Dierks Bentley’s latest single, “Beers on Me,” gets an assist from two of country music’s brightest up-and-comers, Hardy and Breland, each of whom had a hand in writing the song.
While Hardy lent his pen to “Beers on Me” in the kind of writing session that’s pretty standard for Dierks and his collaborators, Breland’s contribution came about in a way that’s a little more unorthodox.
It all started when Dierks played him the song — which, at the time, he thought was finished — and asked if Breland would like to sing a verse. Breland jumped at the opportunity, but asked if he could put his songwriter’s stamp on “Beers on Me,” too.
“We play the track over and over again, and he just started pulling things out of the air,” Dierks remembers. “Laughing to himself, messing with his hair…[I’m] like, ‘What is he doing?!’ And writing stuff on his phone. It was just like watching a mad scientist.”
The result? Lyrics so colorful and clever that Dierks had to think about them for a minute before he understood them. “You know, ‘I like my drinks like my roof — on the house.’ Like, ‘What does that mean? Oh my gosh, he likes free drinks!’” the star offers as an example.
“What he wrote was so well-written,” Dierks continues. “I feel like the rest of us had been painting with, like, six colors and he was using a paint set that had, like, 120 different colors to draw from.”
“Beers on Me” is currently inside the top 10 at country radio.
Kevin Mazur/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Images for MTV/ ViacomCBS
Nick Lachey is looking forward to celebrating 98 Degrees‘ 25th anniversary this summer but, ahead of the milestone celebration, he entertained the possibility of doing a “massive” tour with the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC.
BSB first floated the idea in July, which Brian Littrell dubbed “the boys of summer” tour. Does Nick see that happening?
“If we’re able to ever come together, I think it would be a massive, massive, massive success,” Nick told ABC Audio. “I think people would love to see that line up, and I think it would be certainly a once in a lifetime tour.”
While “The Hardest Thing” singer said his band mates would be “thrilled and honored to be part of that,” he cryptically added “there’s always a chance” of that mega-tour happening. As for when that’ll be, Nick mused, “We’ll see… One of these days.”
What is certain is a massive celebration ahead to mark 98 Degrees’ eponymous debut studio album, which was released on July 29, 1997. “This is our 25th anniversary year,” Nick proclaimed, adding, “We’re going to celebrate that anniversary with new projects.”
He confirms a new EP is on the way and said, “We’re actually working in the studio on that right now.” Nick expects the EP to drop “by early summer. That’s the goal.”
Nick also took a moment to reflect on his storied career, saying he is “blessed to still have amazing fans” because they’re the reason “we still get to do this.” 98 Degrees surprised fans last summer by releasing the single, “Where Do You Wanna Go.“.
The Grammy-nominated artist says, “It is truly shocking to us and amazing to us” they are still performing 25 years later, and vowed, “We’ll keep doing it as long as people are there to listen.”
That’s right — the show dedicated to finding the next singing superstar returned Sunday night with judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie along with host Ryan Seacrest.
This isn’t just your average season of American Idol though, it’s the 20th season, and, as part of the milestone year, they’ve introduced the coveted Platinum ticket.
“We all know the Golden Ticket gets you to Hollywood Week but this year, this is historic, for the first time, we have the Platinum Ticket,” Seacrest said in a short video. “There are only three of these for the entire season, and if the judges vote unanimously for you to get this as a contestant, then you bypass the first round of Hollywood Week. I mean, it is, it’s a game-changer.”
With a ticket to Hollywood on the line, there was some serious talent that came across the judges’ paths. Here are some of the night’s highlights.
Kentucky’s Noah Thompson was one of those gifted people and thanks to his friend, who signed him up for the show, the 19-year-old was able to show off his skills and earn a ticket to Hollywood after singing Kameron Marlowe‘s “Giving You Up.”
Tyler Allen, 24, from Alabama, brought Katy to tears after sharing the tragedy he and his family experienced when his sister and barely one-year-old nephew were killed after being struck by an 18 wheeler. He sang Whitney Houston‘s “I Believe In You And Me,” the song he used to sing to his nephew, and made his way through to the next round.
Normandy, 29, from Maryland took the judges by surprise when her cartoonishly high-pitched talking voice turned into a deep singing voice. After having a go at Tina Turner‘s “Proud Mary” and Adele‘s “Rolling In The Deep” she earned herself a ticket to Hollywood.
Unfortunately, not everyone shown on Sunday night’s episode scored a trip to Hollywood. Grace, a 15-year-old from Michigan, who also happens to be the granddaughter of the late, great Aretha Franklin, didn’t make it to the next round of competition, but Lionel urged her to “put in the work” and come back.
Last up, was 23-year-old Huntergirl, real name Hunter Wolkonowski, from Tennessee, who earned a standing ovation from the judges and even had Luke ranking her in the Top 10 and calling her the “new-age” Miranda Lambert. Later in the episode, after performing at Luke’s Nashville bar, the judges bestowed the first Platinum ticket of the season to her.
Who else will score a Platinum ticket? Find out when the American Idol auditions continue Monday, March 6 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
It’s been a bit since we’ve heard new music from Highly Suspect, but that’s set to change in the coming months.
In an Instagram post, the “Lydia” rockers tease that they plan to put out fresh material in time for their recently announced three-show run with Papa Roach, set to kick off May 22 in Springfield, Missouri.
“These shows will be dope,” the post reads. “We’ll have new music out by then too.”
Highly Suspect hasn’t released any new tunes since their most recent album, MCID, dropped in 2019. That record spawned the singles “16” and “These Days.”
Ahead of the Papa Roach shows, Highly Suspect will be playing Tampa, Florida’s Innings Festival in March, and Atlanta’s Shaky Knees in April.
Last week, Journey kicked off their Freedom Tour 2022 with opening act Toto, marking the first time the two bands have hit the road together.
Toto frontman Joseph Williams tells ABC Audio that he’s “insanely excited” to be touring with Journey, noting that not only is he a “huge fan” of that band, but that the trek also is giving his own group the opportunity to play larger venues than they usually do in the U.S.
The 41-date U.S. leg of the 2022 Freedom Tour is scheduled through a May 11 concert in Hartford, Connecticut. Toto initially planned to launch its own headlining trek dubbed The Dogz of Oz Tour in late February, and then were supposed to have joined Journey’s outing in April, but things changed when Billy Idol was forced to drop off the February-to-April opening slot with Journey because of a sinus ailment.
Williams says the set Toto is playing as opening act on the Journey tour obviously is shorter than the one they showcase as a headliner, but notes, “[I]t’s still a great show. And it’s…mostly just sort of hit, hit, hit that way.”
Meanwhile, Toto announced last year that founding keyboardist/singer David Paich — who had retired from full-time touring in 2020 because of health reasons — “could pop in any time for a show as a special surprise” during the band’s 2022 trek.
Regarding how often Paich might perform with Toto this year, Williams says, “The frequency of his appearances…we still don’t know. What I can tell you is that he’s looking great, sounding great.”
Joseph adds, “We will invite him and try and coax him to…all of the concerts, as many as he wants to go to.”
Carrie Underwood fans have come to know and love her for her dazzling onstage outfits and jaw-dropping mid-show costume changes, so the country superstar knew right off the bat that she wanted to turn up the bling for her Reflection Las Vegas residency, which opened last December.
“For Reflection, it is all about more rhinestones and more fringe,” Carrie explains to People, offering a peek at the 20-outfit ensemble she assembled for the residency, with help from stylist Emma Trask.
To that end, one of her favorite looks is the outfit she wears to open her show: a rhinestone-and-pearl-drenched white number with ankle-length fringe.
“I’m always inspired by Dolly Parton, and we had one of her associates that’s worked with her on our team,” Carrie says. “With all the white and the fringe and rhinestones, I immediately thought of Dolly.”
Emma says that the “Nash Vegas” concept was a major theme she drew from in assembling every look — and the creative team took that direction literally with one bedazzled denim jacket, which reads “Nash Vegas” on the back along with Carrie’s name.
For behind-the-scenes shots of all of Carrie’s Vegas residency looks, head over to People.
As many artists release ultra expensive NFTs, Cordae is making sure his NFTS are affordable for his fans.
Last week, the “Gifted” rapper debuted his first NFT collection titled “IDENTITY,” a collaboration with designer Shaylin Wallace, which sold out in less than a minute.
“In general, I like to think into the future,” Cordae tells Hypebeast. “Learning and doing research, NFTs were definitely something that caught my interest.”
The two-time Grammy nominee wanted to keep the price reasonable. Each of the 5,555 IDENTITY NFTs is priced at $55.
“I’m not one of these people that’s trying to just come in and, you know, bleed out the community,” Cordae said. “The NFT space has its own ecosystem, its own community. To be a part of that is something that’s huge for me. To just enter into space with open arms.”
With Wallace, he created a series of graphic pop-art images inspired by his fashion style, with each NFT featuring a faceless rendering of Cordae in a different outfit.
“A lot of these NFTs are based upon my earlier style, around The Lost Boy era,” Cordae explained, referencing his 2019 debut album. “Like the OG hair colors and the things I used to wear, like vests all of the time.”
Cordae is considering releasing new music as NFTs.
“There are so many different aspects and possibilities in NFT space that are really exciting,” he says.
Cordae is continuing his concert tour promoting his new album, From a Bird’s Eye View. He will perform Monday in Chicago, Tuesday in Minneapolis, and the tour continues through March 19 in Sacramento, CA.
(NEW YORK) — Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has refused to condemn former President Donald Trump’s praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin amid his invasion of Ukraine.
“George, if you want to know what Donald Trump thinks about Vladimir Putin or any other topic, I’d encourage you to invite him on your show,” Cotton told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “I don’t speak on behalf of other politicians. They can speak for themselves.”
Trump called the actions of the Russian president “genius” and “savvy” during an interview with the conservative radio program “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show” on Tuesday. And on Saturday night at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump finally condemned the invasion but also said, “The problem is not that Putin is smart, which of course he’s smart. But the real problem is that our leaders are dumb.”
Stephanopoulos pressed Cotton, who he noted has been steadfast in his opposition to Putin, to condemn the comments.
“You’re a senior member of the Republican Party. Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party,” he said, noting that Trump “suggested” Saturday night he would run for president again. “When Fox News asked him if he had a message for Vladimir Putin, he said he has no message.”
“Why can’t you condemn that? I feel quite confident that if Donald — that if Barack Obama or Joe Biden said something like that, you’d be first in line to criticize them,” Stephanopoulos said.
Cotton, who sits on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees, doubled down.
“Again, George, if you want to talk to the former president about his views or his message, you can have him on your show,” Cotton said. “My message to Vladimir Putin is quite clear: He needs to leave Ukraine unless he wants to face moms and teenagers with Molotov cocktails and grandmothers and grandfathers with AK-47s for years to come.”
Stephanopoulos followed up again.
“I simply don’t understand why you can’t condemn his praise of Vladimir Putin,” he said.
“George, again, I don’t speak on behalf of other politicians, they can all speak for themselves,” Cotton responded, again dodging Stephanopoulos’ question. “I’m delivering my message to you, which I said has been clear, whether Barack Obama was president, whether Donald Trump was president, and now whether Joe Biden was president, that Vladimir Putin has been a ruthless dictator for years. Too many people have not taken the threat seriously. And that’s why you see the images we see in Ukraine now. And where we need to focus is on stopping that aggression, supporting the Ukrainians as best we can.”
In an earlier interview on “This Week,” Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., pleaded for American businesses to stop backing Russian-owned enterprises both at home and abroad.
Cotton agreed with the ambassador, encouraging “every American company to scrub all of their operations to provide no support whatsoever to Vladimir Putin’s regime” while Russia continues carrying out an “unprovoked war of aggression.”
“But we can do more than prayers and hashtags and lighting up buildings, George. It’s time for the president and some of our European partners to quit pussyfooting around,” Cotton later added. “The financial sanctions announced last night are riddled with loopholes.”
The United States and other Western nations announced Saturday they would significantly escalate restrictions against Russia’s financial system. Sanctions against major Russian banks, members of the Russian elite and Putin had already been imposed by the United States and its allies. The U.S. and other nations have also stepped up military aid to Ukraine. The countries, however, have yet to launch crippling sanctions against Russia’s oil and gas industry, which Cotton has been advocating for. Russia provides more than a third of Europe’s natural gas.
Putin announced Sunday he had ordered his military to put Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces in a state of heightened readiness in response to what he called “aggressive statements” from NATO countries.
“It’s time to remove all Russian financial institutions from the international payment system. It’s time to impose sanctions on his oil and gas exports which he uses as his primary means of financial support,” Cotton said. “We need to rush those weapons that were announced for delivery yesterday to the front: anti-tank, anti-aircraft missiles, sniper rifles ammunition, fuel supplies, it should have been done weeks ago so better later than never but the Ukrainians have no time.”
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Lucien Bruggeman contributed to this report.
(GAINESVILLE, Fla.) — When Murray was released from prison in July, he didn’t have a source of income. The 54-year-old, whose last name is being withheld because he fears for his safety, is no stranger to struggling financially; he grew up poor in Gainesville, Florida, and resorted to stealing or shoplifting in the past.
“When you live with something in your life for so long, such as criminal activity, you always have this lingering thought in your mind: ‘I know a way to get some money and it wouldn’t take me long to get it,’ Murray said.
He was “down and out” after prison, he said, and doing his best to make a new life for himself, but money was hard to come by.
Struggling to maintain financial stability after incarceration is something that many formerly incarcerated people face; 27% of formerly incarcerated people are unemployed and are 10 times more likely than the general population to be homeless, according to the non-profit criminal justice research organization Prison Policy Initiative.
A new guaranteed income program in Gainesville aims to solve this issue.
Guaranteed income programs across the country give direct cash payments to recipients in order to address poverty or economic inequality, They can be targeted toward a specific population or be universal.
Some critics say these initiatives have to be multifaceted to address the nuances of poverty. Others argue they will stop people from working — though such claims have been debunked — or be too expensive to maintain.
This effort is a collaboration between the guaranteed income pilot program Just Income GNV and Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a national network of mayors and researchers spearheading these kinds of programs. They have selected formerly incarcerated individuals who live in the city to receive $1,000 in January, followed by $600 each month for a year.
Their spending is monitored for research purposes, but the recipients are not told how to spend their money.
One month after his first cash assistance check, Murray said he is already seeing the effects an extra monthly boost can have on his well-being and stability.
He’s disabled and needs assistance with walking, so he plans on using the money to help get a scooter and a car to make transportation and mobility easier.
“It’s a relief, which is amazing. I can plan things now and guarantee they’re gonna happen,” Murray said. “I’ve been able to help out some of my relatives with money for gas and got a couple more other relatives who were low on food and I was able to help with that. And just so many great things that this program has really introduced into my life.”
How it works
The program seeks to address the cycle of financial inequality that often affects people impacted by the criminal justice system, especially in Florida which, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, outpaces the overall U.S. incarceration rate. Florida has a rate of 795 incarcerated people per 100,000 compared to 664 in the U.S. as a whole.
Research has also shown that incarceration disproportionately creates a lasting impact on Black and brown communities, as well as impoverished people.
When people come out of prison, they can face discrimination and barriers to economic opportunities, criminal fines, debt, fees and parole that can haunt them long after their sentence is over, according to Kevin Scott, the director of Just Income GNV who is also formerly incarcerated.
For some, the experience can lead them back into the criminal justice system.
When someone can’t/won’t pay a fee or fine and can’t/won’t show up to a court date regarding the fee, it could result in more jail time or additional debt for them, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Researchers at the National Research Council Committee on Law and Justice also found links between high incarceration rates and the criminalization of poverty through policy changes.
“I see it so many times when I was in prison guys coming back to prison over and over and over again because they didn’t have enough money to stay on the street and us as a society need a better system,” said David, 54, who has asked that his name be withheld out of safety concerns. He is another formerly incarcerated man and Vietnam veteran who is receiving cash assistance.
David finished a 45-year sentence in the summer and said the monthly income has been a saving grace. He said there have been family emergencies that the money has allowed him to handle, including getting his daughter out of a dangerous domestic situation.
“Had not that money been there, I don’t know what would have happened,” said David.
David said the money has given him the extra step up that he needed to succeed coming out of a long prison sentence.
“It’s sad that it boils down to that because I’ve got a lot of education under my belt for jobs,” David said. “But if you don’t have the initial step or a little way to get moving … what it all boils down to is the almighty dollar.”
Tracking the spending
Steady, the technology firm and app that helps Mayors for Guaranteed Income programs distribute money to recipients, said it can track what recipients spend their funds as part of the research and advocacy for this project.
Adam Roseman, the CEO and co-founder of Steady, said that it’s a harmful stereotype that low-income earners spend their money irresponsibly or that guaranteed income recipients may not be financially literate with their funds.
The data the company has seen so far has disproved that, he says: “They’re spending the money on things that are important to their daily lives, food, housing, paying down debt payments, acquiring new skills through career programs.”
Cash assistance, according to Roseman and Sukhi Samra, the director of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, has been extremely helpful in getting people back on track — pointing to other forms of help like the federal Child Tax credit.
“We’ve actually seen income lifts as sizable as 40 or 50% for those individuals that received emergency cash or universal basic income,” Roseman said. “You alleviate some of that major financial stress” that is holding them back from solving bigger challenges.
She says these types of programs have changed lives.
She says she’s seen people escape abusive marriages, address their mental health and well-being, or have offered them a lifeline during times of unemployment or have given them the tools needed to find work.
The ultimate goal: “a federal policy. We are investing in pilots like the one in Gainesville to build the evidence base for a federal guaranteed income,” Samra said.
David and Murray are busy making plans for their families and futures, now that they have some relief knowing they won’t be scrounging for cash to take care of themselves.
In honor of Murray’s mother’s upcoming 75th birthday celebration in March, he says he wants to give back now that he’s got some cash to support himself.
He plans on putting together 100 bagged lunches and drinks for the homeless and for the community, knowing that he was once where they were.
“I appreciate what’s happened in my life and I want to give back and I want to share and give hope to other people,” Murray said.
