• PARKER MCCOLLUM SCORES SECOND CONSECUTIVE #1 SINGLE ON BILLBOARD AND MEDIABASE CHARTS WITH HIS HIT SONG “TO BE LOVED BY YOU.”

    (Photo Credit: Chris Kleinmeier)

    Rising Country music star and ACM “New Male Artist of the Year” winner, Parker McCollum, has taken over the top seat on both the Billboard and Mediabase Country charts with his second consecutive #1 single, “To Be Loved By You.” The track immediately resonated with fans and skyrocketed up the charts since its release. In addition to landing his second career #1, Parker also made a childhood dream come true by performing to a sold out crowd at the famed RODEOHOUSTON this past weekend selling over 73,000 tickets.

    https://twitter.com/ParkerMcCollum/status/1503103369866588163

     

    “It’ll be years before I truly look back and realize what happened this week,” says McCollum. “I was nervous that all my hard work and sacrifice wouldn’t be worth it in the long run. Well, after selling out RODEOHOUSTON and having my second #1, I can assure you all – it was damn worth it. Every single last bit of it was worth it.”

    For more information, visit ParkerMcCollum.com

  • PARKER McCOLLUM SCORES SECOND NO. 1 WITH “TO BE LOVED BY YOU.”

    Parker McCollum takes “To Be Loved By You” to the top of both of the country charts this week. The song is the follow-up to “Pretty Heart and his second chart-topper. He wrote the song with Songwriter Hall of Famer and ACM Songwriter of the Decade Rhett Akins, and Parker says he’s one of his favorite co-writers.

    “He definitely is one of my favorite people to write with,” says Parker. “He loves to hunt, he loves to fish, and he loves really good country songs. And so, any time we get into a room together, even from the first time we ever hung out and tried to write, we had a lot in common. So, usually we’ll talk for like an hour, showing each other pictures of deers at our ranches or some fish we caught or something, and then we’ll get around to writing a song. And every time we’ve written, I’ve walked away really digging whatever came out of that session. And he’s just a great guy – he’s a Hall of Famer now – so, it’s just another kind of pinch me moment to get to write with people like that.”

    Fresh from winning the ACM Award for New Male Artist of the Year and his sold-out headlining debut performance at the Houston Rodeo, Parker will head out on the road with Rhett Akins’ son and superstar artist, Thomas Rhett, on the Bring the Bar to You Tour, launching in Gilford, New Hampshire with a two-night stand beginning June 17th and travel across the country visiting 30 cities along the way to wrap in Dayton, Ohio, October 15th. Prior to the tour, Parker is playing numerous shows, and you can find all of the info on his tour dates here.

     

    Audio / Parker McCollum says he loves to write songs with Rhett Akins, especially since they have so much in common.

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    Parker McCollum (writing TBLBY with Rhett Akins) OC: …like that. :38
    “You know, writing with Rhett, he’s probably one of my favorite people, he definitely is one of my favorite people to write with. He loves to hunt, he loves to fish, and he loves really good country songs. And so, any time we get into a room together, even from the first time we ever hung out and tried to write, we had a lot in common. So, usually we’ll talk for like an hour, showing each other pictures of deers at our ranches or some fish we caught or something, and then we’ll get around to writing a song. And every time we’ve written, I’ve walked away really digging whatever came out of that session. And he’s just a great guy – he’s a Hall of Famer now – so, it’s just another kind of pinch me moment to get to write with people like that.”

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  • PARKER MCCOLLUM RELEASES “CARRYING YOUR LOVE WITH ME.”

    Parker McCollum, the newly-crowned ACM New Male Artist of the Year, is releasing a cover of the George Strait classic, “Carrying Your Love With Me.” Listen HERE. The Texas native has called Strait one of his biggest influences.

    “Impossible to truly do this song justice but when I got the opportunity to try, I just couldn’t pass it up,” says McCollum.

    This has been a big week for Parker – attending his very first ACM Awards show and taking home the trophy for New Male Artist of the Year at the ceremony held in Las Vegas before taking the stage to perform his hit song, “Pretty Heart.” Tomorrow night, he’ll be making a lifelong dream come true as he makes his RODEOHOUSTON debut to a sold-out crowd.

    Parker’s debut MCA Nashville album Gold Chain Cowboy was the highest first week debut album of 2021 and his platinum single “Pretty Heart” was the only debut single to ship to radio and reach #1 in 2020.  With over 1 billion LTD domestic streams, he was named this year’s ACM New Male Artist of the Year.  Parker also has been named an ‘Artist to Watch’ by Rolling StoneBillboardSiriusXMCMTRIAA, and more, as well as MusicRow’s 2021 Breakout Artist of the Year and an all-genre Apple Up Next Artist for 2021. McCollum sold out over 40 shows in 2021.

    Parker is closing in on the top of the country charts with his latest single, “To Be Loved By You.”

    For a list of McCollum’s upcoming tour dates, visit HERE.

    For more information, visit ParkerMcCollum.com

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  • PARKER McCOLLUM IS CLOSE TO REACHING ANOTHER GOAL WITH HOUSTON RODEO.

    Coming off of his win as ACM New Male Artist of the Year, Parker McCollum is preparing to hit one of the biggest stages of his career — the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He’s set to headline the Houston Rodeo on Saturday (March 12th), and he’s been looking forward to this achievement since he was a little kid.

    “It’s something I was thinking about and really was the main thing I was working towards since I was a kid,” says Parker. “The biggest thing I ever thought I’d ever be able to do was headline the Houston Rodeo. I thought about it every single day since I was a little kid. I played a lot of really hole-in-the-wall bars, really, sold no tickets at shows, rode around for years in a van, all the while thinking and pushing myself to keep going, hoping that I get to play the Houston Rodeo one day. That’s the pinnacle for me. So, the fact that we’re going to get to do it on March 12th is, I don’t know, it’s just crazy to even be able to say that I’m gonna do it.”

    Parker is currently closing in on the top spot of the country charts with his latest single, “To Be Loved By You.”

    Audio / Parker McCollum is about to realize his dream of playing the Houston Rodeo this weekend.

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    Parker McCollum (Houston Rodeo) OC: …going to do it. :40
    “It’s something I was thinking about and really was the main thing I was working towards since I was a kid. The biggest thing I ever thought I’d ever be able to do was headline the Houston Rodeo. I thought about it every single day since I was a little kid. I played a lot of really hole-in-the-wall bars, really, sold no tickets at shows, rode around for years in a van, all the while thinking and pushing myself to keep going, hoping that I get to play the Houston Rodeo one day. That’s the pinnacle for me. So, the fact that we’re going to get to do it on March 12th is, I don’t know, it’s just crazy to even be able to say that I’m gonna do it.”

  • UMG NASHVILLE 2022 ACM AWARDS WINNERS: Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Parker McCollum

    There were lots of big wins at Monday night’s ACM Awards, and some incredible and moving performances.

    Chris Stapleton won his third ACM Male Artist of the Year, which is his 13th ACM Award overall. He also performed a fiery, moving and pulse-inducing performance of “Watch You Burn,” which he wrote with Mike Henderson after the devastating mass shooting at the Route 91 festival in 2017. The performance was introduced by Jason Aldean, who was on stage performing at the festival when the shooting took place.

     

    Carrie Underwood picked up an ACM Award for Single of the Year with Jason Aldean for “If I Didn’t Love You,” which they turned in a spectacular performance of during the show. This makes her 16th overall ACM win.

    https://twitter.com/carrieunderwood/status/1501069052265078792

    Brothers Osborne’s win for Duo of the Year marks their third win in the category, and sixth win overall. John and TJ performed twice on the show. First, they played the title track from their latest album, Skeletons, complete with light up outfits. They also closed the show performing a cool version of “These Boots Were Made For Walking” with Brittney Spencer.

     

     

    Parker McCollum was named New Male Artist of the Year, his first-ever ACM Award. He also performed his No. 1 “Pretty Heart.”

     

    Eric Church performed a 16-song medley on the show, which featured Ashley McBryde and included songs such as “How Bout You,” “Guys Like Me,” “Love Your Love The Most,” “Smoke A Little Smoke,” “Drink In My Hand,” “Springsteen,” “Talladega,” “Give Me Back My Hometown,” “Mr. Misunderstood,” “Round Here Buzz,” “Record Year,” “Desperate Man,” “Some Of It,” “Hell Of A View,” and his latest single “Heart On Fire.”

    Luke Bryan performed his latest single, “Up,” before joining Jordan Davis on the two-week No. 1 “Buy Dirt.”

     

     

     

    Fans can relive all of the excitement of the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards ceremony now on Prime Video and on IMDb TV, Amazon’s premium free streaming service on March 8th beginning at 8pm ET/5pm PT.

    Audio / Backstage at this year's ACM Awards, Carrie Underwood talks about her performance with Jason Aldean on "If I Didn't Love You" on the show.

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    Carrie Underwood (ACM 2022 performance with Jason Aldean) OC: …the performance. :46
    “It’s my home away from home with our residency not too far from here, so I feel like I’ve gotten a taste for Vegas showmanship. And it’s just so much fun, and we were trying to think of ways to make this performance fresh and fun and what else can we do. The song has such a huge success and we love it so much, we really just wanted to take the moment and celebrate it. When somebody said, ‘How would she feel about descending from the ceiling?’ I was like, ‘I feel good about that.’ I was excited. It’s something I’ve never done before, and I’m always up for trying new things; adding a bit of danger in to the performance.”

    Audio / Brothers Osborne's TJ Osborne talks about closing the ACM Awards with Brittney Spencer.

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    Brothers Osborne (closing  ACM show) OC: …room was fun. :24
    “We knew with Brittney (Spencer) and her vocal ability and just her stage presence, we liked the arrangement that we came up with, and it was something that I genuinely just wanted to play. I was like this is gonna be exciting and fun to play. We also knw there was going to be confetti cannons at some point. I’ve never experienced that. But I felt really excited about the whole thing. I thought the night, just us aside, I thought the whole night went very well and the energy in the room was fun.”

    Audio / Backstage at Monday night’s ACM Awards, Parker McCollum says he’s realizing a dream come true.

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    Parker McCollum (ACM Award) OC: …good feeling. :18
    “Since I was a little kid, all I wanted to do was play country music for a living and work my butt off and my team’s worked their butt off. So, to get to have a night like this after putting out a record like that, just to know that it worked a little bit? I don’t know what else anybody could ask for. It’s, I don’t know, that’s a good feeling.”

     

  • PARKER McCOLLUM FEELS THE ELECTRICITY RIGHT BEFORE HE PERFORMS “TO BE LOVED BY YOU.”

    The newly crowned ACM New Male Artist of the Year Parker McCollum is poised to enter the top spot on the country charts with his latest song, “To Be Loved By You.” The Texas native says he can tangibly feel the electricity from the crowd right before he performs the song in concert.

    “It’s really cool, because it’s right before…in our set right now right before we play ‘To Be Loved By You,’ all the lights, it goes completely black and the lights are timed on to hit with that guitar riff. Ba da ba da ba and so, I just turn around and I have my back to the crowd and the lights hit and I can just feel – I don’t even have to look at it – I can just feel the energy of them waiting on that song the whole night,” says Parker. “As a songwriter, there’s no better feeling in the world than to know that they’re waiting on one that you wrote.”

    You can catch Parker performing on Monday night’s (March 7th) ACM Awards on Amazon Prime.

     

    Audio / Parker McCollum talks about the energy from the crowd right before he performs "To Be Loved By You."

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    Parker McCollum (performing TBLBY live) OC: …that you wrote. :28
    “It’s really cool, because it’s right before…in our set right now right before we play ‘To Be Loved By You,’ all the lights, it goes completely black and the lights are timed on to hit with that guitar riff. Ba da ba da ba and so, I just turn around and I have my back to the crowd and the lights hit and I can just feel – I don’t even have to look at it – I can just feel the energy of them waiting on that song the whole night. As a songwriter, there’s no better feeling in the world than to know that they’re waiting on one that you wrote.”

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  • PARKER McCOLLUM NAMED ACM NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR!

    Parker McCollum has been named the ACM New Male Artist of the Year! He’s set to perform at this year’s ceremony, taking place on Monday (March 7th) at 8pm ET/7pm CT/5pm PT on Amazon Prime. Parker has been named an “Artist to Watch” by Billboard, HITS magazine, Rolling Stone, CMT, Opry NextStage, SiriusXM, RIAA, and more. He released his major label debut album, Gold Chain Cowboy, last year, expanding on the success of his widely praised Hollywood Gold EP, which became the top-selling debut country EP of 2020.

    Miranda Lambert surprised him with the announcement. Watch below.

     

    As previously announced, additional confirmed performers include Dolly Parton with Kelsea Ballerini, Jason Aldean, Breakthrough Artist for Amazon Music, BRELAND featuring Thomas Rhett (“Praise The Lord”), Kane Brown (“Leave You Alone”), Luke Bryan (“Up”), Eric Church, Jordan Davis (“Buy Dirt,” feat. Luke Bryan), Walker Hayes (“AA” and “Fancy Like”), Maren Morris (“Circles Around This Town”), Brothers Osborne (“Skeletons”) and Brittney Spencer (“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”), Parmalee and Blanco Brown featuring Brooke Eden (“Just the Way”), Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde (“Never Wanted to Be That Girl”), Thomas Rhett (“Slow Down Summer”), Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, and Chris Young (“Raised on Country”) featuring Mitchell Tenpenny (“At the End of a Bar”).

    The Academy of Country Music has also confirmed an illustrious group of presenters rounding out the star-studded lineup set to take the stage. Presenters include Alan Ritchson (actor, Reacher), Derek Carr (quarterback, Las Vegas Raiders), Guy Torry (comedian, Phat Tuesdays), James Patterson (author, Run Rose Run), Jason Aldean (singer, “Dirt Road Anthem”), Kelsey Asbille (actor, Yellowstone), Luke Grimes (actor, Yellowstone), Mickey Guyton (singer, “Black Like Me”), and Tom Pelphrey (actor, Ozark, Outer Range).

    Lainey Wilson was named ACM New Female Artist of the Year.

    Parker is currently poised to hit the top of the country charts with his latest song, “To Be Loved By You,” which follows his previous No. 1 single, “Pretty Heart.”

  • THE STAGE IS SET FOR THE 57TH ACM AWARDS, TAKING PLACE NEXT MONDAY (MARCH 7TH).

    The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards take place next Monday (March 7th) and several of your favorite country artists are preparing to take center stage.

    Chris Stapleton earned nods in the categories for Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year (“You Should Probably Leave”) – nominated as artist + producer and Video of the Year for “I Bet You Think About Me” with Taylor Swift.

    Carrie Underwood is nominated for four awards this year, including Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year (“If I Didn’t Love You”), Video of the Year (“If I Didn’t Love You”) and Music Event of the Year (“If I Didn’t Love You”). She is a 45-time nominee and 15-time winner, including three Entertainer of the Year Awards (the only female artist in history to win this award three times).

    Jordan Davis is nominated for Single of the Year (“Buy Dirt”), Song of the Year (“Buy Dirt”) – nominated as artist + songwriter, Music Event of the Year (“Buy Dirt”), along with Luke Bryan.

    Reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan is up for three nominations with Jordan Davis for Single of the Year (“Buy Dirt”), Song of the Year (“Buy Dirt”) and Music Event of the Year (“Buy Dirt”).

    Eric Church is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, while the members of Little Big Town are up for Group of the Year.

    The reigning CMA Duo of the Year Brothers Osborne, as well as Maddie & Tae are up for Duo of the Year.

    Parker McCollum is up for New Male Artist of the Year, while Priscilla Block is nominated for New Female Artist of the Year.

    The two-hour show, featuring more than 20 performances, will stream live without commercial interruption and is hosted by icon Dolly Parton and co-hosted by reigning ACM New Female Artist of the Year Gabby Barrett and reigning ACM New Male Artist of the Year Jimmie Allen.

    The 57th Annual ACM Awards will be streamed live from Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium March 7th at 8pm ET/7pm CT on Amazon Prime.

    Artist nominee list below.

    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

    • Eric Church
    • Luke Combs
    • Miranda Lambert
    • Chris Stapleton
    • Carrie Underwood

    FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    • Gabby Barrett
    • Miranda Lambert
    • Ashley McBryde
    • Maren Morris
    • Carly Pearce

    MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    • Jimmie Allen
    • Luke Combs
    • Thomas Rhett
    • Chris Stapleton 
    • Morgan Wallen

     DUO OF THE YEAR

    • Brooks & Dunn
    • Brothers Osborne
    • Dan + Shay
    • LOCASH
    • Maddie & Tae

    GROUP OF THE YEAR

    • Lady A
    • Little Big Town
    • Midland
    • Old Dominion
    • The Cadillac Three

    NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 

    • Tenille Arts
    • Priscilla Block
    • Lily Rose
    • Caitlyn Smith
    • Lainey Wilson

    NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 

    • HARDY
    • Walker Hayes
    • Ryan Hurd
    • Parker McCollum
    • Elvie Shane

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

    • 29: Written in Stone – Carly Pearce

    Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Jimmy Robbins, Tony Brown

    Record Company-Label: Big Machine Records

    • Country Again: Side A – Thomas Rhett

    Producers: Dann Huff, Jesse Frasure, Matt Dragstrem

    Record Company-Label: Big Machine Label Group

    • Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen

    Producer: Joey Moi, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Matt Dragstrem, Dave Cohen

    Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records / Republic Records

    • Famous Friends – Chris Young

    Producer: Mark Holman, Corey Crowder, Chris Young, Chris DeStefano

    Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

    • The Marfa Tapes – Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall

    Producers: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall

    Record Company-Label: Vanner Records / RCA Records Nashville

     

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

    • Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan 

    Producer: Paul DiGiovanni

    Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

    • Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown

    Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young

    Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

    • Fancy Like – Walker Hayes

    Producers: Walker Hayes, Shane McAnally, Joe Thibodeau

    Record Company-Label: Monument Records

    • If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

    Producers: Michael Knox

    Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records; Macon Music, LLC; BBR Music Group, BMG

    • You Should Probably Leave – Chris Stapleton

    Producer: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton

    Record Company-Label: Mercury Nashville

     

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

    • 7 Summers – Morgan Wallen

    Songwriters: Morgan Wallen, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally

    Publishers: Big Loud Mountain, Bo Wallace Publishing, Smackborne Music, Sony/ATV Accent, Smackstreet Music, Tempo Investments, Warner Geo Met Ric Music

    • Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan

    Songwriters: Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins

    Publishers: Anthem Music Publishing II, Bentprop Pub, Big Blue Nation Music, Combustion Five, Jentown, Jordan Davis Music, Smackwork Music, Smack Blue, Kobalt Music Group Music, Universal Music Corporation, WC Music Corp

    • Fancy Like – Walker Hayes

    Songwriters: Cameron Bartolini, Josh Jenkins, Shane Stevens, Walker Hayes

    Publishers: Songs of SMACK, Rarespark Media Group, Smackworks Music, Smack Blue, Kobalt Music Group, Holy Graffiti Music, Purplebeatz, WC Music Corp

    • Knowing You – Kenny Chesney

    Songwriters: Adam James, Brett James, Kat Higgins

    Publishers: 3 Ring Circus, BMG Platinum Songs, Pompano Run Music, Songs of Brett, WC Music Corp

    • Things A Man Oughta Know – Lainey Wilson

    Songwriters: Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson

    Publishers: Sony/ATV Accent, Sony/ATV Countryside, Spirit Two Nashville, Super Big Music

     

    VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

    • Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home) – Elle King and Miranda Lambert

    Producers: Angie Lorenz, Wes Edwards, James Stratakis

    Directors: Alexa Kinigopoulos, Stephen Kinigopoulos

    • Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown

    Producer: Jennifer Ansell

    Director: Peter Zavadil

    • I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift featuring Chris Stapleton

    Producers: Jil Hardin, Blake Lively, Kathy Palmer, Austin Swift

    Director: Blake Lively

    • If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

    Producers: Christen Pinkston, Wesley Stebbins-Perry

    Director: Shaun Silva

    • Never Wanted To Be That Girl – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

    Producer: Ryan Byrd

    Director: Alexa Campbell

    SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award)

    • Jesse Frasure
    • Nicolle Galyon
    • Ashley Gorley
    • Michael Hardy
    • Josh Osborne

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

    • Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan 

    Producer: Paul DiGiovanni

    Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

    • Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown

    Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young

    Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

    • half of my hometown – Kelsea Ballerini featuring Kenny Chesney

    Producers: Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins, Kelsea Ballerini

    Record Company-Label: Black River Entertainment

    • If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

    Producer: Michael Knox

    Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records; Macon Music, LLC; BBR Music Group, BMG

    • Never Wanted To Be That Girl – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

    Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

    Record Company-Label: Big Machine Label Group, Warner Music Nashville


    Audio / Carrie Underwood talks about her ACM nomination for Entertainer of the Year.

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    Carrie Underwood (Entertainer of the Year nomination) OC: …what happens. :49
    “Of course, it’s an honor to be nominated for Entertainer of the Year, you know. I feel like I’m so blessed to have so many facets of my job and things that I do, obviously performing live on stage, but there’s about a million other irons that we’ve always got in the fire that we’re always working on and we’re always busy. It kind of encapsulates all of that and being recognized for all the things going on is always a good thing. You never know what’s going to happen, because obviously there’s been many, many other artists that have just been crushing it and putting on great shows and doing all the things. There’s only a select handful that get nominated and it’s obviously very exciting and we’ll see what happens.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood and Jason Aldean have wanted to find a song to do together, but when “If I Didn’t Love You” came along, they knew it was the perfect fit.

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    Carrie Underwood (IIDLY perfect fit) OC: …the perfect fit. :30
    “Jason asked if I would sing ‘If I Didn’t Love You’ with him. I knew I liked the song, and Jason and I have actually been kind of trying to do things together over the years. We’ve sang together before, but we’ve never officially recorded anything together. It just kind of felt like this could be our moment. I felt like it was a little bit of an unexpected duet to other people, but I feel like I kinda always knew at some point I’d probably sing with him officially, and this just seemed like, the stars were aligning and it just seemed like it was going to be the perfect fit.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood on the announcement of ACM nominations.

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    Carrie Underwood (ACM nominations announcement) OC: …like that. :30
    “I love that they announce nominations for the ACMs in the morning because the night before you kind of know that they’re gonna come out. Usually, I forget by the time morning actually gets there, and then I wake up and start going about my day, and then I’ll get a text at some point that says, ‘Congratulations,’ and say what I’m nominated for, so it’s just super ‘Oh yeah! Omigosh! Yay!’ I knew they were coming, but they always surprise me, and I always feel just super honored and excited when I get good news like that.”

    Audio / Eric Church talks about what kind of energy he receives when he performs for the audience.

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    Eric Church (performing energy) OC: …type of crowd. :43
    “I think, for me, every night I try to empty the tank. There’s always that energy floating around.  It’s a palpable thing. It’s up to me to start that exchange and get the crowd to give it back to me and then watch it build on itself, and just to have that experience. I mean, we have one night here in whatever city we are in, whether it’s Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Monday. We got this night, I’m not going to see you for a while and you’re not going to see me for a while, you know? And I love being able to capitalize on that moment and trying to live in that moment and get as much energy exchanged between myself and the crowd as we can. I love that! That’s my favorite part of what we do. I love being around people…I’m very passionate about my music and I love people who are passionate about the music too, and I love playing a show for that type of crowd.”

    Audio / Backstage at a previous awards show, Chris Stapleton says he's always grateful to win awards.

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    Chris Stapleton (grateful for awards) OC: …grateful for the moment. :30
    “Well I’ll take ’em home with me I guess once they send ’em Yeah I guess you have to at some point, but it still is a very… I’m thankful for it and it’s very nice and there’s a lot of great people doing a lot of great things making a lot of great music and working really hard and so when you get this kind of a thing going, I don’t think anybody deserves it. It’s a lot of luck and a lot of stars lining up so, I’m grateful for the moment.”

    Audio / Chris Stapleton is the reigning CMA Male Vocalist, and he says it's special every time you win that award.

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    Chris Stapleton (CMA Male Vocalist 2021) OC: …for that. :17
    “It’s special every time you win something, and I do like, I feel like when you win that award people are appreciating your talent as a singer. And so, I do partially pride myself on being a pretty good one, so it’s nice to be recognized for that.”

    Audio / Little Big Town talk about cheering on their fellow nominees.

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    LBT (Group nomination) OC: …yeah. :12
    “That’s the coolest thing. Yeah. We’re all friends and we all root for each other and cheer each other on, and we love the music they’re making. And we just celebrate, man. We’re, we’re fans. Yeah.”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae say a nomination means the world to them.

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    Maddie & Tae (Duo nomination) OC: …super fun. :24
    “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.”

    Audio / Parker McCollum talks about his ACM nomination for New Male Artist of the Year.

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    Parker McCollum (ACM Nomination reaction) OC: …paying off. :35
    “You know, it’s really just crazy to be at a point in my life, in my career, where I can say things like I’m nominated for an ACM Award. I mean, I’ve watched those awards since I was a little kid and watched so many of my heroes win awards on that show and they play your song and you walk up and you accept an award, and it’s something I’ve thought about for a long, long, long time. So, to even be a consideration for an award, to even be a nominee, is just such an honor. It’s kind of a pinch-me moment of man, maybe what I’m doing is working out and paying off.”

    Audio / Priscilla Block is thrilled about her first ACM Nomination (for New Female Artist of the Year).

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    Priscilla Block (ACM 2022 reaction) OC: …so excited. :15
    “I am just blown away. I feel like I just keep crying. I don’t even know how this happened, but I’m so honored. This is probably one of the biggest moments of my life! I’m so excited!”

  • PARKER McCOLLUM IS ENJOYING A “PINCH-ME” MOMENT WITH ACM NOMINATION.

    Parker McCollum is nominated for ACM New Male Artist of the Year at this year’s ACM Award, and he’s been thinking about this moment for years.

    “It’s really just crazy to be at a point in my life, in my career, where I can say things like I’m nominated for an ACM Award,” says Parker. “I mean, I’ve watched those awards since I was a little kid and watched so many of my heroes win awards on that show and they play your song and you walk up and you accept an award, and it’s something I’ve thought about for a long, long, long time. So, to even be a consideration for an award, to even be a nominee, is just such an honor. It’s kind of a pinch-me moment of man, maybe what I’m doing is working out and paying off.”

    The two-hour show, featuring more than 20 performances, will stream live without commercial interruption and is hosted by Dolly Parton and co-hosted by Gabby Barrett and Jimmie Allen.

    The 57th Annual ACM Awards will be streamed lived from Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on March 7th at 8pm ET/7pm CT on Amazon Prime.

    Parker is currently making his way to the top of the country charts with “To Be Loved By You.”

     

    Audio / Parker McCollum talks about being nominated for ACM New Male Artist of the Year.

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    Parker McCollum (ACM Nomination reaction) OC: …paying off. :35
    “You know, it’s really just crazy to be at a point in my life, in my career, where I can say things like I’m nominated for an ACM Award. I mean, I’ve watched those awards since I was a little kid and watched so many of my heroes win awards on that show and they play your song and you walk up and you accept an award, and it’s something I’ve thought about for a long, long, long time. So, to even be a consideration for an award, to even be a nominee, is just such an honor. It’s kind of a pinch-me moment of man, maybe what I’m doing is working out and paying off.”

  • ACM NOMINATIONS: Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Jordan Davis, Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, Brothers Osborne, Maddie & Tae, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Taylor Swift

    The nominations for the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards were announced this morning, and at the top of the list is Chris Stapleton with five nominations.

    Chris earned nods in the categories for Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year (“You Should Probably Leave”) – nominated as artist + producer, Video of the Year (“I Bet You Think About Me”).

     

    Carrie Underwood and Jordan Davis both earned four nominations each.

    Carrie is up for Carrie Underwood Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year (“If I Didn’t Love You”), Video of the Year (“If I Didn’t Love You”) and Music Event of the Year (“If I Didn’t Love You”)

     

    Jordan Davis is nominated for Single of the Year (“Buy Dirt”), Song of the Year (“Buy Dirt”) – nominated as artist + songwriter, Music Event of the Year (“Buy Dirt”), along with Luke Bryan.

     

    Luke picks up three nominations with Jordan Davis for Single of the Year (“Buy Dirt”), Song of the Year (“Buy Dirt”) and Music Event of the Year (“Buy Dirt”)

    Eric Church is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, while the members of Little Big Town are up for Group of the Year.

     

     

    The reigning CMA Duo of the Year Brothers Osborne, as well as Maddie & Tae, are up for Duo of the Year.

     

    https://twitter.com/MaddieandTae/status/1491824357399842830

    Parker McCollum is up for New Male Artist of the Year, while Priscilla Block is nominated for New Female Artist of the Year.

     

    https://twitter.com/priscillablock/status/1491826305511432194

     

    Taylor Swift receives her 32nd nomination, her first ACM Award nomination since 2018 as she is nominated for ACM Music Video of the Year. Actor, producer, and director Blake Lively receives two nominations for producing and directing Taylor Swift’s music video I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version). This marks Lively’s first ACM Award nomination and her first nomination at a music award show. Actor and Producer Austin Swift is a first-time nominee, receiving a nod for producer of I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version).

    Artist nominee list below.

     

    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

    • Eric Church
    • Luke Combs
    • Miranda Lambert
    • Chris Stapleton
    • Carrie Underwood

     

    FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    • Gabby Barrett
    • Miranda Lambert
    • Ashley McBryde
    • Maren Morris
    • Carly Pearce

     

    MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    • Jimmie Allen
    • Luke Combs
    • Thomas Rhett
    • Chris Stapleton 
    • Morgan Wallen

     

     DUO OF THE YEAR

    • Brooks & Dunn
    • Brothers Osborne
    • Dan + Shay
    • LOCASH
    • Maddie & Tae


    GROUP OF THE YEAR

    • Lady A
    • Little Big Town
    • Midland
    • Old Dominion
    • The Cadillac Three

     

    NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 

    • Tenille Arts
    • Priscilla Block
    • Lily Rose
    • Caitlyn Smith
    • Lainey Wilson

     

    NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 

    • HARDY
    • Walker Hayes
    • Ryan Hurd
    • Parker McCollum
    • Elvie Shane

     

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

    • 29: Written in Stone – Carly Pearce

    Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Jimmy Robbins, Tony Brown

    Record Company-Label: Big Machine Records

    • Country Again: Side A – Thomas Rhett

    Producers: Dann Huff, Jesse Frasure, Matt Dragstrem

    Record Company-Label: Big Machine Label Group

    • Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen

    Producer: Joey Moi, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Matt Dragstrem, Dave Cohen

    Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records / Republic Records

     

    • Famous Friends – Chris Young

    Producer: Mark Holman, Corey Crowder, Chris Young, Chris DeStefano

    Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

     

    • The Marfa Tapes – Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall 

    Producers: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall

    Record Company-Label: Vanner Records / RCA Records Nashville

     

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

    • Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan 

    Producer: Paul DiGiovanni

    Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

    • Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown 

    Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young

    Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

    • Fancy Like – Walker Hayes

    Producers: Walker Hayes, Shane McAnally, Joe Thibodeau

    Record Company-Label: Monument Records

    • If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood 

    Producers: Michael Knox

    Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records; Macon Music, LLC; BBR Music Group, BMG

     

    • You Should Probably Leave – Chris Stapleton

    Producer: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton

    Record Company-Label: Mercury Nashville

     

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

    • 7 Summers – Morgan Wallen

    Songwriters: Morgan Wallen, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally

    Publishers: Big Loud Mountain, Bo Wallace Publishing, Smackborne Music, Sony/ATV Accent, Smackstreet Music, Tempo Investments, Warner Geo Met Ric Music

     

    • Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan

    Songwriters: Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins

    Publishers: Anthem Music Publishing II, Bentprop Pub, Big Blue Nation Music, Combustion Five, Jentown, Jordan Davis Music, Smackwork Music, Smack Blue, Kobalt Music Group Music, Universal Music Corporation, WC Music Corp

     

    • Fancy Like – Walker Hayes

    Songwriters: Cameron Bartolini, Josh Jenkins, Shane Stevens, Walker Hayes

    Publishers: Songs of SMACK, Rarespark Media Group, Smackworks Music, Smack Blue, Kobalt Music Group, Holy Graffiti Music, Purplebeatz, WC Music Corp

     

    • Knowing You – Kenny Chesney 

    Songwriters: Adam James, Brett James, Kat Higgins

    Publishers: 3 Ring Circus, BMG Platinum Songs, Pompano Run Music, Songs of Brett, WC Music Corp

     

    • Things A Man Oughta Know – Lainey Wilson

    Songwriters: Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson

    Publishers: Sony/ATV Accent, Sony/ATV Countryside, Spirit Two Nashville, Super Big Music

     

    VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

    • Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home) – Elle King and Miranda Lambert 

    Producers: Angie Lorenz, Wes Edwards, James Stratakis

    Directors: Alexa Kinigopoulos, Stephen Kinigopoulos

     

    • Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown 

    Producer: Jennifer Ansell

    Director: Peter Zavadil

     

    • I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift featuring Chris Stapleton

    Producers: Jil Hardin, Blake Lively, Kathy Palmer, Austin Swift

    Director: Blake Lively

    • If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood 

    Producers: Christen Pinkston, Wesley Stebbins-Perry

    Director: Shaun Silva

     

    • Never Wanted To Be That Girl – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde 

    Producer: Ryan Byrd

    Director: Alexa Campbell

     

    SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award)

    • Jesse Frasure
    • Nicolle Galyon
    • Ashley Gorley
    • Michael Hardy
    • Josh Osborne

     

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

    • Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan 

    Producer: Paul DiGiovanni

    Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

    • Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown

    Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young

    Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

    • half of my hometown – Kelsea Ballerini featuring Kenny Chesney 

    Producers: Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins, Kelsea Ballerini

    Record Company-Label: Black River Entertainment

    • If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

    Producer: Michael Knox

    Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records; Macon Music, LLC; BBR Music Group, BMG

    • Never Wanted To Be That Girl – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

    Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

    Record Company-Label: Big Machine Label Group, Warner Music Nashville


    Audio / CARRIE UNDERWOOD SAYS SHE AND JASON ALDEAN HAVE WANTED TO DO A DUET, BUT FEELS LIKE “IF I DIDN’T LOVE YOU” WAS THE “PERFECT FIT.”

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    Carrie Underwood (IIDLY perfect fit) OC: …the perfect fit. :30
    “Jason asked if I would sing ‘If I Didn’t Love You’ with him. I knew I liked the song, and Jason and I have actually been kind of trying to do things together over the years. We’ve sang together before, but we’ve never officially recorded anything together. It just kind of felt like this could be our moment. I felt like it was a little bit of an unexpected duet to other people, but I feel like I kinda always knew at some point I’d probably sing with him officially, and this just seemed like, the stars were aligning and it just seemed like it was going to be the perfect fit.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis says the success his two-week No. 1 song, "Buy Dirt," is having is pretty special.

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    Jordan Davis (Buy Dirt success is special) OC: …more special. :13
    “It just means a lot more. I wrote it with my brother (Jacob) and two my best friends (Josh and Matt Jenkins) in town and just the content of it. It comes from a really, really honest place. So, when you have songs that mean that much and you get to see them have success like ‘Buy Dirt’ is having, it’s a little bit more special.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis talks about how he and his tree co-writers came up with "Buy Dirt."

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    Jordan Davis (Buy Dirt origin) OC: …that day. :55
    “We took a writer’s retreat a little south of Nashville, me and three of my favorite writers in the world – Matt Jenkins, Josh Jenkins and my brother Jacob. We started every day – we were down there three days – and we started every day with coffee on the back porch, and Josh would lead us in some type of devotional. He would find some scripture and then we would just kind of chew on it for a little bit. That day he had read, and I need to remember the exact scripture, but it was something about being planted, being planted in the dirt and having a strong root system so you can weather storms and rain. That is really the start of ‘Buy Dirt.’ And I don’t know if that song comes if we don’t wake up early and get out there and kind of start talking about real life. That was where it all started, and I’m grateful, grateful that I (laughs) didn’t sleep in that day.”

    Audio / Jordan Davis explains how Luke Bryan ended up on his song, "Buy Dirt."

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    Jordan Davis (Luke Bryan on Buy Dirt) OC: …my songs now. 1:13
    “I met Luke three or four years ago at an awards show after party, and got to hang with him, but I really kind of got to sit and talk with him after a round of golf one day, and we just really talked about everything under the sun aside from music. Luke kind of embodies what that song is. You know a lot of people get to see Luke on American Idol or on stage, but Luke Bryan really is a great guy. I sent him a message one day, a text message actually attached with the song, and I was like, ‘Hey Luke, I wrote this. It means a lot to me. You came to mind whenever I was thinking about it, through the writing process, and this song just kind of says what you’re about, and if you want to sing on it, great, no pressure. Don’t even feel the need to text me back or whatever. Just listen to it and let me know.’ And he got right back with me. He’s like, ‘Man I love the song. Let me live with it for a couple of days.’ And he called me back four or five days later and was like, ‘When do you want me singing on this thing?’ That was a pretty cool moment. I’m such a big fan of Luke, and he’s been a huge influence on me since I moved to Nashville, and pretty cool to have him on one of my songs now.”