There are just a few days before Sam Hunt releases his debut album, Montevallo, to the world, and it features his soon-to-be chart-topping hit, “Leave the Night On,” plus nine other songs he co-wrote. The title of the album is pretty unusual, and he tells us it’s the name of a little town in Alabama.

“Montevallo is the name of a town south of Birmingham, about 20-30 minutes. I had never spent any time there, but went to school for several years in Birmingham and met a girl from Montevallo just as I was leaving to head to Nashville,” says Sam. “Over the course of the next several years as I was on this journey musically, figuring out the songwriting thing and doing all the things that led up to this moment, I was writing songs that were inspired by the experiences I was living, and the girl from Montevallo had a lot to do with that and a lot of influence came from her and came from experiences in that town, came from other people in that town. It’s just a word that when I see it or when I hear someone else say it, it has a whole new emotion attached to it, than when I first left Birmingham, and that’s the same emotion that I get when I read the track listing on the record.”

Sam moved to Birmingham from his native Georgia to attend school before moving to Nashville to pursue his musical career. He’s currently out on the road with Kip Moore on the CMT On Tour: Up in Smoke trek.

Sam Hunt (Montevallo title) 1 OC: …tap into. 1:07
“Montevallo is the name of a town south of Birmingham, about 20-30 minutes. I had never spent any time there, but went to school for several years in Birmingham and met a girl from Montevallo just as I was leaving to head to Nashville. Over the course of the next several years as I was on this journey musically, figuring out the songwriting thing and doing all the things that led up to this moment, I was writing songs that were inspired by the experiences I was living, and the girl from Montevallo had a lot to do with that and a lot of influence came from her and came from experiences in that town, came from other people in that town. It’s just a word that when I see it or when I hear someone else say it, it has a whole new emotion attached to it, than when I first left Birmingham, and that’s the same emotion that I get when I read the track listing on the record. So, there’s just a connection between all those songs and the album title personally. Hopefully, even though people might not be aware of that story, there’s just somehow subliminally, there’s a connection there that they’re able to tap into.”

Little Big Town released their album, Pain Killer, this week. Anchored by their current Top 10 hit, “Day Drinking,” the album boasts several key life-affirming tracks, including “Quit Breaking Up With Me,” the title track, “Girl Crush” and “Turn the Lights On,” which the band can certainly identify with and even use to help other artists who have given up.

“We were talking about when you’re chasing something that you want to do as an artist, and you get knocked down or you’re gonna get rejected, you have to decide what you’re gonna do at that moment,” explains LBT’s Karen Fairchild. “You’re either gonna pick yourself up and be a better artist, better person, or you’re just gonna lie down and take it and just go away. We see it happen all the time. So many talented people come to Nashville and some quit, and they might be the best singers and songwriters and they just give up, because they get knocked down a couple of times.”

If Little Big Town had done that when they lost a record deal…or three…it would have been a very sad day in Nashville to not hear these four voices blend and soar as they were born to do.

Little Big Town, who is nominated for CMA Vocal Group of the Year, will sing the National Anthem at Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals on Friday (October 24th) beginning at 8pm ET on FOX.

LBT (Turn the Lights On) 2 OC: …that song. :47
KAREN: “We were talking about when you’re chasing something that you want to do as an artist, and you get knocked down or you’re gonna get rejected, you have to decide what you’re gonna do at that moment. You’re either gonna pick yourself up and be a better artist, better person, or you’re just gonna lie down and take it and just go away. We see it happen all the time. So many talented people come to Nashville and some quit, and they might be the best singers and songwriters and they just give up, because they get knocked down a couple of times. And we were talking about that…that was kind of the inspiration behind the lyrical content of that song.”

The members of Little Big Town are on the West Coast set to perform the National Anthem prior to Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals on Friday (October 24th). The game and performance will be broadcast live beginning at 8pm ET on FOX.

Alan Jackson has been added to the list of performers at this year’s CMA Country Christmas TV special. He’s joined by Brad Paisley and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler on the show, which airs December 1st on ABC. Previously announced performers include Jennifer Nettles (also hosting the show), Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood, Hunter Hayes and Sara Evans. The show will be taped November 7th at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, and tickets are still available through Ticketmaster.

Luke Bryan and Keith Urban will be honored as two of CMT’s Artists of the Year. They’re joined by Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line and Miranda Lambert during the 90-minute special that promises star-studded performances, honoring each artist’s success over the past year. The show will be broadcast live from Nashville on December 2nd at 8pm ET.

The members of Lady Antebellum stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show to perform their new single, “Freestyle,” and while they were there, they played parts in the first episode of a new skit series with Ellen DeGeneres and actor Bill Murray called “The Mattress Firm.” Go to EllenTV.com to watch it. 

Keith Urban is back as a judge for his third season of American Idol, which begins airing after the first of the year. He, along with Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Ryan Seacrest (as host), are currently crisscrossing the country for the audition process. Last year’s judges’ panel seemed to really click and they all became friends, and Keith says it feels like no time has passed since they were behind the desks. The “Somewhere in My Car” singer has also noticed some great talent coming through this year.

“This season, I think we’re finding some really strong talent,” says Keith. “It’s all [in] the journey. You find these diamonds in the rough, or sometimes you just find straight-out [snaps] diamonds, and I love watching the journey of them.”

Keith is nominated for four CMA Awards this year, including Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Album of the Year for Fuse and Musical Event of the Year for “We Were Us” with Miranda Lambert. The 48th Annual CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 4th at 8pm ET

Keith Urban (American Idol auditions 2014) OC: …great moments. :39
“Well, it felt like we never stopped. I think when we first met here in Nashville, and I hadn’t seen Harry or Jen and Ryan for a month, I guess. It felt like no time had passed at all, and boom, we’re back behind the desk and people are singing in front of us, and it was like, ‘Whoa! What the…’ It’s so fluid working with them, working with all of them. And this season, I think we’re finding some really strong talent. So, I think it’s, it’s all [in] the journey. You find these diamonds-in-the-rough, or sometimes you just find straight-out [snaps] diamonds, and I love watching the journey of them, and then looking their audition tapes a few months down the track, going, ‘What the hell was I wearing? What was I thinking?’ Those are great moments.”

NASHVILLE – “The 48^th Annual CMA Awards” will present genre-crossing duet performances by Ariana Grande and Meghan Trainor who will perform with Little Big Town and Miranda Lambert respectively. “Pretty Little Liars” actress and DMG Nashville recording artist Lucy Hale will be joining the evening as a presenter live, Wednesday, Nov. 5 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on the ABC Television Network.

Hosted for the seventh consecutive year by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, Country Music’s Biggest Night™ will also feature superstar performances by Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw, Kacey Musgraves, Paisley, Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, Underwood, and Keith Urban.

Grande will be joining two-time CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town for an on-air collaboration. Within less than a year, Grande captured No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 twice—first with her Republic Records debut Yours Truly and also with its 2014 follow-up My Everything.

Trainor will team up with nine-time nominee and reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Lambert. This dynamic duo’s performance of Trainor’s “All About That Bass” is sure to be a must see moment. Singer/songwriter Trainor has written songs for such stars as Rascal Flatts before skyrocketing to success with her international hit “All About That Bass,” which has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the past six weeks.

While Hale made her mark early on as an actress, best known for her role on the hit ABC Family drama “Pretty Little Liars,” music was always her first love. The Memphis born and bred singer’s debut album, Road Between, was released by DMG Nashville on June 3 and features her brand new single, “Lie A Little Better.” Hale will also be performing on “CMA Country Christmas,” a two-hour special airing Monday, Dec. 1 (8:00-10:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Winners of “The 48^th Annual CMA Awards” will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting members of the Country Music Association. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Monday, Oct. 27 (5:00 PM/CT).