February 22, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Warner Music Nashville Kenny Chesney is grateful for a past love in his new single, “Knowing You.” 

The slow-burning country ballad finds the superstar recollecting a person from the past who made an immeasurable impact on his life with their “wild and free” nature. In spite of the former lover being the type to not stay anywhere too long, leaving a trail of heartbreak in their wake, the singer is on the other side of that heartache, grateful for what they shared. 

“But god we were so alive/I was a kid on a carnival ride/Holding my breath until the moment/When you were gonna leave me too soon/But I’d do it all over/Because damn it was good knowing you,” he croons in the chorus.

“Maybe they left you to chase a dream, maybe circumstances pulled you apart, maybe they died, but wherever they are, you know they’re bringing all that to that place – because that’s what they do. It’s what they did for you, and you can only be grateful for what you experienced,” Kenny expresses of “Knowing You.” “Country at its very best is true, it’s from the heart. ‘Knowing You’ is just that, it’s all heart.”

“Knowing You” is the fourth single off Kenny’s 2020 album Here and Now, following recent hit “Happy Does” and the title track, which became his 31st number one hit in 2020. 

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 22, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABCDarius Rucker has more than “Beers and Sunshine” to put him in a good mood. 

The country superstar has amassed his 10th #1 single with “Beers and Sunshine” this week. It follows previous hits “For the First Time” and “If I Told You,” released in 2017 and 2016, respectively. 

“Beers and Sunshine” was co-written by Darius, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne and TJ Harding over Zoom at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, offering a feel-good vibe with references to summertime, bonfires and “back porch nights” in his home state of South Carolina. 

“It’s certainly been a challenging year. Like a lot of people, when I got home from being on the road last March and we parked the tour bus for the foreseeable future, we had no idea what our future would actually look like,” Darius says in a statement. 

“I don’t have the answers for how we fix the complex issues that we’re facing in our country or in country music, however while we work through this time, I think it’s important that we balance the heaviness by finding the silver lining, where we can really enjoy the simple joys this song talks about like time spent together with friends and family.”

The track serves as the lead single off Darius’ upcoming sixth studio album. He’ll perform his latest hit on the Today show on Friday. 

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 22, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABCFlorida Georgia Line has their sights set on a Nashville residency for their upcoming musical, May We All, which debuts in June 2022 at Tennessee Performing Arts Center as part of its Broadway at TPAC series.  

Produced by Lively McCabe Entertainment and Brian Kelley‘s production company CuzBro Productions, May We All will also embark on a national tour from 2022-2023, following a multi-week run in Nashville. 

A previously announced film adaption of May We All is also in the works.

Described as a “celebration of America’s heartland,” the stage production follows the journey of Jenna Coates, an aspiring singer who rediscovers her love for her small-town roots after she moves home following several failed attempts to launch a country music career in Nashville. 

May We All features music from a variety of country artists, including Kenny Chesney, Shania Twain, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Kacey Musgraves, along with legends Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and many more. FGL will also exclusively debut two original songs in the musical.   

Ticket information will be available soon.

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 22, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Jason Kempin/ACMA2020/Getty Images for ACMDespite the ongoing controversy and fallout over his past use of racial slurs, country singer Morgan Wallen continues to dominate the Billboard 200.

His sophomore effort, Dangerous: The Double Album, remained atop the prestigious chart for a sixth straight week –which is the longest streak any album from a male artist has experienced in nearly five years.

“Hotline Bling” singer Drake sent his 2016 effort Views on top of the chart, which stayed in the number one spot for 13 nonconsecutive weeks.

In addition, Taylor Swift‘s Folklore remained atop the chart for eight nonconsecutive weeks last year.

In the country world, Wallen is now the first male country artist to send an non-hits country album atop the Billboard 200 in nearly two decades. Garth Brooks’s 1992 studio effort The Chase spent six weeks at number one.

Swift holds the record for women in country music, whose 2012 album Red spent seven nonconsecutive weeks at in the top spot.

Dangerous sold an additional 10,000 albums in the past week, which is down by roughly 75 percent since last week.  The album was also streamed 112.11 million times, which is down about 25 percent.

Despite experiencing a drop off in sales, Wallen continues to profit immensely off his music despite the ongoing controversy.

Billboard estimates the 27-year-old singer made $8.005 million in revenue this year alone, which makes him the leading artist across streaming and album sales charts.  Of that amount, Wallen generated over $2 million in sales since TMZ first leaked the video of the “7 Summers” singer shouting racial slurs in early February.

Wallen has since addressed and apologized for the video in a lengthy video message, in which he instructed his fans to stop defending his actions and admitted he was in the wrong.

By Megan Stone 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 22, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News