April 9, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABCThe release of Eric Church’s Heart & Soul triple album is fast approaching, but before its arrival later this month, members of the Chief’s Church Choir fan club have one more chance to get an early listen to an album track..

That’s “Kiss Her Goodbye,” which Eric is debuting exclusively for his Church Choir. The song comes from the middle album of the three, &, which will remain a fan club vinyl exclusive: The song won’t be available to the general public.

Heart & Soul’s rollout begins on April 16 with its nine-track first installment, Heart. The six-song & arrives to Church Choir members on April 20, and the triple album wraps with Soul, another nine-track collection arriving on April 23.

In the meantime, fans have quite a few Eric appearances to look forward to: The singer will feature in an Ad Council PSA for the COVID-19 vaccine, which debuts during the upcoming 2021 ACM Awards.

Eric’s also resuming his rigorous touring schedule this fall. He’s booked an ambitious run of dates for his Gather Again Tour, which launches September 17 and runs through May of 2022. 

The country superstar’s current single, “Hell of a View,” is now a top-15 hit.

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

April 9, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Shervin Lainez/Concord RecordsOne half of country duo Sugarland and a genre-defying solo artist and actor, Jennifer Nettles announced on Friday that she’s planning to release an album full of beloved classic songs from American musicals.

“As a child who grew up in musical theater, this album feels like a homecoming to me,” says Jennifer. “…It is thrilling to be able to celebrate this amazing songwriting with arrangements and vocals that allow them to be rediscovered anew.”

Called Always Like New, the collection features hits from perennial favorite shows such as My Fair Lady and Oklahoma!, as well as newer hit productions like Hamilton.

To assist with arrangements, Jennifer tapped Alex Lacamoire, who is best known for his work on shows such as Hamilton, In the Heights and Dear Evan Hansen, and the singer says she “savored” every aspect of the collaborative creative process.

Always Like New comes out on June 25, but it’s available for pre-order and pre-save now. On Friday, Jennifer also previewed her new album with a first taste of the track list: She released “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” which originally appeared in the 1950 Broadway musical Guys and Dolls.

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

April 9, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Big Machine RecordsThis month, Tim McGraw will return to his August 2020 Here on Earth album, delivering a deluxe version of the project that also features a slew of accompanying videos for its songs.

The Here on Earth Ultimate Edition and Here on Earth Ultimate Video Edition will arrive later this month, but they’re both available for pre-order now. The deluxe treatment bumps the album’s track list up to 22 songs, plus two additional bonus movie tracks on the Video Edition.

Among those movie tracks are “Keep Your Eyes on Me” — featuring Faith Hill, Tim’s wife and fellow country superstar — from the soundtrack of 2017 film The Shack, and “Gravity,” which comes from 2018 documentary Free Solo.

The other new additions to the track list include “Thought About You” and “Neon Church,” two stand-alone singles that Tim released in 2018 and 2019 before departing Sony’s Columbia Nashville to return to his previous label home, Big Machine Records. Tim also included “Cuttin’ Onions” and “Truth Is,” two songs that were Target-exclusive bonus tracks for Here on Earth’s initial release.

The new package also features “Undivided,” Tim’s collaboration with Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard, which came out early this year. Then, there’s the brand-new “God Moves the Pen,” which Tim dropped on Friday.

Six standouts on the track list — “Here on Earth,” “I Called Mama,” “Gravy,” “Undivided,” “Thought About You” and “Neon Church” — get the visual treatment on the Ultimate Video Edition, with special videos for each song.

Both projects come out on April 16, and Tim’s celebration of all things Here on Earth won’t stop there: On June 12, for Record Store Day, he’s dropping a special edition 12” vinyl of “Undivided,” with an acoustic performance of “I Called Mama” as a B-side.

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

April 9, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Capitol Nashville It hasn’t exactly been an easy road for Luke Bryan‘s seventh studio album. But thanks to some of those setbacks, Luke’s fans can today enjoy six new songs, as Born Here Live Here Die Here grows from ten to sixteen tracks with its Deluxe Edition. 

Originally set to come out on April 24, 2020, the set was delayed until summer due to the global pandemic.

“When we went to release Born Here Live Here Die Here, we kinda got delayed because of COVID,” Luke recalls. “So we released Born Here Live Here Die Here here in August.”

“And through that process, even through quarantine, I had written a couple songs and we knew that we still wanted Born Here Live Here Die Here to be out there living,” he goes on.

In addition to the self-penned “Drink a Little Whiskey Down,” “Bill Dance,” and “Floatin’ This Creek,” Luke discovered three more cuts he loved.

“I had these six songs that I found and some of ’em I had already recorded, and I just felt like it was the perfect time to put out a deluxe version of this,” he says. “I love these songs. I love what they say.”

“They have a lot of rural-ness to ’em,” he reflects. “They have a lot of kind of down-home country feels to ’em. And I was excited for my fans to hear ’em as quick as I could get it out to ’em.”

“Country Does,” “Up,” and Luke’s new single, “Waves,” complete the new additions to the set. 

Look for Luke on both Good Morning America and GMA3: What You Need to Know today, ahead of his regular gig as a judge on American Idol on Sunday and Monday, all on ABC.

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

April 8, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Christopher WillardA few weeks ago, Lionel Richie appeared on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Jimmy asked the famed balladeer if he’d ever made love to one of his own songs, with Lionel answering “Not that I can recall.”  Jimmy wasn’t satisfied with the answer, so when fellow American Idol judge Luke Bryan appeared on the show Wednesday night, he sought a second opinion.

“I asked Lionel, ‘Have you ever made love to one of your songs?’ and he dodged the question a little bit,” Jimmy told Luke.

“There’s no way he hasn’t!” Luke responded. 

“He says he doesn’t remember, but I know! Even I have made love to one his songs,” Jimmy replied.

“Everybody has!” Luke insisted.

Jimmy said, “I guess, yeah, so what I wanted to ask you is, do you think Lionel has made love to one of his songs?”

“One million percent [yes],” shot back Luke.

“A million percent?” said Jimmy.

“That may even be a low percentage,” Luke insisted, as the audience laughed.

“Have you made love to one of your songs?” Jimmy then asked Luke.

After stuttering and stammering for a minute, Luke said, “Well…” and then added, “Just let me get back home!”

Hmm. We say the answer to that is also “one million percent.”

(The conversation takes place about 9:10 into the video.)

By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.