• JORDAN DAVIS GIVES A NOD TO LOUISIANA ON HIS DEBUT ALBUM, ‘HOME STATE.’

    Jordan Davis is preparing to release his debut album, Home State, later this month. The singer-songwriter is from Louisiana and what better way to honor where he came from than to reference them in the title of his first album?

    “One of the main reasons that it’s called that is that this record, the ideas for these songs, the inspiration behind these songs can all be traced back to Louisiana. All those songs [on the record] started in Louisiana, and I thought what better way than to kinda put a line through all of them and tie a bow on this whole record. I thought Louisiana was too much, and I’ve always loved that title, Home State.”

    Jordan’s Top 10 song, “Singles You Up,” is the first release from Home State, which will be available March 23rd.

    Jordan heads to Decatur, Georgia March 20th for the next stop on his White Wine and Whiskey Tour.

    Audio / Jordan Davis explains why he named his debut album, Home State.

    Download

    Jordan Davis (album title) OC: …Home State. :39
    “When it came time to name the record, you know, Louisiana is a big part of who I am and I love the fact that I’m from Louisiana and I call Louisiana my home state. One of the main reasons that it’s called that is that this record, the ideas for these songs, the inspiration behind these songs can all be traced back to Louisiana. All those songs [on the record] started in Louisiana, and I thought what better way than to kinda put a line through all of them and tie a bow on this whole record. I thought Louisiana was too much, and I’ve always loved that title, Home State.”

  • LUKE BRYAN IS CURIOUS HOW HE WILL BE REPRESENTED ON THE NEW ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ WHEN IT PREMIERES ON SUNDAY.

    Luke Bryan cannot wait for the premiere of the ABC reboot of American Idol. He, along with Lionel Richie and Katy Perry, are judges on the show, and he says he cannot wait for America to see the talent on the show.

    “I’m excited to see it on TV and I’m excited for America to be able to watch it and see the talented kids that they have out there,” says Luke. However, he jokes that he hopes the producers putting the show together are kind enough to edit it in a way that features him in a positive light.

    “Idol kicks off this week. We just go up there and we judge and we try to make jokes, make critiques and have fun, but we don’t get to see how this stuff is edited up. I don’t know if I’m gonna look stupid on TV,” he says. “I hope the people that put the show together will be nice to me, but hey, I am what I am. I is what I is, and I’m excited to see it on TV and I’m excited for America to be able to watch it and see the talented kids that they have out there.”

    Check out all of the American Idol action during the two-hour premiere on Sunday (March 11th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

    Luke, who’s nominated for the ACM Entertainer of the Year, is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest smash, “Most People Are Good.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan says he’s excited for the nation to see the new American Idol talent competition, but hopes he won’t look “stupid” when the show kicks off Sunday on ABC.

    Download

    Luke Bryan (American Idol kicks off this week) OC: …out there. :30
    “Idol kicks off this week. We just go up there and we judge and we try to make jokes, make critiques and have fun, but we don’t get to see how this stuff is edited up. I don’t know if I’m gonna look stupid on TV. I hope the people that put the show together will be nice to me, but hey, I am what I am. I is what I is, and I’m excited to see it on TV and I’m excited for America to be able to watch it and see the talented kids that they have out there.”

    Video / Luke Bryan on Seth Meyers

    View
  • LUKE BRYAN AND DIERKS BENTLEY WILL PERFORM DURING THIS YEAR’S ACM AWARDS.

    Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley are among the initial list of performers announced for this year’s ACM Awards. They’re joined by Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett and Bebe Rexha.

    Luke is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, an award he’s won twice, and Dierks is nominated for Video of the Year for “Black,” which stars his wife Cassidy.

    The 53rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba, will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 15th beginning at 8pm ET/PT on CBS.

  • DIERKS BENTLEY TAPPED FOR MULTI-PLATFORM SPONSORSHIP BY 5-HOUR ENERGY.

    Multi-PLATINUM artist Dierks Bentley has been enlisted by the makers of 5-hour ENERGY® shots, as one of the anchors of their fully integrated national advertisement campaign. Taking a major marketing position in country music, the dietary supplement with a blend of Vitamin B and amino acids with zero sugar and four calories, will continue with its “Get Back to 100 Percent” campaign and introduce other programs designed to reward, engage and connect with fans. Bentley’s multi-platform integration will include a national television campaign, exclusive social media content, product sampling and education and direct fan engagement. Additionally, 5-hour ENERGY® will hit the road with Bentley on his highly anticipated 2018 tour.

    “With a very full personal life and touring schedule, I’m constantly managing my energy,” said Bentley. “The boost I get from 5-hour ENERGY® shots allows me to tap into my peak energy level at any moment and hit the stage with maximum power and presence. When combined with the music from my band and the uproar from our fans, I’m able to give every show everything I’ve got and then some.”

    “The 5-hour ENERGY® music program was created to further connect and market to our core consumer, as well as engage with our key retailers,” said Melissa Skabich, Communications Directorfor Living Essentials, LLC, the distributor of 5-hour ENERGY® shots. “Country Music fans are so loyal and involved. They feel close to their favorite artists and we are so proud that Dierks will be our voice to that fan base.  Dierks has earned his spot at the top of the country music genre and continues to give back to his fans, his charitable interests and his community. 5-hour ENERGY® has a lot planned around this program in 2018 and we are excited to get it started.”

    Dierks Bentley is making his way up the country charts with his latest single “Woman, Amen,” the first release from his upcoming ninth studio album, THE MOUNTAIN due out later this year. After his 2017 World Tour claimed the top spot on Billboard’s Hot Tours selling over 750,000 tickets, Bentley will fuel arenas and amphitheaters throughout the summer with his 2018 MOUNTAIN HIGH TOUR, launching May 17th in Columbia, MD.

    For more information visit www.dierks.com.

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Jon, Luke, Keith, Lady A

    Jon Pardi is set to perform his current single, “She Ain’t In It,” as well as his No. 1 hit “Heartache On the Dance Floor,” when he appears on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night (March 6th).

    Luke Bryan‘s appearance on ABC’s The View has been moved to Friday (March 9th).

    Keith Urban has been added to the lineup for the 10th Annual Nashville Honors Gala taking place March 26th and benefiting the TJ Martell Foundation. He joins  previously announced artists Lauren Alaina, Jeff Foxworthy and Charles Esten, among others. 

    Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, both of whom graduated from University of Georgia will give the commencement speech to UGA’s 2018 graduates. TV and Radio personality Ryan Seacrest, actor Kyle Chandler and journalist Deborah Norville are some of the school’s other famous graduates. This year’s graduation ceremony will be held May 4th at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.

  • LUKE BRYAN DISHES ON FELLOW AMERICAN IDOL JUDGES, LIONEL RICHIE AND KATY PERRY.

    We bet you cannot wait to hear what Luke Bryan might say as a judge on the new season of American Idol. The show premieres Sunday (March 11th) at 8pm ET on ABC. Luke revealed to Good Morning America he had sweatbombs the first time he ever met fellow judge Lionel Richie and that Katy Perry keeps snacks underneath the judges’ desk.

     

    https://twitter.com/GMA/status/971020544144326658

  • JON PARDI WILL MAKE HIS DEBUT PERFORMANCE ON JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE ON TUESDAY.

    ACM Awards nominee Jon Pardi will make his debut performance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday (3/6). Pardi’s GOLD-certified album California Sunrise is nominated for ACM Awards Album Of The Year and highlights him as the artist, co-producer and songwriter on several of the tracks. Tune in to watch a special performance of his current single “She Ain’t In It” and his #1 hit “Heartache On The Dance Floor” on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday, March 6th at 10:35 CST or check local listings for air-times.

    “She Ain’t In It” follows three consecutive #1 hits including “Dirt On My Boots,” Platinum-selling “Head Over Boots” and “Heartache On The Dance Floor.” The song about long-lost love was written by Clint Daniels and Wynn Varble. Billboard called it “…a stone-cold weeper that would make George Strait nod with approval.” Directed by Jim Wright, the song’s cinematic music video was filmed entirely in black-and-white and debuted exclusively on Entertainment Tonight. View it HERE.

    The reigning CMA New Artist Of The Year and ACM New Male Vocalist is performing nationwide with Miranda Lambert’s Livin Like Hippies Tour and will join Luke Bryan’s What Makes You Country Tour this summer. Pardi was nominated for iHeartRadio Music Awards Country Song Of The Year (“Dirt On My Boots”) and was also nominated for Best New Country Artist. Most recently, he was featured in two large-event TV commercials including Michelob ULTRA’s “I Like Beer” campaign, which aired during the Super Bowl and the “truth” campaign, which aired during the Grammy Awards.

  • ERIC PASLAY RELEASES LATEST SONG, ‘YOUNG FOREVER,’ TO RADIO.

    EMI Records Nashville and Grammy nominated artist Eric Paslay released a much anticipated new single to country radio today, “Young Forever. The song, written by Eric, Chris Destefano and Morgan Evans, produced by Eric and Ilya Toshinksky, is available at all digital retailers now and can be found HERE or watch HERE.

    “After ‘Friday Night’ and ‘She Don’t Love You’ singles hit, me and the guys toured our butts off,” said Paslay. “I needed a reset, so my wife and I bought a farm. We renovated the house on it, DIY style. But I kept my head down as I was really focused on writing songs I loved. When we wrote ‘Young Forever,’ it totally reignited the fire – I couldn’t wait to record it and get it out to the fans. I think it captured the joy, the dream and the hope that made me fall in love with music when I was a kid and it reminds me, every time I play it, why I keep falling in love with music over and over again.”

    “Young Forever” is the first single off a forth coming sophomore album, the follow up to his critically acclaimed self-titled debut record that produced three hit singles including the No. 1 “Friday Night.”

    While writing and recording for the upcoming project Eric remained as busy as ever. In 2016 and 2017, Eric performed over 200 live shows, released an EP collection of songs for fans eager to hear new material, The Work Tapes, launched a partnership with Habitat for Humanity while helping to kick-off their first-ever national cause campaign and being hands on for multiple builds. Eric also continued his work with Dexcom, a leader in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), to help raise awareness for people like himself who are living with Type 1 Diabetes.

    About Eric Paslay
    EMI Records Nashville breakout country artist, Eric Paslay, delivers a powerful punch as a renowned, Platinum-selling, hit songwriter and dynamic performer. Paslay has celebrated five No. 1 hits including “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” (Eli Young Band), “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” (Jake Owen), “Angel Eyes” (Love & Theft), “Rewind” (Rascal Flatts) and “Friday Night,” the smash lead single from his critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. The Temple, Texas native has earned numerous songwriter award nominations including GRAMMY’s Best Country Song, ACM’s Song of the Year twice and the CMA Song of The Year for “Even If It Breaks Your Heart.” Eric was also honored with GRAMMY nomination as an artist in 2016 for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “The Driver”- a collaboration with friends Charles Kelley and Dierks Bentley. A true artist’s artist, USA Today calls Paslay “flat out-brilliant” and American Songwriter names him an influencer of country music.

     

    For the latest information on Eric go to:

    www.ericpaslay.com

    https://twitter.com/ericpaslay

    https://www.facebook.com/ericpaslay

    http://instagram.com/ericpaslay

    Audio / Eric Paslay just released his new song, “Young Forever,” which he co-wrote with Morgan Evans and Chris DeStefano. He says the idea came from Morgan, probably right after he got engaged to Kelsea Ballerini.

    Download

    Eric Paslay (Young Forever) 1 OC: …every experience. :21
    “It was Morgan’s idea. It was like, ‘Man, Young Forever.’ He’s from Australia, but he’s had this idea, and it’s like, man, that’s cool. How do we not screw this up? I think they had just gotten engaged, so I think it was like, ‘We’re gonna live forever and be in love forever’ and just good vibes. This song is about being ‘young’ in every experience.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Paslay (Young Forever) 1

    Download
  • LADY ANTEBELLUM’S DAVE HAYWOOD FEELS LUCKY TO HAVE ‘A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY.’

    Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood is just over the moon with happiness for his growing family. His wife, Kelli, gave birth to their second child, daughter Lillie Renee, before Christmas.

    “We have our second child, and gosh, she is so precious. Her name is Lillie Renee. Lillie is my mom’s first name actually, and Renee is my mother-in-law’s middle name,” says Dave. “We’ve just been so blessed. She’s been beautiful; she’s sleeping great. She’s eating great; everybody’s healthy and happy. She’s really been a really sweet, easy baby so far. She’s actually sleeping two to three hours a night, which is hard. At the beginning, you’re up most of the night, but she’s been a champ so far and so cute, you know?”

    Dave does admit he’s out of his element when it comes to having a little girl, especially after the past few years with his son, Cash (Sept. 2014). “Getting to kind of, I don’t know, have her little nightgowns and little dresses already is totally new for me. I feel like I’m totally out of my element, but learning so much already. [We’re] just having a blast and so lucky to have such a beautiful family.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd5olBuh8pT/

    Lady Antebellum, who are nominated for an ACM for Group of the Year, is currently making their way up the country charts with their latest song, “Heart Break.”

     

    Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood says his new daughter, Lillie Renee, is just such a sweet and easy baby.

    Download

    Lady A (Dave on Lillie) OC: …beautiful family. :46
    “So, we have our second child, and gosh, she is so precious. Her name is Lillie Renee. Lillie is my mom’s first name actually, and Renee is my mother-in-law’s middle name. We’ve just been so blessed. She’s been beautiful; she’s sleeping great. She’s eating great; everybody’s healthy and happy. She’s really been a really sweet, easy baby so far. She’s actually sleeping two to three hours a night, which is hard. At the beginning, you’re up most of the night, but she’s been a champ so far and so cute, you know? Getting to kind of, I don’t know, have her little nightgowns and little dresses already is totally new for me. I feel like I’m totally out of my element, but learning so much already. [We’re] just having a blast and so lucky to have such a beautiful family.”

    Audio / Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood says his son, Cash, is an excellent big brother to baby sister Lillie Renee.

    Download

    Lady A (Dave-Cash as a big brother) OC: …in love with her. :34
    “Cash loves being a big brother. You know, about once or twice a day, he’ll go over to her and say something really cute and kind of give her a hug and some cuddles and ask to hold her, want to help change a diaper or rock her, and then he goes back to playing with his monster trucks because she doesn’t really play with him. She just lays there. But he’s good for a few minutes a day, he’ll be so sweet and we’ll always try to snag a video of it. But he loves it. He loves telling people he’s a big brother. That’s kind of his thing. At school, he’ll tell everybody, ‘I’m a big brother,’ and it’s just so cute to watch him fall in love with her.”

  • NEWS AND NOTES: Luke, Jon, Lady A, Carrie, Josh, Vince, Strait, Eric

    Luke Bryan is making the media rounds this week. He’ll appear on ABC’s Good Morning America, Live With Kelly and Ryan and Late Night With Seth Meyers on Tuesday (March 6th), followed by an appearance on ABC’s The View on Thursday (March 8th)

    Jon Pardi will perform on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday (March 6th).

    Songs from Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Vince Gill, George Strait, Eric Paslay and many others will be included in the new collection, NOW That’s What I Call Country – Songs of Inspiration. The compilation features inspirational songs from some of country music’s biggest stars and will be released March 16th.

     

    NOW That’s What I Call Country – Songs of Inspiration Track List:

    1. Lady Antebellum – “Hello World”
    2. Tim McGraw – “Touchdown Jesus”
    3. Carrie Underwood – “Jesus, Take The Wheel”
    4. Rascal Flatts – “Bless the Broken Road”
    5. Josh Turner – “Long Black Train”
    6. Alison Krauss – “Down To The River To Pray”
    7. Vince Gill – “Go Rest High On That Mountain”
    8. George Strait – “I Believe”
    9. Alabama – “Angels Among Us”
    10. Brad Paisley featuring Dolly Parton- “When I Get Where I ‘m Going”
    11. Eric Paslay – “Deep As It Is Wide”
    12. Phil Vassar – “This Is God”
    13. Chris Young – “The Man I Want To Be”
    14. Craig Morgan – “God Must Really Love Me”
    15. Brooks and Dunn – “Believe”
    16. Martina McBride – “God’s Will”