• SEVERAL COUNTRY STARS SIGN ON FOR THE NEW ‘NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL COUNTRY, VOL. 10.’

    NOWNOW Deluxe

    Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Little Big Town, Josh Turner, Jon Pardi and Lauren Alaina are among the artists featured on the new NOW That’s What I Call Country, Vol. 10 compilation, due June 9th. The latest installment of the popular NOW series will include some of today’s biggest hits, including “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Fast,” “Black,” “Kill a Word,” “Better Man,” “Hometown Girl,” “Dirt On My Boots” and “Road Less Traveled,” as well as Jason Aldean’s “Any Ol’ Bar Stool,” Kenny Chesney’s “Bar At the End of the World” and Dustin Lynch’s “Seein’ Red,” among others.

    To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the NOW Country brand, there will also be a Deluxe Version, featuring 14 more hits that will be released at the same time. Some of the bonus tracks include Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time,” Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now,” Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel,” Brad Paisley’s “She’s Everything” and Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”

    NOW That’s What I Call Country, Vol. 10 Track List:

    1. Keith Urban- “Blue Ain’t Your Color”
    2. Jon Pardi – “Dirt On My Boots”
    3. Josh Turner – “Hometown Girl”
    4. Jason Aldean – “Any Ol’ Bar stool”
    5. Luke Bryan – “Fast”
    6. Dierks Bentley  – “Black”
    7. Kenny Chesney – “Bar At The End Of The World”
    8. Dustin Lynch – “Seein’ Red”
    9. Lauren Alaina – “Road Less Traveled”
    10. Old Dominion – “Song For Another Time”
    11. Eric Church – “Kill A Word”
    12. Little Big Town – “Better Man”
    13. Chris Young f/ Vince Gill -“Sober Saturday”
    14. Brad Paisley – “Today”
    15. Michael Ray – “Think A Little Less”
    16. Maren Morris – “80s Mercedes”
    17. Kelsea Ballerini – “Yea Boy”
    18. Miranda Lambert – “Vice”

    NOW presents What’s Next
    19. Canaan Smith – “Like You That Way”

    Deluxe Bonus Tracks:

    1. Luke Bryan – “Country Girl”
    2. Jason Aldean – “Dirt Road”
    3. Sam Hunt – “Take Your Time”
    4. Carrie Underwood – “Jesus Take The Wheel”
    5. Eric Church – “Like A Wrecking Ball”
    6. Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”
    7. Miranda Lambert – “The House That Built Me”
    8. Hunter Hayes – “Wanted”
    9. Brad Paisley – “She’s Everything””
    10. Kenny Chesney – “Somewhere With You”
    11. Josh Turner – “Your Man”
    12. Jake Owen – “Barefoot”
    13. Darius Rucker – “Wagon Wheel”
    14. Cam – “Burning House”

    Audio / Luke Bryan co-wrote the heartfelt “Fast,” a song from his album, Kill the Lights.

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    Luke Bryan (Fast) OC: …in a song. :58
    Fastis a song that I got the opportunity to get in the room with Rodney Clawson and Luke Laird and we started it. Luke and Rodney, I mean obviously, their pedigree is quite extensive and amazing. And I’m just so proud about how we used a simple word like Fast and we tied the verses in and then that second verse how we brought in the parents were saying ‘we were falling in love too fast but we still made it work.’ And how life does move too fast. Every time I come home my boys are bigger and starting to throw me around the house a little more, and one day I’ll snap my fingers and you wish you could have froze time a little bit. And I think anytime you can help people slow down and reflect on that and remember to take things in stride a little bit better, I think people love hearing that in a song.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi talks about “Dirt on My Boots.”

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    Jon Pardi (Dirt on My Boots) OC: …that track. :31
    “I saw my 22 year old self getting off a tractor and going to take a shower and putting his work boots back on and going and hanging out with a girl and having a good time dancing or something. And I really connected to the lyrics of it. It’s very country lyrics. It has tractors. It has cutting a rug. My favorite [line] — ‘I can get cleaned up, but I can only get so fancy,’ and I loved it. It was a great written country lyric, and I really think we made it more of a traditional feel with a modern flare to it, and I was really proud of that track.”

    Audio / Eric Church says “Like a Wrecking Ball” is absolutely about what it says in the song.

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    Eric Church (Like a Wrecking Ball) OC: …their life. :49
    “I hate innuendo. I don’t like where people get cute. I’m 36 years old. I’m not 12. I don’t need people to disguise what we’re talking about. I think we can get so cute with stuff like that. Al Green didn’t get cute. Conway Twitty didn’t get cute. They said it. We’re adults, and this is an adult record. We’ve always made adult music. I like songs like that, and that’s what this song is. This song is about sex. It’s about not being home to see your wife or girl for a long time, and thinking about that, preparing for that and executing that [laughs] is what this song’s about. It has nothing to do with anything else. I mean…that’s what it is, and the honesty of that, I hope people find refreshing, because I’ve not found anybody that hasn’t felt that at some point in time during their life.”

  • CMT MUSIC AWARDS 2017: Brothers O, Carrie, Darius, Dierks, Jon, Keith, Lady Antebellum, Lauren, Little Big Town, Luke

    Keith Urban leads the list of nominees with four for this year’s CMT Music Awards, tying with Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini for most nominations. He’s up for Video of the Year for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” as well as Male Video, Collaborative Video for “The Fighter” featuring Carrie Underwood and Social Superstar.

    Voting is now open and continues until June 5th at CMT.com.

    The CMT Music Awards, featuring performances from Luke Bryan and many others, will air live from Nashville’s Music City Center on Wednesday, June 7th at 8pm ET.
    VIDEO OF THE YEAR:

    Artists of Then, Now & Forever “Forever Country”

    Brad Paisley “Today”

    Brett Eldredge “Wanna Be That Song”

    Carrie Underwood “Church Bells”

    Cole Swindell “Middle Of A Memory”

    Dierks Bentley and Elle King “Different For Girls”

    Florida Georgia Line “H.O.L.Y.”

    Jon Pardi “Dirt On My Boots”

    Keith Urban “Blue Ain’t Your Color”

    Kelsea Ballerini “Peter Pan”

    Little Big Town “Better Man”

    Luke Bryan “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day”

    Miranda Lambert “Vice”

    Thomas Rhett “Star of the Show”


    FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR:

    Carrie Underwood “Church Bells”

    Kelsea Ballerini “Peter Pan”

    Lauren Alaina “Road Less Traveled”

    Maren Morris “80s Mercedes”

    Miranda Lambert “Vice”

    Reba McEntire “Back To God”

     

    MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR:

    Blake Shelton “Came Here To Forget”

    Eric Church “Record Year”

    Jason Aldean “Lights Come On”

    Keith Urban “Blue Ain’t Your Color”

    Luke Bryan “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day”

    Thomas Rhett “Star of the Show”

     

    DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR:

    Big & Rich Feat. Tim McGraw “Lovin’ Lately”

    Brothers Osborne “21 Summer”

    Dan + Shay “How Not To”

    Florida Georgia Line “H.O.L.Y.”

    LOCASH “I Know Somebody”

     

    GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR:

    Eli Young Band “Saltwater Gospel”

    Lady Antebellum “You Look Good”

    Little Big Town “Better Man”

    Midland “Drinkin’ Problem”

    Old Dominion “Song For Another Time”

     

    BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR:

    Brett Young “In Case You Didn’t Know”

    Jon Pardi “Dirt On My Boots”

    Kane Brown “Used to Love You Sober”

    Lauren Alaina “Road Less Traveled”

    Luke Combs “Hurricane”

    Raelynn “Love Triangle”

     

    COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR:

    Artists of Then, Now & Forever “Forever Country”

    Chris Young Feat. Vince Gill “Sober Saturday Night”

    Dierks Bentley Feat. Elle King “Different for Girls”

    Florida Georgia Line Feat. Tim McGraw “May We All”

    Keith Urban Feat. Carrie Underwood “The Fighter”

    Kenny Chesney With Pink “Setting the World on Fire”

     

    CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR:

    Jason Aldean “Hicktown (From CMT Concert of the Summer)”

    Jason Derulo and Luke Bryan “Want to Want Me (From CMT Crossroads)”

    John Mellencamp and Darius Rucker “Pink Houses (From CMT Crossroads)”

    Alicia Keys and Maren Morris “80s Mercedes (From CMT Crossroads)”

    Meghan Trainor, Jill Scott and Kelsea Ballerini “You’re Still the One/Any Man of Mine/Man I Feel Like a Woman (From CMT Artists of the Year)”

    Nick Jonas and Thomas Rhett “Close (From CMT Crossroads)”

     

    SOCIAL SUPERSTAR:

    Brett Eldredge

    Jake Owen

    Keith Urban

    Kelsea Ballerini

    Lauren Alaina

    Thomas Rhett

  • MOTHER’S DAY LINERS 2017

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up guys! We’re Brothers Osborne, wishing all you mothers out there a very, very Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Canaan Smith (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up, guys? I’m Canaan Smith. Happy Mother’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up? This is Clare Dunn, hoping you have a Happy Mother’s Day.”

     

    Audio / LINER Darius (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, what’s up? This is Darius Rucker, hoping you have a Happy Mother’s Day.

    Audio / LINER Darius (Mother’s Day) 2

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    “Hey! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing all you mothers a Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey, y’all! This is Dierks Bentley, wishing all you mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Mother’s Day) 1

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    “Hey everybody! This is Eric Church, wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!”

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Paslay. Happy Mother’s Day to all you awesome Mom’s out there.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Jon Pardi. I want to wish all the mamas out there a very Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Josh Turner, wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves. To all you mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day!”

     

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hi everyone, it’s Keith Urban. Hoping all the mothers out there have a very, very Happy Mother’s Day. Love ya, Mom!”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Mother’s Day)

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    “(ALL) Hi! This is Little Big Town. (KIMBERLY) We want to wish all you mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day. I love ya, Mama!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, hoping all you mothers out there have a Happy Mother’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Happy Mother’s Day.

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Mother’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Shania Twain. Happy Mother’s Day.”

  • KEITH URBAN’S ‘RIPCORD’ GETS THE HEAVY METAL TREATMENT.

    Keith Urban’s 2016 release RIPCORD, which has been #1 on the Billboard Country Album Chart the last two weeks, is making history yet again by propelling him into the country music record books.

    Keith is one of only two country artists whose 2016 album release was certified platinum by the RIAA. RIPCORD also places him as the second country artist (amongst artists with nine or more platinum releases) to currently have every album certified platinum or multi-platinum.  This platinum streak of nine also places Urban at #8 on the all-time list of country artists with consecutive platinum albums.

    Upon its release, Keith yet again did what no other male solo country artist in history has been able to do, celebrating a #1 all-genre album chart position simultaneously in the U.S., Australia and Canada.  RIPCORD has also been certified platinum in Australia and Gold in Canada.

    RIPCORD has also produced four #1 country radio singles bringing Urban’s career total #1 singles to twenty two (on Mediabase). This also brings his record-breaking, historic run of consecutive Top 10 songs to an incredible 37 and places Urban at #8 on Billboard’s all-time Country Airplay Chart.

    Keith’s significance in the streaming marketplace is undeniable, as his worldwide streams have topped 3.4 BILLION, with over 524 million on RIPCORD alone.  His latest #1 song “Blue Ain’t Your Color” has over 160 million streams and it spent 13 weeks as the most-streamed country song.

    In Australia, RIPCORD was 2016’s #2 selling album on the all-genre chart behind Adele’s 25.  It spent 27 weeks in the Top 10.  The album also produced Urban’s first Top 10 and over 6.4 million streams. In Canada, with over 29 million streams, RIPCORD has produced four No. 1 country radio singles, all of which have held the No. 1 spot for 3 weeks or more.

    Keith is scaling the country charts with his latest single, “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood.

    Audio / Keith Urban talks about his album, Ripcord.

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    Keith Urban (Ripcord album) OC: …this record. :37
    “There’s songs on the record that probably feel, having not skydived myself, but my wife has done it many, many, many times. There’s definitely songs that sound like that free falling at an incredibly rapid speed. The adrenaline rush of that. The pulling of the cord and suddenly just sort of cruising and coasting and floating and the combination of all those speeds, energies, exhilarations, euphoria, the view, how that changes, all of it, I think, hopefully will be captured in the diversity of songs on this record.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Chris, Shania, Dierks, Keith, Kip, Lauren, Lady A

    Chris Stapleton will appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday (May 8th) and Howard Stern on Tuesday (May 9th).

    Chris Stapleton and Shania Twain will perform during NBC’s Today Show summer concert series. Shania will take the stage in Rockefeller Plaza June 16th, while Chris, who just released his album From A Room, Volume 1, is scheduled to perform July 18th. Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, Thomas Rhett, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran are also scheduled to perform throughout the summer.

    Dierks Bentley appears on ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday (May 9th) to announce the lineup for this year’s GMA Summer Concert Series.

    Keith Urban earned platinum certification for several of his albums, including Ripcord, Fuse, Get Closer and Greatest Hits-18 Kids.

    Kip Moore and Lauren Alaina will take part in the fourth annual Georgia on My Mind concert, hosted by the Peach Pickers (songwriters Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip), on May 16th at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The event is a fundraiser for the Georgia Music Foundation and will also feature performances by Michael Ray and Chris Janson.

    Lady Antebellum will take part in a multi-artist episode of CMT Crossroads featuring Earth, Wind & Fire. The latest installment will film in downtown Nashville during this year’s CMA Music Festival.

  • KEITH URBAN CELEBRATES HIS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF BEING A GRAND OLE OPRY MEMBER.

    Keith Urban just celebrated his fifth anniversary of being an official member of the Grand Ole Opry on Friday (April 21st). On that night five years ago, he showed the fans in the audience, the ones watching it on TV or hearing it on the radio, just why he’s been such a great ambassador for country music and for Nashville and how deserving he is of Opry membership. He performed a handful of his hits, including “Days Go By,” an acoustic version of “Without You” before Opry members Trace Adkins and Josh Turner and helped to present Keith with his Opry award, a 14-inch replica of the Grand Ole Opry microphone stand with a base made from wood from the Ryman Auditorium.

    After Trace officially welcomed him into the family, Keith said “Thank you very much! Yee Haw!” After thanking Pete Fisher, the General Manager of the Opry, as well as other Opry members, his parents who gave him his love of country music, his wife and two daughters and his fans, among others, the superstar said. “I just want to thank the Opry for this honor, but also this responsibility,” says Keith. “I take this responsibility very seriously.” The superstar born in New Zealand and raised in Australia continued, “it’s a long way from Caboolture [Queensland, Australia] to the stage here at the Grand Ole Opry … and to stand in this circle is the most phenomenal thing. I just want to thank the Opry for this honor, but also the responsibility. This is a responsibility that I take deep to the heart of me. …This once and for all shows the global popularity and reach of country music. … I honor the history of country music, but I absolutely fully dedicate myself to the future of country music, as well. God bless you all.” He wrapped it up with “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me.”

    “I was thinking what it means to me to be inducted into the Opry is probably no more than just a feeling of they know where my heart is – that’s what it means to me to get this induction,” said Keith. “And the foundation was always country, so to get this induction…this is exactly where my heart is; always has been.”

    Keith is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood. For more information on Keith including tour dates, go to keithurban.net.

    Audio / Keith Urban explains what it means for him to be asked to join the Grand Ole Opry.

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    Keith Urban (Opry knows his heart) OC: …always has been. :57
    “I was thinking what it means to me to be inducted into the Opry is probably no more than just a feeling of they know where my heart is – that’s what it means to me to get this induction. My whole childhood is predominantly immersed in traveling around to country festivals and performing and competing in these talent quests. And you know, I was in this heavy metal band for like two weeks, and I got fired for playing these chicken-picking guitar solos ‘cause it’s a band that plays all this Judas Priest and Whitesnake and everything, but I’m totally immersed in Ricky Skaggs at the time. I bought Highways and Heartaches, and I just discovered Ray Flack and I’m like, ‘This is fantastic.’ And I’m like, [sings guitar picking] every time they throw me a solo, and I got fired from the band. You know, I was 15, and that to me, that sums up what my conundrum was at the time was sort of like, ‘Well, what do I do? What sort of music should I be making?’…And the foundation was always country, so to get this induction…this is exactly where my heart is; always has been.”

    Video / Keith Urban's Grand Ole Opry induction

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  • LUKE, CHRIS, KEITH, LBT, DIERKS, ERIC, VINCE AND HILLARY SCOTT & THE SCOTT FAMILY ARE NOMINATED FOR BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS.

    The nominees for the 2017 Billboard Music Awards were announced and several of your favorite country artists are up for awards. Luke Bryan is nominated in the all-format fan-voted Billboard Chart Achievement category, as well as for Top Country Tour.

    Keith Urban has several BBMA nods, including Top Country Album for Ripcord and Top Country Song for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” as well as a nomination for Top Country Artist.

    Chris Stapleton is up against Keith as Top Country Artist, as well as Top Country Album for Traveller.

    Little Big Town’s “Better Man” is up for Top Country Song, while Dierks Bentley’s “Different for Girls” featuring Elle King, Eric Church’s “Kill a Word” with Rhiannon Giddens and Vince Gill’s appearance on Chris Young’s “Sober Saturday Night” are up for Top Country Collaborations.

    Hillary Scott & the Scott Family have three BBMA nominations, including Top Christian Artist, Top Christian Album for Love Remains and Top Christian Song for “Thy Will.”

    The Billboard Music Awards will air on May 21 at 8PM on ABC.

    Billboard Chart Achievement Award Presented by Xfinity:
    Luke Bryan
    Nicki Minaj
    The Chainsmokers
    The Weeknd
    Twenty One Pilots

    Top Country Artist:
    Florida Georgia Line
    Blake Shelton
    Keith Urban
    Chris Stapleton
    Jason Aldean

    Top Country Tour:
    Luke Bryan
    Kenny Chesney
    Dixie Chicks

    Top Country Album:
    Jason Aldean, They Don’t Know
    Florida Georgia Line, Dig Your Roots
    Blake Shelton, If I’m Honest
    Chris Stapleton, Traveller
    Keith Urban, Ripcord

    Top Country Song:
    Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
    Florida Georgia Line, “H.O.L.Y.”
    Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
    Little Big Town, “Better Man”
    Keith Urban, “Blue Ain’t Your Color”

    Top Country Collaboration:
    Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King, “Different For Girls”
    Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
    Eric Church Featuring Rhiannon Giddens, “Kill A Word”
    Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
    Chris Young Featuring Vince Gill, “Sober Saturday Night”

    Top Christian Artist:
    Lauren Daigle
    Hillsong Worship
    Hillary Scott & the Scott Family
    Skillet
    Chris Tomlin

    Top Christian Album:
    Casting Crowns, The Very Next Thing
    Lauren Daigle, How Can It Be
    Joey + Rory, Hymns
    Hillary Scott & The Scott Family, Love Remains
    Skillet, Unleashed

    Top Christian Song:
    Lauren Daigle, “Trust In You”
    Hillary Scott & The Family, “Thy Will”
    Skillet, “Feel Invincible”
    Ryan Stevenson Featuring GabeReal, “Eye Of The Storm”
    Zach Williams, “Chain Breaker”

  • KEITH URBAN WILL RELEASE A NEW “DANCERS VERSION” OF HIS MUSIC VIDEO FOR ‘THE FIGHTER.’

    Seven-time ACM nominee Keith Urban is set to release a brand new music video, a “dancers version,” of his current single “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood. The video release, to take place on Sunday, April 2nd at 9:00AM ET, at https://www.facebook.com/keithurban/videos/10154816044486077/, comes on the same day as the 52nd Academy of County Music Awards™.

    Directed by John Urbano, the new “dancers version” features performances from Lyle Beniga and Lindsay Richardson, who also appear shortly in the official music video smarturl.it/fightervideo.  The two choreographed the dancing and do have a long list of credits including Justin Timberlake, Brittany Spears, Usher, Jennifer Lopez, etc.

    “John said, ‘I know this girl who dances, sort of street dancing,” said Urban.  “I don’t even know what it is,’ but it was so good and John said ‘listen to the song and watch her dance at the same time’ and they just went together so incredibly well that we decided to put out a full “dancer’s version.”

    The official video for “The Fighter,” as well as the “making of” was released late last month.  It marked the fourth music video release from Urban’s historic album RIPCORD, which debuted simultaneously at #1 in three countries.  Urban stands as the only male solo Country artist to accomplish that feat, which he’s done twice.

    Video / Keith Urban reveals the premiere of a new version of The Fighter video.

    Video / The Fighter video

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  • THE ACM AWARDS REVEALS PRESENTERS AND COOL COLLABORATIONS.

    Lauren Alaina, Darius Rucker and Kacey Musgraves have been added to the list of presenters at this year’s ACM Awards.

    Also announced were some cool collaborations, including Keith Urban with Carrie Underwood on their current duet “The Fighter.” Dierks Bentley will join Cole Swindell on “Flatliner,” Cole’s new duet with Dierks.

    The 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Dierks, will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Sunday (April 2nd) at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

  • ACM AWARDS 2017

    Keith Urban leads list of ACM Awards nominations with seven in five categories, including his seventh nod for Entertainer of the Year and 10th nod for Male Vocalist of the Year. Keith is nominated twice, as both artist and producer, in the Album of the Year category for Ripcord.  He received an additional two nominations, for both artist and producer, in the Single Record of the Year category for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which is also nominated in the Song of the Year category.

    ACM Awards co-host Dierks Bentley received three nominations, including his fourth nomination in the Male Vocalist of the Year category.  Also, Dierks received his third nod in the Album of the Year category for Black, and his second nod in the Vocal Event of the Year category for “Different For Girls,” featuring Elle King, which the pair won at last year’s CMA Awards.

    Reigning ACM Male Vocalist of the Year Chris Stapleton is nominated in three categories. Once again, Stapleton is nominated in both the Male Vocalist of the Year category, and the Song of the Year category with “Tennessee Whiskey.”  Also, Stapleton received a nod in the Video of the Year category for “Fire Away,” which stars actors Ben Foster (Lone Survivor, Inferno) and Margarita Levieva (Revenge, The Blacklist). The video concept, which Chris envisioned, centered on mental health issues and helped raise awareness for the Campaign to Change Direction. The video has also picked up an award in the same category at last year CMA Awards.

    Luke Bryan and Keith Urban are among the Entertainer of the Year nominees, along with Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean.

    The 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley, will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas April 2nd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

    Following is the list of final nominees and find audio with many of the nominees below.
    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
    Jason Aldean
    Luke Bryan
    Florida Georgia Line
    Carrie Underwood
    Keith Urban

    MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
    Jason Aldean
    Dierks Bentley
    Thomas Rhett
    Chris Stapleton
    Keith Urban

    FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
    Kelsea Ballerini
    Miranda Lambert
    Kacey Musgraves
    Maren Morris
    Carrie Underwood

    VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
    Big & Rich
    Brothers Osborne
    Dan & Shay
    Florida Georgia Line
    Maddie & Tae

    VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
    Eli Young Band
    Lady Antebellum
    Little Big Town
    Old Dominion
    Rascal Flatts

    NEW MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE — WON

    Jon Pardi
    NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE — WON

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

    Black – Dierks Bentley

    Dig Your Roots – Florida Georgia Line
    HERO – Maren Morris

    Ripcord – Keith Urban

    The Weight of These Wings – Miranda Lambert

    Single Record of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

    Blue Ain’t Your Color – Keith Urban

    H.O.L.Y. – Florida Georgia Line

    Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw

    My Church – Maren Morris

    Vice – Miranda Lambert

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

    Blue Ain’t Your Color – Keith Urban
    Songwriters: Clint Lagerberg, Hillary Lindsey, Steven Lee Olsen

    Die A Happy Man – Thomas Rhett
    Songwriters: Thomas Rhett, Sean Douglas, Joe Spargur

    Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw
    Songwriter: Lori McKenna

    Kill A Word – Eric Church Featuring Rhiannon Giddens
    Songwriters: Eric Church, Luke Dick, Jeff Hyde

    Tennessee Whiskey – Chris Stapleton
    Songwriters: Dean Dillon, Linda Hargrove

    Vice – Miranda Lambert
    Songwriters: Miranda Lambert, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

    Video of the Year PRESENTED BY XFINITY [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

    Fire Away – Chris Stapleton 


    Forever Country – Artists of Then, Now & Forever

    Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw
    Peter Pan – Kelsea Ballerini

    Vice – Miranda Lambert

    Vocal Event of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

    Different For Girls – Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King

    Forever Country – Artists of Then, Now & Forever

    May We All – Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw

    Setting The World On Fire – Kenny Chesney Featuring P!nk

    Think Of You – Chris Young Featuring Cassadee Pope

    Audio / Keith Urban, who is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, says he loves playing live.

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    Keith Urban (ACM Entertainer of the Year) OC: …extraordinary. :20
    “I’ve always loved putting on concerts and tours and shows and really trying to put on something that’s incredibly entertaining and engaging, so I probably obsess about that part of what I do equal to making records, for sure. So, to get that nomination, along with the Album at this point, is extraordinary.”

    Audio / Keith Urban’s Ripcord is nominated for Album of the Year at this year’s ACM Awards, and he says he loves making records.

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    Keith Urban (what made Ripcord) OC: …made Ripcord. :17
    “I love making music I love making records. I really do, and I’m curious and passionate and hungry about where my art can go. That’s really what drives me completely and it’s what made Ripcord.”

    Audio / Keith Urban explains the first time he heard his multi-week No. 1 song, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which is nominated for both ACM Single and Song of the Year.

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    Keith Urban (1st time he heard Blue) OC: …in the studio. :31
    “I just know when I heard ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’ for the first time, it just struck me as one of those rare songs that encompass so many things in it. I couldn’t even label what it was, what style it was. It’s got a bit of soul, it’s got a bit of blues, it’s got a bit of country, it’s got just a big mix of all good things. Lyrically, it’s just an incredible song, incredible song. [It’s got] great melody, great lyric. I was so hopin’ I could do the song justice when we got in the studio.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about being named Entertainer of the Year from both the ACM Awards and CMA Awards.

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    Luke Bryan (Entertainer wins) OC: …got it right. :49
    “The title is what it is, you know? I mean, my focus in life when I’m on stage is entertaining these fans. If it’s my smile and my demeanor, if it’s my song that does it, if it’s me picking up a child out of the audience and letting them sing, it’s not being so premeditated that you can see it from a mile away. I mean, my main thing is be a fan up there that just gets to sing. That’s kind of how I’ve always approached it, and being called the Entertainer of the Year makes me want to do that to the best of my ability every night for the rest of my life as long as I’m on stage. I want people to leave my shows and go, ‘You know what? Whoever’s voting him Entertainer of the Year, they got it right.’”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says his ACM-nominated album, Black, 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 / Eric Church is nominated for Song of the Year for his recent Top 5 single, “Kill a Word,” Featuring Rhiannon Giddens. He cowrote the song with Luke Dick and Jeff Hyde, and it strikes a chord with how the world is today.

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    Eric Church (Kill a Word) OC: …positive way. :34

    “‘Kill a Word’ is as proud I’ve ever been as a songwriter, not only because of a turn of phrase and the way the lyrics are, but just the message. I think that the society that we live in today, if you don’t hear this song and look around and see how it relates to the world we live in, then I can’t help you, because it’s so true with everything that’s going on. It’s one of those songs that strikes a chord that I know in my career we’ve never struck, and I hope it strikes something for a lot of people in a positive way.”

    Audio / Chris Stapleton explains why he recorded his ACM-Nominated Song of the Year, “Tennessee Whiskey,” which appears on his double-platinum album, Traveller.

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    Chris Stapleton (Tennessee Whiskey) OC: …version of it. :41
    “‘Tennessee Whiskey’ is a song that I love, you know I love great country songs and songwriters, and this is certainly one that is a great country song written by great country songwriters and performed by a great country artists. Certainly, if you try to cover a George Jones or David Allan Coe, you can’t try to out-George Jones George Jones or anything like that. So, if you’re gonna cover something like that, you need to try to move away from that and hopefully make it your own. We kind of happened upon this way of playing this song and had fun with it live and felt like it was something to record that was a good tip of the hat to things we grew up on and loved. I think it’s a unique and interesting version of it.”

    Audio / Chris Stapleton talks about his ACM-nominated Music Video of the Year, “Fire Away.”

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    Chris Stapleton (Fire Away CMA video) OC: …the video. 1:03
    “The label kept asking me if I was going to do a video for the record, and they kept asking what I wanted to do. We were in this meeting hall at the label, and I said, ‘Here’s what I want to do. Here’s the idea,’ and I got dead silence out of it, and they thought I was a crazy man for a minute. Then they went back and thought about it and everybody got on board with it and we found Tim who was a remarkable director to direct, and I had this crazy idea to get Ben Foster in the video and I didn’t know him at all [laughs] at the time, and he was kind enough to do it. He brought in the actual reason for doing it, which was to raise the awareness. I had the idea for a storyline, and then everything happened very organically with that video and he brought Margarita in to play the female role in that video. It became something hopefully that has value beyond just being a video for the sake of doing a video. That’s what I liked about the video.”

    Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley said he and his bandmates will never take an awards nomination for granted.

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    Lady Antebellum (Charles happy to be nominated) OC: …means a lot. :31

    “Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean you can’t take that for granted. There’s always going to be a new crop of groups and musicians that … and there should be. That’s what the music business is about. That’s what fans want. I mean, I always want something new. I’m always craving it, and so hopefully all this stuff kind of as groups and as artists helps motivate you to be creative and come up with something unique and different. So we never take it for granted because there will be a time when we won’t be in those categories and you know, so, you’re still in the game; you’re still playing on a pretty high level and so that means a lot.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood talks about "Forever Country," which is nominated for ACM Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year.

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    Carrie Underwood (Forever Country song) OC: …without her. :35
    “Well, I think the all three song choices were perfect. When I kind of first heard the idea of them mashing up ‘I Will Always Love You,’ ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ and ‘On The Road Again’ I was like, ‘How’s that gonna work?,’ because they’re three very different songs by three very different artists. I’m honored to be a part of it and to be singing parts on ‘I Will Always Love You,’ which I actually do in my tour set. So, it’s perfect. And it’s perfect…it’s perfect that Dolly ends it too. It wouldn’t have been right for us to do it without her.”

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves talks about the ACM-nominated "Forever Country."

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    Kacey Musgraves talks about being a part of “Forever Country.”

    Kacey Musgraves (Forever Country song) OC: …pretty special. :30
    “This project is crazy. I really respect the roots of the genre, the traditions of it. I just really love it.  So it’s been really fun for me to take that, which inspires me, and mix it with my own new ideas, and me as a 27-year-old girl in 2016 and make it my own thing. So, being a part of this song, a song with my peers but also with these amazing icons and legends is pretty special.”