Go behind-the-scenes with this year’s ACM Awards hosts Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley when they get together with the CBS promo crew!
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LUKE BRYAN AND DIERKS BENTLEY MAKE THE ROUNDS TO PROMOTE THE ACM AWARDS.
As we get closer to Sunday night’s ACM Awards, Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley are making the media rounds to promote their second time (Luke’s fifth) hosting the show. On Wednesday (March 29th), they appeared on both CBS This Morning and the Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where they had some “couch time” and performed Merle Haggard‘s “Ramblin’ Fever” (see below).
The 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Sunday (April 2nd) at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.
Video / Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley talk to Stephen Colbert
ViewVideo / Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley perform Merle Haggard's "Ramblin' Fever."
ViewVideo / Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley appear on CBS This Morning.
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THE ACM AWARDS REVEALS PRESENTERS AND COOL COLLABORATIONS.
Lauren Alaina, Darius Rucker and Kacey Musgraves have been added to the list of presenters at this year’s ACM Awards.
Also announced were some cool collaborations, including Keith Urban with Carrie Underwood on their current duet “The Fighter.” Dierks Bentley will join Cole Swindell on “Flatliner,” Cole’s new duet with Dierks.
The 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Dierks, will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Sunday (April 2nd) at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.
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NEWS AND NOTES: Darius, Keith, LBT, Brothers Osborne
Darius Rucker will be featured on NBC’s Today Show on Thursday (March 30th), previewing his CMT Hometown Heroes visit to the MUSC Children’s Hospital, which will premiere on Friday (March 31st) at 10pm ET.
Keith Urban will headline the 2017 NCAA March Madness Music Festival in Phoenix on Friday (March 31st).
Little Big Town have been tapped to appear on HBO’s Sesame Street on April 29th.
Brothers Osborne shot the video for their latest single, “It Ain’t My Fault,” in Nashville this week. Be looking for the clip to premiere in the coming weeks.
That's a wrap! #itaintmyfault pic.twitter.com/3t10zcUWn5
— Brothers Osborne (@brothersosborne) March 30, 2017
It Ain't My Fault pic.twitter.com/RfBWrWd0sf
— Brothers Osborne (@brothersosborne) March 29, 2017
It Ain't My Fault pic.twitter.com/yWfF5vXCAl
— Brothers Osborne (@brothersosborne) March 29, 2017
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ACM AWARDS 2017
Keith Urban leads list of ACM Awards nominations with seven in five categories, including his seventh nod for Entertainer of the Year and 10th nod for Male Vocalist of the Year. Keith is nominated twice, as both artist and producer, in the Album of the Year category for Ripcord. He received an additional two nominations, for both artist and producer, in the Single Record of the Year category for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which is also nominated in the Song of the Year category.
ACM Awards co-host Dierks Bentley received three nominations, including his fourth nomination in the Male Vocalist of the Year category. Also, Dierks received his third nod in the Album of the Year category for Black, and his second nod in the Vocal Event of the Year category for “Different For Girls,” featuring Elle King, which the pair won at last year’s CMA Awards.
Reigning ACM Male Vocalist of the Year Chris Stapleton is nominated in three categories. Once again, Stapleton is nominated in both the Male Vocalist of the Year category, and the Song of the Year category with “Tennessee Whiskey.” Also, Stapleton received a nod in the Video of the Year category for “Fire Away,” which stars actors Ben Foster (Lone Survivor, Inferno) and Margarita Levieva (Revenge, The Blacklist). The video concept, which Chris envisioned, centered on mental health issues and helped raise awareness for the Campaign to Change Direction. The video has also picked up an award in the same category at last year CMA Awards.
Luke Bryan and Keith Urban are among the Entertainer of the Year nominees, along with Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean.
The 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley, will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas April 2nd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.
Following is the list of final nominees and find audio with many of the nominees below.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Florida Georgia Line
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Dierks Bentley
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
Maren Morris
Carrie Underwood
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich
Brothers Osborne
Dan & Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie & TaeVOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Old Dominion
Rascal FlattsNEW MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE — WON
Jon Pardi
NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE — WONBrothers Osborne
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]Black – Dierks Bentley
Dig Your Roots – Florida Georgia Line
HERO – Maren MorrisRipcord – Keith Urban
The Weight of These Wings – Miranda LambertSingle Record of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Blue Ain’t Your Color – Keith Urban
H.O.L.Y. – Florida Georgia LineHumble And Kind – Tim McGraw
My Church – Maren Morris
Vice – Miranda Lambert
SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Blue Ain’t Your Color – Keith Urban
Songwriters: Clint Lagerberg, Hillary Lindsey, Steven Lee Olsen
Die A Happy Man – Thomas Rhett
Songwriters: Thomas Rhett, Sean Douglas, Joe SpargurHumble And Kind – Tim McGraw
Songwriter: Lori McKennaKill A Word – Eric Church Featuring Rhiannon Giddens
Songwriters: Eric Church, Luke Dick, Jeff Hyde
Tennessee Whiskey – Chris Stapleton
Songwriters: Dean Dillon, Linda HargroveVice – Miranda Lambert
Songwriters: Miranda Lambert, Shane McAnally, Josh OsborneVideo of the Year PRESENTED BY XFINITY [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
Fire Away – Chris Stapleton
Forever Country – Artists of Then, Now & Forever
Humble And Kind – Tim McGraw
Peter Pan – Kelsea BalleriniVice – Miranda Lambert
Vocal Event of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Different For Girls – Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King
Forever Country – Artists of Then, Now & Forever
May We All – Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw
Setting The World On Fire – Kenny Chesney Featuring P!nk
Think Of You – Chris Young Featuring Cassadee Pope
Audio / Keith Urban, who is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, says he loves playing live.
DownloadKeith Urban (ACM Entertainer of the Year) OC: …extraordinary. :20
“I’ve always loved putting on concerts and tours and shows and really trying to put on something that’s incredibly entertaining and engaging, so I probably obsess about that part of what I do equal to making records, for sure. So, to get that nomination, along with the Album at this point, is extraordinary.”Audio / Keith Urban’s Ripcord is nominated for Album of the Year at this year’s ACM Awards, and he says he loves making records.
DownloadKeith Urban (what made Ripcord) OC: …made Ripcord. :17
“I love making music I love making records. I really do, and I’m curious and passionate and hungry about where my art can go. That’s really what drives me completely and it’s what made Ripcord.”Audio / Keith Urban explains the first time he heard his multi-week No. 1 song, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which is nominated for both ACM Single and Song of the Year.
DownloadKeith Urban (1st time he heard Blue) OC: …in the studio. :31
“I just know when I heard ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’ for the first time, it just struck me as one of those rare songs that encompass so many things in it. I couldn’t even label what it was, what style it was. It’s got a bit of soul, it’s got a bit of blues, it’s got a bit of country, it’s got just a big mix of all good things. Lyrically, it’s just an incredible song, incredible song. [It’s got] great melody, great lyric. I was so hopin’ I could do the song justice when we got in the studio.”Audio / Luke Bryan talks about being named Entertainer of the Year from both the ACM Awards and CMA Awards.
DownloadLuke 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 / Dierks Bentley says his ACM-nominated album, Black, shows a lot of growth and maturity.
DownloadDierks Bentley (growth in album) OC: …understand it. :56
“The record when people listen to it, they’re gonna hear right away that it’s about relationships and hopefully, project their own history and storyline and relationships into this particular album. For me, it has a thread of this guy who starts off in this one place with the song ‘Black,’ kind of in the moment with this one girl and then the cracks and the fissures start to show themselves. The next song, ‘Pick Up,’ you have this desperation and then ‘I’ll Be the Moon,’ there’s some deception going on, and then it just kind of goes from there. It’s a real story about just the highs and lows and really the maturity that I guess I go through, this singer goes through, throughout the album. You know the same guy that’s singing ‘Somewhere on a Beach,’ by the end of the record is singing a song called ‘Different for Girls,’ where he’s obviously matured enough to see that there is a different way that girls and guys handle breakups sometimes and there’s also a stereotype that goes along with that unfortunately, as well, too. A lot of growth throughout the record, but it’s all about relationships and this one person’s journey through love and trying to understand it.”Audio / Eric Church is nominated for Song of the Year for his recent Top 5 single, “Kill a Word,” Featuring Rhiannon Giddens. He cowrote the song with Luke Dick and Jeff Hyde, and it strikes a chord with how the world is today.
DownloadEric Church (Kill a Word) OC: …positive way. :34
“‘Kill a Word’ is as proud I’ve ever been as a songwriter, not only because of a turn of phrase and the way the lyrics are, but just the message. I think that the society that we live in today, if you don’t hear this song and look around and see how it relates to the world we live in, then I can’t help you, because it’s so true with everything that’s going on. It’s one of those songs that strikes a chord that I know in my career we’ve never struck, and I hope it strikes something for a lot of people in a positive way.”
Audio / Chris Stapleton explains why he recorded his ACM-Nominated Song of the Year, “Tennessee Whiskey,” which appears on his double-platinum album, Traveller.
DownloadChris Stapleton (Tennessee Whiskey) OC: …version of it. :41
“‘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.”Audio / Chris Stapleton talks about his ACM-nominated Music Video of the Year, “Fire Away.”
DownloadChris Stapleton (Fire Away CMA video) OC: …the video. 1:03
“The label kept asking me if I was going to do a video for the record, and they kept asking what I wanted to do. We were in this meeting hall at the label, and I said, ‘Here’s what I want to do. Here’s the idea,’ and I got dead silence out of it, and they thought I was a crazy man for a minute. Then they went back and thought about it and everybody got on board with it and we found Tim who was a remarkable director to direct, and I had this crazy idea to get Ben Foster in the video and I didn’t know him at all [laughs] at the time, and he was kind enough to do it. He brought in the actual reason for doing it, which was to raise the awareness. I had the idea for a storyline, and then everything happened very organically with that video and he brought Margarita in to play the female role in that video. It became something hopefully that has value beyond just being a video for the sake of doing a video. That’s what I liked about the video.”Audio / Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley said he and his bandmates will never take an awards nomination for granted.
DownloadLady Antebellum (Charles happy to be nominated) OC: …means a lot. :31
“Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean you can’t take that for granted. There’s always going to be a new crop of groups and musicians that … and there should be. That’s what the music business is about. That’s what fans want. I mean, I always want something new. I’m always craving it, and so hopefully all this stuff kind of as groups and as artists helps motivate you to be creative and come up with something unique and different. So we never take it for granted because there will be a time when we won’t be in those categories and you know, so, you’re still in the game; you’re still playing on a pretty high level and so that means a lot.”
Audio / Carrie Underwood talks about "Forever Country," which is nominated for ACM Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year.
DownloadCarrie Underwood (Forever Country song) OC: …without her. :35
“Well, I think the all three song choices were perfect. When I kind of first heard the idea of them mashing up ‘I Will Always Love You,’ ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ and ‘On The Road Again’ I was like, ‘How’s that gonna work?,’ because they’re three very different songs by three very different artists. I’m honored to be a part of it and to be singing parts on ‘I Will Always Love You,’ which I actually do in my tour set. So, it’s perfect. And it’s perfect…it’s perfect that Dolly ends it too. It wouldn’t have been right for us to do it without her.”Audio / Kacey Musgraves talks about the ACM-nominated "Forever Country."
DownloadKacey Musgraves talks about being a part of “Forever Country.”
Kacey Musgraves (Forever Country song) OC: …pretty special. :30
“This project is crazy. I really respect the roots of the genre, the traditions of it. I just really love it. So it’s been really fun for me to take that, which inspires me, and mix it with my own new ideas, and me as a 27-year-old girl in 2016 and make it my own thing. So, being a part of this song, a song with my peers but also with these amazing icons and legends is pretty special.” -
LUKE BRYAN ENJOYS HIS HANGTIME WITH DIERKS BENTLEY PREPPING FOR THEIR HOSTING DUTIES AT THIS YEAR’S ACM AWARDS.
Luke Bryan is getting prepared to host this year’s ACM Awards with Dierks Bentley, and he’s really enjoying the time he gets to spend with his old friend and labelmate.
“Certainly when I was hosting with Blake [Shelton] and now with Dierks [Bentley] is it puts us in a situation where we’re hanging out with one another, and we can go to dinner and do things that we wouldn’t necessarily be able to fit into our schedules,” says Luke. “So, that’s the main thing, get out there and enjoy hanging out, hanging out together and start building the intro of the show and make sure we’re doing a great job hosting.”
Luke says he wants to make sure Country Music is represented in the best light possible. “With us, we look back at last year and we learned a lot as he and I being co-hosts together and just try to make sure we refine some things and obviously do a great job hosting and make the show really represent country music like it ought to be.”
Catch Luke and Dierks on both CBS This Morning and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday (March 29th) talking about the ACM Awards.
Luke, who is also nominated for Entertainer of the Year, is poised to top the country charts with his latest single, “Fast.”
The 52nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas April 2nd at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.
Audio / Luke Bryan talks about hosting this year’s ACM Awards with his pal Dierks Bentley.
DownloadLuke Bryan (ACM hosting 2017) OC: …it oughta be. :43
“Certainly when I was hosting with Blake [Shelton] and now with Dierks [Bentley] is it puts us in a situation where we’re hanging out with one another, and we can go to dinner and do things that we wouldn’t necessarily be able to fit into our schedules. So, that’s the main thing, get out there and enjoy hanging out, hanging out together and start building the intro of the show and make sure we’re doing a great job hosting. With us, we look back at last year and we learned a lot as he and I being co-hosts together and just try to make sure we refine some things and obviously do a great job hosting and make the show really represent country music like it ought to be.”Audio / Luke Bryan talks about what fans can expect from him and Dierks Bentley at this year’s ACM Awards.
DownloadLuke Bryan (ACM hosting 2017) 2 OC: …good laughs. :26
“We’ve got some fun stuff in store. We brought some new writers in too with some of the jokes and stuff like that. The main thing is just sitting down with the script, checking it out, and then like I said, making sure Dierks and I put our little stamp and our little way we would say the jokes, but there’s always a lot of current stuff that you could bounce off of that always seem to get good laughs.”Video /
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ERIC PASLAY BEGINS LONG TERM PARTNERSHIP WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.
EMI Records Nashville recording artist Eric Paslay will begin a long term partnership with Habitat for Humanity as they launch their first national cause campaign in April, “Home is the Key.” The campaign will lend support and raise awareness of the transformational impact a decent, affordable home can have on a family and community. Eric is an avid DYI craftsman and has participated in multiple home builds with Habitat in the past.“The thing I love the most about country music is it has to do with the soul and family; going back to the good things that built you,” says Eric. “I think everything Habitat for Humanity is about is helping others. Understanding the values of not just having a house but building a home and coming together as a community.”“We all need decent shelter to thrive, and yet many in the U.S. live in inadequate housing conditions, creating a significant barrier to opportunity, success and health,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “’Home is the Key’ reminds us that home is more than just bricks and mortar. A home unlocks the opportunity for a better life and we hope people see that, by donating to Habitat, they’re opening the door to strength and stability for millions of families who need a hand up.”Through the month-long campaign, Habitat aims to raise awareness of the critical need for affordable housing in the U.S. and around the world, and to inspire people to join in its efforts by donating or using their voice in support of affordable housing. The campaign will culminate at the end of April in Habitat’s hometown of Atlanta with Nissan and the Heisman Trophy Trust for the 5th annual Heisman House Build.Through “Home is the Key” consumers can help Habitat’s efforts by purchasing products from participating retail partners, sharing #HomeIsTheKey on social media, or donating at habitat.org. Nissan, At Home Stores, BLACK+DECKER, Kum & Go Convenience Stores, HSN Cares, Ballard Designs and Sur La Table Stores have all joined the campaign.To learn how to get involved with “Home is the Key” and more about the month-long activations, visit habitat.org/homeisthekey.About Eric PaslayEMI 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 earned nominations for GRAMMY Best Country Song, ACM Song of the Year and CMA Song of The Year for “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” in 2013 and earned his first 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. Eric was also honored with an ACM Song of the Year nomination for “She Don’t Love You” at last year’s show in Las Vegas. 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 Paslay go to: www.ericpaslay.comAbout Habitat for HumanityDriven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity began in 1976 as a grassroots effort on a community farm in southern Georgia. The Christian housing organization has since grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in nearly 1,400 communities throughout the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org -
CARRIE UNDERWOOD SIGNS WORLDWIDE DEAL WITH UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP.
Universal Music Group announced a new worldwide recording agreement with seven-time GRAMMY® Award winner and two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year nominee, Carrie Underwood, on Tuesday (March 28th). Underwood’s label home will be Capitol Records Nashville, one of four labels that form Universal Music Group Nashville, and Billboard country label of the year for eight consecutive years.
Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group said, “I’m so thrilled that Carrie has decided to make Capitol Records Nashville and UMG her home globally. As a talented writer, recording artist, performer and actor, Carrie is that exceptionally rare artist who can do it all. I know I speak on behalf of our teams around the world when I say that we look forward to executing her creative vision and bringing her musical career to the next level.”
Mike Dungan, Universal Music Group Nashville Chairman and CEO shares, “Already a top tier force in country music, Carrie’s vast talents and creative bravery show that she is an artist who is prepared to take on a wide range of artistic challenges. We are excited for the future, and honored by her decision to make Universal Music Group her label partner in representing this worldwide superstar in the next phase of her career.”
UMG Nashville President, Cindy Mabe was part of the team who launched Carrie’s first album, the eight times platinum, Some Hearts. “When I decided to take my position with Capitol Records in 2007, personally one of the hardest people for me to leave behind was Carrie Underwood,” explains Mabe. “We were a team and I had the opportunity to watch her leave American Idol as a kid and mature into one of the most important artists with the most powerful voice in music. It was amazing to be a small part of that ride. I am so proud and humbled that she has chosen to sign with Universal Music Group Nashville and that we will once again join forces as she writes the next chapter of her soaring career as a global superstar of enormous integrity and talent.”
Underwood states, “It’s so inspiring to me as an artist to feel this excited about the future. The incredible team at UMG shares the heart and passion I have for music as well as the drive, and their innovative spirit has shown that together the possibilities are endless.”
“I also want to be sure to thank every single person who has played a part in my recording career so far. I will be forever grateful to them for all we achieved together,” adds Underwood.
Carrie Underwood emerged from the promise of her 2005 American Idol win to become a true multi-format, multi-media superstar, spanning achievements in music, television, and film. A seven-time GRAMMY® Award winner, she has amassed over 100 major honors, sold 64 million records worldwide, and recorded 25 #1 singles, 13 of which she co-wrote, with a catalog of songs that have been streamed more than 2.6 billion times worldwide. The first female artist to be twice named the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year, Underwood was recognized by Pollstar as the top female country touring artist for each of her headlining tours in 2008, 2010, 2012, and for 2016’s “The Storyteller Tour – Stories in the Round.” Carrie also topped Billboard’s Top 25 Tours of 2016 as the leading female country artist and was the leading female artist on Country Aircheck’s top country radio performers list for her success in both 2015 and 2016. All five studio albums, Some Hearts, Carnival Ride, Play On, Blown Away and Storyteller – are certified Platinum or multi-Platinum, and each an American Music Awards winner as Favorite Country Album – and tallied an incredible 40 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. The RIAA’s highest certified country album artist to debut this century, Underwood also holds the distinction of the highest album certification of any country artist to emerge since 2000 with the 8x Multi-Platinum success of her 2005 debut, Some Hearts. She is the all-time Top Country Artist (male or female) on RIAA’s Digital Single Ranking, also placing her among the Top 5 females in the history of RIAA’s Digital Single Program across all genres. In December of 2014, she released her Platinum-certified Greatest Hits: Decade #1, which produced two new #1 hits co-written by Underwood, including the RIAA-Platinum, GRAMMY-winning “Something in the Water.” 2016 marked Underwood’s fourth season as the voice of primetime television’s #1 program, Sunday Night Football, and in November, she returned for a ninth consecutive year as co-host of the CMA Awards. The Grand Ole Opry member also demonstrated her diversity in 2013, starring as Maria von Trapp in NBC’s three-hour holiday blockbuster, the Emmy®-winning The Sound of Music Live!, whose airings attracted 44 million viewers. The reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Underwood recently claimed her fourth win in the category amid the ongoing success of her chart-topping fifth studio album, Storyteller – the only country album to launch to Platinum certification since the time of its release in October of 2015.
Universal Music Group Nashville consists of Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville. Reading like a “who’s who” of Music Row, the combined rosters include Alan Jackson, Billy Currington, Brandon Lay, Brothers Osborne, Canaan Smith, Chris Stapleton, Clare Dunn, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Easton Corbin, Eric Church, Eric Paslay, Gary Allan, George Strait, Haley Georgia, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Josh Turner, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kip Moore, Lady Antebellum, Lauren Alaina, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Mickey Guyton, Sam Hunt, Shania Twain, Sugarland, The Band Perry and Vince Gill.
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DARIUS RUCKER GOES BACK TO CHARLESTON FOR CMT’S HOMETOWN HEROES.
Darius Rucker goes back to the University of South Carolina’s Children’s Hospital Friday (March 31st) as part of CMT’s Hometown Heroes special. He helped to remodel the teen center/lounge, complete with state of the art TVs and selfie stations.
MUSC is a place Darius is very familiar with because his mother worked there when he was growing up.
“The CMT Hometown Heroes thing was unbelievable. I mean, being on the board of the children’s hospital and we have that great atrium that’s for the kids. When they asked us what they could do for us, when Dodge Ram and CMT asked what they could do for us, what we wanted was for a place for the teens to go,” says Darius. “The hospital means so much to me because my mom worked there for 30 years, and to be there and to be able to give something like that back and to do a whole show around it with CMT, which is gonna do nothing but help us with donations to help us building a new hospital, I can’t thank them enough.”
CMT’s Hometown Heroes, which also features Chris Stapleton and Brett Eldredge airs Friday at 10pm ET.
Audio / Darius Rucker talks about CMT’s Hometown Heroes television special, which goes back to the University of South Carolina’s Children’s Hospital.
DownloadDarius Rucker (Hometown Heroes) OC: …thank them enough. :51
“The CMT Hometown Heroes thing was unbelievable. I mean, being on the board of the children’s hospital and we have that great atrium that’s for the kids. When they asked us what they could do for us, when Dodge Ram and CMT asked what they could do for us, what we wanted was for a place for the teens to go. A lot of teenagers didn’t want to go to the atrium because it was so kiddy, it was for the little kids. For CMT to come in there to build a teen center, a teen room for the kids with great TVs and a karaoke machine and selfie station and all the stuff they’ve got to do, the kids are using it like crazy right now. The hospital means so much to me because my mom worked there for 30 years, and to be there and to be able to give something like that back and to do a whole show around it with CMT, which is gonna do nothing but help us with donations to help us building a new hospital, I can’t thank them enough.” -
LADY ANTEBELLUM’S LOOKING FOR A FEW HORN PLAYERS.
Lady Antebellum will amplify the “dazzling horn section” (Associated Press) found on the lead single “You Look Good” off their forthcoming sixth studio album HEART BREAK (Capitol Nashville), available June 9th, when they bring their headlining YOU LOOK GOOD WORLD TOUR back to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Sept. 9th. Through an innovative social media campaign, horn players can submit a video with their rendition of Lady A’s Top 20 hit by using the hashtag #YOULOOKGOODonstage. The band will hand-select winners to join them in Music City. All fans can purchase tickets to the show beginning this Friday (3/31) at www.ladyantebellum.com.
Dubbed by Rolling Stone as “the most groove-driven song they’ve ever recorded,” Lady A’s “sassy new single” offers “glossy harmonies” (USA Today) with “snappy funk drums” (LA Times). The seven-time Grammy award winner’s “renewed energy” (People) follows more than 18 million units, nine No. One hits, ACM and CMA “Vocal Group of the Year” trophies three years in a row, and countless other honors including Billboard Music Awards, People’s Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards. Lady A will next hit more than 65 shows in six countries on their YOU LOOK GOOD WORLD TOUR, presented by NABISCO launching May 26 with special guests Kelsea Ballerini and Brett Young. For more information about new music and upcoming tour dates, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.
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