Country
Page: 93
Billy Ray Cyrus‘ divorce from his wife of seven months, singer Firerose, took an unexpected turn last week when the 62-year-old “Achy Breaky Heart” singer filed an emergency motion in Tennessee court on Thursday (June 13) seeking a temporary restraining order, according to People magazine.
Cyrus, 62, filed for divorce from the Hannah Montana alum and 37-year-old Australian singer born Johanna Rose Hodges in Nashville on May 22 citing “irreconcilable differences” and “inappropriate marital conduct,” in addition to seeking an annulment on fraud grounds.
Now, according to papers reportedly obtained by People, weeks after filing for divorce Cyrus’ emergency motion is meant to keep his estranged wife from any “unauthorized” use of his personal and business credit cards and accounts. In the docs, Cyrus reportedly alleges that in recent weeks Firerose has spent $96,986 on 37 unauthorized charges on his business account, including $70,665 in payments to her attorneys.
Trending on Billboard
At press time a spokespeople for Cyrus and Firerose had no comment when asked for additional information on the restraining order.
“As a result of these fraudulent charges… I am concerned that Ms. Hodges is in possession of other information that she may use to make fraudulent, unauthorized charges to my business and personal credit cards and accounts,” Cyrus wrote in an affidavit. The latest filing claims that the unauthorized charges began on May 23, the day Cyrus filed for divorce after almost seven months of marriage.
People reported that Firerose’s response to the emergency motion claimed there was “no emergency,” saying that she has had access to Cyrus’ American Express card since June 2022; the couple first began dating in 2022 after years of friendship and got engage later that year before marrying in October 2023. “To claim Wife has made 37 unauthorized charges is untrue,” Firerose’s attorneys wrote in the response filing according to a copy obtained by People. “Throughout the divorce proceedings, the parties are to live as per the status quo during the marriage. Wife was simply living as she has since October 10, 2023, and Husband has no right to cut her off.”
Additionally, Firerose’s filing reportedly claimed that after the couple’s 2023 wedding she continued to use his cards with Cyrus’ full permission and that the couple would “routinely” review her expenses on that card.
In contrast, according to People, Cyrus’ motion claims that he and Firerose do not have any joint accounts, credit cards or real estate and that neither was ever an authorized user or signer on one another’s accounts. Cyrus’ motion also claims that Firerose owns real estate in L.A. worth more than seven figures and that she has more than $500K in “liquid and investment assets at her disposal.”
After filing for divorce from his third wife — Cyrus was married to Cindy Smith from 1986-1991 and to Tish Cyrus from 1993-2002 — Cyrus reportedly reached an agreement in court that called for Firerose to move out of his home immediately with the provision that he would provide her with financial support for 90 days or until the dissolution of their marriage, or whichever comes first.
The Country Music Association’s CMA Fest has been experiencing a growth trend ever since it relocated to Downtown Nashville in 2001.
Last year, the festival hit 90,000 visitors a day for the first time, and local media reported that it equaled those numbers in the 2024 edition, held June 6-9.
But the growth most evident at this year’s festival was the bulging presence of “barroom takeovers.” From Spotify to iHeartMedia to Warner Music Nashville and even Billboard, at least 11 labels, booking agencies and other organizations rented out performance spaces — or even entire buildings — for a range of extracurricular concerts. In some cases, artists played shows at those venues on top of their official CMA Fest activities. In other instances, artists dropped into the side bars without appearing at a sanctioned CMA event.
The uptick in these ancillary events is a natural outgrowth of the booming business in artist-affiliated bars. In the last year alone, Garth Brooks, Eric Church and Morgan Wallen have all opened the doors on new clubs along Lower Broadway, and Lainey Wilson took over the FGL House from Florida Georgia Line, rebranding as Bell Bottoms Up. Bon Jovi even opened a new bar during the run of the festival.
Those locales offer a ready-made spot at the edge of the festival’s footprint for businesses that want to market to core fans; thus CAA took over the weekly Whiskey Jam at the Skydeck for one night, Big Machine Label Group offered daytime shows at Wilson’s club, and Sony Music Nashville occupied Acme Feed and Seed with its Camp Sony at the same intersection where CMA Fest hosted its Hard Rock Stage and Riverfront Stage. It’s advantageous for the label, fans and the artists, too.
Trending on Billboard
“Being right there at the end where all the action is happening, it helps in terms of foot traffic,” SMN senior vp of marketing Jennifer Way says. “It helps in terms of catching artists that [play] a show and then can just pop up into the bar.”
Not that the adjunct shows are limited to the run of the festival or to the Downtown footprint. WME held its annual three-night Losers Live at a bar on the edge of Music Row, about a mile and a half away, June 3-5. Randy Houser, Brantley Gilbert and Mark Chesnutt headlined the three nights, all playing for free to make an impression on country-centric fans and other members of the industry.
“Many people arrive in Nashville prior to the official start of CMA Fest, and they travel from all over the world to hear live music,” says WME country music agent Carter Green. “So WME and Losers give the people what they want.”
The volume is impressive. While the festival itself yielded more than 300 artist performances, Spotify House trotted out 40 acts — including BRELAND, Tyler Hubbard and Dustin Lynch — during its three-day run at the Blake Shelton-affiliated Ole Red. SiriusXM booked 56 artists across four days at Margaritaville for performances and/or interviews, including Lainey Wilson, Jake Owen and Riley Green.
“This is surely the only genre who could pull this off the way we pull it off because all of the artists are so punctual, on time or early,” SiriusXM associate director of strategy, operations, and artist and industry relations Alina Thompson says. “We were on schedule all four days, and I was just so grateful to every artist and every artist team that came through the door.”
The opportunities, though, also represent a potential long-term problem. Several veteran music executives grumbled that the festival’s official daytime stages lacked some of the star power that they have boasted in previous years, though that’s a direct result of country’s current popularity. At least 50 artists — including Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Kane Brown and HARDY — played up to four out-of-town gigs during the four-day CMA Fest. Many were booked at the Carolina Country Music Festival, which overlaps with CMA Fest in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Some of those acts made it back for the Nashville event. Some did not.
That’s not a new development, but combined with the artists who choose to play the nearby clubs, it meant that the smaller stages had a higher volume of acts who were unfamiliar to many festival attendees.
That doesn’t mean the festival faces any sort of imminent disaster or that it represents a long-term trend.
“I think it changes year by year,” Carter says. “If people feel that way this year, it could change next year, and you could have all the biggest acts in country at that time playing during the day.”
Artists’ outlook on the festival is tied to their place in the food chain. It’s great exposure for acts who haven’t hit the commercial mainstream — Wyatt Flores and Puddin (K. Michelle), for example, garnered attention with multiple appearances. But the artists play for free, and the headliners are key to attracting the thousands of fans whose ticket expenditures assist music education charities.
“If you’re a newer artist, you need to be there,” says SiriusXM/Pandora vp of music programming — country Johnny Chiang. “A-listers or B-plus artists, it’s not so much a need for them to do it. It’s just a way for them to give back. There’s a different perspective.”
In most instances, the artists and the ancillary businesses seem to defer to CMA in booking artists, a sign that the industry supports the festival’s mission.
“The CMA typically gets all their stuff scheduled first,” Way says. “We don’t really confirm the exact unique fan experience or activation until the stages are booked, until the artist knows where they’re going to be.”
Meanwhile, if the barroom takeovers syphon off too much of CMA’s business, Chiang suggests it might be effective for the organization to “get in deeper” with the unofficial groups, many of which are already partners in some way.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if it’s on one of their stages or one of our bar locations,” Chiang says. “What you’re talking about is still promoting country music and the CMA.”
Subscribe to Billboard Country Update, the industry’s must-have source for news, charts, analysis and features. Sign up for free delivery every weekend.
Koe Wetzel may be one of 2024’s bigger breakout artists, but he’s certainly no rookie. The 31-year-old country-rock singer-songwriter has been releasing albums for nearly a decade, with a big sound that’s rooted in country but also mixes in plenty of alternative rock and Americana. His gritty (and sometimes uncomfortably personal) lyrics have helped him grow a sizable core audience. In 2022, he first made his presence felt on the Billboard charts with the anthemic “Creeps,” which reached the top 30 on Hot Country Songs and the top 15 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
Now, Wetzel has reached the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with a song that integrates a new genre to his usual mix. “We kinda wanted it to have a little R&B feel,” he says of the soulful “Sweet Dreams,” which entered the Hot 100 at No. 47 on the chart dated June 1. “We had talked about just computer drums on it, off a beatpad. I said, ‘I think it would be really cool if we just set up a smaller kit, and tightened up the snare drum a little bit, and give it that pad sound.’ I think it really set the mood for that song a little bit more, to give it that R&B feel.”
Trending on Billboard
“Sweet Dreams” is Wetzel’s long-awaited first taste of Hot 100 success, but it likely won’t be his only for very long — “High Road,” a new duet with country and pop hitmaker Jessie Murph released a few weeks after, is expected to follow it onto next week’s Hot 100 (dated June 22). Both are set to be included on the ascendant country-rocker’s upcoming album 9 Lives, due for a July 19 release on Columbia, which will be followed by the Damn Near Normal World Tour, taking Wetzel all over the U.S. and then through Europe this late summer and autumn.
Below, Wetzel talks with Billboard about his breakout chart hit, the factors that led to his recent crossover success and the unexpected cover song he has planned for this album cycle.
How did “Sweet Dreams” first come together?
We were in the studio writing — actually, a different song — and it was going nowhere. So we stepped back, like, “Do we want to go a different direction?” I wrote in my notes, probably two weeks prior, “It’s hard to have sweet dreams when I’m such a nightmare.” And we had a guitar lick that we had put together a couple days before on the road while touring. We went in and the song pretty much wrote itself. It came out quick and easy.
When you say “We,” who were the other primary players on the song?
It was Gabe [Simon, co-writer/producer], and then it was [co-writer] Amy Allen — she had a huge influence on it. She does a lot more pop music, and it’s something that I’m not really used to, working with somebody that’s in the pop world. My guitar player Josh Serrato, coming up with the melody for it, and the lick on it. Man, it turned out really good.
[embedded content]
“Sweet Dreams” has many lyrical similarities to your last single before this one, “Damn Near Normal,” including themes of sleeplessness and self-medication. Were those songs either inspired by the same moment or come together at the same time?
Yeah, the mood was in the same realm — we wrote those songs probably 24 hours apart from each other. So we were still in that mood, kind of the same air of the song.
Is there anything you feel comfortable sharing about the personal meaning behind those songs?
Yeah, absolutely. A lot of my songs come from personal experiences, past relationships or [whatever]. This song wasn’t about a certain personal relationship, or a past relationship. It was just kind of multiple relationships — and then bouncing it off people who had had similar problems with relationships and then making it all come together.
When you heard the final product of the song for the first time, did you feel like, “This is going to be a song that takes me to a new level?”
I mean, we knew it was good. We didn’t really have a plan for it. It was so much different than the rest of the record, different from anything I’d done before. So I was excited to have that kind of sidestep genre from the country-rock stuff that I’m normally used to. When we first heard it for the first time, we were like, “Man, this is cool, this is a different sound for us.” We didn’t expect the people to dig into it the way that they did, but we’re glad that they did.
You’ve been building momentum step by step with your audience, getting a bigger foothold on streaming. Do you feel like this song having the immediate results that it has is more a matter of it being a different feel sonically than your other stuff, or is it just good timing?
I think the timing is just great right now, because like you said, with “Damn Near Normal” and the other songs that we teased, people were getting behind [everything] because I feel like it’s something that they’ve expected from me for a while. The last five albums have kind of had the same similar sound. So this is me kind of getting away from that and trying a new sound. I never wanted to have the exact same sound all the time. I think that the way that these songs are going in a different direction, and people having the response that they are — especially after what I’ve put out the last five records — it’s awesome.
[embedded content]
You talked about teasing new music. Is that something that comes natural for you, that sort of TikTok promotional aspect of it? Is that fun for you, or is it just, “This is the business, this is how we gotta get this stuff done”?
Yeah, for me, it’s not really [that fun]. This is the first time we’ve actually teased the whole record. But I mean, in this world today, with social media and the way TikTok and all that stuff’s working, man, it’s so vital to do it. It helps out so much. Times are changing, and it’s really cool to see.
The week after “Sweet Dreams” debuted, the biggest debut on the Hot 100 was “Pink Skies” by Zach Bryan. You guys aren’t necessarily doing the same thing, but do you feel like his success opened up more opportunities for guys working in your lane of alt-country, country-rock, whatever you want to call it?
Yeah, absolutely. Zach Bryan is, like you said, opening up a whole new world to country music, or whatever genre you want to call it. Because [listeners] go look at “Pink Skies,” they go look at “Something in the Orange,” whatever Zach’s done. And it sets them up for other artists that are in that kinda same sound. So all he’s doing is bringing more people into our world — it’s incredible for all of us.
Do you have any more plans for “Sweet Dreams” now that it’s out? Anything to keep it in the spotlight given its success?
No, I think we’ll let it have its own time. Especially when the record comes out, it’ll make a little bit more sense. It’s one of those songs that kind of rounds out the whole sound of the record. So I think we’ll just let it have its own day in the sun — and that’s why we put it out as a single. We didn’t want it to get overlooked in the record.
Anything fans can look forward to on the album or tour that they wouldn’t be expecting, or maybe wouldn’t be obvious from what you’ve done already?
We did an XXXTENTACION cover of “Depression & Obsession.” It’s going to be on the deluxe, after the record comes out. He was one of my favorite underground rap artists, and I always like to throw something kinda left field into my records. I put my own spin to it, and I’m really excited for people to hear it.
“Sweet Dreams” is a pretty well-traveled song title from music history. Do you have a favorite “Sweet Dreams” from the past, whether it’s Eurythmics or Patsy Cline or Beyoncé?
Ah, man. Any that come to mind, no, [not] right now. I thought I was the only one that thought of “Sweet Dreams”! And then, like you said, a lot of people were like, “Well, there’s this song, and that song…” I was like, “Sh-t. Maybe I’m not as smart as I thought I was.”
A version of this story originally appeared in the June 8, 2024, issue of Billboard.
From Shaboozey‘s runaway breakout hit “A Bar Song” to Sabrina Carpenter‘s drawl-inflected “Please Please Please” and Post Malone and Morgan Wallen‘s Billboard Hot 100-topping “I Had Some Help,” country music is back on top. Of course, a major player in this moment, specifically in the platforming of Black country artists in this moment, is Beyoncé.
At the top of the year she unleashed her Billboard 200-topping Cowboy Carter, the second act of her still-unfurling trilogy, featuring a slew of rising Black country stars, including Reyna Roberts, who is a credited artist on “Blackbiird” and harmonizes in the background on “Tyrant.”
Trending on Billboard
“From the very moment I heard my voice on [“Tyrant”], I couldn’t believe it,” Roberts gushed to Billboard backstage after her performance at Blavity House Party on Saturday (June 15). “I’m still so thankful that Beyoncé brought us onto a project and made us a little part of her legacy because people here weren’t doing that, but she did.”
Despite Black artists being foundational to the creation of what is now recognized as country music, the genre’s roots have been whitewashed and obfuscated by those who wanted to erase the contributions of key players such as Leslie Riddle, Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne, Arnold Schultz and Gus Cannon. With the release of Cowboy Carter — which, in addition to Roberts, featured collaborations with Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Shaboozey, Willie Jones and the legendary Linda Martell — a mainstream Black country boom is unfolding in real-time.
None of the artists featured on Cowboy Carter are new to the country music industry. Many of them have been trying to break through for close to a decade, but Beyoncé’s latest LP has been the catalyst needed to sidestep the Nashville machine and force industry gatekeepers to truly pay attention. After all, when Beyoncé released “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Cowboy Carter’s Hot 100-topping lead single, back in February, Billboard reported a residual streaming boost for the catalogs of other Black women in country; Robert’s streams jumped 250% in the week following the release of “Texas.”
“When I was [first] coming to Nashville, I was telling people my goals, my dreams, like I’m going to work with Beyoncé,” says Roberts. “People just weren’t seeing it. I met with a lot of labels [in Nashville], and everybody passed on me. It’s so interesting to see how people treat me now. I’m the same person, I’m thankful my personality hasn’t really changed, my talent hasn’t changed, I’m the same individual. But it took Beyoncé and a lot of answered prayers from God for some people to see what they weren’t able to see before.”
For Roberts, the rest of 2024 is all about making sure this moment isn’t just a flash in the pan. The “Stomping Grounds” singer is currently hard at work on her new album, the follow-up to 2023’s Bad Girl Bible, Vol. 1, as well as exciting endeavors across different realms of entertainment.
“With this next album, every song is going to have a story [and] have a visual,” she reveals. “I want to make sure I’m telling the best stories that I can, so it takes a little bit of time. It’s definitely coming. It’s going to be something that I’m proud of and that I want to sing for the rest of my life.”
At the intersection of 615 Day 2023 and Juneteenth Weekend lies the inaugural Blavity House Party. Holsted by Blavity Media Group, the new festival took over Nashville, Tennessee, on June 14 and 15, treating locals and travelers alike to two nights of fiery performances in celebration of Juneteenth and Black Music Month.
Hosted by Zack Fox, Bridget Kelly and Mani Millss, Blavity House Party boasted a slew of performers across the myriad genres of the Black diaspora, including Monica, Rick Ross, K. Michelle, Dru Hill, Uncle Waffles, Blxst, Ryan Leslie, Leon Thomas, Big Freedia, Freeway, Lil’ Mo, Travis Porter, Reyna Roberts, Nesta, Domani and more. In addition to the two performance stages (one outside and one inside Music City’s storied Municipal Auditorium), the patio hosted a bevy of local Black-owned businesses for festivalgoers to support.
The festival’s opening day got off to a semi-sanctified start with a rousing performance from Sainted Trap Choir. With a tight choreography and tighter arrangements, the choir ripped through a medley that combined both secular and pop hits, including Travis Porter’s “Make It Rain,” Victoria Monét’s “On My Mama,” Tyla’s “Water” and Kirk Franklin’s “Melodies from Heaven.” Big Freedia kept the energy high with a NOLA-exalting bounce set that featured endless twerking and racy fellatio demonstrations from her backup dancers, while Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Leon Thomas enraptured the audience with his honeyed vocals and impressive guitar skills.
Despite strong performances from day one’s performers, the meager audience turnout was impossible to ignore. As the day went on, the floor started to fill up, with legendary R&B group Dru Hill drawing the most passionate crowd of the night. Celebrating more than 25 years of hits, Sisqó led his fellow group members in impressive renditions of timeless hits like “Tell Me” and “In My Bed,” flaunting the power of their live vocals and pristine harmonies. With their set, Dru Hill was able to capture lightning in a bottle and truly make Blavity House Party feel like a must-see festival. Nonetheless, that energy quickly dissipated as the crowd waited anxiously for Lil Wayne — who was scheduled as the night’s headliner — just for the “A Milli” rapper to ghost the festival, providing no reason for his absence.
In an effort to make up for the last-minute disappointment of day one, Blavity House Party packed on several additional performers for the festival’s second day, including Lil Scrappy, Rick Ross and Tennessee native K. Michelle. Standout performers from day two included outlaw country princess Reyna Roberts — who put on a blazing show to match her red-hot hair — and hip-hop trio Travis Porter, who have provided a timeless soundtrack to Black house parties for nearly 15 years and counting. Lil Scrappy, something of a musical forefather to Travis Porter, also lit up the auditorium with lively performances of ’00s classics such as “Head Bussa” and “Neva Eva.”
Clearly an eleventh-hour addition, K. Michelle breezed through a six-minute set that included renditions of “Can’t Raise a Man” and “V.S.O.P.” Curiously, the chart-topping R&B star did not perform any of her country songs, though she did confirm that her long-awaited country album is still on the way. Headliner Monica took fans down memory lane with a set that spurred mass sing-alongs to some of her most beloved tracks, such as “So Gone” and “Before You Walk Out of My Life.”
Once again, the show threatened to fly off the rails near the end of the night. Rick Ross’ music was shockingly cut short about six songs into his set. After requesting his DJ drop the next track, silence ensued. The DJ continued to press buttons to figure out the situation, but within the next seven minutes, Ricky Rozay had given away a bottle of Belaire champagne, threw on his backpack, and exited the stage for good, making for a sudden and unforgettable end to the inaugural Blavity House Party.
Here are the six best moments from Blavity House Party 2024.
Leon Thomas Mounts Swoonworthy Set
Post Malone has just teased what might become the ultimate father-daughter wedding dance song.
On Father’s Day (June 16), the superstar singer shared a 35-second snippet of a soaring country anthem about a father giving away his daughter on her wedding day.
“When I walk her down that isle and do what daddies have to do,” Malone gently sings on the track. “And she might be wearing white, but her first dress it was pink/ She might be your better half, yeah, well, she’s my everything/ We’ll both love her forever, but I loved her long before/ And one day I know I’ll give her away, buddy that don’t mean she’s yours.”
“Happy Father’s Day,” Malone, who announced the birth of his daughter in 2022, captioned the post.
The catchy new song arrives on the heels of Malone’s smash hit “I Had Some Help” (featuring Morgan Wallen), which has spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Trending on Billboard
The comments section of Malone’s teaser on social media was instantly flooded with fans declaring it the perfect father-daughter wedding dance song.
“I didn’t think I’d ever get married up until until I heard this bc now I need this to be my father daughter dance song,” one user wrote on Instagram.
Another fan on X (formerly Twitter) jokingly inquired about lining up the star for their wedding reception. “Post Malone how much is it to book you for private wedding performance,” they wrote.
“My dad walked me down the aisle to Sunflower and my husband and I walked out to Congratulations. I needed this for my father daughter dance!” another fan commented on Instagram.
Malone has been dipping his toe into country music for months now, including a team-up with Beyonce for “Levii’s Jeans” from her Cowboy Carter album, appearances on country awards shows, and forthcoming collaborations with Luke Combs and Blake Shelton.
Malone confirmed to Access Hollywood in 2023 that he does indeed have a country music album in the works. “I think so… yes,” the singer revealed at the time.
In addition to covering Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song),” Malone has performed on stage with a number of other country stars, including Little Big Town and Darius Rucker. He’s also been pictured in the studio or in writing rooms with Paisley and Combs.
At the 2024 ACM Awards, Posty previewed some new music for fans, performing a heartbreak ballad titled “Never Love You Again.” And during last year’s CMA Awards, he teamed with Wallen and HARDY to perform a tribute to the late Joe Diffie, offering up cover versions of Diffie’s “John Deere Green” and “Pickup Man.” Shortly after, Malone made his Billboard Country Airplay chart debut with “Pickup Man” from HARDY’s Hixtape Vol. 3: Difftape project.
Listen to a snippet of Malone’s new song below.
“What’s going on everybody?” country legend George Strait said to a record crowd of 110,905 ticket-buying fans gathered tonight (June 15) at Kyle Field at Texas A&M in College Station. “We got some Aggie’s out there? Oh yeah! I’m ashamed to say this, but this is my first time to ever be in Kyle Field… damn! Just invite me back, I’ll come!”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Minutes ago, the Texas native set an all-time attendance record for a ticketed concert in the United States, previously held by The Grateful Dead who had 107,019 fans in attendance at their 1977 show at Raceway Park in New Jersey. Strait’s show also and a new record for Texas A&M Kyle Field for a single event (previously recorded on October 11, 2014, at 110,633, for a Texas A&M game against Ole Miss)with 110,905 fans in attendance for George Strait: The King at Kyle Field with special guests, fellow Lone Star natives and MCA labelmates, Parker McCollum and Catie Offerman.
George Strait has set many records in his illustrious career: the most No. 1 singles of any artist in any genre, the only artist to chart a Top 10 hit every year for 30 years, and the most No. 1 albums, gold albums, and platinum albums in the history of country music including 20 of his massive 60 No. 1 hits.
Trending on Billboard
Prior to the show, Strait debuted two new songs “MIA in MIA” and “The Little Things,” both off his forthcoming album, Cowboys And Dreamers, his 31st album for MCA Nashville that will be released on Sept. 6.
Strait’s remaining 2024 concert dates can be found below. Learn more at georgestrait.com.
6/29 Rice-Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT7/13 Ford Field Detroit, MI7/20 Soldier Field Chicago, IL12/7 Allegiant Stadium Las Vegas, NV
Jeremy Tepper, a musician, journalist and the program director of SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel, has died. He was 60.
Tepper passed away on Friday (June 14) from a heart attack at his home in New York City, according to a social media post by his wife, singer-songwriter Laura Cantrell.
“Lost my good friend Jeremy Tepper last night,” Steven Van Zandt, guitarist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and founder of Underground Garage, wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “An incredibly tragic loss so young. He ran my Outlaw Country station on SiriusXM brilliantly. It is actually quite a complicated format and he made it look easy. Our deepest love and condolences to Laura and his family and friends.”
Lost my good friend Jeremy Tepper last night. An incredibly tragic loss so young. He ran my Outlaw Country station on SiriusXM brilliantly. It is actually quite a complicated format and he made it look easy. Our deepest love and condolences to Laura and his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/WA8tj3kkA1— 🕉🇺🇦🟦Stevie Van Zandt☮️💙 (@StevieVanZandt) June 15, 2024
Born in 1963, the New York native graduated with a degree in journalism from NYU and served as the frontman for the band World Famous Blue Jays.
During his career, Tepper founded independent country label Diesel Only Records and held A&R and marketing positions for CDuctive and eMusic.com. He was also a journalist, having previously served as editor of The Journal of Country Music and as a country music critic for Tower Records’ Pulse! magazine.
Trending on Billboard
In 2004, he joined Sirius as format manager of the radio giant’s Outlaw Country channel, which was created by Zandt, who served as its executive producer. The channel mixes music by country and Americana artists such as Waylon Jennings, Dale Watson, Dwight Yoakam, Johnny Cash and Lucinda Williams with rockers Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the Band.
Tepper’s two-decade run with Sirius also found him working on the Willie’s Roadhouse and Road Dog Trucking channels.
“Jeremy Tepper, a beloved member of SiriusXM, profoundly influenced us with his unwavering dedication to music and innovative spirit,” SiriusXM wrote on X. “His contributions, in shaping Outlaw Country and Willie’s Roadhouse, are beyond measure. Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this time.”
Tepper is survived by his wife, Cantrell, and their daughter, Bella.
Jeremy Tepper, a beloved member of SiriusXM, profoundly influenced us with his unwavering dedication to music and innovative spirit. His contributions, in shaping Outlaw Country and Willie’s Roadhouse, are beyond measure. Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this time. pic.twitter.com/rZxB8LZHsS— SiriusXM (@SIRIUSXM) June 15, 2024
Luke Combs dropped his new album Fathers & Sons on Friday, and that same night — appropriately, on Father’s Day Weekend — he was in front of 70,000-some fans at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, to celebrate his love of family… and his love of beer too.
Ahead of performing a string of love songs written about his wife of four years Nicole, Combs said fans often ask him why he records so many romantic ballads.
“I still sing beer-drinking songs too. I still like beer-drinking songs,” Combs said to wild applause. “But I love my wife. I love my kids. And if it wasn’t for her, I’d be about five No. 1s short of where I am right now. So these next couple of songs are about her.” (For the record, Combs has scored 17 No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, so apparently he’d be down to a dozen without those love songs.)
Combs dedicated the newest song he performed, “The Man He Sees in Me,” to his two young sons: Tex, who was born on Father’s Day 2022 and turns 2 next week, and 10-month-old Beau. It’s the lead single from his new album, and it captures Combs’ drive to be a great dad while understanding that his kids will grow up and realize he’s not Superman (“One day between him leaving home and driving on my knee/ Maybe I’ll finally be the man he sees in me”). While the song was only released on June 6, he’s been playing it since April on his Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour.
Trending on Billboard
Ahead of the song, he talked about the release of his 12-track new album Fathers & Sons. “Thank you for listening to it,” he humbly told the crowd, wearing a Los Angeles Chargers hat on the home field of both the NFL’s Chargers and Rams. “If you listened to it, thank you. If you haven’t, I hope that you do.”
But just like he said onstage, there was plenty of time for beer-drinking songs too.
The final two tracks before his encore really drove that home, starting with Combs’ 2019 Brooks & Dunn collab “1, 2 Many.” More than halfway through the song, Combs was joined by actor Luke Wilson and Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler to shotgun a beer onstage. (Well, at least one of the Lukes shotgunned a beer; Wilson took a few generous swigs before chucking his Miller Lite can into the crowd.) And next up was arguably Combs’ biggest party-starter of a song: one of those 17 Country Airplay No. 1s, 2019’s “Beer Never Broke My Heart.”
Combs returns to SoFi Stadium for night 2 on Saturday (June 15). On Friday, he was joined by The Avett Brothers, Charles Wesley Godwin, Hailey Whitters and The Wilder Blue as opening acts, and he’ll have a full new slate of openers on Saturday night: Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny, Drew Parker and Colby Acuff.
Watch the Wilson and Butler moment below, along with a little taste of “1, 2 Many.”
Kenny Chesney banks his record-padding 33rd No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “Take Her Home” hikes from No. 4 to the summit on the survey dated June 22. It increased by 13% to 30.1 million audience impressions June 7-13, according to Luminate.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Since Country Airplay launched in January 1990, Tim McGraw ranks second with 29 No. 1s, followed by Blake Shelton with 28.
“Home” was written by Zach Abend, Hardy and Hunter Phelps. Chesney co-produced it with Buddy Cannon. It’s the lead single from Chesney’s album Born, which arrived at its No. 5 high on Top Country Albums in April, becoming his 22nd top 10.
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
Chesney notches his first Country Airplay No. 1 since Kelsea Ballerini’s “Half of My Hometown,” on which he’s featured, led for a week in March 2022. The Knoxville, Tenn., native first reigned with “She’s Got It All,” his ninth of 97 entries, for three frames beginning in August 1997. He also shares the record with George Strait for the most top 10s – 61 – dating to his first, “Fall in Love” (No. 6, July 1995). McGraw places third with 60; he ranks at No. 21 with his latest single, “One Bad Habit” (9.1 million, up 4%).
Chesney is currently on tour, set to make his next stop at Soldier Field in Chicago on June 15 with special guests Zac Brown Band, Megan Moroney and Uncle Kracker.
Higher ‘Help’
Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, ascends 3-2 on Country Airplay in just its sixth week on the survey (29.7 million, up 10%). The collaboration wraps the speediest trip to the top two since Garth Brooks’ “More Than a Memory” launched at No. 1 in September 2007, becoming the only hit in the survey’s 34-year history to debut at the summit.
“Help” also pushes 8-7 on Adult Pop Airplay and 10-8 on Pop Airplay. It has spent four weeks running at No. 1 on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts (through the lists dated June 15).
Additional reporting by Gary Trust.