Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

Four-time ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan garner’s his 20th career #1 single today as “Most People Are Good” hits the top spot on both the Country Aircheck and Billboard Country Airplay charts. This is Luke’s 12th straight Billboard No. 1, the longest current streak among all artists. “Most People Are Good,” which was written by David Frasier, Ed Hill and Josh Kear, is the second consecutive No. 1 from Luke’s What Makes You Country album.

“I think that ‘Most People Are Good’ might be one of the best songs I’ve ever recorded,” shared Luke in a press release. “I think it’s a song that truly helps people believe in people again. We seem to get reminded every day of all the negativity of what humans are, and truly it’s only .001 percent of people causing all the negativity. I mean, I truly believe that. This song preaches the innocence of children, the beauty of mothers, the beauty of relationships, the beauty of what life truly could be and should be and really is. I think that most people lay their heads down at night and try to be better and try to be good to other people. And this song captures those emotions perfectly.”

The Georgia native was overwhelmed when he was recently told he would most likely have his 20th chart-topper soon. “I tried to really relish every time you have a song at the top of the charts, ‘cause I tell people whether you write ‘em, you find ‘em, it’s still a series of miracles having a No. 1 song,” he says. “You’ve got to have somebody do the miracle of writing a No. 1 song and then you’ve got to go record it right, put it on an album, the label’s got to pick the right one and the people got to get it. I mean, it’s so many series of miracles, and the fact that I’ve had 20 of all those miracles is pretty special.”

Luke, who is nominated at this year’s ACM Awards for Entertainer of the Year, has just returned from his first-ever concerts in Hawaii and also Australia, where he performed sold-out shows in Melbourne and Sydney and played the CMC Rocks Festival.

Luke can be seen as one of three judges on this season’s American Idol Sunday and Monday evenings on ABC.

Lauren Alaina has been named the ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year. She was surprised by a phone call from none other than Reba McEntire who rang her up to give her the news while she was getting ready for a show in Kentucky over the weekend.

Like every post, I’ve got to start with a pun. The best thing that has happened to me in my “McEntire” life. Now that that’s out of the way… I won an ACM. AND @reba called to tell me. Today my country-loving heart is exploding. Thank you to my team. This award is for ALL of us pic.twitter.com/K2eiP2ZkeK

— Lauren Alaina (@Lauren_Alaina) March 26, 2018

“Honest-to-God, it’s the most speechless I’ve ever been,” says Lauren. “Like, I was on the phone with Reba McEntire and could not formulate words. Like I was really feeling dumb, but I sobbed. I’ve cried ever since. It’s the biggest deal ever, and it’s just an accomplishment because my peers voted for it and the people that I respect in this industry voted for it. It’s like a different level of confirmation or something.”

Lauren, who is making her way up the country charts with “Doin’ Fine,” is also nominated for Vocal Event of the Year for “What Ifs,” a duet with buddy Kane Brown.

The 53rd Annual ACM Awards will broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas April 15th at 8pm ET on CBS.

Jordan Davis will perform his Top 5 “Singles You Up” on NBC’s Today Show on Tuesday (March 27th).

Kacey Musgraves is set to perform on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert Thursday (March 29th) on CBS.

Little Big Town recently received the CMA’s International Artist Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a U.S.-based artist who has demonstrated the most significant growth, development and promotion of the Country Music industry outside of the U.S.

I.D. (L to R): Doug Miller, Former Texas State Representative and 52nd Annual Texas Legislative Conference Chair; Texan of the Year George Strait; Mary Jane Nalley, an owner of Gruene Hall; and Robin Jeffers, New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce Board Chair.

Photo Credit: Rick Diamond for Getty Images

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – Iconic entertainer George Strait has been named “Texan of the Year” by the Texas Legislative Conference. At the 52nd annual statewide forum taking place at the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce on Friday, March 23, Strait joined an array of prominent honorees including former U.S. Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, Governors and innovators.

Strait was recognized for his many contributions to the state of Texas throughout the years, particularly within the last year for his role leading recovery efforts following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. The Category 4 hurricane ties Hurricane Katrina as the costliest storm to impact the U.S., inflicting damage of over $125 billion and displacing more than 30,000 residents.

Strait immediately set out organizing relief efforts beginning with the “Hand in Hand” Texas benefit concert and telethon. Calling on friends Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen, the concert, broadcast live from The Majestic Theater in San Antonio last fall, helped directly raise over $22 million towards hurricane recovery.

“I’m so proud to have grown up in the great state of Texas and so proud to be here today to accept this unbelievable honor,” shared Strait who accepted the award in person. “Texas is a big place filled with amazingly talented, smart people. How’d I end up here?” a humbled Strait asked the crowd. “Last year was a tough one for our great state. We’re still continuing to recover and with the help of the many loyal, kindhearted Texans, we will get these communities back on their feet again. It’s never surprising, but always amazing how in times of need, how generous the American people can be.” Strait continued, “I’ve had a great career and always been supported by the people here in Texas. This great honor is the tip top of my list.”

Robin Jeffers, New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce Board Chair then surprised Strait with a proclamation crowing the King of Country with a new title, “A Prince of the City of a Prince” for his dedication to the betterment of their community.

Mary Jane Nalley, a longtime friend of Strait’s and an owner of Gruene Hall noted, “George Strait’s elite work is still ongoing and he sets a fine example of what Texas and Texans are all about.”

In addition to spearheading the benefit concert relief efforts last September, Strait also joined Gov. Greg Abbott in Rockport-Fulton to bring attention to the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Harvey in the Coastal Bend Area.

This May, the reigning Texan of the Year is set to perform to over 50,000 fans at the New Orleans Superdome.

For more information, visit www.GeorgeStrait.com.

the Academy of Country Music revealed its New Female Vocalist of the Year Award-winner, Lauren Alaina. Lauren received the special news with a surprise phone call from one of her heroes and this year’s ACM Awards host, Reba McEntire. View HERE.

 “This award is for so much more than just me,” says Lauren. “This award is for all the people who want to give up- Don’t. This award is proof that you can achieve what you want to achieve and get where you want to go.  Today, all of my dreams have come true.”

This marks the first-ever ACM Award for Lauren, who is also nominated for Vocal Event of the Year for “What Ifs,” a collaboration with her childhood friend, Kane Brown. Additionally, Lauren is scheduled to perform on the 53^rd Annual ACM Awards broadcast airing LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15 at 8pm ET on CBS.

Lauren released her Road Less Traveled album last year and it became the top-streamed female country release of 2017. Lauren is also the only female vocalist to land two No. 1 country radio singles in 2017 with her empowering hit, “Road Less Traveled,” and with the Double Platinum-selling Brown collaboration, “What Ifs.” Currently climbing country radio’s Top 30 is Lauren’s latest, “Doin’ Fine.”

Fans can find Lauren out on the road now with Cole Swindell’s Reason to Drink Tour and this summer, with Jason Aldean’s High Noon Neon Tour.

For more information, visit www.LaurenAlainaOfficial.com.

Click here to go to Jordan Davis’ Home State Album Audio Toolkit.

MCA Nashville’s Jordan Davis releases his highly anticipated debut album, Home State, today. In support of the album release, Jordan will make his national TV debut with NBC’s TODAY on Tuesday, March 27th during the 10AM hour followed by “Late Night With Seth Meyers” Wednesday, April 4th.

The Louisiana native co-wrote every track on Home State, which was produced by Jordan’s good friend Paul DiGiovanni.

“I wanted there to be some type of thread tying everything together and all these songs came from Louisiana, my home state,” says Jordan. “For me, Louisiana was the common thread whether it be the idea, the relationship I was writing about or even meeting my wife in New Orleans. Home State just popped into my head and from that moment I knew that’s what the name of the record needed to be.”

Today is the release of Home State & I couldn't be more proud of this record…Thanks to the fans that have been there from day 1 & to new fans we gained along the way. I hope y'all enjoy this record as much as we enjoyed making it. https://t.co/Rs2d8dI6VY pic.twitter.com/Xu3NvcsFz8

— Jordan Davis Music (@JordanCWDavis) March 23, 2018

Jordan’s debut single “Singles You Up” currently sits at No.5 on the country airplay charts and was recently certified Gold by the RIAA.  “Singles You Up” continues to accumulate impressive streaming numbers after staying on Spotify’s US Viral Chart for over a month and even reaching Spotify’s Global Viral Chart. Earlier this year Jordan landed on several “Artist to Watch” lists including Billboard, Rolling Stone, The Tennessean, Pandora, CMT, Sounds Like Nashville, Whiskey Riff and more.

Jordan is currently touring with Jillian Jacqueline on his first headlining “White Wine and Whiskey Tour.” The singer/songwriter is set to hit the road this summer with Jake Owen and Chris Janson as part of the “Life’s Whatcha Make It Tour” stopping at minor league baseball parks across the country. For a full list of tour dates, news, images and more, visit www.jordandavisofficial.com

Fans can click HERE to listen to Home State.

During Little Big Town’s version of “Rocket Man” – featured on the new tribute album Restoration – you will notice some interesting space sounds, which are from NASA’s Mission Juno to explore the planet Jupiter. The project unlocked some of the secrets of the planet and the sounds from Juno’s Waves radio instrument were weaved throughout LBT’s harmonies on the song. Dr. Scott Bolton, the Principal Investigator for the Juno mission assisted the band in working the Juno data into the music.

“One of the main reasons why we chose ‘Rocket Man’ was because we were so intrigued by not just, of course, Elton John, but by using the sounds from the Juno project so we had all these Jupiter noises,” says LBT’s Karen Fairchild. “We were like what if we did the acapella version of ‘Rocket Man’ on the Elton record, and [producer] Frank Liddell loved that idea, and we were off to the races…” Bandmate Kimberly Schlapman adds, “…or Jupiter.”

“Rocket Man” is just one of the songs from the new album, Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The compilation, available April 6th, also includes songs from Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Brothers Osborne, Dierks Bentley, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and many more.

Little Big Town will help honor Elton’s illustrious career spanning five decades with a TV tribute – Elton John: I’m Still Standing A Grammy Salute – which will air April 10th at 9pm ET/PT on CBS.

Jordan Davis releases his debut album, Home State, on Friday (March 23rd). The collection includes his NOW gold-certified song, “Singles You Up.” Prior to a show last night at Nashville’s legendary Exit/In, he was surprised with a plaque signifying more than 500,000 copies sold/digital downloads of the song.

Photo Credit: Graham Dodd

Pictured L to R: UMG Nashville President Cindy Mabe, UMG Nashville COO Mike Harris, Jordan Davis, UMG Nashville EVP A&R Brian Wright, MCA Nashville VP Promotion Katie Dean, UMG Nashville VP A&R Stephanie Wright, UMG Nashville Chairman & CEO Mike Dungan

The Shreveport, Louisiana native co-wrote all 12 tunes on the album, including a few with his producer Paul DiGiovanni, who’s worked with Blake Shelton, Hunter Hayes and Dan + Shay. Jordan hopes people get to know who he is through his music on the album.

“I really hope that through this album you get a better glimpse into who I am as an artist, you know a glimpse into not only my country influences, but some of my rock influences, some of my R&B influences, and just my love for songwriting. I really feel like we’ve done a good job with the production [and] with the writing of this record, and I hope you feel like you know a little bit more about who I am after listening to it. That’s kinda what I hope you take away with from the Home State album.”
Home State Track List:

1. “Take It From Me” (Jordan Davis, Jason Gantt, Jacob Davis)
   2. “Going ‘Round” (Jordan Davis, Ben Daniel, Pavel Dovgalyuk)
   3. “More Than I Know” (Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Blair Daly)
   4. “Slow Dance In A Parking Lot” (Jordan Davis, Lonnie Fowler)
   5. “Singles You Up” (Jordan Davis, Justin Ebach, Steven Dale Jones)
   6. “Sundowners” (Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins)
   7. “Tough To Tie Down” (Jordan Davis, Jeff Middleton, Seth Ennis)
   8. “Selfish” (Jordan Davis, Jason Gantt, Joshua Wade Door)
   9. “Made That Way” (Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Scooter Carusoe)
   10. “So Do I” (Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Jamie Paulin)
   11. “Dreamed You Did” (Jordan Davis, Shane Minor, Jonathan Singleton)
   12. “Leaving New Orleans” (Jordan Davis, Lonnie Fowler, David Frasier)

   Jordan is on the road in St. Louis this weekend wrapping up his White Wine and Whiskey Tour.

Today marks the release of a brand-new track, “Coming Home,” from Keith Urban’s forthcoming, highly anticipated album GRAFFITI U.  “Coming Home” builds upon a musical exploration that was apparent on both his previous #1 albums FUSE and RIPCORD.  In fact, “Coming Home” not only features the Grammy nominated, multi-platinum artist Julia Michaels, but credits Merle Haggard as a co-writer.

Buy/Stream Link: http://smarturl.it/KU-ComingHome

Lyric Video: http://smarturl.it/ComingHomeLyricVideo

As Urban explains, “Coming Home” started with an idea I had of using the intro of one of my favorite Haggard songs “Mama Tried” – to build an entirely new song around it.  Then, I took the idea to J.R. Rotem and he put some chords around it. I jotted down the first words that the music made me feel, jumped on a mic and sang the chorus.”

“Hearing that rolling Haggard guitar lick sparked memories of my childhood – and my dream to come to America.” added Urban.  “I knew right then the story (of the song) was about the struggles of being in a city where your dreams have brought you, but far from your home –  wherever, whomever and whatever that is for each of us.”

Of Julia Michaels Urban said, “Julia’s writing contribution extended into the idea of the need to want to physically be home. She summed up the whole story in one sentence.  “Yeah, I know it’s only one call away, but it’s not the same.”  For me, that simple phrase said so much, especially when she sang it!

Added Urban, “I called Theresa Haggard and Ben Haggard to play them what we’d been working on.  It was important to me to have their blessing- and I’m so grateful that they love the song.”

“Coming Home” was written by Urban, J.R. Rotem, Julia Michaels, Merle Haggard and Nicolle Galyon and was co-produced by Rotem and Urban.

The 58-city “GRAFFIT U WORLD TOUR 2018,” kicks off on June 15^th at St. Louis’s Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

For more official Keith Urban news and information go to www.keithurban.net.