• NEWS AND NOTES: LBT, Dierks, Chris, Sam

    Little Big Town will appear as guest judges on Project Runway All Stars on Thursday night (February 25th). The contestants are tasked with creating looks for the fashionable ladies to wear to this year’s ACM Awards. The show airs at 9pm ET on Lifetime.

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    The official music video for Dierks Bentley‘s “Somewhere on a Beach” will premiere this Friday (February 26th) on VEVO.  The Behind-the-Scenes of the clip will debut on Break.com.

    Video link: http://vevo.ly/4GyHH4

    Buy Link: http://umgn.us/SomewhereOnABeach

     

    Chris Stapleton’s Traveller is on the short list for the inaugural American Music Prize, along with debut albums by Azealia Banks, Benjamin Booker and Leon Bridges, among others. The winner is set to be announced March 2nd.

    This week, Sam Hunt helped present one of the Grammy Amplifier Program Awards (by Hyundai and the Recording Academy) to Adley Stump, a member of Blake Shelton’s team on Season 2 of The Voice. She will receive one of three prizes – a recording session, a live performance showcase or a music video. “It takes a whole lot of passion, commitment and conviction to put yourself out there, to enter a competition and to be judged,” said Sam in a press release. “There is no formula for making it in this business, but American Bombshell, Kirby and Adley have been given a tremendous opportunity to learn and grow as musicians. There’s absolutely nothing that gives us more pleasure than to be a part of an initiative like the Grammy Amplifier program that gives these aspiring talents opportunities that will help them to develop their crafts.”

  • SAM HUNT IS ADDED TO THE LIST OF PERFORMERS AT THIS YEAR’S GRAMMY AWARDS.

    Sam Hunt has been added to the list of performers at this year’s Grammy Awards. In his Grammy debut, he’ll be included in a never-before-seen moment, in a duet with Carrie Underwood. Other pairings include James Bay and Tori Kelly, as well as nominees Andra Day and Ellie Goulding and a special tribute to 2016 MusicCares Person of the Year, Lionel Richie. Previously announced performers include Little Big Town, Adele, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd.

    “The prestige of being involved with the Grammys, like those, the people who make those decisions, they know music, and their choices for who they involve in the Grammys have reflected their appreciation for and integrity in music, and I think that’s what makes them The Grammys. That sort of puts them at the top of the pack for awards shows, especially in terms of integrity and the way they’ve maintained that class they represent in what they do.”

    Sam is up for two awards — Best New Artist and Best Country Album for Montevallo. You can catch all of the nominees and performances when the 58th Annual Grammy Awards airs live February 15th at 8pm ET/5pm PT on CBS.

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about this year's Grammy Awards.

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  • SAM HUNT SURPRISED WITH DOUBLE PLATINUM ALBUM DURING CRS.

    At Tuesday night’s (February 9th) late night CRS show at Ryman Auditorium, MCA Nashville’s Sam Hunt was presented with a plaque commemorating his RIAA Double Platinum album MONTEVALLO. The ACM and GRAMMY-nominated MONTEVALLO is the fastest country debut album to reach the impressive milestone since Taylor Swift’s 2006 debut. Tracks from Hunt’s album have sold more than 6 million individual downloads and accumulated nearly 600 million streams leading MONTEVALLO to the No. 1 most-streamed country album of 2015.

    MONTEVALLO topped the Billboard Country Albums chart in its debut week and continues to be the best-selling debut album for a country artist since 2011. The album spent nine weeks as the No. 1 country album and remained Top 10 for 58 consecutive weeks. It has so far produced three consecutive No. 1 Platinum-selling singles with “Leave the Night On,” “House Party” and the double Platinum “Take Your Time,” plus the Platinum-selling “Break Up In A Small Town.”

    A fifth single, “Make You Miss Me,” is shipping to country radio later this month.

    Hunt earned his first ever GRAMMY nominations with nods in the all-genre Best New Artist category and in Best Country Album for MONTEVALLO. He performs on the live broadcast with seven-time GRAMMY winner and fellow nominee Carrie Underwood. Tune in this Monday, Feb. 15th at 8/7 CT on CBS.

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    www.SamHunt.com | facebook.com/SamHuntMusic | twitter.com/SamHuntMusic |instagram.com/SamHuntMusic

    sam double plat

    Photo Credit: Joseph Llanes

    Photo ID (L-R): UMGN Sr. VP A&R Brian Wright, UMG’s Mike Harris, UMGN Chairman & CEO Mike Dungan, Sam Hunt, Homestead/Red Light Management’s Brad Belanger, UMGN President Cindy Mabe, UMGN VP A&R Stephanie Wright

  • VALENTINE’S DAY: Billy, Brothers O, Canaan, Charles, Clare, Darius, David, Dierks, Church, Paslay, Gary, Strait, Jon, Josh, Kacey, Keith, Kelleigh, Kip, LBT, Luke, Sam, Shania

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Billy Currington. Hope you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, this is T.J., and I’m John, and we’re Brothers Osborne. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Canaan Smith (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, what’s up guys? I’m Canaan Smith, wishing you a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Charles Kelley (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Charles Kelley from Lady Antebellum. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Clare Dunn, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Valentine’s Day)

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    “What’s up y’all? This is Darius Rucker, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER David Nail (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, this is David Nail, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, it’s Dierks Bentley, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Church, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Eric Paslay, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey, this is Gary Allan, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER George Strait (Valentine’s Day)

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    “This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi! It’s Jon Pardi, and I hope you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Josh Turner, and I want to wish you and your sweetheart a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi, this is Kacey Musgraves, and I hope you have a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone. This is Keith Urban. Make the day special for your ‘Once in a Lifetime’ love.”

    Audio / LINER Kelleigh Bannen (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Kelleigh Bannen, hoping you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Kip Moore (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s happening, everybody? This is Kip Moore. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Valentine’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all, it’s Luke Bryan. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Valentine’s Day) 2

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    “Hey y’all. It’s Luke Bryan. Happy Valentine’s Day. Make sweet love to your other.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Happy Valentine’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Valentine’s Day)

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    “Hi, this is Shania Twain. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  • SAM HUNT WILL PERFORM AT THIS YEAR’S SUPER BOWL.

    Sam Hunt will headline the Super Bowl 50 NFL Tailgate Party at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco on Sunday (February 7th), along with pop superstar Seal. Sam will perform prior to the big matchup between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers, and both his performance will be televised as part of CBS’s Super Bowl Sunday pregame show, The Super Bowl Today.

    The Georgia native is looking forward to playing at this year’s Super Bowl. “I’m just looking forward to being in the middle of Super Bowl energy. 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,” says Sam. “It encompasses just a strong representation of American culture, and I’m looking forward  to being in the middle of all that positive energy. I’m a huge music fan, obviously, and I’m a huge sports fan, so those are two of my favorite worlds combined there.”

    Sam recently earned his first-ever GRAMMY nominations for Best New Artist and Best Country Album. The Grammys will be handed out live February 15th on CBS.

    Sam’s debut album, Montevallo, topped the Billboard Country Albums Chart in its first week, and it remains the best-selling debut album for a country artist since 2011. The album has so far produced three consecutive No. 1 Platinum-selling singles with “Leave The Night On,” “House Party” and the Double-Platinum “Take Your Time,” plus Hunt’s latest Top 5 Platinum-selling single, “Break Up In A Small Town.” The monumental album has spent more than a year in the Top 10 on the country album sales chart — nine of those weeks at No. 1.

    Check out which team (or quarterback) Sam is pulling for right here.

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about performing at Super Bowl 50.

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    Sam Hunt (performing at Super Bowl 50) OC: …combined there. :29
    “I’m just looking forward to being in the middle of Super Bowl energy. 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 looking forward  to being in the middle of all that positive energy. I’m a huge music fan, obviously, and I’m a huge sports fan, so those are two of my favorite worlds combined there.”

  • SAM HUNT IS DOUBLE PLATINUM AND MORE!

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (February 1, 2016) – MCA Nashville breakout star Sam Hunt’s ACM and GRAMMY-nominated debut album Montevallo earns RIAA Double Platinum certification. Montevallo topped the Billboard Country Albums chart in its debut week and remains the best-selling debut album for a country artist since 2011. Following the RIAA news this morning that the organization now takes on-demand audio and video streaming data into consideration, Montevallo leapt from Gold to Double Platinum status.

    Helping launch Hunt into the country music forefront, Montevallo has so far produced three consecutive No. 1 Platinum-selling singles with “Leave the Night On,” “House Party” and the double Platinum “Take Your Time,” plus his current Platinum-selling “Break Up In A Small Town.” There will be a fifth radio single off of the impressive debut as “Make You Miss Me,” written by Hunt, Josh Osborne and Matthew Ramsey, ships to country programmers later this month.

    Hunt, recently earning his first ever GRAMMY nominations with nods in the all-genre Best New Artist category and in Best Country Album for Montevallo, will be performing on the Feb. 15 broadcast with seven-time GRAMMY winner and fellow nominee Carrie Underwood.

    ACM Awards nominations were also revealed this morning with Hunt earning nods in Album of the Year for Montevallo and Single of the Year for “Take Your Time.” Hunt was previously announced as one of this year’s ACM Party For A Cause performers at the annual benefit festival for ACM Lifting Lives leading into the April 3 awards show.

    Hunt established a strong presence early in the streaming space ending 2015 with four of the Top 10 streaming country tracks and as the No. 2 top-streaming country artist. He maintains the No. 2 top-streaming position this year and holds the top streaming country tracks for 2016 with his current single, “Break Up In A Small Town” for the 11th week in a row, the mega hit “Take Your Time” at No. 3, and the fun-loving “House Party” ranked at No. 4.

    Montevallo, produced by Zach Crowell and Shane McAnally, landed on multiple “Best of…” lists including the Associated Press, Billboard, Country Weekly, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, SPIN Magazine, Village Voice and The Washington Post, and has spent 56 of the past 57 weeks in the Top 10 on the country album sales chart, with 45 of those weeks in the Top 5 and nine perched at No. 1.

    For more information, touring news and updates on Sam Hunt, please visit www.SamHunt.com.

     

    www.SamHunt.com | facebook.com/SamHuntMusic | twitter.com/SamHuntMusic | instagram.com/SamHuntMusic

     

  • SAM HUNT IS A BIG PEYTON MANNING FAN.

    Many of your favorite country stars will be watching Super Bowl 50 to see the match up between veteran quarterback Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos take on the most likely NFL MVP Cam Newton and his Carolina Panthers. Sam Hunt, a former University of Alabama Birmingham quarterback, will be among those, and the main thing for him will be just “to see a good game.” That being said, the Georgia native will most likely be pulling for Peyton, even though one of his friends plays for the Panthers.

    “I’m a big Peyton Manning fan, and I always have been,” says Sam. “But I have a good friend that I played ball with in college; he’s playing with the Panthers, and their season’s been unbelievable. Just to watch the energy of that team grow throughout the year made it hard not to pull for ‘em, but I guess when it comes down to it, I’m gonna have to go with Peyton, because it could be his last go at it. He deserves it more than anybody. He’s one of the best that’s ever played.”

    Sam does have a personal connection to the future NFL Hall of Famer. “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.”

    Sam, who is nominated for a pair of Grammy Awards, is currently nearing the top of the country charts with “Break Up in a Small Town,” the fourth single from his album, Montevallo.

    Audio / While one of Sam Hunt’s good friends plays for the Carolina Panthers, the former college quarterback says he’ll be pulling for Peyton Manning, the Denver Broncos QB, in the Super Bowl (the Big Game).

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    Sam Hunt (Super Bowl 2016) OC: …ever played. :33
    “First off, I’d like to see a really good game. I’m a big Peyton Manning fan, and I always have been. But I have a good friend that I played ball with in college; he’s playing with the Panthers, and their season’s been unbelievable. Just to watch the energy of that team grow throughout the year made it hard not to pull for ‘em, but I guess when it comes down to it, I’m gonna have to go with Peyton, because it could be his last go at it. He deserves it more than anybody. He’s one of the best that’s ever played.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt recalls meeting Denver Broncos’ quarterback, Peyton Manning.

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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. 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.”

  • SAM HUNT’S ‘BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN’ NEARING THE TOP OF THE COUNTRY CHARTS.

    Sam Hunt is closing in at the top of the country charts with his latest single, “Break Up in a Small Town.” It’s the follow-up to his three previous No. 1 singles – “Leave the Night On,” “Take Your Time” and “House Party,” and it was one of the last songs he wrote before finishing his debut album, Montevallo.

    “The title explains everything you would expect about the song. It’s just about growing up in a small town and you break up with a guy or a girl, and you think you’re not gonna see ‘em again,” says Sam. “You think they’re long gone, but then you realize there’s just so many streets and so many lights. You hang out with all the same people. They’re the first person you see when you leave the house, so it’s kind of hard to get away from ‘em. That’s what this whole song’s about.”

    • Sam will perform at Bonnaroo this year, along with Chris Stapleton, Pearl Jam, Ellie Goulding, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Death Cab for Cutie, Jason Isbell and Grace Potter. The 15th anniversary of the event will take place June 9th – 12th with tickets going on sale Friday (January 22nd).
    • Sam is nominated for two Grammy Awards, including the overall Best New Artist, as well as Best Country Album for his debut album, This year’s Grammy Awards will be handed out February 15th.

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about writing the song, “Breakup in a Small Town.”

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    Sam Hunt (Breakup in a Small Town) OC: …song’s about. :36
    “‘Breakup in a Small Town’ is one of the last songs I wrote before we finished the record. I wrote it with Zach Crowell and Shane McAnally, and it’s a song that, sort of the title explains everything you would expect about the song. It’s just about growing up in a small town and you break up with a guy or a girl, and you think you’re not gonna see ‘em again. You think they’re long gone, but then you realize there’s just so many streets and so many lights. You hang out with all the same people. They’re the first person you see when you leave the house, so it’s kind of hard to get away from ‘em. That’s what this whole song’s about.”

    Video / Sam Hunt Break Up in a Small Town video

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  • KEITH URBAN AND VINCE GILL ANNOUNCE THE SPECIAL GUESTS AT THIS YEAR’S ALL FOR THE HALL.

    Keith Urban and Vince Gill have announced their sixth annual All for the Hall, a benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The two will headline the event, which will take place April 12th at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

    The show’s theme is Mashville: The Music City in 2016, and it’ll feature performances by the show’s headliners, as well as Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Florida Georgia Line, Peter Frampton, Jason Isbell, Emmylou Harris, Maddie and Tae and Maren Morris.

    Nashville has become a dynamic and diverse musical melting pot,” Keith said about this year’s theme in a prepared statement. “While it remains the home of country music, an unbelievably talented community of songwriters, producers, instrumentalists, singers, bands and solo artists are rapidly changing the entire musical landscape in Music City, U.S.A.”

    Audio / Keith Urban says the one challenge of his All for the Hall concert benefitting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is who he’s going to invite to perform during the show.

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    Keith Urban (All 4 the Hall) OC: …over the years. :50
    “It’s a labor of love in the best way. It really is. If I said there’s only one challenge with it, it’s condensing the guest list. It was, right from the beginning, it was like trying to put a wedding list together and which family member to invite. You have to either invite everybody or elope, right? But we’ve only got limited time and it’s very, very hard to have certain people who are very good friends of mine say, ‘What the…? What the…? Waiting for the call. Nothing.’ So, I thought how do I get around this problem? And then the idea of themes came up so at least there’s some type of criteria for me to put a guest list together. Otherwise, this show would be days and days long if I invited everybody I wanted. We get to do it every year, so I have a huge list of people I want to be able to invite over the years.”

  • NEWS & NOTES: LBT, Church, Dierks, Lady A, Darius, Sam, Chris

    Little Big Town will perform the National Anthem and halftime show during Sunday’s NFC Championship game between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium. Little Big Town, who will hit the road with Luke Bryan on the Kill the Lights Tour, are making their way up the country charts with “Pain Killer,” the title cut of their latest album.

    Little Big Town will perform during this year’s Grammy Awards. The group is nominated for Best Country Album for Pain Killer, as well as Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Girl Crush,” which is also up for Best Country Song and overall Song of the Year. The Grammys will air February 15th at 8pm ET on CBS.

    Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker are among the artists slated to perform at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena March 16th to honor Kris Kristofferson. The show will be filmed for a special, The Life & Songs of Kris Kristofferson, which will be distributed worldwide. Grammy-winning producer and musician Don Was will serve as music director for the event. Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood and many more will also perform. Tickets go on sale Saturday (January 23rd).

    Sam Hunt and Chris Stapleton will perform at Bonnaroo this year, along with Pearl Jam, Ellie Goulding, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Death Cab for Cuite, Jason Isbell and Grace Potter. The 15th anniversary of the event will take place June 9th – 12th with tickets going on sale Friday (January 22nd).

    Sam Hunt and Lady Antebellum are scheduled to perform during the second annual Windy City Lake Shake festival in Chicago, June 17th – 19th. Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn and Thomas Rhett are also set to perform.