genre country
Page: 33
Maren Morris has announced the release date for her anticipated fourth studio album, Dreamsicle. The 14-track LP is slated to drop on May 9, with the first single, “Carry Me Through,” slated for release on Thursday morning (March 27). Morris has been doing a slow reveal of the new album on her newly wiped Instagram […]
Kenny Chesney, June Carter Cash and musician-producer-label exec Tony Brown have been given country music’s highest honor: They were named as the latest inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame during a ceremony held Tuesday (March 25) at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
CMA CEO Sarah Trahern, Country Music Hall of Fame CEO Kyle Young and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill revealed this year’s slate of individuals who have been named as the latest inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Country Music Hall of Fame launched in 1961, and “since then it has been the ultimate recognition of country music excellence,” Trahern told the audience.
Trending on Billboard
“We honor not just talent, but impact, not just success, but legacy,” Trahern added.
The three inductees will be inducted during the annual Medallion ceremony, set for later this year.
Chesney will be inducted in the modern era artist category. During his career, he’s become known for massive concerts, 33 No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits, his passionate No Shoes Nation fanbase, and his work ethic. Though Chesney released his debut single in 1993, it wouldn’t be until 1997 that he earned his first No. 1 with “She’s Got It All.” From there, he kept amassing songs that connected with fans, and in 2000, he earned a triple platinum Greatest Hits collection that included songs such as “How Forever Feels,” “That’s Why I’m Here,” “Don’t Happen Twice” and “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” He appeared on George Strait’s stadium tours in 1999 and 2000, which sparked his desire to create a career and sound that was solely his. His album No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200, and he soon sold out the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium, while hits such as “There Goes My Life” and “I Go Back” kept coming. He’s now won four entertainer of the year awards from the Country Music Association and an equal number of EOY wins from the Academy of Country Music.
He continues breaking new ground as the first country artist to set a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. He’ll release his first book, Heart*Life*Music, later this year.
“I always felt like country music told a lot of truth,” said East Tennessee native Chesney on stage at the Country Music Hall of Fame. “It’s also fueled by a lot of dreams. I had a really big dream that not a lot of people saw coming. My dream started on the shoulders of the dreams of George Jones. It was built on the shoulders of the dreams of Randy, Teddy, Jeff and Mark of Alabama, Conway Twitty, Doc Watson,” he said.
“I wanted to spread as much positive energy as I possibly could. I just want to say thank you. This is beautiful,” Chesney concluded.
June Carter Cash will be inducted in the veteran’s era artist category.
As the daughter of Maybelle Carter (who in 1927 formed The Carter Family along with Sara and A.P. Carter), Virginia native June Carter Cash grew up in show business, teaming with her sisters Anita and Helen, along with Maybelle, to form Mother Maybelle and The Carter Sisters. The Carter Family laid much of the foundation for commercial country music and Carter followed in their musical footsteps, learning to play autoharp by age 10 and appearing on the Carters’ radio broadcasts. She also developed a talent for comedy, developing stage characters such as Aunt Polly Carter. A multi-faceted entertainer, in the 1950s through 1970s, she appeared on Gunsmoke, The Adventures of Jim Bowie and Little House on the Prairie. She was in the 1958 film Country Music Holiday, 1986’s remake of Stagecoach and multiple episodes of hit primetime Western drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
The Carter Sisters joined Johnny Cash’s roadshow in 1961, sparking what would become one of music’s most well-known love stories. As a songwriter, Carter Cash wrote with Merle Kilgore what would become Johnny Cash’s 1963 hit “Ring of Fire,” which spent seven weeks atop Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart. Carter and Cash wed in 1968. They won Grammys for their collaborations on “Jackson” and “If I Was a Carpenter.” Carter Cash was also a bedrock of support for Nashville’s greater music community, offering respite for artists at the couple’s Hendersonville, Tenn., home, including artists such as Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Larry Gatlin. She also continued recording her own projects, and her 1999 album Press On won a Grammy for best traditional folk album. Carter Cash died on May 15, 2003, at age 73. Her final album, Wildwood Flower, released posthumously that same year, earned Grammys for best traditional folk album.
Carter Cash’s children, Carlene Carter and John Carter Cash, were on hand to accept the induction news for their mother.
“I can’t tell y’all what this means to us, to our whole family,” Carlene said. “My mom was a force of nature. Everything she did, she did with grace and style and finesse and humor. I was so proud to be her daughter. Anything that Is good about me is because of that woman.”
John Carter added, “You look up here — will the circle be unbroken. Of course that song has ancient origins, but there’s one person who sang that song more than anyone else in her lifetime and that was my mother, June Carter. She was a songwriter, a musical historian, a comedian, but she carried the torch for country music history with her though her lifetime. Millions of people knew Carter Family songs because of my mother … She appreciated the music, but she brought it all together with a laugh. ‘Anchored in love’ is one of her life mottos, and ‘press on.’ But blessed to be here today. She did not know a stranger …she would be so grateful for this.”
June Carter photographed circa 1965.
GAB Archive/Redferns
Producer, label exec, musician and North Carolina native Tony Brown will be inducted into the non-performer category, which rotates every three years with the songwriter and recording and/or touring musician categories.
Early in his career, Brown spent time playing in bands for the Oak Ridge Boys, Elvis Presley, Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris. He played on Harris’ projects including Blue Kentucky Girl. As a label executive, Brown signed hitmakers including Alabama and Gill. As a producer, he had his first hit with Steve Wariner’s 1983 song “Midnight Fire,” produced with Norro Wilson.
In 1978, he joined RCA’s Free Flight Records; soon after it closed, he transferred to RCA’s Nashville division, signing group Alabama. In After heading back onto the road to tour with Rodney Crowell and Rosanne Cash’s The Cherry Bombs, Brown returned to RCA and to Nashville, signing Gill. Brown moved from RCA to MCA Nashville, helping it become country music’s kingpin label in the 1990s and becoming president of the label. He brought Gill to MCA and signed artists including Patty Loveless and Marty Stuart and developed working relationships with artists including Wynonna Judd, and production relationships with artists including George Strait and Reba McEntire. He also aided numerous Americana artists, signing and producing artists including The Mavericks, Joe Ely, Lyle Lovett and Allison Moorer. He left MCA to co-found Universal South Records with Tim Dubois in 2002.
Tony Brown speaks onstage during the Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee Announcement at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on March 25, 2025 in Nashville.
Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Brown has won six Grammys and is a member of the Gospel Music hall of Fame. His accolades also include Leadership Music’s inaugural Dale Franklin Leadership Award, the ACM’s icon award and the Americana Music Association’s lifetime achievement award. He’s aided record sales of more than 100 million units during his career.
Taking the stage, Brown said, “I’ve had a lot of big things happen in my life and career — this is the biggest. This is cool, I don’t care who you are. I’m totally blown away … never ever imagined that I would be. Thank you to the CMA, the Hall of Fame, Vince Gill, all the people who helped me get here … the engineers, songwriters, song pluggers. This is better than money … this is about making an impact and when it comes down to it, that’s the reason we all get into this business, to make an impact.”
Zach Bryan again captures the No. 1 on Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind (a Songtradr company), as “Oklahoma Smokeshow” rules the February 2025 list following a synch in CBS’ Tracker.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Rankings for the Top TV Songs chart are based on song and show data provided by Tunefind and ranked using a formula blending that data with sales and streaming information tracked by Luminate during the corresponding period of February 2025.
Bryan boasts a previous ruler on Top TV Songs via the November 2022 ranking with “Something in the Orange” from Fire Country, also a CBS property.
Trending on Billboard
This time, Bryan’s “Oklahoma Smokeshow,” a No. 72-peaking song on the Billboard Hot 100 from 2022’s American Heartbreak, pops up in the Feb. 23 episode of Tracker (the 10th episode of season two), begetting 18 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads in February 2025 in the process, according to Luminate.
Bryan leads the latest Top TV Songs ranking over a slew of songs from the third season of Showtime’s Yellowjackets, whose first two episodes premiered on Feb. 16, followed by episode three on Feb. 23.
Candlebox’s “Far Behind” leads the charge, debuting at No. 2 thanks to 7.2 million streams and 1,000 downloads in February after an appearance in the second episode, while Bush’s “Glycerine” follows at No. 3 (5.9 million streams, 1,000 downloads) following its synch in the premiere.
The ’90s flavor doesn’t extend to the rest of Yellowjackets’ charting songs, though. The series also represents the 1980s with Tiffany’s cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now” (No. 8; 2.7 million streams, 1,000 downloads) and the ‘70s with Cat Stevens’ “Morning Has Broken” (No. 10; 1.3 million streams, 1,000 downloads).
Of the group, “I Think We’re Alone Now” was a two-week No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1987, though all four reached the top 30.
See the full top 10 of the Top TV Songs chart, also featuring music from Fire Country, Cobra Kai, Suits LA, School Spirits and The White Lotus, below.
Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)
“Oklahoma Smokeshow,” Zach Bryan, Tracker (CBS)
“Far Behind,” Candlebox, Yellowjackets (Showtime)
“Glycerine,” Bush, Yellowjacket (Showtime)
“Nobody Knows,” The Lumineers (cover), Fire Country (CBS)
“Silent Lucidity,” Queensryche, Cobra Kai (Netflix)
“Daylight,” Shinedown, Suits LA (NBC)
“Let’s Dance,” David Bowie, School Spirits (Paramount+)
“I Think We’re Alone Now,” Tiffany, Yellowjackets (Showtime)
“Maria Tambien,” Khruangbin, The White Lotus (HBO)
“Morning Has Broken,” Cat Stevens, Yellowjackets (Showtime)
Trisha Yearwood added to her lengthy list of career accolades on Monday (March 24), when she was honored with the 2,805th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, during a ceremony held in Los Angeles.
Media personality Cody Alan, known for his work on SiriusXM and CMT, emceed the event, which honored Georgia native Yearwood’s numerous career milestones over the past three decades, and her journey from aspiring singer to multi-faceted entertainer, singer, author, television show leader, actress and businesswoman.
Two of Yearwood’s friends and fellow country artists, Reba McEntire and Carly Pearce, celebrated her at Monday’s ceremony.
Trending on Billboard
“What matters is the impact she’s continued to have on this industry, the genre, on me and on all of the next generation of female country artists,” Pearce said.
Pearce recalled several of the kind gestures Yearwood has made to her over the years, including greeting her backstage at the Opry and sending gifts from Yearwood’s line of pet products, for Pearce’s dogs Johnny and June, and inducting Pearce as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
“What a full-circle moment and honor for me to get to be here to help usher in this historic achievement after all the times Trisha has stood by my side,” Pearce said. “She is as beautiful on the inside as she is the outside, and I believe her loved ones would say that she is the same, down-to-earth girl she has always been. I’m grateful to have such a wonderful blueprint for what it means to have an impactful career, but also most importantly what it means to be a good person. In an industry where people will chew you up and spit you out, Trisha is the warm hug. And don’t we all just need a Trisha Yearwood and a warm hug in our lives? This star is one not everyone will achieve, but where you belong.”
Yearwood’s fellow Hollywood Walk of Fame member McEntire recalled first meeting Yearwood at the ACMs in the 1990s, at a party after the show.
“I came by and sat with you and your mom…and I thought, ‘I love her already, she’s sittin’ with her mom,’ cause my mom and I were real close, just like you and your mom,” McEntire said. “Your dry sense of humor and wit won my heart….You were funny and the years just kept going by and we got to hang out and be with each other, we got to sing together and have dinners together. You taught me a lot about cooking on your cooking show and she was like, ‘Oh poor little Reba. I’m going to help her learn how to cook,’” she said with a grin. “And I appreciated that more than you know. But our friendship throughout the years means the world to me, because girls out on the road need a buddy and we are in the country music business where girls stick together. We have fun together, we complain and gripe to each other, because you can’t do that with anybody else, nobody else understands. So congratulations today, I’m thrilled to pieces for you…I love you with all my heart and congratulations.”
Among those in attendance was Yearwood’s husband and fellow country artist and Hollywood Walk of Famer Garth Brooks, who could be seen wiping away tears during the ceremony.
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Steve Nissen introduced Yearwood to the audience and welcomed her to accept her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The ceremony also took place near the iconic Capitol Records building, which also happens to be the place where Yearwood recorded her 2019 album Let’s Be Frank, an album of Frank Sinatra classics.
“This street represents creative genius, innovation, brilliance, recognized by your peers,” Nissen said, before Yearwood was presented with a resolution from the city council of Los Angeles.
Yearwood said, “It’s one of those surreal moments. My team, Team TY, who are all here and who I love, we all talk about being where your feet are and I’m trying to be where my feet are, but it’s very surreal to be here. It’s such an honor and the thing that makes it so special are the people who are here. I see a lot of faces in the crowd, who have been coming to see me since 1991. I love you and you know that, because all I ever wanted to do was to sing.”
To Pearce, Yearwood said, “Carly, your words were so kind. I want to tell you that when I met you for the first time, it was at a CMT Awards show and I just immediately knew that you were genuine. I knew I wanted to be your friend. So it’s been my honor to get to know you a little bit.”
Of McEntire, Yearwood said, “The person that taught me how to do that was the first artist who was so kind to me at an awards show and that was Reba McEntire, who just exemplifies friendship and class. She sent me flowers at my first awards show when nobody even knew I was in the dressing room. I though they were from my mom and dad and then I saw they were from Reba and I’m like, ‘Oh, okay.’ I’m so blessed that you and I have become more than just colleagues, but friends that get to hang out, because you’re right. There’s a misconception that female artists in particular are always climbing at each other and trying to get at each other, but the truth is, we’re all cheering for each other and with each other. This is an example of that. These girls, from every generation of country music, we’re all for each other.”
She also thanked the members of her team, Team TY, saying, “We are a team, I love you so much.” She added, “My family, my sister Beth, who is the crier, more than my husband actually. Her and her husband John are here representing our parents, who I know are here in this moment and just loving every second, especially my mom. She’s loving a star on Hollywood Blvd.” Yearwood continued by thanking her longtime producer Garth Fundis, saying, he is “the man who brought me ‘She’s in Love With the Boy,’ he brought me ‘The Song Remembers When,’ he brought me ‘Walkaway Joe,’” and thanked him for “helping me make my dreams come true.”
She also thanked her husband Brooks, calling him, “the one who has really been a cheerleader and one who, as many accolades and awards as he has won, I never see him get more excited than he does when I receive something. And for all the people who want this for me, nobody wants it more than you and I appreciate you for being my support. We’re down a few stars from each other, but we’ll figure out something, we’ll put out some breadcrumbs or something,” she added, jokingly. “I want to thank you all for taking out your time on this gorgeous day to be here for this star.”
McEntire and Pearce then joined Yearwood to reveal Yearwood’s newly minted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Among the Georgia native’s accolades are three Grammy wins, three CMA Awards, membership in the Grand Ole Opry and the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, the ACM Honors icon award and CMT’s inaugural June Carter Cash humanitarian award. She won her first Grammy for best country vocal collaboration, for a collaborative rendition of the Patsy Cline classic “I Fall to Pieces” with Aaron Neville. She picked up two more wins, for best female country vocal performance (“How Do I Live”), and for best country collaboration with vocals (“In Another’s Eyes”) with husband Garth Brooks.
The Belmont University alumna has amassed numerous hits including her breakthrough “She’s in Love With the Boy,” as well as “How Do I Live,” “XXXs and OOOs (An American Girl),” “The Song Remembers When,” “I Would’ve Loved You Anyway,” “Believe Me Baby (I Lied),” and “Thinkin’ About You.”
Beyond the 15 albums she has released, she is also host of the Emmy-winning Food Network show Trisha’s Southern Kitchen. She’s written four New York Times bestselling cookbooks and has had cookware, furniture and home accessories lines. She also co-owns the Nashville bar Friends in Low Places with Brooks, with menus created by Yearwood.
Ahead, Yearwood is prepping her upcoming new album, which will feature her own work as a songwriter on each of the tracks. She’s previewed the project with the lead song “Put You in a Song.” Beyond her own business initiatives, Yearwood supports a range of charitable causes, including her longtime work with Habitat for Humanity, her support for breast cancer research and her nonprofit Dottie’s Yard which aids shelters and animal rescue causes.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame launched in 1961. Other country artists with with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame include Brooks, Roy Acuff, Clint Black, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Brooks & Dunn, Freddy Fender, Lefty Frizzell, Crystal Gayle, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn, McEntire, Tim McGraw, Buck Owens and Charley Pride.
Bunnie XO is opening up about the lesser known emotions of IVF. In a new episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast, the star got vulnerable about her emotions as she goes through the process of trying to conceive a child with her husband, Jelly Roll. She compared the process to “slot machine in Vegas” due […]
One year after the release of Beyoncé’s Billboard 200-topping album Cowboy Carter, “Texas Hold ‘Em” banjo player Rhiannon Giddens is opening up about feeling conflicted over her contributions to the culture-shifting project.
In an interview with Rolling Stone published Sunday ahead of the release of her own album What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, Giddens shared that she has struggled with the pros and cons of appearing on such a high-profile album. On the one hand, plucking strings on the LP’s No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit single “Texas Hold ‘Em” allowed her to feel embraced by the mainstream Black community for the first time, she says — but on the other, it also made her feel like her contributions were simply part of a “transaction.”
“There are so many of us struggling to maintain our humanity in this industry,” Giddens told the publication. “My biggest talent is collaboration. I’m really into sharing and being one of many, and I feel like that’s important, but you can’t be a superstar and do that. You just can’t!”
Trending on Billboard
“There are two examples I could pull out, in my entire 20-year career, where I feel like I had to make a compromise in order for a greater good,” she continued. “This was one of those times … And there were definitely benefits: I’ve heard from people saying more people are taking banjo classes and dancing to it because of [‘Texas Hold ‘Em’]. It also gave me an entrée into the Black community that I’ve never had, to be honest. Because of all the things I’ve been fighting for my whole life, it’s been difficult to be seen as a Black musician, especially since I’m mixed, all this sh–. But for the first time, I felt acceptance from the mainstream Black community, which made me weep.”
That said, Giddens said it was “really hard” to feel as though her talents were “treated as any other transaction in the music industry.” “Because I certainly didn’t do it for the money, I can tell you that,” she elaborated. “I did it for the mission. So, my idea of what the mission is and somebody else’s idea of what the mission is are not going to be the same thing. There’s a reason why I’m not a multi-millionaire. If you are a multi-millionaire, there are reasons why. No shade, whatever. It means you do things in a certain way.”
The folk musician went on to give an example of a mainstream artist whose mission she does resonate with: Kendrick Lamar, whom Giddens says uses his platform “in an intensely activist way.” “I don’t know how he does it, but he did it,” she said. “He’s unique. Most people aren’t like him. So I can’t expect everybody to be like him, and that’s fine.”
Released in March 2024, Cowboy Carter was one of the year’s most talked-about albums. Featuring collaborations with Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, the project sparked much discourse about the bounds of genre and whether Bey was “country enough” to make the pivot. The album was notably shut out by the Country Music Awards, receiving no nominations despite its success on the country charts (including the superstar becoming the first Black woman to ever top the Hot Country Songs chart). Cowboy Carter did, however, receive both best country album and album of the year at the 2025 Grammys.
At one point, Giddens herself even responded to the backlash Cowboy Carter faced from country music purists — whose dismissal of the album she said was “just racism” in an IMPACT x Nightline interview. “Nobody’s asking Lana Del Rey, ‘What right do you have to make a country record?’” Giddens said in March last year. “People don’t wanna say it’s because she’s Black. You know? But they use these … these coded terms, you know? And that’s problematic.”
Singer-songwriter Chappell Roan splashes into the country genre as “The Giver” bounds in at No. 1 on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart dated March 29.
Released March 13, the single totaled 22.3 million official U.S. streams, 2.2 million all-genre audience impressions and 6,000 sold March 14-20, according to Luminate.
The song by the Willard, Mo., native also opens atop Country Streaming Songs and Country Digital Song Sales, likewise in her first visit to each chart.
Trending on Billboard
Concurrently, “The Giver” roars onto the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 at No. 5. It’s Chappell Roan’s third top 10, following “Good Luck, Babe!,” which hit No. 4 last September, and “Pink Pony Club,” which reached No. 7 a week ago; it ranks at No. 9 on the latest list. “The Giver” marks her first top 10 (or even top 40) debut on the Hot 100.
“The Giver” was shipped to country radio by Universal Group Nashville’s MCA Records. Of the song’s airplay in the tracking week, 20% was from reporters to Billboard’s Country Airplay chart; it debuts at No. 33 on the Adult Pop Airplay tally and is bubbling under Pop Airplay and Country Airplay.
The Country Airplay panelists that played “The Giver” the most during the tracking week: KFDI Wichita, Kan. (45 times); KTTS Springfield, Mo. (44); WZZK Birmingham, Ala. (39); KBAY San Francisco (12); and KYGO Denver (11).
Meanwhile, Chappell Roan is just the third woman to debut a first Hot Country Songs entry at No. 1, after two that also initially established themselves with pop hits: Beyoncé, with “Texas Hold ‘Em” (2024), and Bebe Rexha, with “Meant To Be,” with Florida Georgia Line (2017). (The latter song went on to reign for a record 50 weeks.)
“I have such a special place in my heart for country music,” the Missouri native shared on Instagram March 4. “I grew up listening to it every morning and afternoon on my school bus and had it swirling around me at bonfires, grocery stores and karaoke bars … I am just here to twirl and do a little gay yodel for yall.”
Playboi Carti, Chappell Roan and Doechii have entered the top 10, but will any of them claim the No. 1 spot? Tetris Kelly: With new top 10s from Chappell Roan, Doechii and Playboi Carti, this is the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 for the week dated March 29th. Making her top 10 debut is our […]
This week’s collection of new music features a somber new track from Eric Church, who has set his upcoming album, Evangeline Vs. The Machine, for May. Jeannie Seely welcomes Hannah Dasher and Tiera Kennedy for a new collaboration, while Lukas Nelson, Valerie June and Riley Roth offer new music.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country, Americana and bluegrass songs of the week below.
Eric Church, “Hands of Time”
Horns, guitars, passionate choral voices and Eric Church’s signature swaggering voice swirl together on this new release written by Church and Scooter Carusoe. The song builds into a punchy, rock-fueled anthem as Church sings of turning to simple pleasures — particularly music — to fend off the impact of the passing decades. “We ain’t as young as we used to be, but young at heart is so easy/ When you let some loud guitars and words and rhymes handle the hands of time,” he sings, giving praise to artists including Kris Kristofferson, Tom Petty and Bob Seger; suitably, the sound of a ticking clock winds down the song. “Hands of Time” is from Church’s upcoming new album, Evangeline Vs. The Machine, out May 2.
Trending on Billboard
Lukas Nelson, “Ain’t Done”
After parting ways with his longtime band Promise of the Real in 2024, Lukas Nelson transitions into his first solo outing with “Ain’t Done,” from his upcoming debut solo album American Romance, out June 20 on Sony Music Nashville. Written by Nelson and Aaron Raitiere, “Ain’t Done” pulls back on the hard-charging, full-band sound, opting for a more bare-bones sound bolstered by slabs of fiddle. He looks at life’s various shifts with an even-keeled perspective, in a song that seems in some ways to mirror his own current season of musical transition. “There’s a guarantee with every evening sun/ Nothing lasts and God ain’t done,” he sings. Though in a newly solo venture, Nelson’s new music still brims with the insightful songwriting and grizzled voice he’s known for.
Valerie June, “Sweet Things Just For You”
Valerie June previews her upcoming album Owls, Omens and Oracles (out April 11 on Concord Records) with this musical collaboration with Norah Jones (on backing vocals) and producer M. Ward. Breezy and straightforward, this romantic track finds June singing about absorbing the light and positivity from a significant other, and desiring to mirror that love and affection back toward them. Plucked guitar bolsters this sweetly sung piece of sincere affection, which offers a charming glimpse into June’s upcoming project.
Jeannie Seely, Hannah Dasher and Tiera Kennedy, “Who Needs You”
“Miss Country Soul” Jeannie Seely, who has performed more than 5,400 times on the Grand Ole Opry during her 58-year career, teams with a new generation of country artists — Tiera Kennedy and Hannah Dasher — on this twangy post-breakup anthem that feels perfectly suited for a girls’ night out. Written by Seely, “Who Needs You” features the three entertainers musing that 100-proof whiskey, a new romance and some moments of recreational smoking are all preferred alternatives to returning to an ex-lover. Seely’s voice brings in a slice of gritty wisdom, Dasher’s vocal purrs with sweetness, while Dasher offers up both humor and wit. “Who Needs You” is one of a slate of collaborations Seely is releasing, including work with Mae Estes (“Let’s Get Together”) and Madeline Edwards (“Anyone Who Knows What Love is (Will Understand)”).
Riley Roth, “Right Where We Left Off”
After releasing the 2024 TikTok wedding anthem “Give Me Away,” Riley Roth returns with a sentimental new song centered on paying homage to unbreakable friendship. Time and distance can’t chip away at the rock-solid bond these friends have forged over years of supporting each other through heartbreak, life pivots and a host of trials and triumphs. This sweetly sentimental track and churning, bubbly instrumentation fits her soft, conversational voice well. “Right Where We Left Off” was written by Roth with Lauren McLamb and Kyle Schlienger.
Showtime has won a ruling dismissing a lawsuit that claimed George & Tammy – a television series about country music legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette – unfairly turned her late husband into “the villain.”
The case, filed last year, alleged that Showtime’s series conveyed a “negative and disparaging portrayal” of the late George Richey, a songwriter and producer to whom Wynette was married for decades after her split from Jones.
But in a decision Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that Richey’s widow (Sheila Slaughter Richey) lacked the grounds to file the case. The show might have been “unflattering” to him, the judge said, but it did not meet the legal requirements for her to sue Showtime for “unjust enrichment.”
Trending on Billboard
“Normally, a plaintiff who cries unjust enrichment must have actually enriched somebody,” Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote.
In his ruling, the judge said Sheila’s dispute was really with Wynette’s daughter, Georgette Jones, who had licensed her memoir to Showtime as the basis for the series. But he suggested she had instead sued the network because of the potential for a larger judgment.
“Sheila could have sued Georgette for breaking their agreement,” Bibas wrote. “But George & Tammy had been a hit, and Showtime had presumably profited handsomely from Georgette’s breach. So instead of going after Georgette for whatever damages her breach caused, Sheila set out for bigger game.”
Released in December 2022, George & Tammy was well-received by critics — particularly Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain’s respective portrayals of Jones and Wynette. Both were later nominated for Emmy Awards for their performances.
Sheila filed her case in January 2024, claiming the show had depicted Richey as a “devious husband” who engaged in physical abuse, facilitated Wynette’s drug addiction, and committed “financial and managerial manipulation” of the late country icon.
Accusations about a harmful depiction of a real-world person would typically be filed as a defamation lawsuit, but Sheila didn’t sue Showtime for defamation. And that’s likely because she couldn’t: Under U.S. law, defamation cases can only be filed by living people, not on behalf of the deceased.
Instead, Sheila claimed the show indirectly violated a 2019 legal settlement in which Georgette promised to not make disparaging statements about Richey. Since George & Tammy was based on Georgette’s 2011 memoir about her parents, the lawsuit alleged that Showtime had been unjustly enriched by Georgette’s decision to violate her agreement with Sheila.
In Tuesday’s decision, Judge Bibas rejected that legal workaround. He ruled that Sheila had simply not met the strict requirements to sue the networek for unjust enrichment — saying that Showtime might have profited from the show, but not at Sheila’s expense.
“The crux of Sheila’s claim is that Georgette wronged her by breaching the non-disparagement agreement and Showtime profited from that wrong,” the judge wrote. “But that is not enough for unjust enrichment. Instead, a plaintiff must usually allege that she is the one who enriched the defendant.”
Sheila didn’t hand over any money to the network, Bibas said, or perform any uncompensated services. And he stressed that Showtime had also not violated any of her intellectual property rights, since she did not “own the story that Showtime used.”
“The network’s right to turn George and Tammy’s story into a TV show came from the First Amendment and from buying the rights to dramatize Georgette’s book,” the judge wrote. “So Showtime did not exploit Sheila’s property rights by making the series.”
Though he rejected the current lawsuit, the judge gave Sheila a chance to refile an updated version next month, suggesting that additional evidence might help show that the network facilitated Georgette’s decision to breach her agreement. He gave her until April 18 to file the new complaint against Showtime.
Attorneys for both sides did not immediately return requests for comment on Monday.