Song Reviews
This week, Alison Krauss & Union Station preview their upcoming first album in 14 years, while Charley Crockett continues his hard-charging music release pace with his latest song, and Country Music Hall of Famer Randy Travis pays homage to his love for horses in his latest AI-assisted song.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best songs in country, Americana and bluegrass to release this week week below.
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Alison Krauss & Union Station, “Looks Like the End of the Road”
Alison Krauss & Union Station is set to release its first album in 14 years, when the group issues the new album Arcadia on March 28. A preview of that project comes in the form of “Looks Like the End of the Road,” written by Jeremy Lister. Krauss’s ethereal voice is as haunting as ever on this mournful ballad, where doleful lyrics look back on a time marked by regret and deceit, and get elevated by the elegant interplay between Krauss’ voice and Jerry Douglas’s soul-piercing steel guitar.
Randy Travis, “Horses in Heaven”
The Country Music Hall of Famer released his first song incorporating the use of vocal AI last year, when he unveiled “Where That Came From.” Travis returns with another AI-assisted song, one that honors Travis’ lifelong love of horses, as well as his late father, a horse trainer in North Carolina. Written by Jon Randall and Matt Nolen, this song features gentle guitar and restrained percussion lifting its message, contemplating the possibility of an afterlife filled with horses, musing that thunder is a band of angels riding on horses across the skies. The feel is classic Travis, with a song that sounds as though it could have been plucked from any number of his 1980s albums.
Camille Parker, “Run Wild”
This CMT Next Women of Country alumna shifts her sound into a mesh of soulful pop and country to chronicle her journey of chasing her musical dreams in Atlanta and Nashville. “I can’t put down these cigarettes and I can’t shake these songs in my head,” she sings. The purity of Parker’s voice lends a soothing aspect to the song, adding a touch of tension to the song’s lyrics tracing the trials she’s weathered, including miles of traveling in a beatup vehicle, and fighting to have her music heard. Polished guitars and churning percussion make this a radio-ready track.
Charley Crockett, “Lonesome Drifter”
Over the course of the past decade and more than a dozen albums, Charley Crockett has cemented himself as not only a keenly talented artist with a respect and deep knowledge of his musical forebears, but also as a central figure in the future of Americana music. He continues his dogged album release pace by introducing his upcoming Shooter Jennings co-produced album Lonesome Drifter — his first project after newly signing with Island Records — by releasing the title track to the project. His signature commanding, grainy voice melds masterfully with the guitar, tambourine and steady percussion underpinning the song’s story of a drifter making his home on the highways and in every town.
Karley Scott Collins, “Runner”
In a few short years, Karley Scott Collins has proven her adeptness at creating soul-searching songs and high-flying uptempo tracks that equally showcase her stunner of a voice. Here, this multi-talented vocalist, songwriter, guitar player, producer and bassist crafts a self-aware, introspective look at the lingering impact of a broken heart, one that finds her hesitant to step out and find love again. Collins co-wrote the song with Sam Backoff, Zane Callister and Ashley Ray. This year, Collins will be opening on Keith Urban’s High and Alive tour.
Women artists lead this week’s crop of stellar new songs, including Hailey Whitters‘ somber examination of grief and friendship, as well as Sierra Hull’s shimmering new bluegrass offering and Lanie Gardner’s raw, rock-fueled new track.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of several top new country, bluegrass and Americana tracks of the week.
Hailey Whitters, “Casseroles”
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ACM Award winner Whitters, known for her charming, sunny songs such as “Everything She Ain’t,” returns with her first new music since 2023. This time, she offers a somber ballad reflecting on how the pain, loss and realities of a life irrevocably shifted by the passing of a loved one don’t pause for those navigating grief. In the song’s later verses, the song veers more introspective, as Whitters ponders the caliber of friend she has been to those going through grief–a friend whose concern is fleeting, or one who keeps showing up with long-term support. Whitters is known for her own wisdom-filled songwriting prowess, but on this elegantly-instrumented ballad, written by Hillary Lindsey, James Slater and Tom Douglas, Whitters gives a reminder that her nimble voice is a potent emotional translator.
Sierra Hull, “Boom”
Multi-IBMA Award winner Hull is set to release her first album in five years (and first independently-released project) on March 7, with A Tip Toe High Wire. The lead single from that project is a slab of sparkling mandolin, steady acoustic guitar, syncopated rhythms and high-flying harmonies. Written by Hull and Adam Wright, “Boom” has been part of Hull’s live shows for a couple of years. Hull wraps her conversational, angelic vocal around lyrics of moving past mistakes and regrets to embrace new eras of hope and love. “Promises break like little figurines,” she sings knowingly, but reminds listeners that it takes is a heart-shifting moment to turn heartbreak to love.
Lanie Gardner, “Buzzkill”
Gardner has seen her musical profile ascend thanks to her breakthrough cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” and having a song included on the blockbuster Twisters: The Album. She follows it with this funky, bold takedown of a certified “mean girl,” turning this defiant blast of wisdom into a communal rallying cry. Gardner’s voice is at once searing and sultry, and she stands from a crowded pack of country music newcomers by infusing her music with seething rock fusions.
Emily Ann Roberts, “Easy Does It”
On her previous debut album, Can’t Hide Country, Roberts cemented her current status as one of country music’s most engaging, neo-traditional voices. She follows that project with this new song, one in which her butter-soft voice in a single breath encapsulates both the sting of painful memories and the emotional exhale of relief at a current romantic situation. “I thought doors were meant to slam/hate and love went hand in hand,” she sings, reflecting on an emotionally-battering relationship, juxtaposing that past toxic experience with her present easygoing, faith-restoring love. Roberts wrote this song with Jason Haag and Autumn Buysse.
The Droptines, “Old Tricks”
Texas band The Droptines formed in 2019 and has since been growing their audience in a time-tested, one-show-at-a-time fashion, becoming an in-demand live act. The group’s unfiltered alt-country sound continues on “Old Tricks,” written by The Droptines frontman and lyricist Conner Authur. “I try to change, but I’m a stray after all,” he sings, musing about brief romantic flings and jilted lovers that war with an un-dimming desires. The Droptines released their self-titled project last year, and keep building their reputation as a must-hear group.
Willow Avalon, “The Actor”
Avalon’s vivid songwriting and signature vocal warble have commanded attention with her previously released songs such as “Gettin’ Rich and Goin’ Broke.” Here, she pours her distinct drawl over a tale of rueful reflection over romantic mistakes on this song from her newly released project Southern Bell Raisin’ Hell. “I was a fool and he was an actor,” she sings over robust guitars. The song teems with regrets over a ex-lover, but Avalon sings it with a grit that seems to suggest someone who’s learned the lessons and moved on with defiant confidence.
Olivia Wolf, “The Veil”
Northern California native Olivia Wolf transcends the boundaries between temporal and the ethereal, blending incisive, observant lyricism with elements of bluegrass, folk and country. Wolf’s debut album Silver Rounds released today (Jan. 17), featuring tracks including the somber song “The Veil,” which Wolf wrote with Sean McConnell. Backed by sparse guitar, she ponders the fast-arriving sense of loss on lyrics such as “I won’t be here tomorrow/ But this midnight is ours.” Her voice is imbued with an earthy elegance as the song slowly builds around her, frothing into dramatic tension before concluding with a feeling of stoic resignation as she sings, “It’s heavy sometimes seeing behind the veil.” This album marks Wolf as an astute singer-songwriter well worth listening to.
This week’s crop of new country tunes includes the debut major label EP from newcomer Braxton Keith, a sterling, introspective look from Ashley McBryde at the values that embody a “cowboy song,” Kameron Marlowe’s haunting look at the impact of addiction and depression, and Ned LeDoux offering a collaboration with his late father and country great Chris LeDoux.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country releases of the week below.
Braxton Keith, ‘Blue’
Keith, newly signed to Warner Music Nashville, turns in a slab of stone-cold country on his new EP Blue. This five-song collection, forged from the depths of the Texas honky-tonk circuit, highlights Keith’s unmistakable, conversational singing style, as he weaves through songs of sly warning (“Cozy”), romance (“Fall This Way”) and post-heartbreak acceptance (the fiddle-drenched “Giving Up On You”).
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Ashley McBryde, “Ain’t Enough Cowboy Songs”
Grammy winner McBryde sings of a longing for more songs that embody the essence of the values of freedom, hard work, responsibility and love of the outdoors, and grieves for the struggles of those who are still doing their best to live up to that ethos. “There’s a few of us left trying to circle the wagons/ But we’re barеly holding our ground,” she sings. Her voice, as always, rings with an earthy authenticity and earnestness.
Kameron Marlowe, “Never Really Know”
Marlowe just released the gripping music video for this song, one that showcases not only his commanding, gritty voice, but also a storyline that is unfortunately all too familiar to so many people — who don’t notice the pain and impact of shattered dreams, depression and addiction until it is too late. Marlowe wrote this song with co-writer James McNair, and it’s one that further positions Marlowe as an all-around vocalist-writer-artist worth paying attention to.
The Castellows, “Alabama Stone”
The title track to this sibling trio’s new three-song EP, “Alabama Stone” further solidifies The Castellows’ top-flight songwriting. Written by the trio’s Powell Balkcom, Eleanor Balkcom and Lily Balkcom along with writers Josh Dorr and Caroline Watkins, the song’s crux turns on the various meanings of “Alabama Stone” that keep the song’s protagonist connected to her Alabama hometown — whether that be her familial home, the wedding ring on her hand, or, at the end, the stone that marks her final resting place. The track gets bolstered by reverential piano and the trio’s ethereal harmonies.
Chris & Ned LeDoux, “One Hand in the Riggin’”
In a song set to be featured on Ned LeDoux’s upcoming 2025 album, he duets with his late country singer/rodeo champion father Chris LeDoux on the song “One Hand in the Riggin,’” with Ned pairing his vocal alongside what he calls the final vocal track his father ever recorded prior to his death in 2005. The song nods to the twin pulls toward home and the road, maintaining a family while chasing the endless thrill of “one more rodeo.” All together, it is refreshing hearing Chris’s voice again — especially on a song that feels this timeless, and given how his and his son’s vocals blend so well together.
Evan Honer, “High School Reunion”
After seeing his career surge on the strength of Tyler Childers covers, followed by the release of his own projects such as Fighting For and Different Life, Honer delves into the complication emotions surrounding the notion of seeing a former high school lover at their 10-year high school reunion — his cut-to-the-bone style of songwriting and rugged vocal revealing an anxious pondering of how that teenage relationship might have progressed. “High School Reunion” marks the third single from Honer’s upcoming EP annabelle, out Dec. 13.
In this week’s crop of new music, Randy Houser and Miranda Lambert team for a solidly country tune about time and desire, while Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown reunite for a steamy pop-country track. Elsewhere, LANCO teams with Cory Asbury on a tender song about parenthood, Hudson Westbrook issues his self-titled EP, Kashus Culpepper dips his commanding voice into ultra-soulful territory, and Kameron Marlowe offers his own spin on a previous hit for singer-songwriter Cam.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country releases of the week below.
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Randy Houser feat. Miranda Lambert, “Still That Cowboy”
Randy Houser welcomes Miranda Lambert for this duet, featuring on Houser’s upcoming Note to Self Deluxe album, out in January. Mississippi-born Houser’s rugged voice crackles with power, enough to make most male country vocalists envious, and he smartly teams with Lambert, possessor of one of the genre’s most distinctively country voices. Written by Houser with Josh Hoge and Matt Rogers, this sultry slow-jam finds Houser singing about the hope that time, age, and new life phases haven’t dampened his lover’s desire. Lambert’s smooth twang adds a reassuring harmony that further elevates this top-shelf track.
Kashus Culpepper, “Pour Me Out”
This Navy veteran and Big Loud Records artist decamped to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record this righteously bluesy outing, where the angst in his gravelly voice is heightened by the song’s poetic simplicity in relating bitter romantic realization on lyrics such as “If you don’t wanna drink me baby, Don’t sip me baby/ Just pour me out.” As with his previous releases including “After Me?,” Culpepper’s masterful vocal is undeniable. He wrote “Pour Me Out” with Ben Burgess and Diego Urias.
Hudson Westbrook, Hudson Westbrook
Texan singer-songwriter Westbrook has surged into country music’s modern-day mainstream thanks to songs including “5 to 9.” His seven-song, self-titled EP is a succinct but solid collection, featuring the smoldering heartbreaker “House Again,” and the fiddle-laden, romantic throwback “5 to 9,” while he willingly trades the mellowing effects of alcohol for the thrilling feel of being with his new love in “Dopamine.” Westbrook’s voice is a blend of grit, twang and Lone Star State confidence, and he’s a co-writer on many of his songs. This is a very promising start for Westbrook.
Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown, “Body Talk”
This married couple previously earned a No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hit in 2023 with the swirling, pop-inflected and gratitude-filled “Thank God.” They return with another pop-heavy groove on this sensuous, dance-worthy track that further evinces that Katelyn’s airy, velvety vocal is a standout, and when paired with Kane’s vocal, brings out the grittier, sultrier notes in his voice. This song leans decidedly more pop than country, but brings out the best in both vocalists. “Body Talk” will be featured on Kane Brown’s upcoming album The High Road.
LANCO and Cory Asbury, “We Grew Up Together”
Country group LANCO teams with Contemporary Christian artist Cory Asbury for this tender, self-reflective pondering on how both parents and children undergo seasons of growth over the years. “You ain’t the only one who’s gonna make mistakes,” LANCO’s Brandon Lancaster sings, offering the perspective of a father singing to a child. The song was written by Asbury along with LANCO’s Brandon Lancaster, Chandler Baldwin, Tripp Howell, and Jared Hampton. “We Grew Up Together” is from LANCO’s upcoming album We’re Gonna Make It, set for January.
Kameron Marlowe, “Burning House”
Kameron Marlowe puts his own sultry spin here on Cam’s near-decade old hit “Burning House.” The pared-back production and understated, polished instrumentation provide a lush vessel for Marlowe’s pain-filled, octave-leaping voice. Marlowe’s earned a smattering of chart placements with songs such “Burn ‘Em All” and the Ella Langley duet “Strangers,” but this dynamic ballad places his captivating voice front and center.
This week, Flatland Cavalry highlights its catalog of hits and fan favorites, along with new music, on their new project, Flatland Forever, while other issuing new music include Texas native Braxton Keith and Americana-leaning artist Cameron Whitcomb.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard’s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.
Flatland Cavalry, “Chasing a Feeling”
Flatland Cavalry looks back over the past decade, a stellar catalog of songs and several fan favorites from six previous albums on the new 25-song project Flatland Forever, but the band also has some top-notch new material tucked into the album. One of the standouts on Flatland Cavalry’s new project is this tender, languid ballad, accented with piano and fiddle, which captures the heady feeling of music and applause that draws musicians to the spotlight — making the song an apropos to conclude the album.
Braxton Keith, “Fall This Way”
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Newly signed to Warner Music Nashville, Texas native Keith showcases his soothing drawl on his moody, sultry come-on. Written by Dan Alley, Davis Corley and Mark Addison, this track positions Keith as a devotedly country artist with the talent to join the ranks of today’s surge of neo-traditionalist hitmakers. Keith’s upcoming EP Blue, will release Dec. 6.
Cameron Whitcomb, “Medusa”
The Atlantic Records-signed Whitcomb has a sterling new release with this churning, acoustic-driven song about someone who finally sees through through the beguiling emotional flames of a manipulative relationship. Led by Whitcomb’s angsty voice, this song builds into a roaring, mid-tempo jam that holds the listener to the final notes.
Halle Kearns, “Love You Back”
This polished pop-country track finds Kearns teaming with her husband Kelly Roberson on this slice of post-heartbreak nostalgia, as they sing of reminiscing on a past love, hopeful for reconciliation and a chance to relive a relationship’s best moments. Their voices pair splendidly, giving the song a laid-back, wistful vibe. Earlier this year, Kearns released the EP Quarter Life Crisis, while her new song offers a glimpse of new music on the horizon.
Crowe Boys, “Let Me Feel Alone”
Brothers Ocie Crowe and Wes Crowe sparked a resonant song earlier this year with “Where Did I Go Wrong.” Signed to UMG Nashville, they follow with “Let Me Feel Alone,” a solo write from Ocie.“You were a liar, you were my lover, you were my sin,” Ocie sings, his full-bodied voice full of rancor and bite. A promising release that highlights their top-shelf musicianship and myriad influences.
This week’s crop of new music features Chase Rice honoring his late father through his new music, while Benjamin Tod teams up with reigning Americana Music Honors & Awards entertainer of the year winner Sierra Ferrell. Meanwhile, “A Lot More Free” hitmaker Max McNown, Ian Munsick, Anna Vaus and more offer new tunes.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.
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Chase Rice, “You in ‘85”
Chase Rice may be known for writing and recording bro-country hits such as co-writing Florida Georgia Line’s RIAA-Diamond certified hit “Cruise,” but over his most recent projects, he’s made it clear that bro-country sound represents his past, not his present — as his new music leans toward rootsier, raw-rock driven sounds, trading party anthems for introspective lyrical themes. His newly released album Go Down Singin’ continues to evince his matured songwriting, particularly on “You in ’85,” a song that pays homage to Rice’s late father, serving as both a catalog of memories he has of his father, while also acknowledging the mannerisms they share. “You always said I was gonna look just like you/ Now this man in the mirror’s the proof,” he sings, as his voice conveys a crackling warmth of self-reflection and an easy-going comfortableness with his new sound.
Benjamin Tod feat. Sierra Ferrell, “One Last Time”
As singer-songwriter Tod, the former frontman for the Lost Dog Street Band, gears up for his new solo album Shooting Star (out Oct. 18 on Thirty Tigers), he welcomes reigning Americana Music Honors & Awards winner Sierra Ferrell on this sparse piano arrangement, with gospel music-inflected background harmonies and swaths of steel guitar lending a rustic, elegant aura. “I’m a fool for the darkness and a fiend for the light/ Could you blame me one last time,” they sing, their voices blending sumptuously, while wrapping their distinct drawls around each lyric, drawing out the song’s tension and longing with every vocal inflection. On Shooting Star, Tod dabbles in country music from a span of decades, proving the deep-seated influence of Nashville-area hometown.
Anna Vaus, “Happy Trails”
Southern California native Anna Vaus has put in the work in Music City over the past several years, inking a publishing deal with Big Machine Music and penning songs recorded by Keith Urban, Carly Pearce and others (Vaus also performed with Urban at the 2024 CMT Music Awards). With “Happy Trails,” she issues the lead single from her own debut album, one steeped in the sounds of ’70s Laurel Canyon with a Nashville sense of lyrical detail.
Vaus’ own “Happy Trails” embodies much the same sentiment of the Dale Evans-written, Roy Rogers-performed 1952 classic of the same name, though here, Vaus sings a story close to her own, of wishing the best to a friend who is setting off on a jet plane to chase their dreams in Music City. She employs a classical country construction, detailing simple well-wishes such as warm coffee and flowers growing in a yard, before digging deeper on lines such as “I hope you learn to love the parts of you you hate/ And the things you cannot change ’cause therein liеs the heart.” A solid, promising start from this established songcrafter.
Max McNown, “Snowman”
McNown’s “A Lot More Free” has escalated up the viral charts, and he’s followed with the just-released EP Willfully Blind. “Snowman,” featured on the EP, captures his longing over a once-blazing romance that transformed into the chilliest of receptions whenever he sees his ex. Over polished acoustic production, he considers, “You said goodbye and I said see you round/ Cuz a boy don’t close a book/ Until he knows a story’s done.” McNown wrote “Snowman” with Paul Duncan, Cory Asbury, Paul Mabry and Michael Farren.
Ian Munsick, “Western Woman”
Wyoming-born Munsick earned an RIAA Gold-certified song with his Cody Johnson collaboration “Long Live Cowgirls,” and he reprises that theme on his new solo track, “Western Woman,” which Munsick wrote with Billy Montana and Randy Montana. In his new song, he acknowledges the appeal of the way of life from the coasts, but sings that ultimately, “My kinda darling is grounded as a fence post/ She got wild in her smile, dust on her jeans.” Mandolin playing from Charlie Worsham and fiddle work from Tim Hayes serve to further heighten the song’s Western sound.
Hunter Hayes, “In a Song (Lost & Found)”
Hunter Hayes revisits to his previously-released “In a Song,” originally featured on the Encore edition of his 2011 self-titled album. The new version retains the largely pop sonics, but showcases his matured vocal while still giving the song a youthful, refreshed patina. The song is one of three remixed and remastered renditions of his previously-released songs on his upcoming EP Lost & Found.
This week, Billy Strings and Margo Price link up for a stoned-cold country sound, while Koe Wetzel offers a party-worthy romantic rebuff and Mae Estes sings a gut-punch of a song about the guys who give “good ‘ol boys” a bad name. This week’s crop of new tunes also features songs from Anne Wilson, Parker McCollum and more.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.
Billy Strings/Margo Price, “Too Stoned to Cry”
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Americana mainstay Price welcomes prolific bluegrass artist Strings on guitar and vocals on this lilting heap of honky-tonk heartbreak, produced by Beau Bedford and written by Andrew Combs (and previously released on his 2014 album Worried Man). They sing of coping with touring life’s pressures and long hours through various vices — or as they put it, “Walking the line between hellbent and high.” The two singers’ world-weary voices bring a heft of believability to this sad country track.
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Anne Wilson, “Stand”
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Earlier this year, Wilson made a genre-melding project with the country/contemporary Christian album Rebel, spearheaded by songs such as “Rain in the Rearview” and “Strong.” She continues in that vein with her latest, as she sings of summoning strength to “stand for love when all you see is hate.” Bright production and a balanced country-pop instinct are a shining foil for her powerful, twangy vocal and a message of holding fast to one’s convictions.
Mae Estes, “Good Ol’ Boys”
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Estes lends her bluegrass-tinted lilt to this tale of small-town deception. She boldly sings of a “good ol’ boy” who seems unfailingly polite and picture perfect to the rest of the community. Thus, Estes sings, the members of that tight-knit town likely would never believe how his personality changes in private quarters. But to those his monstrous side has impacted, the concept of a “good ol’ boy” instills more wariness than trust. The writers here are Autumn McEntire, Marti Dodson and SJ McDonald.
Parker McCollum, “What Kinda Man”
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Grungy guitar gives way to a ferocious mashup of harmonica, blazing rock and honky tonk twang on McCollum’s latest. “It’s harder than it looks to walk that line,” he sings, reminiscing about living life on the edge, until he meets the one who has him rethinking his ways. As always, McCollum offers up an exemplary, gritty and undoubtedly country vocal styling.
Angie K, “Stay”
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El Salvador-born Angie K, known for songs including “Happily Ever After,” employs a grainy, soulful rasp that’s enticing on this romantic, bilingual track. Lush background vocals and velvety instrumentation, accented with flashes of Latin guitar, heighten the sultry flavor here. Angie K, David Borys, Tom Pino and Jason Haag are the writers behind the song. “Stay” is featured on Angie K’s self-titled EP, which will be released Oct. 25.
Koe Wetzel, “Casamigos”
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Following the release of his ninth studio album 9 Lives in July, Wetzel finally releases this fan favorite. This laid-back rocker with an ample sing-along-chorus is an anthem of defiance. “Mary Jane took my license/ And Casamigos took my friend,” he sings, before making it clear that while a cascade of less-than-stellar decisions may have cost a few things dear to him, there is one romantic relationship in particular he’s just fine with losing. Wetzel brings a jam-band vibe and a display of bravura to this stinging romantic rebuff.
This week marks the release of Country Music Hall of Famer George Strait’s 31st studio album for MCA Nashville, Cowboys and Dreamers. Meanwhile, Ella Langley and Riley Green, who earned a viral hit with their collab “You Look Like You Love Me,” reunite on a new song from Green’s new album, while new music is also featured from Luke Bryan, Willow Avalon, Denitia and Joe Nichols.
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George Strait, Cowboys and Dreamers
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Strait’s 31st studio album comes following a period of severe personal loss in Strait’s camp, including the passings of his longtime manager Erv Woolsey, as well as his longtime fiddle and mandolin player Gene Elders, who played with Strait since the 1980s. On the 13-song album, with his warm vocal that eschews ostentation, Strait continues to evince why he is one of country music’s most gifted singers and lyrical narrators (though Strait has also steadily made songwriting contributions to his own albums, co-writing two songs on his latest).
He also pays homage to late songwriter, artist, and guitarist Keith Gattis on the album by recording a trio of Gattis-penned songs: the album’s title track, along with “Wish I Could Say” and the Gattis-Guy Clark penned “Rent.” Before the launch of “Rent,” Strait further punctuates his appreciation for Gattis’s work by offering words of praise for the late Gattis. Elsewhere, he pays homage to the late Waylon Jennings with a version of “Waymore’s Blues” and delivers a love song as only Strait can in “To the Moon.” Throughout all of them, Strait continues cementing his role in the genre as a paragon of sustained excellence.
Riley Green feat. Ella Langley, “Don’t Mind If I Do”
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Green was recently featured on Langley’s song “You Look Like You Love Me,” which became a viral hit for both artists. Green returns the favor by featuring Langley on his latest song, a solo write from Green –and no wonder, as they make compelling collaborators and their voices mesh mightily. Here, he’s lonely and reminiscing on the halcyon days of a fizzled relationship. As his longing propels him, he asks for forgiveness if he decides to “drink up the nerve and show up at your house.” The cracks in his burly voice draw out the nuances in the unexpected twists and turns of the lyrics, while Langley’s languid drawl heightens the tensions of desire that runs throughout the song. The song is the title track to Green’s upcoming album (out in October).
Willow Avalon, “Homewrecker”
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Newcomer Avalon turns the premise of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” on its head, answering the classic cheating song with this rowdy mesh of prowling percussion and twangy, roadhouse guitars. “I’m just a girl who tried to take a man at his word,” she sings with a scathing yet airy warble. Avalon, who wrote this song with Tofer Brown and JR Atkins, is swiftly staking her claim as an immensely promising newcomer.
Luke Bryan, “Country Song Came On”
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As he gears up for his new album Mind of a Country Boy, out Sept. 27, the two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner previews the project with this written by Ryan Beaver, Dan Alley and Neil Medley. This is still squarely within Bryan’s musical wheelhouse, but the structural simplicity and storytelling arc allow Bryan to use his conversational, narrational vocal to great effect. He nods to the decision-altering effects of classic country music with the hook, “I wasn’t gonna drink/ Then a country song came on.” The lyrics’ appreciated nod to Earl Thomas Conley doesn’t hurt, either.
Denitia, “Sunset Drive”
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Denitia, who was named as part of CMT’s 2024 Next Women of Country class, issues a new, dozen-song project, marking Denitia’s first since 2022’s Highways. “Everything is beautiful even when it falls apart,” she sings on the title track, as intricate and breezy instrumental arrangements elevate her hazy, beckoning vocals, as she finds the positive elements even as a relationship crumbles. Denitia wrote with Brad Allen Williams.
Joe Nichols, “Doin’ Life With You”
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Nichols continues his proclivities for pouring his light-hearted vocal tone over tales of the highs and lows of everyday love in this new song, included on his upcoming album Honky Tonks and Country Songs, out Oct. 25. A solo write by Jimmy Yeary (“I Drive Your Truck”), this new song offers a clear-eyed look at the result of a love that has endured the trials, unexpected life twists, and mundane moments, all adding up to a solidified bond between two lovers. The song feels akin to his 2022 release “Good Day for Living,” while Nichols remains one of country music’s most consistent, indelible vocalists.
This week, Post Malone made his much-heralded country music debut with his collaborations-packed album F-1 Trillion–and then surprised fans with the release of F-1 Trillion: Long Bed, with an additional nine songs. Elsewhere, Brantley Gilbert teams with Justin Moore for a new track, while bluegrasser Bella White covers an Emmylou Harris classic.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.
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Post Malone, F-1 Trillion: Long Bed
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Post Malone’s country era officially arrived in full bloom on Friday (Aug. 16) via his new album F-1 Trillion. While his foray into the genre came with the help of one of the format’s biggest artists, Morgan Wallen, on “I Had Some Help,” the full F-1 Trillion project displays Post Malone’s undeniably deep-seated love for the genre, with an array of collaborations with Luke Combs, Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, Ernest, Hank Jr. and other genre stalwarts. Each of those collabs feels crafted toward the featured artist’s strengths (in the case of McGraw’s collab, it even ties in titles of some of McGraw’s lengthy list of hits). However, Post Malone also proves he can do country just fine without any star-studded collabs, such as on the tender ode to his daughter, “Yours.”
Later in the weekend he also surprised fans with nine additional, solo-recorded songs for the Long Bed edition, and in the process, offered up a slate of some of the overall album’s strongest, and delightfully country, material. This “no skips” string of songs includes the Western swing romps of “Who Needs You” and “Back to Texas” and flirty ’90s country of “Hey Mercedes.” “Two Hearts” looks at the reverberations that heartbreak has on an entire family, while he makes the case for a post-breakup, passion-filled reunion on “Ain’t How It Ends,” but acknowledges that “Hank and Johnny, Strait and Ronnie Dunn made all the rules.” Meanwhile, the somber “Killed a Man” is a clear-eyed look at viciously and suddenly putting his various vices behind him.
The extended version of F-1 Trillion cements Post Malone as an artist with a full-fledged sense of his musical vision and contributions to the genre — while the fiddle, steel guitar and ’90s country twang that fill this album suits this Texas native with aplomb.
Brantley Gilbert feat. Justin Moore, “Dirty Money”
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Georgia native Gilbert and Arkansas native Moore team up for this pride-fueled celebration of those who earn their “dirty money” straight from the ground, providing food for communities through raising and harvesting crops. Written by Gilbert with Josh Phillips, this track revs up with all the gritty churn of a combine, as a bed of industrial-scale, frothy guitars, sharp percussion and thudding bass carry the two artists’ intertwined, destinctive drawls.
“Dirty Money” serves as the opening song to Gilbert’s upcoming album, Tattoos, out Sept. 13.
Morgan Wade feat. Kesha, “Walked on Water”
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On her new album Obsessed, Wade offers her most detailed and unvarnished storytelling to date, particularly on her new song with veteran pop hitmaker Kesha. “Walked on Water” is a post-breakup realization of one’s own faults and delusions that led to the relational dissolution. “People like me/ We don’t do well at sea/ ‘Cause I thought I walked on water,” Wade sings, as her oil-and-sandpaper voice weaving together with Kesha’s on this tender piano ballad, a solo write from Wade.
Bella White, “Luxury Liner”
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Canadian-born White issued her debut album, Just Like Leaving, four years ago and since then has proven to be a prolific and essential new voice, thanks to songs including “Not to Blame.” Here, White covers the Gram Parsons-written, Emmylou Harris-recorded “Luxury Liner,” which was the title track to Harris 1976 album. White’s version retains the song’s frenetic instrumental urgency, particularly with razor-sharp fiddle and a steady percussion, while White’s voice interjects a hazy, twangy purity.
“Luxury Liner” is from White’s new five-song covers EP Fire for Silver, which also includes covers of Lucinda Williams’ “Concrete and Barbed Wire,” and Jeff Tweedy’s “Nobody Dies Anymore.”
Muscadine Bloodline, “Good in This World”
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Since forming their duo in 2016, Muscadine Bloodline’s Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton have forged a reputation as two of country music’s liveliest entertainers, and a duo deadset on creating their career on their own terms, outside of the major label system. On their latest album, The Coastal Plain, released, Aug. 16 on Stancaster via Thirty Tigers, they further elevate their songcraft, particularly on the meticulously detailed album closer, “Good in this World.” The song hinges on the tale of a young man’s chance meeting with a Vietnam veteran at a gas station, as the veteran tells of relishing in (and intentionally making) many of his life’s simplest but best moments, from listening to “Brown Eyed Girl” to buying his loved one pearls. The conversation is a perspective-shifting one, leading the younger gentleman to make the most of his own moments, both present and future.
This week’s batch of new country music includes Kelsea Ballerini‘s cathartic new track, collaborations from Callista Clark with Scotty McCreery, and from Jett Holden with Cassadee Pope, as well as new music from Randall King.
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 songs of the week below.
Kelsea Ballerini, “Sorry Mom”
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Crackling acoustic guitar introduces this mid-tempo, pop-tilted musing, which previews the Grammy-nominated Ballerini’s upcoming album Patterns. As always, Ballerini excels in crafting lyrics dripping with exquisite candor, as this reconciliatory song finds her cataloging the ways she may not have lived up to familial expectations, including drinking, dropping out of college, having premarital sex, and sometimes putting career before family too often. But she acknowledges that while the choices made in her younger years no doubt caused her mother moments of worry, the lessons learned along the way have forged a woman stronger, wiser, more confident and decisive.
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Randall King, “I Could Be That Rain”
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One of country music’s most towering new country neo-traditionalist voices, King piles up the romantic fervor for an ex-lover on his latest, wishing he could sing his ex a favorite song and generally regain her affections. The Texan with the rich, confident twang brings to the table a slightly more polished production here, but still squarely traditional enough to declare his talents on equal footing with many of today’s hitmakers such as labelmate Cody Johnson. “I Could Be That Rain,” written by Brian Fuller and Mason Thornley, marks King’s first single at country radio and is included on his sophomore album Into the Neon.
Jett Holden feat. Cassadee Pope, “Karma”
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Earlier this year, Jett Holden was announced as the first signing to Black Opry Records, with Holden’s debut album The Phoenix out Oct. 4. “It turns out loyalty is just as dead as chivalry,” Holden sings on “Karma,” one of the songs from the project, welcoming Cassadee Pope on this stinging, churning rebuff to a romantic traitor. Matched by seething rock guitars, Holden and Pope’s voices punch hard, standing their ground and swelling into a wounded-yet-defiant, rock-fueled declaration.
Kayley Green, “Shadow of a Cowboy”
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Kayley Green has been a longtime fixture in downtown Nashville’s music scene, performing at several downtown music venues, and at one point, joining Keith Urban onstage during his Bridgestone Arena show, before Green signed with Sony Music Nashville earlier this year. She follows previous release “Live Fast Die Pretty” with this polished kiss-off to a lover who can’t tame his rambling ways. Sinewy guitars and understated percussion underpin Green’s rafter-reaching soprano, before she taunts the ex-lover with, “You’re just a shadow of a cowboy/ A real one would stay.” Green wrote this track with Jon Nite, Ross Copperman, and Ben Williams.
Scotty McCreery and Callista Clark, “Gettin’ Old”
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Though Scotty McCreery possesses one of the most transcendent traditional voices in modern country, McCreery has been judicious in releasing collaborations with other vocalists, with many of his collabs being connected to his days as an American Idol contestant. But on this somber track, he teams mightily with Clark, his solid oak of a voice a foil for her sleek vocal, while they match each other heartache for heartache as they reach into their upper registers. Together, their voices embody the flickers of hope that still spark among the ashes as they sing of a couple who realize their relationship is growing stale, rather than stronger. Clark wrote this track with Averie Bielski and Karen Kasowski.
Will Moseley, “I Don’t Want to Fight No More”
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American Idol alum Moseley lends his thousand-watt vocal to this track penned by Alex Maxwell, Dawson Edwards and Kameron Marlowe. Southern rock leanings plus heartbreak and weary resignation converge on this track about a couple who realize their relationship’s frayed edges are at the breaking point, making this a perfect go-to track for anyone wading through emotional despair at a relational crossroads.