• ACM NOMINATIONS 2024: Chris, Brothers Osborne, Eric, Jordan, Parker, Maddie & Tae, Little Big Town, Kacey, Kassi,Kylie and more

    The nominations for the 59th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards were announced today (April 9th), and Universal Music Group has several nominated artists.

    The reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year Chris Stapleton has five nods, including one for Entertainer of the Year, as well as his ninth consecutive nomination for Male Artist of the Year, an award he’s won three times in the past. Chris is also up for Album of the Year (Higher – Artist & Producer nominations) and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.

    Morgane Stapleton receives her first nomination as a producer on her husband Chris Stapleton’s album Higher. 

    Jordan Davis earns four nominations, including Single of the Year (“Next Thing You Know”), Song of the Year (“Next Thing You Know” – Artist & Songwriter nominations) and Visual Media of the Year (“Next Thing You Know”).

     

    Brothers Osborne’s nomination for Duo of the Year marks its 17th ACM nomination and its tenth year in a row being nominated for ACM Duo of the Year, an award the pair has brought home four times, including last year.

    Kacey Musgraves’ two nominations this year brings her total nominations count to 27, including eight nominations for Female Artist of the Year. She won the award in 2018, the same year she won Album of the Year for Golden Hour. She is nominatied for Female Artist of the Year and Music Event of the Year (“I Remember Everything” w/ Zach Bryan).

    2021’s New Male Artist of the Year Parker McCollum received two nominations for Single of the Year (“Burn It Down”) and Visual Media of the Year (“Burn It Down”).

     

    Little Big Town receives its 18th nomination for Group of the Year, which ties the group for the all-time record of 18 nominations for Group of the Year held by Alabama. Little Big Town has been nominated in the category every year since 2005, with the exception of 2011.

    Maddie & Tae are nominated for Duo of the Year, along with Brothers Osborne and The War And Treaty.

     

    Kassi Ashton and Kylie Morgan have earned their first ACM nomination, which is for New Female Artist of the Year.

     

     

    Eric Church is nominated for Music Event of the Year for “Man Made A Bar,” along with Morgan Wallen.

    The 59th Annual ACM Awards will stream live from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas on May 16th att 8pm ET/7pm CT/5pm PDT on Prime Video.  You can also catch offical red carpet coverage on Prime Video, the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch and P, the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch and Amazon Live, starting at 7 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. CDT/4 p.m. PDT.

    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

    • Kane Brown
    • Luke Combs
    • Jelly Roll
    • Cody Johnson
    • Chris Stapleton
    • Morgan Wallen
    • Lainey Wilson

    FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    • Kelsea Ballerini
    • Ashley McBryde
    • Megan Moroney
    • Kacey Musgraves
    • Lainey Wilson

    MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    • Luke Combs
    • Jelly Roll
    • Cody Johnson
    • Chris Stapleton
    • Morgan Wallen

     DUO OF THE YEAR

    • Brooks & Dunn
    • Brothers Osborne 
    • Dan + Shay
    • Maddie & Tae 
    • The War And Treaty

    GROUP OF THE YEAR

    • Flatland Cavalry
    • Lady A
    • Little Big Town 
    • Old Dominion
    • Zac Brown Band

    NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    • Kassi Ashton
    • Ashley Cooke
    • Hannah Ellis
    • Kylie Morgan 
    • Megan Moroney

    NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    • ERNEST
    • Kameron Marlowe
    • Dylan Scott
    • Conner Smith
    • Nate Smith

    NEW DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

    • Neon Union
    • Restless Road
    • Tigirlily Gold

     

    ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

    Gettin’ Old – Luke Combs
    Producer: Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton, Luke Combs
    Record Company-Label: River House Artists / Columbia Nashville

     Higher – Chris Stapleton
    Producer: Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, Morgane Stapleton
    Record Company-Label: Mercury Nashville

    Leather – Cody Johnson
    Producers: Trent Willmon
    Record Company-Label: CoJo Music LLC / Warner Music Nashville LLC

    One Thing At A Time – Morgan Wallen
    Producers: Joey Moi, Cameron Montgomery, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Durrett
    Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records / Republic Records / Mercury Records

    Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) – Kelsea Ballerini
    Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Alysa Vanderheym
    Record Company-Label: Black River Entertainment

    SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

    Burn It Down – Parker McCollum
    Producer: Jon Randall

    Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

    Fast Car – Luke Combs
    Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton
    Record Company-Label: River House Artists / Columbia Nashville

    Last Night – Morgan Wallen
    Producer: Joey Moi, Charlie Handsome
    Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records / Republic Records / Mercury Records

    Need A Favor – Jelly Roll
    Producer: Austin Nivarel
    Record Company-Label: Stoney Creek Records / BMG Nashville


    Next Thing You Know – Jordan Davis
    Producer: Paul DiGiovanni
    Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

     

    SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

    Fast Car – Luke Combs
    Songwriters: Tracy Chapman
    Publishers: Purple Rabbit


    Heart Like A Truck – Lainey Wilson
    Songwriters: Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson
    Publishers: Sony / ATV Countryside; Songs of Riser House; Songs of Wild Cat Well Music

     

    Next Thing You Know – Jordan Davis
    Songwriters: Chase McGill, Greylan James, Jordan Davis, Josh Osborne

    Publishers: Family Farm Songs; Hold On Can I Get A Number 1 Music; Songs of Universal Inc.

     

    The Painter – Cody Johnson
    Songwriters: Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins, Ryan Larkins
    Publishers: Big Music Machine; BMG Platinum Songs US; Nashblonde Music; Pompano Run Music; Songs for Ellie May; Sony / ATV Tree Publishing; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Group; Well That Was Awkward Music

     

    Tennessee Orange – Megan Moroney
    Songwriters: Ben Williams, David Fanning, Megan Moroney, Paul Jenkins
    Publishers: 33 Creative; Bone Bone Creative; Sony / ATV Tree Publishing

     

    MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

    Can’t Break Up Now – Old Dominion, Megan Moroney
    Producers: Brad Tursi, Geoff Sprung, Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Whit Sellers, Ross Copperman, Kristian Bush
    Record Company-Label: Three Up Three Down, LLC / Columbia Nashville


    Different ‘Round Here – Riley Green (Ft. Luke Combs)
    Producer: Dann Huff
    Record Company-Label: BMLG Records

     

    I Remember Everything – Zach Bryan (feat. Kacey Musgraves)
    Producer: Zach Bryan
    Record Company-Label: Belting Bronco Records / Warner Records, Inc

     

    Man Made A Bar – Morgan Wallen (feat. Eric Church)
    Producer: Joey Moi
    Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records / Mercury Records / Republic Records

     

    Save Me – Jelly Roll (with Lainey Wilson)
    Producers: Zach Crowell, David Ray Stevens
    Record Company-Label: Stoney Creek Records / BMG Nashville

     

    VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

    Burn It Down – Parker McCollum
    Producers: Christen Pinkston &Wesley Stebbins-Perry

    Director: Dustin Haney

     

    Human – Cody Johnson
    Producer: Christen Pinkston &Wesley Stebbins-Perry
    Director: Dustin Haney

    In Your Love – Tyler Childers
    Producer: Kacie Barton, Whitney Wolanin, Nicholas Robespierre, Ian Thorton, Silas House
    Director: Bryan Schlam


    Next Thing You Know – Jordan Davis
    Producer: Jamie Stratakis

    Director: Running Bear (Stephen Kinigopoulos, Alexa Stone)


    Tennessee Orang
    e – Megan Moroney
    Producer: Lauren Starr, Saul Levitz, Laura Burhenn
    Director: Jason Lester

    ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

    • Zach Bryan
    • ERNEST
    • HARDY
    • Chris Stapleton
    • Morgan Wallen

     

    Audio / CHRIS STAPLETON SAYS HIS NEW ALBUM HIGHER HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE.

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    Chris Stapleton (Higher album) OC: …on this record. :56
    “One thing that’s probably notable about the record to me is it’s the first one that we’ve put out that doesn’t contain a cover, so there’s no covers on this record. So, in that way, I guess you could say it should be more intrinsically whatever we do. So, there’s definitely some exploration of the edges of what that is, and certainly some moments of stretching out vocally and trying to see what that is. There’s some different stuff on this record, I think, and I think it’s really great. I think it’s something that people will enjoy. I think there’s something on it for everybody, which is kind of always my goal. If you’re a kind of a hardcore traditional country person, there’s a song on there for that somewhere. If you leaned into more of the R&B side of what we do, there’s stuff on there for that. If you like the rock side of things that we do, there’s stuff on there for that. And there’s some really great songs on here. I’m excited about the songs on this record.”

    Audio / At last year's ACM Awards, CHRIS STAPLETON SAYS HE'S HUMBLED BY THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED HIM ACM ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR.

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    Chris Stapleton (ACM 2023 win) OC: …take it. :13
    “I’m humbled by it and feel very thankful to the people that voted for me for it and think I’m deserving of that, but I’ll take it. I’ll take it.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS ACM NOMINATED SONG, "NEXT THING YOU KNOW."

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    Jordan Davis (Next Thing You Know) OC: …whole lotta people. :47
    “You know, there’s no chorus to this song. And I think it’s really cool that all we do is repeat ‘Next Thing You Know’ throughout it, but when you’re trying to write songs for a, a job, not putting a chorus on it is a fast way to get it thrown into the garbage can, and I think that makes me more proud of this song in that this is what we wanted to do with it and we just wanted to be as honest as possible in how fast life goes. I remember leaving, telling somebody like when they were like, ‘Did you write today?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ They said, ‘Did you get anything good?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, we wrote a song that doesn’t even have a chorus.’ And I got the look of like, ‘Well, we’ll probably never hear that one,’ and little did I know it would connect with a whole lotta people.”

    Audio / Parker McCollum talks about shooting the video for "Burn It Down."

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    Parker McCollum (Burn It Down video) OC: …turned out great. :38
    “Man, the video was pretty easy, actually. I talked to Dustin, the director, and I was like, ‘Man, I feel like wherever we are, we’re just blowing stuff up and so let’s go blow some stuff up and burn it down.’ And he had a great vision out there in New Mexico. We were in the desert, I mean, the desert, desert. You couldn’t, it was like the ocean, but sand; the middle of the ocean but sand. And it was actually really cold in the morning, then it got really hot at night and then the smoke and the fire and they’re wanting me to walk through it over and over, take after take after take. I’m walking through like this chemical burning black smoke. I’m like this is really risking it for a music video, but it turned out great.”

  • DEEPER WELL IS KACEY MUSGRAVES’ BIGGEST CAREER SALES DEBUT.

    Seven-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves’ latest album, Deeper Well (Interscope/MCA Nashville) is topping charts upon release. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., outselling Morgan Wallen, and a new album from Justin Timberlake. With over 97,000 equivalent album units earned, Deeper Well marks Musgraves’ fifth Top 5 debut on the Billboard 200. Of the Deeper Well first week sum, 66,000 of those units were comprised from traditional album sales. With over 37,000 vinyl copies of Deeper Well sold, it marks the biggest vinyl sales week for 2024 and Musgraves’ biggest sales week for vinyl. It also marks the fourth largest week for a country album on vinyl since Luminate began tracking in 1991. In addition to this being Kacey’s biggest sales week ever, Deeper Well marks her fifth consecutive #1 debut on Billboard Top Country Album chart. In the UK, Deeper Well won five UK Specialist #1 awards, and debuted at #3 in the official albums chart.

    Kacey kicked off release day with a gorgeous outdoor concert performance on NBC’s Today Show followed by an intimate hometown show at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium. Musgraves was also seen chatting and performing on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as well as The Howard Stern Show. Earlier this month, she was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, her third time appearing on the iconic show.

    Critics are heralding her latest album and highlighting it “goes back to the ethereal roots the world first fell in love with,” said ElleThe New York Times called the album “Superb,” and Los Angeles Times noted “Musgraves returns on ‘Deeper Well,’ to the kind of rootsy, hand-played arrangements that defined her early work.” The Cut declared “the songs on ‘Deeper Well’ call back to her singer-songwriter roots” and American Songwriter proclaiming, “this is Musgraves at her finest, mentally and musically.” In the UK, The Telegraph note “this is a brilliant record” in their 5-star review while Sunday Times says “singing this beautiful burrow deep in the heart” in their 4-star review of Deeper Well.

    In honor of the new album, Kacey will embark on The Deeper Well World Tour which kicks off April 28th in Dublin, Ireland and runs through December 7th in Nashville, Tennessee (see below for full list of dates). The upcoming The Deeper Well World Tour follows Kacey’s triumphant 2022 arena trek, star-crossed: unveiled tour.

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Eric Church, Kacey Musgraves, Vince Gill, Anne Wilson

    Eric Church is among the headliners for the inaugural Country Calling Festival, taking place on the shores of Ocean City, Maryland October 4th and 5th. Jelly Roll, Tyler Childers, Lainey Wilson, Brothers Osborne, Priscilla Block, Hueston, Bailey Zimmerman, Riley Green, Dwight Yoakam and Tanya Tucker, among others will also perform. Tickets will go on sale on Friday (March 22nd) beginning at 10am ET. For more information, go to countrycallingfestival.com.

    Kacey Musgraves appeared on SiriusXM’s Howard Stern Show earlier this week to talk about her new album, Deeper Well, smoking weed with Willie Nelson and much more. She also performed the title cut, “Rainbow” and Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” which is featured on the soundtrack for the recent biopic on the reggae legend’s life, “Bob Marley: One Love,” on the show.

     

    George Strait is mourning the loss of two of his longtime “music family members,” who he lost hours apart on Wednesday (March 21st). First, his manager of 45 years and friend for longer, Erv Woolsey, passed away from complications following surgery; then his Ace In The Hole bandmember Gene Elder passed, as well.

    Vince Gill and Amy Grant will return to Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium for their annual holiday residency in November and December. Tickets for all shows go on sale on Friday (March 22nd). For more information, go to Ryman.com.

    Anne Wilson will perform during the “Opry NextStage Live From Texas” show at Lava Cantina on May 15 at 2:30 p.m. CT in The Colony, Texas. The special Opry event will precede the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards on May 16th. Showcasing “Country’s Rising Sound,” the lineup features members of the newly announced Opry NextStage Class of 2024, including Anne, as well as Chase Matthew, Ella Langley, Flatland Cavalry, Madeline Edwards and Wyatt Flores, along with other special guests and host, Jelly Roll.

     

     

     

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town, Parker McCollum

    Kacey Musgraves performed her new single, “The Architect,” on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote the release of her new album, Deeper Well, last week.

    Kacey also talked about her new album, Deeper Well, as well as winning her seventh GRAMMY for Best Country Duo/Group Performance with Zach Bryan for their smash single, “I Remember Everything.” She also talked about “almost dying” during the video shoot for the title track, getting a speeding ticket in Iceland and her upcoming world tour.

     

     

     

    Kelly Clarkson recently performed a rousing version of Chris Stapleton‘s recent No. 1 smash, “White Horse,” during the Kellyoke segment of her daytime talk show.

    The members of Little Big Town are set to perform some of their biggest songs and share the stories behind them when they are featured on CMT Storytellers debuting April 5th at 8pm ET/7pm CT on CMT.

     

     

    Parker McCollum, a self-proclaimed sports fanatic, is going to be running a March Madness bracket of his own. He’ll give away a bunch of cool prizes, including a flyaway to his show at Red Rocks in Colorado later this year. You have to fill out the bracket by Thursday (March 21st). Check out his video, which includes instructions in filling out the bracket by clicking the link in his bio.

  • KACEY MUSGRAVES’ NEW ALBUM DEEPER WELL OUT NOW.

    Kacey Musgraves’ highly anticipated fifth studio album Deeper Well is out now via Interscope/MCA Nashville. The seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter produced Deeper Well with long time collaborators Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk, and the project was primarily recorded in New York’s famed Electric Lady Studios. Musgraves announced the new album in early February with the release of the song and video for the title track “Deeper Well.”  Musgraves recently performed “Deeper Well,” as well as the other newly released track “Too Good To Be True” as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live; her third time on the iconic show.  Listen to Deeper Well HERE.

    Also released today is the video for “Too Good To Be True,” which was directed by Scott Cudmore (N.E.R.D. featuring Rihanna, Feist, Justin Bieber). The video is a meta exploration of the themes of the song, through the interplay of fiction and reality. It takes us “inside the song” as Musgraves records it, where we have to wonder, as she does in the lyrics, if what we are seeing on the screen is real or simply “too good to be true” and the projected fantasy of what we dearly want and hope it to be. Stereogum called the track “a soft, intimate, supremely chill acoustic song,” while Euphoria described it as “calming, enchanting and what dreams are made of.”

    Kacey performed “The Architect” from her new album Deeper Well  on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday (March 14th) and NBC’s TODAY on Friday (March 15th), and The Howard Stern Show on Monday (March 18th). Musgraves announced the Deeper Well World Tour in support of the new album, commencing on April 28th in Dublin, Ireland and running through December 7th in Nashville, TN (see below for full list of dates). Tickets can be purchased at  http://www.kaceymusgraves.com/tour. Musgraves recently won her seventh Grammy Award for the song “I Remember Everything,” a duet with Zach Bryan. Musgraves recently joined Bryan to perform the song live for the very first time in Chicago for the start of his latest tour.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Tyler Hubbard, Carrie Underwood

    Kacey Musgraves will perform her song “The Architect” on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday night (March 14th). The song is from her new album, Deeper Well, which will be released on Friday (March 15th).

    Chris Stapleton will be the musical guest on NBC’s Saturday Night Live April 13th. Actor Ryan Gosling (Barbie,  The Gray Man, The Fall Guy, La La Land, Crazy Stupid Love) will host.

    Tyler Hubbard, who is climbing towards the country charts with his latest hit “Back Then Right Now,” has a new song coming out on Friday (March 15th). “Vegas” is from his upcoming album, Strong, available April 12th.

    Carrie Underwood is pretty “dicey” lately. Check out this portrait of the superstar made from 6,400 dice. It was inspired by her REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency at Resorts World Las Vegas.

     

     

  • CMT MUSIC AWARDS 2024:

    The nominations for the 2024 CMT Music Awards have been announced, and Universal Music Group Nashville is represented in nearly every category with nods for Anne Wilson, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Kacey Musgraves, Luke Bryan, Mickey Guyton, Priscilla Block, Reba McEntire and The War And Treaty (check out the complete list of nominees below).

    The fan-voted award show, hosted by Kelsea Ballerini, will air live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on Sunday, April 7th at 7pm CT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+. Performers, presenters and additional details about the show will be announced soon.

    2024 CMT Music Awards Nominees:

    VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration). Top six nominees from the first round of voting, will be announced on April 1. The final three nominees, from the second round of voting, will be announced on show day (April 7). Final voting will be determined via social media and announced as the final category during the live show.
    Ashley McBryde – “Light On In The Kitchen”
    Brandy Clark feat. Brandi Carlile – “Dear Insecurity”
    Brothers Osborne – “Nobody’s Nobody”
    Cody Johnson – “The Painter”
    Darius Rucker – “Fires Don’t Start Themselves”
    Hardy – “Truck Bed”
    Jason Aldean – “Let Your Boys Be Country”
    Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor”
    Jordan Davis – “Next Thing You Know”
    Kacey Musgraves – “Deeper Well”
    Kelsea Ballerini – “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)”
    Lainey Wilson – “Watermelon Moonshine”
    Mickey Guyton feat. Kane Brown – “Nothing Compares To You”
    Parmalee – “Gonna Love You”
    Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
    Zach Bryan – “Nine Ball”

    FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist.
    Ashley McBryde – “Light On In The Kitchen”
    Gabby Barrett – “Glory Days”
    Kacey Musgraves – “Deeper Well”
    Kelsea Ballerini – “Penthouse”
    Lainey Wilson – “Watermelon Moonshine”
    Megan Moroney – “I’m Not Pretty”
    Reba McEntire – “Seven Minutes In Heaven”

    MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist.
    Bailey Zimmerman – “Religiously”
    Cody Johnson – “The Painter”
    Hardy – “Truck Bed”
    Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor”
    Jordan Davis – “Next Thing You Know”
    Luke Combs – “Fast Car (Official Live Video)”
    Morgan Wallen “Last Night (One Record At A Time Sessions)”

    DUO/GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video by a duo or group; awarded to the artists.
    Brothers Osborne – “Nobody’s Nobody”
    Dan + Shay – “Save Me The Trouble”
    Old Dominion – “Memory Lane”
    Parmalee – “Girl In Mine”
    The War And Treaty – “Have You A Heart”
    Tigirlily Gold – “Shoot Tequila”

    COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    Best video from a collaboration; awarded to the artists.
    Carly Pearce feat. Chris Stapleton – “We Don’t Fight Anymore”
    Ella Langley feat. Koe Wetzel – “That’s Why We Fight”
    Jon Pardi, Luke Bryan – “Cowboys and Plowboys”
    Justin Moore & Priscilla Block – “You, Me, And Whiskey”
    Lukas Nelson + Promise of the Real (POTR) feat. Lainey Wilson – “More Than Friends”
    Mickey Guyton feat. Kane Brown – “Nothing Compares To You”
    Old Dominion & Megan Moroney – “Can’t Break Up Now”

    BREAKTHROUGH FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR, presented by Walt Disney World
    Best video from a female artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist.
    Anne Wilson – “Rain In The Rearview”
    Ashley Cooke – “Your Place”
    Brittney Spencer – “Bigger Than The Song”
    Tigirlily Gold – “Shoot Tequila”

    BREAKTHROUGH MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR, presented by Walt Disney World
    Best video from a male artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist.
    Chayce Beckham – “23”
    Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
    Warren Zeiders – “Pretty Little Poison”
    Zach Bryan – “Oklahoma Smokeshow”

    CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
    Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo).
    Amber Riley – “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” (from CMT Smashing Glass)
    Bret Michaels & Chris Janson – “Nothing But A Good Time” (from CMT Crossroads)
    Carrie Underwood – “Hate My Heart” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    Cody Johnson – “Human” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    Dierks Bentley – “Drunk On A Plane” (from CMT Storytellers)
    Dustin Lynch feat. MacKenzie Porter – “Thinking ‘Bout You” (from CMT Campfire Sessions)
    Hozier & Maren Morris – “Take Me To Church” (from CMT Crossroads)
    Jelly Roll – “Need A Favor” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    Kelsea Ballerini – “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” (from 2023 CMT Music Awards)
    The War And Treaty – “On My Own” (from CMT Smashing Glass)

    CMT DIGITAL-FIRST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
    Musical performance from a production, series or livestream created for CMT digital / social channels; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo).
    Chase Rice – “Goodnight Nancy” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
    Dylan Scott – “Don’t Close Your Eyes (Keith Whitley Cover)” (from “CMT Digital Campfire Sessions”)
    Megan Moroney – “I’m Not Pretty” (from “CMT Digital Campfire Sessions”)
    Nate Smith – “Whiskey On You” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
    Scotty McCreery – “It Matters To Her” (from CMT Stages)
    Stephen Wilson Jr. – “Year to Be Young 1994” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
    The Castellows – “I Know It Will Never End” (from CMT Studio Sessions)

     

     

     

     

     

     

    https://twitter.com/warandtreaty/status/1767920192661701009

     

     

     

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about the video for "Fires Don't Start Themselves," in which he plays a detective hot on the trail of a young couple whose passionate love is setting their town ablaze, both literally and figuratively.

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    Darius Rucker (Fires Don’t Start Themselves video) OC: …happy about that. :46
    “I love acting. I love… It’s a lot of fun. And the actors you get to act with are so giving and make it so easy for you and fun and everything. But that video, when they told me I wasn’t going to do any performance, I was so happy, because that’s so the cliché (for) the video. You have other people acting and then you do the performance. But when they told me I was going to play a detective, I put on my inner Stabler, because I’m such a Law and Order and CSI fan, so I put on my inner Stabler and went out and did it. And the girl I worked with, she was so fun; she was so funny. And you know that donut scene, when I see it, there’s no words and it still makes me laugh every time I see it. But yeah, that was a lot of fun and I’d love to do a lot more of that, but, you know, we’ll see if it comes. If it comes, I’ll take it. If not, I’ll keep doing this music thing. I’ll be happy about that.”

    Audio / REBA MCENTIRE TALKS ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR "SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN."

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    Reba McEntire (music video for Seven Minutes In Heaven) OC: …it still hurts. 1:08
    “I picked out the lady to play mama, Eleanor. She did a great job. And she was a sweetheart to get to work with. That is exactly what I thought it would look like if I went to heaven and it was, you know, with the smoke coming in and out, made it look really heavenly. And I thought it would be something familiar, something that you’d feel comfortable with. God thinks of everything. And so, to walk up to the booth, and the next time I walk up and mama’s there and I put my arms on her shoulders, Eleanor’s hands were very similar to mama’s when she was young. So that got me to, they kept saying, ‘Okay, let’s do it again. I said, ‘Okay, let’s take a little break here. Get in here to redo my makeup. Because I would, I just bawled. And Eleanor was sitting across from me at the booth, and she’d see me crying. She’d try to reach for a napkin out of the napkin dispenser on the table. And I’d say, ‘Eleanor, that’s okay. It’s part of the video.’ ‘You don’t want to wipe?’ I said, ‘I’m good. I’m good.’ But she was just like a mother, you know, and they’re trying to make sure everything was all right. It was healing. It was healing for me to do that video and kind of like get it out because it still hurts.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT WRITING HIS TWO-WEEK NO. 1 SMASH, "NEXT THING YOU KNOW."

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    Jordan Davis (writing Next Thing You Know) OC: …song is today. :59
    “There’s a saying that says ‘raising kids – the days are long, the years are short,’ and that’s what this song is to me. I kind of came in wanting to write something like that, you know kind of a slow down time song, and Greylan had this idea. The idea initially was about going to a bar or going somewhere and meeting somebody and then just the progression of a relationship. I kind of hijacked the title and said, ‘Hey man. I love that title, but we’re going to write it in the sense of having kids, watching ‘em grow up and hopefully becoming a grandparent, you know? Chase McGill and Josh Osborne both have kiddos, and I think they kind of grabbed on it. Greylan, hats off to him. He’s the single kid of the group, so he was like, ‘Man, I’ll go there. I don’t know how much input I can be able to say in this, but I’ll go there with you.’ I mean, he’s a great writer, and it was fun to kind of see the title that he threw out evolve into what the song is today.”

    Audio / ON THE SET OF THE FILMING OF HER NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR "RAIN IN THE REARVIEW," ANNE WILSON EXPLAINS THE CONCEPT BEHIND IT.

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    Anne Wilson (BTS RITR video) 2 OC: …in this video. :37
    “So, I love this music video so much. We were working through the idea and concept behind it. It was really about portraying three different versions of myself – the happy version, which is the healed version; the driver, which is kind of plowing through everything and then the one that is sad and kind of looking on the past and reflecting what has come before. And I love the reminder in this music video and getting to work with T.K. McKamy on this treatment of how can we take this song and dive deeper into what it means? And I think in life we all go through different seasons where we’re either fully healed, we’re still looking back and struggling with depression and anxiety from the past or we’re driving in the seat and we’re going ahead for what’s to come. So, I love that we got to portray all three of those in this video.”

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Kacey Musgraves, Mickey Guyton, Keith Urban

    Kacey Musgraves sat down for an in-depth interview with NBC’s Sunday Today With Willie Geist this past weekend (March 10th). She talked about making her new album, Deeper Well, coming to Nashville, the first song she ever wrote (“Notice Me”) and much more.

     

    The official music video for Mickey Guyton‘s latest song, “Woman,” will premiere Wednesday (March 13th) on CMT.

     

     

    Keith Urban gave fellow country star Lainey Wilson a ride to the airport as she kicks off her “Country’s Cool Again Tour” in Australia. In a video posted to both of their socials (see below), Lainey gets some advice from Keith about being Down Under, since he’s obviously from there. When they arrive, Keith unloads her luggage and she says, “I’m so excited to be going to your home,” and Keith says, “Honestly? I wish I could go home with you,” which he then quips could be a good title for a song.

     

     

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Kacey Musgraves, Reba McEntire, Eric Church

    Tune In for Kacey Musgraves on Sunday Today With Willie Geist this Sunday (March 10th) at 8am ET and 6am PT on NBC.

     

    Reba McEntire takes us behind-the-scenes of getting ready to sing the National Anthem at this year’s Super Bowl.

     

    Eric Church will perform during the All-Star Tribute to Jimmy Buffett in L.A. next month. Keep The Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett, which will take place  at the Hollywood Bowl on April 11th, will also feature performances, in addition to Eric, by such artists as Paul McCartney, the Eagles, Kenny Chesney, Sheryl Crow, Jon Bon Jovi, Pitbull, Zac BrownJake Owen and Mac McAnally, who was a long-time member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. Tickets go on sale on Friday (March 15th).

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Kacey Musgraves, Mickey Guyton, Maddie & Tae, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan

    Kacey Musgraves made a surprise appearance and joined Zach Bryan for a duet of their massive hit, “I Remember Everything,” during the kick off date of his The Quittin’ Time Tour in Chicago.

    Mickey Guyton is set to announce this year’s CMT Music Awards on CBS Mornings on Wednesday (March 13th). The 2024 CMT Music Awards will air live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on April 7th.

    Maddie & Tae have been added to the lineup for the Voices of America Country Music Fest in West Chester, Ohio this summer. The four-day festival, which takes place August 8th – 11th, will also feature performances from headliners Keith Urban, Sam Hunt, Jason Aldean and Ernest, as well as Brett Young, Michael Ray, Chase Matthew, Larry Fleet and others.

    Keith Urban and Luke Bryan are among the headliners at this year’s Golden Sky Music Festival in Sacramento, California this fall. The three-day festival, taking place October 18th-20th, will also feature performances by headliner Thomas Rhett, as well as Travis Denning, Kylie Morgan, Riley Green, Clint Black, Elle King, Bailey Zimmerman, Ashley McBryde and others. Go to goldenskyfestival.com for more information.

    Shania Twain is part of Mattel’s Global Role Model Barbie campaign, which is spotlighting groundbreaking women with one-of-a-kind commemorative Barbies. Viola Davis, Helen Mirren and Kylie Minogue are also being honored with these role model dolls, which, unfortunately, are not available for purchase.

    Shania Twain is in Abu Dahbi for International Women’s Day as part of Forbes Women International Women’s Day Summit.