• NEWS AND NOTES: Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, Little Big Town

    Don’t forget to catch Chris Stapleton on NBC’s Saturday Night Live this weekend (April 13th). He is the musical performer on SNL with Barbie actor — and apparently a big fan of Stapleton’s — Ryan Gosling as the host.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAoO_xOUeXY

     

    Keith Urban‘s #1’s Volume 1 and Volume 2 will be available on two different vinyl albums beginning April 26th. The collection features Keith’s very first No. 1 song to his latest and includes duets with Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Julia Michaels, as well as a special limited-edition poster with each vinyl.

    Keith Urban #1’s Vol. 1- VINYL (Cola Bottle Clear)

    SIDE A

    1)- Somebody Like You

    2)- Days Go By

    3)- The Fighter (featuring Carrie Underwood)

    4)- Grace Of God

    5)- You Look Good In My Shirt

    6)- Blue Ain’t Your Color

    SIDE B

    7)- Wasted Time

    8)- Long Hot Summer

    9)- You’ll Think Of Me

    10)- Sweet Thing

    11)- Better Life

    12)- Raise ‘Em Up (featuring Eric Church)

     

    Keith Urban #1’s Vol. 2- VINYL (Grape)

    SIDE A

    1)- John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16

    2)- Break on Me

    3)- We Were Us (with Miranda Lambert)

    4)- Little Bit of Everything

    5)- Without You

    6)- You Gonna Fly

    SIDE B

    7)- Coming Home (featuring Julia Michaels)

    8)- Kiss A Girl

    9)- Only You Can Love Me This Way

    10)- Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me

    11)- Making Memories of Us

    12)- Once in A Lifetime

     

     

    You can now pre-order Darius Rucker’s new memoir, Life’s Too Short, which comes out May 28th. He says there are some stories in the book that people who know him would be surprised about, and it’s stories he’s always wanted to tell. Pre-order here: dariusrucker.lnk.to/LifesTooShort

     

    Little Big Town recently sat down with CBS Mornings to talk about going on tour with their pals Sugarland. Click here to watch the interview. More with LBT in the coming weeks.

     

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

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

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

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

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

     

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

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

    2022’s New Male Artist of the Year Parker McCollum received two nominations for Single of the Year (“Burn It Down”) and Visual Media of the Year (“Burn It Down”).

    https://twitter.com/ParkerMcCollum/status/1777721612227260593

     

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

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

    https://twitter.com/MaddieandTae/status/1777711532987621883

     

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

     

    https://twitter.com/KassiAshton/status/1777701763279163456

     

    https://twitter.com/kyliemorgan/status/1777774399719985276

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

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

    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

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

    FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

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

    MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

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

     DUO OF THE YEAR

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

    GROUP OF THE YEAR

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

    NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

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

    NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

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

    NEW DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

    • Neon Union
    • Restless Road
    • Tigirlily Gold

     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Burn It Down – Parker McCollum
    Producer: Jon Randall

    Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

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

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

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


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

     

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

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


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

     

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

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

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


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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

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

    Director: Dustin Haney

     

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

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


    Next Thing You Know – Jordan Davis
    Producer: Jamie Stratakis

    Director: Running Bear (Stephen Kinigopoulos, Alexa Stone)


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

    ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

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

     

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

    Download

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

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

    Download

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

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

    Download

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

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

    Download

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

  • LITTLE BIG TOWN ANNOUNCES TAKE ME HOME TOUR FOLLOWING STUNNING CMT MUSIC AWARDS PERFORMANCE OF “TAKE ME HOME” WITH TOURING SPECIAL GUEST SUGARLAND

    Celebrating their 25th anniversary as one of country music’s most successful groups, multi-platinum GRAMMY® Award-winning four-piece Little Big Town – comprised of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook – joined forces with longtime friends and collaborators Sugarland at last night’s CMT Music Awards to deliver a stunning world premiere performance of their new song “Take Me Home” – listen HERE. The two powerhouse groups are also set to embark on a U.S. tour titled Take Me Home Tour. See more details below.

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvJY7uhyZho

    Little Big Town and Sugarland’s rendition of “Take Me Home”, originally written and released by Phil Collins in 1985, gives the song a fresh new meaning but leaves us with a familiar longing.  The performance served as a monumental homecoming for the two country music giants as they last shared the CMTMA stage in 2008 for a rousing rendition of “Life In A Northern Town.”

    “Last night felt like a real homecoming for us and a full circle moment. When we toured with Sugarland last, we would all be backstage harmonizing different cover songs to try and surprise the audience every night.  There’s something about this song that feels so nostalgic of that time. It really is like coming home,” says Little Big Town. “The Take Me Home tour feels like a celebration of being a band for 25 years and we’re so excited to throw this party with our great friends Sugarland. We’ll both be playing all our biggest hits and then some. Can’t wait to see everyone!”

    Fans will hear the newly released single live this fall on the Take Me Home US tour, produced by Live Nation and Sandbox Live, with special guest Sugarland and support from The Castellows. Various ticket pre-sales for the Take Me Home Tour will run throughout the week, ahead of the general sale beginning on Friday, April 12th at 10am local time at www.littlebigtown.com. The fall trek kicks off on October 24th in Greenville, SC at Bon Secours Wellness Arena and runs through December 2024, with stops in Boston, Pittsburgh, Austin, and more, before concluding on December 13th at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The closing night is a special Nashville homecoming for the band as it’ll be their first show in town since 2017’s iconic sold-out 10-night residency at Ryman Auditorium.

    The tour will also offer a variety of different VIP packages and experiences for fans to take their concert experience to the next level. Packages vary but include premium tickets, interactive Little Big Town coffee book, limited edition and autographed tour poster & more. VIP package contents vary based on offer selected. For more information, visit vipnation.com

    25 never looked so good! Much more to come from Little Big Town this year – stay tuned!

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Keith Urban, Maddie & Tae, Priscilla Block, Toby Keith,

    Keith Urban is featured on the soundtrack for the new Garfield Movie on the lead single, “Let It Roll,” which features Snoop Dogg. The track will be released on April 12th with the original motion picture soundtrack, which includes contributions from Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), Jon Batiste and more, following on May 17th. The Garfield Movie will open nationwide May 24th.

     

    Kelly Clarkson covered Keith Urban‘s 2002 six-week No. 1 smash, “Somebody Like You,” for the Kellyoke segment of her daytime talk show. Keith re-posted the video and wrote, “Kelly!!!!!! loooooove you singing this. hell, I love you singing anything….do you take requests?”

    Little Big Town will be featured on a new episode of CMT Storytellers on Friday (August 5th). The show airs at 8pm ET/7pm CT on CMT.

     

     

    Maddie & Tae and Priscilla Block will perform at Ascend Amphitheater during CMA Music Fest week for Tracy Lawrence and Friends concert, featuring Tracy, as well as Chris Young, Riley Green, Charles Esten and more.

    The late Toby Keith will be honored at Sunday night’s (April 7th) CMT Music Awards. Lainey WilsonBrooks & Dunn and rocker Sammy Hagar will perform a tribute to the acclaimed singer-songwriter. The tribute will also include appearances by Lukas Nelson and former professional baseball pitcher Roger Clemons. CMT will also air a television special, CMT Music Awards Celebrates Toby Keith, on April 11th at 10pm ET. The 2024 CMT Music Awards will air live from Austin, Texas, on Sunday (April 7th) at 8pm ET on CBS and streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+.

    https://twitter.com/CMT/status/1775901247607890389

     

    Mickey Guyton is among the artists who have been announced as presenters at Sunday night’s (April 7th) CMT Music Awards. She’ll be joined by Amber Riley (Glee), Billy Bob Thornton (Slingblade, 1883, Goliath), Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Emma Roberts, Gayle King (CBS Mornings), Jane Seymour, Jelly Roll, Max Theriot (Fire Country), Megan Moroney, Minnie Driver, Parmalee and others. The 2024 CMT Music Awards airs live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on Sunday (April 7th) on CBS and streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+.

     

     

  • LITTLE BIG TOWN AND SUGARLAND SET FOR WORLD PREMIERE COLLABORATION LIVE ON THE 2024 CMT MUSIC AWARDS APRIL 7TH ON CBS.

    Little Big Town and Sugarland will collaborate on an electrifying world premiere performance at the 2024 CMT MUSIC AWARDS. This special performance corresponds with Little Big Town celebrating 25 years together.

    The two country music stalwarts last shared the stage at the CMT Music Awards 15 years ago when they were joined by Jake Owen for “Life In A Northern Town.”

    They join previously announced performers Keith Urban, Sam Hunt, Jordan Davis + NEEDTOBREATHE, Parker McCollum with Brittney Spencer, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson, Old Dominion, Bailey Zimmerman, Megan Moroney, Trisha Yearwood and host Kelsea Ballerini.

    Voting is open through April 1st at vote.cmt.com.

    The 2024 CMT Music Awards will air live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on April7th beginning at 8pm ET/PT on CBS and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

    Catch Little Big Town on Friday, April 5th for CMT STORYTELLERS: LITTLE BIG TOWN beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT.

     

  • EASTER LINERS 2024

    Easter is this Sunday (March 31st), and we’ve got liners from some of your favorite country “peeps.”

    Audio / LINER Anne Wilson (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey, it’s Anne Wilson, wishing you a Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey, we’re Brothers Osborne. Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, this is Carrie Underwood, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, it’s Catie Offerman, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (Easter)

    Download

    “Hi, it’s Chrissy Metz, and I’m wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, it’s Dalton Dover. Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, what’s up? This is Darius Rucker. Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey, it’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, it’s Eric Church, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Easter)

    Download

    “Hi, I’m Jon Langston, wishing you a Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Easter)

    Download

    “Hi, it’s Jon Pardi. Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey, I’m Jordan Davis. Happy Easter.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS EASTER HOLIDAYS WHEN HE WAS GROWING UP IN LOUISIANA.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (Easter) OC: …that holiday was. :53
    “We would always have the Easter Egg Hunt before church. You know, my mom, she would dress us in these ridiculous, pastel-colored, gosh, good Lord, I’m sorry for saying this, but the worst part about Easter for me is some of the photos I have of what my mom dressed us in. It was hideous! But yeah, that was it growing up. We would have our Easter Egg Hunt, and I think for me early on, and probably like a lot of kids, Easter was another Sunday where it was a very mini, mini Christmas. We’d get some candy, every once in a while, we’d get a present, something that we wanted, we’d go to church, and everybody looked great. It was like the day to wear the new dress or the guys had these crazy ties on or something like that. And it really wasn’t until, I think, I was able to kinda hit my high school years and kind of start to strengthen my faith that I realized how special that holiday was.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Ross (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey! I’m Josh Ross. Happy Easter.”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, this is Kylie Morgan, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / LINER LBT (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey, it’s Maddie & Tae, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / MADDIE & TAE TALK ABOUT EASTERS WHEN THEY WERE KIDS.

    Download

    Maddie & Tae (Easter) OC: (Maddie) …hope and joy. :51
    TAE: “Easters growing up for the Dye fam, my side, is  when I was younger, we’d go to my grandparents a lot and we’d do the whole Easter egg hunt and we’d go to church. My parents would always dress us up in these really cute springy outfits. But, yeah, Easter with family is always so much fun.” MADDIE: “Our Easter was very similar. My grandma would always get us this white chocolate cross with little flowers on it. It was so delicious. And me and my sister typically had matching dresses, which annoyed me at the time, but looking back it was precious. But Easter for us, Tae and I love us some Jesus! That is our favorite dude ever! (TAE: “That’s what Easter means.”) And so Easter is all about praising Jesus for his sacrifice so that we can know God and Him and just live a life full of purpose and hope and joy.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey, this is Parker McCollum. Happy Easter, everyone.”

     

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey, it’s Priscilla Block, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey everybody, this is Reba McEntire, wishing you a very Happy Easter.”

     

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Easter)

    Download

    “Hey y’all, I’m Travis Denning. Happy Easter.”

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

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

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

     

     

     

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

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyXZRs5RPo0

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

     

     

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

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Kacey Musgraves, Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, Little Big Town

    Kacey Musgraves just revealed on socials she will be the musical guest on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on March 2nd. Actress Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, Euphoria, The White Lotus). This will be Kacey’s third musical performance on the long-running show.

    https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/1760048866093588843

     

    Reba McEntire will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 63rd annual Western Heritage Awards at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City on April 13th. Reba’s late father, Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer and three-time world champion steer roper Clark Vincent McEntire, was posthumously inducted by Red Steagall (who discovered Reba singing the National Anthem 50 years ago) into the Hall of Great Westerners in 2019.


    Darius Rucker
    ‘s episode of CMT’s Campfire Sessions will air this Friday (February 23rd) at 10pm ET/9pm CT. He performs several of his hits in stripped-down acoustic versions in front of an actual campfire.

    https://twitter.com/CMT/status/1760063031520698463

    The members of Little Big Town are guest-hosting Apple Music Country’s The Kelleigh Bannen Show this week through Thursday (February 22nd).

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • VALENTINE’S DAY 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?

     

    Reba McEntire teams up with Sonic to bring a limited edition Sweetheart Meal — complete with her favorite Tater Tots — for Valentine’s Day.

     

    https://twitter.com/OfficialJackson/status/1755656184797770052

    Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his love for wife, Denise, over the years.

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    AJ (Valentine’s Day) OC: …continue to. :24

    “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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day) 2 OC: …could before. :28

    “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.

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    Eric Church (Valentine’s) OC: …love song is. :19

    “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.”

    Audio / George Strait talks about love.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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).

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    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.”

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    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.”

  • SUPER BOWL 2024

    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.

    https://twitter.com/ChrisStapleton/status/1755576707568812401

     

     

    Audio / BILLY CURRINGTON SAYS HE LOVES WATCHING FOOTBALL.

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    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.

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    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.”

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    Keith (Nicole and football) OC: …new to me. :04

    “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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.

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    Travis Denning (go-to Super Bowl snack) OC: …other pick. :05
    “My go-to Super Bowl snack is buffalo chicken dip, obviously. There’s no other pick.”

    Audio / Travis Denning gives his thoughts on singing the National Anthem.

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    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.”