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Kacey Musgraves has "full-circle, bucket list moment" by joining new Studio Ghibli movie

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image GroupKacey Musgraves may have some new music in the works, but there’s another project that has her even more excited — she’s will be making her voice acting debut in a Studio Ghibli movie.

The “Follow Your Arrow” singer, 32, will be voicing the main character’s mother in the animated adaptation of Earwig and the Witch.  In addition, she will also lend her voice to perform the English version of the movie’s theme song, “Don’t Disturb Me.”

“My all-time biggest heart dream came true,” She tweeted in a Tuesday announcement. “Thank you @StudioGhibli for having me sing & voice a part in your new movie.  Can’t wait for everybody to see this one.”

The singer revealed that she has always been a fan of Studio Ghibli, saying she fell in love with the movie My Neighbor Totoro when she was five.  

“I’ll never forget the comfort and the magic that movie (and many other Ghibli films) have given me,” she continued. “To say this was full-circle, bucketlist [sic] moment is an understatement.”

Earwig and the Witch is based off the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, the author of Howl’s Moving Castle — another novel Studio Ghibli adapted into a feature-length animated film in 2004.  The story follows an orphan who discovers that her mother was a witch and moves into the home of a very peculiar pair.

Earwig will be directed by Gor? Miyazaki, Hayao Miyazaki‘s son. Earwig will be the studio’s first fully computer-animated feature.

The movie is set to premiere on Japan’s NHK Network on December 30, 2020.  The movie will head to the U.S. for a theatrical release in early 2021, reports IndieWire.

Studio Ghibli is behind other beloved classics like Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Lauren Alaina to star in the next installment of CMT’s 'Off the Road' digital series

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Courtesy of CMTLauren Alaina is taking fans behind the scenes of her quarantine-era daily life with a new installment of CMT’s Off the Road digital series.

The 2020 version of CMT’s On the Road digital franchise, which follows artists on tour, Off the Road follows what artists are doing as they deal with life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My life has been turned upside down this year like everyone else’s” Lauren says in a trailer for the show. “I love to be onstage. I’ve been doing it for 10 years. So it’s been really important to me to find ways to still connect with people.”

The new show will follow along as Lauren gets ready for the holidays, even taking virtual cooking lessons from her Nana.  Fans can also get a behind-the-scenes look at her Macy’s Thanksgiving Day performance in New York City, and see all the ways she’s kept busy and connected to her fans despite not being on tour.

Lauren’s installment of Off the Road premieres on Thursday night at 6pm on CMT’s digital platforms.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Runaway June’s Naomi Cooke is engaged to Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson

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Ford FairchildTalk about a great crossover collaboration! Runaway June band mate Naomi Cooke announced this week that she’s engaged to Martin Johnson, of emo and alt-rock group Boys Like Girls.

Per People, Martin popped the question on Sunday, about one-and-a-half years after the couple began dating. They’ve kept their relationship fairly quiet up until now, but Naomi shared her good news — and a snapshot of her brand-new ring — on Instagram Wednesday.

“By the look of my nails, he surprised me,” she wrote in the caption, alongside a picture of herself cozied up with her new fiancé.

The couple have worked together musically in the recent past, too. Martin co-wrote “Christmas on the Radio,” one of the originals on Runaway June’s new holiday project, with songwriter Sam Hollander.  That song is one of the six tracks on the band’s latest EP, When I Think About Christmas, which came out in October. It also includes a handful of holiday classics, as well as another original song co-penned by band mate Jennifer Wayne.


By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sure, 2020 was a "Burning House," but Cam's "committed to a Christmas" for the ages

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RCA After the year that was 2020, Cam says there’s no doubt about it: we need Christmas, and she’s planning on making this one for the ages! 

So just like the holiday classic she recorded last year, the native of the Golden State is heading west to be “Home for Christmas.”

“We’re going to my parents house in California,” Cam tells ABC Audio. “We’re gonna take the trailer, load up the pups, the baby, drive across.”

“I’ve never been more committed to a Christmas I think,” she laughs.

With her daughter Lucy set to celebrate her first birthday on December 21, the “Burning House” hitmaker’s excited to do the Santa thing, complete with all the trimmings.

“There’s gonna be all the eggnog and cider and popcorn balls and decorations on the tree,” she predicts. “And obviously the kids will go to sleep, and it probably will all be lost on my nephew and my daughter, but it will mean something to me.”  

Cam’s already gotten a bit of an early Christmas present herself, as People ranked her sophomore record, The Otherside, as the ninth best album of 2020 in any genre, touting its “honest lyrics and wrenching vocals from a rising Nashville star.”

By Stephen Hubbard
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Kacey Musgraves appearing on 'Sesame Street'

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Tim Mosenfelder/Getty ImagesKacey Musgraves is heading to Sesame Street. 

The multi-Grammy Award winner revealed on Instagram on Wednesday that she’s taped an episode for the iconic PBS show. 

The singer shared the news alongside a gallery of photos from the set, posing in a powder blue suit and hat to match alongside the puppet cast of Elmo, Big Bird, The Count and more.

One photo shows her making a sour face alongside Oscar the Grouch, while another finds her gazing up at Big Bird with a glowing smile, along with a few snaps from inside the famous Hopper’s Store.

“SEE YOU ON THE STREET!” she captions the fun-filled post.

Additionally, the Golden Hour singer is jetting across the ocean next year to perform at 2021 Lollapalooza in Stockholm, Sweden, taking place July 2-4. She joins a lineup that includes Pearl Jam, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Lewis Capaldi and many more. Kacey will help kick off the festival with a performance on July 2. 

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.