Music

The CMA Vocal Group of the Year category always delivers stiff competition, and that’s no exception in 2021. Among the nominees are Old Dominion — who’ve won it for the past three years running — as well as Zac Brown Band, Midland, Little Big Town and Lady A.

Midland has yet to win, but it’s their fourth time nominated in the category, and they think that their former tour mates Little Big Town might be the act to beat.

“We’ve toured a lot with Little Big Town and they’re all really good friends of ours. And the fact that they do four-part harmonies, it gives them an edge,” the band explains. “But win or lose, either way, we’re gonna use it as fuel for fire.”

Despite the competition, there’s plenty of camaraderie at the CMAs. That feeling of community with other country artists is something that Lady A still remember from their first-ever CMAs performance in 2008, where they sang their debut single, “Love Don’t Live Here.”

“Just to look out in the audience and see all your heroes in the first two rows looking at you, kind of getting to see what you’re made of for the first time,” recounts band mate Charles Kelley. “I just remember walking off feeling that we killed it. It was just a really cool moment.”

Look out for more unforgettable performances during this year’s CMAs, which airs tonight on ABC beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET.

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Underoath has announced a streaming concert ahead of the band’s upcoming album, Voyeurist.

The virtual event, dubbed Digital Ghost, will feature the debut performance of Voyeurist in its entirety. It premieres December 3 via the streaming platform Moment House.

“When we started conceptualizing the Voyeurist event, we knew that we wanted to do something different than a traditional live stream,” says guitarist Tim McTague.

“One of the biggest goals was the idea of blending narrative with the visuals,” he explains. “Threading the needle on a live performance while adding in cinematic elements was a big part of Digital Ghost.”

For ticket info, visit MomentHouse.com/Underoath.

Voyeurist will officially be released on January 14. It’s the follow-up to 2018’s Erase Me.

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Diamonds are a Pink Barbie’s best friend!

Nicki Minaj is loving her “Super Bass” RIAA Diamond certification for the coveted achievement of selling over 10 million units.

The Trinidadian-born rapper made the announcement Tuesday night on Instagram with a video of the glittering plaque.

“#SuperBassDiamond Thank you for over a decade of support. #Barbz special thx to Ester Dean, Kane, Juice, Taylor Swift, Sofia Grace & Rosie, Ellen, Young Money/Cash Money & Republic,” Nicki commented. “This one was released b4 the streaming era, so millions of fans actually purchased the song. I’m so grateful for you guys. Sending love & blessings your way.”

Nicki previously credited Taylor Swift with much of the success of the song. In 2011, the pop superstar tweeted that she liked “Super Bass,” inspiring many of her fans to purchase the track, and it quickly climbed the charts. Later that year, Swift invited Nicki on stage during her concert at Staples Center in Los Angeles to perform the song.

“Super Bass” was the fifth single from Minaj’s 2010, three-times Platinum debut album, Pink Friday. Released in April, 2011, “Super Bass” won the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards honor for Best Hip Hop Video.

 

 

 

 

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As the 2021 CMAs loom, Kelsea Ballerini and Carly Pearce are two artists who say they’ll be trying something new with their fashion choices on the big night. Carly hints she’s keeping it straightforward with a “classy” look, but it’s going to be “in a color I’ve never worn before.”

“I’m going to wear all the weave, and it’s going to be — I’m excited,” she adds with a laugh.

Meanwhile, Kelsea’s taking risks with a “fashion forward,” “futuristic feeling” ensemble that she says is just one example of how she’s trying to push herself and grow.

“I’m trying to start doing [the glam aspect] myself. I did it myself on tour, and I really started enjoying the hair and makeup and stuff,” she explains. “I’m trying to push myself out of my comfort zone in every area of my life. And so I’m wearing this stunning dress that is like nothing I’ve ever worn.”

But not every artist has such lofty goals for their awards show night looks. Chris Young says that in the midst of a busy week, the awards show look is just one piece of the puzzle. “I don’t think people realize just how busy it is, with doing all the interviews and everything else,” he says.

“Making sure the rehearsals are good,” he adds with a laugh, “and making sure your clothes are correct, so you’re not gonna be on, like, the ‘worst-dressed’ list somewhere.”

The 2021 CMA Awards airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Old Dominion are up for Vocal Group of the Year at tonight’s CMA Awards, and it’s far from the first time. They’re five-time nominees in the category, and they’re on a three-year winning streak, taking home the trophy at every awards show since 2018.

But that doesn’t mean the nomination gets less special, the group says. In fact, it’s an even bigger deal to them now than it was the first time around.

“Every time we get nominated, it means more and more each time,” band member Matthew Ramsey explains. “I think when it first happened, I thought, ‘It’ll never be as special as that,’ but I was wrong. Every time it happens now, it’s just an amazing thing.”

As the trophies keep stacking up, the band mates will have to find new spots in their house to keep their CMAs hardware — but the guys of Old Dominion joke that guitarist and keyboardist Trevor Rosen already has that problem figured out, as he’s got a “Trevor Rosen Museum” in his basement.

“Yeah, it’s [the] Trevor Rosen Museum, so there definitely is an Old Dominion wing to that which is pretty sizeable,” Trevor elaborates with a laugh. “It’s a great display of hockey sticks and guitars, things like that. Former glory days to current glory days, you would say.”

In addition to being nominees, Old Dominion are performing their single “I Was on a Boat That Day” at the 2021 CMAs. The show kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Adele‘s TV special One Night Only airs Sunday night, but we’ve got the first look at it now.

In addition to preview clips of Adele belting out “Rolling in the Deep” and “Skyfall” on a gorgeous stage at LA’s Griffith Observatory, CBS has also released a clip of the singer’s sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, which gives serious flashbacks to Oprah’s chat with Prince Harry and Megan Markle earlier this year.

In the clip, Adele explains to Oprah that she feels she needs to start all her concerts by singing “Hello,” explaining with a laugh, “It’d be a bit weird if that song was halfway through a set!”  

When Oprah asks Adele what significance the song has to her at this point in her life, Adele explains, “It was the beginning of me trying to find myself and I hadn’t figured out yet what I had to do for that.” 

She adds, “It’s just a song about, like, ‘I’m still here,’ like, ‘I still exist,’ in every aspect of my life.”

In the trailer for One Night Only, Adele says, “I chose to do this sort of comeback this way with the new album, just to celebrate how special the album [is]; the process of making the album has been really special.” 

She also notes that doing it in LA was apropos, since LA is where she “had to recover from everything that happened in my life over the past few years” — no doubt referring to her divorce.

Adele One Night Only airs Sunday night at 8:30 pm. ET/8 p.m. PT on CBS. Adele’s new album, 30, arrives next week.

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Avril Lavigne, rocker, has returned.

The Canadian singer has dropped her new single, “Bite Me,” her first release on Travis Barker‘s DTA Records.  She’ll give the song it’s late-night TV debut tonight on CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden.

On the punk/pop track, Avril comes out swinging, dropping F-bombs and singing, “You should’ve known better, better to f*** with someone like me/ Hey you, forever and ever you’re gonna wish I was your wifey/ Should’ve held on, should’ve treated me right/ I gave you one chance, you don’t get it twice/ Hey you, we’ll be together never, so baby, you can bite me.”

Avril announced recently that she’d signed to the Blink-182 drummer’s label. In a statement, she notes that the first time that she and Barker worked together was 15 years ago, on her album The Best Damn Thing.

“I have really enjoyed watching him develop into the producer that he is today,” she says. “We spent a lot of time writing songs and working on this record together, and signing to his record label, DTA felt like the perfect home for me and my new music.”

Avril continues, “Travis understands my vision as a musician, my creative process as an artist, and my goals at this stage of my career. I am excited to be dropping ‘Bite Me.’ It’s an anthem about knowing your worth, what you deserve, and not giving someone a second chance who doesn’t deserve you.”

Barker, meanwhile, calls Avril is “a true bada** and an icon as a performer, songwriter, and presence,” adding, “I can’t wait for everybody to experience the incredible music she’s about to drop.”

The video for “Bite Me” will premiere soon.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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Luke Bryan‘s mom, LeClaire, is a bona fide social media star in her own right, thanks in part to the fact that she frequently finds herself the butt of the joke in family prank wars.

LeClaire is so popular that Luke’s fans might even have hoped she’d make an appearance at the 2021 CMA Awards, which her superstar son is hosting solo this year. And while his mom won’t be appearing on the big stage this year, Luke says it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

“We did have a moment where we were gonna maybe incorporate her. We were gonna have some fun with her, but it didn’t work out,” Luke admits with a giggle. “You never know — if they let me back next year, we might turn it over to Mama.”

In the meantime, Luke knows he’s got some big shoes to fill. There hasn’t been a solo host at the CMA Awards in almost two decades, and for a streak of years, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood helmed the show. During their tenure as hosts, Brad and Carrie were known not only for their hilarious onstage antics, but also for their frequent costume changes, and Luke says he might try to outdo them in the latter category.

“We’ve tabulated how many times they have done that, and I’m going to one-up them,” he hints. “Whether it’s just a tie here — just nuances — a pocket square here. That’s a wardrobe change.”

The 2021 CMA Awards airs on ABC tonight beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

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Chris Young and Kane Brown will hit the CMAs stage tonight for a rendition of their number-one song “Famous Friends,” but don’t expect to hear many details about what they’ve got planned for their performance ahead of showtime.

“Nothing. I’m not allowed to say anything at all [about it],” Chris jokes. “I will say that we have not done this particular gimmick for the performance anywhere before, so it’s definitely something new.”

Between the performance and his nominations for “Famous Friends,” Chris is expecting an exciting CMAs week, made even more special because he gets to share it with his friend Kane.

“[It’s] the first time I’ve ever been nominated for Single of the Year, and I get to celebrate those noms with KB,” he adds, going on to reflect on his longtime friendship with his fellow country superstar.

“Kane’s fantastically talented and I love that I’ve been able to get to know him That I knew him before he had the record deal, and was getting the chance to write with him and have some cuts on his records. And then was able to ask him to be a part of mine,” Chris continues. “…Watching this song blow up and become bigger than we ever expected it to has been so much fun.”

The 2021 CMA Awards airs beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.

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