Pulse – Country Music News

Just hours after releasing his new song, "Way Down Yonder," Chase Rice was surprised at SiriusXM The Highway's "Music Row Happy Hour" with a plaque commemorating his Pandora Billionaire status. The milestone commemorates over 1.5 billion streams on the platform, and Chase has been added to Pandora's Country Billionaires Radio in celebration of the honor.

The night before the 56th Annual CMA Awards, nominee BRELAND will bring his debut Country radio single, "For What It's Worth," to ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, airing on November 8th. BRELAND is nominated for Musical Event of the Year alongside Dierks Bentley and HARDY for their chart-topping collaboration "Beers On Me."

Jason Aldean brought his Rock N Roll Cowboy Tour to Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Friday (October 14th) night where he surprised his crowd with guest appearances by Miranda Lambert and Morgan Wallen. Miranda and Jason performed an "unrehearsed" version of their 2018 Number One hit duet, "Drowns The Whiskey," according to The Tennessean. Morgan and Jason teamed up on "You Make It Easy," a song Morgan co-wrote for Jason's 2018 Rearview Town album, while Morgan took center stage to perform his hit "Whiskey Glasses."

Before introducing Morgan, Jason teased the crowd by saying he needed a "current star" to join him, mentioning the names of Luke Bryan and Kane Brown, to the delight of fans, and then mentioning Maren Morris, who drew a loud chorus of boos.

Recently, Jason's wife, Brittany Aldean, and Maren were embroiled in a social media war of words after Brittany posted a comment on Instagram that some perceived as transphobic.

The Rock N Roll Cowboy Tour continues on October 27th in Des Moines, IA.

Jason sits inside the Top 15 and climbing with his last single, "That's What Tequila Does."

Rising star Bailey Zimmerman has released his debut EP, called Leave The Light On, which features his current Top 10 hit, "Fall In Love." The song is the fastest debut song to reach the Top 10 in five years, according to a release.

While Bailey has always had a passion for music, it wasn't until he lost his job that he made the decision to follow his musical dreams. He tells us: "I strung pipe on the pipeline. I built gas pipelines, you know, all over America. I'd done that since I was 18 and got laid off, and I was just a dumb young kid that spent all his money and I only had 1200 bucks to my name. My mom actually paid my truck payments until we started getting the streaming money which, I never looked back from day one though. I knew I only had 1200 bucks but I knew I was gonna make it work somehow, some way."

Bailey is set to make his debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage on November 4th.

Walker Hayes has tapped Ciara to join him on a special version of his current single, "Y'all Life." The two met last year while performing on Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve, and the collaboration was soon to follow.

Walker said, "Ciara is not only one of the most talented artists in the business, she's one of the nicest When I got the crazy idea that she may want to write a new verse for ‘Y'all Life' I definitely said a few prayers that she would say yes. She adds the perfect perspective to the track…and some much-needed swag."

Ciara said, "I'm a southern girl and have always felt a connection to country music. When I met Walker I immediately knew I wanted to work with him. Beyond his incredible song writing, he has an amazing stage presence."

"Y'all Life" was originally released in August and is Walker's highest streaming debut to date.

Walker and Ciara debuted the new version on Friday (October 14th) night's premiere of CMT Artists of The Year, during which Walker was honored as one of 2022's Top Five artists.

Luke Bryan is the newest Global Ambassador for MusicianStaX. He joins a star-studded lineup of StaX Ambassadors which includes Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes, to name a few.

StaX allows people from all passions of life to list themselves on the Global StaX Exchange, creating a new income stream to fund their dreams while sharing success with their fans. Fans can own, collect and trade StaX of their favorite talented people (actors, athletes, musicians, artists and more) on the VirtualStaX Exchange platform. As the popularity of the StaX increases, so does the value and benefit for StaX owners.

As the value of Luke's StaX grow, his fans will be able to sell their StaX or hold on to them for access to unique experiences and benefits. Through VirtualStaX, Luke will be able to give back to his fans in a new way while continuing his passion for discovering, supporting, and guiding aspiring musicians. Luke's fans will also be able to join in discovering up-and-coming talent on the VirtualStaX platform.

He said, "I believe the VirtualStaX platform will provide a way for young musicians to build strong support systems early in their own journey to help fund their careers and achieve their dreams."

VirtualStaX has officially launched world-wide, with Luke's StaX Auctions kicking off towards the end of the year. To join the platform to issue your own StaX or support your favorite talented person, visit VirtualStaX.com.

In other Luke news, he has announced a new collaboration with Jockey called the Jockey Outdoors by Luke Bryan collection. The men's apparel is available online at basspro.com, cabelas.com and jockey.com.

North Carolina native Eric Church will be among the six recipients being honored with the state's highest civilian honor at the North Carolina Awards on November 15th. The Awards recognize "significant contributions to the state and the country in several fields," according to the AP, and will be presented by the state's governor Roy Cooper.

Chase Rice has released a new song called "Way Down Yonder" along with a Wild West-style music video.

Luke Combs has once again proven his enormous global popularity as 37 of the 39 shows on his upcoming 2023 World Tour are already sold out. This includes all 16 of his North American stadium dates as well as the four new shows added in London, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane due to overwhelming demand.

The tour broke multiple records across the world including the fastest sell-outs ever at Arlington's AT&T Stadium and St. Louis' Busch Stadium as well as the fastest sell-out by a first time Gillette Stadium performer in any genre. It also ranks as one of the fastest selling arena tours ever by a country artist in the UK, while Luke is the first international artist to sell-out an Australian and New Zealand tour, which he did within just hours. The Stockholm show has also been moved to a larger venue (Avicii Arena) to accommodate ticket demand.

Of his very first World Tour, Luke said: "Yeah, I mean, it's pretty wild, you know, going out on a world tour, you know. We've we've played Australia a few times, Europe a few times, but to kind of be doing all that stuff and headlining our own shows all in the same year and, you know, doing 16 NFL stadiums is pretty unbelievable. So we're really excited about it. Really excited about kind of doing our first big big thing. Really ever I mean, it's gonna be nuts."

Luke recently achieved his record-breaking 14th-consecutive Number One hit with "The Kind of Love We Make," which also reached Number Eight on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Luke is also nominated for three awards at the 2022 CMA Awards -- Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for his latest album, Growin' Up. And just yesterday (Thursday, October 13th), Luke was nominated for two American Music Awards -- Favorite Male Country Artist and Favorite Country Album for Growin' Up. The CMA Awards will be held on November 9th in Nashville while the AMA's are set for November 20th in Los Angeles. Both award shows will air live on ABC.

Cody Johnson led the list of Country music nominees at the upcoming American Music Awards, it was announced yesterday (Thursday, October 13th). He earned three nods, including Favorite Country Male Artist, Favorite Country Abum for Human: The Double Album and Favorite Country Song for "Til You Can't." Other multiple nominees include Carrie Underwood, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton. The AMA's will be held in Los Angeles at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live on November 20th at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Voting for the fan-voted awards show is now open at VoteAMAs.com.

Here is the complete list of American Music Awards Country nominees:

Favorite Male Country Artist:
Chris Stapleton
Cody Johnson
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Walker Hayes

Favorite Female Country Artist:
Carrie Underwood
Lainey Wilson
Maren Morris
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift

Favorite Country Duo or Group:
Dan + Shay
Lady A
Old Dominion
Parmalee
Zac Brown Band

Favorite Country Album:
Carrie Underwood, Denim & Rhinestones
Luke Combs, Growin' Up
Cody Johnson, Human: The Double Album
Taylor Swift, Red (Taylor's Version)
Walker Hayes, Country Stuff: The Album

Favorite Country Song:
Chris Stapleton, "You Should Probably Leave"
Cody Johnson, "Til You Can't"
Dustin Lynch, Feat. MacKenzie Porter, "Thinking 'Bout You"
Jordan Davis, Feat. Luke Bryan, "Buy Dirt"
Morgan Wallen, "Wasted on You"

Top nominee Cody Johnson said of his three AMA nods for Favorite Male Country Artist, Favorite Country Album (Human The Double Album), and Favorite Country Song ("'Til You Can't"): "This feat goes to all the passionate #COJONation fans who buy and stream the music, come to the shows, and engage with us on every level. They have helped us pave the way we want to go with my brand of Country Music. I'm eternally grateful."

Dustin Lynch scored his first AMA nomination ever for "Thinking ‘Bout You (feat. MacKenzie Porter)" which is up for Favorite Country Song. He said: "Wow, it's just so amazing what incredible milestones ‘Thinking ‘Bout You' has accomplished as a song. This honor, plus the fact that the AMAs are fan-voted, really means a lot to me and MacKenzie. A big thank you to the AMAs for my first nomination. We're in some great company, artists that we both really admire, and we can't wait to celebrate Country music with y'all this year!"

Lainey Wilson of her nod for Favorite Female Country Artist: Are you kidding me right now?! I'm speechless. So excited to be nominated as the favorite female country artist at this years @amas!! The award is determined entirely on fan votes so y'all got the power . . ."

Lady A said of their nomination for Favorite Country Duo or Group: What an honor!

Parmalee, also nominated for Favorite Country Duo or Group, said: @amas we are coming your way!! So excited to be nominated! See you guys on the show Nov 20th!

Jordan Davis said of his nod for Favorite Country Song: "This is pretty awesome…"Buy Dirt" Ft. @lukebryan has been nominated for Favorite Country Song at this years @amas. We feel blessed to have the best fans around and this award is entirely fan voted . . ."

Fan voting is now open via VoteAMAs.com.

The 2022 American Music Awards will air live from the Microsoft Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 20th at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

Kenny Chesney will be the featured guest for "The Artist Interview" at next year's Country Radio Seminar (CRS), an annual three-day event for Country radio and music industry professionals held in Nashville. He will participate in an exclusive interview in front of a live audience on March 14th.

In 2020, Kenny received the CRB's Artist Humanitarian Award.

Next year's Country Radio Seminar will take place March 13-15 at the Omni Nashville Hotel.

The daughter of a massive Alan Jackson fan is hoping the singer will allow her to sprinkle her late mother's ashes on his Nashville area property as her final resting place. Sue Castle actually flew into Music City earlier this week from her home in Maine to make her mom, Mary Anne Gallant's, last wishes happen. Castle told CentralMaine.com that her strategy included dropping them from a helicopter, tossing them over a fence, "throw them out the window as I‘m driving by" or, preferably, get Jackson's approval to spread them in a specific spot.

Gallant was reportedly once brought up on stage during one of Jackson's 2015 concerts because her huge back tattoo of his face caught his attention. He even danced with her during "Remember When," giving Gallant what she later said was the happiest night of her life.

Gallant died in 2021. According to her daughter, she attend two dozen of Jackson's concerts.

Callista Clark's debut album, Real to Me: The Way I Feel, will be released tomorrow (Friday, October 14th). It features the four songs originally released on her debut EP, including "It's Cause I Am," and six new songs, among them her latest release, "Brave Girl."

Callista tells us Real to Me: The Way I Feel is a snapshot of the last five years of the 19-year-old's life: "This whole album is all about things that I went through the last few years as an artist, but especially as a person. Sort of just validating the things that I went through even though I'm young. It's about, oh, your heart's broken? That's okay. And it is real, and you can say that you're sad today and go get done what you need to get done, and go to work and put a smile on your face and feel better the next day. And I hope that it's something that other people can relate to."

Callista will perform "Brave Girl" on NBC's Today show during the 10am hour with Hoda and Jenna this morniOctober 13th).

Cody Johnson has released the official music video for "Human," which debuted yesterday (Wednesday, October 12th) with a broadcast premiere on CMT, CMT Music and ViacomCBS Times Square billboards. "Human" is the second single from Cody's 2021 album, Human: The Double Album.

Cody said, "'Human' has been the most biographical song I feel like I've recorded so far. Having said that, this video is a very candid look into my life behind the scenes and the journey to strike a balance. My favorite memory of the shoot was being on my horse, Booger, while filming in the river bottom. He worked really well down there and gave us some great footage. There are few feelings better than that."

On Friday (October 14th) night, Cody will perform "Human" on the 2022 CMT Artists Of The Year special which was taped last night in Nashville. Cody is being recognized along with Luke Combs, Kane Brown, Carly Pearce and Walker Hayes for collectively dominating the last 12 months in country music. The 2022 CMT Artists Of The Year airs on CMT at 9 p.m. ET.

Ingrid Andress is the latest artist to join Apple Music in-studio to record a brand new, exclusive, spatial audio EP as part of the Apple Music Sessions series. She performed "Feel Like This," and her current Top Five hit, "Wishful Drinking" featuring Sam Hunt, as well as a cover of The 1975's "If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know)."

Ingrid continues on The Speed of Now Tour with headliner Keith Urban in Savannah, GA tonight (Thursday, October 13th), followed by weekend shows in Knoxville, TN and Charleston, WV.

Ingrid released her sophomore album, Good Person, in August.

Mitchell Tenpenny hosted his first annual Cornhole Tournament on Tuesday (October 11th) benefitting his foundation, The 10Penny Fund. The event, which included participation from Jimmie Allen, Chris Young, Chrissy Metz, Ernest, Jon Langston, and Alana Springsteen, raised $50,302 dollars.

Brian Kelley has played the Grand Ole Opry several times as one half of Florida Georgia Line, but he will make his solo debut at the venue on October 19th. He said, "I'm just so grateful to be able to introduce myself, and my voice, to the Grand Ole Opry audience. To have the honor of returning to the circle with my own songs is a dream come true . . . "

Chase Rice will release what's being described as an outlaw anthem called "Way Down Yonder" on Friday (October 14th) The song's release will coincide with the release of the music video, which was shot in a single take as a time period piece at Fort Worth's Stockyards National Historic District.

Chase said, "When we wrote this song, I had the mountains of North Carolina where I grew up in mind; all the moonshining history there in the Appalachians. Then all of a sudden during the recording process . . . it got Western quick. That turned it from a song I didn't think was even going to make the cut for this next album into one of my favorite songs on the project."

Chase has been previewing "Way Down Yonder" in his live performances this fall, including on Tuesday (October 11th) night's Grand Ole Opry broadcast,where he closed his set alone with an acoustic guitar to debut an unreleased track called "For A Day" honoring his late father.

Morgan Wallen wrapped up his eight-month-long headlining Dangerous Tour on Saturday (October 8th) at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX for his first headlining stadium show where he set an attendance record. He shared some pictures from the show on social media writing, "The Dangerous Tour came to a close with our first ever stadium headline show. 43,500 people in attendance to break the venues previous record. I'm in the studio right now working on new music, or I would write a novel about this. For now, a huge thank you to everyone involved in this tour and all the fans who made it possible. Love ya."

The Dangerous Tour broke records in 30 venues across the country, including the Globe Life show, which became the fastest sell-out in the venue's history and surpassed attendance records previously held by artists such as Elton John and Lady Gaga. The tour's high demand also led Morgan to sell out 11 of the venues faster than any other act, while simultaneously breaking attendance records with stops at XFINITY Theatre, AmericanBank Center and Darien Lake Amphitheater, among others.

Off the stage, Morgan's foundation and Greater Good Music were also making a positive impact in several cities as they teamed with the local area food banks to donate 50-60 pounds of food per vehicle in the parking lots to over 600 families. This year, Morgan has donated over 500,000 meals to help combat food insecurity and aid in relief following natural disasters in the U.S.

Morgan is nominated for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year at next month's CMA Awards. The show takes place in Nashville on November 8th and will air live on ABC.

Carrie Underwood's new single is called "Hate My Heart," and it officially heads to radio later this month. It's the second single from her Denim & Rhinestones album.

Carrie announced the single on social media, sharing a behind-the-scenes clip of her rehearsal of the song for her upcoming Denim & Diamonds Tour, which kicks off in Greenville, SC on Saturday (October 15th).

Performing live is Carrie's favorite part of being an artist. She tells us: "I think for me being able to play live and go on tour and be on stage, every night it's so much fun. That two hours I'm on stage, I don't know, it's like you're, I get to play a character, I get to go into this other world and everybody's having a good time and I'm having a good time. I mean I feel like I was just born to sing, so that's my favorite part of the day is when I get to sing."

The 43-city Denim & Diamonds Tour features special guest Jimmie Allen.

Carrie is nominated for three awards at the upcoming CMA Awards on November 9th in Nashville, including Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year and Musical Event of the Year for the multi-week Number One hit, "If I Didn't Love You" with Jason Aldean. The show airs live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Chris Stapleton, Dan + Shay, Kelsea Ballerini, Dustin Lynch, Rascal Flatts lead singer Gary LeVox, and Yellowstone's Kelsey Asbille have all been announced as presenters at tonight's (Wednesday, October 12th) CMT Artists of the Year event, taking place at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Performers include Alan Jackson, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Kane Brown and Lainey Wilson, who will receive the Breakout Artist of the Year award. Walker Hayes and Ciara will also team up for a performance of their new collaboration, according to Country Now.

This year's CMT Artists of the Year are Luke Combs, Carly Pearce, Walker Hayes, Kane Brown and Cody Johnson.

Luke will be presented his award by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who will be appearing remotely from his annual Dale Jr. Foundation charity event in North Carolina. Riley Green will also take the stage to honor Luke.

As previously announced, Alan Jackson will receive the CMT Artist of a Lifetime award.

CMT Artists of the Year will premiere on the cable network on Friday (October 14th) at 9 p.m. ET.

Elle King will release her first country album, called Come Get Your Wife, on January 27th. The project was co-produced by Elle and features 12 tracks, including her hit collaboration with Miranda Lambert, "Drunk (And I Don't Want To Go Home)," as well as her current single, "Worth A Shot," featuring Dierks Bentley.

Elle said, "Even the album title, it comes from something some a**hole said to my partner one night. Something thrown off in a bar, intended to put me in my place… and he probably didn't think twice about it. But I did."

She added, "There's something about how you put the pieces together. This whole album is a crazy quilt of all sorts of moments and things that might not seem to go together, but because they're me, they do. It's very Southern Ohio, very who we are – and very much a lot of people who are just like me, because I know they're out there."

Elle continues on Chris Stapleton's All-American Roadshow Tour on Thursday (October 13th) in Jacksonville, FL.

Miranda Lambert has released the video for her current single, "Strange." The clip features her headlining set at the Windy City Smokeout plus various dates from this summer's The Bandwagon Tour, along with a behind-the-scenes look at Miranda backstage with her longtime band and crew.

She said, "We wrote this song in the middle of 2020, when live shows felt so far away and we weren't sure when we'd have that connection with fans again. Getting back on the road this summer, and now in Las Vegas, it's so special to see a crowd full of smiling faces singing along. I love that we were able to capture that feeling with this video!"

"Strange" is the second single off Miranda's latest album, Palomino, which is nominated for Album of the Year at the upcoming CMA Awards. Miranda is also nominated for Entertainer of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year at the event, which will air live from Nashville on ABC on November 9th.

HARDY has announced plans for his headlining mockingbird & THE CROW Tour, a 16-date run launching on February 16th in Indianapolis, IN. He will be joined by opening acts Jameson Rodgers and rock newcomers Blame My Youth. The tour comes on the heels of this week's news that he will release his sophomore album, also called the mockingbird & THE CROW on January 20th.

HARDY said, "I'm incredibly grateful to be able to bring this record to you next year. Touring it is something I've been thinking about since we started the recording process. This album is my best work so far. I truly believe that, and I want this tour to reflect that every night. Excited to have my buddies Blame My Youth and Jameson out with me; it's going to be crazy."

Tickets for the mockingbird & THE CROW Tour are available this Friday (October 14th) at 10 a.m. local time.

This December, HARDY will head out on his sold-out, nine-date headline Wall to Wall Tour with Jackson Dean serving as support and a one-night-only appearance from rockers Puddle of Mudd.

Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning are featured in a new CMA Awards promo where they undergo a bootcamp to get ready for their upcoming gig. The two will team up for the first time to co-host the 56th Annual CMA Awards on November 9th in Nashville. The show airs live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

The Grand Ole Opry has announced its second annual Opry NextStage Live In Concert that showcases some of country music's top rising stars who have been a part of the NextStage artist discovery program will take place on Sunday, November 20th at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. The latest and final member of the NextStage Class of 2022, viral country star Nate Smith, will take the stage alongside other 2022 NextStage artists BRELAND, Restless Road, Elvie Shane and Conner Smith with special performances by NextStage alumnae Hailey Whitters and Priscilla Block, who will host the event.

Kelsea Ballerini shared a most embarrassing moment with fans on social media yesterday (Monday, October 10th) that happened the previous night (Sunday, October 9th) on stage in Kansas City, MO. She captioned the clip, "happy cringey monday this is my retirement announcement #zippergate" The video shows Kelsea on stage as fans scream at her in excitement, so she thinks. She later learns they were telling her that the zipper on her jeans were down.

In the split screen post of the actual footage alongside Kelsea's post-concert reaction to it she says, "It's the fact that I thought they were screaming along to the song, for me. It's the fact that I was serving moves for me. I'm retiring. It's been a good few years. Thanks guys. See you around."

Hopefully things go smoother tonight (Tuesday, October 11th) as Kelsea continues on her Heartfirst Tour with a show in Atlanta.