The members of Little Big Town are getting such a huge reaction from everyone about their new single, “Better Man,” which has been the most added song at country radio for three weeks in a row. When they released the song, they didn’t immediately reveal who wrote it, until last week when they announced “Better Man” was written by none other than Taylor Swift. They wanted people to hear the song first, before anything else was attached to it.

“We just played it for her after we finished it, and she was really, really excited,” says LBT’s Karen Fairchild. “We said, ‘Hey, you know we’re not just gonna blab this that you wrote this immediately.’ She said, ‘You know what? That’s the greatest honor as a songwriter you could ever give me is that you don’t want anybody to know that I wrote this.’ We knew we would tell eventually, but and it was a hard question to dodge for a while. The only reason why we didn’t say is because we wanted you to hear the song for what it’s worth, and it’s a beautiful song. And at her heart, she is the biggest pop star in the world, but she’s a songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee, and she likes to tell a story, and we didn’t want you to have any subtext there, other than to hear this song.”

“Better Man” is the first single from the band’s upcoming album, The Breaker, which will be released February 24th. Little Big Town, who just picked up the award for Vocal Group of the Year at last week’s CMA Awards, will also begin their residency at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium the same day.

If you haven’t seen the latest country edition of Jimmy Kimmel’s Mean Tweets, then we’ve got a treat (or tweet) for you. Check out Little Big Town and Chris Stapleton tweets, as well as Miranda Lambert, Trace Adkins, Florida Georgia Line, Randy Houser and Cole Swindell, among others.

Eric Church and Chris Stapleton, along with Maren Morris, top the list of final nominees for this year’s CMA Awards with five nominations each.

Chris is technically nominated for six awards, which includes single and he could win as both artist and producer. Keith Urban technically is up for five as both artist and producer of his album, Ripcord. Dierks Bentley and Carrie Underwood received four nominations, while Luke Bryan and Brothers Osborne each picked up two nominations.

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

After Chris’ breakout year in 2015 when he had three nominations and went home with four trophies for Album (including producer), Male Vocalist, and New Artist of the Year, he is back in 2016 with five nominations, including his first for Entertainer of the Year. His list of nods this year also includes Male Vocalist; Single of the Year for “Nobody To Blame,” which was produced by Stapleton and Dave Cobb and mix engineered by Vance Powell; Music Video of the Year for “Fire Away,” which was directed by Tim Mattia; and Musical Event of the Year with life and stage partner Morgane Stapleton (her first nomination) for “You Are My Sunshine.” Stapleton only receives one nomination for Single of the Year, but can receive an additional trophy as producer.
Dierks, a 20-time nominee and two-time winner including the Horizon Award in 2005 (now New Artist of the Year) and Music Video of the Year in 2014 for “Drunk On A Plane,” will vie for Male Vocalist; Album for Black, which was produced by Ross Copperman and Buenahora; Music Video for “Somewhere On A Beach,” which was directed by Wes Edwards; and Musical Event of the Year for “Different for Girls” with Elle King (her first CMA Awards nomination).

Keith, who has been a nominee every year since 2004, received four CMA Awards nominations in 2016 including Entertainer of the Year, which he won in 2005 when the show went to New York City. Urban’s other nominations include Male Vocalist; Album of the Year for Ripcord, which was produced by Urban, Dann Huff, Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson, Greg Wills, Nile Rodgers, busbee, K-Kov, Nathan Chapman, and Jonny Price; and Musical Event of the Year for “The Fighter,” featuring Underwood. Keith only receives one nomination for Album of the Year, but can receive an additional trophy as producer. Keith has won the Musical Event category four times including “Start A Band” with Paisley (2009); “Highway Don’t Care” with McGraw and Taylor Swift (2013); “We Were Us” with Miranda Lambert (2014); and “Raise ‘Em Up,” featuring Church (2015).

Luke, who is the reigning Entertainer of the Year, is nominated again in 2016 (he received his first nomination in the category in 2013). He is also nominated for Musical Event of the Year for “Home Alone Tonight,” featuring Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town.

Brothers Osborne are nominated for Vocal Duo and New Artist of the Year.

Little Big Town and Lady Antebellum vie for Vocal Group of the Year.

Kacey Musgraves, who won New Artist of the Year in 2013 and Song of the Year in 2014, is also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year.

Several of your favorite country artists – then, now and forever country – will take to the stage to perform at Wednesday night’s CMA Awards. Universal Music Group is representing with performances by George Strait, Alan Jackson, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, Vince Gill, Kacey Musgraves and Vince Gill.

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

The Final Nominees for “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” (by ballot category order):

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Garth Brooks
Luke Bryan
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban 

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist, Producer(s), and Mix Engineer(s))
“Die a Happy Man”
Thomas Rhett
Produced by Dann Huff and Jesse Frasure
Mix Engineered by Justin Niebank
The Valory Music Co. 

“Humble and Kind”
Tim McGraw
Produced by Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw
Mix Engineered by Byron Gallimore
Big Machine Records 

“My Church”
Maren Morris
Produced by busbee and Maren Morris
Mix Engineered by Dave Clauss and busbee
Columbia Nashville/Sony Music Nashville 

“Nobody To Blame”
Chris Stapleton
Produced by Dave Cobb and Chris Stapleton
Mix Engineered by Vance Powell
Mercury Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

“Record Year”
Eric Church
Produced by Jay Joyce
Mix Engineered by Jay Joyce and Jason Hall
EMI Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
Black
Dierks Bentley
Produced by Ross Copperman and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville

Hero
Maren Morris
Produced by busbee, Maren Morris, and Brad Hill
Columbia Nashville/Sony Music Nashville 

Mr. Misunderstood
Eric Church
Produced by Jay Joyce and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
EMI Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

Ripcord
Keith Urban
Produced by Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson, Dann Huff, Greg Wells, Nile Rodgers, busbee, K-Kov, Nathan Chapman, Jonny Price, and Keith Urban
Hit Red Records/Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

Storyteller
Carrie Underwood
Produced by Jay Joyce, Mark Bright, and Zach Crowell
19 Recordings/Arista Nashville/Sony Music Nashville 

SONG OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Burning House”
Camaron “Cam” Ochs, Tyler Johnson, Jeff Bhasker

“Die a Happy Man”
Sean Douglas, Thomas Rhett, and Joe Spargur 

“Humble and Kind”
Lori McKenna 

“My Church”
busbee and Maren Morris

“Record Year”
Eric Church and Jeff Hyde 

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

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Eric Church
Tim McGraw
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban 

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band 

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Joey + Rory
Maddie & Tae 

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to each Artist)
“Different For Girls”
Dierks Bentley feat. Elle King
Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

“Home Alone Tonight”
Luke Bryan featuring Karen Fairchild
Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

“The Fighter”
Keith Urban (featuring Carrie Underwood)
Hit Red Records/Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

“Think of You”
Chris Young (duet with Cassadee Pope)
RCA Nashville/Sony Music Nashville 

“You Are My Sunshine”
Morgane Stapleton with Chris Stapleton
Low Country Sound/Elektra Records 

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Jerry Douglas (Dobro/Lap Steel Guitar)
Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar)
Dann Huff (Guitar)
Brent Mason (Guitar)
Derek Wells (Guitar) 

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Director(s))
“Burning House”
Cam
Directed by Trey Fanjoy 

“Fire Away”
Chris Stapleton
Directed by Tim Mattia 

“Humble and Kind”
Tim McGraw
Directed by Wes Edwards 

“Record Year”
Eric Church
Directed by John Peets and Reid Long 

“Somewhere On A Beach”
Dierks Bentley
Directed by Wes Edwards 

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Brothers Osborne
Maren Morris
Old Dominion
Cole Swindell 

From the stage of Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium, Little Big Town, along with Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and Ryman Auditorium General Manager Sally Williams, announced this morning their upcoming Little Big Town at the Mother Church residency.  The first ever Ryman residency, slated for six nights in 2017, will kick-off on February 24 during Country Radio Seminar week.  The date will coincide with the release of the Grammy-winning band’s seventh studio album entitled, The Breaker.  Additional dates scheduled for the residency are February 25, May 19 & 20 and September 15 & 16.  Tickets and special two-day packages for all shows will go on sale Friday, November 4 at 10:00 a.m. via ticketmaster.com and ryman.com and will be available online only. Tickets for the concerts will be $90.50, $60.50 and $50.50. Each ticket purchased to see Little Big Town at the Ryman includes one (1) physical album of Little Big Town’s new album, The Breaker, scheduled to be released on February 24, 2017. Also on Friday, CID Entertainment will offer additional VIP experiences. For full details, visit bit.ly/2e5PIws.

Little Big Town at the Mother Church will see the Grand Ole Opry members return to the historic Ryman, where they first graced the storied stage in 2005.  Each of the six shows will feature different support acts and surprise special guests.  Known for their progressive partnerships, expect the unexpected from these upcoming shows. With no other headlining tour currently scheduled, Little Big Town at the Mother Church will account for a large portion of the foursomes touring plans in North America in 2017. These limited live dates are not to be missed.

“As musicians, there is no better feeling in the world than playing on the stage at the Ryman,” said Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook.  “To be given the opportunity to headline their first residency means so much to us as a band and we promise to make each night as memorable for the fans as possible.”

In addition to the residency, Little Big Town announced the release of their seventh studio album, The Breaker, available in stores February 24.  The album, produced by Jay Joyce, features lead single, “Better Man” which is currently climbing the charts at country radio. The video for “Better Man,” directed by Reid Long and Becky Fluke, premieres worldwide today.  To view video click here: http://vevo.ly/2JlWhh.

“The Breaker is about letting go of things that break you, it’s about the new ground you try and break as a human being and as a musician.  Sometimes you’re the one that’s broken and sometimes you’re the breaker,” said Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild. “It’s a sentimental record because we’re feeling super grateful for our friends and family and the chance to share the next chapter.”

The CMT Artists of the Year special airs Thursday (October 20th), and will include performances by Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, Kelsea Ballerini, Meghan Trainor, jill Scott and Zara Larsson. They’ll pay tribute to honorees Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood. Karen is expected to sing with Luke, while Kelsea, Meghan and Jill will honor Shania Twain, who will receive the Artist of a Lifetime Award.

Taped live at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the CMT Artists of the Year special will air Thursday (October 20th) at 9pm ET/PT on CMT.

How would @ThomasRhett and each of our #CMTAOTY honorees describe #RamLifetime's @ShaniaTwain? Take a look… pic.twitter.com/PiXbfoplYO

— CMT (@CMT) October 17, 2016

The members of Little Big Town are once again nominated for Vocal Group of the Year. LBT’s Karen Fairchild also has a nomination in Musical Event of the Year with Luke Bryan for “Home Alone Tonight.”

The band took home their first CMA Award in 2012 for Vocal Group of the Year, and member Kimberly Schlapman says she vividly remembers that night.

“I remember almost everything about winning our first CMA Award. I remember being on the stage, our name is called, we’d been waiting a long, long time for that one. I think we made fools of ourselves pretty much because we were so crazy excited,” says Kimberly. “I remember most vividly as we were standing up there, all of our friends in Nashville standing up on the floor giving us a round of applause, and I think that’s one of the most humble moments we’ve had in the band, ‘cause so many people have cheered us on for so many years and it was like, the whole town of Nashville was part of that award, not just us, but we shared that with every single person there.”

They’re also featured prominently in the CMA Awards 50^th Anniversary “Forever Country,” and couldn’t be prouder to take part. “We’re so honored that they asked us to be a part of ‘Forever Country,” says Karen. “Shane McAnally and the CMA Board really just put together this beautiful piece of work and Joseph Kahn is the video director, and we can’t say enough good things about the opportunity and really just the honor that it is to be even a tiny little piece of this really beautiful piece of history in country music.”

For more information on the band, go to littlebigtown.com.

Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild is unveiling her fall line at evine.com today (September 20th) at 5pm and 6pm ET and tomorrow (September 21st) at 10am ET.

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

Sam Hunt earned a bunch of heavy metal by the R.I.A.A. (Recording Industry Association of America), including multi-platinum certifications for “House Party,” “Take Your Time,” “Leave the Night On” and “Break Up in a Small Town,” as well as platinum certification for “Make You Miss Me” and gold for “Ex To See.” Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” was certified triple-platinum, while Dierks Bentley’s “Somewhere on a Beach was certified platinum. Eric Church grabbed a gold single award for “Record Year,” while his album Chief was certified multi-platinum, Carolina went platinum and Mr. Misunderstood went gold.

Tune in to CMT on Thursday to catch Kacey Musgraves give her opinions to the new crop of ladies at training camp for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Check it out at 9pm ET/8pm CT on CMT.

Keith Urban, Little Big Town and Dierks Bentley joined up to perform David Bowie’s “Heroes” for the Stand Up to Cancer event, which will air Friday night (September 9th) at 8pm ET. The three acts taped their performance at last week’s ACM Honors to honor Bowie, who died in January, following a battle with cancer.

Keith, whose father Robert passed away from cancer last December, said he wanted to sign on because “It hit really close to home with the passing of my father with cancer, as well. [I’m] really honored to be a part of it.”

Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook also lost someone close to him because of cancer when his sister died last year, as well.

The all-star show will also feature Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Emma Stone, Celeine Dion, Anna Kendrick, Eric Stonestreet, Alison Sweeney and co-founder Katie Couric and producer Bradley Cooper.

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

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

Artists who performed in tribute to the honorees include:

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

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

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

 About ACM Honors™

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

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