Taylor Dye is pregnant! 

The singer, who is one half of the duo Maddie & Tae, is expecting her first child with her husband, hit songwriter Josh Kerr, next year.

The couple announced the news via Instagram on Sunday night. Taylor shared a series of photos that show Josh cradling her baby bump, revealing they are expecting a baby girl by munching into pieces of a pink cake with a sign displaying the word “girl” in pink lettering. 

“Mom and dad,” Taylor writes alongside the photos with a white heart emoji. “Baby Kerr is joining us earthside in spring ‘22 and we are already so deeply in love.” 

“@taylordye and I have been keeping a little secret for a few months now. mom & dad already love you so much baby Kerr,” Josh shares in his celebratory post. 

Among those to congratulate the couple were Taylor’s band mate, Maddie Marlow, who cheered in the comment section, “Thank you Jesus for the biggest blessing!! I CANT WAIT TO MEET HER.” 

Taylor and Josh wed in February 2021. Maddie & Tae earned their second #1 country song in 2020 with “Die From a Broken Heart.

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Luke Combs has been tapped to headline the Thanksgiving Day halftime show at the Dallas Cowboys vs. Las Vegas Raiders NFL game at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

The event also serves as the launch of the annual Red Kettle Campaign run by the Salvation Army to supply a range of resources to people in need during the holiday season, including food, shelter and Christmas gifts.

Luke, who is friends with Dallas Cowboys player Ezekiel Elliott, says he’s “humbled” to be a part of the initiative.

“Considering I’m a huge football fan, the Dallas Cowboys were always on our TV on Thanksgiving Day growing up, so it is a complete honor to be a part of their 25th Thanksgiving Day halftime show supporting The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign,” the singer says in a statement. 

The CMA Entertainer of the Year follows in the footsteps of Kane Brown, who performed at the halftime show last year. Luke’s performance comes as his latest single, “Cold as You,” clinches the #1 spot on the country charts.   

The NFL game airs at 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox.

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Country stars are lining up to bring seasonal cheer to fans next week with the airing of the annual CMA Country Christmas special. Following the lineup announcement earlier in November, the CMA has now revealed which songs will be performed on the 2021 show.

Breland, Carrie Underwood and Brett Eldredge are all sticking with the classics, performing “The Christmas Song,” “Mary, Did You Know?” and “Merry Christmas, Baby,” respectively.

Show hosts Gabby Barrett and Carly Pearce will perform Christmas standards, too, with Gabby offering her version of “Silent Night” and Carly putting her spin on “O Holy Night.”

Gabby and Carly will also take the stage together. They’re planning a duet version of “Sleigh Ride” that features two student musicians: eight-year-old Carter Hammonds and 17-year-old Truman Eltringham, both of whom are from Nashville.

The CMA Country Christmas special will offer some original holiday music, too. The Pistol Annies are performing “Snow Globe,” off their newly-released Christmas record, Hell of a Holiday. Lady A will offer “Christmas Through Your Eyes,” a holiday song inspired by their kids, and Jimmie Allen taps Louis York and the Shindellas for a performance of “What Does Christmas Mean,” a song they put out together last year.

Finally, Lainey Wilson will keep it country with her spin on George Strait’s “Christmas Cookies.”

The 2021 CMA Country Christmas will air on Monday, November 29 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Carrie Underwood and Gabby Barrett were the big country winners at the 2021 American Music Awards, collecting two awards each at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater on Sunday night.

Gabby was awarded favorite country album for her debut, Goldmine, while country fans voted her song “The Good Ones” favorite country song.  As for Carrie, she took home the award for favorite female country artist — her ninth overall — as well as favorite inspirational artist.   

Although the country category was not televised during the AMAs, Carrie still had her moment to shine when performing her new song “If I Didn’t Love You” with Jason Aldean, who went into the ceremony with a nod for favorite male country artist.

The honor went to Luke Bryan — marking the fifth time he’s won favorite male country artist.  Previously, he dominated the category with four consecutive wins between 2012 and 2015.

Dan + Shay repeated history when the audience again voted them favorite country duo/group — the third time in a row they’ve won the honor.

Other performances of the night included Kane Brown, Mickey Guyton and Walker Hayes.  Brown, who was last year’s winner for favorite male country artist, took the stage to perform his hit, “One Mississippi.” Meanwhile, Mickey belted out a powerful rendition of “All American” and was shouted out by host Cardi B for teaching her how to milk a cow.

Walker performed his viral single “Fancy Like,” which was nominated for favorite country song.

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Kelsea Ballerini stepped far outside of her comfort zone in order to create her newest project, a book of poetry called Feel Your Way Through. The volume addresses the singer’s coming-of-age story and explores family dynamics, sexuality, body image concerns, relationships and more.

“Poetry, to me, can seem really kind of heady,” Kelsea explains. “It’s really just an autobiography that rhymes. So I’m nervous and I’m terrified, and it’s certainly the deepest I’ve gone and also the most artful I’ve gone.”

The book might never have been written without the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdowns, which took Kelsea — and the rest of the touring industry — off the road for over a year. During that time, she says, she wasn’t able to process her emotions through songwriting the same way she always had in the past.

“I couldn’t write music about it, because music made me sad,” she admits. “Because that’s such a place of connection and community, and it wasn’t in 2020.”

But the time off the road sparked another source of inspiration for Kelsea. While she was writing, she says, she began to slow down and reflect on a way she never could have during a normal year.

“We’ve all had this excess time to think and to process and to be — you know, I really like being busy,” she goes on to say. “I like running at a high speed all the time. And so I hadn’t really thought about my life since I was 19. I’ve just been sprinting. And I had a lot to process.”

Feel Your Way Through arrived last week.

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Cole Swindell taps Lainey Wilson for a fiery new duet, “Never Say Never,” which chronicles the kind of love story that keeps you coming back for more. Cole wrote the song in 2018 alongside mainstay Nashville songwriters Jessi Alexander and Chase McGill.

“I am so excited to release ‘Never Say Never,’” Cole explains. “…I have been a fan of Lainey Wilson’s for a while now and what she brings to this song is everything it needed. So glad it’s finally out!”

Lainey’s just as excited as Cole is to share the song with fans, especially on the heels of her first-ever number-one song, “Things a Man Oughta Know.”

“It makes the journey that much more special that I get to share it with a friend this time around — I’m looking forward to playing it for y’all and I’m sure Cole is too!” Lainey adds.

Cole’s on a winning streak at country radio, too. Prior to releasing “Never Say Never,” he had two back-to-back chart-toppers with 2018’s “Love You Too Late” and 2020’s “Single Saturday Night.”

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Chris Young has been announced as the headlining act for the inaugural T-Mobile SEC Championship Concert, a show that’ll take place the day before next month’s SEC Championship Game.

“Anyone who knows me, knows I pretty much live and breathe football,” Chris says. “I am beyond pumped to team up with T-Mobile and the SEC to headline the concert before the SEC Championship Game! Let’s GO!!”

Joining him on the bill will be Mitchell Tenpenny and newcomer Kameron Marlowe. The event will take place at Atlanta’s Georgia International Plaza, which is just outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Fans unable to attend in person can still catch the fun, as the show will broadcast on the singer’s YouTube and Facebook channels.

The fun begins on December 3 at 5:30 p.m. EST, with Chris set to take the stage at 7 p.m. It’ll be free and open to the public.

Chris is still riding the high of his latest chart-topper, “Famous Friends,” which is a duet with Kane Brown. That hit single is also the title track of Chris’ newest album.

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The 2022 ACM Awards will take place on March 7, 2022, according to a new announcement from the Academy of Country Music. The show will return to its longtime home of Las Vegas, after two years of broadcasting from Nashville due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Next year will mark a major first, when the ACMs become the first major awards show to exclusively livestream. It’ll air on Prime Video, and ticketing information will soon be available for fans hoping to attend the show in person.

The show will air from Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, a new venue home for the ACMs.

“We are thrilled to return to Las Vegas to celebrate country music’s Party of the Year in this incredible brand-new stadium and on the Prime Video streaming service for the first time ever,” says ACM CEO Damon Whiteside. “We can’t thank the city of Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium enough for welcoming us for the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards — a party so big only a stadium can hold it!”

As always, the 2022 ACMs will celebrate the best in country music with a packed evening of awards and performances.

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Garth Brooks is headed to Dublin, Ireland for a pair of Croke Park stadium shows next September.

The singer shared the news on Instagram this week, and it’s exciting for a couple of reasons. Not only do the new dates mean he’s resuming his Stadium Tour, which he cancelled earlier this year due to rising pandemic concerns, but his stops in Ireland are also several years in the making.

Back in 2014, Garth sold out five shows at Croke Park as part of his comeback World Tour, but he never made it to the stage. The Dublin City Council refused licenses for two of the five concerts, and according to the Irish Times, Garth insisted that he would play all five shows or none.

Now, the singer is slated to make his triumphant return to the venue, which has a capacity of more than 80,000. The shows will take place on September 9 and 10, 2022, and tickets go on sale on Thanksgiving Day, November 25.

 

 

 

 

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Scotty McCreery knew his song, “Five More Minutes,” was special right from the moment he wrote it. “I tweeted that day, like, ‘This is my favorite song I’ve ever written,’” the singer remembers.

But now, he’s got more momentum behind the song than ever. Not only was it a chart-topping, career-changing hit, but as of this holiday season, it’s the inspiration behind a Hallmark film of the same name.

Starring Nikki DeLoach and David Hayden-Jones, the film follows a woman who unearths her grandfather’s journal — and with it, an untold love story that fulfills her Christmas wish in ways she never expected.

“As a songwriter, that’s what you want, is your song to have a positive impact on people,” Scotty reflects. “So now people can watch a movie, and hopefully feel good once it’s all finished up.”

However, we won’t see Scotty’s face on the screen when the movie airs. “I wish,” he laments. “…They do all their filming in Canada, and with COVID and borders and stuff, it was a little funky this year. But hopefully next time.”

In fact, the singer says he’d love to someday tackle an acting project. “I’ve acted, like, once in my life. It was a high school musical, and it was Bye Bye Birdie,” Scotty reveals, explaining that he was inspired to try out for the role after hearing that the character of Conrad Birdie was based on two of his heroes.

“Once I heard it was like Elvis [Presley] and Conway Twitty in person, I was like, ‘I will try out for that role!’” he adds with a laugh. “Luckily, I got it, and I had so much fun doing it. So I have not acted in 11 years, I think?…So I’d be all about it. I’d be down.”

Five More Minutes airs on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel on November 20.

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