November 30, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

HBO MaxThe trailer for Carrie Underwood‘s HBO Max special is giving fans a preview of what will be a truly festive holiday event. 

My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood finds the superstar singer performing a myriad of Christmas classics and original songs from her album My Gift. 

Poised on an elaborately decorated stage adorned with elegant Christmas trees, Carrie is seen in the trailer crooning “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” followed by a jubilant performance of “Let There Be Peace” supported by a socially-distanced choir. 

In between a pitch-perfect duet with John Legend on “Hallelujah,” Carrie can be seen belting out “O Holy Night” and offering the festive “Favorite Time of Year.” 

“More than anything, I wanted to make this album full of so much love and so much heart and we wanted to bring it to life in a visual way,” Carrie says in the clip, as she reflects on the meaning of Christmas growing up.  

The special also offers an inside look at the recording process of “Little Drummer Boy,” which features vocals by Carrie’s five-year-old son, Isaiah. 

My Gift: A Christmas Special debuts on HBO Max on December 3. 

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

November 30, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

BMLG Records Lady A walks down memory lane in the video for their original song, “Christmas Through Your Eyes.” 

The trio of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood share a compilation of Christmases past with vintage clips of their childhood memories, including snowball fights, pictures on Santa’s lap and Charles opening a guitar on Christmas morning.

But the Grammy-winning trio now see Christmas through their own children’s eyes. They include Hillary’s eldest daughter, Eisele, and twin girls Betsy and Emory posing with Santa, to Charles passing on his love of music to his son Ward, who can be seen playing his own toy guitar before his dad teaches him how to play his mini drum set. A sweet snap also shows Dave teaching his daughter, Lillie, how to play guitar.

Other precious memories featured include the trio and their kids dressed in their finest matching holiday pajamas for a special performance for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital before the video ends with a young Hillary singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

“Christmas Through Your Eyes” is featured on the recently released deluxe edition of Lady A’s 2012 album, On This Winter’s Night. 

The group will perform two songs tonight on CMA Country Christmas, airing at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

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

November 30, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Mark Horton/WireImageBrad Paisley is getting into the Christmas spirit with Elf on the Shelf. 

The singer has partnered with The Lumistella Company, the creators of Elf on the Shelf, to kick off the holiday season by reciting “The Elf on the Shelf’s Night Before Christmas Storytime.” 

The original story follows a Scout Elf’s journey to salvage Christmas Eve after it’s almost ruined before Santa steps in and saves Christmas.

Brad is a longtime fan of the Elf on the Shelf phenomenon and is known to share photos and videos on social media of his Scout Elves, Snowflake and Pinocchio, getting into mischief. 

“Around our house, the Christmas season is full of family time and fun traditions. One of my favorites is waking up every morning to discover what kind of happiness and hoopla The Elf on the Shelf Scout Elves got in to while we were asleep,” Brad says. “Our Scout Elves, Snowflake and Pinocchio, know how to make the holidays a time of joy, celebration and craziness.”

Brad’s “Storytime” session will stream on the Elf on the Shelf YouTube channel on December 2.

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

November 30, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Dustin HaneyMatt Stell is going for gold. 

During a Grand Ole Opry performance over the weekend, Matt was surprised backstage with a plaque signifying that his single, “Everywhere but On,” has been certified Gold by the RIAA. 

“That is incredible,” Matt marveled after opening the wrapped plaque presented to him by Runaway June member and Circle All Access host Natalie Stovall. “This song means as much to me as any song that I’ve ever written because I’ve lived so much of this song and once I released it, I lived a bunch more of it,” he continued. “So this is really special.” 

“Everywhere but On” recently became Matt’s second consecutive number-one single following his debut hit, “Prayed for You.” Both tracks are featured on the Arkansas native’s latest EP, Better Than That, released in October.

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

November 30, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABCKeith Urban is heading back to his native land in Back to the Outback. 

The country superstar has joined the cast of the upcoming animated Netflix movie that follows a group of Australia’s venomous animals, who are well-meaning on the inside, as they escape from captivity at a zoo and travel across the country to find freedom in the remote land of the Outback. 

Keith, who was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, voices the character of a cane toad named Doug in a cast led by Isla Fisher, the voice behind main character, Maddie, a snake who leads the escape. 

Australian actors Eric Bana, Tim Minchin, Guy Pearce and Miranda Tapsell are among the others offering their voices to animated animals including Zoe, a thorny devil lizard, and Nigel the scorpion. 

Back to the Outback is slated to debut in fall 2021.

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