Day: October 2, 2025

Garry Chapman has been fired as an Alabama police officer following a fatal crash during a high-speed chase that killed a 17-year-old student. Continue reading…

​The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs

Morgan Wallen has released the dramatic new music video for his chart-rising single, “I Got Better,” featuring intense visuals and cinematic storytelling.  

Leading up to the release, Wallen sparked curiosity and a bit of concern when he shared an image of himself battered and bruised with torn clothing and bloodied skin. His latest Instagram post confirms the gory photo was taken on set of the new video, as it offers a snippet of him emerging from a car wreck alongside details for the video release shared in the caption.

That same clip appears as the opening scene of the video, showing Wallen clearly inured by a traumatic car wreck. As he makes his way out from underneath the flipped over burning vehicle with rain pouring down around him, the superstar suddenly sees a woman emerge on the scene before she fades off into the distance. Wallen stumbles away from the wreckage and as he makes his way down the desolate road, further away from the woman, his wounds begin to heal. He eventually arrives back at his truck looking good as new.

The narrative finds Wallen listing off all the things in his life that have stayed the same, except one thing, the woman who has left him. Suddenly he comes to a relation that he has become a better version of himself, and credits it to the fact that he no longer has that person in his life. This video further hones in on the message that as soon as that person was out of his life, everything seemed to turn around.

He sings, “Swear it was like I’ll be damned/ I’m finally back to being who I am/ When we were over it was overnight/ Light came on it all felt right when it all went wrong/ You turned me loose/ Wasn’t no telling who I’d turn into/ But it turns out me and you together’s why it took so long/ ‘Cause I got better since you got gone.”

From the intense opening scene to the emotional journey that unfolds next, every detail of the music video was clearly reflects the song’s themes of heartbreak, resilience, and personal growth.

“I Got Better” was co-written by Wallen with Michael Hardy, Chase McGill, Blake Pendergrass, Ernest K. Smith, Charlie Handsome and Joe Reeves during an early morning songwriting session at Wallen’s farmhouse near the end of last year.

According to Billboard, the inspiration behind the storyline was first sparked by ERNEST digging into a conversation surrounding religion.

“ERNEST was going off of that conversation,” Pendergrass told the outlet. “He just sang that melody, like, ‘The world got bigger since the Bible got wrote.’”

Those words were quickly transformed into the line “I got better since you got gone,” thus creating the perfect hook to build the remainder of the song off of. Wallen explained that the songwriters discussed several different ways to take the narrative, but he had a clear vision for how it should go.

He said, “I was adamant that I wanted it to be where the guy literally didn’t change anything in his life other than the girl was gone.”

The idea, according to McGill, evolved into capturing that desire of wanting to be loved and accepted for who you are without having to change a thing. With that being said, the “Just In Case” singer also revealed that the “girl” in the lyrics doesn’t have to necessarily be a human and that the message can be interpreted in whatever way best relates to the listener.

“The girl could be anything to me,” Wallen shared. “It wasn’t necessarily a relationship with another human. It could have been a relationship with anything in your life that was holding you back, and the only thing that you did was eliminate that, and everything became clearer in your life.”

“There is something beautiful about music in that you don’t always have to go to exact feelings or scenarios,” he continued. “A good song has a way of bringing out those feelings in you that may not be at the forefront. There is anger, there is sadness, there is disdain, there’s a lot of things in that song that make you just feel. Of course, I have some of those experiences in my life that I could [draw from], but something about a good song just harkens that within you and it makes it easier to bring out.”

“I Got Better” appears among the 37 tracks that make up Morgan Wallen’s fourth studio album, I’m The Problem. As of sept 26, Music row reported that the currently sits at No. 5 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and No. 6 on the Mediabase chart.

The album that arrived back in May featured a few epic collaborations including Tate McRae on “What I Want,” Eric Church on “Number 3 and Number 7,” HARDY on “Come Back As A Redneck,” ERNEST on “The Dealer,” and Post Malone on “I Ain’t Comin’ Back.”

Alongside the studio recordings, Wallen also shared acoustic versions of some of the tracks inThe Shop Sessions, a series that offers stripped-down recordings by the country superstar and his band from inside an old auto shop.

Morgan Wallen has spent the summer sharing the new music with fans throughout his 2025 I’m The Problem Tour. The trek which spanned 20 stadium-shows across 10 cities has recently come to a close.

The post WATCH: Morgan Wallen Emerges From Fiery Crash In Dramatic ‘I Got Better’ Music Video appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

One year ago this month, Rascal Flatts announced that they were set to reunite on their Life Is A Highway Tour in 2025, celebrating 25 years as one of the most influential groups in country. Now, they’re taking a look back and sharing what sparked them to return to the road and the studio together.

While speaking with their label, Big Machine, the trio revealed that Jay DeMarcus’ wife had a hand in giving them the push they needed to reunite. It all spawned from a conversation between Jay and Gary LeVox, which found them swapping memories and laughing about old times.

“Gary and I started textin’ and just kinda checkin’ in with each other, and we had a couple laughs about some memories and reminisced about how we missed playing shows in front of our fans. And that’s kind of what got the discussion started a little bit,” Jay recalled.

He then added that it wasn’t until his wife stepped in that things really started to be put into motion. She jokingly informed the group that she was desperate for her husband to get out of the house and give her some time to herself.

“…my wife picked up the phone and called him and said, ‘Gary, you’ve got to get Jay out of the house. He’s driving me berserk,’” Jay noted.

Remembering the conversation with Jay’s wife, Gary shared, “She said, ‘Please take him to Put-in-Bay (in their home state of Ohio), anywhere. Just get him out of here.’”

Jay jumped in to add, “And drop him in the bay.” 

 “Yeah. ‘Take him. I don’t know, if you want to bring him back, that’s up to you. But he’s got to get up out of here,” Gary said, continuing the playful banter.

While Jay’s other half may have been joking, her approach proved to be successful. That playful push set the wheels in motion for Rascal Flatts to find their way back to the road, eventually launch the first leg of their Life Is A Highway Tour.

On top of their trek, they also kicked off their reunion with an exciting collaboration with the Jonas Brothers called, “I Dare You.” This high-energy tune marked the first look into Rascal Flatts’ duets project.

According to Gary, this collaboration served as the perfect opportunity to reconnect and create something fresh together as a band.

“Yeah, with ‘I Dare You,’ you know, since we were going back through our catalog, and originally it was gonna be like 10 of our number ones or something like that,” he revealed. “But then when this song came about, you know, it gave us a chance to be back in the studio together and cuttin’ some new music.”

Jay stepped in to remind fans that this was the first time they had been in the studio together since the release of 2020’s How They Remember You project.

Gary also gushed that getting to kick things off with a fellow trio made it that much more memorable, “Yeah, and then to have a collab with Jo Bros, it was fun and …”

“And that song, I just think it’s really special,” Joe Don Rooney added.

The first leg of Rascal Flatts’ highly anticipated Life Is A Highway Tour launched in February 2025 and ran through the spring. The tour was such a hit that neither the fans nor the band were ready for it to end. So, they announced that they would be extending the tour into 2026.

The new dates kick off on January 15 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and continues with stops in Nashville, Chicago, Tampa, and more before wrapping up on February 28 in Buffalo, New York. 

2026 LIFE IS A HIGHWAY TOUR Official Dates:

1/15 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center
1/16 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
1/17 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
1/22 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
1/23 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
1/24  – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center
1/29 – Elmont, NY – UBS Arena
1/30 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
1/31 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena
2/5 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
2/6 – Chicago, IL – United Center
2/7 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
2/12 – Duluth, GA – Gas South Arena ~
2/13 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
2/14 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
2/19 – Biloxi, MS – Mississippi Coast Coliseum
2/20 – Bossier City, LA – Brookshire Grocery Arena
2/21 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center
2/26 – Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
2/27 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena

2/28 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center

~ Support by Chris Lane and TBD

The post Rascal Flatts Look Back On Their Return To The Road, Reveal How Jay DeMarcus’ Wife Sparked the Reunion appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Naomi Johnson recently appearance on an episode of the God’s Country podcast, where she shared an exciting life update and spoke candidly about her unique upbringing. From growing up on a school bus with nine siblings, to joining cults, surviving a near-death experience during childbirth, and more, the songstress shares stories that are as shocking as they are unforgettable.

On top of giving an in-depth look at her childhood and her journey in the music industry, Johnson announces she and her husband Martin are expecting baby number two and discusses the stories behind some of her latest releases, including the powerful tune about motherhood, “Mama Ain’t Jesus.”

Keep reading to find the top 10 most shocking things Naomi Johnson revealed in the interview that fans may not have known about her before.

1. She is pregnant with her second baby

In 2023, Johnson and her husband, Martin Johnson, lead singer of The Night Game and Boys Like Girls, celebrated the arrival of their first daughter, who recently turned two years old. Now, the pair are preparing to welcome their second child but have not revealed the gender.

“I’m happy because I’m having a baby. I’m pregnant,” she told podcast hosts Reid and Dan.

2. She almost died giving birth to her first child

Although the parents have kept their daughter’s name under wraps, Johnson has openly shared details of the difficult journey with her first pregnancy. She admits that this scary experience left her with an eye-opening realization about the kind of legacy she wants to leave behind for her kids.

“I was like, if I had died…[and] she wanted to go and listen to my music, she would’ve heard these selling t-shirts and beer songs, and she would never know anything about me ever. She’d never know who I am as a mother, a wife, a friend, a daughter. She’s blonde hair and blue eyed. She could not look in the mirror and see her Cherokee heritage like I can. And it just became so important to me that I not be afraid to talk, to tell my story through music.”

3. She has two “huge” scars on her thigh from running into a barbed wire fence

Johnson revealed that the injury occurred after her sister was chasing her with a stick. She had just learned how to ride a bike at the time, ended up losing control and steering into the fence while running away from her sibling.

4. She grew up on a school bus with her nine siblings and two parents

She is no stranger to living on a bus. Spending the majority of her time now on a tour bus as a country star has made her realizes that “life prepares you for life,” as she recalls once living on a crammed school bus at a young age.

“I lived on a school bus with my nine brothers and sisters and my two parents, and then my profession, I ended up on a bus with nine people,” she explained. “It felt more like home to me than maybe some other people. But I mean, way nicer bus, let’s be real. This is way nicer.”

5. Her dad made her and her siblings eat a squirrel after killing it

Growing up, Johnson remembers her father being a hunter and having a deep appreciation for the sport. As a result, he made sure that his kids understood what that meant, even if they had to learn a few tough lessons along the way.

“I remember we came back from playing down by the creek and we had shot a squirrel, and it was dead. And we all came back, ‘Oh, we got a squirrel, dad.’ And he made us clean it and eat it… He was like, ‘you do not just kill animals for fun. That’s not what we do. That’s not respectful.’ He was very sportsmanlike like that.”

6. She has had the rare experience of seeing a mother moose and two babies near her home in Utah

As a lover of wide open spaces, Johnson has settled down among the stunning setting of Utah with her husband and daughter. Along with that also comes frequent wildlife encounters.

“There’s literally a mother moose with two babies that come down to drink out of our creek a couple times a week…So Native American culture, when you see an animal you’re meant to, it’s a message. You’re being told something. And so moose are strength and courage and moving forward and all that type of a thing. But to see a mother with babies means new life, tenderness, youthful,” she shared.

7. Her song, “Mama Ain’t Jesus” offers a glimpse into the realities of being a mother

The songstress admits that having a child of her own now, she has discovered that if anyone put her child in danger, there’s nothing that would hold her back from doing what she had to do to protect her young. This tune powerfully captures that instinct while acknowledging that while moms do their best, they’re not perfect.

“You see moms out grocery shopping or somewhere, somewhere out in the wild, and they look so vulnerable sometimes with their kids and they’re distracted and just kind of looks like someone could hurt that really easily. But the mistake that you would make is just under that distracted shopper is a one-woman assassin. And I felt that come alive in me when I became a mom. And I carry, and I’m very proud of that. I’m very proud of my right to carry.”

8. Her Cherokee heritage goes back nine generations in East Tennessee.

While Johnson is proud to be an “all-American girl,” the older she gets, the more important it is for her to celebrate her indigenousness roots. This part of her life was strongly instilled in her as a girl and is now being told through her authentic songwriting.

“It was always fun knowing that we were Indians when we were kids cause we were buck wild. We loved being outside. And we could feel it in a way,” she shared. “But it was just a fun thing. It was not important to me to bring it into my life and my identity and my music like it is now.”

9. She and her family were members of multiple cults

Johnson revealed that her parents, who she described as “vulnerable” and “naïve” led the family into several cults during her childhood. In one, leaders demanded they kill the family dog because it was considered “unclean.” After witnessing disturbing practices and abuse, her father eventually pulled the family out and led them to a second cult in Tennessee where they stayed for a year.

“We get approached by this guy with a Bible in his back pocket and weird clothes and long ponytail. My parents were very, they still are, my dad’s gone now, but they’re very spiritually lost and very spiritually vulnerable. They both had hard home lives. My parents are just really, really naive. So they follow this guy back to this cult. We end up staying there,” she recalled. “I mean, there was some super sketchy stuff. A lot of child abuse goes on in those places. It’s very young girls are being married off, they don’t talk. If there’s any type of sexual abuse going on and someone reports it, the cops come, no one will talk to them. It’s the same with Amish.” 

“So we left that place in the middle of the night, and I remember…this group running out and trying to pull the propane tanks off of our camper,” she added.

10. Her brother robbed 13 banks at 17 years old

While living off the grid in the woods, the FBI found Johnson and her family and informed them that her brother was wanted for string of bank robberies. She explained that the robberies occurred while he was staying back home in Virginia with family friends. Although this was certainly shocking, Johnson revealed that her brother always had a wild side and even ran away from home at 14 years old.

“They were looking for a family, and they had a suspect for a string of bank robberies that had happened in Virginia. And it was my brother…The FBI found my parents, they were like, he is one of one suspects and they have some footage of him. They didn’t have him yet, but my parents were like, that’s our kid. You could tell way he walks or whatever,” she explained. “He passed away. So he went to prison. That was crazy. My parents, that ruined their marriage. So my mom wanted him to take the money and run. And my dad wanted him to turn himself in and he ended up turning himself in.”

The post 10 Shocking Things Naomi Johnson Just Revealed About Her Life appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Luke Combs fans have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of his new studio album, and according to the country superstar, they’ll have to wait until early 2026 to get the finished product. Thankfully, he’s releasing a few new songs this week to hold them over.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina native revealed plans to release The Prequel, a three-song collection, on Friday, October 3.

In a message to fans, he wrote, “Still working on my new album that’ll be out early next year but 3 songs from it are ready now and I couldn’t wait to get y’all some new music, so I’m releasing them this Friday, October 3 as The Prequel. Songs will be Days Like These, 15 Minutes and My Kinda Saturday Night..”

He also teased even more exciting news, sharing that his tour will be named after the song “My Kinda Saturday Night” and hinting that fans can expect “more news on that very soon.”

Fans have gotten a taste of the new tunes via social media through various teasers shared by the two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year. 

In August, Combs surprised fans by using a burner-style social media account to tease new songs, taking a crowdsourcing approach to choosing tracks for his next project. Under the handle @lcombs77, he began sharing demos and letting fans provide real-time feedback.

Later, he took to X to give an update on the project, telling fans, “I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks working on what my next record looks like and as it begins to take shape I can honestly say I’ve never felt better about one at this stage. It’s early on but I really do think it could wind up being the best record I’ve ever made.” 

During an interview with Katie & Company, Combs revealed that he has recorded more than 30 songs for the album and clarified that he has no plans to release a double album or anything of that sort.

“I’ve probably got one recording session left on it, but I’ve already recorded, I don’t know, over 30 songs I would think. I don’t know that there’s any plans to do, like, the big album thing. I just don’t know if I love that idea, you know,” he admitted.

The new project will follow the release of 2024’s Fathers & Sons, a deeply personal album written about his life and shift in perspective after becoming a dad, and his latest country radio single, “Back in the Saddle.”

The post Luke Combs Shares Plans To Drop Surprise 3-Song Collection ‘The Prequel’ Ahead of 2026 Album appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

After a lengthy social media hiatus, three-time GRAMMY-winning duo Dan + Shay returned online to update fans on what they’ve been up to and to shut down any breakup rumors.

The video began with Dan Smyers explaining, “Hey, we just wanted to pop on here real quick. I know it won’t be quick. I’ll start rambling, but just to give you guys an update as to where we’ve been. We did not plan to take a social media hiatus for almost a whole year, but last year was crazy.”

He recapped their whirlwind 2024 and made it clear that they are not breaking up.

“We did The Voice, we did two tours. We did two Christmas albums, and then we went wild on social media for the Christmas blitz. And then Shay and Hannah had a baby at the top of this year,” he explained. “And we’ve been in the studio literally all year, pretty much every day making our favorite music we’ve ever made. People are asking, ‘Did Dan and Shay break up?’ Literally, we could not be further from breaking up.’”

“And physically close,” Shay Mooney chimed in.

The duo shared that they are “closer” than they have ever been and they are having “a blast” making new music together. 

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A post shared by Dan + Shay (@danandshay)

“But just wanted to pop on here and say, we love you guys. We’ve been thinking about you. We miss you. We’ve just been buried in the studio and forgot to post on socials. So here we are. We’re posting on socials, hitting the algorithm,” Smyers said. 

Before wrapping up the video, they revealed plans to release a new Christmas song and “ a couple other little surprises that happen between now and the end of the year.”

As for 2026, Dan + Shay plans to return to the spotlight in a big way. 

“…Next year’s going to be crazy. More music than ever. More shows, more tours than ever. We’re fired up. 2026 is going to be huge for us. But yeah, we just wanted to say we’re thinking about y’all. We love y’all,” they added before thanking fans for their “patience.” 

Dan + Shay’s upcoming album follows 2023’s Bigger Houses, which featured the singles ‘Save Me the Trouble’ and its title track.

Despite the duo’s hiatus, Dan + Shay is currently nominated for CMA Vocal Duo of the Year alongside Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Maddie & Tae, and The War and Treaty. 

The post Dan + Shay Break Social Media Silence, Address Breakup Rumors In Honest Update to Fans appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now