Country
First Country: New Music From Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Scotty McCreery, Trisha Yearwood & More
First Country is a compilation of the best new country songs, videos and albums that dropped this week. Chris Stapleton, “Cold” [embedded content] After releasing jaunty “Starting Over” a few weeks ago, Stapleton returns with another peek into his forthcoming album with this earth-shattering ballad, co-written by Stapleton, producer Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure and Derek Mixon. The song opens with a dirge-like piano and just gets sadder from there as Stapleton, on one of his most soulful vocals, asks why his lover has to “cut me like a knife…girl, you know you left this hole right here in the middle of my soul.” Add in strings and a B.B. King-like guitar solo and this is the finest rip-your-heart-out song you’ll hear all day…or any day. Carrie Underwood, My Gift Underwood’s first holiday album (ho...
Aston Villa interested in signing Liverpool youngster
Aston Villa are interested in signing the Liverpool youngster Rhian Brewster this summer. The 20-year-old striker was on loan at Swansea City last season and he managed to score 11 goals for them. Brewster needs to leave the club in order to play regular first-team football and it will be interesting to see if the likes of Villa can agree on a fee with Liverpool in the coming weeks. According to Independent, Sheffield United are keen on signing the young striker as well and they have already spoken to the Reds regarding a move. Liverpool value the young striker at £25 million and they are hoping to insert a buy-back clause in the contract if Brewster is sold this summer. Such a deal would be ideal for Liverpool as it would allow the player to develop with the regular first-team football el...
Here Are All the Livestreams & Virtual Concerts to Watch During the Coronavirus Crisis: Week of Sept. 21
Fall is getting off to a hot start when it comes to livestream events. The first week of autumn offers plenty of musical events to keep you rockin’ on your couch. Among those are notable festivals such as Bonnaroo’s Virtual Roo-Ality and Fair Aid 2020; Hip-Hop 4 Peace featuring Chuck D and KRS One, as well as sets from Charlie Puth, Lamb of God, and many more. Many artists and festivals are continuing to take their shows online, as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to rage. While not all artists and festivals are offering new performances in upcoming livestreams, some — including Virtual Roo-Ality — are featuring rare or iconic performances from past events. Below is a list of the livestream concerts for the week of Sept. 21. We’ll continue to update t...
Tyler Childers Challenges His ‘White Rural Listeners’ to Empathize With Black Americans in Powerful Video
Tyler Childers directed a YouTube video toward his “white rural listeners” about the Long Violent History, his surprise album that he dropped Friday (Sept. 18), behind the age-old target on the backs of Black Americans. “Long Violent History is a collection of instrumental pieces intended to create a sonic soundscape for the listener to set the tone to reflect on the last track, which is my own observational piece on the times we are in,” Childers clarified about the project’s main track in the six-minute video posted Monday (Sept. 21). While lamenting on the current times brought on by the COVID-19 crisis and police brutality, he justifies the angst and anger Americans have been feeling. And for those in his Appalachian-based fanbase who can...
Maren Morris Speaks Out About Struggling With Postpartum Depression
Maren Morris opened up about her battle with postpartum depression in an interview ahead of the Academy of Country Music Awards last week. “I’m kind of coming through the tunnel now,” Morris, who gave birth to her first child in March, told CBS This Morning when asked about it. “I feel back to normal. Fortunately, I was able to do phone therapy during the pandemic.” Of adjusting to life with a new baby, she said there are “people that love me around me that are like, ‘Hey, if you’re drowning right now, there’s help,” but admitted that “you’re trying to become a new mother and good parent and do everything right and you just feel like you suck at every level.” With the coronavirus pandemic putting things on halt this yea...
Tyler Childers Drops Surprise New Album Long Violent History: Stream
Country artist Tyler Childers has dropped a surprise new album titled Long Violent History. Stream it below through Apple Music and Spotify. Childers announced the follow-up to 2019’s Country Squire in a six-minute video essay on YouTube. The first eight tracks are traditional fiddle instrumentals “intended to create a sonic soundscape for the listener, to set the tone to reflect on the last track, which is my own observational piece on the times we are in.” That final statement, “Long Violent History”, is an explicit appeal to rural white voters on behalf of the Black Lives Matter movement. Childers asks his listeners how they would behave if their friends and families were treated the way that Black Americans have been treated. He sings, “How many boys could they haul off this mount...
First Country: New Music From Keith Urban, Luke Combs, Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles and More
Keith Urban, The Speed of Now, Part 1 Musical explorer Urban returns with his latest sonic alchemy that blends several music genres, all united by his singular guitar playing and vibrant vocals. From the funk/electronica of “Out The Cage,” featuring Breland and Nile Rodgers to a gorgeous duet with P!nk on “One Too Many” and his sizzling guitar work on “Forever” and the social justice call of “Say Something” (which turns into a much more personal statement as the song progress), Urban creates one of his sonically diverse albums yet. Luke Combs featuring Amanda Shires, “Without You” Combs pairs with the supremely talented Amanda Shires on violin this mid-tempo sweet ode to his parents and others who have sacrificed to make his success possible. “They never hear the crowd scream your name…I’d...
ACM Awards Spark Sales Gains for Old Dominion, Eric Church & More
The Academy of Country Music Awards (Sept. 16) sparked sizable sales gains for the songs performed on the show, according to initial reports to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Collectively, the songs performed on the three-hour CBS-TV show sold 57,000 downloads in the U.S. on Sept. 16-17, up 544% compared to the 9,000 sold on Sept. 14-15. The sales numbers include the original versions of songs covered on the show (such as Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” covered by Carrie Underwood) and those heard in part during medleys, but not the brand new Keith Urban and P!nk track “One Too Many,” which was released on the day of the awards. Of the performed songs, the biggest seller on Sept. 16-17 was Old Dominion’s “One Man Band,” which was performed as part of an eight-song medley during the show. The track also to...
The Long-Awaited Return of Cam — And Why She Took Her Time
Country singer Cam’s boundary-pushing new album will finally arrive this fall — and on a new label. Two years ago, Cam was at a crossroads in her career. In the spring of 2018, she embarked on the Listening Room Tour, a series of intimate club dates that featured stripped-down arrangements and the kind of real talk that goes down between friends over a bottle of wine. But at the same time, the relationship with her Nashville label was strained, and close to ending. Instead of letting that cast a shadow over her performances, it sparked something inside of her — and having a direct line to her audience was added fuel. “I remember being so fucking spicy,” she says now. “I was like, ‘Fuck it!’ I laughed so hard, and people had such a good time. I was like, ‘This is why I’m here, not the other...
Keith Urban Returns With ‘The Speed of Now Part 1’: Stream It Now
Keith Urban’s life is so busy, his albums drop in stages. Just 24 hours after hosting the ACM Awards, the Australian country star drops Part 1 of The Speed of Now, his 10th studio album. The new LP spans 16 tracks and includes collaborations with Eric Church, Nile Rodgers, Breland and his previously released single with Pink, “One Too Many,” which the pair performed Thursday night at the ACM Awards. “When I collaborate, I’m always looking for that ‘third thing,’” Urban said ahead of release. “There’s what I do, there’s what my collaborator does and then there’s this ‘third thing’ that I’m most curious about. That’s what interests me the most – when the sum of the parts becomes even more than what I envisioned. That’s what I love so much about it – finding common ground, shaping...
Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett & All the Record-Setters at the ACM Awards
A tie for entertainer of the year? Beautiful. Crazy. There was a shocker at the end of the 55th ACM Awards, the first tie for entertainer of the year (or any major category, for that matter) in the show’s history. The co-winners were Carrie Underwood, winning in the category for the third time, and Thomas Rhett, winning in the category for the first time. Swift is the first woman in ACM history to win entertainer of the year three times. She previously won the award in 2008-09. The only other female artist to win twice in the category is Taylor Swift, who took the prize in 2010-11. Rhett won a second prize this year—video of the year for “Remember You Young.” That award was announced in the run-up to the show. Underwood previously won female artist of the year three times (2006-08). Rhett ...
Nine Can’t-Miss Moments From the 2020 ACM Awards
On Wednesday night (Sept. 16), the Academy of Country Music finally got to hold its long-delayed awards ceremony. Postponed from the original April 5 date after the pandemic sent everyone into lockdown, the 2020 edition of the ACM Awards moved to Nashville for the first time, adjusted to social distancing and no audience and still managed to pull of a show that had plenty of striking moments—including a tie for the coveted entertainer of the year. There were none of the usual cutaways to the audience or shots of Taylor Swift singing along to every song with gusto. Instead, a raft of top names performed from three iconic Nashville venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, Ryman Auditorium, and the Bluebird Cafe, while Keith Urban hosted live from the Grand Ole Opry. Here are some of the top moments...
