Music

Hailey Whitters is returning to her roots. The Iowa native has announced the release of her third album Raised, due out March 18, which was inspired by her Midwestern hometown and the formative years she spent there.“It’s been 14 years since I’ve lived in Iowa, but more and more I’ve been going back there mentally, and being pulled to the people and the places that raised me," Whitters explains in a press release.The 17-song record features a collaboration with American Aquarium called "Middle of America," as well as co-writes with some of Nashville's...

Farina‘s addiction to perreo is contagious on her new single “Adicta al Perreo.” On Friday, the Colombian rapper released the track and its accompanying music video as she paid tribute to street culture, namedropped Jennifer Lopez and Rick Ross, and declared herself the “queen of TikTok.” “I’m really excited to start the new year off releasing new music that brings back the old-school reggaetón vibes,” Farina tells Rolling Stone. “I’ve been working on this song for some time and it has a super fun and upbeat melody that I hope...

By the time "She Let Herself Go" ascended to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated Jan. 14, 2006, George Strait was plenty familiar with the feeling of having a No. 1 song on that chart: He'd done it 39 times before, after all. This time, though, was different.With "She Let Herself Go," Strait's 40th career No. 1 Hot Country Songs song, the country legend tied the record for most No. 1s on that chart, held by Conway Twitty, who had set the record two decades earlier with his 1986...

The Lumineers appeared on The Tonight Show to perform two tracks, “Where We Are” and “A.M. Radio.” The Colorado band gave an intimate, emotional performance, backed by soft, glowing lights on the late night show’s stage. Both songs come off the Lumineers new album, Brightside, out Jan. 14 via Dualtone. The album, which marks the band’s fourth full-length release, was produced by Simone Felice and produced, mixed, and engineered by David Baron over two sessions in winter and spring 2021 at Baron’s Sun Mountain Studios in Boiceville, N.Y. The Lumineers debuted...

Luke Bryan went a little too hard cheering for his favorite college football team on Monday (Jan. 10), and as a result, he has to keep quiet for awhile. The singer is on vocal rest ahead of four played shows at Crash My Playa next week.On Instagram, Bryan's wife Caroline Bryan shared a photo that shows her putting painter's tape over her husband's mouth. His sad eyes contradict his "rock on" hand gesture. Bryan is on vocal rest after "his EXCESSIVE screaming at National Championship game," Caroline writes. "Can't say I'm...

Ronnie Spector’s acclaimed 1990 memoir Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness has long been out of print — but the legendary singer was revising the book in the weeks before her death due to cancer at age 78 on Jan. 12, according to publisher Henry Holt, which plans to release a new edition of Be My Baby on May 3. “She knew that she was sick and I knew that she was sick, but she was being discreet about it,” says Henry Holt’s editor-in-chief, Sarah Crichton....

Thirty-two years ago today (Jan. 13, 1990) was a bittersweet day for friends, family and fans of Keith Whitley: It was on that date that Whitley's song "It Ain't Nothin'" landed at the top of the charts, more than eight months after his death."It Ain't Nothin'" was the second single and second No. 1 hit from Whitley's I Wonder Do You Think of Me record, which was the first album released after his death. Written by Tony Haselden and featuring lines such as, "It ain't nothin' a little bit of...

Tears for Fears have dropped the third single off their upcoming album The Tipping Point. “Break the Man,” co-written by founding member Curt Smith and Charlton Pettus, and co-produced by Smith, Roland Orzabal and Pettus, embraces the theme of female empowerment. “Break the Man’ is about a strong woman, and breaking the patriarchy,” Smith explained in a statement. “I feel that a lot of the problems we’ve been having as a country and even worldwide to a certain degree has come from male dominance. It’s a song about a woman...

Every week, The Boot highlights recent favorites from country, Americana and everything in between. In every list, you'll find picks from our contributing team that we think you'll love. Keep reading to check out the latest installment of The Boot's Weekly Picks.Leyla McCalla"Fort Dimanche"Having broke ground with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and released her own masterful The Capitalist Blues, Leyla McCalla is no stranger to tackling controversial, historical topics. While researching Radio Haiti, the nation's first Kreyol-language news station, McCalla was captivated by reports about Fort Dimanche, which was the political prison under...

Last year, Angel Olsen was featured in the Karen Dalton documentary In My Own Time, reading the late folk singer’s journals out loud. Now, she continues her love of Dalton with a cover of “Something on Your Mind.” Olsen stays in the same vein as Dalton’s original — the opening track to 1971’s In My Own Time — with her smoky vocals front and center. But her version culminates in sparse piano, whereas Dalton’s ends with sweeping, dramatic strings. “‘Something on Your Mind,’ for me, is about letting yourself face...

One of the bigger mysteries of the last several decades of country music is why Kristen Hall left Sugarland when the then-trio seemed to be on the brink of superstardom.The group showed up for a live appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno minus one member on Jan. 12, 2006, and within days, an announcement came with little fanfare: a simple statement that Hall had split with Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush because "she wants to stay home and write songs."Since then, rumors have spread that Hall was forced out...

Ryan Hurd brought his full band to perform his song “Pass It On” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The group, led by Hurd on vocals and guitar, gave the rollicking track a warm, collective vibe. The optimistic song had a particular resonance as Hurd crooned, “What good is your dollar or your love or your bottle/ If you keep it all to yourself/ There’s enough to go around/ So send it on down.” “Pass It On” comes off Hurd’s recent debut album, Pelago, which dropped last October via Sony Music Nashville....

Walker Hayes is a man of his word, and he made good on a bet he made on the College Football Playoff National Championship game. The wager? To remix one of his songs to include Georgia references, instead of Alabama.As a diehard fan of the Crimson Tide, this was no small feat.After a 33-18 win for the Georgia Bulldogs on Monday, Jan. 10, Hayes changed one line in the chorus of his song "AA." Instead of, "In Alabama where they love Nick Saban" the new, limited edition version says, "In Athens, Georgia...

Kanye West’s various representatives appear to be at odds over whether or not the rapper-entrepreneur, now legally known as Ye, is planning on pursuing showbiz and business ventures in Russia. On Tuesday, Jan. 11, Billboard reported that West was plotting a trip to Moscow this year where he wouldn’t just host a Sunday Service performance and talk business, but potentially meet with President Vladimir Putin. Ameer Sudan, a friend and associate of West’s, said he was plotting the trip with lawyer Scott Balber, who works with the Azerbaijani-Russian billionaire property...