• Parker McCollum Burn It Down
  • Tyler Hubbard Back Then Right Now
  • Jordan Davis Tucson Too Late
  • Sam Hunt Outskirts
  • Anne Wilson Rain in the Rearview
  • Chris Stapleton Think I'm In Love With You

News

DARIUS RUCKER’S ‘IF I TOLD YOU’ WAS THE RIGHT CHOICE TO RELEASE AS HIS NEW SINGLE.

Darius Rucker has never recorded a song like “If I Told You,” the first single from his upcoming album, due out next year. Working with producer Ross Copperman (Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Brett Eldredge), Darius says he’s having so much fun recording different stuff.

“I’ve never sung anything like ‘If I Told You’ before, and the whole album is like that are songs that I don’t know if I’d ever done. And it’s been fun. It’s been amazing. We’re so excited that we have singles and we have great album tracks. I mean, it’s gonna be fun puttin’ this one out.”

He says of all the songs he has recorded for the new album, “If I Told You” was the perfect first single. “Every time everybody hears it, they go, everybody that makes these decisions all went, ‘Wow! That’s a great song. Great production on it. It’s what we’ve been looking for,” says Darius. “It was really, the cream just rises to the top, and that one just rose to the top of the songs that we cut already.”

Darius is also featured on “Forever Country,” a star-studded song celebrating the CMA Awards 50th Anniversary.

Audio / Darius Rucker said his new album, featuring his latest single “If I Told You,” has been so much fun to record.

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Darius Rucker (If I Told You) 3 OC: …putting this one out. :23
“You know, this whole new project. I’m working with Ross Copperman, and we’re having fun just doing some different stuff. I’ve never sung anything like ‘If I Told You’ before, and the whole album is like that are songs that I don’t know if I’d ever done. And it’s been fun. It’s been amazing. We’re so excited that we have singles and we have great album tracks. I mean, it’s gonna be fun puttin’ this one out.”

Audio / Darius Rucker said “If I Told You” was the right and perfect song to release as the first single from his forthcoming album.

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Darius Rucker (If I Told You) 4 OC: …cut already. :17
“‘If I Told You’ was easy to pick as the first single, because every time everybody hears it, they go, everybody that makes these decisions all went, ‘Wow! That’s a great song. Great production on it. It’s what we’ve been looking for.’ It was really, the cream just rises to the top, and that one just rose to the top of the songs that we cut already.”

THE 10TH ANNUAL ACM HONORS ARE SET TO AIR ON FRIDAY.

Tune-in Friday, September 9, 2016 at 9:00pm ET/PT on CBS for the television debut of the 10th Annual ACM Honors™. Hosted by multi-ACM Award-winning group Lady Antebellum, the two-hour special is dedicated to celebrating honorees and off-camera category winners from the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards.

 The television special features an all-star lineup of live performances as well as award presentations celebrating honorees including Special Awards recipients Glen Campbell, Crystal Gayle,Eddie Rabbitt (awarded posthumously), Tanya Tucker, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Jeff Walker (awarded posthumously), Jimmy Webb, Little Big Town and The Statler Brothers. Additionally, Jason Aldean was honored with the ACM Triple Crown Award and Miranda Lambert was presented with the inaugural ACM Merle Haggard Spirit Award. Ross Copperman was also honored as Songwriter of the Year.

Artists who performed in tribute to the honorees include:

  • Kelsea Ballerini performed “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” in tribute to Crystal Gayle.
  • Dierks Bentley performed “Freedom” in tribute to Ross Copperman, joined onstage by participants of the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp.
  • Luke Bryan and Cole Swindell performed “I Love A Rainy Night” in tribute to Eddie Rabbitt.
  • Alicia Keys and Cam performed a special duet of “Girl Crush” in tribute to Little Big Town.
  • Maren Morris performed “Delta Dawn” in tribute to Tanya Tucker.
  • Chris Young and Dan + Shay performed “Flowers on the Wall” in tribute to The Statler Brothers.
  • The Band Perry performed “MacArthur Park” in tribute to Jimmy Webb.
  • Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley performed an all-star medley in a special tribute to Glen Campbell. The medley consisted of Campbell’s hits “Southern Nights,” “Gentle On My Mind,” “Wichita Linemen,” “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” and the iconic “Rhinestone Cowboy.”

 The Academy’s Studio Recording Award winners were celebrated in a pre-televised ceremony, and many served as the house band for the night under the direction of music director Frank Liddell. Backing up artists during performances on the telecast were ACM Guitarist of the Year Derek Wells, ACM Bass Player of the Year Michael Rhodes, ACM Specialty Instruments Player of the Year Danny Rader and ACM Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year Jim “Moose” Brown, who also served as bandleader.  Other Studio Recording Award honorees included Producer of the Year Dave Cobb, Audio Engineer of the Year Justin Niebank, Drummer of the Year Shannon Forrest and Steel Guitar Player of the Year Paul Franklin.

 The ceremony presenters included Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell, Dierks Bentley, Emmylou Harris, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Martina McBride, Mike Fisher,Thomas Rhett, and Toby Keith. The event was taped at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN, and sponsored by City National Bank and Kendra Scott.

 About ACM Honors™

ACM Honors™ is an evening dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Special Awards, Studio Recording Awards and Songwriter of the Year Award winners. The 10th Annual ACM Honors was taped on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and – for the first time ever – was produced for television by dick clark productions to be broadcast on Friday, September 9 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are executive producers. Tiffany Moon is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music. For more information, visit www.ACMcountry.com.

Photo L-R: Shannon Campbell, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley and Toby Keith performing at the 10th Annual ACM Honors in tribute to Glen Campbell. Photo Credit: John Shearer/Getty Images for ACM/ Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music)

NEWS AND NOTES: Chris, Sam, Darius, Mickey

Chris Stapleton picked up the trophy for Artist of the Year at the 15th Annual Americana Awards Wednesday night (September 21st). The awards show was held at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. “Thank you to all the Americana radio stations out there, it’s been a big part of what we’ve been doing,” Chrissaid, genuinely touched by the Artist of the Year award. “I’m nervous, there’s so many heroes out here in audience and up here on the stage, this is a remarkable thing.”

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George Strait attended the 15th Annual Americana Awards this week to present singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Sam Hunt will be one of the headliners at the 5th Annual Taste of Country Music Festival. He’ll join previously announced headliner Jason Aldean at next year’s festival, being held June 9th – 11th at Hunter Mountain Resort in Hunter, New York.

Darius Rucker shot the video for his latest single, “If I Told,” at the top of the Capitol building in Los Angeles on Wednesday (September 21st).


Mickey Guyton performed her single, “Heartbreak Song,” on NBC’s Today show on Wednesday (September 21st).

Video / Mickey Guyton performs "Heartbreak Song" on Today Show.

KACEY MUSGRAVES WILL RELEASE HER FIRST CHRISTMAS ALBUM, A VERY KACEY CHRISTMAS.

KM Christmas

Kacey Musgraves will release her very first holiday album, “A Very Kacey Christmas” Featuring Leon Bridges, Willie Nelson & The Quebe Sisters on Friday, Oct. 28. Produced by Musgraves, Misa Arriaga and Kyle Ryan, the album features four festive original tracks, co-written by Musgraves, as well as covers of eight holiday favorites.

“Working on my first Christmas album has been one of the most enriching musical experiences I’ve ever had and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it,” said Musgraves. “I really wanted to create a whimsical throwback holiday record, one that evokes feelings of nostalgia and simpler times. I think that the fine musicians and brains that were a part of this project have helped me create a body of music that can be added to people’s classic collections.”

To Musgraves, holiday music has always had a great combination of pop sensibilities and melodies, and when she began to work on the album, she knew she wanted to create something unique. It’s been an exciting experience for her to watch these songs come alive. “It would have been easy to simply copy old versions of these songs that have been around forever, but it was very important for us to build arrangements that are totally new and very me.”

Inspired by Bing Crosby, the Andrew Sisters, Nat King Cole and the classic sounds of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, “A Very Kacey Christmas” features the Grammy Award-winner’s charming take on classic standards, as well as four original tracks to put her personal perspective on the holidays. “There can be a touch of sad feelings and memories during the holiday season for a lot of people so I knew when I went in to write I wanted to include all the emotions this time of year can bring out.” It’s tough to decide what the overall sound could be described as but Musgraves says it’s “part Western Swing sprinkled with bits of classic pop, hazy Hawaiian moments and child-like fun, all coming to a nostalgic and melancholy end.”

Track Listing:

  1. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
  2. Let It Snow (featuring The Quebe Sisters)
  3. Christmas Don’t Be Late
  4. A Willie Nice Christmas (Featuring Willie Nelson and Trigger; Written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne)
  5. Feliz Navidad
  6. Christmas Makes Me Cry (Written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark)
  7. Present Without A Bow (Featuring Leon Bridges; Written by Kacey Musgraves, Leon Bridges, Austin Jenkins and Luke Laird)
  8. Mele Kalikimaka (featuring The Quebe Sisters)
  9. I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas
  10. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
  11. Ribbons and Bows (Written by Kacey Musgraves, Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter)
  12. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

The Texas native has earned massive critical acclaim for her first two albums, the Gold-certified debut album Same Trailer Different Park in 2013 and Pageant Material in 2015. Musgraves has taken home the award for “New Artist of the Year” at 2013’s CMA Awards and also won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song (“Merry Go ‘Round”) and Best Country Album (Same Trailer Different Park), the ACM Award for Album of the Year (Same Trailer Different Park), and most recently the 2014 CMA Award for Song of the Year (“Follow Your Arrow”). Launched last August, The Kacey Musgraves Country & Western Rhinestone Revue has sold-out famous venues all over the world, including the famed Royal Albert Hall in London. She recently opened for George Strait’s exclusive Las Vegas shows in April, with additional performances scheduled for Sept. 9 and 10 and Dec. 2 and 3.

For additional information, please follow Kacey Musgraves on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Video / Kacey Musgraves A Very Kacey Christmas

ERIC PASLAY EARNS HIS ‘ANGEL’ WINGS.

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Eric Paslay has partnered with renowned artist Kelsey Montague, known for her original angel wing street art around the world, and asked her to paint an original set of  wings for him to take out on tour this year in support of his new single “Angels In This Town” and his paying-it-forward “Angel Visits.”  Eric is also thrilled to announce that the wings and a website dedicated to spreading positivity are being presented by Dexcom, a partnership that has grown throughout 2016 and aims to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes and the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for people living with the disease.  Their shared goal of improving lives ties in with everything the song, and the corresponding Angels in This Town movement seeks to promote.

The inspirational work Paslay has been doing with “Angels In This Town” – including the “Angel Visits” where he
visits local “angels” in the towns on his tour stops including hospitals, fire houses, police stations, Girls and Boys Clubs, Habitat for Humanity volunteers and more – has been inspiring to Montague and aligns seamlessly with her signature #whatliftsyou initiative. “I’m so happy to be working with another creative who is also committed to lifting and inspiring others,” said Montague. Paslay was equally inspired by Montague and quickly became a fan of her work and the message of #whatliftsyou. He even used her Original Street Art located at 11th Ave. South in Nashville as the backdrop for the art accompanying his new single.

At this past weekend’s tour stop in Denver, CO, Paslay and Montague completed the intricate project together. Paslay, an avid craftsman, built the stands for the piece while artist Montague completed the original work of art – a life-sized pair of wings, which includes images of guitars, microphones and the Nashville skyline, a nod to Eric’s home and career. These wings will be available for fans to experience and take pictures with at each tour stop for the remainder of the year. As fans at Denver’s Grizzly Rose did during the wing exhibit’s “opening night,” everyone is encouraged to post their photos using Eric’s and Kelsey’s signature hashtags “angelsinthistown” and “whatliftsyou”.  While in Denver, both artists also took the time to visit the Seacrest Studios at Children’s Hospital Colorado, where Eric performed for the kids and staff and Kelsey distributed coloring sheets featuring her wing artwork.

In conjunction with the art project, a new website – AngelsInThisTown.com – also launches as a call to action for fans to profile the heroes and positive stories in their own lives and towns across the country. Additionally, as fans share their stories, take pictures with Montague’s Angel Wings, and use the hashtag #angelsinthistown, they may see their post featured on the site, presented by Dexcom. A few lucky fans, handpicked by Eric, will not only see their stories re-posted to Eric’s social media, but may also hear from the singer himself.

“Angels In This Town” is now available for download at all digital retail outlets. To stream the song, visit the “Angels In This Town” playlist HERE.

The unique single art is by Original Street Art by Kelsey Montague, located at 11th Ave. South in the Gulch, between the Gulch Crossing and Velocity buildings, Nashville, Tenn.  Montague is an internationally renowned artist that explores how public art, interactive art and social media intersect.  Her murals invite people into the piece and then to share online.  “I believe that art should not be separated from the human experience.  Instead the human experience should have a hand in creating the art itself,” said Montague on her website. To learn more about Montague and her work go to
www.kelseymontagueart.com

“Angels In This Town,” is written by Paslay, Corey Crowder and Erik Dylan, from his forthcoming sophomore album, DRESSED IN BLACK.

About Dexcom, Inc.
Dexcom, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, CA, is dedicated to helping people better manage their diabetes by developing and marketing continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) products and tools for adult and pediatric patients. With exceptional performance, patient comfort and lifestyle flexibility at the heart of its technology, users have consistently ranked Dexcom highest in customer satisfaction and loyalty. For more information on the Dexcom CGM, visit www.dexcom.com.

About Eric Paslay
EMI Records Nashville breakout country artist, Eric Paslay, delivers a powerful punch as a renowned, Platinum-selling, hit songwriter and dynamic performer. Paslay has celebrated five No. 1 hits including “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” (Eli Young Band), “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” (Jake Owen), “Angel Eyes” (Love & Theft), “Rewind” (Rascal Flatts) and “Friday Night,” the smash lead single from his critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. The Temple, Texas native earned nominations for GRAMMY Best Country Song, ACM Song of the Year and CMA Song of The Year for “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” in 2013 and earned his first GRAMMY nomination as an artist in 2016 for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “The Driver”- a collaboration with friends Charles Kelley and Dierks Bentley. Most recently he was honored with an ACM Song of the Year nomination for “She Don’t Love You” at the 2016 ACMs in Las Vegas. A true artist’s artist, USA Today calls Paslay “flat out-brilliant” and American Songwriter names him an influencer of country music.

Paslay has joined friends Chris Young and Brad Paisley on tour this past year and is currently out with Toby Keith this summer as part of “The Interstates and Tailgates Tour, Presented by Ford F-Series.” On the road he has been sharing new songs with fans from his forthcoming sophomore album, DRESSED IN BLACK, including his brand new single “Angels in This Town”- an especially meaningful song for Paslay as it celebrates not only the unexplained miracles in life but also local heroes around the world.

For the latest information on Paslay go to:

Video / Eric earns his wings

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CANAAN SMITH REVEALS FALL HEADLINING ‘SUNDOWN READY’ TOUR.

Canaan Smith just announced his headlining SUNDOWN READY TOUR launching this fall. With almost 15 cross-country dates, the road warrior kicks off the tour in Indianapolis, Indiana October 7th. Fans can purchase tickets beginning today at www.CanaanSmith.com.

The Virginia native is on course to notch over 150 performances this year and has previously toured with the likes of Dierks Bentley, Brantley Gilbert and Kip Moore. “The inspiration for this tour came from life on the road and meeting fans who are fun-loving, ‘sundown ready’, just like me and my band,” says Canaan. “Instead of taking time off, we couldn’t resist getting back out there with the fans.”

Last summer, the singer/songwriter released his debut album, Bronco, which includes the Platinum-Certified No. 1 smash hit “Love You Like That.” Bronco debuted in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart and features 10 additional tracks.

Dynamic newcomer Michael Tyler will join Canaan on the SUNDOWN READY TOUR. Michael recently released his current single “Crazy Last Night” and just celebrated his first No.1 as a songwriter for Dierks Bentley’s “Somewhere On A Beach.”

SUNDOWN READY TOUR Dates:

Oct. 7                     Indianapolis, IN                                   8 Seconds Saloon

Oct. 8                     Medina, OH                                         Thirsty Cowboys

Oct. 14                  Knoxville, TN                                        Cotton Eyed Joe

Oct. 15                  Raleigh, NC                                          City Limits Saloon

Oct. 20                  Morgantown, WV                              Schmitt’s Saloon

Oct. 21                  Jordan, NY                                            Kegs Canalside Event Center

Oct. 22                  Mt. Laurel, NJ                                     Prospectors

Nov. 4                    Columbus, OH                                     The Bluestone

Nov. 5                    Ft. Wayne, IN                                      Rusty Spur Saloon

Nov. 10                  Lincoln, NE                                           The Single Barrel

Nov. 11                  Denver, CO                                          The Grizzly Rose

CMA AWARDS 2016 NOMINATIONS: Keith Urban

Keith Urban received four nominations for this year’s CMA Awards, including Entertainer of the Year, which he won in 2005. Keith’s additional nominations include Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Ripcord, which had several producers (Dann Huff, Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson, Greg Wills, Nile Rodgers, busbee, K-Kov, Nathan Chapman, Jonny Price and Keith), as well as Musical Event of the Year for “The Fighter” featuring Carrie Underwood. Keith could receive an additional trophy as producer of his album.

A SIDENOTE: Keith has won the Musical Event category four times including “Start A Band” with Paisley (2009); “Highway Don’t Care” with McGraw and Taylor Swift (2013); “We Were Us” with Miranda Lambert (2014); and “Raise ‘Em Up,” featuring Church (2015).

With eight CMA Awards already under his belt, he realizes how much has already accomplished. But he also feels like there’s still a lot of gas left in the tank.

“I feel an immense amount of satisfaction for what I’ve gotten to do so far,” he tells Rolling Stone Country. “But right now, Ripcord and the way it’s been received, it feels like the start of the next chapter. It’s a great feeling.”

The 50th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 2nd at 8pm ET on ABC.

Audio / Keith Urban reacts to his CMA Nominations.

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Keith Urban (CMA 2016 reaction) OC: …this morning. :13
“Elated. I feel elated that we got these nominations this morning. And I just want to thank everybody who’s involved in my team and behind-the-scenes, the songwriters and producers, everybody who made this possible this morning.”

Audio / Keith Urban talks about working with different producers on his new album, Ripcord, as well as how songs may end up differently than what they had first thought.

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Keith Urban (working with multiple producers) OC: …always worth it. 1:10
“I know when we did a lot of songs on this record and worked with people like Jeff Asker and Dan Huff and Nathan Chapman- people I’ve worked with- particularly Nate and Dan- people I’ve worked with before. There’s a lot of familiarity and comfort level working with them, but you also gotta keep pushing each other to go beyond. Really squeeze everything out of the orange is the goal in the studio. You know, certainly on a song like ‘John Cougar, John Deer, John 3:16’ I could feel the song wanting to be sonically different than what we started out with which was sort of playing guitar and drums and that’s how the song started in the studio was just guitar- acoustic guitar- and drums. But I could feel this strong pull towards… there’s something else. There’s something else. Keep searching. Keep searching and don’t rest on this because if there’s something saying there’s more, you gotta answer that call. It’s just sometimes you can’t be bothered, right? In life. Life is saying you gotta get out of the boat and start swimming and you’re like ‘The boat’s fine!’ and the boat’s getting smaller and capsizing and you’re like ‘That’s alright.’ But every time we get out of it and follow the muse. Every time we follow the muse it is so worth it. As much work as it may be, it’s always worth it.”

 

CMA AWARDS 2016 NOMINATIONS: Dierks Bentley

Dierks Bentley has four nominations, including Male Vocalist, Album of the Year for Black, Music Video for “Somewhere on a Beach” and Musical Event of the Year for “Different for Girls” with Elle King, who scores her first CMA nomination.

“There’s so many talented people in this town, so anybody who thinks [the honor is] a cliché has no idea how hard it is to make it,” he tells Rolling Stone Country. “It’s a really big deal to be one of the five people on any one of these cards I’m holding. So for a new artists out there, or maybe an artist who’s been struggling for a little while and they’re finding their footing again and are on one of these lists, it’s a tremendous honor.”

The 50th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 2nd at 8pm ET on ABC.

Audio / Dierks Bentley reacts to his four CMA nominations.

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Dierks Bentley (CMA 2016 reaction) OC: …huge honor. :40
“It feels great to be nominated for four CMAs. You know, I was driving down here to do this, and I wasn’t really even thinking about the fact that I might possibly hear about me being nominated. I just didn’t put two-and-two together. I’m not that bright, I guess. [laughs] So, when I got down there, I’m like, ‘Oh wait. I might be reading my own nominations today, which is amazing. You work so hard on your music, and the most important audience is your fans and that’s where we take our show every night. I get validated on stage every night just by that direct interaction with our fans, but it’s great to have that recognition from your peers and this town. Just to be one of the five people nominated for any category the CMA has to offer is a huge honor.”

Audio / Dierks Bentley says his new Black album shows a lot of growth and maturity.

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Dierks Bentley (growth in album) OC: …understand it. :56
“The record when people listen to it, they’re gonna hear right away that it’s about relationships and hopefully, project their own history and storyline and relationships into this particular album. For me, it has a thread of this guy who starts off in this one place with the song ‘Black,’ kind of in the moment with this one girl and then the cracks and the fissures start to show themselves. The next song, ‘Pick Up,’ you have this desperation and then ‘I’ll Be the Moon,’ there’s some deception going on, and then it just kind of goes from there. It’s a real story about just the highs and lows and really the maturity that I guess I go through, this singer goes through, throughout the album. You know the same guy that’s singing ‘Somewhere on a Beach,’ by the end of the record is singing a song called ‘Different for Girls,’ where he’s obviously matured enough to see that there is a different way that girls and guys handle breakups sometimes and there’s also a stereotype that goes along with that unfortunately, as well, too. A lot of growth throughout the record, but it’s all about relationships and this one person’s journey through love and trying to understand it.”

Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about having Elle King sing on the song, “Different For Girls” on his new album, Black.

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Dierks Bentley (Elle King) OC: …new place. :36
“Well, I love Elle King’s voice. I mean she has such a unique voice, and you never know if her voice is going to blend with your voice. I didn’t found out until I went down to the studio in Austin, and right away it was just a really natural sounding blend. Her voice just lifted up this song. The lyrics of this song are pretty strong and her voice on this particular song really takes the song to a whole other level. I really wanted to find a way for her not to just be background vocals. I wanted to find a way to really get her included in the song, so I gave her the second verse and made the song more of a conversation as opposed to just background vocals. And it really, it just took the song to a whole new place.”

CMA AWARDS 2016 NOMINATIONS: Chris Stapleton

After his amazing breakout year in 2015, Chris Stapleton will go into this year’s CMA Awards to win possibly five awards (six as artist and producer for Single of the Year for “Nobody to Blame”). In addition to Single, he is also up for Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Music Video of the Year for “Fire Away” and Musical Event of the Year with his wife Morgane Stapleton (her first nomination) for “You Are My Sunshine.”

The 50th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 2nd at 8pm ET on ABC.

Audio / Backstage at last year's CMA Awards, Chris Stapleton told the press he felt embraced by the Nashville music community after picking up trophies in three categories.

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Chris Stapleton (feeling of being embraced) OC: …a real one, you know? :17
“It’s surreal. Very unbelievable. I don’t have enough kind of adjectives to get there, but it’s a wonderful feeling. It’s a lot of love. I feel a lot of love. I feel very loved. It’s a short answer, but it’s a real one, you know.”

Audio / Chris Stapleton talks about coming up with the concept of the music video for “Fire Away.”

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Chris Stapleton (Fire Away video) OC: …grew from there. :25
“The song is kinda about loving somebody unconditionally through not so easy times. The concept of the video kind of came to me as that would be the hardest possible space in which to love somebody. I’ve been a huge fan of Ben’s [Foster] for a long time and so we tried to track him down and he was kind enough to take the phone call. And then it kind of grew from there.”

CMA NOMINATIONS 2016: Eric Church

Eric Church picked up five nominations for this year’s CMA Awards. The nods include Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Mr. Misunderstood (produced by Jay Joyce and Arturo Buenahora, Jr., as well as Single of the Year for his recent No. 1 hit “Record Year,” Song of the Year for “Record Year,” which was written by Eric and Jeff Hyde and Music Video of the Year for “Record Year,” which was directed by Reid Long and John Peets. He now has a total of 22 career nominations since his first in 2011 for New Artist of the Year.

The 50th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 2nd at 8pm ET on ABC.

Audio / ERIC CHURCH EXPLAINS WHY HE SURPRISED EVERYONE BY RELEASING HIS CMA-NOMINATED ALBUM OF THE YEAR, MR. MISUNDERSTOOD, WITHOUT ANY BUILDUP.

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Eric Church (MM album) 1 OC: …album was. :41
“I didn’t expect inspiration to really strike the way it did. I mean, I certainly didn’t sit down and expect to write an album or have an album, but it happened that way. When it happened, all of it happened in about 30 days, I thought it was a crime against that inspiration to when it fell out like that to just put it on a shelf for a while. So, we decided to, instead of what most people do which is based around hype which is to let the label have the product and let the media or our critics, we decided to let the fans have it first. So, snail mail, we sent out about 80,000 of the vinyl and CDs and really let the fans be the mouthpiece for what this album was.”

Audio / Eric Church says records were always what he turned to in times of trouble or distress, and that he would find the solution in a “stack of vinyl,” like he sings about in “Record Year.”

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Eric Church (Record Year) 1 OC: …our career. :43
“Well, it was kind of the start of the album for me. I mean, when we put out the album, it was a surprise and ‘Mr. Misunderstood’ was the first song, ‘cause it was the album title. But for me, the record always started with ‘Record Year.’ I’m a vinyl fan back before it was in vogue, like it is now, but I can remember, there’s a line in the song that talks about ‘slowly planning my survival/in a three-foot stack of vinyl,’ and I remember, whatever it is that I had to get over or get past or get through, I remember records being my refuge during that time. It was a song, and it IS a song that I’m proud of and I think it’ll be one of the bigger ones in our career.”

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  • Alan Jackson with WUSN/Chicago’s Jeff Kapugi and Marci Braun, as well as UMG Nashville’s Mike Dungan and Steve Hodges.