• COUNTRY STARS REACT TO THE HORRIFIC TRAGEDY IN LAS VEGAS.

    Words are still hard to come by, emotions and unfamiliar feelings are flooding our hearts and souls and trying to process the horrific tragedy at the Rt. 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Sunday night (October 1st) is still something that we can’t quite do and which will affect us the rest of our lives. The Country Music family, community, fans and friends around the world have been shaken to the core by the devastating carnage from Sunday night.

    It has taken days for me to post the following:

     

    Eric Church performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Wednesday night (October 4th) and spoke eloquently and passionately about Sunday’s shooting in Las Vegas. He was one of the headliners at the Route 91 Harvest Festival and painted the picture of the fans who attended the festival. He dedicated “Why Not Me,” a song he wrote this week, to Sonny Melton, the Paris, Tennessee man who died protecting his wife from the bullets that were being sprayed into the crowd of festivalgoers. Check out the videos below.

     

    While he performed “Here On Earth” the other morning for a national radio show, he’s also healing folks by talking to them and really listening to them, as well as giving much needed blood to the American Red Cross.

    Heartbroken for all the victims and families involved in #LasVegas. Still in disbelief. I love you all

    A post shared by Eric Paslay (@ericpaslay) on

    https://twitter.com/ladyantebellum/status/915894375963549697

    #prayforlasvegas

    A post shared by Luke Bryan Official (@lukebryan) on

    There are no words. Praying for all the victims and their families affected by the tragedy in Vegas.

    A post shared by Easton Corbin (@eastoncorbin) on

    https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/914749315712786432

    Our hearts are so heavy this morning… sick to our stomachs.

    A post shared by Maddie & Tae (@maddieandtae) on

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BZw4F-PA725/?taken-by=canaansmith

    https://twitter.com/MickeyGuyton/status/914793405917605888

    Psalm 91/Route 91

    A post shared by Sam Hunt (@samhuntmusic) on

    Lord be near (Route 91) Psalm 91

    A post shared by Sam Hunt (@samhuntmusic) on

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BZroEAlFpFr/?taken-by=karenfairchild

    …And the greatest of these is LOVE. ❤️ 1 Corinthians 13 #prayersforvegas

    A post shared by Kimberly Schlapman (@ohgussie) on

    On the worst day ever. It got even worse. #nowords #prayforvegas #musicisawesome #tompettyandtheheartbreakers

    A post shared by jonpardipics (@jonpardipics) on

    At a loss for words over what happened in Vegas last night…My prayers are with everyone involved.

    A post shared by J O R D A N D A V I S (@jordandavisofficial) on

     

    Audio / Before performing “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” at Monday night’s Candlelight Vigil at Nashville’s Ascend Theater, Keith Urban offered hope and prayers from his family to everyone who was affected by Sunday night’s horrific tragedy in Las Vegas.

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    Keith Urban (Candlelight Vigil) OC: …in the world. 1:23
    “I I want to firstly offer the prayers and love of my whole family to everybody affected by last night’s horrific tragedy. I started this morning by finding out about it, and being shell-shocked all morning getting my kids ready for school. And our nine-year-old, as I was driving her to school this morning, said to, ‘Dad, you seem quiet.’ I said, ‘Yeah, it was a lot of people killed last night.’ She said, ‘Did you know any of them?’ I said, ‘Not that I know of.’ Then she said, ‘Well, why are you so sad?’ I said, ‘Well, first of all, these were innocent people horrifically taken. Secondly, they’re like family.’ It’s the one thing about country music that’s always been at the center of it. It is community. It’s about community. So, I did know those people in that way, and it just really hit me. I feel very grateful for this moment tonight to be able to put some light in the world.”

     

    Audio / Before performing "Go Rest High On That Mountain" at Monday night's Candlelight Vigil in Nashville, Vince Gill gave his thoughts to the horrific events of Sunday night.

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    Vince Gill (Candlelight Vigil) OC: …innocent people. :17
    Thank you for the opportunity to come and lift up 58 families who lost somebody last night. An honor to be here as a voice for the innocent. May we never lose our voice for innocent people.”

     

    Audio / Vince Gill's wife, Amy Grant, led a prayer at Monday night's Candlelight Vigil in Nashville to honor those who lost and risked their lives Sunday night in Las Vegas.

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    Amy Grant (Candlight Vigil) OC: …each other. Amen. 2:21
    Father in Heaven, thank you for the gift of each other. Thank you that none of us is born alone or dies alone. But you go before us and beneath us and beside us and within us. Thank you for loving arms that were there to catch every fallen child, man and woman. Thank you for your presence that never leaves us. Thank you for word said over and over again, ‘Fear not.’ ‘Fear not.’ Father, in silence, we lift up, we just imagine all of the people rebuilding their lives. Broken. Grieving. And as a group, I don’t even know how to imagine lifting them all up, but I’m just picturing us almost like slinging them on our backs, lifting them up in our arms to the light of your love. We lift them up now, God, in silence. We lift up grieving spouses, God. We lift up moms and dads grieving the loss of a child, a son and a daughter. We lift up the doctors and nursing attending to the hundreds of people recovering. Give us the grace, God, every day, to see each other. To see each other. To see our differences. To see our similarities. To observe. To learn rather than judge. Fill our hearts with courage to not be afraid. To love, love, love. Thank you that you began this story that we’re all a part of, and you will finish it. And it began in love, and it will end in love. Thank you for the gift of each other. Amen.”

    Video / Eric Church performs "Why Not Me" on the Grand Ole Opry.

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    Video / Eric Church honors the victims and heroes and fans at Sunday night's horrific tragedy in Las Vegas.

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  • NEWS AND NOTES: Shania, Kacey, Chris, Lady A, LBT, Luke, Kip, George, Vince and more

    Shania Twain is scheduled to perform on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon August 16th. Her new album, NOW, will be released September 29th.

    Kacey Musgraves will appear on the season finale of CMT’s Nashville, which airs Thursday (August 10th) at 9pm ET.

    https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/894975691694915584

     

    Hillary Scott has been nominated for Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year for “Thy Will” for this year’s Dove Awards. Hillary and her family, the Scott Family, recorded and released “Thy Will” from their Love Remains album. The 48th Annual GMA Dove Awards will take place at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena in Nashville October 17th at 7:30pm ET. The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) will exclusively air the awards show on Sunday, October 22nd.

    https://twitter.com/HillaryScottLA/status/895378170425298944

     

    Chris Stapleton and Lady Antebellum have been added to the lineup for the all-star concert, All in For the Gambler: Kenny Rogers’ Farewell Concert Celebration. The event, which will be taped at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena October 25th, will also feature guest appearances by Little Big Town, Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Jamey Johnson and Elle King, among others.

    Luke Bryan, Little Big Town and Kip Moore are among the artists performing at the Gulf Coast Jam in Panama City, Florida September 1st – 3rd. Jason Aldean, Brett Eldredge, Dan + Shay and Granger Smith will also perform.

    George Strait, Little Big Town, Vince Gill, Hillary Scott and Toby Keith are among the first-round performers at this year’s ACM Honors, taking place at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium August 23rd. The concert event, which will also feature performances by Brad Paisley, Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett and Maren Morris, will air September 15th at 9pm ET/PT on CBS.

    As previously announced, Special Award recipients celebrated at the 11th Annual ACM Honors will include Kelsea Ballerini (Gene Weed Milestone Award), Toby Keith (Poet’s Award), Bob Kingsley (Mae Boren Axton Service Award), Reba McEntire (Mae Boren Axton Service Award), “Nashville” (Tex Ritter Film Award), Dolly Parton (Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award), Shel Silverstein (Poet’s Award, awarded posthumously), and George Strait (Cliffie Stone Icon Award)The evening will also honor winners of the Industry and Studio Recording Awards, along with Songwriter of the Year Award winner, Lori McKenna. The Academy of Country Music will present trophies to previously announced Special Award recipients Eric Church (Merle Haggard Spirit Award) and Willie Nelson (Poet’s Award) at a later date.

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

    Keith Urban will perform songs from his current album, Ripcord, as well as several of his hits, during an Audience Network special premiering Friday (July 14th) at 9pm ET, which you can find on DirectTV and Uverse.  The  live performance and interview from the four-time GRAMMY Award-winning, platinum-selling artist was filmed on location during the AT&T Block Party at the 2017 NCAA March Madness Music Festival in Phoenix.


    Shania Twain has been keeping up with the scores at Wimbeldon since one of the First Round champs, Milos Raonic, is from her home country of Canada. She’s been cheering him on, even sharing a recent photo taken of the pair.

    https://twitter.com/ShaniaTwain/status/885064450700488704

     

    Catch Lady Antebellum on Friday (July 14th) when they take over Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series on ABC, performing a handful of their hits, including “You Look Good,” which is soaring to the top of the country charts.

    Chris Stapleton is expected to drop by NBC’s Today Show to perform during their Citi Concert Series on July 18th.

    Kip Moore has been releasing short video clips and teasers of songs from his upcoming album, Slowheart. The collection, which features his hit “More Girls Like You,” will be released later this year.


    Lauren Alaina’s film debut, Road Less Traveled, will be available on DVD September 21st. The title was taken from her No. 1 song and album, Road Less Traveled.

    Vince Gill will soon welcome another member into the family. His daughter Jenny Gill is pregnant with child No. 2 and the baby’s arrival is expected in January (2018). The new addition will join big brother Wyatt, who was born in August of 2014.

    https://www.facebook.com/jennygillmusic/photos/a.140479882650153.18687.134855256545949/1562361313795329/?type=3&theater

     

     

     

  • FATHER’S DAY LINERS 2017

    Father’s Day is Sunday (June 18th), and we have liners with many of your favorite country stars! Check them out and download below.

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Billy Currington, wishing you a very Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne, wishing all you fathers out there a very Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Canaan Smith (Father’s Day)

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

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up? This is Clare Dunn, wishing you a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker wishing you a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Easton Corbin (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Easton Corbin. Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Father’s Day)

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

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Paslay. To all you father’s out there, Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Gary Allan, and I want to wish all the dads out there a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Happy Father’s Day)

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    “Jon Pardi here. Happy Father’s Day to all you father’s out there.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey y’all! This is Josh Turner, and I just want to wish all you father’s out there a Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves. Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey everyone! It’s Keith Urban, wishing all you Dads out there a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Lady A (Father’s Day)

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    “What’s up all you Dads out there? It’s Lady Antebellum, and we just wanted to wish you all a good, Happy Father’s Day. Thanks for being great dads. Hope you get pampered and you don’t have to barbecue. And we hope you get some good ties this year.” [Hillary laughs]

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! It’s Lauren Alaina. Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER LBT (Father’s Day)

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    “Hi! This is Little Big Town, wishing all you father’s a Happy Father’s Day.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey! This is Sam Hunt. To all you fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day!”

    Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Father’s Day)

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

    Audio / LINER Vince Gill (Father’s Day)

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    “Hey everybody! It’s Vince, and I just wanted to wish you a Happy Father’s Day. Wish mine was still around.”

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

    NOWNOW Deluxe

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

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

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

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

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

    Deluxe Bonus Tracks:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • VINCE GILL AND HIS DAUGHTERS PERFORM THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AT GAME FOUR OF THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ROUND TWO BETWEEN THE NASHVILLE PREDATORS AND THE ST. LOUIS BLUES.

    Vince Gill, along with his daughters Jenny and Corrina, performed the National Anthem prior to Game 4 of Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night (May 2nd).

    The Preds fans follow Carrie UnderwoodLuke Bryan and Little Big Town in singing the Anthem during the Preds Stanley Cup Playoff run.

    The Preds won the game 2-1, leading the series 3 games to 1.

    Dierks Bentley even gave a shout out on Twitter to Vince prior to the game.

     

    Game five takes place Friday night in St. Louis. If the Preds win, they advance to Round 3. If the Blues win, they return to Nashville on Sunday night.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Top Country Tour:
    Luke Bryan
    Kenny Chesney
    Dixie Chicks

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • VINCE GILL AND THE TIME JUMPERS PICK UP A GRAMMY!

    Vince Gill picked up his 21st Grammy Award on Sunday night. He won Best American Roots Song for “Kid Sister” with The Time Jumpers.

  • GRAMMY AWARDS 2017: Keith, Dierks, Hillary

    The GRAMMY Awards will be handed out on Sunday (February 12th), and several of your favorite country artists may be walking away with a trophy.

    Keith Urban has nominations in three categories, including Best Country Solo Performance for his recent multi-week No. 1 song, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which is also up for Best Country Song. His record, Ripcord, competes for Best Country Album.

    Dierks Bentley with Elle King are nnominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Different for Girls,” while Brothers Osborne are also up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “21 Summer.”

    Vince Gill scored a couple of nominations, including Best Americana Roots Song for penning “Kid Sister,” which is also the title of his Best Americana Album with his band The Time Jumpers.

    Hillary Scott & the Scott Family are nominated for Contemporary Christian Song for “Thy Will” and Best Contemporary Christian Album for Love Remains.

    Keith Urban will perform his latest single, “The Fighter,” with Carrie Underwood. Little Big Town will also perform on the show, in addition to previously announced performers Maren Morris, Adele, The Weeknd, Alicia Keys, as well as Sturgill Simpson, Gary Clark, Jr. and Chance The Rapper.

    The 50th Annual Grammy Awards, hosted by James Corden, will air live from the Staples Center in L.A., February 12th at 8pm ET on CBS.

    Best Country Solo Performance:
    “Love Can Go To Hell” — Brandy Clark
    “Vice” — Miranda Lambert
    “My Church” — Maren Morris
    “Church Bells” — Carrie Underwood
    “Blue Ain’t Your Color” — Keith Urban

    Best Country Duo/Group Performance:
    “Different For Girls” — Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King
    “21 Summer” — Brothers Osborne
    “Setting The World On Fire” — Kenny Chesney & P!nk
    “Jolene” — Pentatonix Featuring Dolly Parton
    “Think Of You” — Chris Young With Cassadee Pope

    Best Country Song:
    “Blue Ain’t Your Color” —  Clint Lagerberg, Hillary Lindsey & Steven Lee Olsen, songwriters (Keith Urban)
    “Die A Happy Man” — Sean Douglas, Thomas Rhett & Joe Spargur, songwriters (Thomas Rhett)
    “Humble And Kind” — Lori McKenna, songwriter (Tim McGraw)
    “My Church” — busbee & Maren Morris, songwriters (Maren Morris)
    “Vice” — Miranda Lambert, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)

    Best Country Album:
    Big Day In A Small Town — Brandy Clark
    Full Circle — Loretta Lynn
    Hero — Maren Morris
    A Sailor’s Guide To Earth — Sturgill Simpson
    Ripcord — Keith Urban

    Audio / Keith Urban talks about recording the song, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” from his album Ripcord.

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    Keith Urban (Blue Ain’t Your Color) OC: …of space. :50
    “With this record, I think I was also trying to find songs and write songs to what I had done in the past, just that felt different for me. This song called ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’ came along, and again, it was just one of those that I loved immediately. I loved the lyric. I loved the melody, the feel, and it’s basically a waltz, you know, like a one, two, three, two, two, three, a one, two, three, two, two, three. But I didn’t want it to feel like a waltz, you know? So, when we recorded the song at Starstruck Studios here in Nashville, we kept it a little more robotic sounding, so it wasn’t a straight band. It was a little more machinery, rhythmically, and I think it kept, hopefully for me at least, it kept it in a unique place to allow the story to have a lot of space.”

    Audio / Keith Urban talks about the correlation between the adrenaline rush of pulling a ripcord from a parachute and the hope that those feelings are captured in the diversity of the songs on his new album, Ripcord.

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

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about having Elle King sing on the song, “Different For Girls” on his new album, Black.

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    Dierks Bentley (Elle King) OC: …new place. :36
    “Well, I love Elle King’s voice. I mean she has such a unique voice, and you never know if her voice is going to blend with your voice. I didn’t found out until I went down to the studio in Austin, and right away it was just a really natural sounding blend. Her voice just lifted up this song. The lyrics of this song are pretty strong and her voice on this particular song really takes the song to a whole other level. I really wanted to find a way for her not to just be background vocals. I wanted to find a way to really get her included in the song, so I gave her the second verse and made the song more of a conversation as opposed to just background vocals. And it really, it just took the song to a whole new place.”

    Audio / Hillary Scott is so excited to be nominated for two Grammys for her faith-based song "Thy Will" and the album she made with her family, Love Remains.

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    Hillary Scott (Grammys 2017) OC: …incredible year. 52
    HILLARY: “Over the moon excited, and never expected it, because honestly when we set out to make the record we weren’t sure how many people would get to hear it. To be able to share this with my family is, it makes me cry. So, it’s gonna be a really special day. The whole experience has been amazing.” CHARLES: “I expected it. The first time I heard ‘Thy Will,’ it blew my mind. I asked her if she could hold it for Lady Antebellum’s record. I knew it was special. I told her after I heard it, ‘This is gonna to blow up. It’s gonna be huge.’” HILLARY: “And just to see, that song in particular coming from such a difficult thing, I think we all hope that the things that we go through in our life, at some point being able to look back and say, ‘Okay. Alright. I still would never want to go through it again, but I see why, a piece of why even.’ So, this is just, it’s just been an incredible year.”

  • GRAMMY NOMINATIONS 2016: Keith, Dierks, Brothers O, Hillary

    The nominations for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards were announced, and Keith Urban picked up three nods, including Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for his current smash, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” while his album, RipCord competes for Best Country Album.

    Keith received the news while he’s been overseas touring in Australia. “It’s 2am, and I’m just coming down from a crazy great show overseas,” he said in a statement. “I’m totally blown away with these nominations. Making RipCord was really a collaborative labor of love both for the music and all the people that helped me bring my vision to life. I’ll stay up anytime to hear news like this…just not sure of how to get to sleep now!!”

     

    Brothers Osborne earned a Grammy nom for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their recent single, “21 Summer,” competing with Dierks Bentley and Elle King for “Different for Girls.”

    The Brothers, who just won their first CMA Award for Duo of the Year, tweeted out their reaction, saying “We’ll never take these moments for granted. Ever. Thank you @RecordingAcad.”