Pulse – Country Music News

Jelly Roll has earned his first Number One country hit this week with, "Son Of A Sinner," which tops the Billboard and Country Aircheck charts. The song is his debut country single.

Jelly Roll shared the news on social media with a lengthy post, writing in part, "Imagine everyone telling that guy he had no chance at country radio. ‘You're too overweight, you have too many tattoos, they will never let another convicted criminal on country radio' – now imagine country radio proving everyone wrong and taking the chance on the song, the message and the man. If you can imagine that, then you can understanding why I'm so filled with gratitude as tears stream down my face while I type this, I currently have the number 1 song on country radio . . ."

Jelly Roll's first full-length country album is set for release this spring.

Old Dominion surprised fans yesterday (Monday, January 9th) with the release of a four-song sampler called Memory Lane. It features the lead track and new single,"Memory Lane," along with "Ain't Got A Worry," "Freedom Like You," and "Easier Said With Rum."

Old Dominion's Matthew Ramsey said, "We've been working on so much new music, and the response to ‘Memory Lane' has been so energizing that we decided we're tired of sitting on it all! We're so excited to share three more songs heading into the No Bad Vibes Tour and the next chapter in our musical journey."

Old Dominion's 31-stop No Bad Vibes Tour kicks off on January 19th in Evansville, Indiana.

Thomas Rhett has been considering getting his pilot's license over the past few years like several of his fellow entertainers have, but at this point, that idea has been put on the backburner. Thomas tells us: "I could definitely see me still wantin' to do that. I have so many pilots in my family. My brother-in-law, Grayson, is a pilot, my father-in-law is a pilot, a lot of my close friends are pilots. I think it would take a little more trust on my own end to trust that I could do it right. I'm not the most attention to detail person, and I feel like you really need to be detailed to be a pilot. So, I don't know. Maybe I'll become a very detail oriented person over the next five years and decide that gettin' my pilot's license is something I'd wanna do. If Dierks (Bentley) can do it, I can do it."

Thomas recently released an acoustic version of his last chart-topping hit, "Half of Me," with Riley Green. It was previously an Amazon Music exclusive, but can now be listened to wherever you stream your music.

Thomas' headlining Home Team Tour 23 launches on May 4th in Des Moines, IA with special guests Cole Swindell and Nate Smith. In the meantime, he kicks off the Canadian leg of the Bring The Bar To You Tour with special guests Jordan Davis and Kameron Marlowe on February 9th in Vancouver.

Wynonna Judd said she knew "something wasn't right" with her mother and The Judds singing partner, Naomi Judd, in the days and weeks leading up to her April 2022 suicide. Wynonna told Hoda Kotb on her Making Space podcast that her mom seemed "very fragile" when they performed together on the CMT Awards also in April, which turned out to be The Judds' last performance.

She said, "I knew something wasn't right in terms of her being off a little bit, a bit nervous. I think it's because she hadn't sung in a long time. And I think when our parents get older, their world gets smaller, and she was late (that night), and she is never late. I think she was nervous."

Wynonna revealed that she was thrown off by the wig her mother was wearing that night. She said, "The first thought in my head was, ‘No, I don't want to hug her or comfort her. I want to pull her wig off,' because that was the dynamics of our relationship. It was tough and tender."

Naomi died of a self-inflicted gun shot wound on April 30, 2022 at her Nashville area home after a lengthy battle with depression.

Parker McCollum shot back at a social media troll who slammed him and newcomer Bailey Zimmerman on Twitter over the weekend. User @grecccccc tweeted, "@baileyzimmerman and @ParkerMcCollum are awful country singers. Someone had to say it." Parker replied, "If you don't have an absolute nobody talkin sh*t about you on social media, you prolly ain't doin too much in life. I take it as a compliment every time!"

Of course, many of Parker's fans backed him up to take on the hater.

He will join Morgan Wallen on his headlining One Night At A Time World Tour along with HARDY, Ernest and Bailey Zimmerman this spring.

Parker's next concert is at the Palace Theatre in Columbus, OH on February 2nd.

Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney and his wife, former Playboy model Tiffany Fallon, are reportedly in the midst of an ugly divorce. TMZ reports Joe Don claims Tiffany has been carrying on an affair with her personal trainer while she says he has also cheated and is abusing drugs and alcohol. Joe Don is said to have filed for divorce in January 2021.

Tiffany has admitted to the adulterous relationship, but blames the affair and breakdown of the marriage on Joe Don's "habitual alcoholism and drug abuse," per legal documents. She also cites the musician's September 2021 DUI as the result of his addiction.

Joe Don denies the allegations of drug abuse, athough "he admits he's used cocaine a few times," according to TMZ. He also says he is getting treatment for his alcoholism, adding that Tiffany's affair began in 2020 at which time he was sober.

Also at issue is money and custody of the couple's three shared children.

Joe Don and Tiffany have been married since 2006.

Morgan Wallen surprised patrons at Jason Aldean's downtown Nashville bar on Friday (January 6th) when he showed up with some friends just to hang out. Several fans started filming Morgan, who was happy to take pictures with and greet fans. At one point, someone filmed Morgan pouring his glass of beer down the front of a woman's blouse in his entourage. There was no explanation for the incident, and, based on the video, the woman did not seem to be upset.

Prior to the incident, the unknown woman attempted to pull Morgan away from the people with whom he was talking a couple of times.

TMZ reports that Morgan's people didn't respond to their request for a comment.

Luke Bryan was one of the top donors to Buffalo Bills' safety Damar Hamlin's GoFundMe, giving $5,000 to the pro player's Community Toy Drive. Hamlin is on the mend after suffering cardiac arrest during the team's game against the Cincinnati Bengals last week. The fundraiser has now raised more than $8 million.

Tyler Hubbard has released a new track from his upcoming self-titled album called "Me For Me." The song was written by Tyler and fellow artists and friends Russell Dickerson and Thomas Rhett. Tyler also co-produced the song. The Tyler Hubbard album will be released on January 27th.

Kelsea Ballerini is featured on singer/songwriter Fletcher's track, "Better Version." Kelsea also stars in the new video alongside Gavin Leatherwood (Sabrina The Teenage Witch / Sex Lives of College Girls) and Ava Capri (Love Victor, Do Revenge).

Jon Pardi and his wife, Summer, were the guests of honor at a ski lodge-themed baby shower on Saturday (January 7th) hosted by Kane and Katelyn Brown at their Nashville area home. The couple will welcome their first child -- a girl -- in just a few weeks. During the party, the baby's name was revealed to be Presley Fawn Pardi.

Country Now reports that attendees received such party favors as "Presley's Ski Lodge"-branded coffee mugs filled with hot chocolate bombs, a coozie, cookie and lip gloss.

Jon and Summer shared a collage of pictures from the celebration with Jon writing, "Presley Pardi, we ready!!," and Summer adding the caption, "Presley Fawn Pardi we're counting down the days till we get to meet you baby girl!"

While the parents-to-be haven't shared an exact due date, little Miss Pardi is due early this year.

Dolly Parton paid tribute to late actor Leslie Jordan during Thursday (January 5th) night's episode of FOX's Call Me Kat, the first episode to air since the unexpected death of Leslie in October. The cast paid homage to Leslie, as did Dolly via a videotaped message. She sang a few lines from the song she recorded with Leslie for his 2021 Company's Comin' project called "Where The Soul Never Dies," adding her own personal message and speaking directly to Leslie.

Dolly said, in part, "I know usually at a memorial, people talk about somebody. Well, I'm going to talk to you, because there is that place on the other side, and I'm certainly going to see you there, little brother. You left a lot of people here with a lot of precious, precious memories. Everybody loved you, but I doubt many of them loved you more than I did . . ."

The legend closed with her signature line saying, "I just want you to know that I will always love you. Goodbye, my sweet Leslie." She ended by blowing a kiss.

Leslie died on October 24th at the age of 67 after suffering a medical emergency and hitting the side of a building in Los Angeles with his car.

Shania Twain released her new single yesterday (Thursday, January 5th) called "Giddy Up!" along with the video. The song is the second single off her upcoming career sixth full-length album, Queen of Me, due out on February 3rd.

Shania said, "The saying 'Let's Go Girls!' is such a wonderfully uplifting sentiment now, but it's just something I said during the recording in the studio and I guess that's the same for 'Giddy Up!'. These lines come to me when I'm thinking about how to put a little 'pep in my step.' I want people to feel good when they hear the new album. I want to set a celebratory tone and 'Giddy Up!' is a way to call to the audience and say 'let's get ready for some fun!'"

Shania's Queen of Me album includes 12 new tracks.

Her global Queen of Me Tour, featuring rotating special guests Kelsea Ballerini, Lindsay Ell, Hailey Whitters, Breland, Robyn Ottolini, Priscilla Block, Mickey Guyton, Lily Rose, Talk, and Tenille Townes, kicks off on Friday, April 28th at Spokane Arena in Spokane, WA.

Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan and Debbie Harry have teamed up for the release of the new single "Gonna Be You" from the Paramount Pictures film 80 For Brady. The song was written by Diane Warren and will be released on January 20th.

80 For Brady is inspired by the true story of four best friends living life to the fullest when they take a wild trip to the 2017 Super Bowl LI to see their hero Tom Brady play. The film stars Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field, along with 7-time Super Bowl Champion and producer Tom Brady. 80 For Brady arrives in theaters on February 3rd.

Diane Warren said, "When I wrote ‘Gonna Be You' for 80 FOR BRADY, I wanted to write a song that celebrated these women's deep friendship. Since 80 was in the title I got a crazy idea, why not get some of the most iconic singers from the 80s, who are still amazing and always will be, to all sing it?!!!! Everyone I approached said yes and was just as excited as me!! I'm honored to have Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan and Debbie Harry on this song!! ‘Gonna Be You' is that song you want to sing along to with all your good friends!!!"

Reba McEntire's new movie, The Hammer, will air on Lifetime on Saturday (January 7th). She plays a character named Kim Wheeler, described as an outspoken lawyer who is appointed to be a judge for Nevada's 5th District, making her one of the few traveling judges left in America. The movie reunites her with her Reba co-star and close friend Melissa Peterman, as well as starring alongside her real life boyfriend Rex Linn.

Reba tells us that acting is just another natural way to express herself as an artist, especially when she gets to be someone else for a while. "Yeah it's another creative outlet. That's why I love acting. When I did Annie Get Your Gun, I got to sing, I got to act, but I also got to be another character. I wasn't Reba McEntire. So that's what I really enjoy doing – being something outside my character."

This is Lifetime's second collaboration with Reba. She previously starred in and executive produced her 2021 holiday film, Reba McEntire's Christmas in Tune.

The Hammer airs on Lifetime beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

A home owned by Loretta Lynn in a community outside of Nashville has sold for just under $800,000. The sale comes three months after her death at the age of 90.

The property is a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house spanning 3,409 square feet. It sits on over five acres of land, with more than 300 feet of direct waterfront access. The home was originally listed at $799,000 earlier in 2022, Taste of Country reports.

Lynn died while living at her Hurricane Mills, TN ranch on October 4th.

Luke Combs dropped the big news that he will release a new album this spring on social media last night (Wednesday, January 4th). He simply posted the words "New album. 18 songs. March 24."

Country Now reports the album will likely include several songs that Luke played snippets of on social media, including "Growin' Up and Gettin' Old," "Tattoo On A Sunburn," and "Five Leaf Clover."

The new project follows Luke's CMA-winning Album of the Year, Growin' Up, which was just released in June.

Brantley Gilbert is climbing the charts with his latest single, "Heaven By Then," featuring a guest appearance by Blake Shelton, along with Vince Gill. While Brantley hasn't spent a ton of time with Blake, he says his encounters with The Voice star have never been anything but positive. He tells us: "Any time you meet somebody in this business, especially as another artist, you never know what to expect. Everybody has horror stories and great stories about different people, you know. And I will say that Blake Shelton has been just solid. I think a lot of him. He's never been anything but kind and welcoming. We played a show with him one night, and there really wasn't any time, and he sent somebody to get me and made time for me to come back and say hey. And Gwen (Stefani) was back there with him. I've never met her, I got to meet her. And I don't know that you'll meet anybody that'll say a whole lot of negative stuff about Blake."

"Heaven By Then" is the second single from Brantley's 2022 album, So Help Me God.

He returns to the road on February 9th in Wallingford, CT.

Chase Rice will showcase new music when he visits ABC's Good Morning America on Friday (January 6th). He'll preview one of the two title tracks -- yes, that's two title tracks -- from his upcoming album, I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell. Chase will perform "I Hate Cowboys" during the 8 a.m. ET hour of the show.

In addition to the live performance, "I Hate Cowboys" will also be available everywhere on Friday along with an official music video that tributes the iconic history of cowboy culture.

Chase said, "When you listen to the song you of course get that I don't actually hate cowboys – I'm really fortunate to call several of them great friends, but damn, doesn't it make you crazy when Mr. Steal Your Girl kicks open the door — with that hat and those Wranglers, and he can two-step better than you, talk cooler than you? ‘I Hate Cowboys' is an ode to the fact that just like Taylor Sheridan writes in Yellowstone, if it were easier everyone would cowboy...hell, I wish I could!"

Chase's I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell album will be released on February 10th.

Elle King's recent fall down the stairs at her house resulting in a concussion was no small matter. She told Entertainment Tonight she had "amnesia" and "post-concussion syndrome" after slipping on the steps last month in the middle of the night after getting up to prepare a bottle for her toddler son, Lucky.

Elle said she knocked herself unconscious, which resulted in a scary situation, especially because she was home by herself. Thankfully, though, Elle says her Nashville friends came to her rescue. She said, "What I love about Nashville is the community that I haven't really had in any of the last multiple cities that I've lived in, even if I've had a bunch of friends. There's something beautiful about this city and my friends and my music family, they all totally gathered around me and were all so supportive and showed up for me and helped me with the baby."

Elle felt well enough to co-host and perform on last month's New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash special which aired live on CBS.

Dolly Parton and Dionne Warwick are teaming up to duet on a song that Dolly wrote. Dionne shared the news during a visit to The Tamron Hall Show earlier this week. She says the tune is a gospel song.

Dionne explained that Dolly had pitched her one song, which she loved, and then a second song, which turns out to be the duet.

Dionne said, "It's a gospel song, called 'Peace Like a River. She wrote it. And I am very excited about this. I really am. I've done so many duets over the years. But this one's gonna be very special, it is."

There's no word yet on when that collaboration will be available to fans.

Jimmie Allen is starting the new year with a bang as his latest single, "down home" claims the Number One spot on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart. This is Jimmie's career fourth chart-topping in addition to being Country radio's first Number One of the year.

Jimmie co-wrote the song, which serves as a letter to his late father James, who passed away in 2019. The singer turned to social media to share the big news writing, "Dear Dad, I knew you existed and now the world knows too. Thank you to Country radio for helping me share the memory of my father through this song . . . To every person that listened to this song, thank you. I read every message about how this song related to you and the person you lost. I'm sending love and peace your way in dealing with your loss."

Jimmie most recently performed "down home" on New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash on CBS, in addition to co-hosting the show live from Nashville's Bicentennial Park alongside Elle King & Rachel Smith.

Jimmie will return to the road as part of Carrie Underwood's The Denim & Rhinestones Tour on February 2nd in Miami, FL.

Lady A's Charles Kelley celebrated being six months sober with a video shared on his Instagram stories on Monday (January 2nd). He thanked his wife, bandmates and fans for their support, saying in part, "I know a lot of people are going through this journey or have someone that they love going through this journey and it means the world. Just feeling super blessed and just going to try to keep doing the next right thing is what I keep telling myself. I'm just really enjoying this journey. Cannot wait to get back out on the road with my bandmates and yeah make some music . . ."

Yesterday (Tuesday, January 3rd), Charles posted a picture of himself on social media writing, "2022 was a big year of change. Really grateful for all of you sharing your own stories and extra thanks today to @menshealthmag for helping spread my sobriety journey and fresh interest and resurgence in working out.⁣"

Charles' journey to sobriety is featured in the January 2023 issue of Men's Health Magazine.

He recently released a song called "As Far As You Could," which he says is his "goodbye letter to alcohol."

Lady A canceled their Request Line Tour last fall as a means of supporting Charles' efforts to get sober. While there is no word yet on when that tour will get underway, Charles told Men's Health that it will be a "dry tour" for the band, meaning there will be no alcohol backstage, in the dressing rooms, or on the bus.

Luke Combs will head out on his first World Tour this year, playing 16 stadiums stateside before hopping the pond to play a string of shows for his international fans. Luke tells us in a way it's like introducing himself to country music fans for the first time. "I think we just look forward to going out there and having a good time and seeing some people that have never seen our show before. I think that's exciting, too, cause it's the same thing as doing a club gig. When you get there there's like 500 people and you know that nobody in there has seen you play before so I think that getting to play for people for the first time is really exciting and doing that on a huge scale is gonna be something that I'm looking forward to a lot."

The trek launches on March 25th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and concludes in London, England at The O2 Arena on October 19th.

Luke will be joined by Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, Flatland Cavalry and Brent Cobb for the North American dates, while Cody Johnson and Lane Pittman will be the special guests on the Australian and New Zealand dates.

Wynonna Judd turned to TikTok yesterday (Tuesday, January 3rd) to update fans on her well being after fans shared their concern on social media. The initial worry was caused when The Judds member bowed out of her scheduled appearance on CBS' New Year's Eve special due to an "extreme bout of vertigo." In the roughly one-minute-long video, Wynonna reassured fans she was taking care of herself saying in part, "I am working so hard on my mental, physical and spiritual well-being. I have a great team and I'm really blessed and I'm broken and I'm working really hard at self-care, which is not selfish. It's sacred."

She added, "So, I'm okay and last thing I'm going to say is you can't keep a good woman down for too long."

Wynonna is scheduled to kick off the next leg of The Judds' Final Tour on January 26th in Hershey, PA. The tour will feature rotating special guests including Ashley McBryde, Martina McBride, Brandi Carlile, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, and Tanya Tucker.