Willie Nelson duets with his son Micah Nelson — aka musical artist Particle Kid — on a new song out Thursday, called “Die When I’m High (Halfway to Heaven).”
Elvie Shane’s breakout hit “My Boy” has officially been certified RIAA Platinum. The song was a viral hit that also earned Elvie his first #1 at country radio.
Caitlyn Smith has announced new United Kingdom tour dates for this October. Tickets are available now.
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Rapper Post Malone is known for blending elements of pop, R&B and hip-hop into his style, but he says he’d like to venture even further into new genre territory.
“To be honest, there’s nothing stopping me from taking a camera or setting up in my studio in Utah and just recording a country album on YouTube,” he said during a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show. “I’m allowed to do that. I’m a human being.”
Though Post Malone and country music might sound like a strange combination, it’s actually not that far-fetched. He’s a devoted Shania Twain fan, which he proved by singing and dancing along to her performance of “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” at the 2019 American Music Awards.
He also covered Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her” and Sturgill Simpson’s “You Can Have the Crown” during the Matthew McConaughey-led We’re Texas benefit in 2021.
Malone’s country fandom is mutual: Michael Ray and Danielle Bradbery have both covered his song “Psycho,” proving that the rapper’s songwriting works just fine with a country arrangement.
The only thing stopping Posty from going country is logistics, he adds. “And then I’m happily obligated to write music and make beats by myself, and I’m happily obligated to, you know, take care of my family,” he points out. “So it’s a lot of time, and it’s about finding the space to allot that time. If I get another year to myself, maybe I’ll make a f***ing country album.”
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Nick and Joe Jonas did not hold back how much they love their wives and growing families.
The brothers spoke to People in two separate interviews. During Joe’s discussion, he opened up about getting ready to welcome baby number two with wife Sophie Turner.
While the “Cake By The Ocean” singer admits he doesn’t “know what to expect” when the baby arrives, Joe attested he is “maybe a little less nervous” this time around. He and Turner, who share two-year-old Willa, announced last month they are expecting again.
Joe also thanks his older brother, Kevin, for showing him how wonderful fatherhood is. “It’s beautiful to see Kevin as a dad many more years than us and to see how he’s done it,” he said. “It’s really amazing. He’s always prioritized getting home as soon as he could.”
As for Nick, he and wife Priyanka Chopra recently welcomed their first child, a daughter named Malti. Speaking to the outlet, the “Jealous” singer opened up about Malti spending over 100 days in the NICU.
“It was eye-opening in a lot of ways,” Nick told People of the amount of help and support the family received during “her journey in the hospital.”
The first-time dad also revealed why he and Chopra decided to come forward with Malti’s health scare, saying, “It was really important that people know that whatever their journey is or whatever challenges might come up, you’re not alone… [It] makes this very big world a little bit smaller.”
Nick also sang praises for his “teammate”, saying his wife “was a rock the whole time and continues to be.”
Looking ahead to raising Malti, he said both he and Chopra are going to share with her “[my wife’s Indian culture and my American culture.”
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Ringo Starr‘s All Starr Band recently postponed the last 12 concerts of the first leg of their 2022 North American tour after two members of the group — Edgar Winter and Steve Lukather — tested positive for COVID-19. Now all of those shows have been rescheduled.
The new dates run from a September 5 concert in Lenox, Massachusetts, through a September 22 performance in Providence, Rhode Island. The rescheduled shows take place immediately before the previously announced second leg of the All Starr Band’s 2022 North American trek, which is mapped out from a September 23 concert in Bridgeport, Connecticut, through an October 19-20 stand in Mexico City.
“We were having so much fun playing again and it was disappointing to have to stop,” says Ringo. “But we were able to reschedule these shows and add them to our Fall tour — and so as the song goes — I’ll see you in September! Peace and love.”
Here’s the full list of rescheduled All Starr Band dates:
9/5 — Lenox, MA, Tanglewood (original date: 6/17)
9/6 — Baltimore, MD, Modell Lyric (original date: 6/14)
9/7 — Baltimore, MD, Modell Lyric (original date: 6/15)
9/9 — Easton, PA, State Theater (original date: 6/11)
9/10 — Pittsburgh, PA, PPG Arena (original date: 6/18)
9/11 — Philadelphia, PA, Metropolitan Theater (original date: 6/19)
9/15 — St. Augustine, FL, The AMP (original date: 6/24)
9/16 — Clearwater, FL, Ruth Eckerd Hall (original date: 6/26)
9/17 — Hollywood, FL, Hard Rock (original date: 6/25)
9/19 — Atlanta, GA, Cobb Center (original date: 6/22)
9/20 — Richmond, VA, Virginia Credit Union Live (original date: 6/21)
9/22 — Providence, RI, PPAC (original date: 6/12)
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Many artists have had to postpone shows in the middle of a tour because they or members of their crew tested positive for COVID. But Josh Groban has perfect timing: He just caught COVID about a week and a half ago, which means he’ll be all clear for the start of his Harmony tour on Friday.
He tells the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that both he and his family tested positive after being “so hyper careful” and after they “outran it for so long.” “It hit me hard,” he admits, though he reassures fans, “I’ve been singing in my apartment and have no issues with breath control.” His family is fine too, he says.
However, Josh is still going to be careful: He’s playing only outdoor venues on the tour. As the singer, who’s vaccinated and boosted, explains, “My lungs are my job and my parents are in their seventies. It’s vitally important to make the most educated risks as possible to make sure we can all still thrive as a society.”
And then there’s the fact that he really enjoys playing outside. “Some of the best times we’ve had on the road have been at beautiful outdoor [venues],” he notes. “There’s nothing better than music under the stars.”
Josh is also excited to perform the songs from his 2020 album, Harmony, to crowds for the first time.
“These were the songs we were recording, the soundtrack that was keeping my head sane, during these awful months [of the pandemic],” he explains. “To be out in beautiful settings, singing songs I didn’t know would be sung at all (live), is really cathartic.”
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Talk about a glow-up: Lainey Wilson and Luke Combs are both big stars now, but their friendship dates back to when they were still unknown artists.
“I’ve known Luke for, oh my gosh, I met him in 2014,” Lainey reveals to Entertainment Tonight. “And he used to come over to my camper and write songs with me.”
If you’re not familiar with Lainey’s story, that camper was her home for three years after moving from her home state of Louisiana to Nashville to pursue her dream of being a country star.
But these days, all those difficult days of struggling to pay her dues seem worth it: She earned her first two #1 hits with her debut single, “Things a Man Oughta Know,” and a duet with Cole Swindell called “Never Say Never.” Plus, she’s been cast in the next season of the hit television show Yellowstone, cementing her superstar status.
Of course, Luke’s no slouch at country radio himself: Earlier this spring, he earned his 13th consecutive #1 hit with “Doin’ This.” That means that every one of the singles he’s released since he debuted has hit the top of the country charts.
Now, the old-pals-turned-stars are reuniting for Luke’s fall tour, called the Middle of Somewhere Tour, with Lainey serving as an opening act. She’s not letting her tour boss forget their early days together, though. “I’m reminding him of it all the time, and I guess he remembers,” she adds.
The Middle of Somewhere Tour launches September 2 with two dates in Bangor, Maine. Jordan Davis is also on the bill.
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Machine Gun Kelly is the subject of a new documentary set to premiere on Hulu this summer.
The film, titled Machine Gun Kelly’s Life in Pink, takes a behind-the-scenes look at the last couple years of the artist’s life as he moved from rap to rock with his 2020 album Tickets to My Downfall and this year’s Mainstream Sellout.
“My whole life changed in the last two years, and we had the cameras rolling,” Kelly says of the movie.
Judging by the Life in Pink trailer, the doc will tackle everything from MGK’s relationship with his father and daughter to his tiff with MMA fighter Conor McGregor at the 2021 MTV VMAs and the hostile reaction he got from crowds at rock festivals.
You can watch the trailer now via YouTube.
Kelly, meanwhile, just launched a U.S. tour in support of Mainstream Sellout, which continues Friday in Atlanta.
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Mariah Carey will soon have her name added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Ahead of the ceremony, the hitmaker sweetly thanked fans for the honor.
Taking to her Instagram story, Mariah wrote, “I’ve always considered myself a songwriter first. It’s my favorite part of creating music, and what I feel is the greatest of all.”
While thanking fans for “all your love and support,” she decided to take a stroll down memory lane and introduced, “Here is a fan-favorite selection from each of my studio albums to celebrate my induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame!”
From her eponymous debut studio album, Mariah selected the song “Vanishing.” Other highlighted tracks include “Make It Happen” from the Emotions album and “Hero” from Music Box.
The honor is a long-time coming for the “Fantasy” singer, who waited nearly three years to be inducted. She, along with Eurythmics‘ Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, The Neptunes‘ Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, members of The Isley Brothers and veteran rocker Steve Miller, were announced as the new class of honorees in December 2019.
“I can’t believe it,” Mariah said at the time on Instagram. “The SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME!!!! This is truly one of the greatest honors of my career. I’m so proud and humbled to be in the company of such legendary songwriters — both previously inducted as well as the incredible class of 2020!”
The Induction and Awards Gala was originally scheduled for June 11, 2020, but it was moved to June 10, 2021, because of the pandemic — before it was bumped again to this Thursday, June 16.
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Brian Kelley, one half of the currently-defunct hit duo Florida Georgia Line, is returning with new solo music next month. Called “American Spirit,” the new song will honor patriotic pride just in time for Independence Day.
Brian co-wrote “American Spirit” with fellow country artist Canaan Smith as well as Jake Rose and Blake Redferrin. It’s an especially meaningful song for the singer because it honors his “Poppy,” John Edward Kelley, who earned two Purple Hearts and was a prisoner of war while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.
To celebrate the gravity of the song, Brian enlisted painter Steve Penley to create the cover art, which features an American soldier proudly waving the flag.
The new song also sees Brian returning to his former label home, Big Machine Records, which is also where he’ll release his new solo music going forward. In addition to his releases with FGL, he put out his debut solo album, Sunshine State of Mind, in 2021.
“American Spirit” comes out July 1, but it’s available to pre-save and preorder now.
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After teasing her next album with new songs like “Good Person” and “Seeing Someone Else,” Ingrid Andress is ready to share more. Her sophomore record, Good Person, will be out this August.
To celebrate the album announcement, she put out “Pain,” another new song that Ingrid says, in many ways, is the heart of the project.
“Sometimes you find yourself in situations where you know it’s going to hurt terribly, but you have to go through with it,” the singer reflects. “This song is a reminder that it’s ok to feel sad and unhappy, but it won’t always be that way.”
She adds, “Writing this song was a really cathartic experience, and it made me feel understood, like I was listening to myself.”
Those themes are present throughout her Good Person album: Ingrid says that making it was “one of the most painful processes I’ve ever been through,” but it led her to somewhere worthwhile.”
“I realized how scared a lot of people are to push boundaries and how I am not, that’s my bread and butter,” she continues. “Isn’t that the goal, to discover new things? What are we doing here if we’re not trying to make new art?”
Good Person is due out August 26. This summer, you can catch Ingrid on the road with Keith Urban for his The Speed of Now World Tour.
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