Capitol NashvilleThe original version of Jon Pardi‘s “Ain’t Always the Cowboy” is nearing country’s top ten right now, but there’s also another, more cinematic take on the song, from the California native’s new Deluxe Edition of his Heartache Medication album.
“I thought about it as like a little movie soundtrack, a little movie, like I’m scoring the movie in my head,” Jon tells ABC Audio. “And that’s how we all kind of came up with this.”
“It kinda starts out real intimate, you know,” he explains, “kind of going with the lyrics, and it kind of builds.”
“And then to where, at the very end, I just see her riding away on the horse into the sunset, and the violins are just playing,” Jon adds, as he imitates the strings.
Known as the “Western Version,” Jon’s new interpretation of “Ain’t Always the Cowboy” has proven to be a hit with the fans.
“We’ve kind of built it up to just kind of be different, instead of just like rockin’ all the time…” he observes. “We’ve had a lot of great feedback on it…people really loved that version.”
The Deluxe Edition of Heartache Medication comes one year after the original release of the ACM-nominated album, and adds the new tracks “Bar Downtown” and “Beer Light.”
It’s up for Album of the Year at next month’s CMA Awards as well. The show will air on ABC Wednesday, November 11 at 8 p.m. ET, live from Nashville.
ABC/Eric McCandless(LOS ANGELES) — It was a fight to the finish on the ballroom floor as Dancing with the Stars whittled the list of competitors down to the top 12 Monday night. Despite a series of breakout performances where a barrage of celebrity dancers finally hit their stride, actress Anne Heche was sent home.
Heche appeared to have an inkling that her DWTS journey was about to end, choosing to share her truth on Monday about how she “moved the needle for equal rights forward” when she openly dated Ellen DeGeneres from 1997 to 2000.
The 51-year-old Psycho star proudly danced the Paso Doble to Katy Perry’s “Rise” and even pulled a Tyra Banks mid-dance by switching up her outfit that paid homage to the Pride Flag. “It’s been a blessing to be on this show,” gushed Heche, who earned 21/30 as her final score. “And to be able to tell my story. And to be able to have a partner to tell the truth with and to learn with.”
Heche’s departure was preceded by a shocking snafu that took place in the final two minutes of the night when Banks mistakenly sent NFL pro Vernon Davis to the bottom two alongside Heche.
It was actually Cheer star Monica Aldama who was sent by the audience to stand before the judges.
“This is live TV,” Banks calmly explained before all three judges quickly agreed to redeem Aldama. “I was reading my cards, but my cards were wrong.”
Emotions were understandably riding high throughout the night, as the dancers were challenged to reflect on their past and made heartfelt tributes to those who had the biggest influence on their life.
There wasn’t a dry eye on the ballroom when Disney Channel star Skai Jackson dedicated her regal and emotional foxtrot to her late co-star Cameron Boyce, who unexpectedly passed away at the age of 20 following an epileptic seizure.
Jackson’s raw emotion, paired with her elegant steps as she danced to John Legend’s “Ordinary People” moved judge Carrie Ann Inaba to tears, who awarded the Jessie alum the first 10 of the season and paved the way for the biggest comeback of the night. Jackson soared to the top of the leaderboard, just two points shy of a perfect score, with an impressive 28 out of 30.
Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe also shined Monday night and, prior to Jackson’s foxtrot, was awarded the first nine of the season with her effortless Viennese Waltz to “Beautiful Crazy” by Luke Combs. However, all the judges seemed to be in agreement that Bristowe needs to start challenging herself by breaking away from the romantic Waltzes and take a crack at some Latin dances.
Dancing with the Stars returns to celebrate everything 80s next Monday, October 12, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Here are the current standings:
First Place: Skai Jackson, Disney Channel star, with Alan Bersten — 28/30
Kaitlyn Bristowe, former star of The Bachelorette, with Artem Chigvintsev — 25/20 Nev Schulman, host of Catfish, with Jenna Johnson — 24/30 Johnny Weir, Olympic figure skater, with Britt Stewart — 24/30 Justina Machado, One Day at a Time star, with Sasha Farber — 24/30 AJ McLean, member of Backstreet Boys, with Cheryl Burke — 24/30 Monica Aldama, head coach on Netflix’s CHEER, with Val Chmerkovskiy — 24/30 Chrishell Stause, Netflix’s Selling Sunset star, with Gleb Savchenko — 22/30 Vernon Davis, Super Bowl champion, with Peta Murgatroyd — 22/30
Lowest score: Jeannie Mai, host of The Real, with Brandon Armstrong — 21/30 Nelly, Grammy Award-winning rapper, with Daniella Karagach — 21/30 Jesse Metcalfe, actor, with Sharna Burgess — 21/30
Glynn County Sheriff’s OfficeBY: JULIA JACOBO, ABC NEWS
(ATLANTA) — Georgia state prosecutors have requested that “racial” social media posts and text messages be used as evidence to show motive in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed while jogging in February.
The evidence the state wishes to use includes posts by all three of the suspects charged in Arbery’s murder, according to court documents filed by prosecutors in Glynn County on Friday.
Travis McMichael, who fired the fatal shots, had sent a “racial” text message on March 16 and posted two “racial” posts on Facebook on June 15 and Aug. 22 — the latter of which was a highway video, according to the notice of intent to use the evidence.
The evidence prosecutors wish to use also includes “racial” Facebook posts by Gregory McMichael and “racial” text messages extracted from the phone of William Bryan, the court documents state.
Bryan repeatedly used the n-word in texts, prosecutor Jesse Evans said in a bond hearing in July, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The texts messages shown at the bond hearing, which Evans said contained “a ton of filth,” are the same that prosecutors wish to use as evidence, according to the court document.
Prosecutors requested that a hearing be scheduled on the matter.
Arbery, 25, was jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, on Feb. 23 when he was killed. Arbery tried to run for his life before he was struck by a car, shot and then called a racial slur by one of the suspects, prosecutors say.
Both McMichaels and Bryan told authorities they thought Arbery was a suspect in a series of break-ins. They were charged in May after video showing the deadly struggle appeared online.
Travis McMichael and Gregory McMichael have been charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. Bryan has been charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images (LONDON) — Serena Williams says she was “undervalued” and “underpaid” in her tennis career, despite earning four Olympic golds and 23 Grand Slam singles titles to date.
It’s been an uphill battle for Williams over the years, who made her tennis debut in the 1990s alongside her sister Venus. She’s also has dealt with systematic prejudice and racial commentary on her physical appearance.
“[But] I’ve never been a person that has been like, ‘I want to be a different color’ or ‘I want my skin tone to be lighter,” said British Vogue’s November 2020 cover star. “I like who I am, I like how I look, and I love representing the beautiful dark women out there. For me, it’s perfect. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“When I was growing up, what was celebrated was different,” Williams continues. “Venus looked more like what is really acceptable: She has incredibly long legs, she’s really, really thin. I didn’t see people on TV that looked like me, who were thick. There wasn’t positive body image. It was a different age.”
She credits her three-year-old daughter Olympia for her newfound appreciation for her body, as she continues to stick up for and support other women.
Williams said she plans to do all she can to change the narrative for “women and people of color” and promote size-inclusivity with her clothing line, Serena.
“In this society, women are not taught or expected to be that future leader or future CEO,” Williams said. “And maybe it doesn’t get better in time for me, but someone in my position can show women and people of color that we have a voice, because Lord knows, I use mine.”
The November issue of British Vogue hits newsstands on October 9th.
ABC/Image Group LAIngrid Andress is the flagship artist for a new livestream performance series from the Grammy Museum. She’ll perform songs from her debut album, Lady Like, which came out in March.
The singer-songwriter has become one of Nashville’s fastest-rising country artists over the past couple of years, hitting the number-one spot on the country chart with her debut single, “More Hearts Than Mine.” That song is featured on her full-length project, as are other fan favorites like “We’re Not Friends,” “The Stranger” and the album’s title track, “Lady Like.”
But Ingrid didn’t stop there. Six months after Lady Like’s release, she announced a deluxe version that expands the full package from eight to 13 tracks. While many of those are the songs that she continued to write in quarantine over the course of 2020, one is a re-imagined version of “More Hearts Than Mine” with Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman and Karen Fairchild.
Also included in the new, augmented track list is Ingrid’s version of “Boys,” a song she initially wrote for pop star Charli XCX back before she decided to expand her career from songwriter into artist.
The singer’s Grammy Museum livestream show will broadcast from Nashville on October 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Tickets are available for purchase for $4.99.
Proceeds benefit the Grammy Museum’s initiatives in music education, and also help keep the organization running while it’s closed to visitors during the pandemic. Other artists participating in the Museum’s livestream series will be announced soon.
Capitol NashvilleThe original version of Jon Pardi‘s “Ain’t Always the Cowboy” is nearing country’s top ten right now, but there’s also another, more cinematic take on the song, from the California native’s new Deluxe Edition of his Heartache Medication album. 
