genre country
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The owner of Las Vegas’ Sphere has hit Beyoncé with a cease and desist letter over fan-shot concert footage that shows the superstar picking up a computer-generated version of the iconic Las Vegas venue and briefly juggling it between her hands, Billboard has confirmed.
“Beyoncé — many orders of magnitude larger than the Sphere venue — leans over, picks up the venue, and looms over it,” the letter reads, according to the New York Post, which first reported the news, leading to “significant speculation that Beyoncé will end her tour with a Sphere residency.” (Billboard has not independently obtained the letter.)
The filmed sequence, which plays during an interlude at Beyoncé’s newly launched Cowboy Carter tour, irked Sphere Entertainment Co. executive chairman/CEO James Dolan because Sphere unsuccessfully lobbied the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer to perform at the venue in the past, sources with knowledge of the negotiations tell Billboard.
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Attorneys for Dolan, who is also the chairman/CEO of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Group, want Beyoncé to cut the brief sequence from her three-hour concert, which she performed for a second time at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday (May 1).
The letter is addressed to Beyoncé’s production company, Parkwood Entertainment, on behalf of Sphere Entertainment Group and authored by Kathleen McCarthy of the law firm King & Spalding. In the letter, Spaulding accuses Parkwood of using imagery of the Sphere’s likeness “without permission” and accuses the singer of misleading her fans.
“It has recently come to SEG’s attention that a Cowboy Carter tour interlude video contains the unauthorized use of SEG’s intellectual property,” the letter reads. “SEG is sure that multiple aspects of the interlude video, including other brands, clips and music, were duly cleared by the tour with rights permissions from the rights holders whose works were used in the video, as is common practice. SEG, however, was never asked and the prominent appearance and manipulation of SEG’s Sphere™ venue in the video is unauthorized.”
“SEG demands that the tour cease and desist from using the Sphere™ venue in the video immediately,” the letter continues, demanding that Parkwood “refrain from using this imagery on any merchandise, promotional or marketing materials, or in tour movies, etc. Should you fail to do so, SEG reserves all rights to take further action as SEG deems appropriate without notice to you.”
Beyoncé has never played Sphere in Las Vegas, although her representatives reportedly held talks with officials at Sphere Entertainment about a possible residency at the venue several years ago. Those discussions never materialized into bookings and Beyoncé has instead opted to play Allegiant Stadium when her Cowboy Carter tour stops in Las Vegas on July 25 and 26.
Billboard reached out to representatives for Beyoncé and tour promoter Live Nation for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.
Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” dominates Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for a third total and consecutive week. The track tops the chart dated May 10 with 30.5 million in audience (up 3%) April 25-May 1, according to Luminate.
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The song became Wallen’s third Country Airplay No. 1 from his album of the same name — prior to its May 16 release. “Love Somebody” ruled for three weeks in February, after “Lies Lies Lies” led for a week in November. His latest single being promoted to country radio, “Just in Case,” climbs 22-19 (9.1 million, up 16%).
Wallen’s new 37-track LP contains one more song than his 2023 LP, One Thing at a Time. That set has ruled Top Country Albums for 84 weeks, the second most in the chart’s history, after only his own Dangerous: The Double Album, which ran up a record 97 weeks at No. 1 beginning in January 2021.
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Meanwhile, “I’m the Problem” marks Wallen’s ninth Country Airplay No. 1 to dominate for three or more frames. His longest-leading hit, “You Proof,” reigned for 10 weeks beginning in October 2022. It’s tied for the longest command in the chart’s 35-year history with Nate Smith’s “World on Fire,” which started its rule in December 2023.
Country Lake
Brandon Lake’s “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” featuring Jelly Roll, lifts 56-54 on Country Airplay (979,000, up 15%). Lake’s first entry on the chart has commanded Hot Christian Songs for 20 weeks running and hit the Billboard Hot 100’s top 40. A remix was released Feb. 7 adding Jelly Roll, while the twosome performed the song on ABC’s American Idol on April 20.
Lake is the first core Christian music artist to reach Country Airplay since Chris Tomlin, who, as featured on Thomas Rhett’s “Be a Light,” alongside Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott and Keith Urban, hit No. 2 in September 2020. (Speaking of Rhett, his duet with Forrest Frank, “Nothing Else,” ranked at No. 8 on the May 3 Hot Christian Songs chart.)
Everybody’s had the blues.
Merle Haggard‘s observation was true in the 1970s, and it still resonates in 2025 in country music as the genre welcomes a new wave of blues-tinged artists.
Valory released Preston Cooper‘s first radio single — “Weak,” bolstered by Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar tones and Hammond B-3 — to broadcasters via PlayMPE on April 23. RECORDS Nashville took Texas singer-songwriter Ty Myers to radio on April 10 with “Ends of the Earth,” a spacious, almost churchy ballad. And Big Loud’s Alabama-born Kashus Culpepper has steadily rolled out tracks over the last year with videos that feel akin to the Mississippi Delta circa 1945. Culpepper’s catalog invites comparisons to Keb’ Mo’ and Leon Bridges, and his latest track — “Southern Man,” released March 27 — features sweaty slide guitar from bluesy Americana figure Marcus King.
“I think the blues is the root to every genre out there,” Ohio-bred Cooper says. “You always have to have a rhythm, you know. You always have to have a beat. And I think blues starts that for all genres.”
The rise of the blues makes sense in a genre like country that appeals primarily to a working-class audience. The nation has experienced years of division, and economic uncertainties are turning the screws even tighter on the average pocketbook. Consumers are already singing the blues.
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“Blues connects with the human emotion,” Culpepper reasons. “It’s our deepest emotions, it’s pain and sometimes love. And I think blues is always going to be around. I think it’s always going to recirculate and come back around.”
The blues grew directly from pain. Black workers in the mid-1800s — both slaves and free men — were primarily limited to difficult jobs with no possibility of upward mobility, and they used music to keep a consistent pace at their labor and express their misery. W.C. Handy, crafting such titles as “The St. Louis Blues” and “The John Henry Blues,” established the genre’s commercial potential in the early 1900s, and Mamie Smith‘s 1920 recording “Crazy Blues” became the first blues recorded by a Black woman. New York record executives assumed that only African Americans would appreciate the music and established a “race” records market. When country was subsequently committed to disc, it was frequently referred to as “the white man’s blues.”
While the labels segregated the music in their promotional efforts, the sound itself wasn’t that different. The songs recorded by the father of country music, Jimmie Rodgers, in the 1920s and 1930s overlapped in sound with the music of Robert Johnson in the 1930s.
“I love Robert Johnson and Hank Williams,” Culpepper says. “I think at the core, both of them [were about] great storytelling, raw emotion, the real man’s music talking about real emotions. You could have a song talking about the bar, and that’s great. They both had songs [about] being with a lover, or just hanging out, or going down a road and feeling great, or a song about just feeling so down low that you don’t even want to be on this Earth.”
Country’s blues influence was particularly evident in Western swing, and it continued to pop up in the music of Willie Nelson (especially in his song “Night Life”); in Southern rock, which would influence such country acts as Travis Tritt, Hank Williams Jr., Confederate Railroad and The Cadillac Three; and in the Texas soul of Lee Roy Parnell.
Much has been made of Chris Stapleton‘s incorporation of outlaw country and R&B over the last decade, but the new acts all say the blues component of his music had an impact on them.
“A lot of people who are going down the path that I am — you know, country, but also adding a little bit of the old blues and soul influences — would not be able to do what we do without Stapleton,” Myers says. “That artistic flair that he added to country music expanded the lines a little bit, made the box a little bigger.”
Indeed, The Red Clay Strays — which are nominated for two honors at this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards — incorporate a blues thread in their rootsy country sound, and Stephen Wilson Jr.‘s performance of the national anthem before the NFL draft on April 24 in Green Bay, Wis., was a rough-cut, gnarly, acoustic country-blues.
While the sound reflects the current sociopolitical mood, it’s also a reaction to the increasing influence of technology on 21st-century life. Many Americans spend more than half their waking hours tied to an iPhone, a computer and/or a TV. With those impersonal devices commanding people’s attention, it’s natural for consumers to gravitate toward music that more closely reflects humanity and all its imperfections.
“Kids my age, we’re starting to like vintage stuff,” Myers, 17, says. “Old cars, old shoes, old clothes, old fashion — even old lingo is coming back. And especially old music. I think we’ve realized that they did shit better in the ’60s and ’70s. That’s why not only is blues and soul coming back, but also old country. Look at Zach Top. I mean, that’s old, straightforward country, and it makes my heart happy that it’s coming back.”
One of the reasons the blues seem to hang around is that the hard times they address are always present, and the listener is reminded that their heartbreak and heaviness are not unique. Knowing someone else shares their pain frequently helps revive their spirit.
“Blues is a tonic for whatever ails you,” B.B. King once said. “I could play the blues and then not be blue anymore.”
That’s why Culpepper came to appreciate the blues. He heard King, as well as Jimi Hendrix and Albert King, in his household, right alongside Kenny Rogers and Bob Seger. He hopes that, as stylistic walls drop and once-segregated music recombines, his generation of blues-based country artists will provide an emotional tonic for music fans the way that his predecessors influenced him.
“I got an old soul,” Culpepper says, “and I hope that my music is an inspiration for young, upcoming musicians to continue to put that blues and that old rock stuff in new music. That’s my whole [thing]: to be an inspiration.”
Dolly Parton got choked up while talking about her late husband, Carl Dean, during an on-camera interview two months after the businessman’s death.
While speaking about the 40th anniversary of her Dollywood theme park on TODAY Friday (May 2), the country superstar became visibly teary-eyed as soon as host Savannah Guthrie asked how Parton has been doing since Dean died at age 82 on March 3. “Oh, you know what, I get very emotional when people bring it up,” she began.
“But we were together 60 years,” Parton continued. “I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old. It’s a big adjustment, just trying to change patterns and habits. I’ll do fine, and I’m very involved in my work, and that’s been the best thing that could happen to me. But I’ll always miss him, of course, and always love him.”
She added, “He was a great partner to me.”
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As Parton mentioned, she and Dean had been a couple since she was 18 — in fact, they first met the same day the “9 to 5” singer moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. They got married in Georgia in 1966.
At the time of Dean’s death, Parton released a simple statement asking for privacy, writing, “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years.”
Three days later, she thanked family, friends and fans for sharing their messages of condolences, and wrote on Instagram, “He is in God’s arms now, and I am okay with that. I will always love you.”
Dean was famously private, preferring to stay far out of reach of his wife’s spotlight. But while he was rarely spotted by the public, Parton once again mentioned how she’s received “so many cards, letters, flowers, from all over the world” in light of his passing on TODAY.
“I had no idea Carl Dean was so famous,” she said with a laugh.
Watch Parton’s full interview above.
Even as he’s signed to one of Nashville’s biggest labels, Eric Church has amassed more than a little experience over the past nearly two decades in pushing back against the typical Music Row way of doing things, and thus, bursting the confines of how and when artists are expected to create and release albums, approach touring and build a fanbase.
Early in his career, Church was already stacking his albums with songs such as “These Boots” and “Sinners Like Me” that became fan-favorites, regardless of whether they became radio hits. Albums including Sinners Like Me and Carolina spawned hits that broke ever-higher through the ranks on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, and by third album Chief, he earned a double-header of Country Airplay No. 1s with “Drink in My Hand” and “Springsteen.” He’s also been quick to pivot when needed to bring music to his fans the way he wants — like after he was let go from an opening slot on Rascal Flatts’ tour in 2006, when he booked a series of club shows in the same cities, on the same nights as the Flatts tour would play, and dubbed it the “Me and Myself Tour.”
Not content with the status quo, he’s shaken things up with songs such as the marijuana-centered “Smoke a Little Smoke,” and music videos for “Lightning” and “Homeboy” that were filmed the former Tennessee State Prison. He took his 2015 album Mr. Understood directly to fans first, with a surprise release to members of his fanclub. And more recently, he’s displayed his artistic freedom onstage at freewheeling residencies and/or shows at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as at own Chief’s bar in downtown Nashville, and during festivals such as CMA Fest and Stagecoach.
So, it’s no surprise that many songs on Evangeline Vs. The Machine album, out today (May 2), center on the power of music as a healer, encourager, energy lifter, emotional solace and infinite creative source. However, the muses behind the steely-eyed defiance that vibrates through the album run far deeper and wider than the Nashville industry’s machinations. Inspired by the collaborative approach of New Orleans jazz, Church approached the new album with the all-encompassing, spontaneous nature of a live show, teaming again with producer Jay Joyce and bolstering his core blend of country, rock and soul with a choir, horns and full-bodied strings.
What his succinct, eight-song album lacks in length, it more than makes up for in depth of creativity and intention, with songs that stretch well beyond country music’s typical lyrical trifecta of relationships, trucks and alcohol. Evangeline Vs. The Machine finds Church writing and recording songs inspired by his own discomfort with being creatively bound, as well as by the natural disaster of Hurricane Helene and by the tragedy of the Covenant School shooting that took place in 2023.
Here, Billboard ranks the eight songs on his new project.
“Storm in Their Blood”
The 2025 ACM Awards will open with 12 straight minutes of music highlighting ACM Award-winning Songs of the Year from across six decades. The segment will feature Clint Black, Dan + Shay, Wynonna Judd, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes and Sugarland.
Four of those artists popularized songs that won ACM Awards for song of the year, so you’re very likely to hear these songs in that medley – Dan + Shay’s “Tequila,” The Judds’ “Why Not Me,” Rimes’ “Blue” and Sugarland’s “Stay.”
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The show will also feature collaborative performances by Jelly Roll & Shaboozey; Backstreet Boys & Rascal Flatts; and Brooks & Dunn with Cody Johnson. Jelly and Shaboozey performed together at last weekend’s Stagecoach Festival in Indio, Calif. Backstreet Boys were also on the bill for the three-day festival.
Megan Moroney, the ACM’s 2024 winner for new female artist of the year, will also join this year’s star-packed show.
Hosted by 16-time ACM Award-winner McEntire, the 60th ACM Awards will stream live for a global audience on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch on Thursday, May 8 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The show will be expanded from two to two-and-a-half hours.
This will be the 18th time McEntire has hosted or co-hosted the ACM Awards. She first co-hosted the show in 1986 with John Schneider and the late Mac Davis. McEntire is fast closing in on Bob Hope’s record as the most frequent host of any major awards show. Hope hosted or co-hosted the Oscars 19 times between 1940 and 1978.
Previously announced performers are Alan Jackson, Chris Stapleton, Blake Shelton, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert, as well as Ella Langley and Zach Top, who were announced last week as the winners of new female and male artist of the year.
The ACM have not yet announced whether The Red Clay Strays, the winner of the ACM Award for new duo/group of the year, will perform, but it would be a good bet.
Raj Kapoor is executive producer and showrunner of the 2025 ACM Awards, with Patrick Menton as co-executive producer. Damon Whiteside serves as executive producer for the Academy of Country Music, and Jay Penske and Barry Adelman serve as executive producers for Dick Clark Productions. John Saade will also continue to serve as consulting producer for Amazon MGM Studios.
Kapoor is among the most successful executive producers in TV. He has served in that capacity on the last four Grammy telecasts (alongside Ben Winston and Jesse Collins) and the last two Oscar telecasts (alongside Katy Mullan).
This year’s show is presented by Carnival Cruise Line. A limited number of tickets to the show are available for purchase on SeatGeek.
Established in 1966, the Academy of Country Music Awards is the longest-running country music awards show. The ACMs made history in 2022 as the first major awards ceremony to exclusively livestream, in collaboration with Prime Video.
The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
Sarah Trahern, CEO of the Country Music Association, sent a letter to all members on Thursday (May 1) in which she urged them to vote “with intention, with passion and with a deep appreciation for the artistry and craftsmanship that define excellence in Country Music.”
Trahern wrote, in part: “Your vote is more than just a ballot. It is your voice, your expertise, and your influence in defining the legacy of this genre. With the 2025 awards season upon us, we encourage you to engage thoughtfully in this process. … Because the CMA Awards don’t just happen for the industry—they happen because of it.”
The letter was sent concurrent with the CMA releasing its full schedule of key dates for the 2025 CMA Awards, CMA Broadcast Awards, CMA Touring Awards, CMA International Awards, and CMA Industry Honors.
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Trahern’s letter echoes one that Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, sent to all voting members last July in which he stated: “you owe it to your peers to vote intentionally, deliberately, with pride and with purpose.”
Mason dramatized his point with a telling anecdote. “Last Grammy season, I heard a Grammy voter say they hadn’t taken a specific artist seriously since a performance they saw more than 10 years ago. I was shocked and disturbed by that. There is no place in our organization for such bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting. It’s about the current year and the quality of the work, period!
“There should be no other rationale for voting. If you are taking into account an artist’s older work, or their reputation, or race, or gender, what label they are on, who their manager is, how many friends participated in the project, or anything else like that, you’re not doing your job. I know most of you already do but please, just listen to the music, and evaluate it! You are the reason the Grammy Award is so special.”
Trahern, who was on Billboard‘s 2025 Women in Music list, wasn’t quite as emphatic and specific in her message (see her full letter below), but both leaders made the same point: Your vote matters. Take this seriously.
Here are the key dates, eligibility requirements, and voting processes across CMA’s annual awards cycle, followed by Trahern’s letter, in full.
2025 CMA Awards
Eligibility Period: July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025
Voting Process: All CMA professional voting members may vote in three rounds. As of today, 6,468 professional members are eligible to vote.
Nomination Ballot: Voters write in any artist or project they think deserves a nomination. If it fits the criteria for that category, it counts.
Second Ballot: The top 20 vote-getters from the first round move forward (only the top 15 for entertainer of the year). Members may vote for up to five candidates in each category.
Final Ballot: The top five from the second round become the official nominees—and CMA members vote one last time to choose the winners. Members may vote for one nominee in each category.
Musician of the Year: Voting in all rounds remains limited to eligible voters in the following membership categories: musician, artist, composer, and producer/engineer/studio.
Song of the Year: New this year, only eligible voters in the following membership categories may vote in the nomination and second ballots: composer, artist, musician, producer/engineer/studio, and publisher/PRO. All eligible voters may vote in the final ballot.
All three rounds of voting will be conducted online by Election Services Corp. (ESC). All balloting is tabulated by the professional services organization, Deloitte.
Nomination Ballot: Emailed to eligible CMA members on Monday, July 7; Closes Wednesday, July 16 at 6:00 p.m. CT
Second Ballot: Emailed on Tuesday, Aug. 5; Closes Monday, Aug. 18 at 6:00 p.m. CT; Final nominees in each of the 12 categories will be announced later this summer.
Final Ballot: Emailed on Wednesday, Oct. 1; Closes Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 6:00 p.m. CT
Membership Deadline & Information: To vote in all three rounds, prospective CMA members must apply for membership by Sunday, June 1 at CMAmember.com. Only CMA professional voting members have voting privileges. The professional voting tier is offered to industry professionals who primarily work within country music.
2025 CMA Broadcast Awards
Eligibility Period: Performances and events between June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025
Submission Process: Apply now online at broadcast.CMAawards.com. Guidelines and entry instructions are available on the site. CMA membership is not required to submit.
Eligible Categories: broadcast personality of the year and radio station of the year in four market sizes: major market, large market, medium market and small market
National broadcast personality of the year in two formats: daily and weekly
Syndicated, short-form, hub voice-tracking, digital service providers, and satellite personalities with live-stream broadcasts are eligible to apply for national broadcast personality of the year.
Submission Period: Open Thursday, May 1 through Monday, June 30 at 5:00 p.m. CT
Judging Process & Information: Entries will be reviewed and evaluated online by a panel of radio and industry professionals.; CMA Broadcast Awards winners will be notified in early October and recognized at the 59th Annual CMA Awards ceremony. All balloting is tabulated by the professional services organization, Deloitte.
2025 CMA Touring Awards
Eligibility Period: Oct. 1, 2024 – Sept. 30, 2025
Nomination Ballot: A nomination ballot will be sent to current CMA professional voting members in the following member categories: affiliated, artist, composer, entertainment services, musician, personal manager, record company, talent agent, advertising/marketing/communications, venue, talent buyer/promoter and touring personnel. Each member is eligible to submit one nomination for each award category.
Second Ballot: Any candidate that meets the eligibility criteria and receives a minimum of three nominations will be placed on the second ballot. Eligible CMA members may vote for up to five candidates in each category for which they choose to vote.
Selection of Final Nominees: The Top 20 vote recipients from the second ballot will be presented to a CMA Touring Awards task force to develop a slate of at least five but no more than eight potential nominees for each of the CMA Touring Awards categories.
Final Ballot: The final ballot consisting of the approved nominees is sent to eligible CMA members for voting. Each member may vote for one nominee in each category they choose to vote.
All balloting is tabulated by the professional services organization, Deloitte.
Nomination Ballot: Opens Monday, July 21. Closes Friday, Aug. 1 at 5:00 p.m. CT
Second Ballot: Opens Tuesday, Aug. 26; Closes Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 5:00 p.m. CT
Final Ballot: Opens Monday, Dec. 1; Closes Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 5:00 p.m. CT
2025 CMA International Awards
Nomination Process & Information: All CMA professional voting members may submit nominations. A CMA International Awards task force reviews the nominations and makes winner recommendations to the CMA board of directors, which approves the recipients.
There are six CMA International Award categories—Jo Walker Meador International Award, Rob Potts International Live Music Advancement Award, Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award, International Country Broadcaster Award, International Artist Achievement Award, and Jeff Walker Global Country Artist Award.
Nomination Ballot: Open now through Saturday, May 31. Nominate now at https://CMAmember.lnk.to/IntlNomsPR.
2025 CMA Industry Honors
Nomination Process & Information: All CMA members may submit nominations for the following CMA Industry Honors —CMA Foundation Humanitarian Award, Irving Waugh Award of Excellence, Joe Talbot Award, CMA Touring Lifetime Achievement Award, Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, CMA Songwriter Advocate Award, and Studio Recording Icon Award.
Final recipients are selected and approved by the CMA board of directors.
Nomination Ballot: Open now through Sunday, Aug. 10. Nominate now at https://CMAmember.lnk.to/industryhonorsnomPR.
Here’s Trahern’s letter to voting members, in full:
Dear CMA Member,
At the Country Music Association, our awards and honors are more than just a moment of recognition—they are a reflection of the dedication, talent, and passion that fuel our genre. They give us the chance to celebrate one another and spotlight the very best of Country Music on a global stage. Every nomination, every win, and every honor become part of the story we’re writing together, a chapter forever etched in the history of Country Music. And at the heart of it all is you.
As a trade association, CMA exists to serve and support the people who make this industry thrive—those working day in and day out to create, promote, and elevate Country Music. The CMA Awards and our other honors are not decided by a panel of outsiders, but by those who know Country Music best: our members. Your vote is more than just a ballot. It is your voice, your expertise, and your influence in defining the legacy of this genre.
With the 2025 awards season upon us, we encourage you to engage thoughtfully in this process. Take the time to reflect on the music and achievements that have moved our industry forward. Vote with intention, with passion, and with a deep appreciation for the artistry and craftsmanship that define excellence in Country Music. Because the CMA Awards don’t just happen for the industry—they happen because of it.
The official 2025 CMA ballot schedule is now available, outlining key dates for voting, submissions, and nominations. In addition to the CMA Awards, we recognize excellence across all aspects of our business, from the CMA Broadcast Awards and the CMA International Awards to the CMA Touring Awards and various Industry Honors. Each of these programs is a cornerstone of CMA’s commitment to honoring the people and moments that propel Country Music to new heights.
We encourage all industry professionals who are shaping our genre to take advantage of this opportunity and make their voices heard. If you know someone who is not yet a CMA member, please invite them to apply by Sunday, June 1, to qualify for full voting eligibility in the 2025 CMA Awards cycle.
As we look ahead to another year of recognizing excellence, we remain grateful for your ongoing commitment to our format and this community. Thank you for being part of this important tradition.
Sarah Trahern
Chief Executive Officer
Country Music Association
Trisha Yearwood has a new album on the way — and a new label partnership.
Virgin Music Group has teamed with Yearwood and her label, Gwendolyn Records, for new music from the three-time Grammy winner as well as her more recent catalog. The deal reunites Yearwood with Universal Music Group’s Music Corporation of America (MCA), the Nashville-based label she recorded for from 1990 through 2006. MCA will continue to work Yearwood’s catalog from that timeframe.
Yearwood’s new album, The Mirror — her first project in more than six years — is set for release on July 18. The album marks Yearwood’s first set of songs fully co-written and co-produced by the singer herself. In previewing the new project, Yearwood will release two new songs, “The Wall or The Way Over” and “Bringing the Angels.” The album is available for preorder in digital, CD, standard vinyl and limited-edition custom color vinyl formats.
“I’m honored to join forces with Virgin Music Group as I embark on this exciting new chapter,” Yearwood said in a statement. “Bringing my Gwendolyn label into the MCA/Universal family truly feels like coming home. I can’t wait to share my new album, The Mirror. Creating this music has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”
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“Trisha Yearwood is one of the most talented and enduring artists in the world,” Jacqueline Saturn, president of Virgin Music Group North America/executive vp of global artist relations, said in a statement. “We are so proud to have her and her Gwendolyn Records catalog on our roster and are looking forward to her legions of fans hearing this incredible new music.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Trisha Yearwood back to the family, coming full circle as we celebrate and amplify her iconic MCA catalog,” added Mike Harris, president/CEO of MCA. “In partnering her Gwendolyn Records label with Virgin Music Group, Trisha enters an exciting independent chapter — one where she retains creative and commercial control, supported by a world-class global team. We are so happy for her.”
“Trisha is one of the beloved artists in Nashville,” added Jen Bontusa, Virgin’s Nashville-based senior vp of label management. “It’s been amazing working with her and her team so far and we’re looking forward to a long and successful partnership.”
On Wednesday (April 30), Yearwood launched her first headlining tour in six years, starting with a show in Austin, Texas.
Yearwood previously released 10 albums for MCA, starting with her 1991 self-titled debut album, which included her breakthrough debut single: the No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hit “She’s in Love With the Boy.” Yearwood’s time at MCA Nashville brought other chart-toppers including “Thinkin’ About You,” “XXXs and OOOs (An American Girl)” and “Perfect Love.”
SiriusXM has teamed up with Morgan Wallen to launch the exclusive SiriusXM channel Morgan Wallen Radio. The limited-run channel launches Thursday (May 1) and runs through May 31, coinciding with the upcoming release of Wallen’s new album I’m the Problem on May 16. Morgan Wallen Radio is available to subscribers in their cars on channel […]
This is partner content. Ariat hosted an exclusive event featuring a showcase of their latest fashion, a captivating performance by Annie Bosko, and delicious food. Stay tuned for an inside look at Ariat’s presence at Stagecoach! Narrator: Stagecoach isn’t just about the festival, it’s also about all the amazing events, like the exclusive brunch at […]