Hear some of the new music and see exclusive footage from the making of David Nail‘s forthcoming, I’m a Fire. Check out http://www.davidnail.com for more info.

Lady Antebellum have been rehearsing for their upcoming 2014 Take Me Downtown Tour, and one song you can bet will be on their set list is their current single, “Compass.”

“We try to make it a big arena-sized hoedown almost, with mandolin, banjo, fiddle, a lot of cool country elements. So, it was fun to take that, work on a lot of cool vocal parts throughout the song, and it’s got a really upbeat feel to it, like we’ve talked about a lot,” explains Lady A’s Dave Haywood. “We want a lot of energy going into our tour, and we thought ‘Compass’ would be the perfect song for that.”

Kip Moore and Kacey Musgraves are set to join the members of Lady A on their new tour, which will kick off January 10th in Peoria, Illinois,

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood says the band’s latest single, “Compass,” is perfect for their forthcoming 2014 Take Me Downtown Tour.

Lady A (Compass) 2 OC: …for that. :28
“Our manager had sent it to us from some writers in L.A., and we heard it and it felt like it had all the elements of what we love as Lady A, some really cool harmonies, some really cool instrumentation. We try to make it a big arena-sized hoedown almost, with mandolin, banjo, fiddle, a lot of cool country elements. So, it was fun to take that, work on a lot of cool vocal parts throughout the song, and it’s got a really upbeat feel to it, like we’ve talked about a lot. We want a lot of energy going into our tour, and we thought ‘Compass’ would be the perfect song for that.”

Darius Rucker attributes his success in both the country and pop music worlds to the radio. The South Carolina native would listen to everything from Kenny Rogers to Boston and everything in-between. “I was always a radio kid,” says Darius. “That’s the reason I’ve had success in rock and pop and now in country, ‘cause it was always just music to me. It was never hip hop or country or rock, it was just music. It was people playing the same notes, just saying different words, and so I always looked at it that way. That’s why I’m sitting here right now, I think.”

Darius’ latest Top 5 single, “Radio,” is from his current album, True Believers.

He’ll kick off his True Believers Tour, with special guests Eli Young Band and David Nail in Champaign, Illinois January 29th.

Darius Rucker (what he listened to on the radio) OC: …I think. :29
“I was always a radio kid, you know. It was everything from Boston to Kenny Rogers to I guess since I was 17, it was a little bit of everything, whatever I liked on the radio. That’s the reason I’ve had success in rock and pop and now in country, ‘cause it was always just music to me. It was never hip hop or country or rock, it was just music. It was people playing the same notes, just saying different words, and so I always looked at it that way. That’s why I’m sitting here right now, I think.”

Eric Paslay thanks you for a great 2013, and is looking forward to an amazing 2014!

Wishing everyone a Happy and safe New Year! Can’t wait to get back on the road to the US and Canada in a few weeks!

Jon Pardi looks back at “the end of the world” and his trip to Chicago in the latest episode of My Name is Jon.

Pre-order Jon’s debut album, “Write you A Song, on iTunes: http://t.co/qt544Aawe4

Keith Urban has just released his new single, “Cop Car,” the follow-up to his previous two No. 1 singles, “Little Bit of Everything” and “We Were Us.” The song was written by Zach Crowell, Matt Jenkins and Sam Hunt, and Keith just knew he had to record the song before anyone else could cut it.

“It’s a beautiful song about a guy and girl, falling in love in the back of a cop car while they’re getting arrested,” says Keith. “I’d never heard a song written from this perspective before. But it was so visual, it was such a cinematic, visual song, and God, I love this song so much. I love the melody, the lyric of course, and I know this girl, and I know this crazy girl in the song too.”

After the holidays, Keith’s schedule will be quite hectic as he returns to the road January 9th in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the next leg of his Light the Fuse Tour, as well returning to American Idol. The new season makes its debut with a two-night, four-our premiere January 15th-16th at 8pm ET.

Keith Urban (Cop Car) OC: …this song. :32
“It’s a beautiful song about a guy and girl, falling in love in the back of a cop car while they’re getting arrested. I’d never heard a song written from this perspective before. But it was so visual, it was such a cinematic, visual song, and God, I love this song so much. I love the melody, the lyric of course, and I know this girl, and I know this crazy girl in the song too. Sad to say, I know that crazy, psychotic girl. I just absolutely had to cut this song.”

Little Big Town, who are nominated for CMA Vocal Group of the Year, will hit video outlets this week with the new clip for “Shut Up Train,” a song from their current album, The Reason Why. The group didn’t write it, but when they first heard it, they knew it had to be theirs to record. “That’s one of my favorite tracks on the record, and it’s all in the simplicity of it,” says LBT’s Jimi Westbrook. “It’s very sparse, but there’s a lot of emotion.” Karen Fairchild, who sings lead on the song, is a huge fan of the imagery of the song. “I just really thought it was a beautiful way to connect it to pain or a reminder of a painful moment or a lost love or just anything that you’re battling with in your head,” she explains. “With the vocal, it’s me talking to another person or having a conversation in my head reflecting.”

Check out a Behind-the-Scenes look at the making of the video for “Shut Up Train” below. The clip will be available on Tuesday (September 13th).

Keith Urban joined his wife, Nicole Kidman, at Sunday night’s Golden Globe Awards. Nicole was added to the list of presenters for the show.

Luke Bryan started off his performance of his latest platinum hit, “Drunk on You,” sitting alone on a stool with just his guitar, before the band launched into the song bringing up the heat in the auditorium several notches. The superstar’s tourmate, Jason Aldean, sang along to the song and near the end of the tune, Luke gave away his acoustic guitar to one lucky female fan. When he finished the song, Luke beamed his million-watt smile, making the ladies swoon. 

Little Big Town boarded a real pontoon boat to perform their latest hit, aptly titled “Pontoon.” Extras in tubes “floated” around the boat and others went down the slide, while some just grooved with their “beverages” on the boat. The audience (including Lady A’s Charles Kelley and Jake Owen with wife Lacey) thoroughly enjoyed the song — standing, singing and dancing in place. The video of the song is now available on iTunes.