Day: September 5, 2025

Jason Aldean and Kane Brown have been friends for years, and their families are close as well. The pair have even surprised fans by popping up at each other’s shows, most recently when Brown joined Aldean on stage at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville to perform “Dirt Road Anthem.” 

Despite their longtime friendship and shared appreciation for each other as artists, an official duet between the two country stars hasn’t happened…yet.

During an interview with Audacy’s Katie Neal, Aldean opened up about the potential collaboration. 

“I know where this is going already,” Aldean began with a laugh. “Kane’s reached out to me a couple times about doing something, and I’ve told him before that I’d love to do something with him. To me, those things are always, it’s all about the song. And obviously, Kane’s music and my music is really, really different, you know what I mean?” 

Aldean made it clear that while a collaboration isn’t on the immediate horizon, it’s something he’d be excited to do when the right song comes along.

“So when he sends a song to me, sometimes it’s just not really what I would normally do. And so I’ve always kind of told him it’s like, it’s about finding the right song, but I would love to do something with him. And I think it’ll happen at some point when the right thing comes along. And we just kind of haven’t found that yet.” 

Of his longtime friend, Aldean joked, “Kane likes to put me on blast.”

Throughout his career, Jason Aldean has teamed up with artists like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and John Morgan, while Kane Brown has collaborated with Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, and Lauren Alaina.

Fans hoping for a duet between the two country stars may be in luck, as both are working on new music. In May, Aldean revealed he’d been in the studio and is set to release his new single, “How Far Does a Goodbye Go,” this Friday. Meanwhile, Brown hinted that the success of his hit “2 Pair” could lead to an EP or a “quick nine-song album.”

The post Jason Aldean Jokes About Kane Brown Pushing for a Collab: ‘He Likes to Put Me on Blast’ appeared first on Country Now.

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Bailey Zimmerman is celebrating a major milestone, recently earning his fifth No. 1 single at country radio with “Backup Plan,” featuring Luke Combs. 

After hitting the top of the charts, Zimmerman marked the occasion with steak and chocolate milk, sharing a photo of the celebratory dinner on social media. It’s an unusual combo, but whatever makes him happy!

The track, penned by Jimi Bell, Jon Sherwood, and Tucker Beathard, is featured on his new album Different Night, Same Rodeo. The Illinois native recently opened up about hearing the song for the first time during an appearance on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen.  

“First time I listened to it, I’m like, first of all, love that, [beat]. I’m like, ‘Whoa, this feels like we’re about to go into some Johnny Cash or something.’ Some songs like this can feel cheesey and cheesy. It was like, ‘Oh, is this meant for some movie track, title?’ Then when I heard it, there was something about it that just kept– there’s a lot of things that my grandpa used to tell me growing up, and a lot of things my dad used to tell me, especially keep your head down and put on the blinders. Dude, it gives me chills right now, man. My dad, he used to tell me all the time, ‘Nobody’s going to get in your way but everybody else. Don’t let them get in your way. Put your blinders on.’ He would say, ‘When horses are racing, do they look at the other horses on the side of them? No, they look straight ahead and they keep going and they keep putting their freaking head down.’ Don’t care about what people say, keep freaking going, because they’re not living your dream, you’re living it. Keep doing your dream,” he said. “As we’re talking right now, that’s how I felt the first time I heard ‘Backup Plan.’ Man, this gets me amped up, and I feel like other people need to hear this. They need to hear this.”

Zimmerman said he immediately thought of Luke Combs when he heard the song and explained how he landed Combs’ phone number at the right time. 

“The first time I heard it, I thought, ‘Man, Luke Combs would freaking crush this, dude.’ Then I thought, ‘But man, how am I going to get Luke Combs on a song? Luke would be freaking crazy on a song, and I know he’d love it, but how do I even get it to him? Who do I text?,” he explained. 

While he didn’t have his number at the time, things soon changed. 

“Randomly, one day, Luke hits me up to do Concert for Carolina … hung out with him, and we just kicked it off right off the bat, just right away … It just felt like we had been buds for a while. Fast forward, play the show that night, slips me a little note card that’s just a, “Thank you for playing the show. Thank you for doing this, all this stuff. By the way, here’s my number, man, if you want to text me anytime,” Zimmerman revealed. 

Luckily, Combs agreed to join the track, and the rest was history. Zimmerman has shared nothing but praise for his collaborator.

“Luke Combs, bro, is a legend and a goat, and he sticks up to that. He’s as good of a guy as you think he is,” Zimmerman urged. “He stands up to the testament of being a goat and being a legend, and inspiring people and being an inspiration. Just everything about him is like, ‘Yep, there ain’t nothing fake about that guy.’ Every single thing he says is so raw and real, and just freaking legend, dude. Not even that, but his friendship to me, he didn’t have to do any of this stuff. He didn’t have to get on my song. He didn’t have to let me come play it with him at Stagecoach. He didn’t have to do a music video. He did it because he really likes me.”

Fans can re-live their epic Stagecoach performance below. 

The post Bailey Zimmerman Celebrates Fifth No. 1 With Steak and Chocolate Milk appeared first on Country Now.

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