Kelsea Ballerini may be soaking up life in New York City for now, but she might not be sticking around for too long.
Last month the songstress sparked buzz during An Evening with the Grand Ole Opry at Carnegie Hall, where she announced she had made the move to the Big Apple. Ballerini explained it was something she had dreamed about for years.
“Ever since I was a little kid and I got here for the first time, I always promised myself that I would do a season or chapter of life in the city and that season and chapter is right now,” Ballerini told the crowd.
Photo Courtesy of Kelsea Ballerini
The news came as a surprise to fans, who have followed her various moves from sharing a Nashville penthouse with ex-husband Morgan Evans to the post-divorce home in Tennessee that she purchased from fellow country star Kacey Musgraves. She also spent a good amount of time between L.A. and South Carolina in recent years while dating her now ex-boyfriend, Chase Stokes.
Just as she told the audience at Carnegie Hall, her next chapter finds her spending some time in NYC. The six-time Grammy nominee recently gave an update to E! News about her living situation, revealing that her move to New York is likely not permanent.
“I’m not permanently moving,” Ballerini told the outlet in an interview at the 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. Awards in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 7. “I’m just there through the summer, and I’m loving it so much.”
Since she is still coming off a fresh breakup from Stokes, who also appeared at the L.A. event, Ballerini is enjoying “just discovering” new things in the city and focusing on herself.
“I feel this resurgence of energy just doing stuff for myself,” she admits. “It’s been really nice, and I’m really excited.”
While settling into her new NYC chapter, Ballerini also revealed that a top priority on her list right now is to find the best “spicy rigatoni.”
“That’s my Italian, that’s my heart. I gotta go find it,” she notes.
In another video from the event, Entertainment Tonight asks how she would describe this new chapter of her personal life. Ballerini responds, “I feel so creative and really free right now.”
Coming off her massive headlining tour of 2025 in support of her latest Patterns project, Kelsea Ballerini currently has only two upcoming shows on the books for 2026, including the Barefoot Country Music Festival on June 19.
Additionally, it was announced today that Ballerini has earned her ninth nomination for Female Artist of the Year head of the 61st ACM Awards, set to stream live exclusively on Prime Video for a global audience across more than 240 countries and territories on Sunday, May 17, 2026.
When it comes to deciding country music awards show nominees, there’s a new king. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
A dog lover through and through, McNown instantly lit up when the three puppies were unleashed onto the set. As they played and gobbled up treats, McNown recalled where his love for dogs first began: when he was six years old during a camping trip with family, when he fell in love with a dog named Jake. When he returned home, he convinced his parents to get a dog, and his first pup, Bear, a Rottweiler lab retriever mix, entered his life.
Max McNown; Photo by Osprey Media
Now, McNown is a proud dog dad to the “sweetest in the world” German Shepherd Pit Bull mix.
“Her name is Astoria, but we call her Story. We named her after one of my favorite beaches in Oregon, right on the border to Washington. And we’re actually training her right now because someday I want her to be a road dog with me and take her on the bus,” he revealed. “So we’re getting her nice and trained up. And maybe at some point, if we can get her trained up, we might even have her on stage.”
The 24-year-old Oregon native has seen his fair share of stages in recent months, thanks in part to the success of his now double Platinum hit “Better Me For You (Brown Eyes).” The song has fueled his meteoric rise with over 455 million worldwide streams and charting across multiple formats.
What’s wild is that the song almost wasn’t a single. McNown revealed that his manager, who also happens to be his uncle, is who encouraged him to release it. Putting his trust in him, McNown released the song and says watching its journey has been truly “amazing.”
“It’s just slowly grown. The consistency and the slow burn is really, really good for long-term success. There are a lot of songs that can have kind of an initial explosion and then fizzle hard, but it’s been going strong and increasing ever since it came out,” he pointed out.
Watch Max McNown on the Pupdate
Following the release of his 2025 sophomore album Night Diving (The Cost of Growing Up), McNown continues to feed fans’ desire for new music, and after writing five to six days a week in recent months, he kicked off 2026 with a steady stream of new releases, including “World Change Me,” “Done For,” and his latest track, “Standstill (My, My, My).”
After making a statement with “World Change Me” about “standing your ground and standing up for what you believe in and not falling for the pull that the world often temps you with,” McNown got personal with “Done For,” which explores falling deeply and unexpectedly in love with someone and choosing a lifelong commitment, despite outside pressure to stay free and not settle down. This mirrors his personal life, as he got married last fall.
The Story Behind “Done For”
“‘Done For’ is a song that kind of acknowledges and affirms my choice to start my life with the person I love early and just bet on the future and kind of choose this one person very early in my career,” he explained.
McNown said people questioned his decision to settle down and get married at a young age.
“As simple as it gets, I fell in love and I’m never looking back and I don’t really want to test the waters anywhere else. Love is something that you work for every day and I want to work for it every day. And so the first line of ‘Done For,’ …’They say you’re only young once. You don’t want forever, boy, you better sleep around while you can.’ And so that’s very specifically what I was told. And this song is basically, screw that, I want to give you a lifetime.”
With “Standstill (My, My, My),” McNown took a different approach.
Max McNown; Photo by Osprey Media
“That is one of those songs that’s just designed to be a feel good, windows down, belted out song. It’s not as much of a statement like ‘World Change Me’ and ‘Done For’ is, but I think there’s a place for those songs as well as a place for the statement songs. And every album should have its unique messages behind each song. And so I kind of tried to switch it up. It doesn’t always have to be so serious.”
Since the release of his 2023 debut EP and his 2024 full-length Wandering, Max McNown’s life has changed dramatically. He said he tries to soak it all in because he knows it could be gone in an instant.
“To see what my life looks like now, I mean, it’s the cliche, but if you would’ve told me even just a year and a half ago that I would be doing what I’m doing in the places I’m doing it right now, I would’ve called you a liar, not because I didn’t trust you, but because I didn’t believe in myself. And so it’s really just a blessing that I can’t even comprehend right now. And I try to journal and I try to really take it in because I know that it can be gone real quick.”
Just Announced: The Summer Vacation Tour
Max McNown – The Summer Vacation Tour
Fans can catch Max McNown on tour throughout the summer. Following back-to-back sold-out shows at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium as part of the ongoing The Cost of Growing Up Tour, the hitmaker has also unveiled plans for The Summer Vacation Tour, bringing his headlining show to cities across North America throughout July and August. Tickets and VIP info can be found HERE.
Max McNown; Photo by Osprey Media
Adopt Molasses
One of these sweet pups, Molasses, is still looking for his forever home. Those interested in adopting should contact Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue, a foster-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization based in Middle Tennessee and run primarily by volunteers. Proverbs is fully dedicated to the care and well-being of every animal they rescue. To learn more or make a donation, click HERE.
Female artists dominate this year’s nominations, with Megan Moroney leading the way with nine nods, followed by Miranda Lambert with eight, while Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson are tied with seven nominations each.
Performers for the 2026 ACM Awards include Cody Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, and Riley Green, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.
The show is set to stream live exclusively on Prime Video for a global audience across more than 240 countries and territories on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT from the iconic MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Fans can also tune in via the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and through the Amazon Music app.
See the full list of nominees below.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Jelly Roll
Cody Johnson
Megan Moroney
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ella Langley
Megan Moroney
Lainey Wilson
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Riley Green
Cody Johnson
Chris Stapleton
Zach Top
GROUP OF THE YEAR
49 Winchester
Flatland Cavalry
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
The Red Clay Strays
DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Muscadine Bloodline
Thelma & James
NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Avery Anna
Mackenzie Carpenter
Dasha
Caroline Jones
Emily Ann Roberts
NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Gavin Adcock
Vincent Mason
Shaboozey
Hudson Westbrook
Tucker Wetmore
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
[Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Ain’t In It For My Health – Zach Top
Producer: Carson Chamberlain
Record Company-Label: Leo33
Cherry Valley – Carter Faith
Producer: Tofer Brown
Record Company-Label: Gatsby Records / MCA
Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe) – Riley Green
Producer: Dann Huff, Michael Knox
Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment
I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen
Producers: Joey Moi, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Durrett
Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records
Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum
Producers: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse
Record Company-Label: MCA
SONG OF THE YEAR
[Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
A Song To Sing – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure
Publishers: I Wrote These Songs; Pink Dog Publishing; Songs for the Munch Music; Songs of Influence; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp
Am I Okay? – Megan Moroney
Songwriters: Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, Jessie Jo Dillon
Publishers: Big Ass Pile of Dimes Music; Big Music Machine
Choosin’ Texas – Ella Langley
Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor
Publishers: Bada Bing & Bada Langley Publishing; Little Louder Songs; Sony Music Publishing
I Never Lie – Zach Top
Songwriters: Zach Top, Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols
Publishers: Music and Magazine Publishing; Rio Bravo Music Inc; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing; Too Broke to Quit Music; Zach Top Music
Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson
Songwriters: Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Andy Albert, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg
Publishers: Concord Sounds; Dtown Boogie Music; Emi Feist Catalog Inc; Songs Of Riser House; Songs Of Wild Cat Well Music; Sony/ATV Countryside; Story Farmer; Tacklebox Music Publishing
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
[Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
6 Months Later – Megan Moroney
Producers: Kristian Bush
Record Company-Label: Sony Music Nashville / Columbia Records
Choosin’ Texas – Ella Langley
Producers: Ella Langley, Miranda Lambert, Ben West
Record Company-Label: SAWGOD / Columbia Records
I Never Lie – Zach Top
Producers: Carson Chamberlain
Record Company-Label: Leo33
Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson
Producers: Jay Joyce
Record Company-Label: BBR Music Group / BMG Nashville / Broken Bow Records
The Fall – Cody Johnson
Producers: Trent Willmon
Record Company-Label: CoJo Music / Warner Records Nashville
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
[Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
A Song To Sing – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb
Record Company-Label: Republic Records
Amen – Shaboozey & Jelly Roll
Producers: Danny Majic, Nevin Sastry, Sean Cook
Record Company-Label: Empire
Don’t Mind If I Do – Riley Green feat. Ella Langley
Producers: Dann Huff, Michael Knox
Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment
Trailblazer – Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson
Producers: Tony Brown, Reba McEntire
Record Company-Label: MCA
You Had To Be There – Megan Moroney & Kenny Chesney
Producers: Kristian Bush
Record Company-Label: Sony Music Nashville / Columbia Records
A twisty turn of events has Peter Sutherland ready to tackle new challenges in the upcoming season. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
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Women dominated when the 2026 ACM Awards nominees list dropped on Thursday (April 9). Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
