• LAUREN ALAINA CRACKS THE TOP 10 WITH HER SINGLE, ‘ROAD LESS TRAVELED.’

    Lauren Alaina has hit the Top 10 – currently sitting at No. 8 on the Mediabase Country Chart – with her single, “Road Less Traveled.” The Georgia native co-wrote the song with Meghan Trainor and Jesse Frasure about how she was full of self-doubt a few years ago.

    “‘Road Less Traveled’ is about what I was saying to myself, and what I was hearing other people say and how I was interpreting that and how I was letting that affect me. When I wrote this song, I wrote it a long time ago. It was one of the earlier ones that I wrote for the album,” says Lauren. “I was a broken 18 or 19-year-old girl when I wrote this song, and I needed to hear those lyrics. I was writing them, so I think deep down I knew that that’s how I needed to feel, but I did not feel that way when I wrote it. I wanted other people to feel the way I didn’t think was possible for me to feel, and that’s why I wrote it because I didn’t want other people to go through the feelings that I was going through at the time. It’s just like the pressures of being good enough, regardless of what that means for me. I didn’t feel thin enough. I didn’t feel blonde enough. I didn’t think I was pretty enough. I didn’t think I was this. I didn’t think I was that, because there were people online that made comments about my weight and comments about my hair color. When that started, I was 16 and it was hard. But it’s the same for a lot of people in school and in their work place, it’s like we all go through those insecurities and how we overcome them is our story.”

    Lauren is out on the road with Martina McBride on her Love Unleashed Tour. The next stops on the trek are Thursday (February 23rd) in Carmel, Indiana, Friday (February 24th) in Atlanta, Georgia and Saturday (February 25th) in Hamlet, North Carolina.

    Audio / Lauren Alaina explains how her single, "Road Less Traveled," is the result of her

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    Lauren Alaina (Road Less Traveled – story) OC: …album for me. 1:21
    “A lot of the songs on the album are about what happened with other people around me and how that affected me, but ‘Road Less Traveled’ is about what I was saying to myself, and what I was hearing other people say and how I was interpreting that and how I was letting that affect me. When I wrote this song, I wrote it a long time ago. It was one of the earlier ones that I wrote for the album. I was a broken 18 or 19-year-old girl when I wrote this song, and I needed to hear those lyrics. I was writing them, so I think deep down I knew that that’s how I needed to feel, but I did not feel that way when I wrote it. I wanted other people to feel the way I didn’t think was possible for me to feel, and that’s why I wrote it because I didn’t want other people to go through the feelings that I was going through at the time. It’s just like the pressures of being good enough, regardless of what that means for me. I didn’t feel thin enough. I didn’t feel blonde enough. I didn’t think I was pretty enough. I didn’t think I was this. I didn’t think I was that, because there were people online that made comments about my weight and comments about my hair color. When that started, I was 16 and it was hard. But it’s the same for a lot of people in school and in their work place, it’s like we all go through those insecurities and how we overcome them is our story.”

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (Road Less Traveled)

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  • ACM AWARDS 2017: Some Reactions

    The members of Lady Antebellum were in New York City this morning (February 16th) to announce several of this year’s ACM Awards nominations live on CBS This Morning.

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

    “I’ve been a musician since I was 6 years old,” says Keith.  “I just love writing songs, making records and touring.  So, for the ACMS’s to recognize RIPCORD in such a big way today is humbling.  I share these nominations with everyone in my life who made it possible – and a BIG shout out to all of our fans, who came out to see us on the ripCORD tour.  Can’t wait to play for you all again soon.”

    https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/832274828468031488

    Lauren Alaina picked up her first award nomination for New Female Vocalist of the Year, which she found out while at  the Detroit airport. “I honestly cannot believe I am nominated for New Female Vocalist. I don’t even know what to say,” exclaimed Lauren. “I’ve been waiting I guess five years for a nomination at the ACMs and I am so excited and so thankful and so humbled by the industry voting for me to get into this category. It means so much to me, and I found out in the Detroit airport while I was eating breakfast and I was really keeping it together until I Facetimed my dad to tell him and then I lost it and have cried for the last 10 minutes and then have gotten it together enough to talk about it again.”

    https://twitter.com/Lauren_Alaina/status/832231814941048832

    Jon Pardi is also nominated for his first award for New Male Vocalist of the Year; he woke up to numerous text messages on his phone.


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

    Chris Stapleton is nominated in three categories. Once again, Stapleton is nominated in both the Male Vocalist of the Year category, and the Song of the Year category with “Tennessee Whiskey.”  Also, Stapleton received a nod in the Video of the Year category for “Fire Away.”

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

    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
    Jason Aldean
    Luke Bryan
    Florida Georgia Line
    Carrie Underwood
    Keith Urban
    MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
    Jason Aldean
    Dierks Bentley
    Thomas Rhett
    Chris Stapleton
    Keith Urban

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

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

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

    NEW MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE

    Kane Brown

    Chris Janson

    Chris Lane

    Jon Pardi

    Brett Young

    NEW FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE

    Lauren Alaina

    Cam

    Brandy Clark

    Maren Morris
    NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE

    A Thousand Horses

    Brothers Osborne

    Dan + Shay

    LOCASH

    Maddie & Tae

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

    Black – Dierks Bentley

    Dig Your Roots – Florida Georgia Line
    HERO – Maren Morris

    Ripcord – Keith Urban

    The Weight of These Wings – Miranda Lambert

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

    Blue Ain’t Your Color – Keith Urban

    H.O.L.Y. – Florida Georgia Line

     

    Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw

    My Church – Maren Morris

    Vice – Miranda Lambert

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

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

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

    Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw
    Songwriter: Lori McKenna

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

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

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

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

    Fire Away – Chris Stapleton 


    Forever Country – Artists of Then, Now & Forever

    Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw
    Peter Pan – Kelsea Ballerini

    Vice – Miranda Lambert

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

    Different For Girls – Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King

    Forever Country – Artists of Then, Now & Forever

    May We All – Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw

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

    Think Of You – Chris Young Featuring Cassadee Pope

    Audio / Lauren Alaina is emotional talking about her ACM Award nomination for New Female.

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    Lauren Alaina (ACM New Female) OC: …it again. :44
    “I honestly cannot believe I am nominated for New Female Vocalist. I don’t even know what to say,” exclaimed Lauren. “I’ve been waiting I guess five years for a nomination at the ACMs and I am so excited and so thankful and so humbled by the industry voting for me to get into this category. It means so much to me, and I found out in the Detroit airport while I was eating breakfast and I was really keeping it together until I Facetimed my dad to tell him and then I lost it and have cried for the last 10 minutes and then have gotten it together enough to talk about it again.”

  • LAUREN ALAINA SAYS LUKE BRYAN INSPIRES HER.

    Lauren Alaina will be one of the opening acts on select dates for Luke Bryan’s Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day Tour, which kicks off May 5th in Nashville. The trek also features Brett Eldredge and will include nearly 40 dates through October.

    Lauren says Luke has always been supportive of her, even when the two Georgia natives toured together on Jason Aldean’s My Kinda Party Tour in 2012.

    “Luke is family to me. He’s been really, really supportive of me, and always been somebody that I really felt like cared about me. You know what I mean? Like there are people that support your music and are nice when you see them, but I legitimately feel like Luke cares about me, and if he doesn’t, he has a really good way of making you feel that way and that’s admirable as well,” says Lauren. “I just think he is so talented and so humble about it. He has no idea that he’s Luke Bryan. I really don’t think Luke Bryan knows he’s Luke Bryan. I’m like, ‘Do you understand who you are? Everyone knows who you are.’ That’s so inspiring to me, because it’s really important to me to be a good person, and I think it should be important for everyone. I want people to think of me the way I think of him.”

    Lauren is closing in on the Top 10 with her latest single, “Road Less Traveled,” the title track from her new album.

    She’s currently on the road with Martina McBride on the CMT Next Women of Country Love Unleashed Tour 2017. The next stop on the trek is Thursday (February 16th) in Minneapolis.

    Audio / Lauren Alaina says Luke Bryan is one of the nicest guys on the planet.

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    Lauren Alaina (going on the road with Luke) OC: …of him. :47
    “Luke is family to me. He’s been really, really supportive of me, and always been somebody that I really felt like cared about me. You know what I mean? Like there are people that support your music and are nice when you see them, but I legitimately feel like Luke cares about me, and if he doesn’t, he has a really good way of making you feel that way and that’s admirable as well. I just think he is so talented and so humble about it. He has no idea that he’s Luke Bryan. I really don’t think Luke Bryan knows he’s Luke Bryan. I’m like, ‘Do you understand who you are? Everyone knows who you are.’ That’s so inspiring to me, because it’s really important to me to be a good person, and I think it should be important for everyone. I want people to think of me the way I think of him.”

    Video / Lauren Alaina Road Less Traveled video

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  • VALENTINE’S DAY AUDIO 2017: AJ, Billy, Canaan, Dierks, Eric, Josh, Lauren, LBT, Luke

    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 150 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.) (Source: Hallmark research)

    2.2 million marriages take place in the United States annually, which breaks down to more than 6,000 a day.

    Tuesday is Valentine’s Day (February 14th), and we’ve got some thoughts and feelings more about love, romance and marriage from several of your favorite country artists. Some are new and some have become our favorites over the years. Which country stars are romantic? Which ones aren’t? Which ones have a good reason to celebrate the holiday that’s all about love?

    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 / Canaan Smith says he tries to show his wife how special she is every day.

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    Canaan Smith (Valentine’s Day) OC: …get lucky. :25
    “I bet I’m just like 99.9% of the rest of the men in the world who could really care less about that holiday. I want my wife to feel special, so I’m gonna take part in it. I’m gonna do my part to make her feel special and loved, but is it necessary? Shouldn’t we do that every day? I mean, it kinda is just another way to get a bunch of money out of us, but oh well. We’ll go see a movie or something. Maybe I’ll get lucky.”

     

    Audio / Dierks Bentley explains the realities of Valentine’s Day.

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    Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s Day realities) OC: …that’s awesome. :53
    “I’m gonna be the voice of truth and honesty for Valentine’s Day for a lot of the guys out there listening and for some of the girls listening, as well too. You may like this; you may not, but Valentine’s Day is a really difficult day for guys. When you’re single, it’s stressful for like a month leading up to it, and inevitably, you do something wrong. You don’t get the wrong thing or you say too much, and she’s wanting to get engaged faster than you want to get engaged. I don’t know. It’s just a very stressful holiday. I’m at a time in my life where I got a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a zero-year-old, and we’re just really trying to survive on a day-to-day basis. I mean, we get about four hours of sleep, and we’re literally in survival mode. So, I think there should be a hall pass for guys in that phase of their life. It doesn’t take much at this stage for us to get excited. A dinner alone is heaven. I mean, if we can just have a dinner and a glass of wine, that’s awesome.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says so far his ultimate romantic gesture was when he proposed to his wife, Cassidy, and with three children in the house, it’s a little hard to get away together.

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    Dierks Bentley (Valentine’s peak) OC: …48-hour party, you know? [chuckles]
    “I kind of peaked when I dropped the engagement ring on her and surprised her with that and took her to Mexico and eloped. I spiked early. I peaked early. Now we’re in our eighth year. I need to find something special to do, but we keep having kids. It’s like, we can’t be away from them. We’re gonna find a week when they’re all in school and everything is set and we’ve got somebody. We have no family in town. We just have some folks that we really count on. When we get everyone locked in place, we’re gonna go somewhere for like two days and get away and have like a two-day, 48-hour party, you know?” [chuckles]

    Audio / Eric Church says his wife, Katherine, loves him in spite of everything.

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    Eric Church (Valentine’s) OC: …love song is. :18 “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 / Josh Turner says his wife would call him a romantic, but now that 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 / Lauren Alaina recalls her first, and potentially disastrous, Valentine’s Day with her longtime boyfriend, Alex.

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    Lauren Alaina (Valentine’s Day) OC: …pretty embarrassing. 1:51
    “I think my first Valentine’s Day with Alex, I was trying to be super cute and cook him a Valentine’s Day dinner. I was 18 at the time, and I’d just moved into this brand new apartment in Chattanooga. I was trying to get used to not living with my parents before I moved to Nashville, so I did like six months in Chattanooga in an apartment. And [giggles] my mom makes these really great mashed potatoes, which I’ve modified the recipe, but they’re delicious and I wanted to make him these potatoes, because I knew I could make these potatoes. Well, I did not grow up with a very updated kitchen, so I didn’t have a [garbage] disposal, it was very new to me. So, I peeled the bag of potatoes and put the potato peels in to the sink and tried to use the disposal and it broke it before he got there. Annnd, I turned the water on, and I was baking chicken and I was cooking broccoli and mashed potatoes, and just turned the water on and then I forgot I had the water on, so I overflowed the kitchen sink with the potato peels, and it looked like something died in my sink and my sink was like spitting it up. It was horrible. I was panicking and trying to get it all cleaned up before he got there, and he knocked in the middle of it, like knocked on the door. He was early, of course. He’s always early, and he freaking knocked. I had like potato peels flying through the air, my potatoes were boiling over. I was still boiling the potatoes. I was running behind and he was running early, so it was just crazy. But, we’ve had some great Valentine’s. Last Valentine’s, he cooked for me and everything was smooth, so maybe he should be the cook. Uh, I’m a great cook, I just was trying to use a disposal for the first time, and that was pretty embarrassing.”

    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 / Luke Bryan says Valentine’s Day is for him and his wife, Caroline.

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    Luke Bryan (Valentine’s Day) OC: …full day. :11
    “Well, I mean Valentine’s Day is, it’s kinda me and Caroline’s day just to go and just being with one another for a full day.”

     

  • SUPER BOWL 2017: Billy, Canaan, Darius, Josh, Lady A, Easton, Keith, Lauren and LBT

    This Sunday (February 5th), millions of people around the world will be tuning in to Super Bowl 51 (the Big Game), including some of your favorite country artists. Some will be rooting for the Atlanta Falcons, while others will be pulling for the New England Patriots to win the Big Game. Billy Currington, Canaan Smith, Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Easton Corbin, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina and Little Big Town are definitely fans of football…as is Luke Bryan, who is set to perform the National Anthem at the Big Game at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday (February 5th) at 6:30pm ET on FOX.

    Just before the game, Lady A will take part in the official pre-game party at the NRG Center, while Sam Hunt, a former University of Alabama Birmingham quarterback, headlines a rather cool venue – Club Nomadic, a collapsible traveling nightclub – on Thursday (Feb. 2nd).

    Audio / Billy Currington is a big football fan.

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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 / Canaan Smith always has a good time watching the Super Bowl.

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    Canaan Smith (Super Bowl) OC: …It’s cool. :21
    “Super Bowl’s all about pizza and commercials. You gotta sit down, you gotta drink your beer, get a little buzz. It’s pepperoni and banana peppers for me and my family. We sit down, we have a a good time, we have friends over. We have a nice TV, plenty of space. We have a good time. Usually, when it’s all said and done, we have a little dance party afterwards too. It’s cool.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker is a HUGE football fan, as everyone probably knows by now. He even has a special man cave with probably six or seven (or more) televisions mounted on the wall to catch all of the games being played during the season. 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 / Easton Corbin says you can’t go on the bus during football season without a game being on the television.

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    Easton Corbin (football) OC: …that’s on. :07
    “That’s all that’s on the bus on the weekends. That’s it, and we’ve got three TVs on the bus, so that’s all that’s on.”

    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 / The members of Lady Antebellum reveal their favorite tailgate foods, just in time for the Big Game.

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    Lady A (tailgate food) OC: (Charles) …football watching. :21
    HILLARY: “Honestly, chips and salsa, salsa or cheese dip or something. That’s like what I always go for. I could eat that every meal. No joke.” DAVE: “Best tailgate food is a big ole burger soaked in Dale’s sauce. That’s all you need.” HILLARY: “Or bratwurst. I forgot that. Those are good.” CHARLES: “Cold beer! A couple of little finger foods, but without cold beer, it’s not football watching.”

    Audio / Lauren Alaina loves some college football, as she is an avid Alabama Crimson Tide fan, but being from Georgia, she’ll most likely be pulling for the Atlanta Falcons as they take on the New England Patriots this Sunday.

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    Lauren Alaina (Super Bowl) OC: …I love it. :30
    “My dad raised me to love football, so I think it’s like kind of in my blood to be obsessed with it. I feel like the guys are so passionate and they try so hard. Those people love playing that game as much as I love singing. I just love the heart and the drive and the passion behind it. I feel like those boys are playing as hard as they can – in college football and pro football – because it’s what they love to do and it’s their passion, and I just, I don’t know. I love it.”

    Audio / Lauren Alaina talks about some of her favorite foods that she’d love to have during Sunday’s big game, but they’re ones she’s really tried to cut out since she’s gotten healthy.

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    Lauren Alaina (Super Bowl foods she wishes she could eat) OC: …with cheese? (laughs) :30
    “Gosh, let’s see cheese dip. I would really like some cheese dip in my life again. Um, I’m a big fan of wings and hot dogs and pizza and cheesecake and poppers and cheese sticks and cheese, anything that has to do with cheese. Did you realize everything I named besides the wings, which you dip in blue cheese, had to do with cheese?” (laughs)

    Audio / The members of Little Big Town make it no secret which team they’re pulling for in Sunday’s big game.

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    LBT (Super Bowl 2017) OC: …be great. :27
    KAREN: “Dirty Birds.” JIMI: “Dirty Birds.” KAREN: “You’ve got two Georgia girls right here, so we’re going Dirty Birds.” KIMBERLY: “For sure.” PHILLIP: “Well, I don’t really have a dog in the hunt…(KAREN: “Yes, you do!”) …I’m gonna go for my girls and one of Jimi’s favorite players, Julio Jones, a former Alabama Crimson Tide player (JIMI: “Beast!”). He’s gonna be catching the passes and the TDs, baby.” JIMI: “I’m excited, man. They’ve been threatening to be here for the past few years, and they’ve finally made it. It’s gonna be great.”

    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 / The members of Little Big Town are going to be home for Super Bowl, which is pretty rare, so they're coming up with what they want to chow on during this year's Super Bowl.

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    LBT (SB foods) OC: (KIMBERLY) …oh good! :10
    KIMBERLY: “It’s a chili day.” KAREN: “We need Super Bowl recipes from ‘Oh Gussie!’” PHILLIP: “[My wife] Becky learned to make fried shrimp from Luke Bryan, so I think we’re gonna have some fried shrimps.” KIMBERLY: “Oh good!”



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  • LAUREN ALAINA APPEARS ON ‘GOOD MORNING AMERICA’ AS PART OF HER ALBUM RELEASE WEEK.

    Lauren Alaina appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America Tuesday (January 31st) to talk about her new album, Road Less Traveled.  Lauren and GMA’s Robin Roberts talked about her eating disorder, which was sparked in her teens and caught fire when she was on Season 10 of American Idol. All of that inspired her to co-write and record her Top 15 song, “Road Less Traveled,” which is also the title cut of her sophomore album that just dropped on Friday (January 27th).

    Video / Lauren Alaina opens up on GMA

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Lauren, Lady A, Toby, Dierks

    Lauren Alaina will perform “Doin’ Fine” from her new album, Road Less Traveled, on Good Morning America on Tuesday (January 31st).

    Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum and Toby Keith are among the celebrities hitting the links at this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro AM. The annual tournament, which takes place February 6th – 12th, will also feature Jake Owen, Clay Walker, Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney, Justin Timberlake, Mark Wahlberg, Peyton Manning, Bill Murray, Wayne Gretzky and Ray Romano, among others. The tournament started out in Rancho Sante Fe, California when Bing Crosby invited some friends to play golf, enjoy a clambake and a raise a little money for charity.

    Lady Antebellum and Dierks Bentley are featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming film, The Shack, which stars Tim McGraw, Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer. The record, which also features songs from Brett Eldredge, Kelly Clarkson, Dan + Shay and NeedtoBreathe, will be released February 24th, while the film opens in theaters nationwide March 3rd.

  • LAUREN ALAINA MARKS AN IDOL ANNIVERSARY.

    Lauren Alaina’s new album, Road Less Traveled, was released on Friday (January 26th), and it was six years to the day that her American Idol audition in Nashville aired on FOX. The national talent competition was where it all began for Lauren, who made it all the way to the final show, coming in as a runner-up to Scotty McCreery on Season 10.

    Lauren says the show started it all. “I said from the time I was six years old I was gonna be on American Idol. When that moment finally came and I was actually on that stage in front of those judges, I just remember thinking, ‘You cannot mess this up. Be yourself. Be yourself.’ When they gave me that ticket, girl, you would’ve thought I won the lottery, like a billion dollars. I mean, nothing in that moment could be more special to me, because that’s all I wanted for 10 years, and it finally happened, and it started everything for me,” says Lauren. “Here we are six years to the day that I was introduced to the world as Lauren Alaina and my sophomore album’s coming out. It means the world to me and I can’t even explain how much I’ve changed since then to now and how excited I am for everyone to hear it and see the growth.”

    The Rossville, Georgia native just released her second album, Road Less Traveled, five years, three months and 16 days since her debut album, Wildflower, debuted.

    She joins Martina McBride on the Love Unleashed Tour, which kicks off Thursday (February 2nd) in St. Louis, Missouri.

    Audio / Lauren Alaina says American Idol was where it all began for her.

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    Lauren Alaina says American Idol was where it all began for her.

  • LAUREN ALAINA’S ‘ROAD LESS TRAVELED’ AVAILABLE TODAY.

    Lauren Alaina releases her brand-new album today (January 27th). The collection, named one of Rolling Stone’s Most-Anticipated Albums of 2017, shows her evolution as a songwriter since her No. 1-debuting first album, Wildflower. Lauren co-wrote all 12 tracks on the album, including her current Top 15 single and title track, “Road Less Traveled.”

    In issues hitting stands today, PEOPLE Magazine calls Road Less Traveled “full of life lessons and uplift,” while HITSnotes Lauren’s “dynamic message of female empowerment.” PARADE taps Lauren as a “sassy Southerner with killer pipes,” and Billboard claims this young star “finds her voice on Road Less Traveled.”

    Lauren visits with ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday (January 31st) and performs her compelling song, “Doin’ Fine.”  She then stops by HARRY for some lighthearted fun with Harry Connick Jr. and a performance of the title track. (Airs February 6th; check local listings).

    Recognized by Rolling Stone as a “Must-See Act,” Lauren joins Martina McBride for the CMT Next Women of Country Love Unleashed Tour kicking off next week. This summer, Lauren heads out with Luke Bryan on select Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day Tour dates.

    For additional information on Lauren, the new album, tour dates and more, visit www.LaurenAlainaOfficial.com.

    www.LaurenAlainaOfficial.com | Facebook.com/LaurenAlaina | Twitter@Lauren_Alaina |Instagram.com/LaurenAlaina

    Audio / Lauren Alaina talks about the writing process for Road Less Traveled.

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    Lauren Alaina (initial songwriting process) OC: …thought process. 1:01
    “I would say I spent the first year of the process trying to write what I thought I should write, what people wanted to hear, what could be a hit on the radio. And when you’re when you go into writes and you’re trying to write a hit, you usually don’t. And I don’t really know why or when that started changing. I think so much hit me at once that I didn’t have any other option but to write about it. ‘Cause songwriting is therapy for me and it always has been. But I never had to deal with all the things that I had to deal with before. I mean my biggest problems before that were boys. Then all of a sudden, I’m dealing with being a professional singer in the public eye, [my parents] going through a divorce and trying to hide that from the world, not letting the world know my dad was an alcoholic. I was very protective of who I was. I thought if I shared my flaws people wouldn’t look up to me or wouldn’t look to me as someone that they wanted; it was a really weird thought process.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke, Chris, Lauren, Brothers Osborne, Little Big Town

    Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton and Kenny Chesney will headline the fifth annual Tortuga Music Festival. The three-day event will take place April 7th – 9th in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and will also feature performances by Alan Jackson, Darius Rucker, Brett Eldredge, Maren Morris, Dustin Lynch, Old Dominion and Nelly, among others.

    Chris Stapleton appeared on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday (January 24th) for the show’s “Behind the Lyrics” segment. He “explains” the story behind the title track of his hit album, Traveller. Check it out here.

    Luke Bryan will be joined by Cole Swindell, Phillip Phillips and songwriter Dallas Davidson to perform a benefit concert to help victims affected by the storms that recently devastated South Georgia. A  date for the benefit will be announced soon.

    Little Big Town, Brothers Osborne, Lauren Alaina and Gary Allan are among the artists performing at Chicago’s Country LakeShake this summer. The three-day event, which also features Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts and many others, will take place June 23rd – 25th at the Huntington Bank Pavilion. Tickets go on sale February 3rd at 10am.