• TAYLOR SWIFT PICKED UP THREE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS AND REVEALED SHE IS RE-RECORDING ALL OF HER OLDER SONGS.

    Taylor Swift picked up three American Music Awards on Sunday night (November 22nd), including the overall “Favorite Artist” honor — and explaining her absence as due to being busy in the studio re-recording her entire old catalog of songs.

    “The reason I’m not there tonight is I’m actually recording all of my old music in the studio where we originally recorded it,” she said in a recorded video. “So it’s been amazing and I can’t wait for you to hear it.”

    With her three wins, Taylor broke her own record for the highest number of AMA wins, for a total of 32. The previous record-holder was Michael Jackson, with 24.

    Taylor is currently making her way up the country charts with “Betty,” which is from her current folklore album.

  • THE NOMINEES FOR THIS YEAR’S BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.

    The nominees have been announced for tis year’s 2020 Billboard Music Awards. The Universal Music Group nominees include Carrie Underwood and Kacey Musgraves who are vying for Top Country Female Artist, along with Maren Morris. Eric Church and George Strait are up for Top Country Tour, as well as Florida Georgia Line.

    Taylor Swift is nominated for six BBMA trophies, including Top Billboard 200 Album for Lover. According to Billboard, the global superstar could set a few records in specific categories. She previously won in 2013 and 2015. She is also vying to win top Billboard 200 album for a record third time (with Lover, of course, not her more recent Folklore). She’s also hoping to win top female artist and top Billboard 200 artist, each for a record fourth time.

    Kelly Clarkson will return as host for the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, which will broadcast live from The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on October 14th at 8pm ET on NBC.

    This year’s awards are based on the chart period of March 23, 2019 through March 14, 2020, which was intended the originally scheduled April 29, 2020 show, postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

     

    Top Artist:
    Billie Eilish
    Jonas Brothers
    Khalid
    Post Malone
    Taylor Swift

     

    Billboard Chart Achievement Award (Fan Voted):
    Mariah Carey
    Luke Combs
    Lil Nas X
    Harry Styles
    Taylor Swift

     

    Top Female Artist:
    Billie Eilish
    Ariana Grande
    Halsey
    Lizzo
    Taylor Swift

     

    Top Billboard 200 Artist:
    Drake
    Billie Eilish
    Khalid
    Post Malone
    Taylor Swift

     

    Top Song Sales Artist:
    Billie Eilish
    Lil Nas X
    Lizzo
    Post Malone
    Taylor Swift

     

    Top Country Female Artist:
    Maren Morris
    Kacey Musgraves
    Carrie Underwood

     

    Top Country Duo/Group:
    Dan + Shay
    Florida Georgia Line
    Old Dominion

     

    Top Country Tour:
    Eric Church
    Florida Georgia Line
    George Strait

     

    Top Billboard 200 Album:
    Billie Eilish “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
    Ariana Grande “Thank U, Next”
    Khalid “Free Spirit”
    Post Malone “Hollywood’s Bleeding”
    Taylor Swift “Lover”

     

    See the entire list of nominees here.

  • ACM AWARDS 2020 WILL BE A STAR-STUDDED SHOW.

    The Academy of Country Music will present its annual awards show on Wednesday night (September 16th). The show was postponed from April in Las Vegas to September in Nashville due to the global pandemic (COVID-19).

    For the first time in the show’s history, the awards will take place in Nashville, broadcasting from three iconic Country Music venues: Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe. The reigning Entertainer of the Year, Keith Urban, will host the show from The Grand Ole Opry House.

    Performances include a star-studded medley from the night’s Entertainer of the Year nominees – Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett – to kick off the show, as well as other performances by Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Pink, Blake Shelton with Gwen Stefani, Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Riley Green, Tenille Townes, Thomas Rhett with Jon Pardi, Eric Church, Mickey Guyton, Morgan Wallen, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Florida Georgia Line, Trisha Yearwood, Taylor Swift and Luke Bryan.

    Eric Church is set to perform the anthemic “Stick Tat in Your Country Song,” while Luke Bryan will sing his multi-week No 1 summer smash “One Margarita.” Taylor will perform her Top 40 country hit, “betty,” and Carrie Underwood will turn in a medley of songs by the format’s most iconic female artists, including Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton. Mickey Guyton will sing the critically-acclaimed “What Are You Gonna Tell Her,” and the night’s host Keith Urban will perform with P!ink on his new song, “One Too Many from his upcoming album, The Speed of Now Part 1.

    Newcomer Caylee Hammack picked up her first ACM Award for Music Event of the Year for the Miranda Lambert-led collaboration, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” which also featured Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes and Elle King.

    Universal Music Group Nashville is celebrating its honorees (see below).

    Eric Church leads our nominees with three, including his second nod for Entertainer of the Year. He was also nominated as artist and songwriter in the Song of the Year category for “Some of It” – marking his eighth and ninth nominations in the category.

    Reigning Female Artist of the Year Kacey Musgraves earned three nominations including her seventh nod for Female Artist of the Year. Additionally, she received her first Single of the Year nomination as both artist and producer for “Rainbow.”

    Carrie Underwood is nominated for a pair of awards, including Entertainer of the Year, as well as Female Artist of the Year.

    Little Big Town also picks up a pair of nods for Group of the Year and Video of the Year for “Sugar Coat.”

    Chris Stapleton, Dierks Bentley and Keith Urban are nominated for Male Artist of the Year; Jon Pardi is up for Album of the Year for Heartache Medication; and Brothers Osborne and Maddie & Tae are up for Duo of the Year.

     

    The 55th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, hosted by Keith Urban, will be broadcast Wednesday, September 16th (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT) on CBS  and will be available to stream on demand on CBS All Access.

     

    ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

    Luke Bryan

    Eric Church

    Luke Combs

    Thomas Rhett

    Carrie Underwood
    FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    Kelsea Ballerini

    Miranda Lambert

    Maren Morris

    Kacey Musgraves

    Carrie Underwood
    MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    Dierks Bentley

    Luke Combs

    Thomas Rhett

    Chris Stapleton

    Keith Urban
    DUO OF THE YEAR

    Brooks & Dunn

    Brothers Osborne

    Dan + Shay

    Florida Georgia Line

    Maddie & Tae
    GROUP OF THE YEAR

    Lady Antebellum

    Little Big Town

    Midland

    Old Dominion

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

    Center Point Road – Thomas Rhett

    Producers: Julian Bunetta, Jesse Frasure, Dann Huff, Thomas Rhett, The Stereotypes, Cleve Wilson

    GIRL – Maren Morris

    Producers: busbee, Greg Kurstin, Maren Morris

    Heartache Medication – Jon Pardi

    Producers: Bart Butler, Ryan Gore, Jon Pardi

     

    What You See Is What You Get – Luke Combs

    Producer: Scott Moffatt

    Wildcard – Miranda Lambert

    Producer: Jay Joyce

     

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

    God’s Country – Blake Shelton

    Producer: Scott Hendricks

    One Man Band – Old Dominion

    Producer: Shane McAnally

    Rainbow – Kacey Musgraves

    Producers: Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves, Daniel Tashian

    Rumor – Lee Brice

    Producers: Lee Brice, Dan Frizsell, Kyle Jacobs, Jon Stone

    What If I Never Get Over You – Lady Antebellum

    Producer: Dann Huff

     

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

    10,000 Hours – Dan + Shay Featuring Justin Bieber

    Songwriters: Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Jessie Jo Dillon, Shay Mooney, Jordan Reynolds, Dan Smyers

    Publishers: Beats and Banjos (ASCAP), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP) / Shay Mooney Music (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI) / Big Ass Pile Of Dimes Music (BMI), Big Machine Music (BMI) / Buckeye 26 (ASCAP), Jreynmusic (ASCAP), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP) / Bieber Time Publishing (ASCAP), Universal Music (ASCAP) / Poo B Z Inc. (ASCAP), BMG Gold Songs (ASCAP).

    Girl Goin’ Nowhere – Ashley McBryde

    Songwriters: Jeremy Bussey, Ashley McBryde

    Publishers: Songs of Song Factory (BMI) / Universal Tunes (SESAC).

    God’s Country – Blake Shelton

    Songwriters: Devin Dawson, Michael Hardy, Jordan Schmidt

    Publishers: Relative Music Group (BMI), Administered by Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing (BMI) / WB Music Corp. / Georgia Song Vibez / We-volve Music (ASCAP) / Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. / Neon Cross Music (BMI).

    One Man Band – Old Dominion

    Songwriters: Josh Osborne, Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Brad Tursi

    Publishers: WB Music Corp/Smackville Music/Smack Songs LLC (ASCAP) adm by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing. Rezsongs/Reehits World/Smacktown Music, a division of Smack Blue, LLC/Unfair Entertainment  (ASCAP) adm. by Me Gusta Music. We’re Really Doin’ It Publishing (ASCAP) adm by Words & Music. Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing/Smackville Music/Smack Songs LLC (ASCAP) adm. by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing.

    Some Of It – Eric Church

    Songwriters: Eric Church, Clint Daniels, Jeff Hyde, Bobby Pinson

    Publishers: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing/Longer and Louder Music, admin. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC; Mammaw’s Fried Okra Music/Little Louder Songs, admin. by Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing; New Writers Of Sea Gayle Music, admin. by ClearBox Rights; New Writers Of Sea Gayle Music/Not A Track Guy Music, admin. by ClearBox Rights (BMI).
     

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

    10,000 Hours – Dan + Shay Featuring Justin Bieber

    Producers: Dan Smyers

    Record Label: Warner Music Nashville

    Dive Bar – Garth Brooks Featuring Blake Shelton

    Producers: Garth Brooks

    Record Label: Pearl Records, Inc.

    Fooled Around And Fell In Love – Miranda Lambert Featuring Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes, Caylee Hammack & Elle King

    Producer: Jay Joyce

    Record Label: Vanner Records/RCA Records Nashville

    Old Town Road – Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

    Producers: Michael Trent Reznor, Atticus Matthew Ross, YoungKio

    Record Label: Columbia Records

    What Happens In A Small Town – Brantley Gilbert Featuring Lindsay Ell

    Producer: Dann Huff

    Record Label: The Valory Music Co.

    Audio / ERIC CHURCH TALKS ABOUT THE ENERGY EXCHANGED BETWEEN HIM AND HIS FANS IN THE AUDIENCE AT HIS SHOWS.

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    Eric Church (performing energy) OC: …type of crowd. :40
    “Well, I think for me every night I try to empty the tank. There’s always that energy floating around. It’s a palpable thing, and 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. We have one night here in whatever city we’re in, you know, we’ve got this night. I’m not gonna see you for a while you’re not gonna 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 exchange 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 / LAST YEAR, CARRIE UNDERWOOD TALKED ABOUT HER ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR NOMINATION FOR LAST YEAR’S CMA AWARDS…AND THE SAME SENTIMENT HOLDS TRUE FOR THIS YEAR’S ACM AWARDS.

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    Carrie Underwood (Entertainer nod 2019) OC: …sorry boys! (laughs) :28
    “I personally feel like entertainer. It’s everything, right? So, I feel like people kind of narrow it down to tours, but I feel like there’s so many more components to it. And, you know, I’m blessed and lucky to be nominated, obviously, and fantastic company. It would be amazing, but of course, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it. (laughs) Sorry boys.” (laughs)

    Audio / A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, LUKE BRYAN TALKED ABOUT BEING NAMED ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR FROM BOTH THE ACM AWARDS AND CMA AWARDS.

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    Luke Bryan (Entertainer wins) OC: …got it right. :49
    “The title is what it is, you know? I mean, my focus in life when I’m on stage is entertaining these fans. If it’s my smile and my demeanor, if it’s my song that does it, if it’s me picking up a child out of the audience and letting them sing, it’s not being so premeditated that you can see it from a mile away. I mean, my main thing is be a fan up there that just gets to sing. That’s kind of how I’ve always approached it, and being called the Entertainer of the Year makes me want to do that to the best of my ability every night for the rest of my life as long as I’m on stage. I want people to leave my shows and go, ‘You know what? Whoever’s voting him Entertainer of the Year, they got it right.’”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack, who was nominated for a pair of awards going into this year's ACM AWARDS, has won her first for Music Event of the Year.

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    Caylee Hammack (ACM Music Event of the Year win) OC: …of women. :42
    “Getting to recreate this song with women that inspire me so very much was already a huge blessing for me. To get to perform it every night for the encore of Miranda Lambert’s show that I got to be on tour with her for, it was already this huge blessing for me and then to be nominated was a huge deal and now, we’ve won an ACM for vocal event of the year, this is unreal. And I wish there was another word I could use for it, but unreal is truly it. This is so very special, and I’m just so honored to be in this group of this caliber of women.”

    Audio / KACEY MUSGRAVES SAYS SHE WROTE “RAINBOW” AS A MEMO TO HERSELF, BUT SAYS IT CAN HELP PEOPLE ACTUALLY SEE THE SUN THROUGH THE CLOUDS.

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    Kacey Musgraves (Rainbow) 1 OC: …make it through. :48
    “The song ‘Rainbow’ was actually written a handful of years ago as sort of a little bit of a memo to myself. I think we can all get stuck in a mindset that things are never gonna improve or you can easily focus on kind of the bad parts of whatever you’re going through and not really realize that if you pulled your head above the water you’d see that the sun is actually shining and that everything’s actually okay. I think one of the reasons that people may relate to the song a lot is because, though it was written to myself, I think that it can take the shape of like whatever someone’s going through – whether it’s coming out and not having the support or just any kind of a situation that they don’t feel like they may make it through.”

    Audio / ERIC CHURCH TALKS ABOUT HIS SONG "SOME OF IT."

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    Eric Church (Some of It coming of age) OC: …figure it out. :56
    “That’s a song, a coming-of-age song, it’s an adult song. It’s adult music. If you listen to the thematics in that and what it’s about, it’s about being older and having some wisdom about you. I think that’s something that I appreciate in my fan base now that early on probably wasn’t there. We were young and drunk and fighting and stupid. But I think now to see them grow – to see the fan base grow – it’s just one of those songs that came along at the right time. And again, it was such a blessing that happened. It wasn’t going to be on the album. It was just one of those freak things that I put it on the album, the last song on the album. The album was done, and all of a sudden it becomes the pillar, one of the pillars on the album. I think again, you go back to it’s one of the great things about music, is you just never know what’s going to happen until it’s all said and done. You can try to plan all you want to, but you’ll probably not going to figure it out.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi is excited for his ACM Album of the Year nomination.

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    Jon Pardi (nominated for ACM AWARD for album) OC: …it’s awesome. :32
    “Being nominated for an ACM Award is always awesome, especially when it’s for Album f the Year. From all the hard work we put in to making this record to seeing it as a nominee for Album of the Year is amazing. It’s such a great honor to just have a nomination – to still be in the game is what I’m saying, and I put in a lot of hard work and it’s just so fun. It’s my favorite category to be in and the most, it’s the one I want to be in because that means all the songs help you get that nomination. I think that’s so great, and we work so hard on picking songs. So, it’s awesome.”

    Audio / MADDIE MARLOW OF MADDIE & TAE TALK ABOUT BEING NOMINATED FOR THE ACM DUO OF THE YEAR AWARD.

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    Maddie & Tae (ACM 2019) OC: …this year. :35
    “Being in the Duo category, especially being the only females in that category, is really, really special. We are just in such good company. Every single duo that’s nominated this year, we are really good friends with and we love and support and root for, but just the fact the industry acknowledges what we’re doing, especially after the crazy past couple of years we’ve had, just to get that nod saying, ‘Hey! You’re doing good. Keep doing what you’re doing,’ is so special. We do not take that for granted ‘cause we didn’t expect that at all, and so it was a huge shock for us and such good news for us this year.”

    Audio / BROTHERS OSBORNE SAYS IT'S AN HONOR TO BE NOMINATED AT THIS YEAR'S ACM AWARDS.

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    Brothers Osborne (being nominated) OC: (TJ) …but it really is. :26
    JOHN: “One of the things I love about the country music genre is “It sounds cliché to say it’s an honor, but it really is that it’s a family. We’re all really, really close. We’re all a bunch of misfits thrown together. We’re all a little different, but we love one another and respect one another, and I’m just honored for the both of us to be a part of this awesome family.” TJ: “I will say to add on that, it sounds cliché to say it’s an honor to be nominated, but it really is.”

  • TAYLOR SWIFT RETURNS TO THE COUNTRY MUSIC STAGE WITH A WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMANCE FROM HER FOLKLORE ALBUM AT THIS YEAR’S ACM AWARDS.

    Global superstar and two-time ACM® Entertainer of the Year, Taylor Swift, will return to the ACM Awards® stage for the first time in seven years with a world premiere performance off her record-breaking new album Folklore at the 55TH ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS™, a Night of Heart and Hits Live from Nashville. The nine-time ACM Award-winner will perform from the legendary Grand Ole Opry House. Hosted by reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year and 15-time ACM Award winner Keith Urban, the 55th ACM Awards will be broadcast live on Wednesday (September 16th) at 8pm ET/delayed PT  on CBS , and available to stream live and on demand on CBS All Access.

     

    Swift will perform “betty” from her record-breaking eighth studio album Folklore, which has spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, tying her with Whitney Houston for the most cumulative weeks atop the chart by a woman in history.

    For the first time in the show’s history, the awards will take place in Nashville, broadcasting from three iconic Country Music venues: Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, and The Bluebird Cafe. As previously announced, the 55th ACM Awards will also feature performances by Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Eric ChurchLuke Combs, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Riley Green, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Old Dominion and Thomas Rhett featuring Jon PardiBlake Shelton featuring Gwen StefaniTenille TownesCarrie UnderwoodMorgan WallenTrisha Yearwood and more to be announced.

    For more information, visit ACMcountry.com. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook, follow on Twitter at @ACMawards, follow on Instagram at @ACMawards and sign up for the FREE ACM A-List for more immediate updates.

    About Taylor Swift
    Taylor Swift is, quite simply, a global superstar and songwriter of her generation. Ten-time Grammy winner, a singer, songwriter, musician and producer, Taylor is the first female solo artist to win the music industry’s highest honor, the Grammy Award for Album of the Year – twice! Taylor is Billboard’s first-ever Woman of the Decade recipient along with being the youngest-ever Woman of the Year honoree and the only artist to have been awarded that title twice. Taylor is the American Music Awards’ Artist of the Decade, the only artist in history to have four consecutive albums sell over one million copies in their week of release (Speak NowRED1989 and reputation) and the only artist ever to have seven albums each sell at least 500,000 copies in a single week (FearlessSpeak NowRED1989reputation, Lover and folklore). She is also the first and only female artist in the 21st century to score five #1 studio albums in the UK. Oh, and did we mention she is a Brit and Emmy Award winner too.

    Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album, folklore, was released with less than one day’s notice. The surprise release sold over 1.3 million albums worldwide in as little as 24 hours and remained #1 on Billboard’s charts for six consecutive weeks, “the longest consecutive run at #1 since 2016”. “Cardigan,” her first single off the critically adored album, debuted No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. Folklore, which also debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marked Taylor as the first artist ever to debut at No. 1 on both the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 in the same week. Folklore is the top selling album of 2020 and already lauded, album of the year by critics and fans all over the world.

  • TAYLOR SWIFT ON “betty.”

    Taylor Swift just released her new song, “betty,” to country radio. The tune, featured on her new folklore album, goes for adds on Monday, August 17th.

    Find audio and liners below.

    Audio / Taylor Swift talks about her new song, "betty."

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    Taylor Swift (betty) OC: …you like it. :40
    “So, the song ‘betty’ is about a 17-year-old named James learning to apologize, because James has lost the love of his life basically and doesn’t understand how to get it back. I think we all have these situations in our lives where we learn to really, really give a heartfelt apology for the first time. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody really messes up sometimes, and this is a song that I wrote from the perspective of a 17-year-old boy. And I always loved that in music you can kind of slip into different identities and you can sing from other people’s perspectives. So, that’s what I did with this one. I named all the characters in this story after my friends’ kids, and I hope you like it.”

    Audio / LINER Taylor Swift (betty) 1

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    Audio / LINER Taylor Swift (betty) 2

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    Audio / LINER Taylor Swift (betty) 3

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