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Luke Bryan says it's "heartbreaking" not being able to hug contestants on 'American Idol'

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ABC/Brian Bowen SmithThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new way of life to the set of American Idol. 

Judge Luke Bryan says that due to the ongoing pandemic, there’s a set of new rules and restrictions in place to keep everyone safe. The singer shares that one of the aspects he and fellow judges Lionel Richie and Katy Perry miss most is the human connection between them and the contestants in the audition room. 

“The interesting thing is just trying to navigate all of the new rules of COVID-19. One tricky thing is a lot of times during the audition process, contestants will get very, very emotional and it will be an emotional situation for them. The fact that me and Lionel and Katy can’t walk out there and do the human element — hug and show support and love — is very, very tough,” Luke explains to People. 

“When someone is hurting and they’re emotional, you want to console them and hug them and love on them to help them through,” he continues. “The fact that sometimes we can’t go put our arms around them is pretty heartbreaking.”

Season four of the American Idol reboot premiered Sunday on ABC.

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

Kenny Chesney mourns pilot friend killed in crash: "She was such a huge part of my island life"

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Allister Ann Kenny Chesney is mourning the loss of friend. 

Kenny turned to Instagram Monday to remember his friend and helicopter pilot Maria Rodriguez, who was one of four people killed Monday in a helicopter crash in St. Thomas. In the post, Kenny shares that he and Maria had flown together many times over the past 15 years. 

“She was a dear friend to me and to our island community,” he writes alongside a series of photos that show the two posing in front of an aircraft on the islands and another of them smiling inside the helicopter. 

“It’s fair to say I won’t ever be able to go to the Virgin Islands again without feeling the loss of her. She was such a huge part of my island life,” Kenny continues. “So goodbye sweet friend. I’m sure glad our paths crossed on this side. See you on the other.” 

AIN Online reports that Maria was the recipient of the Salute to Excellence Appareo Pilot of the Year Award by the Helicopter Association International in 2018. BVI News also states that after Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria ravaged the Caribbean in 2017, Rodriguez used her helicopter to distribute supplies to the neighboring island of Anegada.

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

The Chicks reflect on how freeing it was to change their name: "That needed to happen for quite some time"

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DNCC via Getty ImagesThe Chicks left no stone unturned during a recent interview on Apple Music’s Essentials Radio — especially when it came to discussing why they walked away from being called The Dixie Chicks.

The “Landslide” singers — comprised of members Emily Robison, Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire — changed the group’s name in June 2020, during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests.

Maguire reflected on facing pressure over the past several years to drop “Dixie” from their names due to the word’s affiliation with the antebellum South.

“That needed to happen for quite some time,” she admitted. “With George Floyd‘s murder and everything that started happening with Black Lives Matter, we were like, ‘Oh my God. We got to do this and do this as soon as possible.”

Maguire revealed how they arrived at “The Chicks,” saying the name came up during a virtual brainstorming session.

“We had a really funny management Zoom call where we were throwing out ridiculous names and it just came back to… ‘Okay, the most obvious thing is The Chicks,'” she revealed, noting they contacted their legal team to get the name change started once everyone was in agreement over their new moniker.

Maines added that rebranding the 12-time Grammy winning band was unexpectedly freeing for them, adding, “You didn’t even know you were carrying that weight until it was gone.”

With a laugh, Maines also noted that changing their name to The Chicks was eye opening for them, telling Apple Music, “That’s a way cooler name. What [were] we so scared of?”

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

Morgan Wallen extends lead on 'Billboard' 200 for fifth straight week

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Jason Kempin/ACMA2020/Getty Images for ACMMorgan Wallen‘s Dangerous: The Double Album has dominated the Billboard 200 for a fifth straight week. Not only that, the embattled country singer’s debut album If I Know Me rose to number 10 — which previously peaked at number 13.

Wallen’s Dangerous album sold an additional 37,000 albums over the past week — a nearly 50 percent rise in sales since the last chart was tallied.  In addition, his music was streamed 146.38 million times over the past seven days, which is a nine percent drop over the previous week.

Dangerous officially becomes the third album over the past 12 months to top the Billboard 200 for five weeks.  The only other two albums to celebrate the accomplishment are Taylor Swift, who saw Folklore hang onto the top spot for eight weeks, and Lil Baby, whose My Turn extended a five-week run at the top.

The last country album to spend its first five weeks atop the Billboard charts was Garth Brooks‘ 1998 effort Double Live.  

Wallen became embroiled in controversy earlier this month after a video depicting him shouting racial slurs leaked online.  Wallen, 27, was swiftly condemned by his fellow country artists and those who represented him — such as Big Loud Records and WME, who both dropped him as a client.

The “Wasted on You” singer issued a lengthy apology last Wednesday via a five minute video where he accepted responsibility for his actions and asked fans to stop defending his behavior.

“I let so many people down,” said Wallen. “I appreciate those who still see something in me and have defended me. But, for today, please don’t. I was wrong. It’s on me to take ownership of this and I fully accept any penalties I’m facing.”

Wallen also encouraged his followers to “please learn from my mistake.”

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

Taylor Swift's rerecording of "Love Story" sells over 10,000 copies in its first day

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Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for AmazonPeople are falling in love with Taylor Swift‘s “Love Story” all over again.  After the 31-year-old singer rereleased her updated version of the single, fans were quick to get their hands on a copy.

Billboard reports that the song sold 10,000 times in its first day of release, which was February 12.  For comparison, just three songs sold that same amount in a week — including BTS‘s “Dynamite” and Olivia Rodrigo‘s “Drivers License.”

In addition, “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” was streamed 5.8 million times in its first 24 hours of release. 

The juggernaut single again outperformed the competition, with Billboard noting that 55 singles managed to snag more streams… but only after taking an entire week to do so.

“Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” will be the lead single off of Swift’s highly anticipated Fearless (Taylor’s Version) album, due out April 9.

The original Fearless, which Taylor released in 2008, which went onto become her first number one album.  

When appearing Friday on Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, she says rerecording her old music was “extremely fulfilling” because she is taking a stand for all artists so they can control their own music.

“The reason that I feel so passionately that artists should own their catalogs is because if you are the creator of all of this music, you’re the only one who actually knows the ins and the outs of it,” she said. “And because I have learned what I’ve learned, I really just want to make things better for other people.”

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