Country
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Tanner Adell is just a few years into her country career, but on Sunday night (April 8) at the 2024 CMT Music Awards she was elated to celebrate her first chart-topper on the Billboard 200. When Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly mentioned that Adell was featured on Beyoncé‘s eighth No. 1 album, Cowboy Carter, the Kentucky native could not suppress a giant smile as she said, “apparently.”
Adell — who sings alongside Bey on the interpretation of the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” (which in Beyoncé’s version is titled “Blackbiird”) — said “it feels incredible. Congratulations to Bey, she’s worked so hard — especially just… Act I, now we’re Act II and I can’t wait for Act III. I’m just starting out and it feels pretty amazing to have one of my… not even one of my, my favorite artist on the planet know my name, put me on this album and now it’s debuted at No. 1. It’s very special.”
Pitching things forward a bit to the 2025 Grammy Awards, Kelly noted that if Cowboy Carter is nominated for the elusive album of the year prize that Beyoncé — the most-decorated artist in Grammy history — has never yet won, Tanner could get a major moment in the sun. Rendered speechless, Tanner smiled and said, “I guess?”
“I’m an independent artist, it’s been a grind and just to have someone of that caliber reach down and lift us up it’s really, really special and i’m just very honored,” said the singer who released her debut album, Buckle Bunny, last summer.
Cowboy Carter debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart dated April 13, debuting with 407,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending April 4 according to Luminate; the album marks the singer’s eighth No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Cowboy Carter also has dibs on the biggest week of 2024 to date, marking the largest opening frame since Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) bowed with 1.653 million units in November.
Another contemporary Black country act who had high praise for Bey on Sunday was Reyna Roberts, who also lends her voice to “Blackbiird,” along with Brittney Spencer, Adell and Tiera Kennedy. “Absolutely! I believe it. I’ve always believed that I was going to history, not sure in what capacity,” said “Stompin’ Grounds” singer Roberts of possibly being part of a major moment if Bey is finally fitted for the AOTY crown next year. “I’m just grateful that Beyoncé allowed us to be part of her dream and her project. This is phenomenal, I can’t even describe how excited and happy I am.”
On the CMT red carpet, tAdell also showed of the new “Blackbiird”-inspired tattoo on her arm, noting that Roberts got her own version as well to commemorate their unexpected place in the Bey universe. “We all did it in our own style kind of how we wanted to,” she said showing off the bird image ink on her right forearm. “We just felt like this is a really big moment and something to commemorate the experience of being able to work together with someone that we all look up to very much.”
“Flower Shops” singer-songwriter Ernest took to Instagram on Monday morning (April 8), good-naturedly heckling his friend, labelmate, “Flower Shops” collaborator and frequent co-writer Morgan Wallen, following the latter’s arrest on Sunday night (April 7). Wallen was arrested after allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of Eric Church’s six-story Chief’s bar that just opened in downtown Nashville.
Ernest posted a video on Instagram with the caption, “Alexa, play ‘The Chair’ by George Strait,” while the video showed him in a car, slightly shaking his head, while the video was emblazoned with the words, “When Morgan asks me if I wanna go to Broadway…” Ernest’s song “I Would If I Could” with Lainey Wilson plays, featuring the lyrics, “I would if I could, I can’t, so I won’t, but I want to…”
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“I Would If I Could” is featured on his upcoming album Nashville, Tennessee, which releases Friday (April 12).
Worrick Robinson of Worrick Robinson Law confirmed the country star’s arrest to Billboard on Monday (April 8). “At 10:53 p.m. Sunday evening, Morgan Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct,” the country star’s attorney said in a statement. “He is cooperating fully with authorities.”
Wallen’s publicist also confirmed to Billboard that Wallen had been released from jail.
Ernest has been promoting his upcoming album by launching the humorous website ernestformayor.com and posting humorous “campaign trail” videos on social media. He also responded to Country Central‘s Instagram post about Wallen’s arrest, commenting, “I’ve been needing a chairman for my mayor campaign…found my guy.”
Ernest is a co-writer on some of Wallen’s biggest hits, including “You Proof,” “Wasted on You,” “More Than My Hometown” and “This Bar.” His upcoming album also features another collab with Wallen, on the song “Hangin’ On.”
Notably, The Wallen/Church duet of “Man Made a Bar” is currently at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart. However, the song isn’t an Ernest co-write; instead, the radio hit comes courtesy of songwriters Brett Tyler, Jordan Dozzi, Larry Fleet and Rocky Block.
Wallen just launched his One Night at a Time 2024 World Tour in Indianapolis on April 4, and is slated to perform at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on May 2-4. Wallen’s next court date is also set for May 3 in Nashville.
See Ernest’s post joking about Wallen’s arrest below:
Morgan Wallen was arrested and jailed on Sunday night (April 7) in Nashville after the chart-topping country singer allegedly hurled a chair off the six-story roof of a popular bar on the city’s bustling Broadway street. On Monday morning (April 8), Billboard received a statement from Wallen’s attorney, Worrick Robinson of Worrick Robinson Law, confirming […]
Little Big Town will use their performance at the 2024 CMT Music Awards as a launch pad into a full-blown national tour.
The Grammy Award-winning country act kick-off their Take Me Home U.S. tour Oct. 24 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC, in support of their new single, and as a celebration of the band’s 25-year milestone.
As it stands, the trek will wrap-up Dec. 13 with a special homecoming date at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN, their first in Music City since 2017’s sold-out 10-night stand at Ryman Auditorium.
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The four-piece — comprised of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook — teamed up with longtime friends and collaborators Sugarland at Sunday night’s (April 7) CMT Music Awards at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, for the world premiere performance of “Take Me Home,” a cover of the Phil Collins song released back in 1985.
Sugarland is special guest on the forthcoming tour, with support from The Castellows. Live Nation and Sandbox Live are producing the trek.
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“Last night felt like a real homecoming for us and a full circle moment. When we toured with Sugarland last, we would all be backstage harmonizing different cover songs to try and surprise the audience every night,” reads a statement from Little Big Town. “There’s something about this song that feels so nostalgic of that time. It really is like coming home.”
Little Big Town and Sugarland last shared the CMT Music Awards stage 15 years ago, when they were joined by Jake Owen for a rendition of “Life in a Northern Town,” originally released by the Dream Academy in 1985.
On Sunday, Little Big Town chalked up their 13th CMT Music Awards performance.
The upcoming tour, says the band, “feels like a celebration of being a band for 25 years and we’re so excited to throw this party with our great friends Sugarland. We’ll both be playing all our biggest hits and then some. Can’t wait to see everyone.”
The general onsale begins Friday, April 12 at littlebigtown.com.
Little Big Town’s 2024 U.S. Take Me Home Tour:
Oct. 24 — Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC
Oct. 25 — PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC
Oct. 26 — Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Oct. 31 — TD Garden, Boston, MA
Nov. 1 — PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
Nov. 2 — KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
Nov. 7 — Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Nov. 8 — Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
Nov. 9 — Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
Nov. 14 — T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, MO
Nov. 15 — Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, Sioux Falls, SD
Nov. 16 — Vibrant Arena at The MARK, Moline, IL
Nov. 21 — Moody Center, Austin, TX
Nov. 22 — Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX
Nov. 23 — BOK Center, Tulsa, OK
Dec. 11 — Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, MS
Dec. 12 — Gas South Arena, Duluth, GA
Dec. 13 — Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
To hear Jelly Roll tell it, the three prizes he took home at Sunday’s (April 7) 2024 CMT Music Awards don’t hold a candle to his ultimate reward: seeing Bunnie XO, his wife of eight years, getting all the shine she deserves.
In an interview with Billboard News’ Tetris Kelly on the CMT red carpet Sunday, Jelly Roll beamed when asked about how amazing it was to see Bunnie doing a hosting gig backstage and her other solo endeavors.
“The coolest moment I’ve had this entire process is … when I walked out, they had a placard with my name for where my seat was and then her placard,” Jelly said proudly. “I was like, ‘You’re not a plus-one no more, baby! You’re a seat!’”
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Jelly was the biggest winner at Sunday night’s CMT Awards, heading into the show with a leading three nominations and leaving with all three awards — his second year in a row to take home a trio of hardware at the CMTs. The singer/songwriter was especially honored to be facing some very friendly competition for video of the year in Cody Johnson and Kelsea Ballerini, the night’s host; Jelly Roll eventually took home the fan-voted top prize, for “Need a Favor.”
“The coolest part is, Kelsea’s my friend. Cody’s my friend,” he told Billboard News. “And I don’t mean in the way we say friends in the industry – because we’re all ‘friends’ here, right? – but in a real way, of like, I’ve spent real time with them. I’ve spent hours on the phone with Cody, multiple dinners, hung out with him multiple times. I’ve spent real time with Kelsea and Chase,” he said, referencing Ballerini’s Outer Banks star boyfriend Chase Stokes. “These are my friends. So it’s cool.”
Before setting out for his triple-win night, Tetris asked Jelly to describe his breakthrough year in one word.
“Unbelievable,” he said without hesitation. “I’m going to look back one day on all this and be like, ‘What the f— was going on in that decade?’”
Watch Jelly Roll’s interview below:
After a tumultuous youth that found him in and out of jail, Jelly Roll’s winning streak continued at the 2024 CMT Music Awards on Sunday (April 7) at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The country breakthrough took the stage three times during the awards broadcast to accept trophies, winning every award he was up for that night.
“I want to thank my beautiful wife and my daughter at home,” Jelly Roll said after winning his first on-camera award, for CMT performance of the year. “I sang ‘Need a Favor’ for the first time on national television right here… in that last year you have changed my life in every way I never thought my life could be changed.”
Later that night, Minnie Driver revealed Jelly Roll had won male video of the year for “Need a Favor.” Shaking his head in disbelief, Jelly Roll kissed his wife, Bunnie XO, hugged Cody Johnson (the two pals even kissed each other on the cheeks) and walked up to the stage as the crowd erupted in cheers.
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“My brother, Cody Johnson – ‘The Painter,’ that was one of the best music videos I’ve ever seen in my life,” Jelly Roll raved after besting Johnson for the award. “I’m having one of the greatest nights of my life,” he noted. But the hitmaker’s speech wasn’t just about himself. True to form, he gave an emotional shout-out out the current residents of one of the jails he spent time in growing up, as well as those doing time at Austin’s juvenile detention center. “It’s important that I stand up here tonight and represent those looking for second chances. The kids back in the Metro-Davidson Detention Facility and the kids down here in the Austin Juvenile Detention Facility watching this tonight, I’m cheering y’all boys on. You can be this guy. You can change. You can turn it around. I promise you can, baby.”
Jelly Roll was back on stage after winning the video of the year award, which Billy Bob Thornton handed to him.
“Billy Bob Thornton just gave me my third trophy of the night, y’all!” he shouted. “Cody Johnson, I’m not going to tell you anything up here I don’t tell you on the phone, but I love you brother. You are my favorite cowboy forever and ever and one of my best friends in the business. Kelsea Ballerini, you know what I think of you – you go baby.”
The star also thanked his manager, John Meneilly, his publicist, Jennifer Vessio, his label, Stoney Creek, and of course wife, Bunnie XO. “I am blessed to have you as a best friend, I am blessed to have you as a partner,” he said. He also provided a good-natured heads-up to Gayle King, who co-hosts CBS Mornings. “Gayle King, I’m gonna be a little late in the morning, because we’re gonna party, Austin.”
After that, he took the stage one final time to rip through a performance of “Halfway to Hell,” a top 15 Country Airplay hit from his album Whitsitt Chapel.
Jelly Roll really is on a roll. The powerful singer and colorful personality won a night-leading three awards at the 2024 CMT Music Awards for the second year in a row. The awards, hosted by Kelsea Ballerini, were presented at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Sunday (April 7) and broadcast on CBS.
Jelly Roll took video of the year, male video of the year and CMT performance of the year, all for “Need a Favor.” Last year, he won male video of the year, male breakthrough video of the year and CMT digital-first performance of the year, all for “Son of a Sinner.”
“Need a Favor” reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. This is the third year in a row that the music video of the year winner was a top 15 hit on Billboard’s flagship all-genre songs chart. Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown’s “Thank God,” last year’s winner, also reached No. 13. Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood’s “If I Didn’t Love You,” the 2022 winner, reached No. 15.
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Jelly Roll is the first artist to win back-to-back awards for male video of the year since Blake Shelton won in 2013 and 2014 for “Sure Be Cool If You Did” and “Doin’ What She Likes,” respectively.
Jelly Roll’s award for CMT performance of the year was for his rendition of “Need a Favor” on last year’s CMT Music Awards. This year, he closed the show with a performance of “Halfway to Hell.”
Lainey Wilson won female video of the year for the second year in a row. She took the award for “Watermelon Moonshine,” having won last year for “Heart Like a Truck.” She’s the first woman to win in this key category two years running since Carrie Underwood won six years in a row from 2015-20. Wilson’s win here was hardly a surprise. She has amassed seven awards at the CMA Awards in the past two years.
In addition to her win, Wilson performed two songs on the show – her own “Country’s Cool Again” and a cover version of Toby Keith’s 1999 hit “How Do You Like Me Now?!” in a tribute to the late singer.
Dan + Shay won duo/group video of the year for “Save Me the Trouble.” The duo previously won duo video of the year three years running for “Tequila” (2018), “Speechless” (2019) and “I Should Probably Go to Bed” (2020). (The CMT Awards’ separate duo and group categories were combined in 2021. Now that they have three hours to fill, they should make them separate awards again, so they conform with the CMA Awards and the ACM Awards.)
“We Don’t Fight Anymore” by Carly Pearce featuring Chris Stapleton won collaborative video of the year. Both artists are past winners of the award for breakthrough video of the year. Pearce won in 2018 for “Every Little Thing”; Stapleton in 2016 for “Fire Away.”
Ashley Cooke and Warren Zeiders won the awards for breakthrough female and male video of the year, respectively. Many past winners in the CMT new artist category have gone on to very substantial careers, including Dierks Bentley, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt and Ashley McBryde, in addition to the previously-mentioned Stapleton, Pearce and Jelly Roll.
Trisha Yearwood received the June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award. “June Carter Cash was a force, and she was also married to a force – and I know a little bit about that,” she said in accepting the award. She added the she and her husband, Garth Brooks, try to live by the saying “Those to whom much is given, much is expected.” Yearwood also performed the tender ballad “Put It in a Song.”
Host Ballerini was nominated for three awards – video of the year, female video of the year and CMT performance of the year – but didn’t win. But she scored with a performance of “Love Me Like You Mean It.”
When Toby Keith died of cancer on Feb. 5 at the age of 62, the country world mourned the loss of one of its biggest stars. Notching 20 No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and the Country Airplay chart, Keith was an uncompromising, often controversial figure who followed his own arrow and remained a consistent presence in the genre for three decades.
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So when the 2024 CMT Music Awards took over the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Sunday (April 7), it went without saying that the planned tribute to Keith would be one of the evening’s highlights.
Led by Keith’s longtime friends Brooks & Dunn and Sammy Hagar as well as Lainey Wilson, whom Keith mentored, the tribute was supported by Keith’s longtime backing band.
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Baseball legend Roger Clemens introduced the performance, calling Keith “a true friend and patriot.” Clemens noted that in recent years, as Keith was “battling that damn C-word,” the singer “kept his sense of humor and his wit.”
Brooks & Dunn opened the tribute, delivering a rousing rendition of Keith’s breakthrough 1993 single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” as everyone in the crowd (especially Jelly Roll) sang along.
Then, Hagar turned up the adrenaline for a raucous take on Keith’s 2003 hit “I Love This Bar,” a song that ties into the franchise restaurant the country singer inspired, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, which opened in 2005. Introducing the song, the Van Halen legend noted that while it’s hard to get kicked out of your own bar, it’s a feat both of them managed over the years.
After an introduction from Lukas Nelson and Riley Green, Wilson closed it out with “How Do You Like Me Now?!”, the title track to Keith’s 1999 album. The Grammy winner put her whole heart into a joyful, bittersweet performance as Keith’s widow, Tricia Lucas, and children (Shelley Covel Rowland, Krystal Keith and Stelen Keith Covel) watched.
After the performance, a tearful Clemens took the stage and led the entire audience in a Red Solo Cup cheers to the legend: “Whisky for my men and beer for my horses!” he shouted, raising his cup up to the heavens.
A comment Morgan Wallen made about Taylor Swift elicited boos from the crowd at a recent stop of his One Night at a Time Tour in Indianapolis. The country star, playing back-to-back nights on April 4-5 at the Indiana city’s Lucas Oil Stadium, made a comment on stage that his show had set a record […]
The 2024 CMT Music Awards brought together the best and brightest of country music on Sunday night (April 7) to the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, to celebrate the top country videos of the year. Leading the performances on Sunday’s show was an all-star tribute to late country legend Toby Keith, which included Brooks & Dunn, […]