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Tanya Tucker demonstrates her technique for collecting snow during water outage amid Texas ice storms

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ABC/Image Group LATanya Tucker is among the many Texans affected by this week’s ice and snow storms, and the singer took to social media to show fans how she’s dealing with the situation.

In a video, the singer explained that while her power had come back on, she still didn’t have water, so she had to get creative. The video shows her scooping fresh white snow from her backyard into a bucket.

“We’ve had probably five or six inches of snow. And [I’m] just taking it and putting it in this thing and…we’ll be able to flush our toilets now,” Tanya explains, smiling at the camera.

“No yellow snow. It’s gonna be yellow soon enough,” the singer jokes, as she finishes collecting snow to bring inside.

Though Tanya and her family are keeping their spirits up, she acknowledged in her post’s caption that the week’s storms have put Texans in a difficult and dangerous situation, one that can be deadly for those stranded or unable to access a warm place to stay.

“No power again & gotta boil the water, actually SNOW, here in Texas,” the singer wrote. “Thinking and praying for everyone else who has it much harder.”

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

Eric Church shares how co-writer Casey Beathard channeled personal tragedy to do his best work on “Hell of a View”

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Reid LongEric Church has previously spoken about the unconventional recording process behind Heart & Soul, his upcoming triple album, which led him and his team to embark on a month-long writing and recording retreat in a makeshift studio in the North Carolina mountains.

During a performance at UMG’s annual luncheon and showcase at the virtual Country Radio Seminar, Eric performed his current single, “Hell of a View,” and shared a story about how a personal tragedy in the lives of one of his co-writers impacted the writing process. Eric co-wrote the song with frequent collaboators Monty Criswell and Casey Beathard. But the singer admits that he wasn’t sure Casey would even be able to join them on their album-making trip, because the songwriter had recently lost his 22-year-old son, Clayton, who was one of two people killed in a stabbing incident outside a downtown Nashville bar in December 2019. In addition to being Casey’s son, he is younger brother to country artist Tucker Beathard and San Francisco 49ers football quarterback C.J. Beathard.

“I wasn’t sure Casey would even be able to be a part of this,” Eric said from the stage. “But I’ve never seen anybody show the kind of strength and faith that Casey did. Even though there was so much tragedy he was struggling with personally, he really channeled the motivation and the creativity to do his best work. And as a byproduct, so did I.”

Specifically, Eric remembers Casey pointing out a few of the lines in “Hell of a View” to him, saying “This is really good. Pay attention to this.”

“I think about that every time I play this song,” Eric noted.

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

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill list their private island in the Bahamas for $35 million

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John Shearer/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & MuseumWant to own your own island?  Now’s your chance because country superstars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are about to part with theirs. 

New York Post reports that the couple, who own L’île d’Anges in the Bahamas, have listed their slice of personal paradise Wednesday for $35 million dollars.

The couple first purchased the island in 2003 but didn’t move in until nearly a decade later as the island needed lots of work.  Meaning, besides building a comfy little home, the two needed to sort out the infrastructure such as bringing water, electricity and other necessities to the private island.

“We set out to build a house,” Hill told Architectural Digest in 2017. “We had no idea we had to build everything else. We basically had to build a little town.”

While the home was being constructed, McGraw and Hill resided in two yurts — which are now included in the property, according to the listing by Knight Frank.

Beyond offering four bedrooms and five bathrooms, the residence boasts 5,000 sq ft of private beaches that surround the island, an in-ground pool, private dock, three staff houses, eight pavilions and nearly 20 acres of land. 

The listing also explains how the future residents can access the island — saying they will have to take a sea plane or private boat charter from the surrounding airports, where travel time from Miami or Nassau can take between 60 to 80 minutes.

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

While stranded inside during an ice storm, Dan + Shay filmed a video for a fan’s wedding request

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ABC/Image Group LADan + Shay had some time to kill this week while stuck inside waiting for the roads to clear, after Nashville — and much of the rest of the country — got hit by a powerful snow and ice storm.

During their down time, the duo decided to spread some positivity to their fan base the best way they know how: through music.

“We get a lot of messages about wedding shout-outs and performances, and we try to do as many as we possibly can,” Dan + Shay explained on Instagram. “The other day (pre-ice storm), a fan asked if we could sing a bit of ‘My Side of the Fence’ for their wedding, so we filmed a chorus on our phone. Figured since we’re stuck at our houses until the roads are cleared, we might as well post it here for anyone else who has been asking about this song.”

“My Side of the Fence” is an album track from Dan + Shay’s self-titled third studio album, which arrived in 2018. In their performance, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney harmonize their way through the chorus, accompanied by Dan’s acoustic guitar.

That guitar, they add in the video’s caption, has some major Dan + Shay history associated with it.

“Tequila [was] written on the guitar (it was a gift and actually sounds better than any of my other guitars, lol),” they explain, going on to poke fun at themselves for the messy hair and sweatpants that they’re sporting in the video. “We’re basically fashion icons.

During the same ice storm, Dan + Shay tweeted a snippet of their hit “I Should Probably Go to Bed” reworked as “I Should Probably Buy a Sled,” along with a video of people trying, unsuccessfully, to use various items as makeshift sleds.

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

Dolly Parton asks Tennessee state leaders not to put up a statue of her on State Capitol grounds

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ABC/Image Group LALast summer, a petition began circulating to replace Confederate statues in Tennessee with monuments to Dolly Parton. The motion picked up steam, even leading to a bill proposing the installment of such a monument on the State Capitol grounds.

But Dolly says she doesn’t think erecting a monument to her would be appropriate — at least, not right now. The singer shared a social media message with her fans this week, explaining why she asked state leaders to remove the bill from consideration.

“I want to thank the Tennessee legislature for their consideration of a bill to erect a statue of me on the Capitol grounds. I am honored and humbled by their intention,” Dolly wrote.

“Given all that is going on in the world, I don’t think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time,” she continued. “I hope, though, that somewhere down the road several years from now or perhaps after I’m gone if you still feel I deserve it, then I’m certain I will stand proud in our great State Capitol as a grateful Tennessean.”

Though Dolly has long been widely adored for her musical legacy, acting roles and humanitarian work, she’s been especially celebrated over the past few years for her advocacy in other areas, particularly after her $1 million donation to COVID-19 research helped develop the Moderna vaccine.

The singer says that while she doesn’t feel like now is the right time for a statue to be erected in her honor, she plans to continue focusing on growing her legacy.

“I’ll continue to try to do good work to make this great state proud,” Dolly concluded.

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