Country
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Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan‘s partnership on “Cowboys Cry Too” started out with a simple text. And in honor of the twangy slow-jam arriving Friday (June 28), the former shared exactly how she reached out to the latter to get him to agree to the collaboration — not that it took much convincing. According to […]
Keith Urban is back with some exciting news — his new album High is set to drop on Sept. 20, marking his first release in nearly four years.
High follows 2020’s The Speed of Now Part 1. which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, one of his eight top 10 appearances on the chart, a tally that includes two leaders. The new collection follows Urban’s musical journey while simultaneously exploring themes of human connection, what it is to be alive, cutting loose, hope, nostalgia, shredding solos, straight-up fun, and some personal life revelations.
“I’ve always been drawn toward the subject of living in the moment, because it’s all there is, and it’s hard to do,” said Urban of his latest project. “And these days with so much ‘content’ flying at us, it can feel like drinking from a fire hose.”
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To give fans a taste of what’s to come, Urban has also released the new single “Wildside”.
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Inspired by Joan Cusack’s character in School of Rock, the song is a fun, party anthem. “She’s the principal of a school by day, all prim and proper,” Urban said. “And then, a few tequilas at night and all bets are off.”
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He explained the inspiration behind the album’s title, High. “What makes you ‘high’ can mean whatever you want it to mean,” the singer said.
“It might be physical, spiritual, herbal, meditative, chemical, or musical, but it’s definitely a place of utopia.”
For Urban, those highs come from his family, friends, and the thrill of playing live music. “Playing guitar, writing songs and the place where I always feel high – playing live. Every night I get a chance to bring an energy and a release to people.”
However, creating High wasn’t all smooth sailing.
Urban shared that his hectic 2022 tour schedule made it tough to maintain a cohesive sound. “There was no continuity. The songs didn’t work well together. I learned that what I thought was a framework to create within, turned out to be musically limiting.”
The forthcoming album features a variety of tracks, each with its own unique vibe and story. Besides “Wildside,” High includes songs like “Straight Line,” “Go Home W U” featuring Lainey Wilson, and the current radio single “Messed Up As Me.”
Urban’s career is still on fire. This year, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame by Dolly Parton, returned to American Idol as a mentor and performer, and rocked stages at big events like the Formula One Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix.
His Las Vegas residency at the Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino has been a huge hit, proving once again why he’s one of the best live performers around.
Urban’s High is available for pre-order now. Check out the High tracklist below.
High Track Listing:
“Blue Sky (Prelude)”
“Straight Line”
“Messed Up As Me”
“Wildside”
“Go Home W U (With Lainey Wilson)”
“Chuck Taylors”
“Daytona”
“Love Is Hard”
“Heart Like A Hometown”
“Laughin’ All The Way To The Drank”
“Dodge In A Silverado”
“Break The Chain”
Say howdy to Noah Kahan and Kelsea Ballerini‘s new duet “Cowboys Cry Too,” which dropped midnight Friday (June 28). Featuring reflective lyrics, twangy guitar and fiddle, finds the two stars’ voices blending beautifully together with the refrain, “I never knew cowboys cry too.” “I grew up wishing I could close off the way my dad […]
That kind of music just soothes the soul! Bunnie XO shared a sweet moment to TikTok this week, in which she’s seen jamming out with her husband, Jelly Roll, at a bar to Bob Seger’s classic 1978 hit, “Old Time Rock & Roll.”
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In the clip, the “Need a Favor” star is seen belting the lyrics to the chorus as Bunnie dances nearby. Soon enough, the couple’s famous pals, MGK and Mod Sun, join in and the whole group jams out together.
“The sweetest widdle family,” Bunnie captioned the video.
Earlier this month, Jelly made an appearance on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast, where he revealed that he and Bunnie are trying to have a baby. “My wife and I are talking about having a baby, and it really made me realize that at almost 40, I was like, it means I got to live to at least 60. I got to see this kid into college,” Jelly Roll said. “My plan was never to be 60. It was to be like 55. I think [the Grateful Dead lead singer Jerry] Garcia died at 56. I was young, so I was like, ’56 would be great for me! …It’s better than 27 when all the other stars died. It’s 27 or 56 in the celebrity world. Let me be 56.’ But now I’m like, ‘I’d like to see my 60s.’ You know what I mean? And that really lit it up.”
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Meanwhile, Bunnie XO also shared a snippet from the podcast on her social media, adding in the caption, “God willing–Baby DeFord 2026,” and revealing that the couple is undergoing their own IVF journey.
Bunnie XO added, “Papa Bear dropped a surprise on this pod today. We had planned on doing this privately, but decided our IVF journey needed to be shared because we’ve always been so open. And w/ all odds stacked against us, it’s already been hard and we have only just begun. We have been meeting with IVF doctors & exploring all our options to add to our family.”
Jelly Roll has notched three Billboard Country Airplay chart-toppers to date with “Son of a Sinner,” “Need a Favor” and his Lainey Wilson collaboration “Save Me.”
The Pointer Sisters have enjoyed their share of hits on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as Billboard’s R&B, AC and dance charts over the decades. Fifty years ago this month, the group even found a place for itself in country music — and won a Grammy Award for it.
The then-quartet recorded “Fairytale” for its second studio album, That’s a Plenty, in 1974. The song was released as a single in June of that year, reaching No. 37 on the Hot Country Songs chart and No. 13 on the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary chart.
“Anita and Bonnie wrote that song way before we were even recording,” Ruth Pointer, the sole surviving member of the original group, tells Billboard. “We were looking for material to put on the [second] album; Anita and Bonnie said, ‘We got a song. We wrote it awhile ago, but it’s good.’” Bonnie told the Youngstown, Ohio Vindicator in 1974 that the track — a breakup song inspired by Anita’s brief affair with a married radio disc jockey in San Francisco — was no novelty, “People think because we’re always trying something different we’re not sincere. Like country music. For us, it’s no joke…Our folks came from Arkansas and we grew up singing country songs. It’s part of us.”
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The Pointers’ own band balked at recording “Fairytale,” according to Ruth, so the Pointers and producer David Rubinson went to Quadrophonic Studios in Nashville to cut the track, working with noted session players such as guitarist Bobby Thompson, Weldon Myrick on pedal steel, David Briggs on piano, Norbert Putnam on bass, Ken Buttrey on drums and Buddy Spicher on fiddle; Anita sang lead.
“The musicians were wonderful, just wonderful,” Ruth remembers. “Those were authentic country musicians. They really gave us that sound…and the rest is history.”
The Pointers began including “Fairytale” in their live shows shortly after That’s a Plenty’s release (it is featured on their Live at the Opera House album that came out during September 1974). It was originally the B-side of the Pointers’ version of the Vibrations’ “Love in Them There Hills” but was eventually pitched to country stations, which proved receptive to it.
“Let me tell you something — they didn’t know we were Black,” Ruth says now. That was proven on Oct. 25, 1974. Four years after Linda Martell became the first Black woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, the Pointer Sisters became the first Black vocal group to perform at the famed Nashville venue (though without June, who was absent due to exhaustion). “When we performed at the Grand Ole Opry people were yelling from the audience, ‘Oh my God, them gals is Black!’” Ruth says with a laugh. “They had planned a party for us, and when we showed up they ran out to the car, ran us around the back and put us in the kitchen. I thought they were hiding us to make a surprise entrance. Then (Rubinson) came back, ‘What are you guys doing back here?’ We told him, ‘We think they’re keeping us here to come out as a surprise’ and he said, ‘No. They think you’re the help.’ And we’re like, ‘Oh, OK…’ (laughs) So that was our experience with the Grand Ole Opry and country and Nashville.”
“Fairytale” won a Grammy Award for best country vocal performance by a duo or group the following year (one of the group’s three Grammy wins), and in 1986, Anita hit No. 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart via a duet with Earl Thomas Conley on his 1986 single, “Too Many Times.”
As country becomes more inclusive, Ruth — who currently leads the Pointer Sisters with her daughter, Issa, and granddaughter, Sadako — says she’s been encouraged by the trend. “I love what’s happening now. I would say it’s about damn time,” she says. “I love Mickey Guyton. I love Beyoncé, all of it. Hallelujah!”
The Pointer Sisters kick off a run of co-headlining shows with the Commodores on July 11 in Tinley Park, Ill.
The Country Music Hall of Fame is opening its doors to several performers for its two-day All For the Hall music event in Dallas. The event will launch Sept. 9 with Grammy-nominated trio Midland performing at a Patron Party at the home of event honorary co-chairs Anne and Steve Stodghill (previously announced performer Vince Gill […]
Post Malone had some help on his upcoming country album, and the superstar teased yet another collaboration via Instagram on Wednesday (June 26). In the clip, the singer shared a brief snippet of an upcoming collaboration with Chris Stapleton. “She whispered pull it over, I said you’re the boss / In a southern drawl said […]
Saddle up, Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan fans: The two singer/songwriters are partnering up on a new song titled “Cowboys Cry Too,” and it’s dropping in less than 48 hours. The “Peter Pan” singer broke the news Wednesday (June 26) via social media, sharing the single’s cover art and release date. “cowboys cry too with […]
Long before Chayce Beckham hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with “23,” he was a teenager growing up in inland Southern California with varied and diverse musical interests. The American Idol season 19 winner, who cites outlaw country legends Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard as influences, even went through a reggae phase — “around the same time I started smoking weed,” he tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast.
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“I just really branched out and looked for anything and everything,” says Beckham, who once sang and played guitar in The Sinking Sailors, a four-piece with a Caribbean-meets-skater sound not unlike quintessential Southern California band Sublime. “I wanted to be a rapper at one point, and I wanted to be a punk rocker, and I wanted to be a reggae artist, and then I made my way back to country music,” he says.
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Coming full circle was a fateful — and fruitful — decision for Beckham. “23” topped Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated April 6) and has amassed nearly 500 million streams globally through June 20, according to Luminate. It marked the first time in 12 years that a No. 1 Country Airplay song was solo written by the performer. The previous artist to accomplish the feat? Taylor Swift with her song “Ours.”
Not that reggae-drenched rock didn’t suit Beckham’s voice, but his delivery is perfectly suited for songs such as “Everything I Need,” the latest single from his debut album, Bad For Me (released April 5 on Wheelhouse Records). The song, along with “Devil I’ve Been,” a frequent show opener, came from a writing session with John Pierce (Zac Brown Band’s “Sweet Annie,” Jon Paris “Your Heart Or Mine”) and Lindsay Rimes (Nate Smith’s “World On Fire,” Kane Brown’s “Cool Again”) while on Luke Bryan’s 2023 Farm Tour.
“A bunch of the songs that are on the project we got from bringing the writers out on the road,” he says. “That was really good for me. I felt like it was just a lot more relaxed. I could kind of just be a little bit more creative and not so pressured into the songs.”
Listen to the entire interview with Chayce Beckham here or at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music or Everand.
Country Music Hall of Fame member Alan Jackson and writer-producer Buddy Cannon are among those to be feted at the upcoming seventh annual Nashville Songwriter Awards, which will return to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Sept. 24.
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The celebration will honor the peer-voted “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written,” as well as NSAI’s song, songwriter and songwriter-artist of the year honorees, as well as individuals who have had considerable influence in the world of songwriting.
Jackson will be honored with the Kris Kristofferson lifetime achievement award. Jackson has earned 26 Billboard No. 1 Country Airplay hits during his career as a performer, but also a songwriter on hits including “Don’t Rock the Jukebox,” “Gone Country,” “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” and “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).” He’s been lauded by the Grammys, the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association, and has earned stars on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Music City Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011 and the all-genre Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.
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“When the NSAI Board of Directors chose Alan Jackson as this year’s recipient of the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award, I knew they had made a fantastic choice,” Jennifer Turnbow, NSAI Chief Operating Officer, said in a statement. “I was eager to craft a segment of our annual awards show around his work as a songwriter. But it wasn’t until I really studied his body of work and recalled decades of his songs that I realized just how deserving he was of this recognition. Alan’s songs, many of which he wrote by himself, have marked significant moments in time and are etched into the memories of multiple generations. Choosing only a handful of his many hits to highlight in a celebration of his career will be incredibly challenging … that I’m looking forward to!”
“City National Bank has supported the music industry from the first day we opened our doors in 1954 and we are especially proud of our work in the beloved country music and local Nashville communities,” Diane Pearson and Lori Badgett, co-managers of City National Entertainment in Nashville, offered via a statement. “On behalf of City National, we congratulate the incomparable Alan Jackson for his Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award. For decades, Alan, as both an artist and a songwriter, has delivered the most inspirational, motivational and uplifting music and we applaud the recognition of his eloquent songwriting artistry.”
Cannon will be recognized with the NSAI president’s keystone award, honoring his contributions to the industry, including his work with artists Kenny Chesney and Willie Nelson. Cannon launched his career by playing bass for Bob Luman and Mel Tillis, and later gained acclaim as a songwriter for co-writing hits including Vern Gosdin’s “Set ‘Em Up Joe,” as well as George Strait’s “I’ve Come to Expect It From You” and “Give It Away.” His work as an A&R executive has included signing and developing artists including Shania Twain and Billy Ray Cyrus, while he’s also helmed projects for artists including Alison Krauss, George Jones and Reba McEntire. Cannon has won three Grammy Awards for his work with Nelson and in 2006 was named the ACM’s producer of the year. He was also a 2021 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee. Cannon and Chesney just celebrated their latest No. 1 hit with “Take Her Home.”
“Buddy Cannon has spent decades as an elite member of our Music Row community,” NSAI president Lee Thomas Miller said in a statement. “He has written songs for some of country music’s most legendary superstars, has ridden buses playing in their bands and he is one of the most important record producers of the last 30 years. It is impossible to calculate the impact Buddy Cannon has had on the songwriters in this town. He is famous for being tough on songs and helping build multi decade careers, like Kenny Chesney’s, is an example of how incredible his barometer is for a hit song. I’m proud to present Buddy Cannon with the 2024 NSAI President’s Award.”
Starting this year, NSAI introduces a new accolade, the legendary song honor, which will fete one tune chosen by NSAI’s professional songwriting members as the legendary song of its time, starting with tracks from 1967 to 1983. The NSAI board of directors selected 10 impactful songs in the given range and the pro membership anonymously voted to determine the winning song. The inaugural legendary song award recipient will be revealed and performed during the show.
Performer and ticket information for the Nashville Songwriter Awards will be announced soon, with the onsale date set for July 26. The Nashville Songwriter Awards is supported by City National Bank, Composers Wing, SoundExchange, Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and The Mechanical Licensing Collective.