February 19, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

RCA Records NashvilleNiko Moon keeps the positive vibes rolling with his just-released “No Sad Songs,” which follows his upbeat Top 10 single, “Good Time.”

Once again, Niko finds creative inspiration in light-hearted optimism. In “No Sad Songs,” he sets out to wash down the tough week behind him with some uptempo, feel-good party music.

“I don’t wanna hear no sad songs, I just wanna have some fun tonight / Dancin’ all the way ‘til last call, drink in my hand got me feelin’ right,” Niko sings in the groove-heavy chorus of his new tune. “It’s been a long week, a gone wrong week / So keep that good time spinnin’ on repeat…”

The song arrives at a time when Niko’s got plenty to celebrate: “Good Time” recently clinched RIAA platinum certification, and the singer’s team surprised him with the official plaque during a masked, outdoors celebration.

In addition to Niko’s rising career as an artist, he’s also an in-demand songwriter who has penned hits for the Zac Brown Band and others.

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

February 19, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Legacy RecordingsLoretta Lynn invited Margo Price to join her for a new duet rendition of Loretta’s classic 1971 single, “One’s on the Way.”

The new version of the song is from Loretta’s upcoming Still Woman Enough album, a career retrospective featuring fellow female country greats like Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood and Tanya Tucker.

Loretta also shared a behind-the-scenes video documenting the process of recording the duet, filmed at the legendary Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee. In it, Margo reflects on Loretta’s legacy and influence on her own career.

“‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ and those story songs, they gave me the blueprint as a country artist and just as a writer in general,” Margo says. “Loretta said, ‘You either have to be first, great or different.’ She was all three.”

“One’s on the Way” was penned by Shel Silverstein, and is the title track of Loretta’s 1971 album. It was one of several groundbreaking releases from Loretta; it contrasts the glamorous life of celebrities with the tedious life of a woman who feels trapped by her roles as a housewife and mother.  That’s why Margo wanted to duet with her hero on this particular song.

“It’s an important song. It was an important song at the time, and it’s still an important song,” Margo explains. “It was legendary.”

Loretta has gone on to become a major influence for a whole new generation of country stars, Margo included. In fact, when Margo welcomed a daughter in 2019, she named her Ramona Lynn: Her middle name is a tribute to Margo’s musical idol.

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

February 19, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Electric MachineIn his new single “I Hope You Miss Me,” Walker Hayes finds himself left alone in his small hometown after losing a loved one to the bright lights of Hollywood. And even though he’s cheering her on as she chases after her dreams, some small part of him hopes that it hurts her to leave, too.

“You want the part, baby go get it/Can’t wait to see your name in those credits,” he sings in the chorus. “Hope you find yourself, but selfishly/I hope you miss me.”

Though the song’s message could certainly apply to a romantic relationship, Walker says that it was actually inspired by his daughter and her big dreams of moving far away from home one day.

“To me, the sounds of this song and the lyrics emotionally embody something my daughter, Loxley, told me one time when she was four years old — ‘Daddy, you can hold me, but you can’t hold me forever’ — that’s what I hope ‘I Hope you Miss Me’ feels like,” he explains.

The new song follows Walker’s most recent release, “Trash My Heart,” which arrived last spring.

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

February 19, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Allister Ann

Carly Pearce has rarely spoken about her divorce from Michael Ray. But that all changes today, with the release of her soul-baring 29. 

“It’s no secret what I went through in the last year and a half,” she says candidly, “so I think people are like, ‘How are you so able to put yourself out there?'”

For the Kentucky native, it’s really not that different, having kicked off her career with the confessional “Every Little Thing.” 

“I came onto the scene telling you about a guy who broke my heart,” Carly explains. “I then went on to tell you in ‘I Hope You’re Happy Now’ about how I broke somebody’s heart…” 

“And I’m not doing anything differently,” she adds. “I’m honestly just telling my truth yet again, maybe a little bit more raw than even I knew I could do.”

Carly likens 29 to Taylor Swift‘s approach, since the superstar’s become notorious for detailing her relationships in song, with her fans primed to “read between the lines.” Similarly for Carly, being explicitly open was unavoidable. 

“If I wouldn’t have done that, people wouldn’t have believed me…” she reflects. “I’ve always just bled my heart out on a page.”

Initially, Carly admits she felt “so much shame,” she wasn’t sure she could confront the failure of her marriage in song. But Kelsea Ballerini changed her mind. 

“I was so sad and I was so embarrassed,” Carly remembers. “And she said, ‘But what if you give voice to so many people who think that they should be embarrassed and so shameful?… And I remember leaving with a different perspective of what the opportunity was…”

“So that was how I approached all of the music…” says Carly. “We’re all struggling. My struggle just was kind of for everybody to see.”

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

February 18, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Jay TrevinoCody Johnson will be the subject of an upcoming documentary called Dear Rodeo, chronicling his time as a bull rider on the Texas rodeo circuit and tracing how that journey led him to country music.

Ahead of the film’s release, the singer shared a sneak peek of the trailer on his Instagram.

“When I was a kid, I wanted to be the Lone Ranger,” he says at the opening of the clip. “I always had those heroes…Because he’s always the good guy. He’s always the larger-than-life guy that walks in the room.”

Dear Rodeo takes its title from a song of the same name that’s included on Cody’s 2019 album, Ain’t Nothin’ to It. The singer subsequently released a duet version of the song with Reba McEntire, who shares his affinity for the rodeo life: As a kid, she was a barrel racer.

“I always thought everybody wanted to be a cowboy or a cowgirl,” Reba says in the documentary trailer. “It’s a way of life that’s very romantic. It’s honesty. It’s mother nature. It’s what God gave you.”

There’s no word yet on a release date for the Dear Rodeo documentary.

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