Sam Hunt dropped his sophomore album, Southside, on April 3. The 12-song set, which features his recent No. 1 hit, “Kinfolks,” and new single, “Hard to Forget,” follows Sam’s 2014 debut album, Montevallo, which spawned No. 1 hits “Leave the Night On,” “Take Your Time,” “House Party” and more. During the 1,985 days between the…
Unlike Jeff Bridges’ character The Dude in The Big Lebowski, Morgan Wallen loves the Eagles, man. Morgan has been turning heads with music, mullet and easygoing manner since bursting on the scene two years ago. The 26-year-old native of Sneedville, Tenn. (population 1,346) scored back-to-back No. 1 singles with “Up Down” (June 2018) and “Whiskey…
Country music legend Kenny Rogers, 81, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on March 20. In 2013, Kenny stopped by American Country Countdown to chat with host Kix Brooks about a number of topics, including early influences, friendship with Dolly Parton, having a “perfect” life, induction into the Country Music Hall of…
In January, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay scored their seventh No. 1 single as “10,000 Hours,” which features Justin Bieber, ascended to the top spot on both the Billboard Country Airplay chart and Mediabase chart. The tune has also spend 20 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs…
After teaming with Justin Bieber to record their current Top 5 single, “10,000 Hours,” Dan + Shay—and wives Abby and Hannah—were guests at Justin and Hailey Baldwin’s star-studded wedding in September. In a sit-down interview with Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, the duo revealed that the extravagant celebration was definitely a “good time,” but…
Since releasing his self-titled debut album in 1993—and his 14 subsequent studio albums—Tim McGraw has built himself into one of the most successful country stars in history. From “Don’t Take the Girl” and “Real Good Man” to “Live Like You Were Dying” and “Humble and Kind,” Tim’s 29 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Country…
Chris Lane’s new single, “I Don’t Know About You,” has been climbing the charts since it was released in October 2018. Currently, the tune is No. 2 on both the Mediabase chart and Billboard Country Airplay chart, where it looks to make a push for No. 1 next week. As Chris told Kix Brooks of…
There are a number of metrics used to measure a song’s success: chart performance, sales, streaming and more. While those figures are convenient when it comes to defining an artist’s career success, Keith Urban uses his own benchmark. As Keith told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, the measure of a song’s success is the…
Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton have a Top 20 hit on their hands with their new duet, “Dive Bar,” which is currently No. 19 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 13 weeks. Penned by Garth, Mitch Rossell and Bryan Kennedy, “Dive Bar” will be featured on Garth’s upcoming album, FUN. If you were wondering how…
No one in country music in on a tear quite like Maren Morris. Well, maybe Luke Combs, but this article is about Maren. In addition to scoring her third No. 1 single with “Girl” this week, Maren has been making the rounds as part of supergroup The Highwomen (Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Natalie Hemby). The…
Ty Herndon has just signed a three-album deal with Club44 Records, and the Grammy-nominated country singer launched his new creative partnership with a reimagined duet version of his 1995 breakout hit, “What Mattered Most,” featuring LeAnn Rimes. The single is the first offering from Herndon’s upcoming album, Thirty, which will pay tribute to his distinguished…
On Thursday (June 12), Kane Brown released his infectious new country anthem, “2 Pair.” The track was produced by Jordan Schmidt, with Brown saying of his new song: “’2 Pair’ is an anthem for the summer. I wanted to give my fans a song they can blast at full volume and sing along to all…
On Thursday (June 12), Post Malone shared a raw and soulful rendition of his country-tinged track, “Ain’t How it Ends,” as part of The Littlest Honky Tonk series. The stripped-down, unplugged performance was filmed in a cozy trailer-turned-stage outside of a stadium stop on his Big Ass Stadium Tour, with Posty providing an unexpected intimate…
On Monday (June 16), Hardy announced the cancellation of all the upcoming European shows on his 2025 Jim Bob World Tour just days before it was set to commence. The country star writes: “It wasn’t an easy decision, but one I had to make for my band, crew and my family. Please know that I…
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” premieres at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the Grammy-winning pop star’s second chart-topper and her fourth Top 10 hit of her career, while becoming her first single to debut atop the chart. Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” spent one week at No. 1 in June 2024, after debuting at No.…