Chris Stapleton was presented with a plaque commemorating the illustrious diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.) for surpassing 10 million units sold. The presentation took place at Stapleton’s second of two sold-out shows at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena over the weekend.

Prior to releasing his Traveller album, Chris explained why he had decided to record “Tennessee Whiskey.”

“’Tennessee Whiskey’ is a song that I love, you know I love great country songs and songwriters, and this is certainly one that is a great country song written by great country songwriters and performed by a great country artists. Certainly, if you try to cover a George Jones or David Allan Coe, you can’t try to out-George Jones George Jones or anything like that. So, if you’re gonna cover something like that, you need to try to move away from that and hopefully make it your own. We kind of happened upon this way of playing this song and had fun with it live and felt like it was something to record that was a good tip of the hat to things we grew up on and loved. I think it’s a unique and interesting version of it.”

Jon Langston’s father tried to pull a fast one on Christmas. Jon kept pestering his parents for a green bicycle when he was a young child, but something seemed a little off when Jon came downstairs on Christmas morning.

“When I was like five or six, I had a red bike, and all I wanted was a green bike. I wanted a cool, green, long goose bike. So, I came downstairs to see what Santa brought me, and I see a green bike down next to the tree, and I come rushing to it and I’m looking at it, and I’m like, ‘Hold up. Something’s not right.’ It’s the SAME bike. My dad just spray painted it green,” laughs Jon. “I was like, ‘This is the same bike!’ I’m like picking at it, looking at the paint under it. Oh yeah, that’s one of my favorite Christmas memories is dogging on my dad, because it’s just funny.”

Jon can’t really pick out one Christmas movie, because he loves them all, but if he had to watch just one, it would have to be The Christmas Story. “My favorite holiday movie would have to be Elf, The Grinch, Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation. I could go on,” says the Georgia native. “I love Christmas movies, but I think I would have to say my favorite is probably The Christmas Story ‘cause I just grew up watching it.”

Jordan Davis started a Christmas tradition when he moved to Nashville a few years ago. He usually goes to the historic Belcourt Theatre to catch a viewing of the classic It’s a Wonderful Life. “They play it at a theater here in town, and it’s something that I really look forward to going and seeing that movie,” he says.

As a young man, he and his brother Jacob asked for a specific present together. “Me and my brother asked for go-karts together, and I was actually worried that we weren’t going to get ‘em, because I knew my mom probably thought we were going to kill ourselves,” says the Louisiana native. “We woke up Christmas morning and me and Jacob, we run into the living room and don’t see a go-kart. I remember being like sad opening presents, and then my dad tells me he thought he heard some reindeer in the backyard. So, we jet to the back of the house and there’s two blue-and-white go-karts in the backyard. So, that’s the one I always remember. That was a great present.”

Jordan says the music that signals the Christmas season is anything by Nat King Cole. “My favorite Christmas song is Nat King Cole’s ‘Buon Natale.’ I don’t know the record it’s on it, [but] we would just play that song over and over and over. So, that’s by far my favorite, but anything by Nat King Cole. I mean Nat King Cole is Christmas to me, always playing, always having some type of Christmas music on. I remember growing up, my mom, she would start on Thanksgiving. We would start listening to Christmas music and anytime you’d walk into the house if Mom was home, there was Christmas music playing.”

Jordan is climbing the country charts with his latest hit, “Buy Dirt,” featuring Luke Bryan.

If you happened to miss the premiere of Reba McEntire‘s Lifetime holiday movie, Christmas in Tune, you’re in luck. The channel will air encore presentations of the movie several times throughout the month, including December 4th, December 16th, December 21st and December 24th.

Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Shania Twain, Trace Adkins, Vince Gill, Suzy Bogguss, Deana Carter and many more are featured on the new compilation 90s Country Christmas. Click here to download or stream.

Let it be Christmas and celebrate with this 90's Country Christmas Compilation, ft. Alan's #LetItBeChristmas! ❄️ https://t.co/euOGfNIjM1 pic.twitter.com/UHbyrIwXZH

— Alan Jackson (@OfficialJackson) December 3, 2021

Caylee Hammack shared her tour diary from her dates opening up for Chris Stapleton. Check it out below.

My tour diary entry from our weekend out on the road with @ChrisStapleton & @morganwithane is up now💃🏻

You can watch it here, my loves: https://t.co/1nL3PrzHiD pic.twitter.com/hZBQWChAS2

— Caylee Hammack (@Cayleehammack) December 3, 2021

Josh Turner talked to People about his new holiday song, “Soldier’s Gift,” his first-ever Christmas album, King Size Manger, and his holiday tour.

Thanks, @people, for talking to me about my new song, "Soldier's Gift," my debut Christmas album, 'King Size Manger,' and my first-ever Christmas tour, the 'Holiday & The Hits' tour! Y'all go check it out!#KingSizeManger #SoldiersGift #holidayandthehitshttps://t.co/RjXuXaaYh0

— Josh Turner (@joshturnermusic) December 3, 2021

Lauren Alaina is set to release her first-ever book, Getting Good At Being You: Learning to Love Who God Made You to Be on Tuesday (December 7th).

Lauren shares stories about everything from lost loves to getting a nose ring to battling an eating disorder to grieving a loved one’s death. Each story leads to practical tips, take-it-on-the-road strategies, and encouragement for your own personal and spiritual growth.

In this book, you will be inspired to:

• speak to yourself with kindness and compassion
• chase the dreams that light your spirit on fire
• cultivate rich relationships with family and friends
• identify self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors
• offer forgiveness for yourself and others

Throughout the book, you will find:

• behind-the-scenes photos from Lauren’s career in country music.
• lists, tips, and strategies to boost your self-confidence.
• prompts to help you dream big and run toward who you are.

She says she hopes navigating her own journeys in the book will help others. “It is all about my faith, my family, my journey, the ups and downs, hope and peace and setbacks and bouncing back. I’m just thrilled that I can share my journey, and hopefully, it can bring healing and peace and love to people that need it. That was my intention with it.”

The new scribe says the faith-based book, is about her path to loving herself again. “I’ve been doing a lot of stuff, faith-based stuff over the last couple of years. It was really laid on my heart to do that and I think this opportunity probably came to me from doing those other things. I hosted a Jesus Calling show. I did the Jesus Calling podcast. I started really talking – speaking out about my faith. And Harper Collins actually came to me to write the book and asked if I would be interested in writing a gift book,” says Lauren. “They sent me a couple of examples that I read, and I was excited because it really felt like it lined up with kind of what I do already. And it’s a faith-based book called Getting Good At Being You and it’s all about my journey of self-love and my faith and getting into the place that I’m in now and all of the things that happened. It’s not really a memoire but a lot of my life is woven through the book to share with people how I got through different situations and how different things shaped my faith, and I’m really proud of it.”

Trisha Yearwood wrote the foreword to the book.

Lauren is currently making her way up the country charts with “Getting Over Him,” which features her pal Jon Pardi.

Luke Bryan shared the news that American Idol‘s historic 20th season will premiere February 27th (2022) on ABC.

.@AmericanIdol returns for its historic 20th year on Feb 27, 2022 on @ABCNetwork ! Let’s find our next superstar! pic.twitter.com/CNzOZknnJt

— Luke Bryan (@lukebryan) December 2, 2021

Sam Hunt and Little Big Town were added to the list of performers at next year’s San Antonio Stock Show And Rodeo taking place February 10th – 26th. They join previously announced artists including Tim McGraw, Mickey Guyton, Brad Paisley, Ludacris, Jimmie Allen and Ryan Bingham, among others.

Mickey Guyton shared some great Christmas ideas from black-owned small businesses on her socials. Check them out.

I wanted to share a list of some of my favorite things from Black-owned businesses that I love. You can find gifts for your friends, family and even a few things to treat yourself. ❤️ https://t.co/kNU57rI73z pic.twitter.com/9ny9kDGQth

— Mickey Guyton (@MickeyGuyton) December 2, 2021

Check out and get to know new band Boy Named Banjo. Find out how they met and started performing together.

Here’s a little backstory on how BNB got started. Safe to say we’ve been boys for a while now. Couldn’t do this without y’all! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/S2LuhCQq1N

— Boy Named Banjo (@BoyNamedBanjo) December 1, 2021

Country Radio Broadcasters (CRB) has announced the lineup for the CRS 2022 New Faces of Country Music® Show. To be held Friday, February 25th at Omni Nashville Hotel, this year’s show will feature Parker McCollum, Gabby Barrett, Walker Hayes, Jameson Rodgers, and Lainey Wilson.

CRB New Faces Committee Chairman Chuck Aly comments, “There were no bad options in this year’s New Faces election slate, so it’s not a surprise the final lineup is stellar. The only thing more exciting than what these artists bring to this year’s show is that we’ll all get to experience it in person!”

Formed in 1970, the annual New Faces of Country Music® Show is one of the most anticipated events at Country Radio Seminar. Five emerging artists who have achieved significant success at Country Radio during the qualification period are selected each year to perform. The New Faces of Country Music® Show has played a pivotal role in the careers of almost every major Country star. The show is co-sponsored by the Academy of Country Music and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

CRS will be held Wednesday, February 23 through February 25, 2022. The New Faces of Country Music® Show closes out the event each year.  Registration for CRS 2022 is open and available for purchase at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com.

CRS 2022 will feature a jam-packed schedule that includes Country Radio Seminar’s most anticipated events, including educational panels, virtual networking, and workshops designed to provide instant, actionable takeaways.

Brothers Osborne have wrapped their We’re Not For Everyone Tour and have started winding down for the holidays. The reigning CMA Duo of the Year love the sights and sounds of Christmas.

“I love the overall feel and look at that time of year, because it’s starting to get really cold then and everything’s coming to a halt. It stays dark, so you have a lot of Christmas lights. I just love Christmas lights – they put you in such an amazing mood,” says John Osborne. “Just the sounds, like all the Christmas music and even shopping, which is quite possibly one of the most hectic things to do during the holidays. Even if we have all our shopping done, we’ll still go to the mall just because it’s so alive and vibrant and the colors and the music and the lights. I just love it. It’s a bit sensory overload, but I kinda dig that.”

Spending time with their family has become very important to the duo, especially with how busy their lives have become over the past several years. “Particularly as of late with John and I traveling a lot we don’t get a lot of family time at all. And so, as time goes on, I really value that more and more,” says TJ Osborne, adding “This sounds like obvious, but a Christmas tradition to us is just simply being able to stop and hit pause and hang out with the family. I mean, we get to miss so many things. We have wonderful careers, but we miss birthdays, and we miss so many crazy fun parties and just the small things. So, I feel Christmas is that moment where we can just stop, hang out, get back to our roots, get home with the family and eat those homecooked meals and just laugh. And of course, you always have got to have your arguing, your Christmas arguing. (laughs) But that’s become like a tradition every year. We always, no matter what’s going on, we make time to get the family together for one time a year.”

Brothers Osborne are currently climbing the country charts with “I’m Not For Everyone.”

Travis Denning grew up in Warner Robins, Georgia with his parents and sister. One of the family’s Christmas traditions was to open presents on Christmas Eve, which actually gives them more time to spend together.

“My favorite Christmas tradition is we always open presents the night before and used to, I always thought it was ‘cause me and my sister ragged on my parents until they let us. But now the older I get, and to me it really does make a difference. I wake up on Christmas Day and think about what it really means instead,” says Travis. “My parents always do a big breakfast; mimosas on Christmas morning. It’s just such a great family affair, and I just think ultimately in opening presents on Christmas Eve versus Christmas Day, we get to spend time reflecting on what it really means.”

What Christmas means to Travis goes beyond exchanging gifts. “The older I got, as cliché as it sounds, I mean it really isn’t about the gifts. It’s more about drinking some whiskey with dad while the little nephew or whatever open presents or my little cousins,” he says. “It turns into sentimental things and what matters. For me one year, that was a shotgun and then it was a, just a Stranger Things coffee mug that my mom got me, which I drink [out of] every morning. Those things that are just more like, ‘Hey-I thought about you and I put a lot of you in this gift,’ you know, and that’s what I love about it.”

The Georgia native says his favorite Christmas memory and favorite Christmas gift were both musical. “My favorite holiday memory as a child was when I got my first guitar for a million obvious reasons, but I felt like I finally got something I was really passionate about and dove head-first into it.”

“I think the best gift I’ve ever received during the holidays to this day is still probably the mandolin my dad got me when I was 19 years old,” he says. “It was just super awesome, and I’d been wanting one for a while, and it was a really touching and special gift.”

When Travis is celebrating the holidays, he is dancing around to “Jingle Bell Rock” or Kacey Musgraves‘ A Very Kacey Christmas album.

Multi-Platinum-selling No. 1 singer-songwriter Lauren Alaina will appear and perform the holiday classic “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” on The Talk this Friday, (December 3rd)  on the CBS Television Network. Alaina will be featured throughout the show to help with honoring the in-studio audience that will be made up of teachers from around the country. The Talk airs weekdays at 2:00 PM, ET; 1:00 PM, PT on CBS and streams on Paramount+.

Alaina, who American Songwriter calls “a vibrant force of positivity in the world,” has had a banner year with the release of her third studio album Sitting Pretty On Top of the World which includes her current hit single “Getting Over Him,” a duet featuring Jon Pardi. The multi-award winner was featured on Entertainment Tonight, Billboard, FORBES, PEOPLE, Atlanta Journal Constitution, CMT Hot 20, Holler Country, Music Row, EverythingNash.com, Country Now, RIFF Magazine, Sounds Like Nashville, Taste of Country, The Boot, Outsider.com and more.

In September, the Georgia native starred in her first Hallmark Channel movie “Roadhouse Romance” that premiered to rave reviews and became the #1 most-watched entertainment cable program of the day and week. In October, Alaina was invited to perform the national anthem at the MLB World Series by her home state team, the Atlanta Braves.

On December 7th, her inspirational book, Getting Good At Being You will be released. The book is available for presale now wherever books are sold.

For more information and tour dates, please visit http://laurenalainaofficial.com/ and follow Lauren at @Lauren_Alaina on Twitter, @laurenalaina on Instagram and on Facebook. For videos go to her YouTube (@LaurenAlainaAIVEVO)