Month: November 2025

Ahead of the CMAs, Ella Langley reveals why ‘Choosin’ Texas’ will hit viewers right in the feelings. Continue reading…

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

After Kelsea dropped her new EP, the actor called her fans comments about his ex “weird.” Continue reading…

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

Lainey is now just the third woman ever to host the CMA Awards solo — joining Reba (1991) and Dolly Parton, who did it back in 1988. Continue reading…

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

Dan + Shay are once again up for CMA Vocal Duo of the Year—a category they know well. Over the course of their career, the pair has been nominated in this category a dozen times and have taken home the trophy twice. Even with their longstanding recognition, they admit the excitement never fades and each nomination still feels just as meaningful as the first.

“We’ve been doing this for so long. We’re grateful to, truly, just grateful to be involved and included in the conversation,” Shay told Country Now. “It’s been amazing over the years to be able to even be included with so many amazing artists. And the fact that we’ve been doing this since 2012 is unbelievable.”

Along with celebrating another nomination, the three-time GRAMMY-winning duo has also been navigating some big career and life changes behind the scenes. They recently reemerged on social media after a lengthy hiatus that allowed them to recharge and prepare for new music and more in 2026.

“This year has been a bit of a change for us. We took a year off the road to reset. It was necessary after 10 years of doing the thing, and we just wanted to spend more time writing. Shay’s got a new baby at home…We’ve been locked in the studio. We didn’t post on social media. People were like, ‘oh my gosh, did they break up?’ We just literally forgot to post on social media,” Dan explained.

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Now, they’ve revealed that while they weren’t active online, they were still hard at work behind the scenes. One highlight that came from this time away from the screens was their brand-new holiday tune, “Long Live Christmas.”

“I feel like we’ve been on such a good stretch of creativity with writing and that’s how these Christmas songs came about. We were just in the studio nonstop, hanging, enjoying being home. We hadn’t taken a break from the road since 2013, so it was…it felt good,” they added. “It was our first kind of real break, even though it wasn’t a break. We were in the studio. But no, it’s been really good.”

They also recently dropped a highly-requested cover of Taylor Swift’s “Back To December,” and joked that if Taylor or her fiancé Travis Kelce ever called about performing at their upcoming wedding, they’d clear their schedules instantly.

“We can put it out in the world. We are open for business. We will do it for free…Even if we’re not open, we’ll just clear whatever we’re doing. We’ll be free, I’ll tell you that.”

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Looking ahead to 2026, Dan and Shay are fired up about more music and more shows. In the midst of all the excitement, they are also hoping to take more time to appreciate all the special moments coming their way.

“Life goes fast. Those 10 years went by really, really fast. And just looking around and being like, this moment’s amazing. Just trying to enjoy every step of it.”

The duo is set to appear at this year’s CMA Awards in Nashville on Wednesday, November 17. While the country stars tend to spend a lot of time together, they are looking forward to sharing the celebration of this coveted evening with their wives by their sides for what’s poised to be a memorable date night.

“Our wive are coming with us. It’s going to be awesome. We’re fired up. It’s just awesome to get out on the town like that,” they noted.

Dan and Shay are nominated for vocal group of the year alongside Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne,  Maddie & Tae, andThe War And Treaty.

Hosted by Lainey Wilson, the 59^th CMA Awards will broadcast live from Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 19 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on ABC and is available next day on Hulu.

The post Dan + Shay Reflect On CMA nomination, Reveal How Time Off Fueled Their Next Musical Chapter [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Ella Langley is preparing to take the stage at the upcoming CMA Awards to perform her latest single, “Choosin’ Texas.” Ahead of the highly-anticipated event, she hinted at what fans can expect from her time on stage.

The songstress has built a reputation for showcasing her powerful music through high-energy performances that put her signature country sound on full display. While speaking with Country Now backstage of the CMA Awards, she revealed that this special performance will be no different.

While she kept most of the details under wraps, she promised it would be “country” through and through.

“It’s true to the song. I mean, it’s two stepping. Country boys, I love ‘em,” she teased.

The highly anticipated track, co-written by Langley alongside Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick, and Joybeth Taylor, finds the award-winning artist exploring the bittersweet moment she discovers her love interest has fallen for her and Tennessee, only to realize his heart actually still belongs to Texas and someone else.

Fans are likely very eager to see the track come to life live at the CMA Awards, as it’s expected to capture all the emotion and storytelling of the song that has been stirring up so much buzz already.

When asked what she put in the song to make listeners fall in love with it so fast, she joked, “that’s a special sauce I can’t tell everybody about.”

This is slated to be a major night for Ella Langley. Along with her performance, she’s heading into the event tied as the most nominated alongside Megan Moroney and Lainey Wilson, each racking up six nods this year. Langley is up for an award in the categories of Single of the Year (“you look like you love me”), Song of the Year (“you look like you love me”), Female Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“Don’t Mind If I Do”), Music Video of the Year (“you look like you love me”), and New Artist of the Year.

Reflecting on this accomplishment, she noted that it’s truly “nuts” to think about the fact that she’s come this far in her career and is now getting to see her years of hard work and dedication be recognized in front of her peers.

“People will keep asking me this question and it’s just like, yeah, I think at some point this job, so many cool things happen to you in a row and you’re just on a cloud nine type of thing. So usually, stuff like that sinks in a couple days after it happens.”

This performance will follow Ella Langley’s sold-out, two-night run at Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium to wrap up her Still Hungover Tour. Both nights were packed with star-studded surprise guests including ERNEST, Jo Dee Messina, Gretchen Wilson, HARDY, Morgan Wallen and more.

“Jo Dee Messina and Gretchen Wilson both have texted me before and said just the most encouraging things and we’ve done ‘Here For The Party’ for forever so I knew I wanted to see if Gretchen could do it. And then Jo Dee Messina is, I did this cover of ‘A Lesson In Leavin’ just randomly and I see it all the time. So I was like, that would be so sick. And she ended up texting me saying, ‘congrats on the Ryman.’ I’m like, ‘well, do you want to come and sing?’”

“I don’t think he gets to go out and see shows very often,” Langley said of Wallen. “And then I was like, you want to do ‘Cover Me Up’?”

This epic Ryman show marked the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. “Choosin’ Texas” set the tone for the next era which Langley described as being “fun,” “groovy” and “more mature.”

“It’s womanly, sexy. It’s windows down,” she shared. “My point for this whole record is when I listen to music, even though I’m a songwriter and I love to write songs, I really listened to the music first. And so a lot of these songs, I really wanted to be able to turn it down and still kind of vibe on the record. And when you’re in the car and you’re talking to your friends, one of those records just put on. But it’s also, if you do love lyrics and you get to learn a lot about me as an artist and as a human being and kind of what got me here.”

The Alabama native will appear on the CMA Awards this Wednesday when the show broadcasts live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Fans can tune into the event hosted by Lainey Wilson on at 8:00-11:00 PM/ET on ABC. It will also be available next day on Hulu.

The post Ella Langley Promises True-To-Country CMA Awards Performance Of ‘Choosin’ Texas’ [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Priscilla Block has recently started giving fans a glimpse into her relationship with longtime boyfriend Elijah, and now the couple is about to take a big leap into the spotlight. After keeping his identity and their love story mostly private, she’s beginning to share more—and on Wednesday, they’ll make their red carpet debut at the 2025 CMA Awards.

The songstress admitted to Country Now, “I can’t believe it. I am bringing him to the CMA Awards on Wednesday and he’s walking the carpet with me.”

This will be the first time that Block will put her relationship on full display for the world. She joked that she’s not sure if her boyfriend, who grew up in a small town in West Tennessee, is quite ready for a night of fans and cameras following him everywhere.

“I’m like, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen as many lights that you’re going to see on the carpet, but there’s a lot. It’s going to be great,” she shared. “He’s like, ‘I feel like we’re going to prom together.’ I’m like, wait, I love this. It’s kind of giving prom night.”

It’s safe to say that it will be hard for Priscilla Block to top her grand entrance and ensemble for the 2023 CMA Awards, when she arrived on a dump truck carrying a traffic cone and sported a neon yellow look featuring a bright safety vest. However, she teased that people are likely going to be “shocked” by the looks she and her man will be sporting on this year’s red carpet.

“Like I said, I love to keep people guessing on what I’m going to do,” she admitted before reflecting back on that memorable moment of 2023. “That one, I don’t know if I’ll ever top it because how iconic is it showing up to the CMAs in a dump truck in a full hi-vis outfit. So that one’s going to be tough to beat, but I think I might beat it tomorrow because I got my man by my side. I’m ready for it…the fit is fitting, so I’m excited.”

@priscillablock All i can say is RUN to the gram for the pics… this ones for the fans #cmaawards ♬ Hey, Jack – Priscilla Block

In a recent string of videos shared to TikTok, Priscilla Block finally gave fans the full rundown on how she first met Elijah, their two-year separation and how they found their way back to each other.

 It all began one night out on the town in Nashville in 2016, when the pair locked eyes at a bar called Crazy Town and felt love at first sight.

“We fell in love very fast. It was kind of crazy,” she admitted.

Block went on to say that their love quickly blossomed after that fateful night and went on to span two years. In that time, she attended his college graduation where she met his parents, and he became her number one supporter. Unfortunately, their love story eventually came to a halt, causing tremendous heartbreak on both ends.

“I remember we both just sobbed at his apartment rooftop and [it was] just one of those breakups…I felt like we were at this point where it was like right person, wrong time. I felt like we kind of just started arguing about stupid stuff and I kind of felt like we both just needed time away.”

@priscillablock

Highly requested story time 🙈

♬ original sound – priscillablock

But, they couldn’t stay apart for too long. Both Block and Elijah explored different avenues in their induvial lives for a period of time, however the country star says she never fell out of love with him. She admits she had reached her “lowest of lows” in 2020 and he came back into her life at just the right time.

“We run into each other one night at the bar and he comes up to me and he is like, ‘Hey, can we talk?’ And I’m like, ‘no, we’re not talking.’ I leave the bar not long after he leaves me a voicemail and he was like, ‘Hey, Priscilla, I’d love to talk…’

Before she knew it they were talking for hours on end and falling right back into place, almost as if no time has passed. So even though Block’s life was rapidly changing as her country music career began to take shape, Elijah was willing to wait until the moment was right for them to lean into their relationship fully. Even since they have been back in each other’s lives, the love has been strong and now, Block is ready to let the world know who has her heart.

“Y’all know how the internet can take something so beautiful and try and destroy it. So I don’t know. I’ve kind of just held onto this moment for a long time and let it be us. And I don’t know, I kind of just feel like I’m in a, I don’t care what anybody has to say about it now moment. So I think that’s kind of why I want to share it with everybody. Also, I did just release a song called ‘Elijah,’ so I kind of opened up the floor for the conversation,” she added. 

Fans can catch Priscilla Block and Elijah making their CMA Awards red carpet debut on prior to the show airing this Wednesday at 8:00-11:00 PM/ET on ABC. It will also be available next day on Hulu.

The post Priscilla Block Reveals She And Boyfriend Elijah Will Make Their Red Carpet Debut at the 2025 CMA Awards [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Stephen Wilson Jr. is opening up about the deeply personal inspiration behind “Stand On Me,” a track that has resonated with fans and helped him honor the memory of his late father.

Earlier this year, the country artist dropped the deluxe edition of his critically acclaimed debut album, ‘Son of a Dad’ via big loud records, which included 10 acoustic tracks and two new songs – “I’m A Song” and “Stand By Me.” The latter has already been streamed more than tens of millions of times.

While hanging out with Country Now backstage of the CMA Awards, Stephen explained the project serves as a “testament” and a “monument” to his father, who he claims helped catalyze his career in music and acted as his biggest supporter.

“I grew up boxing. A boxing ring was my first stage, and that’s where I learned how to be in front of people. And he’s been training me in that way for a long time. But when the music stuff came along, when all this started, he passed away,” the singer/songwriter acknowledged with a heavy heart. “So he never got to see any of this stuff. So I’ve been trying to get it to him. I feel like music crosses the membrane and crosses the veil, and so really, I’ve just been trying to keep him alive this whole time.”

“Stand By Me” also has deep roots in his childhood, as Stephen revealed it was inspired by the movie of the same name that’s based off a Stephen King book. After his father passed, Stephen began singing the song in his living room, and eventually, he naturally transformed it from a haunting tune into something more like a hymn. For him, it became a way to keep his father’s memory alive.

“It made him feel like a kid on my shoulders. And I’ve been back to what I said before, kind of chasing that feeling ever since. So it’s really wild that I’m playing it at the CMAs and it’s done what it’s done. It has wings that I can’t quite understand. My dad’s probably has a lot to do with that,” he shared.

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Stephen will get to put this song on display for the world in a whole new way on Wednesday night when he performs it at the 2025 CMA Awards. Later that night, he will team up with Shaboozey to perform “Took A Walk,” another song inspired by a Stephen King movie.

“We also wrote that for a Stephen King movie called ‘The Long Walk,’ which was, by the way, his very first book he ever wrote. He wrote it as a 19-year-old boy at the University of Maine in his dorm room. So I don’t know. I’m Steven with a ‘PH’ so there’s a lot of weird parallels going on that I couldn’t have planned if I tried.”

Along with these performances, the rising star is celebrating the milestone of earning his first CMA nomination for New Artist of the Year. He is vying for the win alongside Ella Langley, Shaboozey, Zach Top and Tucker Wetmore.

“It’s a strong club to be part of that I’m very humbled and honored to be a part of,” he said of the recognition. “I couldn’t really quite believe it when they told me about it. I just kind of went and looked at a wall for 10 minutes and tried to process it.”

This honor is even more impressive considering the fact that Stephen Wilson Jr. didn’t start singing until about 10 years ago. Prior to that, his main goal in life was to write songs for other artists to sing.

“I quit my job as a scientist to be a songwriter, and songs are everything for me. I never dreamt I’d be a singer in this capacity, but sometimes your dreams out dream you, and that’s what’s happened,” the Indiana native explained.

Stephen Wilson Jr.’s upcoming appearance at the 59^th Annual CMA Awards is set to air this Wednesday when the show broadcasts live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Fans can tune into the event hosted by Lainey Wilson on at 8:00-11:00 PM/ET on ABC. It will also be available next day on Hulu.

The performance will take place amid his Son of a Dad tour.

The post Stephen Wilson Jr. Reveals The Inspiration Behind ‘Stand By Me’ And Why the Song Holds Such A Deep Meaning For Him [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Bailey Zimmerman is closing out a huge year on a high note, having just been announced as a special guest for the 59th CMA Awards, which takes place this Wednesday night at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

When asked what it means to step into this role on such a coveted night, the rising country star teased “that is for me to know and everybody else to find out.”

The announcement comes as Zimmerman prepares to launch his 30-date headlining Different Night Same Rodeo Tour early next year. Named after his sophomore album, the tour kicks off in Estero, Florida on February 19 and will take him to cities including Knoxville, Boston, Atlanta, Fort Worth, Nashville, and Toronto, before wrapping in Ottawa, Ontario on June 20.

Since revealing the dates for the upcoming trek, fans have been flocking to grab tickets, eager to see Zimmerman bring his new music to the stage. The tour isn’t entirely sold out yet, however the Illinois native says the response has been unbelievable. He was excited to share that within the very first day of the sale, roughly 60 to 65% of tickets were sold.

Reflecting on the realization of his success and the massively supportive fanbase he’s building, he told Country Now, “I’m just a kid from a trailer park that started singing four years ago and now I’m on my own arena tour.”

He is set to be joined on the road in 2026 by Hudson Westbrook and Blake Whiten as support on select dates. Zimmerman particularly called out Westbrook and explained why he was the perfect fit for the tour.

“I honestly think that’s why I chose Hudson to come on tour with me because that dude is his own groove, his own vibe. He’s not trying, he don’t need to outdo or whatever I’m doing. He’s his own thing… He knows who he is and that’s what you’re really looking for. Confidence. I feel like that’s what’s gotten me just to where I’m even at today, is the confidence I’ve had. I really do see that in Hudson. The dude is just on his own wave, blinders on head down and I can’t wait to just see the show he brings because it’s going to be a different than mine.”

Prior to announcing the tour, fans got a big dose of Bailey Zimmerman when he dropped his Different Night Same Rodeo project via Atlantic Records/Warner Music Nashville. This collection includes standouts like “Backup Plan” featuring Luke Combs, “Lost” featuring The Kid LAROI, “Holy Smokes,” “Holding On” and more.

The success of these songs has clearly fueled Zimmerman’s creativity and drive. In fact, he revealed that he’s already dedicating himself to songwriting in preparation for his next album.

“I’m actually working harder than ever right now, I’m not even going to lie,” he stated proudly. “I’ve been out in LA for three weeks. I’ve seen that almost a month. Seen. I’ve written probably, I don’t know, 30 songs or so…I don’t know what they are, of course, but I’ve just written a lot.

He continued, “Seeing the reaction from everybody with the album and seeing them love it so much is what gave me more confidence and to keep going and doing music that I love. The last album was a little experimental. There’s a lot of different sounds on there. It wasn’t so much like my first EP or my first album. So seeing all the love and seeing all that kind of sent me back into like, man, I’m going to not be so afraid to do cool stuff and try new things. So yeah, I’m excited. I’ve got a lot of cool stuff and we’ll just see what they think.”

Fans can tune into the 59^th CMA Awards this Wednesday night to see what special surprises Bailey Zimmermna has in store. Hosted by Lainey Wilson, the show will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena at 8:00-11:00 PM/ET on ABC. It will also be available next day on Hulu.

The post Bailey Zimmerman Teases What’s In Store For His Special Guest Appearance At The CMA Awards [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now