“You can see that she’s hurting,” Brianna Chickenfry says of Bunnie Xo. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
Month: July 2026
On Tuesday, July 14, Chris Janson took over the streets of downtown Nashville for a full-circle moment that proves just how far he’s come in over two decades of grinding in Music City to make his dreams come true.
He first moved to town back in 2004 after he had just finished up high school in Perryville, Missouri. At 18 years old, Janson was determined to dive headfirst into his music career. He spent his first nights sleeping in the back seat of his car parked behind a honky-tonk on Broadway, playing the same streets where he hoped to one day make his mark.
That young dreamer returned to that very stretch of downtown Nashville this week and shut down the block as thousands of fans packed the streets to watch his unforgettable performance, which marked the kick-off of the CONNECT Conference.
After proudly taking in the full-circle moment, Janson reflected on the journey it has taken to get to this point.
“I vividly remember when I first arrived in Nashville. I slept in my Monte Carlo with the seats folded down, many many nights in the lower broadway alley behind Tootsies, and many nights behind what used to be a boarded up building off 4th, In between gigs. Hustling, scrapping, working. Last night was a great reminder of the American Dream. From the bar room, to the City Of Nashville shutting down Broadway for Me,” he said before admitting he couldn’t help but get emotional on the stage.
“It humbled me, to say the least. Beyond grateful. From the streets, to shutting the streets down! Big thanks to everyone who continues to be in my corner. We continue to Win together. When you dream Big, you win Big. All the love,” Janson added.
The performance took place as the multi-Platinum and award-winning Country music artist continues to heat up the country radio charts with his current single, “Fight For A Girl,” off his latest album, Wild Horses. Janson speaks with true honesty and draws from the love he has for his wife Kelly while depicting the story of a man who isn’t afraid to fight for the woman who has stolen his whole heart. Through the upbeat melody, the lyrics lean into the instinct a man feels to protect and cherish a once-in-a-lifetime connection.
“Then out of the blue/ Baby, there was you/ I didn’t know what to say/ I didn’t know what to do/ Everybody wanted a chance/ Everybody wanted a dance/ But when you see your whole world/ You’ll fight for a girl/ Under flickering lights/ Out on a Friday night/ When you got one like mine/ You’ll fight for a girl/ Yeah, you’ll fight for a girl,” Janson sings on the chorus.
Just last week, he dropped an alternate version of the track penned by Janson with Blake Bollinger, Thomas Archer and Michael Tyler. The newly released rendition takes a more reflective approach while leaning into a more emotional delivery.
“Super excited to have this song at country radio! It’s been a fan favorite out on tour, and I’m thrilled to have it out,” said Janson. This version is a slightly different sound for me, but I love playing it and hope you all like this version as much as I do.”
Fans can hear the new track live throughout Chris Janson’s headlining dates that run into the Fall.
The post Chris Janson Shuts Down Broadway For Full-Circle Nashville Performance appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
Elle King is opening up about her recent autism diagnosis and how it has given her a deeper understanding of herself.
Back in May, the singer and mom of two took to social media to write, “Good news is, I’m autistic.” She didn’t expand on that statement any further at the time, but while recently reflecting on her experience filming the new reality show Nation’s Dumbest, King shared how the diagnosis helped explain things about herself that she had struggled to make sense of before.
“I love games. I love game shows. I’m extremely competitive, and I love puzzles and everything,” King told US Weekly. “I actually found out right after the show that I’m autistic, and so I was like, ‘Everything makes so much sense now.’ But I didn’t even know.”
Hosted by Jack Whitehall, the show, which premieres today (June 15) on Fox, features a mix of different stars from all different areas of the entertainment industry who all come together to work their way through school-themed challenges, including logic tests, pop quizzes, and physical rounds. Each week, the smartest of the celebrity players will “graduate” from the show, narrowing down the contestants until the end of the challenge, where a final exam will determine the winner of the unwanted title of Nation’s Dumbest.
According to King, it wasn’t until after signing on for the show that she started to question whether she was up for the challenge, and feared that she would be deemed the least intelligent among her fellow contestants
“Right before the show, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ [I was] starting to panic, ‘There is a scenario that you could be the nation’s dumbest,’” she recalled.
With this worry in the back of her head, King decided to take an IQ test to see where she stood and ended up being surprised by the high score of 132 that she received, while the average IQ test score is 100 on nearly all standardized tests.
“I didn’t even trust it, so I took another one, and I got the same score on a different website,” she admitted.
Receiving an autism diagnosis has provided a completely new perspective for the “Ex’s & Oh’s” singer. As she continues learning more about her diagnosis, she feels determined to embrace this next chapter with intention.
“It’s so important to continue,” she said. “I’m still learning. I don’t understand it. I just don’t want to do things the way that I used to do it because, ultimately, at the end of the day, I truly enjoy being an artist, being a performer, and getting to do all these other things just as myself is really fun for me. I keep telling myself whatever this next chapter is, I really want to be present and enjoy it. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Ella King is also making an effort to be more mindful about the people she surrounds herself with and the choices she makes moving forward, in order to become a better happier version of herself.
“I’ve had a lot of not my proudest moments, and so especially with my autism diagnosis, I am putting new kinds of safety barricades,” she said. “And I just want to be around people that I feel safe around, and I just want to do things that bring me joy.”
The post Elle King Shares How Autism Diagnosis Has Brought Clarity To Her Life appeared first on Country Now.
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Trading soccer shirts
Britain’s Trade Minister Chris Bryant said he was texting his Argentinian counterpart, Fernando Brun, ahead of England’s World Cup clash with the champions on Wednesday — and plans to exchange soccer shirts with him.
Speaking to POLITICO in London earlier this week, Bryant said he and Brun had forged a good relationship during trade talks. “I’m quite friendly with him. He’s a really nice guy,” he said. “I’m teasing him. Obviously Argentina’s bound to lose.”
Bryant has been pushing for a free-trade agreement with Mercosur — the South American bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and recent joiner Bolivia — arguing it would be a “no-brainer” after the EU struck its own deal.
The football rivalry, it seems, hasn’t got in the way of the trade relationship.
Politics
LOS ANGELES — Some of the most powerful Latino politicians in the United States were invited to wear their favorite soccer jerseys. But few chose Argentina’s Abiceleste.
Mayor Frank Figueroa of Coachella, California said his feelings toward Argentina as a “Latin American country” (in finger quotes) were so strong, he was willing to back England, the team that knocked out Mexico — where Figueroa traces his heritage — in a contentious quarterfinal match.
“Just by looking at their soccer team. For me, it’s like who’s playing on the soccer team compared to all the other Latin American countries who had the people playing on their team,” said Figueroa. “That is a big thing for me. They all look European.”
With the World Cup semi-finals coinciding with one of the country’s largest gatherings for Latino policymakers, organizers of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials annual conference embraced the timing. They have scheduled Telemundo World Cup watch parties in a hotel ballroom and are selling NALEO soccer jerseys to celebrate the organization’s 50th anniversary. Multicolored soccer jerseys — most commonly the green of Mexico’s El Tri — were scattered among the polished suits and business-casual attire in the conference venue.
But the absence of support for the tournament’s only remaining Latin American team was notable. In fact, it was easier today to spot England’s colors than Argentina’s hours before the two countries faced off in Atlanta.
Argentina’s history of blanqueamiento policies encouraging mass European migration, sanctuary for Nazis after World War II and its “genocide” against Afro-Argentines contributes to the “systemic problems and challenges” in Argentina’s history, said Karina Moreno, a councilmember representing Palm Desert, California. It’s a history that Moreno said continues the “fallacy” of superiority from Argentina to other Latin American countries.
Animosity towards Argentina was compounded after Argentine media personality Eduardo Feinmann said he “detested Mexicans” in on-air comments after Mexico’s tournament exit last week. Feinmann went on to describe “the envy the Mexicans feel for us Argentines, not just in football, but in everything.” The ensuing controversy escalated with a public rebuke from Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum.
“It’s not the first time, and it validates what we’re talking about,” Moreno said, referring to the incident.
The behavior of Argentina fans has also come under scrutiny, with FIFA opening an investigation into a supporter’s alleged racist abuse of American streamer IShowSpeed during the team’s victory against Cape Verde earlier this month. Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan’s made FIFA’s designated gesture to report racist abuse — a crossed-arm “X” gesture — against Argentina..
Salta Lake City councilmember Alejandro Puy, a Salt Lake City councilmember sported one of the rare Argentina jerseys. Raised in Buenos Aires, he says “rivalries are expected” between countries in soccer.
“Ultimately we are all brothers and sisters of this continent and we stand by it,” Puy said, though he still says there’s “no doubt” Argentina has the best team in Latin America.
Though he said he appreciated the Latino camaraderie in the conference, Puy was headed to Argentina’s Consulate in Los Angeles to watch the game and not feel “a little alone.”
Politics
Foreign-affairs columnist Nahal Toosi reports live from the United Kingdom’s embassy in Washington.
Politics
A federal judge said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s policy facilitating visas for participants in the ongoing World Cup soccer tournament undercuts the administration’s claims that other immigration benefits — for nationals from some of those same countries — need to be halted for national security reasons.
Rhode Island-based U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued a ruling last month lifting a hold the administration put on immigration processing for citizens of 39 countries.
During a hearing Wednesday on the Justice Department’s request to pause McConnell’s ruling, the judge said the effort to expedite visas for World Cup players and others connected to the tournament backed his view that there was no genuine national security motivation behind the moratorium, imposed last year after an Afghan immigrant allegedly shot two National Guard members near the White House.
“We let players and coaches from some of those 39 countries in, and their family members — disregarded the ban. We’ve let doctors in,” said McConnell. “If the categorical ban on those countries was needed because of the finding of the requirement for vetting wasn’t being properly done, why did we let the soccer players in? Why did we let their family members? Why did we let their coaches? Why did we let their doctors?”
Justice Department attorney Tyler Becker acknowledged that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has ignored the 39-country halt “in a few contexts.” The visa decisions impacting the World Cup are made by another government agency, the State Department. It, too, enforces special limits on visas for citizens of the same 39 countries, but that policy contains an exception for “participants in certain major sporting events.”
McConnell rejected the notion that his order would have prevented the federal government from pausing Saudi applications after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. That decision, he said, was clearly rooted in rational security needs as opposed to the Trump administration’s more sweeping suspension of immigration processing.
Earlier in the hourlong hearing, McConnell joked that an attorney for those challenging the halt might want to speed his argument — because the Argentina-England World Cup semifinal was just minutes away and some fans in the courtroom were eager to see it. But the Obama-appointed judge quickly emphasized he was kidding.
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Spot the pol!
This prime minister of a country that has not appeared in a World Cup in nearly 30 years shakes hands with former Liberian president and Ballon d’Or winner George Weah.
That’s Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Michael Holness, who watched France and Morocco play in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on July 9.
Politics
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Lately, Collin Gosselin has been dropping allegations about his mom at every opportunity.
In fact, Collin has a memoir on the way, and he promises that it will detail the many ways in which Kate Gosselin was an absolutely horrible mom.
So some fans were shocked today by Collin’s announcement that he’ll be joining the cast of Season 5 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
It’ll be his first major reality TV appearance in years — and one that comes with an interesting family connection.
Collin’s casting is especially notable because his estranged mother competed during the show’s inaugural season in 2023.
Fox announced the new cast on Wednesday, revealing that Collin will compete alongside a wide-ranging group of celebrities in the physically and mentally demanding competition series.
Kate’s experience on the show was memorably (and hilariously) short-lived.
She was forced to leave the competition during the first episode after suffering an injury, ending her journey almost as soon as it began.
Now, three years later, Collin will get his own chance to tackle the grueling Marine-style training course — one designed to push contestants to their absolute limits.
Unlike traditional reality competitions, Special Forces doesn’t feature weekly eliminations or audience voting. Instead, celebrities are tested through a series of military-inspired challenges that measure physical endurance, mental toughness and emotional resilience.
Season 5 was filmed in the jungles of Malaysia and premieres on September 24.
Collin announced his involvement on Instagram today.
“I’m so excited to announce that this fall, you can watch me take on the challenges of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test!
This experience was so special to me, and I met some truly incredible people along the way. I can’t wait for you all to watch us tackle these challenges together. See you soon!
This season’s other celebrity recruits include Candace Cameron Bure, Ruby Rose, George Santos, former NBA player Matt Barnes, boxer Alycia Baumgardner, actor David Charvet, Brandi Glanville, Oliver Hudson, former NFL star LeSean McCoy, figure skater Maxim Naumov, influencer Hannah Stocking, Breana Tiesi and Alexia and Mauricio Umansky.
The reality competition isn’t the only major project on Collin’s calendar.
His memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, is set to hit stores on October 13.
The book will detail his upbringing in one of reality television’s most famous families, including his strained relationship with Kate and the difficult experiences he says he endured as a child.
Collin has spoken publicly in recent years about his childhood and his complicated relationship with his mother, while maintaining a close bond with his father, Jon Gosselin.
Now, with a memoir on the way and a return to reality television just weeks away, he’s preparing for what could become his most high-profile chapter since Jon & Kate Plus 8 first made him a household name.
Collin Gosselin Joins ‘Special Forces,’ Follows In Estranged Mom’s … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
Moore says the anxiety of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to his struggles with alcohol addiction, and he tried to stop on his own for a few times before getting help. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country