll‘s “Save Me” is getting a second life on Eminem‘s new album The Death of Slim Shady, which dropped Friday (July 12) and features a surprise duet with the country star on its final track, an emotional open letter to the rapper’s children.
The song, titled “Somebody Save Me,” heavily samples Jelly’s 2023 hit, which reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November after Lainey Wilson jumped on the remix. The Detroit rapper’s new track opens with a recording of him shrugging off a younger version of his 31-year-old daughter Alaina’s pleas for him to come eat with her, after which the “Son of a Sinner” musician’s voice jumps in.
“Somebody save me, me from myself,” Jelly sings in the snippet. “I’ve spent so long living in Hell.”
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Em proceeds to dedicate bars to all three of his kids — he’s also Dad to 28-year-old Hailie and 22-year-old Stevie — openly apologizing for his past history of choosing drugs over his children. “I don’t even deserve the father title/ Hailie, I’m so sorry/ I know I wasn’t there for your first guitar recital,” he raps. “Alaina, sorry that you had to hear me fall in the bathroom … Stevie, I’m sorry, I missed you grow up and I didn’t get to be the dad I wanted to be to you.”
In between Slim’s verses, Jelly’s emotional chorus fades in and out. “They say my lifestyle is bad for my health,” he belts. “It’s the only thing that seems to help.”
The surprise collaboration comes about a month after Eminem and the “Need a Favor” artist teamed up for a live performance of the former’s “Sing for the Moment” as part of NBC’s Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central special. Jelly sang the portion of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” sampled in the hip-hop titan’s The Eminem Show hit.
“Em reached out, his team reached out and said, ‘Would you be interested in doing this?’” Jelly gushed to Entertainment Tonight of the performance in June. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke until I met Eminem himself … As soon as I met Eminem, it was like the coolest moment ever, man.”
The Death of Slim Shady features a total of 19 tracks, including the previously released singles “Houdini” and “Tobey,” the latter featuring Big Sean and BabyTron. It comes four years after 2020’s Music to Be Murdered By, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Listen to Eminem and Jelly Roll’s surprise duet “Somebody Save Me” below.
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On July 13, 2019, Blanco Brown’s “The Git Up” began a 12-week reign on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Brown’s debut entry, released as the first single from his album Honeysuckle & Lightning Bugs, was sparked by a viral dance challenge on TikTok and YouTube. He helped spur the craze by personally posting a tutorial.
“I grabbed spoons, tambourine, anything I could find that made a nice sound,” Brown told Billboard in 2019 of solely writing “The Git Up.” “When I got finished, it was so full of joy. I was doing the dance as I was writing it. I said, ‘This is going to be a song that makes people dance and brings joy.’ ”
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While the single marked Brown’s first hit as a recording artist, he had previously produced songs for pop acts including Chris Brown, Fergie and Pitbull.
Brown followed “The Git Up” with “Just the Way,” his collaboration with Parmalee that led Country Airplay in March 2021 and hit No. 3 on Hot Country Songs.
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In 2020, Brown, who hails from Athens, Ga., was involved in a motorcycle accident, breaking his wrists, arms, legs and pelvis, resulting in a 12-hour surgery. “I was broken, but it didn’t break my spirit,” he told Billboard in his first interview after the accident six months later.
In June, Brown released a four-song EP, Cedar Walls & Whiskey. “I’m gonna keep on manifesting everything I do in life,” he mused to Billboard at the 2024 ACM Awards on May 16. “I’m gonna stay positive no matter what and just keep thriving and striving to get where I need to go.”
Shania Twain is set to host the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards airing live from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Thursday, Sept. 26. The two-hour show will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT across NBC and Peacock.
“Country has some of the most passionate fans in music and us artists are so lucky to be supported in doing what we love,” Twain said in a statement. “I am honored to host an award show that celebrates these awesome fans. Get ready for an unforgettable show with lots of big hair, glamour, rhinestones, hats, boots and incredible performances. Giddy Up!”
“With a proven track record of creating music that stands the test of time, Shania is a beloved member of the country community,” said Jen Neal, executive vice president, live events and specials, NBCUniversal Entertainment.
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Twain is no stranger to the People’s Choice Awards franchise. In December 2022, she received the People’s Music Icon Award at the OG People’s Choice Awards, from which the People’s Choice Country Awards is a spin-off. She performed a medley of “Any Man of Mine,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” “Waking Up Dreaming” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”
Little Big Town hosted last year’s inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards, on which Toby Keith received a Country Icon Award. Keith also performed for the first time since the end of his treatment for stomach cancer. The country legend died a little more than four months later, on Feb. 5.
Other performers on last year’s show were Wynonna Judd, who received a Country Champion Award, Little Big Town, Blake Shelton (who presented the award to Keith), Carly Pearce, Dan + Shay, HARDY, Jelly Roll, Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini.
Jelly Roll was the top winner on last year’s show, with four awards, followed by Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson, with three wins each.
The telecast was seen by 4.4 million viewers across all platforms. Content from the show reached 25 million cross-platform users (linear, digital and social).
This year’s show will air a little more than a month before the 2024 Country Music Association Awards, which are set for November in Nashville. CMA nominations will be announced later this summer.
People’s Choice Country Awards is produced by Den of Thieves in partnership with Opry Entertainment Group. Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski will executive produce, along with RAC Clark as executive producer and showrunner.
The OG People’s Choice Awards debuted on CBS on March 3, 1975. The show remained on that network through 2017. It moved to E! in 2018. NBC came on board in 2021; Peacock in 2024.
Dave Loggins, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter best known for his 1974 hit “Please Come to Boston,” died Wednesday (July 10) at Alive Hospice in Nashville. He was 76 years old.
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No cause of death was disclosed.
Loggins, born in Shady Valley, Tenn., and raised in Bristol, Tenn., moved to Nashville where he became one of the most prolific songwriters of his generation.
He crafted five decades’ worth of hit songs for a long list of artists, including Three Dog Night, Joan Baez, Toby Keith, Johnny Cash, Wynonna Judd, Smokey Robinson, Ray Charles, Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker, Kenny Rogers, and Willie Nelson.
Loggins, a cousin of pop star Kenny Loggins, achieved fame with “Please Come to Boston,” which topped the Easy Listening chart and reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. The song earned him a Grammy nomination for best pop male vocal performance, marking the first of his four Grammy nods.
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In 1986, Loggins made history by winning a CMA Award for vocal duo of the year with Anne Murray for their duet “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do,” making him the only artist to receive the award without being signed to a major label.
One of Loggins’ most enduring contributions to music is “Augusta”, the theme song for the Augusta Masters Golf Tournament. Since 1982, the Tennessean hailed it as “the longest-running sports theme in history.”
Reflecting on the inspiration for “Augusta” in a 2019 interview with the Associated Press, Loggins said, “That course was just a piece of art. I looked over at some dogwoods and, man, I just started writing the song in my head which is what I do when I get inspired. I had the first verse before I even got off the course.”
Loggins discussed his career on the All Things Vocal podcast in 2021, with Judy Rodman calling him “a reclusive genius.”
He shared how he was influenced by the finger-picking style of artists like Donovan and recounted how he landed his first publishing deal at age 22 with Jerry Crutchfield at Capitol Records. In recognition of his contributions, Loggins was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1995.
Loggins is survived by his three sons, Quinn, Kyle, and Dylan, and his grandson, Braxton. In accordance with his wishes, there will be no funeral.
Donations in his memory can be made to Alive Hospice in Nashville.
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Jelly Roll continues to provide proof that dreams do come true. On Wednesday night (July 10) during his first-ever solo international date, the “Save Me” singer brought out a very special guest to help him celebrate. Performing at the 2,500-capacity venue History in Toronto, the country superstar surprised the sold-out house by inviting the Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean out to help him on a run through the boy band’s iconic 1999 single “I Want It That Way.”
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“Get on out here AJ, let’s sing some music for these motherf–kers in Toronto, baby!,” Jelly shouted as McLean waltzed on stage to screams from the crowd. The two men were in perfect harmony on their duet, with the audience enthusiastically helping out on the “tell me whyyyy” chorus as if the whole thing had been rehearsed beforehand.
During the show, Jelly took a moment to savor his first trip up North while shouting out some classic Canadian cuisine, telling the crowd, “technically, this week is officially my international debut. It’s the first time I’ve… let me tell you something. Everything’s been great. Cover the kids’ ears, but the weed has been incredible, the people have been great. And I mean, I never had poutine until yesterday… I’m sorry I was late to the party, but I will take it home and make a tradition of throwing gravy on my fries.”
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In June, Jelly Roll announced that he’d booked his first non-U.S. dates, which included a July 8 show at the Meridian Center in St. Catharines in Ontario at a benefit for the Heather Winterstein Foundation, which was followed by a July 9 gig at Ottawa’s Bluesfest.
“I can’t tell ya’ll how unreal this was man. I kind of gave up hope that they were ever going to let me into Canada,” he told the crowd. Man, I couldn’t have asked for a better reception.”
The 39-year-old singer who has scored three No. 1 hits at Canadian radio to date, has never booked any shows in Canada — or anywhere else overseas to date — due to visa restrictions tied to a number of arrests and convictions earlier in his life. Jelly has been candid about his past legal issues and jail time, including dozens of stints behind bars on drug charges dating back to when he was 14, as well as an arrest at 16 for aggravated robbery that sent him to prison for a year when he was tried as an adult; he faced a potential 20-year sentence in that case, though he served just over a year and was put on probation for seven years.
Check out a clip of the duet below.
On Wednesday (July 10), Luke Combs celebrated the opening of his new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit, Luke Combs: The Man I Am.
The exhibit opens July 11 and runs through June 2025, and is included with museum admission. The exhibit chronicles North Carolina native Combs’s life and career, from growing up in a small-town community to his current status as a two-time Country Music Association entertainer of the year winner and one of country music’s foremost hitmakers.
The exhibit traces some of Combs’s earliest musical moments, such as seeing a Vince Gill concert with his mother and grandmother, his early musical performances in school choirs and musicals, and Combs’ decision to practice guitar while studying criminal justice at Appalachian State University. He began posting cover versions of country and R&B hits, as well as his original music, on platforms including YouTube and Vine.
Combs moved to Nashville in September 2014, at age 24. But he also steadily continued building his audience one concert at a time. He released a few independent EPs, with his song “Hurricane” swiftly connecting with fans.
In 2017, “Hurricane” became Combs’s first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart and marked a gale-force signaling of a star on the rise–one with a formidable combination of top-shelf songcraft, a humble, hard-working, everyman persona and what would quickly become one of country music’s most distinctive voices.
Two years later, Combs became the first artist to top Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart with his first five singles — and went on to extend that lead to 13 consecutive chart-toppers (he has now seen 16 solo songs reach the pinnacle of the Country Airplay chart). In 2019, he also ascended to headlining arenas and amphitheaters, then rose to stadium headlining status. His sold-out 2023 world tour not only traversed North America, but displayed his music’s global-spanning reach, as he also headlined in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
He’s also earned three top 10 hits on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, including 2020’s “Forever After All” and 2022’s “The Kind of Love We Make.” Last year, he earned a No. 2 hit on the Hot 100 (and a five-week Country Airplay chart-topper) with a rendition of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit “Fast Car.” The two singer-songwriters would create one of the Grammys’ most talked-about moments of the decade when they joined forces to perform “Fast Car” together in February. The song also earned a Grammy nomination for best country solo performance, and was named single of the year at both the Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards.
Combs’s The Man I Am exhibit displays stage clothes, photographs, childhood memorabilia, manuscripts and set lists from his life and career, but also highlights a key relationship that has sparked and sustained the chart-topping albums, sold-out tours and surging global acclaim: his solid relationship with his fans.
“I’m so excited for the fans to finally see this exhibit,” Combs tells Billboard via email. “The Country Music Hall of Fame has put in a lot of time and effort, and I think it turned out really great. Still crazy to think my things and career need an exhibit, but the fans have made that happen, so this is for them and I hope they enjoy it.”
Below, Combs tells Billboard about five items that highlight his new exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
An Audio Cassette of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 Self-Titled Album