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  • CMA AWARDS 2018: Duo of the Year

    Audio
    Brothers Osborne / Maddie & Tae

    Brothers Osborne could earn their third Vocal Duo of the Year Award this year, while Maddie & Tae who are heading up the country charts with their song, “Friends Don’t,” could earn their first at this year’s CMA Awards.

    Maddie & Tae didn’t expect a nod since they’d just released their new song on a new record label (Mercury Nashville) and were putting the finishing touches on a new album.

    “Being nominated this year, one-we did not, we never expected it, obviously, but we didn’t really expect it this year, because we just put the first single out and everything is slowly rolling out,” said the duo’s Maddie Marlow. “Having that nomination was like, oh wow, our peers do still feel like we’re doing something special and do still believe in us and that was a really nice spirit-lifter where we were like, ‘Oh my gosh. We are doing something right and we’re making music that people are enjoying,’ and that was just a huge, huge compliment. And we’re nominated with some of favorite people in the industry, so super fun.”

    After winning their first CMA Award in 2016, TJ and John Osborne were definitely feeling the love from their peers and folks in the industry. ““We definitely can feel the love and I feel like we’re trying to reciprocate that as much as we can because we are incredibly thankful,” said TJ. “I mean, it’s amazing. We came to this town so many years ago. We look like an overnight success, but we came here just some poor blue-collar kids from Maryland, and here we are winning a CMA [Award].” The brothers are also up for Musical Event of the Year with Dierks Bentley for the Arizona native’s latest hit, “Burning Man.”

    The 52nd Annual CMA Awards will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 14th at 8pm ET/PT on ABC.

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

     

    Audio / Backstage at the 2016 CMA Awards, Brothers Osborne’s TJ Osborne said he and his brother John can feel the support from everyone in the country music community, especially after winning their first CMA Vocal Duo of the Year Award.00:25

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    Brothers Osborne (CMA love) OC: …is great. :26
    TJ: “We definitely can feel the love and I feel like we’re trying to reciprocate that as much as we can because we are incredibly thankful. I mean, it’s amazing. We came to this town so many years ago. We look like an overnight success, but we came here just some poor blue-collar kids from Maryland, and here we are winning a CMA [Award]. I wish I could be home with all our boys back home. I know they’re celebrating.” JOHN: “I know! I know.” TJ: “This is great!”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae talk about their CMA nomination for Vocal Duo of the Year.

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    Maddie & Tae (CMA nomination 2018) OC: …super fun. :38
    MADDIE: “Being nominated this year, one-we did not, we never expected it, obviously, but we didn’t really expect it this year, because we just put the first single out and everything is slowly rolling out. Having that nomination was like, oh wow, our peers do still feel like we’re doing something special and do still believe in us and that was a really nice spirit-lifter where we were like, ‘Oh my gosh. We are doing something right and we’re making music that people are enjoying,’ and that was just a huge, huge compliment. And we’re nominated with some of favorite people in the industry, so super fun.”

  • MADDIE & TAE FEEL CMA NOMINATION IS A “SPIRIT LIFTER.”

    Audio
    Maddie & Tae

    Maddie & Tae are nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year at this year’s CMA Awards, and they couldn’t be more grateful for the nomination. The pair didn’t expect a nod since they’d just released their new song, “Friends Don’t,” on a new record label (Mercury Nashville) and were putting the finishing touches on a new album.

    “Being nominated this year, one-we did not, we never expected it, obviously, but we didn’t really expect it this year, because we just put the first single out and everything is slowly rolling out,” says the duo’s Maddie Marlow. “Having that nomination was like, oh wow, our peers do still feel like we’re doing something special and do still believe in us and that was a really nice spirit-lifter where we were like, ‘Oh my gosh. We are doing something right and we’re making music that people are enjoying,’ and that was just a huge, huge compliment. And we’re nominated with some of favorite people in the industry, so super fun.”

    The 52nd Annual CMA Awards will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 14th at 8pm ET/PT on ABC.

    Audio / Maddie & Tae talk about their CMA nomination for this year.

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    Maddie & Tae (CMA nomination 2018) OC: …super fun. :38
    MADDIE: “Being nominated this year, one-we did not, we never expected it, obviously, but we didn’t really expect it this year, because we just put the first single out and everything is slowly rolling out. Having that nomination was like, oh wow, our peers do still feel like we’re doing something special and do still believe in us and that was a really nice spirit-lifter where we were like, ‘Oh my gosh. We are doing something right and we’re making music that people are enjoying,’ and that was just a huge, huge compliment. And we’re nominated with some of favorite people in the industry, so super fun.”

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  • MADDIE & TAE TO PERFORM “FRIENDS DON’T” ON TODAY SHOW; DIGITALLY RELEASE MORE MUSIC TO FANS.

    Press
    Maddie & Tae

    Maddie & Tae are set to perform their “flirty” (Billboard), “confessional” (Rolling Stone) lead single “Friends Don’t,” live on the TODAY Show this Monday (October 22nd). The first taste of the duo’s highly-anticipated sophomore release on Mercury Nashville, the “up-tempo almost love song” (Tennessean) is currently climbing the Country radio charts.

    Maddie & Tae are sharing even more new music with fans, exclusively unveiling the candidly heart-rending track and lyric video for “Die From A Broken Heart” with Huffington Post.View HERE. Now available everywhere, “Die From A Broken Heart” invites fans to eavesdrop on an honest conversation as a heartbroken daughter seeks wisdom from her mother. Listen HERE.

     

    “We created a concept record that follows the ups and downs of a relationship. You’ve heard the in love phase with ‘Friends Don’t’ and now you hear the heartbreak in ‘Die from a Broken Heart.’ This song definitely hits home for us and we hope our fans relate to it as well.”

    The duo became only the third female duo in 70 years to top the Country Airplay charts, also earning trophies from the Country Music Academy and Radio Disney Music Awards along with multiple ACM, CMA and CMT Award nominations. They are currently nominated for CMA Vocal Duo of the Year. Receiving widespread praise from NPR, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, Glamour and others, country music’s hottest stars including Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice and Brad Paisley have welcomed Maddie & Tae on the road, with Carrie Underwood recently inviting the duo out as direct support on her 2019 Cry Pretty Tour 360. For additional information, visit www.MaddieandTae.com.

  • CMT’S ARTISTS OF THE YEAR CELEBRATE THE WOMEN OF COUNTRY MUSIC.

    Video
    Carrie Underwood / Little Big Town / Maddie & Tae

    Several of country music’s top female artists were honored during CMT’s Artists of the Year live special on Wednesday night (October 17th), including Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman, as well as Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott and the Artist of a Lifetime recipient Loretta Lynn.

    LBT’s Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook honored their bandmates Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman. The two ladies then were joined by the legendary Gladys Knight for “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”

    Keith Urban celebrated his friend and “The Fighter” duet partner Carrie Underwood, before she hit the stage with her 2019 Cry Pretty Tour 360 opening acts Maddie & Tae and Runaway June with an all-woman medley hailing those who paved the way. The songs they performed include Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” The Judds’ “Rockin’ with the Rhythm of the Rain,” Martina McBride’s “Independence Day,” Faith Hill’s “Wild One,” Reba’s “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” and Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” before launching into her recent smash hit, “Cry Pretty.”

    Carrie thanked all of the women in the country music industry she called “the backbone of this music” as she accepted her trophy, as well as praised all of the women artists. “To all of the incredible, amazing, talented women that have been on this stage tonight, you are not here because you are women. You are here because you are dang good. And it is an honor to get to share tonight with you.”

    Little Big Town’s Kimberly and Karen were overwhelmed in accepting their award and helped shine a light on all of the newer female artists who “are available” to be played on the radio by reading out all of their names during their speech.

    Dierks Bentley, along with Sheryl Crow, performed “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” in tribute to Loretta Lynn.

    One of the coolest moments of the night was when Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek, who portrayed Loretta Lynn in the iconic film Coal Miner’s Daughter, accepted the Artist of a Lifetime award for the Country Music Hall of Famer who was at home feeling under the weather. She praised their decades-long friendship and was visibly emotional when she talked about her “sister.”

    The CMT special will re-air multiple times beginning Friday (October 19th) at 1:30am ET and 7:30am ET, as well as various times over the weekend.

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  • HALLOWEEN 2018: Adam, Alan, Billy, Brothers O, Clare, Darius, Dierks, Eric, Jon, Jon, Jordan, Luke, Maddie & Tae, Travis

    Audio
    Adam Hambrick / Alan Jackson / Billy Currington / Brothers Osborne / Clare Dunn / Darius Rucker / Dierks Bentley / Eric Church / Jon Langston / Jon Pardi / Jordan Davis / Luke Bryan / Maddie & Tae / Travis Denning

    Halloween is Wednesday, October 31st, and the holiday has some of your favorite country stars getting into costumes, while others are recalling memories of Halloweens past.

     

    Audio / Adam Hambrick talks about one of his favorite Halloween costumes as a kid.

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    Adam Hambrick (Halloween) OC: …five-years-old. :10
    “My grandmother made me a Ghostbusters jumpsuit, and I had the proton backpack and I went as Peter Venkman, the Ghostbuster, when I was five-years-old.”

    Audio / Alan Jackson used to take his now grown daughters trick-or-treating when they were young children, but he recalls one costume that he hated. It was an infant costume that made one of the girls look like a little peapod.

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    AJ (Halloween) OC: …cute, but…[laughs] :17
    “Aww, I remember some, when they were infants, they had like these little, they looked like a little pea pod, you know, or something. It’s like a little green pea or something. And I thought man, that’s awful. But Denise liked it, and I guess it was cute, but…(laughs).”

    Audio / Billy Currington reminisces about his childhood Halloween memories.

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    Billy Currington (Halloween) OC: …Halloween. :17
    “You know, when I was a kid, I loved the trick and the treat. I loved dressing up. I was always wanting to be Dracula. That was my favorite guy. But, of course, who doesn’t love going door-to-door and getting these buckets of candy? [laughs] So, love, love Halloween.”

     

    Audio / JOHN AND TJ OSBORNE TALK ABOUT THEIR FAVORITE HALLOWEEN CANDY.

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    Brothers Osborne (Halloween candy) OC: (John) …go stale. [laughs] :34
    TJ: “I would say, Snickers, Baby Ruth, Kit Kat and Reese’s too.” JOHN: “I always hated those houses that would give you bad candy, though. You’re like, ‘C’mon. Step it up.’ Spend the extra dollar on a bag, you know?” TJ: “A house when we were growing up used to give out whole candy bars. It was the best. You were like, ‘That house – that’s the honey hole of candy.’” JOHN: “I love it, and I love like at the end, like three or four days after Halloween you would see what candy was left, and it was always like those crappy cheap candies, and they would just go stale.” [laughs]

    Audio / Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne talks about carving pumpkins with their dad when they were growing up.

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    Brothers Osborne (carving pumpkins) OC: …or something. :25
    “With our dad every year, we would go looking for pumpkins, and we would all get our own pumpkin to carve, and he would buy the biggest pumpkin that they had. It was huge. I mean, it was way too big for any one person, but he would love carving. He’s kind of an artsy guy. He was a great drawer and stuff, and he would carve the most terrifying, vicious looking, scary pumpkin you’d ever seen in your life, and it would be massive. It would be like on a 50-pound pumpkin or something.”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne’s TJ and John Osborne talk about dressing up like zombies for Halloween.

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    Brothers Osborne (zombie costume) OC: (John) …was so fun! :29
    TJ: “Literally, you can dress up like a zombie and drag your foot behind you all day and make weird noises, and everyone finds that completely acceptable.” [laughs] JOHN: “One year I dressed up as a ‘90s redneck zombie with a mullet wig and an Alan Jackson denim coat. I never once broke character. That’s part of the thing — you can actually not break character and get away with it. And everywhere I went, even when I ordered a drink, I ordered it like a zombie that was falling apart. [laughs] It was so fun!”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne’s TJ Osborne talks about one of his favorite childhood Halloween costumes.

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    Brothers Osborne (Halloween costume) OC: (TJ) …I love it. :37
    TJ: “There was a costume I had when I was a kid that my dad made. I was a caterpillar, no, you were a caterpillar and I was a spider. And so I don’t know if you’re familiar with pipe insulation? It’s like these black tubes, and so I had these little black pipe insulators as my legs.” JOHN: “There were strings attached to him that would hold some of the black pipe insulators under his hands, and he’d put working gloves on the end of them and so when he’d raise his arms, all of the little spider legs would raise up with it. [laughs] I’m telling you, our parents were total hippies. They were just…” TJ: “Artsy-fartsy hippies. I love it.”

    Audio / Growing up on a working ranch where the nearest neighbor was about five miles away, Clare Dunn says trick-or-treating was hit-or-miss.

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    Clare Dunn (Halloween) OC: …and stuff. :23
    “Halloween was always hit and miss. I mean it’s five miles to my nearest neighbor. So, for us if we wanted to go trick-or-treating or whatever, some of the country kids a couple of years would all band together and we’d drive around in vehicles from house to house to house. So, we’d all pile into a pickup and then we’d go annoy our neighbors for candy and stuff.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker loves Halloween, especially because it’s his kids’ favorite holiday.

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    Darius (Halloween) OC: …I’m into. :06
    “Halloween’s big for me, because the kids love it. It’s my kids’ favorite holiday, so anything they’re into, I’m into.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about the Halloweens of his childhood.

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    Dierks Bentley (Halloween) OC: … …around home. [laughs]  :23
    “Oh, when I was a kid, I was all into fireworks. Growing up in Arizona, we couldn’t get ’em, so we’d have ’em shipped in illegally. I still remember the name of the guy we’d call. His name was Joe, and he’d bring in, ship ’em in a package with no writing on ’em. We were all about M-80s in the mailboxes and bottle rocket wars. To me, as a kid, Halloween was fireworks, was blowing up stuff around home. [laughs]”

    Audio / Eric Church recalls his favorite Halloween costume.

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    Eric Church (Halloween) OC: …Franklin Street. 1:18
    “My favorite Halloween costume really came, I remember when I got a little older my first year of college, there’s this thing they do every year in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Halloween on Franklin Street. We drove down from Boone, North Carolina. I had a bunch of friends that went to University of North Carolina, and we didn’t have costumes and didn’t realize until we were on the way that we had to have costumes. So, we stopped at a costume place in Greensboro, North Carolina. It’s Halloween, so there’s a run on everything and couldn’t find anything. And we end up getting sent around, driving  around town. We end up finding this hole in the wall place, but they had the full costume, Sesame Street outfits. The real deal. The real ones [with] feathers and fur. We were Elmo, Cookie Monster and I was Big Bird, and the Big Bird was the actual Big Bird. It’s about 7-foot-4, and yiou looked out of the body and then you had these straps that went on since the head was a lot higher. There’s a lot of beer involved in Franklin Street, so we get down there and as the night went on, my straps broke, so the head would pivot. And so, I would be walking one way and the head would be facing the other, and it just became this funny…I didn’t know the head was on backwards. I had no idea. I see out of the body, so I’m just kinda walking around and people were talking to my ass-end. [laughs] The whole time peiople’d come up and start talking and go, ‘Hey, turn around.’ And I’d turn around, and they’d go, ‘No turn around.’ It was a mess. That year, there was no other Big Bird on Franklin Street.”

    Audio / Jon Langston talks about his most memorable Halloween.

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    Jon Langston (Halloween show) OC: …memorable Halloween. :59
    “So we played a show a few years ago in Baton Rouge and I go off stage and I come back on stage for the encore. I don’t know this until midway through the song, I’m just into the crowd, like I’m engaged. I’m in the zone, and I just see everyone, like everybody else behind me but me and I’m like what’s going on. I turn around and each of them has a different huge mask on, like one of those stuffed animal masks, like my drummer has a dinosaur head on. My guitar players, one of ‘em has monkey head on, the other has a unicorn head on. And my bass player has like a, I think a dog or cat head or something like that. I couldn’t finish the song I was laughing so hard just seeing them playing with these like over-sized huge mask heads on Halloween night. That was funny. It was a good prank, so that was probably the most memorable Halloween.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi reveals his favorite Halloween candy.

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    Jon Pardi (Halloween candy) OC: …during Halloween. :06
    “Man! The candy corn is pretty good, and that’s seasonal, so it only kinda pops out during Halloween.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi talks about his favorite Halloween costumes as a child.

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    Jon Pardi (Halloween) 1 OC: …the Superman. :15
    “Man, I went through phases of costumes – the Superman costume, then it was a ninja, then I was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle one year. I remember rockin’ the Superman.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES OVER THE YEARS.

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    Jordan Davis (Halloween costumes) OC: …jet black. :49
    “I can remember being really big into Power Rangers. I always liked the Red Ranger. I remember being Red Ranger one Halloween. I remember me and my brother being big into the Ninja Turtles. I was Donatello one year, which I think was the purple turtle. I think, though, my favorite Halloween was I was in college and I went as Luigi from Mario and Luigi, and I actually grew a legit mustache and dyed it jet black and ran into an e-girlfriend at the costume shop and completely forgot I had the mustache on. So, when Is saw her, she was like, ‘So, you’re going with a mustache nowadays, huh?’ [laughs] I remember being like, ‘I swear this is part of my Halloween costume.’ [laughs] When I dyed my mustache, my top lip was black for a week. Like I really did dye it jet black.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE HALLOWEEN CANDY.

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    Jordan Davis (Halloween candy) OC: …some Starbursts. :21
    “My favorite Halloween candy [is] probably Reese’s or M&M’s, although I love the variety of Starburst. It’s one that I feel like I only eat at Halloween, because I feel like at Halloween one of the popular ones is the two-piece Starburst things. So, probably Reese’s, M&Ms and throw in some Starbursts.”

    Audio / CANDY CORN IS A PRETTY POLARIZING CANDY THAT ONLY COMES OUT AROUND HALLOWEEN. SOME LOVE IT; SOME HATE IT AND NEITHER OPINION IS WRONG. JORDAN DAVIS SIDES WITH THE HATERS (DON’T BLAME HIM), SINCE HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO CANDY CORN.

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    Jordan Davis (no candy corn) OC: …they’re awful. :05
    “You know what I never got? The candy corns. I’ve never been a candy corn guy. I think they’re awful.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan says you can tell a lot about your neighbors from what kind of Halloween candy they hand out.

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    Luke Bryan (Halloween) OC: …your teeth. :21
    “You can find out a lot about your neighbors by what kind of candy they put out. So, well, like full bars of Snickers bars, that’s what, and Reese’s cups, [but] the old chocolate popcorn ball of stuff, that’s no good either, like Dots – you get Dots one time of year and they pull your teeth.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan says his wife Caroline usually pick out his Halloween costumes.

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    Luke Bryan (Halloween costumes) OC: …always has. :20
    “Me and Caroline did one year where I dressed up as the old lady, and she dressed up as, she called herself a dirty old man. So, she went around acting like an old man saying snide comments to everybody. That was a fun one. The main thing is Caroline is big, she loves Halloween and always has.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about his Halloween traditions.

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    Luke Bryan (Halloween) 2 OC: …with all that. :33
    “My tradition for Halloween is Caroline picks the outfit. I never know what I’m wearing. So that day, I’ll talk to the neighbors ‘cause I have a tractor back there and I’ll go get my tractor and get a big long trailer, and then I’ll run down to…a couple miles from the farm, we’ve got a big hay farmer that keeps hay and you run in there and pay him for his hay bales. And I’ll load the hay up and get the hayride ready and we’ll take all the kids behind the tractor and have a fun Halloween with all that.”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae sit on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to scary movies.

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    Maddie & Tae (Halloween) OC: …princesses. :24
    TAE: “Oooooh, Halloween [is] my favorite holiday. Anyone who knows me knows I love all things scary and gory, so especially on Halloween all the scary movies that come out in theaters, I am there every single time.” MADDIE: “And I never go with her because I hate scary things.” TAE: “You know what’s funny? As little girls, everyone wants to dress up as princesses, and I think I was a witch like six years in a row. I just wanted to be scary.” MADDIE: “Girl, I was like Jasmine and you know [other] princesses.”

    Audio / Travis Denning talks about his favorite – and probably most embarrassing – Halloween costume.

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    Travis Denning (Halloween costume) OC: …Busch Light. :21
    “Honestly, I think one of my most proud and embarrassed Halloween costumes is I went as Terry from Reno 9-1-1. I had the roller skates, the short-shorts, the tied-up shirt. Looking back, it wasn’t the manliest thing I ever did, but it got a lot of laughs. And I think that year my favorite candy I ever had was Busch Light.”

  • HALLOWEEN LINERS 2018

    Audio
    Adam Hambrick / Billy Currington / Brandon Lay / Brothers Osborne / Carrie Underwood / Clare Dunn / Darius Rucker / Dierks Bentley / Eric Church / Jon Langston / Jordan Davis / Josh Turner / Kacey Musgraves / Luke Bryan / Maddie & Tae / Sam Hunt

    Audio / LINER Adam Hambrick (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is Adam Hambrick. Happy Halloween.”

     

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Trick or Treat)

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    “Trick or Treat, baby.”

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (Halloween)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Brandon Lay, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Halloween)

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    “Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is Clare Dunn, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

     

    Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Halloween)

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    “Hey! What’s up, y’all? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Halloween)

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    “Hey! It’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Halloween)

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    “Hey! This is Eric Church, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Halloween)

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    “Hey y’all! I’m Jon Langston. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Halloween)

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    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Halloween)

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    “Hey y’all, I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Halloween)

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    “Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, and I hope you have a Happy Halloween.”

     

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Halloween)

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    “Hey! What’s up, y’all? I’m Luke Bryan, wishing you a very Happy Halloween. Boo!”

     

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Halloween)

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    “Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae. Happy Halloween.”

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Happy Halloween)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt. Happy Halloween!”

  • MADDIE AND TAE WILL JOIN CARRIE UNDERWOOD AND LITTLE BIG TOWN’S KAREN FAIRCHILD AND KIMBERLY SCHLAPMAN WILL BE JOINED BY GLADYS KNIGHT ON THE CMT ARTISTS OF THE YEAR SPECIAL.

    Press
    Carrie Underwood / Little Big Town / Maddie & Tae

    To continue this year’s celebration of women, CMT has added seven new powerhouse performances to the “2018 CMT Artists of the Year” lineup: Carrie Underwood with CMT Next Women of Country and tour mates Maddie & Tae and Runaway June; Miranda Lambert and Pistol Annies; Kelsea Ballerini with Alison Krauss; Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman with soul legend Gladys Knight; and Hillary Scott with singer-songwriter Tori Kelly and Grammy-award winning gospel artist Kirk Franklin. In addition, honoree Maren Morris will join forces with Brandi Carlile for a powerful tribute to late icon Aretha Franklin. The 9th annual special premieres LIVE from Nashville on Wednesday, October 17th at 8pm ET/PT, only on CMT.

    In recognition of the undeniable influence and impact of female artists in country music, the “2018 CMT Artists of the Year” special is dedicated to the women of country music—past, present and future. This year’s all-female “Artists of the Year” are CarrieUnderwood, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman and Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott. The coveted “Artist of a Lifetime” award presented by Ram Trucks will be given to country music icon Loretta Lynn.

    In addition to the “2018 CMT Artists of the Year” live special, CMT will further its commitment to female artists through a day-long “Women of Country Music” takeover across all CMT platforms where music lives including music hours on CMT, the 24/7 digital channel CMT Music and CMT Radio’s widely-syndicated shows “CMT Radio LIVE” and “CMT After Midnite” to encourage and inspire increased female airplay on October 17.

    A staunch advocate for country music’s female artists, CMT launched its dedicated “Next Women of Country” campaign in 2013 as a way to give female artists voice and airplay across all CMT platforms. The franchise has received critical acclaim, and in five years since launch CMT has expanded to include tours, digital programming and more. Ballerini and Morris are both alumnae of the “Next Women” franchise.

    Last year’s special notched its highest ratings to date and ranked as the most watched in the event’s eight-year history. More than 1.1 million fans tuned in to the premiere telecast and the encore. Socially, #CMTAOTY trended nationally on Twitter during the show and the special ranked as the #1 Most Social Entertainment Program in Primetime on Cable.

    Previous “CMT Artists of the Year” performances have included Adele and Darius Rucker performing Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now;” Meghan Trainor, Jill Scott and Kelsea Ballerini honoring Shania Twain with a medley of her biggest hits; Jason Aldean, Keith Urban and Chris Stapleton in a moving Tom Petty tribute with “I Won’t Back Down;” Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis paying tribute to Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush;” and Maroon 5 covering Taylor Swift’s “Mine.” The show has featured appearances by Ellen DeGeneres, Matthew McConaughey, Selena Gomez, Billy Bob Thornton, Roger Clemens, Morgan Freeman, the cast of Nashville and more.

    Former “CMT Artists of the Year” honorees include Blake Shelton (2015), Brad Paisley (2011), Carrie Underwood (2010, 2012, 2016), Cast of “Nashville” (2015), Chris Stapleton (2015, 2016, 2017), Eric Church (2012), Florida Georgia Line (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), Hunter Hayes (2013), Jason Aldean (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), Keith Urban (2017), Kelsea Ballerini (2016), Kenny Chesney (2011, 2012), Kenny Rogers (2015), Lady Antebellum (2010, 2011), Little Big Town (2015), Luke Bryan (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), Merle Haggard (2014), Miranda Lambert (2012, 2014), Sam Hunt (2015, 2017), Shania Twain (2016), Taylor Swift (2010, 2011), Thomas Rhett (2016), Tim McGraw (2013) and Toby Keith (2012.)

  • MADDIE AND TAE ARE EXCITED TO LEARN FROM CARRIE UNDERWOOD WHEN THEY HIT THE ROAD TOGETHER NEXT YEAR.

    Audio
    Maddie & Tae

    Maddie & Tae cannot wait to hit the road with Carrie Underwood on The Cry Pretty Tour 360 next year. The duo is excited to be able to learn from the superstar, so they’ll definitely be watching as she hits the stage. The pair are also hopeful they’ll be able to write songs on tour with her and Runaway June, as well.

    ““There’s so much to be excited about going on tour with Carrie, but I think I’m most excited about just really learning from one of the best artists in the industry and one of the best entertainers,” says the duo’s Maddie Marlow, adding, “and just seeing a woman we’ve both admired for so long do her thing and getting to celebrate all the women on the tour…I feel like we’re gonna learn a lot!”

    Bandmate Tae Dye agrees and says they might work in a little songwriting on the road, as well. “I think we’re gonna have some really good hangs, write a couple of songs. I feel like we might get on a bus or Runaway June’s bus and write a tune or two I feel like.”

    Maddie & Tae are making their way up the country charts with “Friends Don’t,” the first release from their upcoming album.

     

    Audio / Maddie & Tae talk about what they're most excited about when they hit the road with Carrie Underwood next year.

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    Maddie & Tae (hitting the road with Carrie next year) OC: (Tae)…it’d be fun. :40

    MADDIE: “There’s so much to be excited about going on tour with Carrie, but I think I’m most excited about just really learning from one of the best artists in the industry and one of the best entertainers…(TAE: “She’s an amazing entertainer.”) and just seeing a woman we’ve both admired for so long do her thing and getting to celebrate all the women on the tour, but I feel like we’re gonna learn a lot!” TAE: “And I think we’re gonna have some really good hangs, write a couple of songs. I feel like we might get on a bus or Runaway June’s bus and write a tune or two I feel like.” MADDIE: “Cause we’re all songwriters. Carrie’s a writer, Runaway June. We’d have a super-girl hit. That could be awesome.” [laughs] TAE: “Oh yeah, split many ways, but it’d be fun.” [laughs]

  • CMA AWARDS 2018: THE REACTIONS.

    Press
    Brothers Osborne / Carrie Underwood / Kacey Musgraves / Keith Urban / Lady Antebellum / Lauren Alaina / Little Big Town / Luke Bryan / Maddie & Tae

    The CMA nominations were announced Tuesday morning (August 28th), and Luke Bryan is once again nominated for CMA Entertainer of the Year, having won the award twice previously. He says he still has to pinch himself when he thinks about having two of those trophies on his mantel.

    Keith Urban is nominated for three CMA Awards this year, including Entertainer, Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Graffiti U. He took to his socials to do what he does best — perform his thank yous for all of the nominations. He said, “[It was] an amazing way to wake up and start the day. I love making music, simple as that. I love making music, and to get to make Graffiti U and have the support that it’s gotten and especially to see that this morning in action, that’s an incredible feeling. So to everybody that made that possible, thank you. Thank you very much.”

    Little Big Town just finished up their Bandwagon Tour over the weekend and woke up to a Vocal Group of the Year nomination. The band has won this award for the past five years.

    Lady Antebellum has won the award for Vocal Group of the Year THREE times; from 2009 through 2011.

     

    Maddie & Tae, who are up for Vocal Duo of the Year said it was a nice surprise to wake up to this morning.

    Kacey Musgraves had a pair of nominations, including Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for Golden Road.

    Brothers Osborne earns another nomination for Vocal Duo of the Year, as well as a nod for Musical Event of the Year for “Burnin’ Man” with Dierks Bentley.

     

    Lauren Alaina is nominated for New Artist of the Year, and while she’s going through a difficult time with her family, this nomination came in at the right time.

     

    The 52nd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 14th at 8pm ET on ABC.



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  • THE 2018 CMA NOMINATIONS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED.

    Audio
    Brothers Osborne / Carrie Underwood / Chris Stapleton / Dierks Bentley / Kacey Musgraves / Keith Urban / Lauren Alaina / Luke Bryan / Maddie & Tae / Vince Gill

    Luke Bryan, Dan + Shay and Sugarland announced the final nominations for The 52nd Annual CMA Awards this morning (August 28th) live on ABC’s Good Morning America from Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink bar located on Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville.

    The artists revealed six categories live on-air, then announced the remaining six categories, along with finalists for the CMA Broadcast Awards, on GoodMorningAmerica.com as well as via “Good Morning America’s” Facebook page through Facebook Live, Twitter and simulcast on “Good Morning America’s” YouTube channel.

    Chris Stapleton tops the list of finalists with five nominations. Producer and musician Dann Huff receives four nominations, the second most nominations this year, while nine artists garner three each—Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Chris Janson, Miranda Lambert, Midland, Thomas Rhett and Keith Urban.

    CHRIS STAPLETON – FIVE NOMINATIONS
    Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year (“Broken Halos”), Album of the Year (From A Room: Volume 2), Song of the Year (“Broken Halos”), Male Vocalist of the Year 

    Stapleton leads this year’s CMA Awards nominations with five, adding to his previous 11 nominations and seven wins. He lands his third consecutive nod for Entertainer of the Year in addition to nominations in the Single and Song of the Year categories for “Broken Halos,” produced by Dave Cobb and Stapleton, mixed by Vance Powell, and written by Mike Henderson and Stapleton. Stapleton earns his third nomination for Album of the Year for From A Room: Volume 2, produced by Cobb and Stapleton. He previously won Album for his first two solo albums, Traveller, awarded in 2015, and From A Room: Volume 1, awarded in 2017. Stapleton also receives his fourth consecutive nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, a category he remains undefeated in, having won the past three years.

    DIERKS BENTLEY – THREE NOMINATIONS
    Album of the Year (The Mountain), Male Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“Burning Man”)

    Dierks Bentley earns his sixth career nomination for Album of the Year, alongside producers Ross Copperman, Jon Randall Stewart, and Arturo Buenahora Jr., while also marking his fifth consecutive nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year. He also lands a nod alongside Brothers Osborne for Musical Event of the Year for their collaboration “Burning Man,” Bentley’s third nomination in the category. He won Musical Event in 2016 for his song “Different For Girls” (Feat. Elle King). With this year’s nominations, Bentley collects 24 total career nominations.

    KEITH URBAN – THREE NOMINATIONS
    Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year (Graffiti U), Male Vocalist of the Year

    This year marks Keith Urban’s 14th nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, 11th nomination in the Entertainer of the Year category, and his sixth nomination in the Album of the Year category for Graffiti U, bringing his career nominations to 45 with 11 total wins. Urban shares the nomination with the album’s producers Dan McCarroll, J.R. Rotem, Josh Kerr, Jason Evigan, Greg Wells, Benny Blanco, Ed Sheeran, Johnny McDaid, Jesse Shatkin, Jimmy Robbins, Oscar Holter, Matt Rad, Eric Valentine, Ian Kirkpatrick, Mike Elizondo, Captain Cuts, Copperman, Huff, and Peter Karlsson. Urban is the reigning Single of the Year winner for his song “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which he also produced.

    The 52nd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 14th at 8pm ET on ABC.

    For more information and a full list of nominees, visit CMAawards.com.

    The Final Nominees for “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards” (by ballot category order):

    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
    Jason Aldean
    Luke Bryan
    Kenny Chesney
    Chris Stapleton
    Keith Urban

    SINGLE OF THE YEAR
    (Award goes to Artist, Producer(s), and Mix Engineer(s))

    Broken Halos – Chris Stapleton
    Producer(s): Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
    Mix Engineer(s): Vance Powell

    Drinkin’ Problem – Midland
    Producer(s): Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
    Mix Engineer(s): Justin Niebank

    Drowns the Whiskey – Jason Aldean (Feat. Miranda Lambert)
    Producer(s): Michael Knox
    Mix Engineer(s): Jeff Braun

    Meant to Be – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line
    Producer(s): Willshire
    Mix Engineer(s): Serban Ghenea

    Tequila – Dan + Shay
    Producer(s): Scott Hendricks, Dan Smyers
    Mix Engineer(s): Jeff Juliano

    ALBUM OF THE YEAR
    (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))

    From a Room: Volume 2 – Chris Stapleton
    Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
    Graffiti U – Keith Urban
    Life Changes – Thomas Rhett
    The Mountain – Dierks Bentley

    SONG OF THE YEAR
    (Award goes to Songwriter(s))

    “Body Like A Back Road”
    Songwriters: Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

    “Broken Halos”
    Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton

    “Drowns the Whiskey”
    Songwriter: Brandon Kinney, Jeff Middleton, Josh Thompson

    “Drunk Girl”
    Songwriter: Scooter Carusoe, Tom Douglas, Chris Janson

    “Tequila”
    Songwriter: Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds, Dan Smyers

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

    MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
    Dierks Bentley
    Luke Combs
    Thomas Rhett
    Chris Stapleton
    Keith Urban

    VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
    Lady Antebellum
    Lanco
    Little Big Town
    Midland
    Old Dominion

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

    MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
    (Award goes to each Artist)

    “Burning Man” – Dierks Bentley Feat. Brothers Osborne
    “Dear Hate” – Maren Morris (Feat. Vince Gill)
    “Drowns the Whiskey” – Jason Aldean (Feat. Miranda Lambert)
    “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” – David Lee Murphy (with Kenny Chesney)
    “Meant to Be” – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line

    MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
    (Award goes to Artist and Director(s))

    “Babe” – Sugarland (Featuring Taylor Swift)
    Director: Anthony Mandler

    “Cry Pretty” – Carrie Underwood
    Director: Randee St. Nicholas

    “Drunk Girl” – Chris Janson
    Director: Jeff Venable

    “Marry Me” – Thomas Rhett
    Director: TK McKamy

    “Tequila” – Dan + Shay
    Director: Patrick Tracy

    NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
    Lauren Alaina
    Luke Combs
    Chris Janson
    Midland
    Brett Young

    MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
    Jerry Douglas, Dobro
    Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
    Dann Huff, Guitar
    Mac McAnally, Guitar
    Derek Wells, Guitar

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Audio / LUKE BRYAN SAY WINNING HIS FIRST CMA ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR AWARD CHANGED HIS LIFE.

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    Luke Bryan (winning 1st CMA Entertainer of the Year) OC: …big deal for me. :55
    “Definitely looking back and winning my first CMA Entertainer of the Year award is something that I’ll never forget. It’s all of those memories of everything it took to get here and all the sacrifices and all the honkytonks and the late-night concerts and moving to Nashville and leaving your family and your friends, it all came together on that night. To get that from your peers of fellow country music artists was pretty amazing. You never forget it. You forever feel vindicated and you feel appreciated and you feel like you’re a member of a club, and you know no matter how long you live that you left an indelible mark on this industry based on how you go about it, how you entertain and perform. It was a big deal for me.”

    Audio / KEITH URBAN PICKED UP HIS FIRST CMA MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR AWARD IN 2004, AND HE SAYS IT WAS A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE FOR HIM. HE WENT ON TO WIN THAT AWARD IN 2005 AND 2006.

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    Keith Urban (winning 1st Male Vocalist award) OC: …my life. :27
    “In 2004, I won Male Vocalist of the Year, and again it was that same feeling I had when I’d won the Horizon Award, but it was like the next level.  It just felt so humbling really. Really to be in that category and then to win was again just one of those sort of moments that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

    Audio / Keith Urban explains why he felt the need to name his CMA nominated album, Graffiti U.

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    Keith Urban (Graffiti U name) OC: …that to me. :53
    “The previous two albums I did – Fuse and Ripcord – denoted a kind of energy, and so those titles were chosen for that. And I had some energy-driven titles in mind for this album too, but as the record started to reveal itself to me, the word ‘graffiti’ kept coming to me out of the blue. I’ve always loved that word, loved the sound of the word, and then I loved the fact that it’s art-driven. When I think of graffiti, I think of self-expression, personal expression, absolutely personal expression whether you’re painting something on the side of a building in a city or whether you’re painting ‘Billy Bob Loves Charlene’ on the side of an overpass [laughs], it’s all graffiti and it’s all free and pure and very personal, and I thought this record feels like that to me.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley was inspired by Telluride to write and record his CMA nominated album, The Mountain.

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    Dierks Bentley (album inspired by Telluride) 2 OC: …it was magic. :53
    “I just had this crazy idea to bring some songwriters out there and let them go for hikes and walk around town and just hang and see if they can sense that same intangible vibe that I was sensing, and they did. We jumped right into it and it was really, really special. And everyone immediately starts talking about how can we start getting back out here again, because it’s one of those places you just like never want to leave. Ross said, ‘We should come back out here to make the record,’ and we all kinda laughed about it, but it planted the seed. So, I came back a few months later with a different set of guys and girls, musicians, and we recorded the album out there.” It’s one of those things where you just kind of follow your gut, just keep your heart open to ideas and see what you’re feeling, and once you get that little, tiny feeling, you’ve got to go for it, just like that gut instinct of I want to be a country singer. It’s that little seed that if you believe in it, you’ve got to go for it, try it, so that’s what we did with this album, and it was magic.”

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves talks about the title of her CMA nominated album, Golden Hour.

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    Kacey Musgraves (Golden Hour title) OC: …this record. :34
    “The title Golden Hour just seemed to sum up this chapter of my life perfectly. I mean not only am I from a town called Golden, Texas, but leading up to making this record, there’s been a lot of beauty in my atmosphere and in my world. I love the picture that pops in my head when I hear that title. It’s also an actual song on the record, but it’s just this warm, golden feeling that I’m really happy to have in my life, and I found it to be the perfect title for this record.”

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