Music

If Keith Urban pushed the boundaries of country music with his 2013 album Fuse, the country superstar broke straight through them like the Kool-Aid Man with 2016's Ripcord. Urban's ninth solo studio album, the record was released seven years ago today, on May 6, 2016.Both Ripcord's lead single, "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16," and its second release, "Break on Me," are relatively traditional, relying on producers Dann Huff and Nathan Chapman, respectively. However, the project begins with the twangy, but trippy "Gone Tomorrow (Here Today)," a song inspired by the 2015 death of...

When Fuerza Régida frontman Jesús Ortiz Paz sat down with Rolling Stone late last year, a phone call from Myke Towers interrupted the interview. The night prior, the two had hit the studio in Miami. “He said he fucks with my music,” Ortiz said at the time. “Hopefully we do a collab… We want to go global, but never forget about our roots.” Now, that Towers-Fuerza Régida song is finally here. On Friday, the Mexican-American band and Puerto Rican star released “Pariente,” Towers’ first foray into corridos and Música Mexicana....

Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert are teaming up for a series of duets that will be featured on the CBS drama, Fire Country. The two artists announced news of the collaborations and teased one of the songs in a short clip shared to social media this week."Got some exciting news for y'all! @DierksBentley and I have a few new songs that will be on@FireCountryCBS," Lambert reveals in an Instagram post that also appears on Bentley's profile. "Tune into the show for the next two weeks on @cbs to hear em."The video teases a dramatic song, which...

"These are all emotional one takes recorded all over the world… at soundcheck, at home or elsewhere," the singer shared of the new renditions Tove Lo washed away the pop production on four songs that originally appeared on her latest albumDirt Femme to create an intimate collection titled Dirt Femme (Stripped). The EP features new renditions of “No One Dies From Love,” “Suburbia, “Grapefruit,” and “Pineapple Slice.” “You’ve asked me for an acoustic album so I thought… why shouldn’t I give you what you want?” Tove Lo wrote in a...

Twenty-two years ago today, on May 5, 2001, Blake Shelton made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry. He performed "Austin," the first single from his self-titled freshman album.At the time of his debut, Shelton was about three months away from the release of his first record. "Austin," meanwhile, was only beginning its four-month climb to the No. 1 spot on the charts, where it stayed for five straight weeks.“I sang "Austin" and ... that’s all I remember,” Shelton recalls to CMT of the unforgettable night. “I remember thinking, ‘Man,...

When Melody Walker and her friend Caitlin Doyle first envisioned the Grateful Dead tribute band Bertha, Tennessee’s legislature hadn’t yet introduced legislation limiting drag performance. The Nashville musicians were just daydreaming about an all-women Dead tribute group, but soon landed on the idea of doing it in drag. “I was like, ‘It would still be an all-woman band if everyone was in drag,” Walker says. “It was a joke. And I was like, ‘Wait, but how hilarious and amazing would that be?’ We were cracking up at the idea of...

Evan Paul is the host of Taste of Country Nights, a syndicated radio show heard on more than 120 country radio stations nationwide, every night from 7PM to midnight. He plays the best new country music and interviews today's top stars, like Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, Lady A, Morgan Wallen + more! Megan Moroney needs to be on your radar. The up-and-comer is paving the way for future artists with her unique sound, and established stars like Carly Pearce have even said she's their favorite new artist.I...

Henry Fambrough is the only original member of the iconic soul group founded in 1954 The Spinners were nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times before finally getting the nod on Wednesday morning. The legendary R&B group will become the 21st Detroit artist inducted into the rock hall since it was established in 1983. The Spinners will join Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, and Rage Against the Machine as the class of 2023 in the Performer category. “This has been a lifelong dream, I never imagined...

Randy Bruce Traywick, known to fans as the one and only Randy Travis, was born on May 4, 1959, in Marshville, N.C., just east of Monroe. The second of six children, Travis was encouraged to explore his musical interests from a young age -- and though his parents didn't know at the time, their encouragement would lead their son to the Country Music Hall of Fame.Throughout his three-decade career, Travis has sold over 25 million records, earned six Grammy Awards and won the hearts of many fans with his beautiful baritone vocals. But he...

Nearly eight years ago, Joel Pimentel, Erick Colón, Christopher Vélez, Zabdiel de Jesús, and Richard Camacho linked up as CNCO on La Banda, the Univision TV show co-produced by Ricky Martin and Simon Cowell with the intent of forming the next big group. And boy, did La Banda succeed with CNCO. Since their formation in 2015, the group became virtually the only Latin reggaetón group to exist, bringing hits like “Reggaetón Lento” and “Hey DJ” worldwide, and collaborating with the likes of Little Mix, Meghan Trainor, Sean Paul, Steve Aoki,...

Six years after he released it, Scotty McCreery says that "Five More Minutes" is still the most special song he's ever put out.There's lots of reasons why that is: A historically high-charting independent hit and a song that funneled new steam into McCreery's then-faltering career after he'd been dropped from his label, "Five More Minutes" returned the singer squarely to the middle of the spotlight, a journey that he explains on a career-spanning new interview for CMT Stages. But perhaps the most special aspect of the song is the shift...

Rauw Alejandro may be taking the Premios Tu Música Urbano to Saturno at this year’s awards show. On Tuesday, the Latin music awards announced its list of nominations for this year, with Alejandro leading with a whooping 11 nods. Following closely behind Alejandro in a number of nominations is Bad Bunny with 10, and then Feid who has nine. All three artists are nominated against each other in the male categories for Song of the Year, Collab of the Year, and Album of the Year. As for the female artists...

It's that time of the year again, when students don caps and gowns, emotional parents take a million pictures, and best friends hug each other tight. Graduation time is unlike any other; there's a sense of anticipation and hope for the future. Whether you're graduating from high school or college, the horizon seems to brim with possibilities (and a plethora of IKEA furniture).Graduation marks the end of one era and the beginning of another; it represents accomplishment, hard work and decades of memories made -- with many more to be created in the...