December 7, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Terry Wyatt/FilmMagicChris Lane and his wife Lauren are expecting a baby in 2021. 

The couple revealed the news via Instagram on Sunday, sharing a video of an ultrasound with Chris’ song “Big Big Plans” playing over it. “Prayer works! Hope you look like your Mama,” he writes. 

Lauren tells People that she felt compelled to take a pregnancy test after having a “funny feeling” that she was pregnant, even though there weren’t any physical signs. After the second line came up fuzzy on the first test, the couple bought a digital test that confirmed the pregnancy, though Lauren admitted that she took several more tests to be certain.  

“Because I was so early we both were shocked but cautiously optimistic!” she says. “It was very exciting but now feels even more real seeing the ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat. We are just soaking it all in!” 

Chris popped the question to the former The Bachelor contestant in 2019 at a Bushnell family gathering where he performed “Big, Big Plans.” The video for the hit single features clips from the couple’s wedding day.

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

December 7, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Ford FairchildThe first track on Runaway June’s new holiday EP, When I Think About Christmas, is the exuberant original number, “Christmas on the Radio.”

While the country trio may not have written that song — Sam Hollander and Martin Johnson did the honors — band mate Naomi Cooke says that as soon as the three singers heard “Christmas on the Radio,” they knew they wanted to record it.

“It just felt like ‘All I Want for Christmas is You.’ It felt like an insta-classic,” Naomi tells ABC Audio. “And I’d never quite heard a Christmas song like this either. First of all, to have that come across our desk was really special. So we just immediately put it on hold.”

They felt especially lucky to be able to record the song, Naomi continues, because of the pop idols who were initially considering cutting it.

“It’s funny, because that song was originally for Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine,” the singer reveals.

But when they got into the studio, Runaway June dialed down some of the pop elements of “Christmas on the Radio” and dialed up the pure, unadulterated holiday cheer.

“It was a lot more poppy, but now it’s got this, like, ‘Turn on the tunes! Turn on the Christmas stuff’,” Naomi continues. “We want to hear it. We want to get in the mood. It’s just really fun.”

The six-song When I Think About Christmas EP, released in October, includes a handful of classics, as well as an original title track co-penned by the band’s Jennifer Wayne.

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

December 4, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LAMorgan Wallen’s finally making it to the stage of Saturday Night Live this weekend, and the singer has shared a pandemic-themed clip ahead of his appearance on the show.

One day before his performance, the singer shared a teaser clip of himself standing alongside this week’s host, Jason Bateman, as well as cast member Heidi Gardner. Standing side by side and wearing masks, the trio offer a comedy-laced peek into this week’s episode of SNL.

All jokes aside, it’s been a long road for Morgan to get to the SNL stage. He was first scheduled to give his debut performance on the show in October, but lost his slot after a series of TikTok videos emerged of the singer partying without a mask and kissing multiple women. His lack of social distancing cost him his spot on the episode, and rocker Jack White stepped in as a substitute.

But despite some ups and downs over the course of the past year, Morgan’s ending 2020 on a high note. He walked away from this year’s CMA Awards ceremony with the title of New Artist of the Year, and also recently announced a double album, Dangerous, due for release in mid-January.

On SNL this weekend, Morgan’s planning to perform two songs off Dangerous, which became the most pre-added country album in Apple Music history after the singer announced it last month.

See y’all Saturday 😷 pic.twitter.com/LFYDuyIDpp

— morgan wallen (@MorganWallen) December 4, 2020

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

December 4, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Big Machine RecordsIn 2019, the country community mourned the loss of producer and songwriter busbee, who died of a rare form of brain cancer.

Among the artists personally touched by this loss was Carly Pearce: busbee co-wrote and co-produced her breakthrough single, “Every Little Thing,” and he also produced her self-titled sophomore album, which came out in February.

Carly’s been open about the impact busbee had on her as an artist, and the loss she’s felt since his death. Now, she’s unveiling the studio version of a song she wrote in tribute to him: “Show Me Around,” which she first performed on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry back in June.

The song, Carly explains, was inspired by a speech that fellow songwriter Barry Dean gave at busbee’s funeral, which described an idea of what heaven might be like and what busbee might be doing there right now.

“There is no way to ease the pain of losing someone you love, [but] this felt like a really hopeful way to look at our loved ones meeting us again one day and showing us around,” Carly says of the song.

“As my mentor and friend, busbee helped me share the parts of my own life that I could only explain through music,” she adds. “He holds such a sweet place in my heart, and I truly hope ‘Show Me Around’ brings comfort to his wife Jess and their three little girls.”

This Saturday, Carly will return to the Opry stage to perform “Show Me Around.”

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

December 4, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Mercury NashvilleCountry duo Maddie & Tae stress the importance of finding joy in the holiday season, particularly during a year when joy has often been hard to come by, in their powerful ballad, “We Need Christmas.”

Now the band’s Maddie Font and Taylor Kerr offer up a music video that celebrates the holiday’s beloved traditions. The Christmas imagery they focus on is grown-up and glamorous: No matching Christmas PJs or mugs of hot cocoa this time around. Instead, the two singers wear gorgeous, floor-length red and green gowns as they perform the song from inside a beautiful home, trimmed with white lights for the holiday season. Toward the end of the video, Maddie & Tae light candles in celebration of the holiday’s message of hope and renewal.

“We Need Christmas” is the title track of the duo’s holiday EP, a six-song mix of originals and Christmas classics. The project dropped back in October.

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