She’s a country queen on stage, but it turns out Reba McEntire is just as much of a legend when the spotlight dims. JoAnna Garcia Swisher, who starred alongside Reba for six seasons on the sitcom Reba, isn’t shy about what it was like working with the icon. In a recent interview, she made it … Read more
Turns out, Blake Shelton nearly walked away from music altogether because his mama signed him up for beauty pageants. Long before Blake Shelton was headlining tours, racking up 30 No. 1s, or cracking jokes on The Voice, he was a small-town Oklahoma kid belting out rock and country hits at local pageants. And let’s just … Read more
Only in country music can you get smacked in the face mid-song and still finish strong like a damn legend. Luke Bryan was deep into his crowd-pleasing anthem “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” at the North Dakota State Fair when, outta nowhere, bam! Something came flying through the air and nailed him right in … Read more
Still got the pipes, still got the poise. Country music royalty Pam Tillis stepped on stage at the Country Tonight Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and reminded the world why she’s one of the finest voices to ever grace a honky tonk. At 68 years old, the ’90s hitmaker belted out “Shake the Sugar Tree” … Read more
Sometimes, country music doesn’t just sing about small-town values. It shows up and proves them. Sunday night in Boerne, Texas, was one of those nights. What started as an already powerful benefit concert hosted by the King of Country himself, George Strait, turned into an all-timer the second Garth Brooks stepped onstage. No announcement. No … Read more
A song this emotional doesn’t happen by accident. When Lainey Wilson first laid hands on “Somewhere Over Laredo,” she knew it wasn’t going to be just another track in the queue. This was the one she’d have to scrap for, and scrap hard. Turns out, even when you’re a Grammy-winning force lighting up country radio, … Read more
Only George Strait could show up to a Colorado town of 6,000 people and make it feel like the center of the universe. When you think of George Strait these days, you think of stadiums. Sold-out arenas. Sixty number-one hits and a legacy too large to measure. But on July 17, the King of Country … Read more
“My dad was the most incredible person I’ve ever known and will always be my hero.” That’s how Nick Hogan opened his emotional tribute to his father, the late wrestling icon Hulk Hogan, following his sudden death at 71. And if that one sentence doesn’t hit you in the gut, the rest of what Nick … Read more
Sometimes the third time really is the charm. John Foster didn’t just walk into American Idol and blow the judges away. He earned his spot the hard way. Not once, but twice, he auditioned and didn’t make it past the gate. First on Zoom during the C*VID days, then in person. Both times, he left … Read more
The camo might still be crisp, but the Robertsons have grown up, glowed up, and made it clear that TV fame didn’t mess them up after all. Willie and Korie Robertson, the bearded backbone of the original Duck Dynasty crew, are back in the spotlight with Duck Dynasty: The Revival, and this time, they’ve got … Read more
Dolly Parton never cared that her daddy couldn’t read or write, because in her eyes, he was a genius. Robert Lee Parton didn’t have fancy degrees, but he had grit. Born into the hills of East Tennessee and tasked with helping raise a family of fifteen, Dolly’s father never had the luxury of finishing school. … Read more
The world lost a wrestling icon, but Sky Daily lost her husband, her partner, and the man she called her heart. When the news broke that Hulk Hogan, born Terry Bollea, had passed away at 71 after a sudden cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida, the wrestling world paused. Fans around the globe … Read more
Sixteen-year-old Zuma Rossdale isn’t just dabbling in country music. The kid’s out here giving full-blown honky-tonk performances with the confidence of someone twice his age and the vocal chops to back it up. Zuma, Gwen Stefani’s middle son and the biological child of Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, has been making waves in the country scene, … Read more
Bobbie Gentry didn’t just drop one of the most haunting, poetic country songs of the 20th century. She vanished like a legend into the thick Southern air she sang about. When “Ode to Billie Joe” hit the airwaves in 1967, no one knew what to make of it. Was it soul? Country? Folk? It didn’t … Read more
Eight-year-old Alyvia Alyn Lind walked onto the set of Coat of Many Colors back in 2015 with a sparkle in her eye, a twang in her voice, and a blonde wig that turned her into a little Dolly Parton. That sparkle? Still there. But these days, Alyvia’s swapped the Smoky Mountain curls for something a … Read more
Sometimes a voice hits you so hard it feels like a spiritual slap in the face in the best way possible. Carrie Underwood didn’t just sing “How Great Thou Art” at the Ryman Auditorium. She owned it. She breathed fire and grace into a song that’s already soaked in reverence, and made one of the … Read more
There are songs that live in the charts, and then there are songs that live in your bones. Thirty-three years ago, Billy Ray Cyrus came barreling out of Flatwoods, Kentucky, with a mullet that could cut glass and a song that lit country music on fire. “Achy Breaky Heart” wasn’t just a hit, it was … Read more
Somewhere between selling out stadiums and topping charts, Morgan Wallen found time to hit the damn gym. The country powerhouse showed up in Arizona looking like he just walked off the set of an ’80s action flick. Sleeveless, smirking, and stacked. Fans at his “I’m The Problem” Tour stop got a whole lot more than … Read more
Zac Brown might be trading Georgia pines for Texas skies real soon. The Zac Brown Band frontman just got engaged to Kendra Scott, the wildly successful jewelry mogul with a net worth pushing $900 million, and the internet’s been buzzing ever since they dropped the news. The ring? A pink diamond that looks like it … Read more
Well, that didn’t take long. Just 45 minutes after Zac Brown went public with his shiny new engagement to jewelry mogul Kendra Scott, his ex-wife Kelly Yazdi had a few things to say, and none of them were subtle. In a reel posted to Instagram, Yazdi got straight to the point. “I’ve tried to move … Read more
Well, this one’s got a little bit of everything. Sunset proposals, pink diamonds, and a courtroom showdown that feels more like an episode of Nashville than real life. Zac Brown is officially off the market. The Zac Brown Band frontman put a ring on it, proposing to jewelry mogul Kendra Scott in a picture-perfect moment … Read more
They don’t need guitars, drums, or fiddles. Just five voices, a loop station, and a whole lot of guts. Home Free has carved out its own lane in country music by doing the damn near impossible: becoming a wildly successful touring group and amassing millions of fans without ever strumming a single chord. From winning … Read more
There’s nothing scarier than watching your baby suffer and not knowing why. Country music royalty Emmy Russell, granddaughter of the legendary Loretta Lynn, is living every young parent’s worst nightmare right now. She and husband Tyler Ward took to Instagram this week with heartbreaking news, asking fans, friends, and fellow artists to lift up their … Read more
You don’t mess with the widow of a country music legend, especially not over $10 million in stolen funds. A Tennessee man is behind bars after being accused of stealing millions from Nancy Jones, the widow of the great George Jones. And if the charges are true, this one reads like a damn country song … Read more
There’s proud, and then there’s Reba McEntire watching her son fly a plane proud. On July 22, Reba shared one of those moments that hits you right in the chest: a throwback photo of her cradling her son, Shelby Blackstock, as a baby, followed by a second shot of him standing tall next to the … Read more
Blake Shelton is just fine being a country hit machine, but he doesn’t want anybody else messing with his catalog. During a hilarious and surprisingly self-aware visit to Taste of Country Nights, the “God’s Country” singer cracked open a side of himself we don’t often see. When the topic shifted from his favorite Gwen Stefani … Read more
Carrie Underwood just dropped the most unexpected flex of the summer, and it’s not a new single or a headlining tour. It’s a tomato the size of a damn cantaloupe. The country superstar turned backyard gardener showed off her latest harvest on Instagram, and folks can’t stop talking about the absolute unit of a tomato … Read more
Dolly Parton handled Barbara Walters like a rhinestone-covered pro. In 1977, two women at the top of their games collided on national television, and only one walked out with her image polished even brighter. It wasn’t Barbara. When the queen of hard-hitting interviews tried to dig into Dolly Parton’s looks, her background, and everything else … Read more
When the news of Hulk Hogan’s death broke Thursday morning, it didn’t just shake the wrestling world. It hit the heart of country music, too. The 71-year-old wrestling legend, born Terry Bollea, passed away at his Clearwater, Florida home following cardiac arrest, as first reported by TMZ Sports. Known for turning pro wrestling into prime-time … Read more
Before Hulk Hogan made his final walk to the ring in this life, he stepped into a baptismal pool and gave his life to something even bigger than wrestling. Just 18 months before his death at age 71, the wrestling icon and pop culture heavyweight shared footage of a deeply personal moment that fans didn’t … Read more
