Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

Keith Urban returns to the judges’ table when the new season of American Idol premieres Wednesday (January 7th). You’ll see a few changes to the show, such as when the Idol hopefuls head to the West Coast.

“We sent over 200 people through to Hollywood, then we narrowed it down, of course, and then even further down to get to our Top 48. And those 48 guys and girls, we took them into the House of Blues in Los Angeles to put them in a live club setting where the band was set up, and they got up on stage to do a song each in front of the audience in that club, and we’d never done that before,” says Keith. “For me, it was a very important part of the process, because in years past, we’ve seen them in these various audition environments, and then they go straight to the TV studio and they’re in front of a live audience. I really wanted to see what they’re like in front of a club setting.”

American Idol premieres Wednesday (January 7th) at 8pm ET on FOX.

Several artists have taken the time off around the holidays and will hit it hard when they return to the road in mid-January. Some artists have resolutions and some are very helpful with their own hangover cures for those who imbibe too much on New Year’s Eve.

David Nail’s favorite Christmas memories are all about family…and naps. When he was growing up in Missouri, his grandparents lived right across the street and everyone would gather
there for Christmas morning.

“I would get up in the morning, and I’d look out the window and you’d see a car there, and you’d get in the shower and come back and see a couple more cars there, and it was kind of that anticipation of seeing all the family members start to come into town in the morning,” recalls David. “Then we always got to kind of roll over there last, and it was like once we showed up, that was kind of the go-time!”

The holiday also featured some ZZZZ’s, as well. “After we opened gifts, it was kind of a race to see who could catch my dad sneak back across the street to take a nap, because he was always the first one to start dozing off on the couch.”

David is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Kiss You Tonight.”

Brothers Osborne are back home in Delaware for the holidays, and while they’re enjoying the down time with family, they also love the sights and sounds of Christmas.

“It stays dark so you have a lot of Christmas lights. I just love Christmas lights – they put you in such an amazing mood,” says John Osborne. “Just the sounds, like all the Christmas music and even shopping, which is quite possibly one of the most hectic things to do during the holidays. Even if we have all our shopping done, we’ll still go to the mall just because it’s so alive and vibrant and the colors and the music and the lights. I just love it. It’s a bit sensory overload, but I kinda dig that.”

When American Idol returns next month, you might notice a little different judging style from Keith Urban. He says he goes more on gut feeling rather than how well someone sings.

“I think more and more, I find myself going with a gut reaction to someone’s performance. It’s ‘Do I feel something?’ I think it’s just so simple, ‘Do I feel something from this performer?’ ‘Cause I mean, sometimes they can have a pretty average voice, but they know what to do with it, to communicate and to get my attention and to make me feel something,” says Keith. “I’m interested in all of those things, because at the end of the day, it’s all about connecting, and the way in which we all do that is infinite. There are plenty of people that come on and they sing and they sound amazing, and I don’t feel anything. And so, those people, I’m not going to respond to them. I’m going to respond to the people that I feel something from.”

American Idol 2015 will open the season with a two-night premiere event starting with Wednesday, January 7th and Thursday, January 8th.

Keith Urban (judging Idol-gut feeling) OC: …something from. :41
“I think more and more, I find myself going with a gut reaction to someone’s performance. It’s ‘Do I feel something?’ I think it’s just so simple, ‘Do I feel something from this performer?’ ‘Cause I mean, sometimes they can have a pretty average voice, but they know what to do with it, to communicate and to get my attention and to make me feel something. I’m interested in all of those things, because at the end of the day, it’s all about connecting, and the way in which we all do that is infinite. There are plenty of people that come on and they sing and they sound amazing, and I don’t feel anything. And so, those people, I’m not going to respond to them. I’m going to respond to the people that I feel something from.”

In addition to his holiday single, “What God Wants for Christmas,” Darius Rucker’s new Home for the Holidays album contains a duet with special guest Sheryl Crow on the sexy “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Though many duets are recorded separately, Darius and Sheryl were actually in the studio together to cut the song.

“When we got Sheryl to come and do it and after sitting there with her in the studio right next to each other singing it over and over and laughing and having a great time, I knew it was a great choice,” says Darius.

The crooner says he did the song for one reason, the movie Elf, starring Will Ferrell and Zooy Deschanel. “I decided to do that for one reason, for Elf, for that movie and how great they did it when she’s taking a shower in the bathroom, and he comes and sits on the counter and he’s singing along with her. I thought it was just a great song.”

Darius is also nearing the Top 10 on the country charts with his latest single, “Homegrown Honey,” which is the first release from his forthcoming album, due out next year.

Darius Rucker (Baby, It’s Cold Outside) OC: …great choice. :29
“‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ — I decided to do that for one reason, for Elf, for that movie and how great they did it when she’s taking a shower in the bathroom, and he comes and sits on the counter and he’s singing along with her. I thought it was just a great song. And we wanted to have another voice on the record somewhere and that was a great song to do it on. And then when we got Sheryl to come and do it and after sitting there with her in the studio right next to each other singing it over and over and laughing and having a great time, I knew it was a great choice.”

Jon Pardi is thrilled to be heading home to California for the holidays this year, especially since last year he wasn’t able to go home because of knee surgery. He’s not the only one who is excited about where he’s spending his downtime this year – his mom, Shelly, already has the house decorated and is patiently awaiting his arrival.

“I’m looking forward to seeing my mom. I didn’t get to go home last year, ‘cause I had knee surgery. That’s all better now, so I’m going home and be with all my family,” says Jon. “My mom’s super excited. She’s got the house all decorated, a big Christmas tree. I think she’s more excited than me [about me going home], so I’m gonna try to make it the best for her. And I get to see all my family. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

Jon’s latest single, “When I’ve Been Drinkin’,” is currently making its way up the country charts.

Jon Pardi (Christmas 2014) OC: …and family. :32
“I’m looking forward to seeing my mom. I didn’t get to go home last year, ‘cause I had knee surgery. That’s all better now, so I’m going home and be with all my family. My mom’s super excited. She’s got the house all decorated, a big Christmas tree. I think she’s more excited than me [about me going home], so I’m gonna try to make it the best for her. And I get to see all my family. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I’m actually going to be there for eight days, which is the longest I’ve stayed in California for two years now, so I actually get some time off. I’ll be having fun, seeing old friends and family.”

Jennifer Nettles is still in New York City following the announcement that she’ll make her Broadway debut as “Roxie Hart” in the Tony award-winning musical revival of Chicago. On Wednesday, she took to Instagram to post a photo of her at the official photo shoot photo shoot.

Dierks Bentley and Josh Turner are among the featured artists on bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley‘s new album, Ralph Stanley & Friends: Man of Constant Sorrow. Lee Ann Womack, Robert Plant, Ricky Skaggs and Elvis Costello are also featured on the album, which will be available at Cracker Barrel and crackerbarrel.com January 19th.

The members of Little Big Town are set to tour the U.K. beginning February 10th. They’ll play dates in London, Manchester, England and Glasgow, Scotland before returning to the States.

Kacey Musgraves has begun work on her new album, the follow-up to the hugely successful and award-winning Same Trailer Different Park.

Gary Allan is sporting a new tattoo. The California native, who’s been in the studio working on his next album, shared a photo and video of his new tattoo that he got in Las Vegas this week. The ink took 12 hours to do and is featured on the underside of his left forearm. It’s of a neck of an electric guitar held by a green female hand as a serpent encircles them both. He shared the photo as part of his #TattedTuesday where he encourages fans to share picks of tattoos his music inspired.

TouchTunes, the largest in-venue interactive entertainment platform in North America, today released its annual Year-End Music Charts reporting on the top played songs and artists of 2014. Based on songs played across its domestic network of over 60,000 jukeboxes, TouchTunes’ Year-End review provides unique insight into the music choices of bar and restaurant patrons regionally and nationwide.

Country sensation Luke Bryan was TouchTunes’ Top Played Artist in 2014, closely followed by AC/DC and Eric Church. “Since I started my career playing bars across this country, it makes me proud to be TouchTunes’ Top Played Artist this year,” commented Bryan. “I hope I can continue to make music that makes people want to have fun.”

Timed with the announcement, TouchTunes is also offering Luke Bryan fans a chance to win a trip for two to Luke Bryan’s ‘Crash My Playa’, an all-inclusive concert vacation in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Fans can enter the sweepstakes at participating TouchTunes locations and directly online at www.touchtunes.com/lukebryan.

TouchTunes’ Most Played Song of the year was Brantley Gilbert’s “Bottoms Up.” The song was a smash hit from Gilbert’s Just As I Am, which recently won Favorite Country Album at the 2014 American Music Awards. Upon hearing the news, Gilbert said, “Just found out that “Bottoms Up” was the most played song on TouchTunes in 2014. It means so much to me that the song resonated with so many people.”

From coast to coast, Rock music continued to be the most played genre in 2014, followed by Country, and with the Pop genre coming in third. Pop superstar Katy Perry was TouchTunes’ 2014 Most Played Female Artist.

TouchTunes 2014 Year-End Charts Top 10 Played Artists

1. Luke Bryan
2. AC/DC
3. Eric Church
4. Jason Aldean
5. Lynyrd Skynyrd
6. Kid Rock
7. Johnny Cash
8. The Rolling Stones
9. George Strait
10. Metallica

TouchTunes 2014 Year-End Charts Top 10 Played Songs

1. “Bottoms Up,” Brantley Gilbert
2. “Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)” Katy Perry
3. “Happy,” Pharrell Williams
4. “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” Luke Bryan
5. “Royals,” Lorde
6. “Wagon Wheel,” Darius Rucker
7. “Smoke A Little Smoke,” Eric Church
8. “Crazy B*tch,” Buckcherry
9. “Copperhead Road,” Steve Earle
10. “Dirt Road Anthem,” Jason Aldean

To view the complete TouchTunes’ 2014 Year-End Charts, please visit www.touchtunes.com/2014YearEndCharts.