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Tim McGraw once cheered up Bruce Springsteen after Grammy loss

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John Russell/CMASometimes, even superstars need a little help putting things into perspective. For rock legend Bruce Springsteen, that perspective once came in the form of a pep talk from Tim McGraw.

After the 2003 Grammy Awards, Bruce was feeling a little low after losing the Album of the Year Trophy (for his project The Rising) to Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me. Then, he happened to run into Tim backstage.

The pair revisited the memory during a recent episode of Tim’s show, Beyond the Influence Radio, where Bruce was a special guest.

“I always remember one thing you said to me. It was the night after we lost the Grammy for The Rising and I came into the dressing room and everybody was kind of down in the mouth,” Bruce recalls in the interview. “And [Tim] said, ‘Hey, what’s the matter, man? You’re Bruce Springsteen.’”

Tim’s always had a knack for prioritizing gratitude and keeping perspective. That’s also been the message behind several of the songs on his 2020 Here on Earth album, such as “Gravy” and “I Called Mama.”

“I always remember that, man,” Bruce goes on to say of the incident. “That took me up, it was kind of a great moment. And I’ve always remembered that when I think of you.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Lady A pop some "Champagne" to toast their newest chart-topping hit

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ABC/Chris HolloLady A are kicking off 2021 on a high note, as their “Champagne Night” officially crowns the Billboard Country Airplay chart for the week dated January 9.

That milestone comes in the song’s 37th week on the chart, making it the longest climb Lady A has ever made to the top spot. It surpasses “What If I Never Get Over You,” which took 35 weeks to get to the top of the chart, and marks the trio’s 11th hit to ever top Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.

“Champagne Night” is also a unique song for the trio in that it began during an April 2020 episode of NBC’s televised songwriting competition Songland. Lady A were the guest artists in one installment of the show, as songwriting hopefuls competed to have their song selected by the band to record. They ultimately chose “Champagne Night,” which was originally titled “I’ll Drink to That,” by songwriter Madeline Merlo.

“This has been a special song for us for so many reasons,” the band’s Hillary Scott tells Billboard. “We loved it so much that it became a single: The first-ever radio single to be released from Songland. So for the fans to love it as much as we do and for it now to be at No. 1, it feels like the best way to celebrate the first week of the new year.”

“Champagne Night” comes off Lady A’s 2019 studio album, Ocean. That project also includes “What If I Never Get Over You.”


By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

'Go-Big Show' is "big action, big danger, big talent" and maybe a "contact high" for Jennifer Nettles

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TBSTonight, Jennifer Nettles sits side-by-side with fellow celebrity judges Snoop Dogg, actress Rosario Dawson, and wrestler Cody Rhodes, for the premiere of TBS’ new extreme talent competition, Go-Big Show.

Make no mistake — this is not American Idol, The Voice, or even America’s Got Talent.

“I immediately was drawn to how different this show is,” Jennifer tells ABC Audio. “Obviously, we’ve seen a ton of talent competition shows. Most of them are performing-arts-based, singing and dancing, and this show is everything except that — to the extreme.”

“It’s like extreme motor sports,” she explains, “extreme body manipulation, extreme animals, extreme sports trick shots. It’s completely adrenalized.”

The Sugarland singer and actress calls it “big action… big danger… big talent” in the tradition of daredevils like Evel Knievel and shows like That’s Incredible, but says it’s the contestants with “big heart” that really spoke to her.

“There is Andrew S., who does a fantastic, like, crazy-wild part-martial-arts, part-side-show — I’ll call it body manipulation — that really, really knocked me out,” she recalls. “Curtis Downs — BMX, amazing, amazing stunt-Nitro-circus kid, does the whole thing — he blew me away.”

Since Jennifer’s hanging out with Snoop, it seems she might’ve had the chance to have a little “fun” with the cannabis enthusiast.

“This whole show was a contact high,” she laughs. “If it wasn’t the adrenaline from the stage, it was sitting next to Snoop. High and hilarity all the time!”

“So a lot of fun…” she continues. “I’ll keep it PG for the families because this is a show for everybody. But yeah, he definitely brought his authentic self to the show in all the ways.”  

Go-Big Show premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET on TBS, with the winner taking home $100,000.

By Stephen Hubbard
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Congress certifies Biden/Harris election win; Trump promises "orderly transition on January 20th"

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J. Scott Applewhite – Pool/Getty ImagesHours after a pro-Trump mob broke into the U.S. Capitol to protest the results of the 2020 election, Congress ratified the electoral votes cast in the general election and certified the victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

The announcement was made by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar at 3:39 a.m. Thursday.  Vice President Mike Pence then repeated the totals at 3:40 a.m., first for president, then for vice president.

Biden will take Trump’s place in the White House on Jan. 20.

Rep. Louie Gohmert and other House Republicans attempted to object to Wisconsin’s electoral votes but did not have a senator join the objection. Gohmert said a senator had withdrawn his objection.

Biden and Harris finished with 306 electoral votes, while Trump and Pence finished with 232.  A minimum 270 electoral votes are needed to win the White House.

In a statement tweeted by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino following the news, President Trump said: “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”

The statement marks the first time Trump has publicly acknowledged Biden’s victory and agreed to a peaceful transfer of power.

Following Wednesday’s protest and storming of the Capitol, four people are dead, according to Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee.  One woman and two men suffered “medical emergencies” at the protests, and have subsequently died, Contee said during a press conference Wednesday night.

Another woman was shot and killed during a standoff inside the U.S. Capitol between law enforcement and pro-Trump rioters.  The unidentified woman was shot by a Capitol police officer after “multiple individuals forced entry into the Capitol building, and attempted to gain access to the house and attempted to gain access to the house, room, which was still in session,” Contee said Wednesday. She was transported to a local hospital where after all lifesaving efforts failed, and she was pronounced dead.

By Libby Cathey, Catherine Thorbecke, Morgan Winsor, and Rosa Sanchez
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Trump tries to justify chaos at Capitol while Biden, President Bush condemn violence

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John Moore/Getty ImagesAs the chaotic scene continued in the nation’s capital with the world watching, President Donald Trump continued to tweet his repeated his false claim that the presidential election was stolen from him and tried to justify the storming of the U.S. Capitol that he encouraged earlier in the day.

“These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long,” he said.

After hours of chaos and as the Virginia State Police arrived at the U.S. Capitol Building, the president called on his supporters to “go home” in a one-minute video message posted to Twitter — which has since been removed across social media.  In the message, President Trump, without evidence, called the election “stolen” and fraudulent,” but told the protesters to go home “in peace.”

“It’s a very tough period of time. There’s never been a time like this where such a thing happened where they could take it away from all of us from me from you from our country. This was a fraudulent election. But we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace.”

“So go home. We love you. You’re very special. You’ve seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel — but go home and go home in peace,” he said.

Former President George W. Bush released a statement on what he called an “insurrection” at the U.S. Capitol, calling it “a sickening and heartbreaking sight.”

“This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic – not our democratic republic. I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement,” Bush said.

President-elect Joe Biden, who was scheduled to deliver afternoon remarks on the economy, addressed the unrest at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday afternoon from Wilmington, Delaware, and called on President Trump to “step up” and condemn the chaos being committed in his name.

“I call on President Trump to go on national television now, to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege,” Biden said. “To storm the Capitol, to smash windows, to occupy offices, the floor of the United States Senate, rummaging through desks — on the Capitol, on the House of Representatives — threatening the safety of duly elected officials, it’s not a protest. It’s insurrection.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.