Keith, who debuted the song during CRS at The Ryman Auditorium as part of the annual Team UMG luncheon, “Most of us have been in dysfunctional relationships before, where there’s not a lot of compatibility, except for that one area where it’s so good you put up with all the rest. A phone call or a night out and you’re right back where you shouldn’t be.”
02. MESSED UP AS ME This song is about a relationship…should we call it a relationship ??? We’re calling it a relationship. It’s about two people who know they aren’t good for each other: it’s dysfunctional, makes no sense, it might even be toxic, but they keep going back… pic.twitter.com/NZfQYorHn0
Musically there’s an unresolved quality to the song. Just like a dysfunctional relationship, it’s a cycle of always going back to what you know. “Messed Up As Me” is produced by Keith and longtime co-producer Dann Huff, and follows last month’s release of “Straight Line.” Both are expected to be on the superstar’s album slated for release later this year.
Audio / Keith Urban talks about his new single, "Messed Up As Me."
Keith Urban (Messed Up As Me) OC: …well worth it. :38 “‘Messed Up As Me’ is a (laughs), it’s a song about a relationship that is kind of pretty dysfunctional, pretty messy, except for one part of it and that one part of it is amazing. (laughs) In fact, that one part is so good that you figure out just putting up with all the rest that is dysfunctional, possibly toxic (laughs) and just messy. Between the two of you, that one thing is well worth it.”
Reba McEntire returns as a Coach for Season 25 of The Voice tonight (February 26th) after making her red-chair debut on the show in Season 24. Check out the season premiere beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT on NBC.
What is Keith Urban up to? He posted a cryptic message on his socials this morning (February 26th) saying, “hey…what are you doin’ right now?” The image in the post is a clock with its hands at 2:45 with
I’M OUT TONIGHT
AND I’M FEELIN’ LIKE
I SHOULD CALL YOU UP
AND MAYBE TAKE A SHOT
THAT YOU’RE WIDE AWAKE
AT A QUARTER TO 3
Luke Bryan and his fellow American Idol judges — Katy Perry and Lionel Richie — were stunned on Sunday night (February 25th) when Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter, Emmy Russell, auditioned for the popular competition show. She performed an original song about an eating disorder called “Skinny,” and all three judges sent her to Hollywood with a golden ticket.
Don’t forget to catch Kacey Musgraves performing on NBC’s Saturday Night Live this Saturday (March 2nd). Actress Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, Euphoria, The White Lotus) will host. Check local listings for time.
During Keith Urban‘s early career, he got the chance to be the opening act on Brooks & Dunn‘s Neon Circus Tour, which also featured Montgomery Gentry on the bill, as well as Toby Keith. He loved being out on the road with those guys, and he recalls riding Toby’s tour bus when they had to make an urgent pit stop at 2am at one point.
“The Neon Circus Tour with Brooks & Dunn – I was the opening, opening, opening act going on at, I don’t know, four in the afternoon (laughs) and you know playing my 20-minute set, and then Montgomery Gentry came out and played a set and then Toby came out and then Kix and Ronnie came out and killed it,” recalls Keith. “It was an amazing tour. I have a lot of stories from that tour. I rode on Toby’s tour bus on his 40th birthday, which was surreal, and there we are rolling down some interstate and he gets hungry at two in the morning, so we pull in to a Steak ‘n Shake, sat in the booth and ordered Steak ‘n Shake.”
The entire tour lineup decided to make after-show stops at local bars and take over for the house band.
“We would always do it unannounced, and it would be almost all of us – Montgomery Gentry, me, Toby, Kix and Ronnie, when they finished, we’d all end up there playing,” says Keith. “It was amazing because some of the clubs would only have six people in them because everybody’s at the concert. These people couldn’t go to the concert, so we show up, jump up and start started playing songs and then the club would fill up. And then people would have you signing all their shirts and stuff like that, and for whatever reason, I thought, ‘I’m just gonna sign Keith instead of both of my names. It’ll cut my signing time in half.’ So, I’m writing Keith (laughs) on all these shirts, and then at the end of the night, I noticed these people whose shirts are signed, and it’s like, it’s got more writing on it. And I went over and looked. Toby just started writing his name first, but he put it right in front of mine. (laughs) So, he got a full signature, and I got nothing.”
Toby Keith passed away February 5th from his battle with stomach cancer. He was 62 years old.
Audio / Keith Urban recalls being on the Brooks & Dunn Neon Circus Tour with Toby Keith and stopping for a late-night snack.
Keith Urban (Toby Keith) 1 OC: …Steak ‘n Shake. :35 “The Neon Circus Tour with Brooks & Dunn – I was the opening, opening, opening act going on at, I don’t know, four in the afternoon (laughs) and you know playing my 20-minute set, and then Montgomery Gentry came out and played a set and then Toby came out and then Kix and Ronnie came out and killed it. It was an amazing tour. I have a lot of stories from that tour. I rode on Toby’s tour bus on his 40th birthday, which was surreal, and there we are rolling down some interstate and he gets hungry at two in the morning, so we pull in to a Steak ‘n Shake, sat in the booth and ordered Steak ‘n Shake.”
Audio / Keith Urban recalls a funny story about Toby Keith when he went on tour with him on Brooks & Dunn's Neon Circus Tour.
Keith Urban (Toby Keith) 2 OC: …I got nothing. 1:19
“On that tour, we started getting into the habit when we would come off stage, we would find the local honkytonk where there was a country music band playing, and we would organize all our buses to go to that line dance bar or whatever it was, and then we would get up and just take over for the house band. We would always do it unannounced, and it would be almost all of us – Montgomery Gentry, me, Toby Kix and Ronnie, when they finished, we’d all end up there playing. It was amazing because some of the clubs would only have six people in them because everybody’s at the concert. These people couldn’t go to the concert, so we show up, jump up and start started playing songs and then the club would fill up. And then people would have you signing all their shirts and stuff like that, and for whatever reason, I thought, ‘I’m just gonna sign Keith instead of both of my names. It’ll cut my signing time in half.’ So, I’m writing Keith (laughs) on all these shirts, and then at the end of the night, I noticed these people whose shirts are signed, and it’s like, it’s got more writing on it. And I went over and looked. Toby just started writing his name first, but he put it right in front of mine. (laughs) So, he got a full signature, and I got nothing.”
Darius Rucker was performing in Las Vegas after the Madden Bowl — and prior to the Super Bowl — for several NFL executives and members when Miami Dolphins’ Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa jumped on stage with guitar on hand to perform the multi-platinum “Wagon Wheel.”
Keith Urban will perform during this summer’s NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend, taking place July 6th-7th. The Black Keys and The Chainsmokers will also perform.
Mickey Guyton performed at the Super Bowl Soulful Celebration on Saturday night (February 10th). The concert special, which aired on CBS and Paramount+, brought together musical artists and NFL players to celebrate the Big Game. Robin Thicke, Kirk Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire, T-Pain and many others also performed.
Chris Stapleton and The War And Treaty join an all-star lineup for a special concert event honoring the iconic Mavis Staples. Mavis Staples 85th: All-Star Birthday Concert, which takes place April 18th at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, will also feature performances by Black Pumas, Grace Potter, Hozier, Jackson Browne, Jeff Tweedy, Keb’ Mo’, Michael McDonald, Nathaniel Rateliff, Norah Jones, Robert Randolph, Taj Mahal, plus many more to be announced. Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday (February 16th) at 10am PT at http://ticketmaster.com.
Looking forward to celebrating my friend Mavis Staples on her 85th Birthday on April 18th, 2024.
Each year on February 14th, many people exchange cards, candy, gifts or flowers with their special someone. The day of romance we call Valentine’s Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century.
Over 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion.
We’ve got some thoughts and feelings and more about love, romance and marriage from several of your favorite country artists. A few are new and some have become our favorites over the years. Which country stars are romantic? Which ones have a good reason to celebrate the holiday that’s all about love?
RebaMcEntire teams up with Sonic to bring a limited edition Sweetheart Meal — complete with her favorite Tater Tots — for Valentine’s Day.
“We got a lot of history together now, and we’re happier than we’ve ever been. So, she’s still beautiful, and she’s always inspired songs. I mean, one of my early hits was a song called ‘I’d Love You All Over Again,’ I wrote for her for our 10th anniversary. I mean, there’s been a zillion songs that have pieces of our good days and bad days inspired, and they continue to.”
Audio / Billy Currington recalls his first real Valentine’s Day.
Billy Currington (Valentine’s Day memory) OC: …took off running. :21 “Yeah, I remember my first girlfriend. I was in first or second grade, but anyway, I remember it was Valentine’s Day and your mom going, ‘You’ve got to give your girlfriend something, and you’ve got to go give it to her.’ I’ll never forget — we got her a box of chocolates or whatever it was. I remember going down to her classroom and knocking on the door, getting her to come to the door. I remember handing it to her, and then I took off running.”
Audio / Carrie Underwood is all about the chocolate most couples give each other on Valentine’s Day.
Carrie Underwood (Valentine’s Day-chocolate) OC: …white chocolate. :14 “Chocolate’s every woman’s friend – in their time of need or in their time of happiness or in their time of sadness or madness, chocolate is my friend. Anything with caramel in it, ooooooooh. White chocolate’s good too. You can’t beat some good white chocolate.”
Audio / Before tying the knot with wife Cassady, Dierks Bentley says Valentine's Day wasn't always a pleasant holiday for him.
Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day) 1 OC: …want to. :19
“Well, before, as a single guy in the past, if you were dating someone, it’s that holiday that comes along where you have to really like stamp out on paper exactly where the relationship really stands. You don’t want to undershoot it ’cause then you’ll be in trouble, you know, if you don’t give the right present or don’t say the right things, you’re gonna be in the doghouse. But then if you overstate your hand, then you’re moving the relationship way faster than you actually want to.”
Audio / DIERKS BENTLEY SAYS THE MOST INTERESTING GIFT HE AND HIS WIFE CASSIDY HAVE GIVEN EACH OTHER WERE MIXTAPES OF SONGS.
Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day-most interesting gift he’s given his wife) OC: …formulate yourself. 1:19
“When ‘What Was I Thinkin’’ was released in 2003, I didn’t know what my life would look like, and all of a sudden, I found myself out on the road full-time, just gone. So, the place where I was staying, I had some friends pack it up and move it into a storage facility…and in there I found some letters that she and I had written back and forth when we were dating. I was working at The Nashville Network and she was working out in San Francisco and found some letters I had written her and I’d gotten back and some stuff she’d sent me, including a CD of songs she’d been listening to, back when you made CD mixes and there’s like these three hearts on that CD. I just found that it was so meaningful for me those gifts you give each other before any money, before anything else was going on, just music, giving of mixtapes was so cool. She reminded me of a mixtape that I had sent her. I’d sent it to her via FedEx, because it was so important she get this as quickly as possible. This was sadly before, I guess we had internet back then, but you really couldn’t send songs over the internet. I think the most interesting thing I’ve given her and she’s given me was just mixtapes, because there’s nothing like music to put into words and the thoughts you have in your head that you can’t formulate yourself.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about the love you have for your children.
“You get married and that’s a long-term, bigger image of what love can be. Then you have a child, and your heart gets spread so thin and it’s so vulnerable, like it’s a really tough, tough feeling, and it can kill you. It can really be painful at times, and at the same time, it’s so great. But it definitely stretches your heart…and it doesn’t change anything, it just makes your heart, I think it just makes it bigger. I think you just find that you can love more than you ever thought you could before.”
Audio / Eric Church says his wife, Katherine, loves him in spite of, and for, his fallibilities.
“True love to me is when you love a person in spite of all their fallibilities, and for me, I have a lot of ‘em. I’m definitely at times hard to love, and that’s what’s great about Katherine and the way she loves me. She loves me in spite of those things and really for those things.”
George Strait (Love) OC: …go ‘round. :14 “If you don’t have love, I mean what do you have? You know, you have love for your wife or your husband or your children or your dogs or your horses or your golf clubs, you know? Love is what makes the world go ‘round.”
Audio / Jon Pardi says he has learned a lot about love and about Valentine’s Day from his wife, Summer.
Jon Pardi (Valentine’s Day – Summer) OC: …for you. (laughs) :35 “One thing Summer has taught me is that gifts are cool, diamonds, blah, blah, blah, but to take your time and clear your mind and write something about what she means to you on a card is probably the most least expensive and the biggest price you can give her is just to write and tell her how much you love her on a little card. That’s what she taught me for Valentine’s Day, so I just do that. It’s way cheaper. (laughs) And of course, I always say to her, ‘Babe, every day is Valentine’s Day for you.’” (laughs)
Audio / Jordan Davis talks about meeting his wife in New Orleans. They were both there attending separate weddings.
Jordan Davis (meeting wife) OC: …here we are. :47 “My college roommate was getting married in New Orleans. My wife was in New Orleans for a totally separate wedding. Both wedding parties were staying at the same hotel, so we met, the first time, in the lobby of the hotel. I’m actually wearing a necklace that has the coordinates to that hotel. Then the next day, me and my brother walk into a bar in New Orleans, and her and her friends were sitting in the corner, and I was like, ‘Hey-that’s the girl from the lobby.’ She was actually dating somebody at the time. But we kind of exchanged numbers and stayed in contact, and about two months later, a month later, she came into town for CMA Music Fest and told me that she no longer had a boyfriend, and here we are.”
Audio / Jordan Davis reveals the Valentine’s Day tradition he and his wife enjoy every year, however THIS year, he’s touring overseas, so it might be a little hard to find an Olive Garden in Europe.
Jordan Davis (Valentine’s Day tradition) OC: …happy Valentine’s. (laughs) “When it comes to Valentines, Kristen is way more romantic than I am. I’m not a very romantic guy. I have worked on it. I’ve tried to get a little bit better over the years. Kristen loves chocolate so she’s good for a big chocolate box, but here’s our thing about Valentine’s Day, and this is the God’s honest truth. We’ve been going to Olive Garden on Valentine’s Day since we met. We’ve continued that tradition. I think it started with her and a friend, they used to always go to Olive Garden on Valentine’s Day before they started dating, or before they got in a relationship. So, we have carried that out, so this year will be our, I believe our eighth Valentines in a row where we go in for endless salad and bread sticks. So, if its Valentine’s Day, and you’re at an Olive Garden, we could be next to each other. So, yeah, hope to see somebody out there at the table next to us just hammering on some breadsticks. So, happy Valentine’s.” (laughs)
Audio / Jordan Davis talks about a couple of his favorite love songs.
Jordan Davis (love song) OC: …well done! :25 “I guess Valentine’s Day gets you to thinking about love songs. You know, me and my wife’s first dance was ‘I’m Gonna Lose You’ [by] John Legend and Meghan Trainor. I think that’s just an amazing love song. I think also a love song that I heard the other day? ‘Strawberry Wine’ from Deana Carter? Great love song. I listened to that a lot. Ooooh Deana Carter. Well done.”
Audio / Josh Turner says his wife would call him a romantic, but since they have four children, it takes a bit of work to make time for each other.
Josh Turner (Romantic) OC: …long time to come. :26 “If you ask my wife Jennifer if I was a romantic, she would definitely say, ‘Yes,’ but she knows that sometimes my hectic schedule and our busy lifestyles can kind of interfere with the romantic side of things. But we do try to make efforts towards being together and having adult conversations and taking time away from the children and doing things that husbands and wives do, so we’ll definitely try to continue that for a long time to come.”
Audio / KEITH URBAN TALKS ABOUT THE SUPPORT HE AND HIS WIFE, OSCAR-WINNING ACTRESS NICOLE KIDMAN, GIVE EACH OTHER, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT WHEN TWO CREATIVE ARTISTS ARE MARRIED TO EACH OTHER.
Keith Urban (Nicole support) OC: …very important. :17 “I feel very blessed that I have the support of my family like I do. It’s a beautiful thing having two artists because we understand the passion and the responsibility of what we get to do. It’s very important.”
Audio / KYLIE MORGAN SAYS HER HUSBAND JAY ALLEN IS THE MOST ROMANTIC PERSON SHE'S EVER MET.
Kylie Morgan (Valentine’s Day) OC: …I’ve ever had. :33 “Man, I will say my husband Jay Allen, who is also a country music artist if you guys haven’t heard of him, he is the most romantic person I’ve ever met in my entire life, truly. For Valentine’s Day, gosh, two years ago, I came home to the entire house being lit with tiny candles, a whole dinner made with my favorite bottle of wine, and this was even before he proposed. So, a lot of people thought that he was gonna pop the question that night, but he saved that for a later time. But it was the most magical Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had.”
Audio / Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman says falling in love with her husband, Stephen Schlapman, came as a big surprise.
Little Big Town (Kimberly falling in love) OC: …healed me. 1:20 Kimberly: “Well, I wasn’t planning on falling in love, at all. I didn’t want to…I wasn’t sure that I ever would. So, my husband now and I were just really good friends, and after my late husband died all my friends were calling me, all the time. Just checking up on me. He was just an old friends. We had known each other for about six years and he started calling me just like everybody else did. But, he started calling me more than everybody else did [laughs]. We had both been through similar losses, he hadn’t lost a mate but he had lost a close friend, so we kind of bonded over that. I grieved, kind of, at him a lot. He took my grief, I had a lot of grief left, and he just took it and listened and accepted it and was so understanding and let me talk about my late husband all the time. We still talk about him a lot, and he’s totally fine with it. He says that, that made me who he fell in love with and he never minds if I bring anything from the past up which is just really sweet. I was shocked, I remember when I first realized that I was having feelings. I just thought, OK, this is so weird. What is this? I haven’t felt this in a long, long, time. This is weird. But, eventually I allowed myself and it’s been the most beautiful gift of my life. It pulled me out of the deepest hole that I’ve ever been in and healed me.”
Audio / Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook had a chemistry performing together, but it wasn’t until they each found themselves single…at the same time…that sparks flew romantically. The pair, who wed in 2006, have a son, Elijah.
Little Big Town (Jimi & Karen fell in love) OC: (Kimberly) …to be together. :48
JIMI: “We were in the band a long time before there was ever anything which is interesting. I think there was always something underlying there that we were kind of trying to ignore. And then when the opportunity came, when all of us, ended up single kind of at the same time, a very strange turn of events for the band in a lot of different ways. And those feelings, you were able to come out with them finally. It was like, we’re single. Let’s get together. And, you know, she has a beautiful heart and she’s absolutely gorgeous and I just love her dearly.”
PHILLIP: “Get a room!” [laughs]
KIMBERLY: “They’re a perfect match. They really are. They were meant to be together.”
Audio / LITTLE BIG TOWN’S PHILLIP SWEET WAS READY FOR LOVE WHEN HE MET REBECCA, HIS WIFE SINCE 2007.
Little Big Town (Phillip – reasons fell in love) OC: …real love. :17 “I think everything that I had gone through before had prepared me to be ready to see that there was genuine love there for me, and my Rebecca. So, it was just a great time, I wouldn’t have been ready before I met her…Now it’s just been a really great journey to heal through the past and to know real love.”
Audio / LUKE BRYAN TALKS ABOUT MARRYING CAROLINE, HIS COLLEGE SWEETHEART.
Luke Bryan (married college sweetheart) OC: …married. :27 ”I married my college sweetheart. We dated back in college and broke up for nearly six years, and while I was off doing my Nashville stuff and touring and writing songs, she was finishing getting her career kind of going. Man, we just kinda bumped into each other one night, and it was like bam, here we are married.”
Audio / Luke Bryan talks about his favorite love song.
Luke Bryan (love song with Caroline) OC: …That’s it! :11 “Caroline and I, we had a love song in college. It was Lenny Kravitz’ [starts singing] ‘I just can’t get you off of my mind.’ That’s it!”
Audio / Maddie & Tae’s Taylor Kerr talks about her husband, songwriter Josh Kerr. The pair are just about to celebrate their fourth anniversary as a married couple (they got married February 21st, 2020).
Maddie & Tae (Tae talking about husband Josh) OC: …that way, you know? :45 “From the moment I met Josh, he never shied away from sharing what’s on his heart. For me, sharing what’s on my heart is sometimes hard, but he always created the environment and dynamic of it’s totally normal to open up and let people to see that side of you. And so, the more we spent time together, the more I kind of adopted that mindset of like, ‘Okay, I can be vulnerable. I can take risks. I can put myself out there and maybe get rejected, but maybe it could be awesome.’ Our relationship is that to a T. I was skeptical at first and I was scared, and he was scared. And we both just, we went all in, and I felt so safe to go there with him and he’s always made me feel that way, you know?”
Audio / Travis Denning wrote two songs about his now-wife Madison Montgomery and released them ahead of their wedding last year – “Second Best Thing” and “New Year’s Kiss.”
Travis Denning (writing 2 songs for Madison) OC: …that way. :40 “I had the title ‘Second Best Thing’ I think right when me and Madison started dating and really started getting serious. It’s funny to look back that I wrote a song about getting married that early in our relationship, but for as creepy as that might sound (laughs), I mean, it’s just the truth. I knew really fast that we were going to spend the rest of our life together, and then I later wrote ‘New Year’s Kiss’ just recalling that kind of initial moment that I knew we’d probably end up being more than just friends. I recorded them a while ago and have just been holding on for the right moment to put them out, and I wanted this to kind of feel like a gift to her, and I hope it comes off that way.”
This Sunday (February 11th), millions of people around the world, including some of your favorite country stars, will be tuning in to the Super Bowl (the Big Game) as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers.
Check out all the action from the Big Game from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on CBS with the kickoff scheduled at 6:30pm ET/5:30pm CT. Make sure to tune in early to catch Reba McEntire performing the National Anthem, as well as Post Malone performing “America the Beautiful” and Andra Day singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Chris Stapleton performed a critically-acclaimed version of the National Anthem at last year’s Super Bowl. He posted an encouraging note to those involved in Sunday’s (February 11th) Big Game. He wrote, “Singing the National Anthem at last year’s Super Bowl was a career highlight. Best of luck to all the players, staff, coaches & performers taking the field this weekend.” He tagged Reba, Post Malone and Andra Day.
Are y'all getting ready for your Super Bowl parties this weekend? Check out these recipes from my book, #NotThatFancy, for the perfect Super Bowl spread!
Billy Currington (football fan) OC: …love football. :36 “I’m a big football fan. I mean, when I was growing up, if you asked me who my favorite team is now, I couldn’t tell you. But when I was a kid, it was the Dallas Cowboys. And I don’t know if it was because my mom bought my brother a Pittsburgh Steelers pennant, for some reason, and bought me a Dallas Cowboys pennant, and of course over the year I fell in love with the Cowboys, and then I wanted a jersey the next Christmas, and then the next one, I wanted [more Cowboys stuff]. So, I became a long-term fan with those guys. But I like it all now that I’m older. I’ll watch any game; it doesn’t matter who’s playing. But [I] love football.”
Audio / Carrie Underwood loves football and loves being a part of Sunday Night Football.
Carrie Underwood (loves being a part of SNF) OC: …my whole life. :54
“I love being the voice of Sunday Night Football because I grew up watching football…from birth. I’m from Oklahoma – we’re a football state. It’s just a part of the country that everybody has their teams and there’s such an energy about it. We would drive down to Dallas and watch the Cowboys play whenever we could. There’s just something about being at a live sporting event or watching it on TV. You have your favorites. They have their rivals. There’s an excitement to it that really, it’s unlike anything else, so being a small part of that is absolutely amazing. It’s been so wonderful working with everybody at SNF, and I count myself very lucky and very blessed that I get to be a small part of something that I’ve loved my whole life.”
Audio / IS A HUGE FOOTBALL FAN, AS EVERYONE PROBABLY KNOWS BY NOW, AND HE EXPLAINS WHY HE LOVES FOOTBALL SO MUCH. SIDENOTE: HE’S A HUGE MIAMI DOLPHINS FAN, AND WORD HAS IT, JUST TO BE ABLE TO MEET THEN DOLPHINS QUARTERBACK, DAN MARINO, HE ASKED HIM TO BE IN A HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH VIDEO FOR “ONLY WANNA BE WITH YOU.”
Darius Rucker (football) OC: …football season. :20 “Ever since I was five years old, I’ve loved football, and I love how physical it is. I love the chess match of the game. I love the speed of the game. I love college football, but for me watching pro football is better because the speed is so much more. For me, there’s two times a year, man — football season and waiting for football season.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley says having two daughters who are big Taylor Swift fans has allowed him to stay in the house to watch all of the football games he wants.
Dierks Bentley (Super Bowl 2024) OC: …Santa Tracker. :50 “I have been watching every single playoff game. It’s the great thing. In my house is the Kansas City Chiefs because my daughters love Taylor (Swift). Any dad out there that has daughters knows what I’m talking about. She has made football much easier to watch at my house. Everybody’s down with it now, so I’ve been able to watch a lot of playoff games with my family, which is amazing. I’m not out there in the garage. I’m allowed to be in the main part of the house watching football, and it’s so fun. As far as the Super Bowl goes, I have no idea who’s going to win, but I’m there for the whole thing. I’m there for the pre-show concerts, the introductions, our National Anthem, the half-time show and of course, the game. It’s going to be awesome. I have no idea who’s going to win, but I just hope Taylor Swift makes her flight from Japan back to the game, because that’s what we all want to see. That’s going to be the most followed flight. It’ll be followed more than the Santa Tracker.”
Audio / Jon Langston says his favorite team in the NFL is the Atlanta Falcons.
Jon Langston (Atlanta Falcons) OC: …cool place too. :17 “Favorite team in the NFL is the Falcons. You know, growing up an hour from Atlanta, I just loved the Falcons, I guess, and going to the games and stuff. Going to the Georgia Dome was a pretty big deal, and we got to play there in high school and stuff, and it’s sad to see that it’s gone, but Mercedes Benz is a pretty cool place too.”
Audio / Jon Pardi has been a fan of the San Francisco 49ers since he was a little boy.
Jon Pardi (football) OC: …two great teams. :12 “I grew up playing football and it was always the 9ers, you know? Like we looked up to those guys. I looked up to the 49ers. It was like our local team, and I guess I just never lost that spark from when they went to the Super Bowl.”
Audio / KEITH URBAN SAYS HIS WIFE, NICOLE KIDMAN, GOT HIM INTERESTED IN FOOTBALL.
“She’s a big NFL fan, and she sort of turned me on to it.”
Audio / From the last time the Kansas City Chiefs squared off against the San Francisco 49ers, Little Big Town's Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet gave their thoughts.
LBT (Super Bowl 2020) OC: (Phillip) …win this game. :29 JIMI: “This game is gonna be fun. Of course, my team is the Tennessee Titans, so I don’t have quite the heart connection that I do with these two teams. (Phillip: “I like Mahomes though.”) But I’m excited because I think it’s gonna be a great game. They match up very interestingly, and I think it’s gonna be fun to watch. I don’t think anybody’s gonna stop Mahomes, though. Shew. The 49er defense, they are for real.” PHILLIP: “If you can pick apart the 49er defense, you can win this game.”
Audio / LITTLE BIG TOWN’S BEAUTIFUL AND TALENTED KAREN FAIRCHILD WAS A BADASS GROWING UP WHEN SHE WAS PLAYING QUARTERBACK FOR HER POWDER PUFF FOOTBALL TEAM.
LBT (football story) OC: …my lip. :40 “I was the quarterback to my powder puff team. I was running the ball and I came around the corner – this was in high school – and a foreign exchange student, I think her name was Inga (KIMBERLY: “Inga.”), and I didn’t want to fumble ‘cause my brother and my dad were there, and I come from this very athletic family, so I held onto the ball. I knew I was going to go down, so I let my head hit first and I bit all the way through, but I didn’t fumble and I had a hole in my face, though. The sad thing is that it was just flag football, but I left my flags on and cleats and everything, ‘cause it looked cool, and I had blood running all down my jersey. I went to the emergency room like that, and they sewed up my lip.”
Audio / LUKE BRYAN TALKS ABOUT SOME OF THE FOOD HE LIKES TO HAVE WHILE WATCHING THE SUPER BOWL.
Luke Bryan (Super Bowl food) OC: …over again. :22 “Definitely Super Bowl is like the queso, the Frito Lay scoops with the Ro-tel situation. I guess it’s like, what’s the black-eyed pea stuff too? All of that, just stuff that you can sit there and have lots of sodium, and then just, it’s like Thanksgiving all over again.”
Audio / PRISCILLA BLOCK SAYS SUPER BOWL SUNDAY IS SO MUCH FUN.
Priscilla Block (Football/Super Bowl food) OC: …what happens. :23 “I mean, I feel like the Super Bowl is like just such a fun day. I’m really excited for the half-time show. I feel like that’s usually why I’m there, is to watch the anthem and the half-time show, but yes, excited to eat all the bad things. And I’m honestly, I don’t feel pulled any way this year. I wish the (Tennessee) Titans were in it, but we’ll see what happens.”
Audio / REBA MCENTIRE TALKS ABOUT SINGING NATIONAL ANTHEM A FULL CIRCLE MOMENT.
Reba McEntire (full circle moment National Anthem) OC: …they asked me. :35 “It’s absolutely amazing coming full circle, 50 years after being discovered by Red Steagall me singing the National Anthem at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. That was in 1974. Little did I know, I had no idea 50 years I’d be singing (laughs) the National Anthem at this year’s Super Bowl. Omigosh. I don’t even have the imagination to say that I would be doing something like this. I’m absolutely thrilled to pieces that they asked me.”
Audio / REBA MCENTIRE TALKS ABOUT HER EARLY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOTBALL.
Reba McEntire (football fan) OC: …at the Super Bowl. :42 “I’ve always liked football, even in high school. As the Singing McEntires and being a part of the Kiowa High School Cowboy Band in Kiowa, Oklahoma where I went to school for 12 years, we were part of the half-time entertainment there at the school. We’d pull the trailer out and we’d play at half-time for our football games, and then my boyfriend, Rex Linn, absolutely loves college football. I really get into that, and I cheer for the Longhorns in Austin, Texas. And now getting to sing at the Super Bowl, I think Rex was more excited than I was, if that’s at all possible. I’m a huge, a huge fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, so I will be cheering them on at the Super Bowl.”
Audio / Since she's performing at this year's Super Bowl, Reba McEntire gives her suggestions for some snacks you can make for your own Big Game celebration.
Reba McEntire (Super Bowl snacks) OC: …gonna be great. :30 “Omigosh, wouldn’t it be neat if we could cook up some recipes out of my Not That Fancy book and you know, like the ranch dressing from Reba’s Place, that’s my restaurant in Atoka, Oklahoma, with chicken tenders and the beer cheese dip? Okay, if y’all don’t know what I’m talking about, get online and get the Not That Fancy book. It’s pretty cool, lots of pictures and what it’s supposed to look like when you get through making it. That’s gonna be great.”
Audio / SAM HUNT LOVES THAT THE SUPER BOWL MIXES HIS TWO LOVES – MUSIC AND FOOTBALL.
Sam Hunt (Super Bowl & music) OC: …combined there. :24 “It’s become such a massive pop culture event, and I love that they’ve incorporated music and entertainment with the sport itself and the entertainment value that comes from that. It encompasses just a strong representation of American culture, and I’m a huge music fan, obviously, and I’m a huge sports fan, so those are two of my favorite worlds combined there.”
Audio / SAM HUNT, A FORMER UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM QUARTERBACK, WAS INSPIRED BY RETIRED INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AND DENVER BRONCOS QUARTERBACK AND NFL HALL OF FAMER PEYTON MANNING WHEN HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL.
Sam Hunt (Peyton Manning) OC: …with music. :39 “When I was in high school, I went to a camp called the Manning Academy, and it’s a quarterback camp down in Louisiana. And I got to spend some time with Peyton and Eli, and they have another brother [Cooper]. I’ve followed [Peyton’s] career for a long time,” he says. “Actually, a couple of years ago, I was at a concert of Kenny Chesney’s in Denver, and I was standing there side stage and Jake Owen was there. He had opened up for [Kenny], and I’ve been a friend of his for a little while, and he turned and introduced me to the guy behind us, who I wasn’t aware of at the time, but it turned out to be Peyton Manning. He was just a really nice guy, and it was just pretty cool to be on the stage with two people who inspired me in two different arenas, with Peyton with football and Kenny with music.”
Audio / Travis Denning predicts the Kansas City Chiefs will win the Super Bowl.
Travis Denning (Super Bowl 2024) 1 OC: …very clutch. :13 “I believe the Kansas City Chiefs are gonna win the Super Bowl. I just think Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the post season are just built different. They’ve been there before. They’re just used to it. I think they’re very clutch.”
Audio / Travis Denning says he's looking forward to seeing Taylor Swift at this year's Super Bowl.
Travis Denning (Super Bowl 2024) 2 OC: …love story. :09 “Honestly, I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing Taylor Swift in the crowd. I think it’s been awesome this year to see her. Her and Travis Kelce’s just got an All-American love story.”
Audio / Travis Denning reveals his go-to Super Bowl snack.
Travis Denning (National Anthem) OC: …your life. :27
“The National Anthem, I think, is one of the hardest songs to sing that we sing regularly in this country. It’s essentially two very full octave ranges and every note matters. It has to be powerful. It takes an amazing singer to sing it. And the other thing that’s hard about is if you sing it great, everybody goes ‘that was cool,’ and then they forget about it two minutes later, and if you mess it up, they remember it for the rest of your life.”
“‘Straight Line’ is the perfect first track off my album because it’s a song born of wanting to break out of routine and feeling like somewhere along the line, life lost some color and excitement – ‘You and me used to be like a year-round summer…’ This song is about getting it back again – a message of taking back your life and driving out from under the dark cloud. If you’ve seen us in concert, I hope this track gives you that same liberated feeling,” say Urban.
He adds, “While ‘Straight Line’s’ lyrics are about being stuck and trying to break out of the monotony, the melody and energy are a boulevard of nothing but green lights. Every song on this album – even the ballads – carries an energy and a life force that became a very strong through line. I hope you feel it. I’m so excited for everyone to hear the whole thing.”
But, it’s what hasn’t been seen (or heard) in 2023 that makes 2024 all the more exciting for Urban and his fans. The new music, set for release throughout the year, will appear on an as of yet unnamed album to be released in ‘24.
The new music joins a litany of chart-topping songs including “Blue Ain’t Your Color”, “Wasted Time”, “Somebody Like You”, “Long Hot Summer” and “One Too Many”, his duet with P!nk, his 43rd Top 10 single, that garnered over 100 million Spotify streams. In fact, the song appeared on his album THE SPEED OF NOW Part 1, which marked his fourth in an historic streak of simultaneous #1 album debuts in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Urban consistently reminds music lovers around the globe why he is one of the world’s best live performers. His concerts have become legendary – as unpredictable as they are explosive. An experience of emotion, musical texture, energy and showmanship.
Urban’s musical virtuosity and fluidity has made him the musician’s musician. He’s collaborated with a diverse group of artists that include, among others; Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, John Mayer, HARDY, Julia Michaels, Justin Timberlake, Dzeko, Miranda Lambert, Nile Rodgers, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones and Vince Gill.
Keith Urban has released a new song, “Straight Line,” to digital and streaming partners. He wrote on his socials, “01. STRAIGHT LINE This is the song that kicks off an album I’m jonesing to share with you all. I chose it first for a lot of reasons, but particularly because I think it represents an energy and spirit that became a through line of the whole record. I’m gonna cover a lot of themes, emotions and vibes on this album but a very human spirit runs through them all. ‘Straight Line’ is wanting to break out of a soul-sucking routine that you might be stuck in: maybe in a relationship, a job, with creativity, with yourself…whatever it is!! It’s a message of feeling alive again and getting out from under that dark cloud. If you’ve seen us in concert, I hope it gives you that same feeling. ‘Straight Line’ is out now!”
01. STRAIGHT LINE This is the song that kicks off an album I'm jonesing to share with you all. I chose it first for a lot of reasons, but particularly because I think it represents an energy and spirit that became a through line of the whole record. I'm gonna cover a lot of… pic.twitter.com/BCsshhCTsL
Keith has several festival dates listed with his next live performance at the NBA Crossover Concert Series February 17th in Indianapolis, Indiana. Check out the rest of his tour dates HERE.
Chris Stapleton has announced a brand new date on his All-American Road Show Tour for June 13th at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri. Tickets go on sale February 2nd.
JUST ANNOUNCED: New #AllAmericanRoadShow in Ridgedale, MO. Featuring special guests Marcus King and Allen Stone.
Eric Church will be featured on the new tribute album, GLEN CAMPBELL DUETS – Ghost on the Canvas Sessions. He says, “It’s an honor to be a part of this project, celebrating his legacy.” The collection, which also features posthumous duets with Dolly Parton, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Linda Perry and others, will be released April 19th. Eric’s duet of “Hold On Hope” is available now.
"Hold On Hope" with Glen Campbell is available now. It's an honor to be a part of this project, celebrating his legacy. The full Glen Campbell Duets: Ghost On The Canvas Sessions album releases on April 19. @GlenCampbellhttps://t.co/mGM849NuN3pic.twitter.com/WKrw3YV5pr
Keith Urban joined forces with singer and The Voice Australia coach Rita Ora on the song, “Shape of Me.” He says, “Rita and I were coaches together for a couple of seasons on The Voice and clicked immediately. She asked if I’d like to be a part of “Shape of Me” and to no one’s surprise I asked if I could play guitar too I love how it turned out and am so glad we finally found the right song to collaborate on!”
