genre country
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Paramount will pause a handful of awards shows for 2025, including the CMT Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards and more, Billboard has confirmed. Other awards shows being impacted are the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards Mexico and the MTV MIAWs (previously known as the MTV Millennial Awards).
As The Hollywood Reporter first reported, the news came as part of a memo from the office of Bruce Gillmer, Paramount Global’s president of music, music talent, programming and events, media networks/chief content officer, music, Paramount+. According to the memo, the changes come as the company seeks “to reimagine and optimize our events slate going forward.”
Gillmer’s memo added, “Our world-class events remain a key component of Paramount’s music offering as we continue to raise the bar in delivering iconic, unforgettable performances and moments that drive pop culture.”
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In 2022, the CMT Music Awards shifted from CMT to CBS; the annual event had aired on CMT since 2002. In 2023, the show relocated from Nashville to Austin. Last year’s big winners during the CMT Music Awards included Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson and Dan + Shay.
At the 2024 MTV EMAs, held in November, artists including Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter emerged as top winners.
The memo follows rounds of layoffs that began last year after Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy noted plans for the company to reduce its U.S.-based workforce by approximately 15%, including at CMT. In August, Paramount also shuttered Paramount TV Studios amid the restructuring and layoffs. The shifts came after Paramount Global agreed to a merger with David Ellison‘s Skydance in July 2024.
See Gillmer’s memo to staffers below.
Team,
We want to share some news. We are pausing a few events for 2025, as we look to reimagine and optimize our events slate going forward. These include the MTV EMAs, MTV MIAWs, Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in Mexico, and CMT Music Awards.
Our world-class events remain a key component of Paramount’s music offering as we continue to raise the bar in delivering iconic, unforgettable performances and moments that drive pop culture. We have the best team in the business, and we are grateful for your hard work and dedication in bringing these events to life.
Thank you,
Bruce
CCM artist Brandon Lake and country artist Jelly Roll have teamed up for a collaborative version of Lake’s hit song “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which arrived Friday (Feb. 7).
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Lake first released the song last year, and it quickly hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Christian Songs chart. The Jelly Roll/Lake version infuses the song with an extra shot of soul and angst, as the two artists blend their voices around lyrics that detail how facing trials and battles can result in a strengthened resolve.
Lake takes the first verse and chorus, singing, “There’s days when a praise comes out easy/ And days when it takes all the strength I got.” Jelly Roll soon joins in, adding his point of view on the value struggle revealing the depth of truth of a personal faith: “‘Case faith isn’t proven like gold ’til it’s been through the fire.”
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Together, they sing of finding the fortitude to lift their hands higher in praise and gratitude, even when it is hard to do. Jelly Roll feels like a natural collaborator on this song, given his own track record of tunes that blend heartache, struggle and faith, such as “Son of a Sinner” and “Halfway to Hell.”
Jelly Roll previously took to social media to discuss being part of the song. “This is so hard to talk about, because I’ve been called a ‘lukewarm’, a ‘fence-rider’, I’ve been called a ‘cussing Christian’. You know, I’ve had all these people, and I know that God’s got a lot more to do with me. I know that,” he shared aon Feb. 6. “I know I got a long way to go, and I know that my heart was only to share the faith that changed my life.”
“I might wear it a little different than other people, I might say things that other Christians don’t think are right to say,” he added, “but ultimately, I have a heart for God and I have a heart for Jesus.”
Lake responded, “You are thinking so dangerously outside of the box, even with me, dude, you could have called anybody else in this town, and something a little less controversial”. Endearingly, Lake immediately explains why he chose Jelly: “Because I got his heart.”
Lake has earned four No. 1 Christian Airplay hits, including the nine-week chart-topper “That’s Who I Praise.” Last year, he picked up GMA Dove Award wins for songwriter of the year-artist, and pop/contemporary album of the year for his project Coat of Many Colors.
Meanwhile, Jelly Roll has steadily continued his collaborative ways in the past several months, including releasing collabs with Kane Brown (“Haunted”) and MGK (“Lonely Road”), while his 2024 album Beautifully Broken earned the star his first No. 1 debut on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.
Hear “Hard Fought Hallelujah” below:
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (American Dogwood/EMPIRE/Magnolia Music) continues its record run in the top 10 of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, dated Feb. 15. The song adds a 32nd week in the tier, extending the longest top 10 residency since the survey began in January 1990. The track surpassed Dustin Lynch’s “Thinking ‘Bout You” (featuring […]
Following Cindy Mabe’s departure as CEO/chairman of Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) earlier on Thursday (Feb. 6), parent company Universal Music Group has appointed Mike Harris as CEO and named noted producer and nine-time Grammy winner Dave Cobb as chief creative officer.
The move is a return to UMGN for Harris, who served as COO/executive VP there until his departure last September.
“We see an incredible opportunity to expand our presence in Nashville and build upon our industry leading track record,” said Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman/CEO of UMG, in a statement. “The worldwide success of our country artists demonstrate that the genre truly has no boundaries and I’m excited for what lies ahead creatively and commercially.”
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“I am humbled to have been asked by Sir Lucian to lead UMG Nashville at such an important and exciting time in country music,” said Harris, who had initially joined UMGN in 2016 after 15 years at EMI. “I also look forward to work closely with Dave Cobb, the amazing roster of artists and my friends at UMG Nashville.”
Cobb said, “I am incredibly excited to work with Mike Harris, I’m here to honor the past, and look to the future.”
Cobb, one of Music City’s most in-demand collaborators, has produced such albums as Chris Stapleton’s 6-times-platinum Traveller, Jason Isbell’s Southeastern and Brandi Carlile’s By The Way I Forgive You as well as recent albums for Mumford & Sons, Red Clay Strays, Zayn, Greta Van Fleet, Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire and music for Deliver Me From Nowhere, the forthcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic.
Mabe, whose reign lasted almost two years, was the successor to Mike Dungan, who retired in March 2023. Mabe became the first woman to lead a Nashville major label group. Country Airplay first broke the news.
“I want to thank Cindy Mabe for all her contributions to our Nashville company,” Grainge said. “She leaves UMG with our gratitude and respect.”
In addition to Stapleton, UMGN is home to such acts as Eric Church, Luke Bryan, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Mickey Guyton and The War and Treaty. Among its more recent successes were upstart Tucker Wetmore, who reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart last year with “Wind Up Missin’ You,” and Ringo Starr, whose country album is the first release from the newly-relaunched Lost Highway/UMGN and debuted at No. 27 on Top Country Albums.
Cindy Mabe, Universal Music Group Nashville’s chair/CEO, has left the company, Billboard has confirmed.
Mabe, whose reign lasted almost two years, was the successor to Mike Dungan, who retired in March 2023. Mabe became the first woman to lead a Nashville major label group. Country Aircheck first broke the news.
Mabe, who was 2019 Billboard’s Country Power Player executive of the year, had come out of the gate with ambitious plans that greatly broadened the scope of UMG Nashville’s remit, including an alliance with Cirque du Soleil, signing a number of acts that she introduced during a “Revival” that were left-of-center of mainstream country, launching a TV/film production company and, last month, reviving Lost Highway Records with T Bone Burnett.
The label is home to such acts as Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, Luke Bryan, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Mickey Guyton, Little Big Town and The War and Treaty. Among its more recent successes were upstart Tucker Wetmore, who reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart last year with “Wind Up Missin’ You,” and Ringo Starr, whose country album is the first release from Lost Highway/UMGN and debuted at No. 27 on Top Country Albums.
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In a January interview with Billboard about restarting Lost Highway, Mabe stressed focusing on artistry and lamented the loss of art in music as analytics have played a bigger role. “T Bone and I keep talking about the reason that we’re going to win is we’re going to put quality art back into the marketplace,” Mabe said. “It’s just missing. I’m not saying that there’s not some quality art out there, but it’s not always the goal. You don’t get artist development just by spinning the wheel and seeing how many ‘likes’ are out there. You actually have to make people feel something.”
Upon Mabe’s ascension from UMG Nashville president, she quickly made staffing changes, including the departures of the head of promotion, Royce Risser, and two heads of A&R, Brian Wright and Stephanie Wright, while bringing in Chelsea Blythe as executive vp of A&R. Blythe had been best known for her work with hip-hop artists at Def Jam, Columbia and Interscope. More recently, executive vp/COO Mike Harris left UMG Nashville in September.
UMG Nashville and UMG representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Nearly 35 years after making his way to Nashville from a small town in East Tennessee, then steadily ascending to become one of music’s most reliable stadium headliners and amassing 17 No. 1 Billboard Top Country Albums chart leaders (and nine all-genre Billboard 200 chart-leading albums)–Kenny Chesney is shining a light on the places, people and communities that have shaped his life.
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Chesney will release his first book, Heart Life Music, on Nov. 4, 2025 via William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Chesney crafted the book with his longtime friend and collaborator, award-winning journalist/author Holly Gleason, and according to a release, the book aims to capture the essence of “the superstar’s journey from small town East Tennessee dreamer to commanding the largest stages across the nation will capture the sparks of creativity, venture to places long gone, make unexpected music in Jamaica, the Kremlin, New England and Cabo San Lucas, drift across the waters of the Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, encounter and collaborate with heroes, engage with a coterie of singular folks, friends and inspirations, and always find the joy of being unabashedly alive.”
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In a statement, Chesney said, “This is not my memoir, but something far better. It is almost a love letter to people who shaped and inspired me, the fans who’ve been there from tiny bars, radio stations who believed when nobody else did, a team who just kept coming back, legends who gave me wisdom and opportunities and all the friends who’ve been there along the way. To me, that’s where the music came from – and this is the story of how it turned into the soundtrack for the way No Shoes Nation lives their lives, too.”
Chesney, who is a four-time entertainer of the year winner at both the CMA and ACM Awards, also noted in a statement, “I always said I’d never write a book. Too many things happened almost to be believed, let alone lived, but I realized with the world moving in such fast forward motion, too much of what made Nashville, the music business and our lives great would be lost to the churn of the next click. To have been in a room as a kid writing with Dean Dillon, have Sean Payton call an NFL press conference to announce he’s drafting me to the Saints, be in Tuff Gong Studios with Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett and Alvin ‘Seeco’ Patterson or on a private plane with George Jones after opening for him defies logic. So, for everyone in No Shoes Nation, I realized: you deserved to share the magic.”
As Kelsea Ballerini stepped into her new role as a coach on The Voice for its new season on Feb. 3, she got a sweet note of encouragement from the previous artist to fill that seat on The Voice–her fellow country artist Reba McEntire. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts […]
On the one-year anniversary of the death of Country Music Hall of Famer Toby Keith, his daughter Krystal Keith is paying tribute to her late father. “It feels like yesterday we said goodbye and yet it somehow has also been the longest year without him,” Keith wrote on her Instagram page, captioning a carousel of […]
For years now, fans of queer country crooner Orville Peck have waited for the day when they might sneak a peek at him without his iconic mask covering his face. On Tuesday (Feb. 4), they got just a little bit closer. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news […]
Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood’s “I’m Gonna Love You” climbs three spots to No. 9 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Feb. 8). It gained by 11% to 17.3 million audience impressions Jan. 24-30, according to Luminate.
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The team-up was authored by Kelly Archer, Travis Denning and Chris Stevens. It’s from the deluxe version, released in November, of Johnson’s 2023 album Leather. The set reached No. 5 on Top Country Albums, becoming his fifth top five title.
Johnson, from Sebastopol, Texas, adds his fifth Country Airplay top 10. His latest follows “Dirt Cheap,” which reached No. 5 last September; “The Painter” (No. 1 for one week, March 2024); “Human” (No. 8, June 2023); and “‘Til You Can’t” (No. 1, two weeks, March-April 2022).
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Underwood earns her 31st Country Airplay top 10 and first since “Ghost Story,” which peaked at No. 6 in October 2022. In between, she banked two top 20 hits: “Out of That Truck” (No. 18, April 2024) and “Hate My Heart” (No. 20, May 2023). She notched her 16th and most recent No. 1 with “If I Didn’t Love You,” with Jason Aldean, for three weeks in October-November 2021.
Underwood boasts the second-most Country Airplay top 10s among women dating to the chart’s 1990 launch. Reba McEntire leads the category with 37.
‘Good’ News
Dylan Scott scores his seventh Country Airplay top 10, and his fifth in succession, as “This Town’s Been Too Good to Us,” which he co-wrote, lifts 11-10 (17 million, up 9%).
Meanwhile, Scott claims concurrent top 10s for the first time, as “Boys Back Home,” with Dylan Marlowe, ranks at No. 6 after reaching No. 2. Scott’s active top 10 streak is rounded out by “Can’t Have Mine,” which led for a week in December 2023, becoming his third No. 1; “New Truck” (No. 1, one week, August 2022); and “Nobody” (No. 2, June 2021).
More ‘Love’
Meanwhile, Morgan Wallen’s “Love Somebody” rules Country Airplay for a second week (35.4 million, up 5%). Of his 16 chart-toppers, his newest marks his eighth to lead for multiple weeks.