Multiple artists are backing out of the Great American State Fair just a day after the lineup reveal, with concerns emerging over how the event was pitched. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
Category: Music
Multiple artists are backing out of the Great American State Fair just a day after the lineup reveal, with concerns emerging over how the event was pitched. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
It was a hit for another all-time country great instead. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
Riley Green’s new song “Think As You Drunk” lyrics do more than pay tribute to Toby Keith. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
Riley Green’s new song “Think As You Drunk” lyrics do more than pay tribute to Toby Keith. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
“Hopefully we will cross paths soon, and I can tell him how inspirational it was for me to get to talk to him about it.” Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
“Hopefully we will cross paths soon, and I can tell him how inspirational it was for me to get to talk to him about it.” Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
Riley Green regularly incorporates covers of Toby Keith songs in his live shows and has often credited the late country icon as a major influence on his career as a singer-songwriter. While he never had the chance to meet Keith before his passing in 2024, the country artist continues to honor his lasting legacy in his new summertime anthem, “Think As You Drunk.”
The just-released track came to life within just 20 minutes, according to Green, who co-wrote it with Erik Dylan, Wyatt McCubbin and Jessi Alexander. Fans might notice that “Think As You Drunk” shares a similar melody as a very well-known country classic, Toby Keith’s As Good As I Once Was.”
“The best compliment I can give a song is ‘Man, this feels like a Toby Keith song,’” Green told Billboard. “Especially as a songwriter, I don’t know if there was a bigger influence on me.”
Green puts his own twist on the track with added guitar riffs, but the undertones immediately reflect that nostalgic feeling from the original. The result is a feel-good song that arrived just in time for the warm summer months and will serve as the perfect soundtrack for everything from a day on the boat to a rowdy night of drinking.
The lyrics are also original to the “Worst Way” singer as he depicts a long day of drinking that started at noon and is likely to continue until the honky tonk closes at 2am. He erupts into a clever play on words throughout the chorus while trying to convince the bartender who cut him off that he’s not actually as inebriated as he might seem.
“I ain’t as think as you drunk I am/ Don’t pay no mind to this mountain of crushed up cans/ No, I can’t say my CBA’s/ I can sing you every song that jukebox plays/ And I know I can’t stand or sit/ But if I was hammered, could I dance like this?/ Might have a cold one in each hand/ But I ain’t as think as you drunk I am,” Green sings with his signature charm and Alabama twang coming out in full force.
At the very end of the track, fans will hear another very recognizable voice, besides Green. Toby Keith’s iconic vocals join in to deliver the final lyrics of the 2005 hit that inspired the track, singing, “May not be good as I once was/ But I’m as good once as I ever was.”
Green says the decision to close out “Think As You Drunk” in this way came from the late singer’s manager and family. They were shown the song before release due to its close resemblance to Keith’s track and suggested he be included in this way.
“They completely thought it was a tip of the cap to Toby, so they wanted to have his vocal on it,” Green explained, before revealing that it felt like the perfect fit, especially considering how his father used to say that “As Good As I Once Was” was actually written about him.
“So it’s really a full-circle moment for me to have Toby’s vocal on that song,” he added.
The new release marks a look into the multi-PLATINUM, ACM, and CMA Award-winning singer-songwriter’s forthcoming album, which he teased on social media following the song drop. A Facebook post revealed the upcoming project is titled “That’s Just Me” and will be arriving on September 18.
He remained fairly tight-lipped about the collection during his conversation with Billboard, but did call attention to one song that is sure to be a stand-out, “10 Pairs of Boots Ago,” which finds the narrator reflecting on different chapters of his life, each represented by a pair of boots he once wore, before ending with a final pair belonging to his 4-year-old son.
“I think about it a lot,” Riley Green said of becoming a father one day. “At this point in my life, I don’t know how I could do it. So things are going to have to slow down and get a little bit more of a sense of normalcy before I could really think about settling down and having a family,” he adds. “But it’s definitely something I’d like to do and I’m somewhat excited about where my songwriting would go with that much of a change in my life, too.”
The new music arrives amid a busy time for Green. He is currently out on his Cowboy As It Gets Tour, has plans to perform at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on Sunday, June 7 as part of CMA Fest, and will be making his debut as a coach on The Voice this fall.
The post Riley Green Honors Toby Keith on New Summer Anthem, ‘Think As You Drunk,’ Featuring The Late Icon’s Vocals appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
Today, May 28, 2026, marks Jelly Roll’s daughter Bailee Ann’s 18th birthday, just weeks after her high school graduation. As she steps into a new chapter and prepares for college, the country star shared a heartfelt message on social media, expressing his pride for all she’s accomplished and his excitement for what’s ahead.
Jelly Roll began his sentimental letter by sharing a story from when she was four years old, one that first showed him the power of her imagination and the impact she would have on his life.
“To my oldest child and my only daughter.. I honestly don’t even know where to begin this..I was renting a house right behind my father’s house. And when I say right behind my father’s house, I mean you could literally walk from my back door to his back door. One day when we were walking there, you stopped all of a sudden and said ‘dad how are we gonna get across that river?’ I was a little confused at first, and I looked back at you and in that moment, I could see the wide eyes of a little girl who is living in her beautiful imagination….”
He continued, “I immediately said ‘the river is gonna be a problem, cause it probably has alligators in it, but I’m more worried about those tigers on the other side.’ You told me in that moment, the bears were gonna be the real problem.. It took us almost 2 hours to walk less than 20 yards.. we wrestled the imaginary alligators, we ran from hyenas, we fist fought bears, we swam in the river, anacondas,…. Little did I know in that moment, your imagination was opening mine and that you were fixing to be the biggest impact on my life and the biggest part of my journey ever…”
Looking back on memories from her childhood years, it seems hard for the Antioch native to come to terms with the fact that his little four-year-old girl is now all grown up at 18 years old. He made sure to highlight her accomplishment of graduating high school, which “very very few people” in their family have done, including himself. On top of that, she has plans to continue her education with college.
“You are not only a high school graduate. You are soon to be a college student. When we talk about generational curses and breaking them, you literally are the epitome of that. You are kind, smart, caring, loving, adventurous, funny, sassy, honest. To put it plainly you were everything I have never been..”
Jelly Roll ended the letter by reflecting on her future and how proud he is of the woman she’s becoming, writing “Some people were born to walk. Some people were born to run, but very few were born to fly… You Bailee Ann were born to FLY! 18 looks good on you. I can’t wait until I’m posting about how proud I am with you graduating college. I can’t wait until I’m posting pictures from your wedding. I can’t wait to see the woman you end up becoming.”
The post Jelly Roll Writes Heartfelt Letter to Daughter Bailee Ann as She Turns 18 and Prepares for College appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
Each day, people spend hours scrolling through social media, liking, commenting, and consuming endless content while creators work to keep up with constant demand. For many artists like Nate Smith, the pressure can be even greater, with platforms often doubling as both a promotional tool and a way to determine how well a song will do.
Smith recently shared a candid perspective in a new Instagram video, explaining how difficult it can be to constantly feel the pressure of needing to post and stay visible online in order for a song to be considered successful in today’s standards. He has since wiped out every other post on his page except for this honest statement.
He started out by thanking everyone who has shown him support over the past few years, offering the utmost appreciation for those who have bought tickets to his shows and played his music.
“I appreciate you guys so much. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I appreciate you always supporting me, showing up to my shows, playing my songs. That means the world to me. I’m so thankful for you guys.”
He paused before admitting, “I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know how to navigate this really weird world that we’re in right now.”
Nate Smith also speaks from an artist’s point of view about what releasing music looks like in today’s social media-driven world, where expectations can feel incredibly high. He explains that he’ll write a song he truly loves, feels eager to share it with fans, and posts a video of himself singing along.
Over the next few hours and days, he finds himself fixated on the numbers. As the views come in, he admits he can’t help but watch them closely, often feeling discouraged when the response doesn’t meet his team’s expectations.
“[I] watch as my team goes, ‘Ah, shoot. Yeah, that one only got 20,000. We’re not seeing a big poll on that song. Oh, man. Probably not a hit. Probably not a smash.’ And then my worth is all determined based on likes and all this stupid stuff.”
This cycle has proved to be mentally draining for Smith.
“I’m tired, you guys. I’m tired. I just want to make music. I just want to make music,” he emphasized. “I just want to play shows. I don’t want to play these games. That’s kind of what this all feels like. It feels like one big game and it’s old and it’s tiring and it’s mentally exhausting and I know I’m not the only person out there that feels like this.”
The California native was clearly correct in his last statement, as comments began to pour in from fellow artists all admitting to feeling the exact same way that he is.
Chase Matthew wrote, “Gosh I feel you bro. Hard to stay passionate about the art when it starts to feel like a machine.”
Mitchell Tenpenny agreed, pointing out, “We are all tired of this horseshit. Keep making music bro. I feel you 🙏🏼”
Caylee Hammack assured Smith he “ain’t alone in it” and used Alex Warren’s massive hit “Ordinary” as an example of how an artist’s intuition about a song is always something to pay attention to as supposed to the algorithm and numbers on social media.
“Alex Warren’s song ‘Ordinary’ was not going to be a hit according to his team. No one believed in it & it wasn’t hitting online. He created 11 pages to promote it on & finally once it went viral on booktok, his team pushed it. But he KNEW the entire time. No one else did until they saw numbers.
Listen to your gut, push those songs, focus on what makes you love music & the music will find its way to the fans. We love you🧡”
Drew Baldridge and Charly Reynolds jumped in to say, “PREACH.”
Hundreds of fans, singers and songwriters all confirmed that Smith is not the only one who is feeling this way.
Continuing his statement, the “After Midnight” singer said he strongly feels there has to be another way to navigate releasing music in today’s world.
“There has to be a different way and I’m over it. I’m over the reels. I’m over the weird teasing things and stuff like that. I’ve got some great songs that I want to share with you guys, but I’m not doing it this way. There’s just got to be another way.”
He went on to suggest alternative approaches, including debuting new music directly to fans at concerts so they can experience and record it in real time, or simply releasing songs he believes in without buildup or explanation online and simply letting the music speak for itself.
“I’m tired of this hamster wheel crazy, crazy, crazy thing that we’re doing out here. This isn’t what I got into music for. Yeah, that’s all I have to say,” he concluded.
While Smith says he’s still searching for answers, his honesty has resonated widely. For now, his only a desire to get back to the music itself and find a way to better navigate the pressures around social media while still staying true to himself.
The post Artists Rally Around Nate Smith After Candid Message About Mental Burnout and Social Media Pressures appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now