Latest / Country Weekly / 2.14.25
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: Now. It's time to catch up with Country Weekly, where
- 0:08we dive into news and gossip from the world of
- 0:11country music. I'm your host, Ken Dawkins, and I will
- 0:15be reading from various sources found online. As a reminder,
- 0:19RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
- 0:22blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
- 0:25read printed material. We'll begin with the first article, dated
- 0:29February tenth from countrynow dot com. Starting off with Hardy
- 0:35announcing the massive twenty twenty five Jimbob World Tour. Hardy
- 0:40will be headlining arenas and amphitheaters across the US and
- 0:44beyond in twenty twenty five with his just announced jimbob
- 0:47World Tour, produced by Live Nation. The tour launches May
- 0:51twenty second with a show at North Island Credit Union
- 0:54Amphitheater in Chula Vista, California, and runs through September. No
- 0:59show is near US, unfortunately. In addition to his previously
- 1:02scheduled dates in North America, Hardy is set to deliver
- 1:06his first ever headline shows in Europe this June. Throughout
- 1:09the track, he will visit iconic venues including Las Vegas,
- 1:12t Mobile Arena, Los Angeles, Kia Forum, Atlanta's Lakewood Amphitheater,
- 1:17New York City's Madison Square Garden. Apparently the only one
- 1:20you kept its original will be rising country acts Cole Wetzel,
- 1:23Stephen Wilson, Junior Zacaris, and McCoy moore. Fans may notice
- 1:28that the new tour poster features a cartoon character in
- 1:30the center, which is the same figure used in the
- 1:32music video for the song that inspired the name of
- 1:35the tour, Jim Bob. When asked what fans can expect
- 1:39from his next year of live shows, Hardy told Country
- 1:41Now that it's poised to be really cool, as he
- 1:44has a brand new set in store. We're playing new
- 1:47music and everything is out of order and in a
- 1:49different order, and it feels like a very very new set,
- 1:51he explained. I pride myself in my live show and
- 1:55I work really hard on it, and I make sure
- 1:57that the people come out to the live show get
- 1:58what they pay for. I think that's important. This news
- 2:02follows the release of the Mississippi Natives' first ever live album,
- 2:05Hardy Live from Red Rocks, which capped off a moment
- 2:09monumental twenty twenty four. The year saw Hearty achieve incredible milestones,
- 2:14including the debut of his chart topping album Quit, earning
- 2:17his fifteenth number one single, and surpassing six billion career streams.
- 2:22Speaker 2: Plus.
- 2:23Speaker 1: He delivered some major performances during the North American tour,
- 2:27such as his first ever stadium show and a headline
- 2:29set at CMA Fest, and as we say, there's no
- 2:33anything close to us on this particular tour. Next Kelsey
- 2:37Ballerini forced to reschedule three shows after cutting Buffalo concert short.
- 2:43Kelsey Ballerini had to cut her Buffalo, New York concert
- 2:46short and reschedule it along with two more dates due
- 2:49to illness. Despite feeling unwell, she pushed through her Detroit
- 2:54show earlier in the week and was optimistic about performing
- 2:57in Buffalo after a day of rest. Determined not to
- 3:00disappoint fan, she started the show, but soon realized she
- 3:03couldn't continue after a few songs. The East Tennessee Natives
- 3:07tour manager appeared on stage to deliver the disappointing news
- 3:10to fans. This is the conversation I did not want
- 3:13to have tonight. She just can't finish. She's too sick.
- 3:17We've given everything, We've tried to do it. Unfortunately, we
- 3:19cannot finish the show tonight, he shared, later, telling fans
- 3:22to check their emails for rescheduled show info. After the
- 3:26details to postpone the show were worked out, Kelsey Ballerini
- 3:29took to social media to share a heartfelt apology to
- 3:32fans Buffalo. I'm so sorry that I could not finish
- 3:35the show tonight, she said. I am sicker than I
- 3:38am trying to be, and I do not want to
- 3:39let anyone down tonight. She continued, I just got through
- 3:43the first few songs and I couldn't do it. I'm
- 3:45so sorry, but I never want to give you half
- 3:47a show. Ballerini went on to share the rescheduled dates,
- 3:50promising fans to make it up to them. So are
- 3:53rescheduling tonight, Buffalo tomorrow, Pittsburgh the next day, Toronto to
- 3:57the end of the tour.
- 3:58Speaker 2: I will make them up.
- 3:59Speaker 1: I will make the best shows I've ever played in.
- 4:01Speaker 2: My whole life.
- 4:03Speaker 1: She vowed to pull out every stop for the rescheduled
- 4:05shows and told her followers, I will make it so
- 4:07worth it. A little while later, she shared a photo
- 4:10of herself hugging a pillow with her beloved dogs photo
- 4:13on it, with the caption also to the sweet fan
- 4:15who made this pillow tonight. I can't even tell you
- 4:17how much I needed this and what it means. Thank you.
- 4:20Speaker 2: I love and appreciate you all. See in a few days.
- 4:24Speaker 1: Kelsey Ballerini Live On Tour twenty five is the Grammy
- 4:26nominee's very first arena tour, boasting incredible production and a
- 4:30career spanning set list that includes tracks from her latest album,
- 4:33Patterns and her fan favorite Rolling.
- 4:35Speaker 2: Up the Welcome Mat Project.
- 4:37Speaker 1: Ballerini recently took her tour to Nashville, marking a full
- 4:42circle moment as she headlined Bridgestone Arena for the first time.
- 4:45The performance showcased her incredible talent and further cemented her
- 4:49status as a must see headliner. Next, Kelly Bannon unveiled
- 4:54soul stirring duet with Charles Kelly nothing On Kelly Banner
- 5:00and delivers pure honesty on the complicated notions of love
- 5:03versus lust in her new single nothing On featuring Charles
- 5:07Kelly of Lady A. This Logan Wall produced tune has
- 5:10felt special to the songstress since the day she wrote
- 5:13it with Claire Douglas and Will Bowen. As the story unfolds.
- 5:17Listeners hear the turmoil the singers are facing while painting
- 5:20a vivid picture of a complicated relationship. From an outsider's view,
- 5:24the couple seems happy together, but in reality, their connection
- 5:27doesn't hold the same emotional depth they once had with
- 5:30a past partner. This uncertainty leads to the realization that
- 5:33they may not be ready to move on yet. Reflecting
- 5:37on the powerful nature of the ballad, Bannon shares, nothing
- 5:40on has felt like it had a little extra magic
- 5:42on it since.
- 5:43Speaker 2: The day we wrote it.
- 5:44Speaker 1: The chorus was literally hanging in the air that day,
- 5:47and we just had to reach up and grab it.
- 5:49This song is about the kind of cosmic chemistry that
- 5:51you can't run from, no matter how much you try
- 5:53to move on.
- 5:54Speaker 2: It's impossible.
- 5:56Speaker 1: Ben and soothing vocals alone lent a richness to the
- 5:58emotional ballad with sultry the undertones, but the addition of
- 6:01Kelly's rugged sound and perspective.
- 6:03Speaker 2: Makes the story feel complete.
- 6:05Speaker 1: I can't imagine anyone sounding more amazing on this song
- 6:08than Charles. His voice is absolutely undeniable, and I'm so
- 6:12honored he'd sing it with me, she adds. He tackles
- 6:15the first verse describing all the little things about his
- 6:17new love interest that should make him fall head over
- 6:20heels for her, but upon reaching the chorus, it's clear
- 6:23that he's still feeling emotionally tied to someone else. She's
- 6:27California pretty, but she's never been. You should see her dance.
- 6:30When she's three drinks in. She lives alone. She leaves
- 6:33her wineglass by the bed, kisses like she ain't had
- 6:36her heart broke yet. Leading the second chorus, Banon finds
- 6:39herself facing the same inner turmoil as she attempts to
- 6:43untangle the realization that even while he's got nothing on,
- 6:46he still has nothing on her former connection. When he's
- 6:50got nothing on, nothing on, nothing on. I'm working on
- 6:52moving on, but there's something wrong. He's got nothing on,
- 6:55nothing on, nothing on, nothing on you, she delivers on
- 6:59the honest chorus, nothing on feels like or nothing on
- 7:03feels like. Several noteworthy releases from Bannon in twenty twenty four,
- 7:07including Don't Fall in Love, Cherry Coke, Can Alive, and
- 7:10In Lieu of Flowers. When she's not releasing powerful tracks,
- 7:14Bannon is busy catching up with her fellow artists while
- 7:17hosting the Kelly Bannon Show and Today's Country on Apple Music.
- 7:21Throughout her career, she has conducted interviews with some of
- 7:24country's biggest names, including Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Luke Comb's,
- 7:28Eric Church, Ashley McBride, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, and others. Meanwhile,
- 7:34Charles Kelly and his band mates Hillary Scott and Dave
- 7:37Heyward of Lady A recently delivered their first show of
- 7:40twenty twenty five and are now gearing up for performances
- 7:43across California on February fourteenth and fifteenth. Additionally, he's celebrating
- 7:48the nine year anniversary of his first solo debut album,
- 7:51The Driver. Moving Along to Jordan Davis keeps the hits
- 7:56coming with in Case You Missed It. Continues to add
- 8:01to the excitement for as yet to be announced new
- 8:03album with the release of the brand new track in
- 8:05Case You Missed It. This nostalgia field song was penned
- 8:08by Davis with his brother Jacob Davis, as well as
- 8:11Paul d Giovanni and Travis Wood. In Case You Missed
- 8:15It finds the Louisiana native sending a message to a
- 8:17past love about their hometown and all the changes that
- 8:20have taken place since she left. They pay that cut
- 8:23through street that I take to your house boarded up BP.
- 8:26Yeah it's a chevron now. That parish bridge that was
- 8:29always out, they finally fixed it. In case you missed it,
- 8:32he sings on the first verse. Despite all the changes
- 8:35in town over time, Davis confesses that his feelings for
- 8:38his ex remain the same. In case you're ever wondering thought,
- 8:42I'd let you know if you get to second guessing
- 8:44and get to missing home wherever, feel like taking a
- 8:47trip down memory lane. Things round here are different, but
- 8:50some stayed the same, like that surprise through those blinds
- 8:54from your side of a king size. Yeah, this old
- 8:56heart of mine's right where you left it, in case
- 8:59you missed it, goes to the chorus. This radio ready
- 9:02tune fits perfectly within Jordan davis wheelhouse, proving once again
- 9:06that he never misses. In case you missed it as
- 9:09expected to be featured on Davis's forthcoming album, which will
- 9:11serve as the follow up to the platinum selling Bluebird Days,
- 9:15which included four consecutive number one singles out of his
- 9:18seven total career chart toppers, along with his platinum certified
- 9:22debut album Home State. The track arrives as Davis I
- 9:26Ain't Saying continues to dominate the charts at country radio,
- 9:30landing in the top five and still climbing this week.
- 9:33Most recently, Jordan Davis toured New Zealand and Australia's direct
- 9:36support for Luke Combs. While on tour down Under, Davis
- 9:39and his wife Kristen are expecting their fourth child. The
- 9:43award winning singer songwriter took to social media to share
- 9:46the news alongside a comical video set to the tune
- 9:48of the nineties sitcom Full House. Twenty twenty five is
- 9:52going to be a big one, mainly because we're welcoming
- 9:54a brand new baby. Pumped to meet you, baby, Davis,
- 9:57he shared. The couple, who married in two thousand seventeen,
- 10:00share three children, five year old daughter Eloise Larkin, three
- 10:04year old son Lachland Joseph, and their youngest Elijah Patrick,
- 10:08born in June twenty twenty three. Next, Landy Wilson teases
- 10:14new duet with mystery artists. Landy Wilson has just revealed
- 10:18that she has a new duet on the way, but
- 10:20she's staying tight lipped on who the mystery artist is
- 10:23that will be joining her. She dropped the major teaser
- 10:26over the weekend while co hosting The Country Countdown USA
- 10:29with Lon Helton, just after leaving the studio with her
- 10:32unnamed duet partner. When Helton pressed for more details, Wilson
- 10:36stood firm in her requirement to keep the secret under wraps. However,
- 10:41she did tease that it's something she is proud of
- 10:43and that it will be unveiled soon. She said, I
- 10:46can't tell you right now. They're going to slap my hand.
- 10:48It's a quick turnaround, something I'm proud to be a
- 10:50part of and something I've done. It's real cool. I'll
- 10:54tell you after we're done. The raining ACM and CMA
- 10:58Entertainer of the Year winner is sir no stranger to collaborations.
- 11:02In addition to her chart topping solo efforts, the reigning
- 11:04ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year We just said that,
- 11:07didn't We has recorded a slew of collaborations throughout her career.
- 11:12She's released duets with artists including Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton,
- 11:15When Owner, Judd Keith, Urban Hardy, Terry Clark, and Wilson
- 11:19and Muscadine bloodline. Several of these stars studtered tunes have
- 11:23also earned Wilson major milestones in her career, such as
- 11:26her collaboration with Jelly Roll on Save Me. Following its
- 11:31release in the summer of twenty three, this fan favorite
- 11:33spent two weeks at number one on the Country Airplay
- 11:36chart and scored a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo
- 11:39Group Performance. I did a few takes, and after each one,
- 11:43Jelly stood up behind the glass, all hype, talking about
- 11:45how much he loved it and pumping me up before
- 11:47the next take. He has this way about him where
- 11:50he can encourage vulnerability and feeling just through his genuine
- 11:53excitement and the way he lifts you up, she previously
- 11:56told Billboard prior to that she and Cole Swindeller two
- 12:00week country airplay number one hit in twenty twenty two
- 12:03with Never Say Never. She happened to be on vacation
- 12:06somewhere and she was sipping on a Pina colada. That
- 12:10was the longest three and a half minutes of my
- 12:11life waiting on her to response, Twindelle shared while recalling
- 12:15the moment he asked Wilson to join him on the song.
- 12:18She's such a great songwriter herself. I knew she was
- 12:21going to be a tough critic, but immediately she texted
- 12:23me back and she's like, this is so huge, I'm in.
- 12:28Most recently, she appeared on Post Malone's debut country album,
- 12:31of Course f one Trillion, with the track Nosedive. Landy
- 12:35Wilson continues to make waves in country music, whether she's
- 12:37working solo or whether fellow singers and songwriters. The news
- 12:41of her forthcoming duet follows the announcement of her biggest
- 12:44tour yet. She will kick off the global run in
- 12:46March and visit ten cities across Europe, including London and Paris,
- 12:50before returning to the US just in time to make
- 12:53a slew of festival appearances. Next, Hayley Whitters Captured the
- 12:59Loneliness follows loss in heart wrenching new song Casserole. Hailey
- 13:05Whitters drops her first solo release in nearly two years
- 13:07with Casseroles, out now via Pegasus Records, Big Loud Records,
- 13:11Songs and Daughters. The platinum selling singer songwriter who's generally
- 13:15known for her love filled, uplifting tunes, is now bringing
- 13:19tears to her listeners through the mournful narrative penned by
- 13:21Hillary Lindsey, Tom Douglas and James Slater. She fully embraces
- 13:27the storyline with her signature io of bread vocals while
- 13:31illustrating the immense loneliness that lies within grief of losing
- 13:34a partner. Whitters acts as the narrator, overlooking the journey
- 13:38of a man who realizes he's now tasked with facing
- 13:40the world on his own and is scared to know
- 13:42what life will look like once his community of supporters
- 13:45stops coming.
- 13:46Speaker 2: By to pay their respects.
- 13:48Speaker 1: Upon hearing the heaviness of the song for the first time,
- 13:51the songstress was met with a rush of emotions as
- 13:53she thought back to the death of her brother and
- 13:56all the pain that came along with that unexpected loss.
- 13:59Discussing the sentiment behind the new single, Witter shares, I
- 14:02was sent this record from three of my favorite collaborators
- 14:04who've written many songs that have defined the foundation of
- 14:07my appreciation for modern country music. Hillary Lindsay, Tom Douglas
- 14:11and James Slater. During my first listen, I was absolutely floored.
- 14:15I lost my brother suddenly thirteen years ago, and from
- 14:18that moment on my life was changed forever. She continues,
- 14:22I particularly remember everyone bringing loads of food and cast
- 14:26roles over and how I couldn't eat for days because
- 14:28I was so distraught. Remembering that moment was what made
- 14:32this song so heavy for me. What happens when the
- 14:34cast roles stopped coming and everyone has moved on? But
- 14:36it feels like you never will as a heavy and
- 14:39somber as the lyric and melody is, I also think
- 14:42there's hope in the message and pray that it lands
- 14:45between ears that need to hear it. Casse Roles follows
- 14:48witners critically acclaimed twenty twenty three ep I'm in Love.
- 14:52Since this project, she has collaborated with Max McNown, Evan Hohner,
- 14:56and Brooks and Dunn Hailey. Witters is currently set to
- 14:59perform a the inaugural of Sand in My Boots Festival
- 15:02on May sixteenth and under the Big Sky Music Festival
- 15:05from July eighteenth to the twentieth. Now we've got one
- 15:10story from people dot Com Country dated February eleventh, Old
- 15:15Dominion raises one point two million dollars for charity following
- 15:19Ryman residency in Nashville. Old Dominion's magic number must be seven.
- 15:25The country band made up of Brad Tercy, Matthew Ramsey,
- 15:28Trevor Rosen, Jeff Sprung, and Witsellers, celebrated winning the Country
- 15:32Music Association's Group of the Year awards seven consecutive years
- 15:36in a row by raising one point two five million
- 15:38dollars for charity over the course of seven shows. The
- 15:42band performed seven concerts at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium from February
- 15:46third through sixth, raising money for seven charities Music Cares,
- 15:51Save the Music, Backline Care, op Trust Fund, CMA Foundation,
- 15:56Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Matthew and his wife
- 15:59Sarah's Ramsey Foundation. Aptly titled seven for seven Residency, the
- 16:04band also set the record for most consecutive shows in
- 16:07Ryman's history. There are so many ways to celebrate something
- 16:11like this, Ramsey forty seven set in a statement shared
- 16:14with people, while also speaking about the band's new song,
- 16:17making Good Time, and this song captures the spark of
- 16:20who every guy is in this band When we started
- 16:23chasing this dream. The journey is just so crazy you
- 16:26can't believe it when it's happening to you. But also,
- 16:29no matter what happens, you never Forget It. Old Dominion
- 16:32brought out guests Bear Reinhardt from Need to Breathe, Stephen Wilson, Junior,
- 16:36Ville Vasser, Ernest and The War in Treaty. The band
- 16:40also teased that a major tour announcement was coming later
- 16:43this month. Sometimes you get so caught up in the
- 16:46moment you get carried away. Ramsey quipped about the premature
- 16:48tour announcement, I didn't realize I was going to do it,
- 16:52but then I did, and then it was out there,
- 16:54at least the news that would be doing a real tour,
- 16:56playing our own shows and making it a night for
- 16:59the Odie. After their successful residency, the band wrote on
- 17:04Instagram Monday, February tenth, we have so many people to thank,
- 17:07but even better as we have so many people to
- 17:09celebrate and share this with. We knew it would be
- 17:13a blast, and we hoped we'd help our favorite charities.
- 17:16They added that the string of concerts was more than
- 17:18we could have ever expected. Following their last show at
- 17:21the Rym and Ramsey edit, at a time when charitable
- 17:23organizations are doing more with less, we all felt it
- 17:27was really important to support organizations that we know take
- 17:30care of people who needed. Now we crawl on over
- 17:34to saving country music, where it looks like two stories
- 17:37here are going to give us maybe more commentary than
- 17:39anything else, but they are interesting, I think. First article
- 17:43dated February tenth, the twenty twenty five Super Bowl and
- 17:47Grammy Awards lock out country performances for going on the
- 17:52third straight year. Country music continues to be one of
- 17:55the most popular and dominant genres in all of popular music,
- 17:59rivaling in hip hop's decade plus previous dominance. Yet on
- 18:03the biggest stages when America comes together to celebrate unifying
- 18:06cultural moments, country music continues to be locked out. Kendrick
- 18:11Lamar was the halftime performer, as we know for super
- 18:14Bowl fifty nine in New Orleans on Sunday, a hip
- 18:17hop artist, and a long string of them. Ever since
- 18:19Jay Z's Rock Nation partnered with the NFL to produce
- 18:22the halftime show back in twenty nineteen. It shouldn't surprise
- 18:27anyone that it's been one hip hop performance after another
- 18:30ever since. And hey, previously hip hop hip hop had
- 18:34been deemed too hot for prime time and had been
- 18:36locked out of Super Bowl opportunities itself. But how long
- 18:40has it been since country music was featured during the
- 18:43super Bowl halftime. It's now officially been thirty one years.
- 18:48You have to go all the way back to nineteen
- 18:49ninety four when Clint black Townya Tucker, Travis Tritt, and
- 18:52the Judge played the Super Bowl halftime to find the
- 18:55last and really only time country music was featured during
- 18:58the super Bowl halftime. There hasn't even been a country
- 19:02artist featured as a guest in over twenty years. Janiah
- 19:05Twain appeared briefly with No Doubt in two thousand and three.
- 19:09Though a country critic is perfectly unqualified to commentate on
- 19:13the quality of Kendrick Lamar's performance, what can be quantifiably
- 19:17determined is that ultimately it was at least partially lip
- 19:20SYNCD presentation punctuated by choreographic dancing. Just like pretty much
- 19:25every single other popular music performance from the pop and
- 19:28hip hop realm, there were no live musicians on a stage.
- 19:32Guest performer Sza didn't even seem to attempt to act
- 19:36like she was actually singing, and how could you with
- 19:39all the precise gesticulations that are required for such a performance.
- 19:43Majority of America stared at their television screens and couldn't
- 19:46tell what the hell was going on. Though there was
- 19:48a lot of movement, which apparently is the most important thing,
- 19:52even to a pre recorded track, the lyrics were incoherent,
- 19:55and any messages veiled or overt or not so over
- 19:58were mostly lost, which frankly is a shame when considering
- 20:01Kendrick's more thoughtful, socially conscious and clever lyricism, and that
- 20:05really is the kick in the pants. Kendrick Lamar is
- 20:08one of the most critically acclaimed hip hop artists of
- 20:10all time, and there he was doing a song and
- 20:13dance routine to a pre recorded track, as opposed to
- 20:16being live and in the moment. The week previous, Kendrick
- 20:19Lamar had earned five Grammy Awards leading the field, including
- 20:22his Drake distrack Not Like Us, winning Record of the
- 20:25Year and Song of the Year, the same song that
- 20:28capped off his super Bowl performance early February. Is now
- 20:31arguably the epicenter for culturally unifying moments in media and music,
- 20:35with the Super Bowl being very much a musical event
- 20:38along with a sports one, similar to many recent Super
- 20:41Bowl halftime performances, The Grammy Awards were primarily dominated by
- 20:45lip sync performances in choreographic dancing without a live instrument
- 20:49to be seen on stage. Billboard remarked rock as the
- 20:53second biggest genre in the US. Why was it missing
- 20:56from the Grammys? That's a good question, and even better,
- 20:59qui is why country can claim the same thing. Aside
- 21:03from Brad Paisley appearing in a multi genre opening segment
- 21:06with Dawes centered around the La Fires, Lanny Wilson appearing
- 21:10in tribute to Quincy Jones, and an appearance by Shaboozi,
- 21:13country music was nowhere to be seen. Actual music keeps
- 21:17going missing from musical performances in lieu of the pre
- 21:20recorded backing tracks and what boils down to dance routines.
- 21:24Sierra Ferrell was the second highest Grammy winner in twenty
- 21:27twenty five, with four trophies, sweeping all of her nominations.
- 21:30Similar to Kendrick Lamar, she would have stunned the world
- 21:33with a Grammy performance, but none was bestowed and all
- 21:36of her wins were relegated to pre telecast. Country fans
- 21:40and pundits have been complaining about the lack of representation
- 21:43at the Super Bowl for years now, at least at
- 21:45past Super Bowls. Country artists were selected for National anthem performances.
- 21:49This year it was John Bautiste, but now others are
- 21:52beginning to take note. Believe it or not, The New
- 21:54York Times recently asked the question, the Super Bowl finally
- 21:57embraced rap, is their room for country. The article quotes
- 22:01the chief executive of Rock Nation, Desire Perez, who says
- 22:04she can't wait until we get some country music and
- 22:06follows up that's definitely something we're working on to make
- 22:09sure that we're covering all kinds of music. It'll be
- 22:12interesting to see how long the partnership between the NFL
- 22:14and Rock Nation continues itself. But it would be even
- 22:17more interesting to see a country artist get an opportunity
- 22:20at the fifty yard line, and not just because it
- 22:22would finally mean country music got its opportunity. It will
- 22:25also likely mean actual instrumentation and live vocals, or at
- 22:29least it should. I do believe Harry Connick Junior deserves
- 22:33a high five for his salute to Marti Gras and
- 22:35New Orleans. It took place before the game. Next ding dong,
- 22:41The CMT Awards are dead. The CMT Awards are no longer,
- 22:47at least for now and likely forever, and it couldn't
- 22:49have come sooner, says Saving Country Music, or to a
- 22:52more deserving presentation. Country music's ugly stepchild of an awards
- 22:57show is a forum for some of the most embarrassing
- 22:59moments from B level stars over the years, and now
- 23:02hopefully these meaningless awards will end up right where they
- 23:05belong the dustbin of history, from Zach Brown's weird f
- 23:09bomb amid the cratering of his career to Kelsey Ballerini's
- 23:12forced drag queen Story Hour performance in twenty three, like
- 23:16simply presenting drag queens on a country show will miraculously
- 23:19make homophobes change their stripes to jelly rolls, shake shack
- 23:23preacher sermons complete with alligator tears for an awkward award
- 23:27nobody gives us damn about. It had all become downright
- 23:30inadvertently comical. We knew this was probably coming, says Saving
- 23:35Country Music. After the last round of bloodlutting at CMT,
- 23:38which included the company's high profile senior vice president, Leslie
- 23:42Fram and other top talent. The cuts came amid the
- 23:45cost cutting doom cycle that the cable network has been
- 23:47suffering from for years now divesting in original content as
- 23:51opposed to doubling down on it. An impending merger of
- 23:55CMT's parent company, Paramount Global with David Ellison's Skydance Media,
- 24:00has accelerated cost cuts as they looked to shed five
- 24:02hundred million dollars in overhead ahead of the merger. Though
- 24:06the company has promised not to touch MTV's VMA Awards,
- 24:10which continue to be a cultural moment, or Nickelodeon's Kids.
- 24:14Speaker 2: Choice Awards, all of the other awards shows.
- 24:16Speaker 1: Are getting the acts, including the CMTS. According to an
- 24:19internal memo, one of the worst aspects of the CMT
- 24:23Awards was how media outside of country music and some
- 24:26dyslexic country fans never could tell the difference between them
- 24:29and the much older and venerated Country Music Association Awards
- 24:33or CMAS. Not that on a bad year the CMAS
- 24:36or anything to write home about or be proud of
- 24:39as a country fan either says saving country music, but
- 24:41at least there was some history and meaning behind them.
- 24:45As fan voted awards that centered around videos. The CMT
- 24:48Awards always had a credibility problem by not being able
- 24:51to draw top talent, and in recent years being completely
- 24:54out of step with country fans by trying to force
- 24:57corporate HR style diversity initiatives upon a fan who just
- 25:01weren't having it. The CMT Awards used to be a
- 25:03centerpiece of June's CMA Fest in Nashville, but strangely moved
- 25:08to austin the last couple of years, where they were
- 25:10even more out of place. Hypothetically, you could trace the
- 25:13awards back to the old Music City News Awards launched
- 25:16in nineteen sixty seven, which then became the fan voted
- 25:19Viewers Choice Awards, airing on TNN in nineteen eighty eight.
- 25:24Then in two thousand and one they moved to Sistern
- 25:26Network CMT, and by two thousand and two they were
- 25:29completely retooled around videos and became the fan voted CMTS.
- 25:34But any in all history was led out of the
- 25:36awards through the various iterations whenever a legendary country performer passed,
- 25:41few if anyone would cite how many CMT awards they
- 25:43accrued like they would with the CMAS or ACM Awards. Ultimately,
- 25:48the CMT Awards just became a distraction in country and
- 25:51seemed to devalue all country music awards. But became even
- 25:54more redundant and ubiquitous when NBC and the Grand Old
- 25:57Opry launched their ill conceived People Choice Country Awards and
- 26:01its seventeen nominations for Beyonce's last cycle. The CMTS allegedly
- 26:06tried to give Beyonce an award in twenty twenty four,
- 26:08as well, inventing one out of the whole cloth to
- 26:11entice her to the presentation. Beyonce declined, So it's fair
- 26:15to question how long for the world all music awards
- 26:18shows are. But the CMTS always seemed like an excessively
- 26:21dumb exercise. At least, country music's second tier talent will
- 26:25forever have a handy weight whenever brisk births of wind
- 26:28threatened to blow papers off their desk. But except for that,
- 26:32says saving country music, a CMT award is just about
- 26:35good for nothing. Finally, we head over to billboard dot
- 26:39com with the first and only article dated February seventh,
- 26:42Jelly Roll and Brandon Lake release collaborative version of heart
- 26:46Fought Hollelujah. Country Christian artist Brandon Lake and country artist
- 26:50Jelly Roll have teamed up for a collaborative version of
- 26:53Lake's hit song hard Fought Allelujah, which arrived on February seventh.
- 26:58Lake first released the song Lastek Jerren, a quickly hit
- 27:00number one on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart. The Jelly
- 27:04Roll Lake version infuses the song with an extra shot
- 27:06of soul and angst as the two artists lend their
- 27:09voices around lyrics that detail how facing trials and battles
- 27:13can result in his strength and resolve. Lake takes the
- 27:16first verse and chorus, saying there's days when praise comes
- 27:19out easy and days when it takes all the strength
- 27:21I got. Jelly Roll soon joins in, adding his point
- 27:24of view on the value struggle, revealing the depth of
- 27:27truth of a personal faith case faith isn't proven like
- 27:30gold till it's been through the fire. Together, they sing
- 27:33of finding the fortitude to lift their hands higher and
- 27:36praise and gratitude even when it's hard to do. Jelly
- 27:39Roll feels like a natural collaborator on this song, given
- 27:42his own track record of tunes that blend heartache struggle
- 27:45in faith, such as Son of a Sinner and half
- 27:47Way to Hell. Jelly Roll previously took to social media
- 27:51to discuss being part of the song This is So
- 27:53Hard to talk about because I've been called a lukewarm,
- 27:56a fence writer. I've been called cuss and Christian. You know,
- 27:59I've had all these people, and I know that God's
- 28:01got a lot more to.
- 28:02Speaker 2: Do with me.
- 28:03Speaker 1: I know that Lake responded, you are thinking so dangerously
- 28:06outside of the box even with me, do you could
- 28:08have called anybody else in town in something a little
- 28:11less controversial? And endearingly, Lake immediately explains why he chose
- 28:15Jelly because I got his heart. Lake has earned four
- 28:18number one Christian airplay hits, including the nine week chart
- 28:21topper That's Who I Praise. This concludes the reading of
- 28:26Country Weekly.
- 28:27Speaker 2: For this week.
- 28:27Speaker 1: If you have any comments or suggestions about the program,
- 28:30kindly call us at eight five nine four two two
- 28:33sixty three ninety. Thanks for joining me and on behalf
- 28:35of everyone here at RADIOI. This is Ken Dawkins, wishing
- 28:38you a great day.