Country artists are paying tribute to Olivia Newton-John following her passing.
Keith Urban took to Twitter to share a throwback picture of him and his wife, Nicole Kidman, with the Grease star. “Livvie brought the most divine light into the world … so much love, joy, inspiration and kindness … and we will always be hopelessly devoted to you,” he writes in the caption.
Maren Morris shared a screenshot of a scene from Grease of John portraying the character of Sandy, wearing the famous black leather outfit with a cigarette in her mouth. “RIP Queen,” the singer posted on Instagram Stories.
Kelsea Ballerini turned her tribute into a song, sharing an a cappella cover of “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” which John sings in Grease. “Olivia Newton-John forever,” she captions the video with a heartbroken emoji.
John died at the age of 73 on Monday. A statement from her husband, John Easterling, says that she “passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends. We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”
The actress experienced three bouts of breast cancer over the past 30 years. Throughout the 1970s, she had several hits that peaked on country charts, including “If You Love Me (Let Me Know),” “Have You Never Been Mellow” and “Please Mr. Please.”
Jordan Davis‘ two young children are slowly but surely figuring out their dad is a rockstar.
Jordan and his wife, Kristen, are parents to 2-year-old daughter Eloise and 11-month-old son Locklan. While they’re still too young to fully comprehend their dad’s life in the spotlight, the singer says it’s fun for him to watch them take in his live shows.
“My daughter, she’s almost 3, so [it’s] connecting with her ‘that’s dad and all these people are singing with him,'” Jordan describes on the Todayshow, adding that baby Locklan is “just along for the ride.” “I don’t think it’s set in that Eloise’s dad does that kind of stuff, but I think it’s fun for her to see side stage and see her react with it. It’s pretty cool.”
Jordan also channels his family into his music, particularly with his current single, “What My World Spins Around,” which is inspired by his wife.
“She’s used to hearing a lot of my songs, so most of them she doesn’t pay attention to it. But this one, she locked in on, so maybe she picked up on who it was about,” the singer says.
“World” follows Jordan’s previous chart-topping single featuring Luke Bryan, “Buy Dirt.”
Tyler Hubbard knows that being a part of Florida Georgia Line was an important chapter in his expanding story. Now, he’s fully embracing his identity as a solo artist.
In February, the hit-making duo of Tyler and Brian Kelley announced that they were taking a break, both pursuing their own careers. Tyler views his solo endeavor as a commitment, knowing that his vast experience with FGL helped him get here.
“I truly feel that Florida Georgia Line was just a chapter in the book, an important chapter, and one I’m forever grateful for. But it’s not my whole story,” Tyler expresses. “I am having fun making my music and this is a win for me. Seeing the response, it’s affirmation for me and it’s validation and it inspires me [that] I can do this on the same level that I’ve done it before.”
Tyler already has a top-20 hit to his name with his debut solo single, “5 Foot 9,” climbing the charts. The singer says he welcomes the challenge of being a solo act, ready to defy the odds he feels he’s up against as he branched off from the highly successful duo.
“There’s this extra element of challenge that I love. I think the traditional mindset of people when they hear a band or duo’s breaking up, ‘they’re going to have fun doing their solo stuff for a little while and they’ll go back and do their thing.’ I think that challenge really pushes me to not be the statistic,” he explains. “So I am really excited and committed to giving this all I got.”
The Georgia native will join Keith Urban‘s The Speed of Now World Tour as an opening act in the fall before releasing his debut album in January.
Presale tickets for Ernest‘s Sucker For Small Towns Tour are available Tuesday. Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday.
Garth Brooks‘ record-breaking Talkshoplive episode Sunday night drew more than 1 million viewers who tuned in to watch him screen the 25th anniversary of Garth: Live From Central Park.
Memorabilia from the late Kenny Rogers‘ estate will be available for sale through the three-day online auction “Property From the Estate of Kenny Rogers,” taking place October 21-23. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Music Health Alliance.
Jackson Dean and bluegrass band Mountain Heart will open for Carly Pearce at the Ryman Auditorium on October 26 and 27, respectively.
Luke Bryan is setting the record straight on his alleged broken finger.
The country superstar turned to Instagram on Sunday to dispel rumors that he broke his finger while at an amusement park. The rumor started when his wife, Caroline, posted a photo of the family posing in front of the Steel Vengeance roller coaster at Cedar Point in Ohio, claiming in the caption that Luke broke his finger and she twisted her ankle.
But Luke has since posted a video stating that the reports circulating about his supposed injury are not true.
“I did not break my finger, and I did not break my finger at a roller coaster park,” he says. “My finger’s not broken. Please stop reporting that it’s broken.”
“… you got in Bo’s way. Admit it,” Caroline responds in the comments, referencing their 14-year-old son. “Dude I hope your finger is okay after breaking it,” Jake Owen jokes, while Luke’s fellow American Idol judge Katy Perry quips, “show us or we don’t believe you.”
Chart-topping singer, actress and activist Olivia Newton-John has died, according to a post on her Instagram page from her husband, John Easterling. She was 73.
“Dame Olivia Newton-John passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends,” the note reads. “We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”
Originally diagnosed with breast cancer in the ’90s, Newton-John was in remission for more than 20 years before her cancer returned in 2017. “Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer,” continues the post.
“Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer,” it concludes. “In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made in her memory to the @onjfoundation.”
Newton-John is survived by her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi;Easterling, whom she married in 2008; as well as a sister, a brother, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Born in 1948 in Cambridge, England, Olivia was the granddaughter of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born. When she was five, her family relocated to Melbourne, Australia. By her teen years, she’d landed her big break, winning a talent contest on the TV show Sing, Sing, Sing.
By 1966, Olivia had a deal with Decca Records, but her major breakthrough wouldn’t come until 1973, with the country-flavored hit “Let Me Be There.” That same year, the Academy of Country Music named her its Most Promising Female Vocalist. In 1974 the Country Music Association agreed, crowning her its Female Vocalist of the Year in a move that sparked controversy among the genre’s traditionalists.
The next year, Olivia’s career would gravitate more toward the pop side, as she released one of her signature songs: “I Honestly Love You.” It won both Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 1974 Grammys.
Generations of fans — particularly young girls — would come to identify with Newton-John as she took on her most iconic film role in 1978, playing Sandy alongside John Travolta‘s Danny Zuko in the big-screen adaptation of the musical Grease. The two would become one of cinema’s most beloved couples, performing the duets “You’re the One That I Want” and “Summer Nights” together. Olivia also scored a Grease solo hit with “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”
In 1980, Newton-John teamed up with the legendary Gene Kelly for the roller skating fantasy Xanadu. Though it failed to be “Magic” at the box office, it was destined to become a cult classic and also gave Olivia another chart-topping hit from its double-Platinum soundtrack.
Newton-John and Travolta rekindled their onscreen romance for Two of a Kind in 1983. While the film wasn’t successful, once again Olivia’s music was. The soundtrack went Platinum and “Twist of Fate” was a top-five hit.
On the small screen, Olivia would become a music video pioneer, turning her super-sexy single “Physical” into a campy romp through saunas, aerobics and workout rooms. The clip propelled the song to 10 weeks at the top of the chart, and “Physical” won the 1982 Grammy for Video of the Year.
All told, Newton-John charted 10 #1s and sold more than 100 million albums, continuing to work right up until the recurrence of her cancer forced her postpone her 2017 tour. Earlier, she’d staged a well-received Las Vegas residency at the Flamingo for two years, starting in the spring of 2014.
In her eyes, Olivia was certain to see both her family and her humanitarian work as her greatest accomplishments. She gave birth to her daughter, Chloe, in 1986, and later helped establish the Healthy Child, Healthy World organization after Chloe’s childhood friend died of a rare form of cancer.
After going into remission in 1992, Newton-John worked to raise awareness for breast cancer, recording multiple albums that addressed the issue and eventually establishing the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Center. It opened in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia, in June 2012.
Dylan Scott has the #1 song in country music this week.
The Louisiana native is sitting at the top of the charts with “New Truck,” the lead single off his newly released sophomore album, Livin’ My Best Life, which came out Friday.
This marks his third chart-topping hit following “My Girl” in 2017 and “Nobody” in 2021.
To celebrate his new hit and corresponding album, Dylan is performing a free album release show Monday at Luke Bryan‘s bar and restaurant, Luke’s 32 Bridge, in downtown Nashville at 5 p.m. ET.
“We may have the #1 song in the country right now too. What? Crazy!” Dylan says in a video teasing the show, zooming in on the surprised expression on his face.
The showcase will also be available to livestream via Facebook and YouTube.
Over the weekend, Carly performed at the Mississippi Valley Fair in Davenport, Iowa, where she got a measure of the impact of her new radio single, “What He Didn’t Do.” The singer took to Instagram to share a video of the packed crowd singing the lyrics so loudly that the singer can’t get a word in.
Standing on the stage, Carly attempts to sing into the microphone, but is drowned out by the sound of the massive crowd as they sing at the top of their lungs, “The devil’s in the details, I won’t tell the hell that he put me through/All I know is in the end, it wasn’t what he did, no/It was what he didn’t do.”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This song just went to radio & y’all sing it like this?! I couldn’t even sing through all the tears!” Carly writes in the caption with a crying face and heart emojis. “I LOVE YOU, IOWA!”
“What He Didn’t Do” is the third single off the Kentucky native’s latest album, 29: Written in Stone. She recently made a donation to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts after a devastating flood ravaged her home state last month.
Over the weekend, Carly performed at the Mississippi Valley Fair in Davenport, Iowa, where she got a measure of the impact of her new radio single, “What He Didn’t Do.” The singer took to Instagram to share a video of the packed crowd singing the lyrics so loudly that the singer can’t get a word in.
Standing on the stage, Carly attempts to sing into the microphone, but is drowned out by the sound of the massive crowd as they sing at the top of their lungs, “The devil’s in the details, I won’t tell the hell that he put me through/All I know is in the end, it wasn’t what he did, no/It was what he didn’t do.”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This song just went to radio & y’all sing it like this?! I couldn’t even sing through all the tears!” Carly writes in the caption with a crying face and heart emojis. “I LOVE YOU, IOWA!”
“What He Didn’t Do” is the third single off the Kentucky native’s latest album, 29: Written in Stone. She recently made a donation to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts after a devastating flood ravaged her home state last month.
Carrie Underwood‘s girls night out turned into a karaoke session.
Over the weekend, Carrie and a group of friends were visiting Fox & Locke, a restaurant and music venue in Leiper’s Fork just outside of Nashville, when the superstar decided to hop onstage with the band.
A video posted by local cover band The Heartshakers shows the hitmaker performing a cover of Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty‘s Grammy-nominated collaboration, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” taking lead vocals as she sings to the packed house, “And baby, you could never look me in the eye/But why you buckle with the weight of the words/Stop draggin’ my heart around.”
“Girls’ night! OK, so, the guys were there, too, but we were doing our best to pretend they weren’t!” the singer captions the photo of her and a group of girlfriends during their night out on the town. “I am so lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing ladies! [Love] you guys!!!”
Carrie will hit the road on her Denim & Rhinestones Tour beginning October 15.
