August 21, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Big Loud RecordsHardy takes a roundabout route to romance in “Boyfriend,” the newest tune to be released off his forthcoming debut album.

In the song, he lists all the reasons why he wants to change his relationship status with his girlfriend.

“I’m tired of talking ‘bout babies and diamond rings / And I’m so sick of driving clear across this town / Every night from my place to yours, girl / I don’t wanna be your boyfriend anymore,” he sings in the first verse.

By the chorus, though, it’s clear that a breakup isn’t what Hardy has in mind. Instead, he’s hoping to upgrade his status from “boyfriend” to “husband.” The singer says the idea for the tune comes straight from his relationship with his real-life leading lady.

“This song comes from a personal experience, inspired by the one and only Caleigh Ryan, my girlfriend,” he explains. “This is the first ‘I love you’ song that does not have a redneck twist that I’m releasing — the first vulnerable love song that I’ve put out, and I’m excited for people to see that side of what I do.”

“Boyfriend” comes off Hardy’s first full-length album, A Rock, which drops in September.

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

August 21, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image GroupEver since Carly Pearce announced that she was splitting from her husband, Michael Ray, the singer has been hinting that she’s been hard at work on new music. This week, she posted a cryptic clue on social media that left fans wondering if that new music is getting closer.

Carly shared a black and white photo of herself in the studio, wearing headphones and standing in front of a mic as her hair obscures her face. “He’ll hide the red flags for a little while…”she captioned the image.

If this hint does mean a new song from Carly, it won’t be the first she’s shared this summer: In June, she debuted a new tune during a performance on the Grand Ole Opry stage.

Called “Show Me Around,” that track tributes her longtime producer busbee, who died last September. Her self-titled sophomore album, which came out in February, is the last full project that busbee worked on.

That same month, Carly hinted that more new material was in store, since quarantine had turned out to be a surprisingly creative time for her.

“And unexpectedly, I started writing…” she related, “because I just put out an album in February. So I was like, ‘Wait a minute, I still have all this music that I need to go out there and do and perform and live.’”

Carly and Michael announced their divorce in June. They’d been married since October of 2019.

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

he’ll hide the red flags for a little while… pic.twitter.com/Lt2Jt3tr0L

— Carly Pearce (@carlypearce) August 20, 2020

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August 21, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LAAhead of the October release of her holiday album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, Dolly Parton has shared the project’s tender final track.

“Mary, Did You Know?” is an intimate conversation with Jesus’ mother, centered around the faith-based aspect of the holiday season. It’s a poignant topic for Dolly, who felt particularly touched by this song during the album-making process.

“‘Mary, Did You Know?’ is one of the greatest, sweetest, [most] well-written songs I’ve ever had a chance to sing on,” she says. “When I was recording it, I got very emotional. It is to me what Christmas is about and I’m proud to be able to sing it for my upcoming album.”

Faith-filled music has been a particular focus of Dolly’s for the last several months. She scored a Grammy-winning hit with “God Only Knows,” a collaboration with Christian act For King & Country, in 2019. She then teamed up with another faith-based artist, Zach Williams, to drop “There Was Jesus,” which became her first Top 10 single on Christian Airplay charts.

Elsewhere on A Holly Dolly Christmas, Dolly explores festive originals and timeless seasonal classics, teaming up with all-star acts like Willie Nelson, Jimmy Fallon and more.

The album is due out in full on October 2.

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

August 21, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LAJust four weeks before Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard and his wife, Hayley, are expecting to welcome their third child, the singer has been sidelined by an injury. He updated fans on his condition Friday morning.

“My world has drastically slowed down over the last two days,” he explained. “I was at the track riding my dirt bike a couple days ago, over-jumped a jump, landed flat and blew out my ankle.”

Tyler then showed off his boot to the camera, going on to say that he suffered an Achilles tendon rupture as well as a broken ankle bone.

“Unfortunately I have to get surgery next week, and then we’ll start the journey to recovery,” he said, adding that what makes his injury even more frustrating is that his wife is currently in her last few weeks of pregnancy, and he can’t be helpful around the house. Plus, he might not be fully recovered by the time the baby’s born.

“Doc said his goal was to have me walking in five weeks. Hayley and I said, ‘Make it four weeks because that’s when baby number three gets here,’” Tyler said.

Despite his injury and the additional stress of the last weeks of his wife’s pregnancy, the singer said that he was trying to focus on the positive.

“I’m gonna work on my mental game, and apparently some upper body,” he added with a smile.

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

August 21, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Big MachineToday, Tim McGraw‘s first solo album in nearly five years, Here on Earth, arrives. But, save for one phone call, Tim might be practicing law in Louisiana, having never followed his musical dreams. 

You see, Tim’s mother Betty missed her own high school graduation after becoming pregnant with Tim, and went on to work multiple jobs to support him and his sisters as a single parent. So it was especially important to her that Tim have an easier life.  

“I was in college and I knew how bad she wanted me to go to college,” Tim recalls. “And I was in pre-law and I was gonna go to law school and do all that stuff.”

“And I was a pretty good student coming out of high school,” he reveals, “and I knew how bad she wanted me to do that.”

But even with his interest in justice and politics, Tim couldn’t stifle his onstage aspirations.

So, just as he sings in the top-ten lead single from the new album, Tim “Called Mama.”

“I remember calling her — and getting up the nerve to call her — to tell her that I was gonna quit college and move to Nashville,” Tim says, on the verge of tears. “And it took me a while to do that.”

“And when I told her, she just said, ‘I’m surprised you hadn’t done it already,'” he remembers. “And that was her way of just telling me, ‘Go do it.'”

“So, you know, she’s a big deal to me,” he adds.

These days, it’s Tim who’s giving his stamp of approval to spur others onward. Devin Dawson‘s new single, “I Got a Truck,” was inspired by the story Tim told him about being willing to put his vehicle up for collateral while struggling to make it. 

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