July 28, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LACarrie Underwood proved her fitness regimen hasn’t slipped during the COVID-19 pandemic by showing off what she looks like after finishing an intense workout.

The “Before He Cheats” singer posted a makeup-free snap on Monday after completing one of her workouts, as evidenced by the two dumbbells situated on a weight bench right behind her. 

Not only that, her nearly 10-million fans were able to see the inside of her home gym, which is furnished with some top-of-the-line equipment like a cycling and home gym machines.

The slightly-sweaty Underwood, who styled her blonde hair in braided pigtails for her workout, is flashing the “love you” gesture to the camera while striking a confident pose. 

“Sending some love your way today,” the 37-year-old cheerily captioned before issuing the loving reminder, “Remember to #ChooseYou!”

The “Drinking Alone” singer also plugged her ever-expanding CALIA by Carrie activewear line, as she’s styling one of her comfy-looking workout tees and fitted navy blue shorts for the occasion.  

Of course, her 9.7 million followers were quick to not only praise Underwood’s natural beauty but also admit her positive message was exactly what the doctor ordered.  

While Underwood is spreading some much-needed positivity and motivation, she also is gearing up for the release of some Christmas cheer later this summer when she drops her first Christmas album, My Gift, which arrives on September 25.  

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

July 28, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Carlos RuizTexas native Parker McCollum happened to come up with his breakthrough hit, “Pretty Heart,” during one of his very first writing sessions in Music City.

The genesis of the wistful ballad was tucked away in his phone, though it would evolve to be significantly different.

“I was looking for some kind of idea or something to go off for a write the next day with Randy Montana,” Parker recalls, “and really just didn’t want to go in empty-handed.”

“So I was kind of scrolling back through some videos and stuff on my phone,” Parker continues, “and I found a video from like 2013 or 2014… And it was a melody of me singing this line saying, ‘What does that say about me that I could love somebody like you?'”

“And I was like, ‘Man, how’d I forget about that?’ You know, just such a killer line. And that whole line didn’t make it into the song,” he explains. “But I took it into Randy the next day. And he was like, ‘Man, we need to chase that.’ I think we finished it that day.”

Of course, the original line from Parker’s phone evolved into the song’s hook, “What does that say about me, now that I’ve broke your pretty heart?”

Ironically, at first, he wasn’t all that thrilled about the tune. 

“Honestly… I did not really like the song,” he reveals. “I did not think it was very good when we wrote it.”

“And then when I was in the studio cutting it for the record,” he remembers, “and I was singing it… I was like ‘Man, this actually isn’t that bad. This is pretty good!'”

Right now, “Pretty Heart” is on the verge of becoming Parker’s first top twenty hit. 

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

July 27, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LAMany country stars are participating in the new viral social media trend, #womensupportingwomen. 

Over the past several days, women have been nominating one another for the social challenge that sees them posting a black and white selfie of themselves and then tagging a fellow female to do the same. 

The trend is building steam in Nashville, with many of the women of country lifting each other up. “Here’s to all the beautiful & strong gals in my life and beyond,” Carly Pearce shares on Instagram with a glamour shot.

Lindsay Ell also accepted the challenge, writing, “All about a women empowerment movement. All about being inspired by the incredible females that surround me in my life.”

“I am very grateful to have worked with and to know many empowering and incredible women!” captions Sara Evans, tagging Martina McBride, who accepts the challenge by stating, “When we lift each other up we all win,” alongside a selfie from her kitchen.  

“I’m so thankful for my strong, amazing tribe!” proclaims Jennifer Nettles with an outdoor shot that shows her cozied up in a sweatshirt, while Runaway June‘s Jennifer Wayne echoes this sentiment with her own nature photo acknowledging the “beautiful, strong, women in my life.” 

Mickey Guyton, RaeLynn and Kassi Ashton are among the other country artists taking the challenge.  

Several Hollywood stars have also participated, including Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington and Gabrielle Union. #Womensupportingwomen currently has more than six million posts on Instagram.

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

July 27, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Big Machine RecordsWhen Rascal Flatts releases their new EP, How They Remember You, on July 31, fans can expect to hear a throwback sound. 

Flatts members Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney say the band has “piecemealed” together the new project — compiled during quarantine as a way to satiate fan appetite for new music — using songs they’ve collected over the years.

“Some of them really do hearken back to kind of the good old days, if you will, of Rascal Flatts sound, and it’s just really well written songs,” Joe Don shares in an interview with the band’s record label, Big Machine Label Group, pointing to current single “How They Remember You” as a strong example of that sound. 

Jay adds that the songs were left over from previous projects and were updated during quarantine, calling the process “very therapeutic.” The Flatts’ guitarist also notes that what makes their sound is lead singer Gary LeVox‘s distinct voice, especially when it pairs with Jay and Joe Don’s harmonies.

“There’s a unique buzz and a blend that happens when the three of us sing together that you can’t manufacture. It either happens organically and naturally or it doesn’t,” Jay remarks, adding, “We’ve just always been driven by message in the song and in the music.”

The EP comes three years after the band’s previous album, Back to Us. The trio announced in January that they’re retiring after 20 years together. 

How They Remember You will be released Friday.

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

July 27, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LAMaren Morris is in the process of writing new music. 

In between balancing duties as a new mom to four-month-old son Hayes, the Grammy-winner tweetedrecently that she wrote a song for the first time in a while. Though she describes the tune as “sad AF,” she notes that she’s thrilled with the end result. 

“I wrote my first song in forever today and it was sad AF. I’m so happy,” Maren says, accompanied by a crying face emoji. 

In answer to a fan’s question, Maren also shares that Natalie Hemby and Daniel Tashian served as the song’s co-writers, the singer describing them as “2 people you can’t have a bad day with.”  

Daniel is known for co-producing Kacey Musgraves’ Grammy-winning Golden Hour, while Natalie is Maren’s bandmate in The Highwomen and is one of the writers on Maren’s swanky “RSVP,” which is also the title of her 2021 tour. 

Maren is still riding high on the success of her crossover hit “The Bones,” which has topped the Billboard Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs chart and marks her first entry on the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart. It reached the top 15 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.  

Her most recent album, Girl, was named Album of the Year at the 2019 CMA Awards.

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

I wrote my first song in forever today and it was sad AF. I’m so happy. 😭

— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) July 23, 2020

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