Pulse – Country Music News

Elle King tops the Mediabase Country chart this week with "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" featuring Miranda Lambert and is expected to top this week's Billboard chart as well. Elle wrote the song many years ago, and she tells us that seeing this song have such great success is especially meaningful. "It means the world to me, not in like, 'I need everything to go to number one,' but especially 'Drunk,' It's a wonderful feeling and to be still welcomed into the country world and to have a song that I wrote have this success and that I get to sing on it with my friend. It's just it's just unfolded so many beautiful blessings in my life and it means a lot, and I'm very, very proud of it."

Fans can catch Elle singing "Drunk" when she hits the road with Chris Stapleton for a string of dates on his All-American Road Show beginning later this month in Canada.

"Drunk" is nominated for Top Rock Song at the Billboard Music Awards, airing on May 15th on NBC.

Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood gathered with the Nashville music industry to celebrate their chart-topping duet, "If I Didn't Love You," on Thursday (April 7th). Hosted by BMI in Nashville, the song was praised for its multi-week run at Country radio while earning platinum status from the RIAA and a Grammy nomination. Jason and Carrie were joined by producer Michael Knox, "If I Didn't Love You" songwriters Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy and first-time chart-toppers John Morgan and Lydia Vaughan.

Jason said, "From the minute I first heard the demo of this song I knew I had to cut it, and a couple of weeks later Carrie was putting her vocal on it. We thought it was going to be good, but it ended up being really special. Big thank you to the writers, Carrie, Country radio, my team and everyone in this room who leaned in on this song - I'm really proud of it."

Carrie added, "In this case, the old cliche ‘it all starts with a song' is exactly how it happened. The stars lined up so quickly to make this happen, it was all meant to be. Thanks to everyone who helped give this song the light it deserves, it's been really fun to be part of it."

"If I Didn't Love You" has been nominated for Billboard Music Awards Top Country Song. The hit is also nominated for Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year at tonight's (Monday, April 11th) CMT Music Awards, airing on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

Kenny Chesney will close out tonight's (Monday, April 11th) CMT Music Awards with a performance of his hit "Beers in Mexico." The last-minute addition comes at Kenny's request, as he told People.com that he reached out to show organizers just last week during his own rehearsals for his upcoming tour. This is Kenny's first performance on the CMT Awards in seven years.

Via a statement late last week, Kenny said, "When I realized the CMT Music Awards were happening next week, I asked if they could find space for us to debut this band, to play one of those songs that defined what we do live all those years ago — and they said, 'C'mon.'"

Kenny's Here And Now 2022 tour kicks off on April 23rd at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL with special guests Dan + Shay, Old Dominion and Carly Pearce.

His duet with Kelsea Ballerini, "half of my hometown," is nominated for Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year at the CMT Awards, which airs live from Nashville beginning at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Brett Young is featured on the soundtrack of the upcoming movie, Father Stu, starring Mark Wahlberg. Brett wrote and recorded a song called "Long Way Home," which was co-written by Dan + Shay's Shay Mooney and Bear Rinehart. Both the song and a lyric video were released on Friday (April 8th). Father Stu arrives in theaters on Wednesday (April 13th).

Brett said, "I met Mark at a golf tournament a few months ago. We connected pretty quickly and he told me about an incredible project he was working on, and asked if I'd be up for writing a song to capture the spirit of the movie. Within a few hours I was flying home with Shay, Bear and throwing ideas around and after watching an early screening the next day, we brought Jimmy in to help us put together something that we thought would be a perfect fit."

Brett attended the premiere of Father Stu at Bryn Mawr Institute alongside the cast earlier this month.

Chris Janson has released a new song called "We Did It Anyway" from his upcoming album, All In, as well as its official video. The track was co-written by Chris for the 16-song project, which will be released on April 29th.

Chris said, "This is my kids' favorite song on the album, and I love hearing them sing along. They usually pick the hits – so I'm excited for the fans to hear it! The video was a blast to shoot. Everything was exactly how we did it growing up – a hay trailer with guitars and amps in a big, open field. It doesn't get better than that."

All In features collaborations with Eric Church and Travis Tritt, as well as co-writes with some of Nashville's most acclaimed writers, including Eric, Ashley Gorley, David Lee Murphy, Rhett Akins, Casey Beathard, Dallas Davidson and more.

BRELAND & Friends benefit concert for Oasis Center will be streamed live via the Amazon Music Twitch channel on Tuesday (April 12th) beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET. The event, sponsored by Amazon Music, will take place at the Ryman Auditorium and feature performances by Dierks Bentley, Tyler Braden, Kane Brown, Russell Dickerson, Mickey Guyton, Charles Kelley, RaeLynn, Brittney Spencer, and more.

Faith Hill has been added as a presenter at tonight's (Monday, April 11th) CMT Awards. She and her 1883 costar, Isabel May, will present the night's biggest award, Video of the Year, according to People.com. This is Faith's first appearance at the CMT Awards in 12 years. The show airs on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Kelsea Ballerini has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be forced to handle her CMT Music Awards co-hosting duties tonight ((Monday, April 11th) from her Nashville area home. She shared the news on social media earlier today with a video message saying that while "devastated" to not be able to attend in person, she plans to "make some lemonade together out of these very bitter lemons."

Kane Brown will now handle co-hosting duties at the CMT Awards alongside previously announced host actor Anthony Mackie.

Kane heads into tonight's show as the most-nominated artist with four including Male Video of the Year, CMT performance of the Year and the night's biggest award, Video of the Year.

The fan-voted CMT Music Awards will air live from Nashville on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Carrie Underwood will release a new album, called Denim & Rhinestones, on June 10th. She surprised fans with the news via social media yesterday (Thursday, April 7th) morning by posting a picture of her album cover writing, "I can't wait any longer!! I have a new album coming June 10! Get ready for #DenimAndRhinestones! . . ."

The album's lead single, "Ghost Story," is making its way up the country charts. Carrie debuted the song live on last weekend's Grammy Awards where she took home the award for Best Roots Gospel Album trophy for her faith-based project, My Savior.

Carrie's last mainstream country album, Cry Pretty, was released in 2018.

Cole Swindell's fourth studio album, called Stereotype, is available everywhere today (Friday, April 8th). The 13-song project features his current hit single, "Never Say Never," a duet with Lainey Wilson. Cole co-wrote seven of the 13 songs, and several of those were inspired by personal loss and dealing with the pandemic of the last few years.

Cole tells us: "From losing my mom and aunt within four months of each other to not being able to play shows, I think all that stuff is kinda mentioned in some ways on this album and I think if I wouldn't have gone through whatever I have the past few years that this album wouldn't be what it is and I think that's the joy of being able to write songs and record songs is I've been able to release certain songs that have helped people through tough times and I just think that's my responsibility that, man, if people are gonna give me a career to say things, as much as I like the fun songs, that every now and then I want to say what needs to be said."

Cole will celebrate the album's release with a live performance of "Never Say Never" on ABC's Good Morning America on Monday (April 11th) alongside Lainey. Later that night, the two will perform the song live on the CMT Music Awards, airing on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Cole and Lainey are nominated for the night's biggest award, Video of Year, at the 2022 CMT Music Awards.

Stereotype also features Cole's latest Number One hit, "Single Saturday Night."

Gabby Barrett, Jimmie Allen, Dustin Lynch, Jordan Davis, Martina McBride, LeAnn Rimes, Kacey Musgraves, Dylan Scott, Rob Corddry, Billy F. Gibbons, Gayle King, Taylor Lautner, Joel McHale, Queer Eye's Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France and Antoni Porowski and Dennis Quaid will all serve as presenters on Monday (April 11th) night's CMT Music Awards.

In addition, several all-star collaborations will be featured on the broadcast including Jason Aldean and Bryan Adams, Jimmie Allen, Monica and Little Big Town, and Thomas Rhett and Riley Green. Walker Hayes has also been announced to perform solo on the Awards.

Previously announced performers include Kelsea Ballerini, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, LBT, Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd, Carly Pearce, Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Mickey Guyton with Black Pumas and Old Dominion.

The CMT Awards air on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. ET and will be co-hosted by Kelsea Ballerini and actor Anthony Mackie.

Miranda Lambert has released a new song called "Actin' Up" off her upcoming album, Palomino. It's the opening track on the project, which is due out on April 29th.

Miranda recently announced her first Las Vegas residency, called the Velvet Rodeo, taking place at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino residency beginning this September. Tickets to the 24-date run are on sale now via Ticketmaster.com/MirandaVegas.

"Velvet Rodeo," like Palomino itself, borrows its name from the chorus of "Actin' Up," which was co-written by Miranda together with her co-producers on the album, Luke Dick and Jon Randall.

Miranda and Little Big Town will hit the road on The Bandwagon Tour beginning on May 6th in Houston, TX.

The Grand Ole Opry will celebrate the 90th birthday of Loretta Lynn on Opry Country Classics on Thursday (April 14th) at the Grand Ole Opry House. The celebration will feature performances by Loretta's sister, Opry member Crystal Gayle, The Gatlin Brothers, Elizabeth Cook, Maggie Rose and the Opry debut of duo Twitty and Lynn, the respective grandchildren of Loretta and her frequent duet partner Conway Twitty. Tickets for "Loretta Lynn's 90th Birthday Celebration" are on sale now at (615) 871-OPRY and opry.com.

The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project (TCDJHP) presented the Veterans Success Center at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a $25,000 donation last month. The donation is earmarked for the creation of a Veterans Success Institute, student veteran transformational grants, a veteran emergency fund, and technology upgrades. The donation is the third and largest gift UT has received from The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project.

Anyone who has been paying attention to Maren Morris' social media lately would recognize a few Bravo celebrities who like and comment on her posts, including the "OG" of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Kyle Richards. As a huge fan of the Bravo network and the Real Housewives franchise in particular, Maren said she was very excited to meet Kyle several months ago at Kyle's request.

She tells us: "I've been a fan of hers probably longer than she's been of mine, but I met her at the Apen Jazz Festival last year. She reached out via Instagram and asked if she and her family could come backstage after the show, and I was so excited to meet her and we talked for like an hour and she was so lovely, but, yeah, huge, huge Kyle Richards fan so I just love that this job takes you into the weirdest places and you meet the most fun people."

Maren also says that she and Real Housewives of New York City star Sonja Morgan have become buddies via social media and that the next time she's in Manhattan she's hoping to meet up with Sonja for a drink.

In the meantime, Maren sits inside the Top 15 on the Mediabase chart with "Circle Around This Town," the debut single from her new album, Humble Quest.

Maren appears on Beat Bobby Flay on The Food Network tonight (Thursday, April 7th) at 9 p.m. ET.

Garth Brooks has added AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas to his Stadium Tour. The concert will be Saturday, July 30th, and tickets will be on sale on Friday, April 15th at 10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster.

Dierks Bentley was inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame in Music City on Tuesday (April 5th). He, along with musicians Keb' Mo, Bobby Bare and Connie Smith, were recognized for their contributions to preserving the musical heritage of Nashville with their own star on the Walk of Fame.

Kenny Chesney has been rehearsing in an industrial complex located outside of Nashville for the last week in preparation for his Here And Now Tour, which launches on April 23rd at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. He has whittled his huge collection of hits and fan favorites into a 26-song set list for the 41-city run, which features two new band members -- Keith Urban's multi-instrumentalist Danny Rader on guitar and Col. Bruce Hampton & The Aquarium Rescue Unit drummer Nick Buda.

Kenny said, "I don't think I've ever thought about what these songs taken as a whole are made of, but playing to them with this new band, I realized: the songs I've always gravitated to are the ones about living life the way you want to, loving the experiences you have and the people you meet along the way. Maybe you can't set out with that as a mission statement, but if you're making music true to your own soul and life, I now realize you truly can show people who you are in the music. Maybe that's why No Shoes Nation is unlike any other group of fans I've ever encountered. They share that same compass, too. So, when they hear these songs, they recognize a real truth in them, too."

The Here And Now Tour also features Dan + Shay, Old Dominion and Carly Pearce.

Lee Brice and agricultural and farm equipment manufacturer Case IH will celebrate farmers this summer with Lee's new song simply called "Farmer." It was written as part of Case IH's Built by Farmers initiative, which connects the company's employees, dealers and their families rooted in agriculture with the farmers who use Case IH equipment and technology.

Lee said, "I wrote ‘Farmer' to honor the families and individuals who are up before sunrise, doing the backbreaking work it takes to provide food and resources for homes all across America. My goal was to spotlight one of the world's oldest and most noble professions — a backbone that all of us rely on."

"Farmer" debuted at the 2021 Farm Progress Show Concert in Decatur, Illinois.

Lee launches his headlining Label Me Proud Tour on June 2nd in Hampton Beach, NH. He'll be joined on the 23-date run by Michael Ray and Jackson Dean.

Little Big Town has a new single called "Hell Yeah" heading to country radio next week. It's the band's first single in two years and will be included on their upcoming 10th studio album.

LBT's Jimi Westbrook said, "Phillip (Sweet) and I wrote this with Tyler Hubbard and Corey Crowder. I remember when Corey brought that hook in that day. He sang his idea and when he turned that phrase at the end of the chorus, we were all like ‘hell yeah!' We always have a blast writing with those guys."

Little Big Town will premiere "Hell Yeah" on the CMT Music Awards, airing live from Nashville on Monday (April 11th) on CBS.

Darius Rucker will host his 13th Annual Darius and Friends concert benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on Monday, June 6th at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The event, which unofficially kicks off the week of CMA Fest in downtown Nashville, will feature an all-star roster of friends to be announced in the coming weeks. To date, Darius And Friends has raised more than $2.5 million.

Darius said, "I can't wait to be back at the Ryman with all of our friends from St. Jude. This show is always a highlight of the year for me, because it not only raises funds for a very important cause, but it also allows me to bring together some of my best friends in Nashville for a fun night of incredible music."

Tickets to Darius & Friends start at $50 with VIP options up to $150, available via AXS.com. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday (April 8th) at 10 a.m. CT.

Elle King is closing in on the Number One spot on the country charts with "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" featuring Miranda Lambert. This is her first Country single, although the duet has also been a hit on the rock and pop charts, proving Elle's theory that music is genreless.

She tells us that while her foundation is in rock, the country genre has been very welcoming. "It's beautiful because no one has said you have to sound like this and you have to do it with a little bit of a twang. I've never felt any pressure from the country world. I've felt only acceptance and excitement, which is really awesome, and I think like these definitions people have put on themselves it's like a crutch, and we take that away and we just make music that people want to hear and I think that 'Drunk' is a great gift of that it's something that everyone can relate to."

Elle is getting ready for a string of dates in Canada with Chris Stapleton on his All-American Road Show beginning later this month.

We already told you that Garth Brooks was planning on opening a downtown Nashville venue, but now we have a few more details. The superstar has confirmed what's being called a "new entertainment concept and bar" which will be located at 411 Broadway. It's three stories tall and spans more than 40,000 square feet. Garth purchased the property in December of last year.

He said, "We feel very lucky to have the chance to be part of Lower Broad, which is arguably THE hottest spot in the country. The goal is a classic honky-tonk that welcomes all and encourages love and kindness while playing the greatest music in the world in the home of Country Music!"

Additional details about Garth's new business will be shared in the coming months.

Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren, adopted their oldest child, six--year-old Willa Gray, from Uganda in 2017, and lately she's had some tough questions for her dad about adoption. Thomas told Hoda Kotb on the Monday (April 4th) episode of her podcast, Making Space With Hoda Kotb, "She asks questions all the time. She talks to Lauren, like, 'When can we go see my friends in Uganda?' You go, 'Well, what age is the right age?' The world is moving so fast that it's like, to have a conversation with a 6-year-old like that, maybe I'm old-school that way but I'm like, 'Maybe we need to wait 'til she's 10."

Thomas added that he and Lauren would like to adopt again, adding a fifth child to the mix. They are also parents to three biological daughters ranging in age from four to four months.

He said, "Lauren's whole dream, she wanted to have five kids. Since the day we got married, she's like, 'I want to have five,' and I'm sitting there going, 'That's fine, you know, that would be great.'"

Thomas appeared on NBC's Today Show alongside Hoda yesterday (Tuesday, April 5th).

He sits inside the Top 10 and climbing on the country charts with "Slow Down Summer," the debut single from his new album, Where We Started.

Former American Idol winner Scotty McCreery and his Season 10 runner up, Lauren Alaina, will team up to perform on the show's 20th anniversary celebration. The "Great Idol Reunion" episode is set to air on ABC on May 2nd and will feature previous winners and contestants like Ruben Studdard, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Laine Hardy, Laci Kaye Booth, Maddie Poppe, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Willie Spence and Grace Kinstler.

Dierks Bentley has been added to the lineup of artists taking part in "BRELAND & Friends," a concert to benefit the Oasis Center taking place at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on April 12th. He joins previously announced guests Tyler Braden, Kane Brown, Russell Dickerson, Mickey Guyton, Charles Kelley, RaeLynn, Restless Road, Seaforth, Brittney Spencer, and more.

Although Miranda Lambert was a nominee at Sunday (April 3rd) night's Grammy Awards, she skipped out on the Las Vegas event due to a busy schedule but did make time to pop in at her downtown Nashville restaurant and music venue, Casa Rosa, where Miranda's friend and backup singer Gwen Sebastian was performing. Miranda also took the stage to address the crowd and perform her Grammy-nominated duet with Elle King, "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home."

Fans captured the fun and shared it on social media.

Miranda will release her new album, Palomino, on April 29th.

She recently announced her first Las Vegas residency, called Velvet Rodeo, set to kick off this fall at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood.

Carrie Underwood is mourning the loss of her dog Ace, a rat terrier, who died on Sunday (April 3rd) night. She shared the sad news on social media along with several pictures of Ace yesterday (Monday, April 4th) writing, "Last night my sweet Ace left this world…he will forever live on in our hearts and be forever missed . . . He was a true friend and a good boy till the very end. I love you, sweet Ace…see you on the other side…"

Carrie also shared that Ace was with her when she was "trying to figure out life when it was at its craziest!," adding, "He was with me through 3 houses, 6 tours and 2 kids…always ready to snuggle and play…through all the highs and lows."

Carrie was in Las Vegas on Sunday evening as a winner and performer at the Grammy Awards. She took home Best Roots Gospel Album for her faith-based project, My Savior, and gave her first live televised performance of her brand new single, "Ghost Story."