The Recording Academy rolled out its first wave of performers for the 2017 Grammys with a TV spot that aired Saturday night (Jan. 14) during the NFL playoffs. Good news for country music fans: Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban will take the stage, along with Metallica, The Weeknd and John Legend. More performers will be…
Ripcord is arguably Keith Urban’s best album to date. It certainly is one of the best-selling country albums of 2016, according to Billboard and Nielson Music, selling 412,000 copies. There is no arguing that. And the fourth single from the album, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” has simultaneously occupied the top spot on four Billboard charts:…
According to Billboard and Nielsen Music, individual track sales took a hit in 2016, dropping from 113.9 million units sold in 2015 to 87.5 million units in 2016. Even with the 26.4-million decline, two artists managed to release singles that soared over the 1-million mark: Florida Georgia Line’s “H.O.L.Y” (1.37 million) and Tim McGraw’s “Humble…
Last week we reported that Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” tripled-up by simultaneously occupying the top spot on three Billboard charts: Country Airplay, Hot Country Songs (airplay/sales/streaming) and Country Digital Song Sales. Well, this week Keith has homered as “Blue Ain’t Your Color” simultaneously occupies the top spot on all four of Billboard’s Nielsen…
According to Billboard and Nielsen Music, 2016 country albums sales were down 11 percent from 2015. Interestingly enough, the top-selling album of 2016—Chris Stapleton’s Traveller—was released in 2015, and so were two other albums in the Top 10: Thomas Rhett’s Tangled Up and Carrie Underwood’s Storyteller. Sam Hunt’s Montevallo was released in 2014. With sales…
It may have been a night to celebrate film and television, but country music was still represented at the 74th annual Golden Globes last night (Jan. 9) as Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban were in the house. Carrie was dressed in a pink form-fitting Iris Serban gown with rose-shaped ruffles on the upper portion of…
Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” earned a rare Billboard trifecta this week. The soulful waltz is simultaneously No. 1 on three Billboard charts: Country Airplay, Hot Country Songs (airplay/sales/streaming) and Country Digital Song Sales. The tripled-up triumph was accomplished twice in 2016 with Thomas Rhett’s “Die a Happy Man” (January) and Florida Georgia Line’s…
Keith Urban celebrated New Year’s Eve with a free performance in Nashville on Dec. 31. Before the music note dropped (yes, Nashville drops a music note—eat your heart out NYC), Keith performed a medley of hits in tribute to artists who died in 2016, including George Michael’s “Careless Whisper,” Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Glenn Frey of…
As 2016 comes to a close and we look back fondly over the year in country music, we noticed that quite a few country stars have taken a spill onstage in 2016. Five falls stood out to us this year and because no one was mortally wounded, we can look back at these falls as…
From Maren and Miranda to Sturgill and Stapleton—and everyone in between—2016 was a stellar year for country singles. We managed to narrow our list down to 10 of the best singles, and now it’s up to you to help us decide who has the supreme single of 2016. Keep in mind, the single had to…