Gabby Barrett is set to perform her hit song “I Hope” during the CMA Awards in Nashville, Wednesday, November 11, 8:00 pm ET and PT; 7:00 pm CT. She will be singing with Charlie Puth, whose voice joined Gabby’s on the song’s remix that went to Pop and Hot AC radio.
Here’s the strange thing: it will be the first time that Gabby & Charlie will sing the song live together. In fact, they have never met in person, despite sharing a hit song. Chalk it up to one more ‘Covid-caused’ oddity.
Barrett is in her third trimester of pregnancy and says the pressure on her diaphragm is affecting her breathing, so she’s hoping for the best and is excited about meeting Charlie.
Her new song, “The Good Ones”, is inspired, she says, by her love for hubby Cade Foehner. They met when they were both competing on Season 16 of American Idol in 2018. Gabby co-wrote the song with Emily Landis, Jim McCormick and Zachary Kale.
- NOT appearing on the CMA Awards Show: Lee Brice and FGL’s Tyler Hubbard, both of whom tested positive for Covid-19. Charles Kelly replaces Brice as Carly Pearce’s duet partner, performing “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
- On Instagram on Monday Hubbard posted: “Some of y’all guessed it… Got the Rona. Asymptomatic. Quarantining on bus. Miss my family. Writing songs. Thankful.”
- The day before Hubbard posted the news, his FGL partner, Brian Kelley, posted on Instagram: “Time to go back to work AMERICA. Booking shows ASAP” – presumably before he knew of Hubbard’s diagnosis.
A lifelong bluegrass and country music fan, legendary singer, songwriter and producer Barry Gibb (of the Bee Gees) has long dreamed of a project that would bring him together with some of the artists he admires the most. With the help of Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb, that dream has become a reality with Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1 —out January 8, 2021 on Capitol Records (pre-order/pre-save at https://barrygibb.lnk.to/savegreenfieldsPR ).
Across twelve of the Gibb Brothers beloved songs reborn, the album features collaborations with Alison Krauss, Brandi Carlile, David Rawlings, Dolly Parton, Gillian Welch, Jason Isbell, Jay Buchanan, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Olivia Newton-John, Sheryl Crow and Tommy Emmanuel. In advance of the release, “Words of a Fool,” featuring Grammy Award-winning Jason Isbell, is now available.
- Of the experience, Barry Gibb shares, “From the first day we stepped into RCA Studios in Nashville (the very place where Elvis, Willie, Waylon, Roy, the Everly Brothers and so many other legends made their magic) the album took on a life of its own. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to work with Dave and all the artists who stopped by. They were all incredibly generous with their time and talent. They inspired me more than words can express. I feel deep down that Maurice and Robin would have loved this album for different reasons. I wish we could have all been together to do it…but I think we were.”
The full Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1 track list is:
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- “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” with Keith Urban
- “Words of a Fool” with Jason Isbell
- “Run to Me” with Brandi Carlile
- “Too Much Heaven” with Alison Krauss
- “Lonely Days” with Little Big Town
- “Words” with Dolly Parton
- “Jive Talkin’” with Miranda Lambert, Jay Buchanan
- “How Deep Is Your Love” with Tommy Emanuel, Little Big Town
- “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” with Sheryl Crow
- “To Love Somebody” with Jay Buchanan
- “Rest Your Love On Me” with Olivia Newton-John
- “Butterfly” with Gillian Welch, David Rawlings
There’s a video of Barry in the studio with all the guest artists on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqxTqkR_qRM
Thomas Rhett’s new single, “What’s Your Country Song,” releases Wednesday, November 11. It is the first single off his upcoming fifth studio album that will be released via the Valory Music Co. The new single was written by Thomas Rhett alongside Rhett Akins, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley and Parker Welling. The song infuses inspiration from classic country songs and whip-smart storytelling to breed a fresh new take on a country state of mind.
“We wrote this song on the road last year in Dallas, Texas,” Thomas Rhett said. “It’s really about how I was noticing that no matter where you live or where you’re from, everyone has a little bit of country inside their bones.”
Rhett’s most recent album, the Grammy-nominated Center Point Road, debuted atop the Billboard 200 and spawned three No. 1 hits including its PLATINUM lead single, “Look What God Gave Her.” Thomas Rhett has scored nearly 10 billion total career streams and received two CMA Triple Play awards for penning three No. 1 songs within a 12-month period. Updates at www.thomasrhett.com
Familiar names on the Songwriter of the Year announcements from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, the main Performing Rights Organizations in the USA, with all three PROs awarding their top spot to previous winners.
Ashley Gorley should be shopping for a new display cabinet as he won ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year Award for the 8th time (including 7 in a row). Ross Copperman was named BMI’s Songwriter of the Year – his fourth win – while SESAC announced Matt McGinn as their Songwriter of the Year for the third time.
Song of the Year Awards were also announced.
The BMI Song of the Year Award was presented to Ben Burgess for “Whiskey Glasses” (co-written with Kevin Kadish), recorded by Morgan Wallen. The song was certified 3x Platinum, topping both the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.
ASCAP’s Song of the Year is Old Dominion’s “One Man Band”, written by group members Matt Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, and Brad Tursi with Josh Osborne.
The Luke Combs hit “Even Though I’m Leavin’” won the SESAC Song of the Year for Wyatt Durette who co-wrote the song with Combs and Ray Fulcher.
The three PRO normally schedule their Award presentations during ‘live’ shows on three successive nights as a lead-in to the CMA Awards (set to air Wednesday, Nov 11). Due to social-distancing requirements, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC presented their awards remotely.
CJ Solar got into the Christmas spirit early this year with his first holiday release, “The Only Present I Want.” Reminiscing of a Christmas past, CJ knows if it’s wrapped up in paper and tied with a bow it’s not what he really wants on December 25th.
The single is available now on Raining Bacon Records via PlayMPE.
“I wrote this with my buddies Devin Barker and Andy Wills a couple years ago,” said CJ. “As I was thinking about hopping into the studio this summer I thought, ‘what better year would it be to release some Christmas music to get the holiday cheer going?’ So we recorded it alongside some other music I’ll be releasing soon!”
CJ celebrated his second #1 single as a songwriter, when Jameson Rodgers’ debut single “Some Girls” recently topped the national country charts. He has released three EPs which yielded the Top 15 MusicRow singles “Airplane” and “American Girls” and the Top 10 “Coming My Way.”
Keep up with CJ Solar at: https://www.cjsolar.com/ and social media.
Dan + Shay decided not to let the pandemic prevent them from enjoying – and spreading – a little Christmas cheer. The hit duo hopes their first-ever original Christmas song will find a home with fans. Titled “Take Me Home For Christmas”, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney ask their new love to share more of their life with a Christmas visit.
The song was written by Smyers, Andy Albert, Jordan Reynolds, Jordan Schmidt and Mitchell Tenpenny. Dan + Shay released an official music video of “Take Me Home For Christmas”, now posted at YouTube. Listen / watch / stream via https://www.danandshay.com/
- Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber are nominated for Collaboration of the Year for “10,000 Hours” at the American Music Awards. The AMAs will air Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
Platinum-selling country music group BlackHawk returns to the scene with a two-disc greatest hits project titled Just About Right: Live From Atlanta. The new album, recorded live acoustically from Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta, Georgia, drops Friday, November 13th via BFD / Audium Nashville / The Orchard.
Known for their smooth, brother-like harmonies, BlackHawk was originally made up of trio Henry Paul (lead vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar), Dave Robbins (harmony vocals, keyboard) and the late Van Stephenson (harmony vocals, electric guitar). Recording Just About Right gave Paul and Robbins the chance to reunite with their original backing band from the 90s. Paul explains that this reunion: “made for a very memorable musical moment. Many of the songs we chose were personal favorites from our early records spanning nearly a decade.”
Fans will recognize top hits including “Goodbye Says It All,” “Every Once in a While,” “I Sure Can Smell the Rain,” “That’s Just About Right” and 18 more of the band’s applauded tracks. The album is available to purchase, download and stream everywhere via https://orcd.co/BlackHawkJustAboutRightLive
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“I Know Country” Q&A for Nov 8 – Nov 14, 2020
From the book “I Know Country” by Preshias Harris, available in print or e-book editions at www.iknowcountry.com
QUESTION: Who is the Leesburg, Ga.-born superstar who started his Nashville career as a songwriter, penning hits for Travis Tritt (“My Honky Tonk History”) and Billy Currington (“Good Directions”) before finding fame with his own recordings such as the album Crash My Party?
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This Week In Country Music
Nov 10, 1973 David (“Stringbean”) Akeman and wife Estelle were murdered during a robbery when he returned home from a performance at the Grand Ole Opry.
Nov 12, 2009 Taylor Swift received the CMA ‘Entertainer of the Year’ Award, becoming the youngest-ever artist (at age 19) to receive the award. (In November 2009, Swift had eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100, a record for a female artist.)
This Week’s Country Music Birthdays
November 8 Patti Page (“Tennessee Waltz”), 1927 (died Jan 1, 2013)
Bucky Covington, 1977
Lauren Alaina, 1994
November 9 Chris Lane, 1984
November 10 Donna Fargo (“The Happiest Girl in the USA”), 1945
Chris Cagle (“I Breathe In, I Breathe Out”), 1968
Miranda Lambert, 1983
November 12 Barbara Fairchild (The Teddy Bear Song”), 1950
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“I Know Country” Q&A ANSWER: That’s Luke Bryan, who, when he’s not a judge on American Idol, has released 23 albums including Born Here, Live Here Die Here that includes his latest hits “Knockin’ Boots”, “What She Wants Tonight” and “One Margarita.”
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This Week’s Billboard Country Airplay Top 5
Compiled by Nielsen Media / MRC Data
- (2) “Love You Like I Used To” Russell Dickerson
- (3) “One of Them Girls” Lee Brice
- (5) “More Than My Hometown” Morgan Wallen
- (6) “Happy Anywhere” Blake Shelton ft. Gwen Stefani
- (8) “One Beer” HARDY ft. Lauren Alaina, Devin Dawson
- “Love You Like I Used To” is Russell Dickerson’s 4th consecutive Country Airplay No. 1. Dickerson wrote it with Casey Brown and Parker Welling (who also worked on his previous 3 chart-toppers).
- Dickerson and Brown co-produced the song alongside Dann Huff.
- Originally written in January 2018, the writers re-worked it later that year with a plot twist that turns an apparent breakup song into an evolving love story.
- It’s the lead single from Dickerson’s upcoming album of the same name.
- Dickerson’s wife Kailey and brother-in-law Tobsen Seymour directed the music video for “Love You Like I Used To”.
Preshias Harris is a music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Visit www.collegeofsongology.com for more details. Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com
Harris is also the author of “I Know Country” with 366 daily country music questions and answers. You can buy and instantly download your e-book copy at www.IKnowCountry.com
