• MADDIE & TAE’S LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE: Your Man

    Maddie & Tae just posted their last-minute holiday gift guide, and up first are some ideas for your man. Some of the items you’ll find are a whiskey decanter, dart board, cologne, sneakers and a breakfast sandwich maker. Check it out below:

    Maddie

    Dartboard

    Spikeball Game

    What Do You Meme? Game

    Whiskey Decanter

     

    Tae

    Breakfast Sandwich Maker

    Cologne

    Leather Catchall

    Sneakers

    The duo, who are making their way up the country charts with “Die From a Broken Heart,” just released their first Christmas song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

     

  • KEITH URBAN TAKES TIME TO PERFORM AN ACOUSTIC VERSION OF “I’LL BE YOUR SANTA TONIGHT.”

    Keith Urban took to his socials this morning to post an acoustic version of his new Christmas song, “I’ll Be Your Santa Tonight,” and it’s FIRE.

    Check it out below:

     

    The official music video is also posted below, as well.

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  • UMG NASHVILLE’S ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2019

    DRY VERSION (POEM):

    Keith Urban
    Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
    Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

    The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
    In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

    The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
    While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

    TJ Osborne
    And ma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
    Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.

    When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
    I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

    Away to the window I flew like a flash,
    Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

    John Osborne
    The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
    Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.

    When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
    But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

    Clare Dunn
    With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
    I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.

    Lauren Alaina
    More rapid than eagles his reindeer they came,
    And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

    “Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
    On, Comet! On, Cupid! On Donner and Blitzen!

    To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
    Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

    Caylee Hammack
    So up to the house-top the reindeer they flew,
    With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

    Darius Rucker
    And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
    The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

    As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
    Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

    Jordan Davis
    He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
    And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

    A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
    And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

    Carrie Underwood
    His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
    His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

    Jon Pardi
    His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
    And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

    The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
    And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

    Brandon Lay
    He had a broad face and a little round belly,
    That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

    He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
    And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

    Luke Bryan
    A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
    Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

    He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
    And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

    And laying his finger aside of his nose,
    And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

    He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
    And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

    Alan Jackson
    But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,
    “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

     

    Audio / 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS POEM

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    Audio / 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (produced)

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  • A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS RADIO SPECIAL

    To download our Christmas Radio Special, click here. The 24 hours include hosting by  Luke Bryan, Lauren Alaina, Maddie & Tae, Jon Pardi, Gary Allan and Clare Dunn and features music and memories by such artists as Alan Jackson, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, Little Big Town, Lauren Alaina, Kacey Musgraves and so many more.

  • CHRISTMAS 2019: Little Big Town

    The members of Little Big Town have their own traditions, but one they’ve all seemed to have adopted is Kimberly Schlapman’s annual holiday tradition.

    “My favorite holiday tradition is, it’s happened every year that I can remember that I’ve been alive,” she says. “We would go over to my grandmother’s house and have Christmas over there, and everybody would come home to Mama and Daddy’s house. We’d sit down and Mama hands out everybody a gift, and we act like we don’t what it is, but we do ’cause it’s always Christmas pajamas. So, everybody opens their Christmas pajamas and goes and puts ’em on, and we come back to the living room and we sit around Daddy and he reads ‘The Christmas Story,’ and we tuck ourselves in until Santa comes.”

    For Jimi Westbrook, nothing says Christmas like Elvis Presley. “My favorite Christmas song is this song I start with every year Thanksgiving drive, my first Christmas song to play is Elvis Presley, ‘Santa Claus is Back in Town.’ Sexy. Rockin’. Love it.”

    One of Karen Fairchild’s traditions include making candy. “Christmases at our house usually included making candy with my mother and my grandmother,” says Karen. “We did everything from potato candy to chocolate dipped peanut butter (JIMI: “That all sounds amazing.”) and fudge. My mom’s fudge recipe is amazing.” KIMBERLY: “What is potato candy?” KAREN: “It does use a potato, but it’s rolled and it has peanut butter inside.”

    Phillip Sweet and his wife Rebecca start early with their gift-giving for daughter Penelopi. “We do a little Christmas tradition in our house,” he says. “We do, you know the little tree in the countdown to Christmas? We put little treats in each little doorway. [Penelopi] opens the countdown to Christmas. (KIMBERLY: “Cuuuute.”) She gets a new little treat every day leading up to Christmas.”

    The band, who released “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” a few years ago, has added a new tradition or two to their family and their group. They now end the year with a performance at Blackberry Farm, a 4200-acre resort located in the Great Smokey Mountains.

    Audio / Little Big Town's Kimberly Schlapman and her family have their annual Christmas tradition.

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    LBT (Christmas) OC: …Santa comes. :28
    “My favorite holiday tradition is, it’s happened very year that I can remember that I’ve been alive. We would go over to my grandmother’s house and have Christmas over there, and everybody would come home to Mama and Daddy’s house. We’d sit down and Mama hands out everybody a gift, and we act like we don’t what it is, but we do ’cause it’s always Christmas pajamas. So, everybody opens their Christmas pajamas and goes and puts ’em on, and we come back to the living room and we sit around Daddy and he reads The Christmas Story. And we tuck ourselves in until Santa comes.”

    Audio / The members of Little Big Town talk about some of their favorite Christmas movies and holiday specials.

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    LBT (Holiday movies) OC: (Phillip) …whatever I touch. [LAUGHS] :38
    KAREN: “One of our favorite Christmas traditions is gathering around the television to watch holiday movies. And I know [for] Kimberly, it starts with [KIMBERLY: “It’s a Wonderful Life.”] It’s a Wonderful Life. Ours is holiday movies and records, like certain records have to be played in order for Jimi.” JIMI: “You have to start out the season right with Elvis, a little Elvis Presley.” KAREN: “I like the Charlie Brown Christmas movie.” KIMBERLY: “It’s sweet.” KAREN: “Yeah, it is sweet.” JIMI: “I like all those classic ones like the Rudolph and what is the one with the Abominable Snowman?” KIMBERLY: “Frosty, the Snowman?” PHILLIP: [sings] “I’m Mister Heat Miser/whatever I touch…” [LAUGHS] (The song is from the Claymation special ‘A Year Without a Santa Claus.’)

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild talks about making candy at Christmas with her mother and grandmother.

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    LBT (Karen-candy making) OC: …peanut butter inside. :19
    “Christmases at our house usually included making candy with my mother and my grandmother. We did everything from potato candy to chocolate dipped peanut butter (JIMI: “That all sounds amazing.”) and fudge. My mom’s fudge recipe is amazing.” KIMBERLY: “What is potato candy?” KAREN: “It does use a potato, but it’s rolled and it has peanut butter inside.” 

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet talks about having his own Christmas tradition with wife Rebecca and daughter Penelopi.

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    LBT (Phillip-tradition) OC: …to Christmas. :13
    “We do a little Christmas tradition in our house. We do, you know the little tree in the countdown to Christmas? We put little treats in each little doorway. [Penelopi] opens the countdown to Christmas. (KIMBERLY: “Cuuuute.”) She gets a new little treat every day leading up to Christmas.”

     

    Audio / LBT (New Christmas traditions)

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  • CHRISTMAS 2019: Clare Dunn

    Clare Dunn usually heads home to southeast Colorado for Christmas to celebrate with her parents and sister. When she has time to watch a Christmas classic, it’s usually either White Christmas or Christmas Vacation. When she and her family sit down for Christmas dinner, it’s not your usual turkey or ham. “I’m a steak girl, so I always talk my parents into grilling steak at Christmas,” she laughs. “So, that’s usually my favorite thing about Christmas, food-wise.”

    Clare just released her first holiday song, “Step Into Christmas,” a cover of the 1973 Elton John classic. ” One of the main reasons I chose to record it, other than just being a huge fan of Elton John and this song, I just love how happy it is,” says Clare. “It’s just inviting everybody to step into the Christmas spirit. And I know the holidays can sometimes be a little rough for some folks out there, and I just wanted my first time of doing a Christmas song to be something uplifting and very joyful and just something that people can make really happy memories to.”

    Audio / Clare Dunn talks about what Christmas time means to her.

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    Clare Dunn (Christmas time) OC: …places to be. :42
    “So, Christmas time for me means going home to the farming ranch in Colorado to be wit my family. And, you know, there’s always work to be done on a farming ranch, anybody who’s ever grown up on one knows that. So, it’s just still that way. We all bundle up like we used to even and get into our work clothes and go out and take care of cattle and break ice in water tanks and clean horse stalls and make sure everybody’s fed and well-taken care of, and then it’s our turn. And we cook a bunch of food, and my mom always has the house decorated so cool, and it’s probably one of my favorite times of the year and of course, being home is one of my favorite places to be.”

    Audio / Clare Dunn says White Christmas and Christmas Vacation are her favorite holiday movies.

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    Clare Dunn (Christmas movie) OC: …favorites. :11
    “My favorite Christmas movie is probably either White Christmas or National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. So, those are my two [laughs] favorites.”

    Audio / Clare Dunn, who grew up on a ranch in Colorado, says they have steak for Christmas dinner.

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    Clare Dunn (Christmas food) OC: …food-wise. [laughs] :08
    “I’m a steak girl, so I always talk my parents into grilling steak at Christmas. So, that’s usually my favorite thing about Christmas, food-wise.” [laughs]

    Audio / Clare Dunn explains why she chose to record a cover of Elton John's "Step Into Christmas."

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    Clare Dunn (Step Into Christmas) OC: …memories to. :38
    “So, I just released my very first Christmas song, which is a cover of Elton John’s original called ‘Step Into Christmas,” and I just love this song. One of the main reasons I chose to record it, other than just being a huge fan of Elton John and this song, I just love how happy it is. It’s just inviting everybody to step into the Christmas spirit. And I know the holidays can sometimes be a little rough for some folks out there, and I just wanted my first time of doing a Christmas song to be something uplifting and very joyful and just something that people can make really happy memories to.”

    Audio / LINER Clare Dunn (Christmas)

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    Video /

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  • CHRISTMAS 2019: Jordan Davis

    Jordan Davis started a Christmas tradition when he moved to Nashville a few years ago. He 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.”

    The new daddy 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, “Slow Dance in a Parking Lot.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS REVEALS HIS FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE.

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    Jordan Davis (favorite Christmas movie) OC: …a great movie. :19
    “The one Christmas movie I have to watch, which Elf has slowly taken over that spot, but I would have to say It’s a Wonderful Life. Then moving to Nashville, they play it at a theater here in town, and it’s something that I really look forward to going and seeing that movie. Man, it’s just a great movie.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE CHRISTMAS GIFT AS A CHILD.

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    Jordan Davis (favorite Christmas gift) OC: …great present. :41
    “The one Christmas present that stands out to me – I can remember I asked for go-karts. 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, but 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.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONG.

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    Jordan Davis (Christmas music) OC: …music on. :41
    “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. It was just background music, and it’s something I’ve carried over like there’s Christmas music that is played all the time. If we’re home, there’s Christmas music on.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Christmas)

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  • TUNE IN: MADDIE & TAE TAPPED FOR DOUBLE-HEADER PERFORMANCES ON TODAY 12/20 AND 12/31.

    Following a sweeping year “with new music forming the foundation for their meteoric rise,” (Sounds Like Nashville) PLATINUM-selling duo Maddie & Tae are slated for two upcoming performances on NBC’s TODAY Show. First up, they will deliver their “poignant” (Sun-Sentinel) single “Die From A Broken Heart” tomorrow, December 20th at 10am local time. An anchor to the duo’s new music “drenched in raw, vulnerable emotion” (American Songwriter), “Die From A Broken Heart” received immediate fan and critical demand, tallying over 107 MILLION streams to date and currently inside the Top 40 at Country radio.

    Then, the duo will return for the New Year’s Eve edition of the show, performing “Bathroom Floor,” a breakup song co-written by the pair with Josh Kerr (Tae’s fiancé) that “everyone needs to hear” (Seventeen).

    Most recently, Maddie & Tae released their “gorgeous cover” (PopSugar) of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “featuring their warm sugar vocals frosted over each other in a sweet harmony” (Billboard). The song is available everywhere now here.

    Award-winning duo Maddie & Tae are drawing praise for their new music “anchored around their stellar vocal pairings and some of the tightest harmonies on Music Row” (Rolling Stone) with a “sound that’s identifiable while still representing a distinct step forward” (Billboard). Maddie & Tae first broke out in 2013 with their brilliant “Girl In A Country Song,” which took Country radio by storm, skyrocketing to the top of the charts and quickly going PLATINUM. 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. 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 the pair most recently supporting Carrie Underwood’s 2019 The Cry Pretty Tour 360. For additional information, visit www.maddieandtae.com.

  • CHRISTMAS 2019: Brandon Lay

    Brandon Lay and his wife Nicole welcomed their son, Ryder, before Christmas in 2018, and so the family hasn’t yet made new traditions yet. “Last year was Ryder’s first Christmas, and obviously he was only a few months old, so we didn’t really get to embrace the full impact of having a little one around for the holidays. But I’m gonna tell you like, as far as traditions, we haven’t really had the time to solidify some of those. But just seeing the world through his lens and his eyes has really kinda made it feel like being a kid again for me, and so just to view the world as he does it, it just makes the holidays mean a lot more.”

    Brandon, who usually go home to West Tennessee for the holidays, recalls his favorite Christmas gift that he still uses today. “My favorite Christmas present is a Craftsman toolbox that my Mom got for me. I think I was 17? And I love it, because I’ll have it forever and pass it down and any time I get downtime and get that time to tinker with stuff, I think of her. So, that’s the one that stands out the most.”

    During his time at home, he and his family are certain to catch his favorite Christmas movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, at least once or twice.

    Audio / Brandon Lay talks about this year’s Christmas with son, Ryder.

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    Brandon Lay (Christmas 2019) OC: …a lot more. :30
    “So, last year was Ryder’s first Christmas, and obviously he was only a few months old, so we didn’t really get to embrace the full impact of having a little one around for the holidays. But I’m gonna tell you like, as far as traditions, we haven’t really had the time to solidify some of those. But just seeing the world through his lens and his eyes has really  kinda made it feel like being a kid again for me, and so just to view the world as he does it, it just makes the holidays mean a lot more.”

    Audio / BRANDON LAY SAYS CHRISTMAS EVE IS A BIG FAMILY AFFAIR.

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    Brandon Lay (big Christmas Eve dinner) OC: …is fun. :22
    “We usually do a big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, and that’s more of the extended family. That’d be the hardest event to miss, I’ll put it that way, just because everybody’s so spread out these days. But that’s one night that everybody finds their way back home. It’s a special time. That’s just kind of been the way we’ve done it since I can remember. Every Christmas Eve is fun.”

    Audio / BRANDON LAY SAYS HIS FAVORITE CHRISTMAS PRESENT IS A TOOLBOX HIS MOTHER GOT FOR HIM WHEN HE WAS JUST 17.

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    Brandon Lay (favorite Christmas present) OC: …the most. :21
    “My favorite Christmas present is a Craftsman toolbox that my Mom got for me. I think I was 17? And I love it, because I’ll have it forever and pass it down and anytime I get downtime and get that time to tinker with stuff, I think of her. So, that’s the one that stands out the most.”

    Audio / BRANDON LAY SAYS HIS FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE IS ONE THAT STARS CHEVY CHASE AS CLARK GRISWOLD.

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    Brandon Lay (favorite Christmas movie) OC: …a staple. :11
    “My favorite Christmas movie [is] probably Christmas Vacation. I feel like that one’s usually on repeat around Christmas time, even if it’s on in the background. It’s kind of a staple.”

  • LITTLE BIG TOWN PERFORMS LATEST SINGLE, “OVER DRINKING,” WITH JAKE HOOT, THE WINNER OF THIS SEASON OF THE VOICE.

    Little Big Town performs their latest single, “Over Drinking,” with Jake Hoot, the winner of this season of NBC’s The Voice.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EszZi2yT54

    “Over Drinking” is from their upcoming album, Nightfall, available January 17th.