Katie & Company

CMA 'New Artist of the Year,' Megan Moroney, has a lot to celebrate this holiday season and she’s making the most of it with her very own Christmas EP, 'Blue Christmas… Duh.' The project, which Moroney admits was “just for fun” follows a successful year for the 27-year-old who spent a majority of her days on tour with Kenny Chesney, while also promoting the release of her sophomore album, 'Am I Okay?' “I think they love it, which makes me really happy” Moroney said when asked how she felt fans reacted to the album which released in July. “I’m proud of these songs and I love them too. They’re so fun to perform live.” Moroney will have plenty of opportunities to relish in the joy of playing each song live as she embarks on her headlining 'Am I Okay?' Tour in 2025. “I’m really excited to just be on a proper headlining tour again,” she shared. “I’m really excited to be with my fans every single night and get to play 90 minutes of all my songs… I feel like there’s less pressure at shows that I headline because I get to kind of do whatever I want.” The Georgia native continued on to share how she’s currently in the planning stages for her headlining show and has big plans to make it all about the fans — something she learned on tour with Kenny Chesney. “His [Chesney’s] shows are literally a celebration of No Shoes Nation [his fan club] and that’s how I want my shows to feel,” Moroney expressed. “One thing that I saw that’s kind of crazy to me is that he’s in a stadium, he could have crazy production, but he doesn’t because his songs are that good and he’s that good of a performer. It was kind of a reminder to focus on the songwriting and make sure the songs are good.” Megan plans to work on writing some of her future hits during downtime she’ll get over the holidays while hinting that album three is on her mind. “When I’m moving a thousand miles an hour, I don’t have as much mental space to be creative,” she said, sharing she’ll be writing a lot over her down time before the new year. While Megan’s focus is on new music, fans can celebrate the holidays with three new Christmas songs from Moroney featured on her holiday EP, 'Blue Christmas… Duh.' “Because I’ve embraced the color blue so heavily this year, it’s like, what other color would Christmas be?” She shared when talking about finding a title for her Christmas EP. “I didn’t want to just name it ‘Blue Christmas’ because I didn’t want to go over people’s heads. I just wanted to be like, ‘Duh! Obviously it’s a Blue Christmas.'” As she mentioned, there’s been a lot of blue from Moroney this year who really leaned into the color and made it synonymous with her sophomore album for Country fans all over the globe. So will there be a new color for a new album? “When I created, ‘Am I Okay?’ and the world around that, everything felt very blue and I’ve definitely leaned into it — I think I went really hard with the blue,” she laughed. “But, blue is my favorite color, so I kind of want this era to last forever.” Hear more about Moroney’s plans for the new year, her vacation with Kenny Chesney and holiday album by checking out her entire conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal on the 'Superstar Power Hour' above.

Katie Neal's goal for 2025 is to get on a board, as to which board it's anyone's guess. "I don't even know what a board member does! But I have a board meeting!"

Blake Shelton told Katie Neal how he likes to do his Christmas shopping early to make sure if he ordered something that it arrives in time! "It's the worst feeling in the world when somebody gives you a gift and you go, Yours hasn't come in yet." Blake shared that Gwen Stefani can never have enough of flower bulbs or seeds. "I'm the one diggin' a hole for this stuff!"

Blake Shelton has seen a lot of success throughout his more than 20 year career, but the Oklahoma-native says he’s never had more fun than he is right now. After stepping away from the spotlight following 24 seasons on The Voice, multiple hit albums and #1 songs, Blake Shelton is back and he’s living his best life. “I’m having the time of my life right now, just in my personal life and my music life,” he shared with Audacy’s Katie Neal while co-hosting the Superstar Power Hour,. “[Music] has kind of been of been off the radar for, I guess a couple of years, as far as releasing any new music or anything. It’s exciting, I kind of feel like a new artist again sticking my neck out there. I’m having a blast with it.” Shelton shared he wasn’t always sure he’d return with new music, but after spending time with one artist in particular — Post Malone — his passion for the craft was reignited. “I credit him for really firing me up again about wanting to get in and make another record and get some music out there,” Shelton shared of his new friend Post. “I don’t know how he does it. I’ve never been around a more infectious, happy person in my life as Post Malone. I hope everyone gets a chance to shake his hand one day because you’ll have a better day because of it. He’s just the happiest, most gracious guy I’ve ever met in my life. I don’t mean one of, I mean thee.” Sharing he hopes Post will continue to stick around the genre, Blake shared he’s happy to have some space on the radio alongside artists like Post with his new single, “Texas.” Despite being weary to record the song, Shelton shared he’s more than happy for following through with it as it’s led to some of his greatest memories in the studio. “I thought, ‘My gosh,’ this song is really special,” he said of the first time he heard it. “I was a little bit nervous about it for me, in fact I told Scott [Hendrix] (producer), I said, ‘I don’t know that I could see myself doing that song…’ but then the more I thought about it, the more I came to maybe that’s exactly why I should go in and record the song.” He continued, “It’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio making a record and that’s just because the song is fun. That’s all it’s really meant o be anyway.” According to Shelton, there’s lots more new music to come as he has plans to release an entire album in the coming year - but he plans on maximizing his time in the creative stages to make sure it’s exactly what he wants. “I have a record ready to go,” he shared. “I would like to keep lookin’ and playin’ with it for the next few months and recording some more things because I feel like I’m just now figuring out — especially with ‘Texas’ — what I want the sound to be like…. just kind of where I want to move to with this next step.” While fans anxiously await new music, they have the opportunity to pass the time by seeing Shelton in Vegas for a six-night residency in February 2025 where Shelton says he hopes to treat fans to some of the older classics. “If people are going to travel to come see me, they’re probably fans that… [have] been following along with me for a long time,” he said. “I think maybe the best thing I can do is dig out some of those old songs that I just don’t do anymore for whatever reason that I know were big records at the time — back in the freakin’ ‘90s or whenever they came out,” he laughed. Tickets for all six shows at Las Vegas’ Colosseum at Caesars Palace are available now. To hear more about Shelton’s plans for the residency, new music and stories behind the classics check out his entire interview with Audacy’s Katie Neal. Words by Monica Rivera, Interview by Katie Neal

A new year is upon us and Keith Urban is looking forward to sharing his enthusiasm for one of his favorite holiday traditions with fans across the Country. Urban is set to help fans across the nation Rock into 2025 as he headlines and co-hosts New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash live from Music City’s Bicentennial Mall and the nostalgia is already strong for the Australia-raised singer-songwriter. “I’m not a resolutions guy, but I love New Year’s Eve, I love the countdown,” Urban told Audacy’s Katie Neal during his recent appearance on the 'Superstar Power Hour'. I’ve always loved the countdown, it’s a big deal to me. I think it’s because … I quit school when I was 15 and Ive been playing in bands right away… so from the age of 15, I’ve always played in bands and we’ve always played on New Year’s Eve because back in the day, you’d earn like, triple your fee if you played New Year’s Eve…. I’m not used to celebrating New Year’s Eve anywhere but on a stage, so it feels really good to be back on a stage.” The five-hour, star-studded celebration will air across multiple time zones (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT,10:30 PM-1:30 AM, ET/PT) on December 31st via CBS and Paramount+. Featured performers include Jelly Roll, Kane Brown and more in addition to Urban who is promising some high voltage performances of songs from his newest album, 'HIGH', which Urban says has resonated with fans in a special way. “I’m feeling it’s the whole record people like instead of just a handful of songs — that’s a really good feeling,” he shared. “I haven’t had that maybe since, Ripcord, to that degree. So, that’s an amazing feeling. I think the songs are really connecting with everybody.” Nashville’s Big Bash is just the start of a big year of live performances for Urban, who is set to kick off touring in addition to finishing up dates for his Las Vegas Residency. “I love touring, like, love it,” he shared. “I should’ve been touring in 2024 because I did an album in ’23 that was called '615'… and I ditched that record and ended up doing this album called 'HIGH,' but it meant I had to push off touring into ’24. I feel for like, two years, I’ve been waiting for 2025 to happen so I can get touring.” Touring isn’t the only thing Urban is looking forward to in the new year as he’s also working on a passion project of bringing a run down Nashville music studio that’s near and dear to his heart back to life. “I’m sort of bringing back to life a really great studio here in town,” he revealed. “Now that I’m pretty much off the road, I’m down there every day and that’s really, an extraordinarily exciting project for me… this is a studio where I made a lot of records over the years. It finally became for sale, so I jumped on it.” Reviving the studio has Urban a bit outside of his comfort zone as he learns about building codes, treating mold and more, but it’s all worth it for the 57-year-old who says the studio will turn into a second home for him. “I know more about mold remediation then I ever want to know ever again,” he laughed. “I’ve learned about industrial air conditioning units and power and plumbing — I’ve just learned way too much about all these things — but it’s been riveting because at least it’s a studio. It’s an amazing studio and I’ll probably just live there once it’s up and running.” Hear additional details about the studio project, touring and more by checking out Keith’s entire conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal on the 'Superstar Power Hour.' Photo: Borman Entertainment

After being around music her whole life and dreaming of her own success as a musician, Ella Langley, is finally experiencing the success she deserves after years of hard work, determination and finessing her talent. The 25-year-old recently joined Katie Neal at Audacy’s Nashville Sound Space located at the Hard Rock Cafe and dug deep on her Alabama roots, long-awaited success and the song that finally broke through for her. “I don't remember a day not thinking about wanting to do this [music],” she shared before admitting, “I didn't know how it was gonna happen.” 2024 has been the year “it happened” for the Alabama native who has experienced next-level success with her single “you look like you love me,” featuring Riley Green. “This song, what it’s doing is insane,” she said of her debut single before admitting she never thought it would even make an album. “I wrote the song with Aaron [Raitiere] at first and we didn’t write it as a duet - we wrote it as just a song for me to play around the bonfires at writers rounds to make everyone giggle.” After being encouraged by members of her team to submit it for consideration on her first album, Langley still didn’t think the song would resonate. “I loved the song, I just never imagined it coming out because it’s a little bit of a risk.” After one of her team members at the label submitted it anyways, Ella was surprised to get a call from her agent raving about the tune and was finally convinced to move forward with releasing it. Originally written as a solo, the song quickly turned into a duet when Ella was invited on tour with her longtime friend, Riley Green where she asked him to jump on the tune with her. “I just asked him, I said, ‘What would your opinion be on writing a second verse for this song and then I’ll put it out on my album?’” After the pair continued to have fun with the song on tour and explore the different creative possibilities, it quickly gained traction thanks to social media and there was no turning back. Confident in the song, it was acceptance from Riley’s fans Ella says she was most worried about. “Honestly, I just thought it was going to go the complete opposite way,” she shared. “I was worried about putting out a song with him in the first place just because, you know, he’s Riley Green — that’s all I really have to say.” She continued, “Playing shows this past year, there’s a lot of people who didn’t know who I was and so some of the girls in the front row were like, so annoyed at me. I’m like, ‘Woah, I’m just up here trying to sing my song.’ This was before the song even came out, so I was a little worried all these girls were about to attack me because I’m putting out a song with Riley. But, it went such the opposite way and I was like, ‘the girls have my back! Wow!’” As of a couple weeks ago, the song is now a CMA Winner for Musical Event of the Year earning both Riley and Ella their first CMA Awards and setting them up for even more success come 2025. Hear more of Langley’s story from her childhood to recent fame by checking out her entire interview with Audacy’s Katie Neal above. Caylee Robillar

Brooks & Dunn have done it again. The iconic Country duo has welcomed a new generation of music fans to their timeless classics with, REBOOT 2, a sequel to their highly-popular album from 2019, REBOOT. The project, available now, follows the same format as the 2019 release with several of today’s biggest Country stars joining the duo for reimagined versions of their most iconic songs. They include Lainey Wilson (“Play Something Country”), Morgan Wallen (“Neon Moon”), and Ernest (“Indian Summer”) in addition to some out-of-genre artists like Halestorm (“Boot Scootin’ Boogie”) and The Earls of Leicester (“How Long Gone”). On top of already being timeless classics, the collaborations with artists of other genres and generations have brought the magic of Brooks & Dunn’s music to even more music fans across the globe. “It’s really fun to ask the audience every night, ‘How many of y’all it’s your first Brooks & Dunn show?’” Kix Brooks told Audacy’s Katie Neal in an interview earlier this month. “About a half to two-thirds raise their hand,” Ronnie Dunn responded. “It’s wild,” added Kix. “The first time I did it [asked] I looked at Ronnie and we just grinned at went, ‘Whattt?! Welcome to the party y’all!’” Not only is the duo getting in front of new fans at their own shows, but they recently got the spotlight shed on them as newly crowned CMA Entertainer of the Year, Morgan Wallen, featured them as part of his famous “walk out” at a tour stop in Kansas City. “That’s a trip,” Ronnie said, recalling the experience. “The only hint we got from his people was, ‘OK, Morgan’s gonna walk fast.’ So we were like, ‘OK, we’re gonna walk fast,’” he laughed. Kix continued, “Theo Von (podcaster) made a great point about Morgan’s walk out. It’s like, he comes, you’re in the hallway, it’s like, ‘Hey dude! So great to see ya, high five, hug it out, c’mon let’s go,’ the crowd’s going wild… everybody going crazy, we’re right there with him and it’s like, ‘OK, you guys are done.’” He added, “We’re used to going to the stage at that point and I was like, ‘Oh, OK. Back to the dressing room. Thank you, we’ll see you in about two hours. OK, whatever.’” Come 2025, the duo will get to continue that energy right onto the stage at they embark on their Neon Moon Tour kicking off in Lubbock, TX on March 13. According to the guys, they’re ready to level-up the production after learning some new “tricks” during their Vegas residency, which wrapped in December 2021. “One of the cool things about being in Vegas for the seven years we were there off-and-on was that we met some serious production people — like, the Cirque de Soleil guys that do all that video and all those effects,” shared Dunn. “So, we get to use them now, which is the cream of the crop.” It will be quite the change from their touring days in the late ‘90s, early ‘00s when the duo recalls being in charge of all production ideas which resulted in shooting dummies out of cannons and creating “twin tornadoes” on stage. “We do have a pretty long history of doing some ridiculous, nonsense,” said Kix. “Shooting ourselves out of a cannon was pretty classic… it didn’t last too long because it was really dangerous,” he shared before detailing the dummies that shot out into the front section of the crowd ultimately giving one woman a bloody nose. “It’s like shooting’ a missile into the audience,” Added Ronnie. “This is how stupid we were.” Many lessons were learned the hard way for the pair, and with that, they’re grateful social media wasn’t around for their climb to success. “We wouldn’t be here,” Ronnie said with certainty when asked if social media would’ve hurt or helped their career in the early days. While the lack of documentation is a relief in many ways for the guys, they also say they believe it would keep them from being able to put together a documentary should they ever have the desire. “We’d have to have ...

Thomas Rhett joins Katie Neal for the Superstar Power Hour. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Sam Hunt has a lot to look forward to in the new year as he and his wife, Hannah, prepare to welcome their third child in May. “It’s about to get real,” Hunt said, revealing his wife is pregnant and expecting baby #3 in late May. “I’m elated, can’t wait!” Baby Hunt will join big sister, Lucy Louise, and brother, Lowry Lee. When asked how 2-and-a-half-year-old Lucy reacted to the news Sam shared she doesn’t fully get it, but he still talks to her about it often. “We talk about it. I say, Mama has a baby on the way and we’ll point to her belly and she says, ‘No. I have a baby on the way,” he laughed. In addition to expanding his family, Hunt also looks to extend his music catalog in the new year with some fresh music marked by the release of his recently-released single, “Liberty.” “I wrote most of it back in 2020,” he said of the track. “This song just kept hanging around and the sentiment, the tone of the song, I felt like was relevant now and so I thought, ‘I’m going to go record it and get it out.’” He continued, “That song is one of about 4 or 5 songs that I have for my next project whether that’s me putting out songs one at a time or puttin’ them all out at once. I’m still in that phase of putting songs out one song at a time so I don’t go away for too long.” While new music is promised, future tour dates are not as Hunt prepares to spend more time at home with the family. “I’m hopefully — in the next couple years — going to take a break from touring,” he revealed. “The crowds have been so great and I want to get out there and tour while my kids are really young and they’re able to come with me…. and while people are interested in coming to see us because I don’t want to take that or granted.” Hear more about the new song, family updates and his reflection on the 10th year of his debut album, Montevallo, by checking out his entire conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal above. The 58th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan, and Peyton Manning, will broadcast live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 20 at 8PM ET/7PM CT on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu. Words by Monica Rivera, Interview by Katie Neal Photo: Alysse Gafkjen

Bailey Zimmerman is heading into Wednesday night’s 58th Annual CMA Awards as not only a first-time nominee but a first-time performer as well, and he isn’t too cool to admit he’s got some serious jitters. “It’s an honor, but [I’m] very nervous,” he told Audacy’s Katie Neal ahead of the big night where he’s set to perform, “New To Country.” “If I was just coming to hang out — different story — but when you see the show, you’ll understand why I’m so nervous… you’ll see.” Following the nerve-wracking performance and possible New Artist of the Year win, Zimmerman will have plenty of time to decompress as he enters the holiday season with some downtime and a new lady in his life… Pie, his new Golden Retriever. “I have a new puppy,” Zimmerman said when asked how his older Golden Retriever, Marley is doing. “I’ve been wanting to get Marley a sister, but I was waiting on like, a rescue… not just be like, ‘I’m gonna go buy a puppy and go buy a puppy.” He continued, “The story is kind of weird because I was in Southern Tennessee at this truck show and they were like, ‘Hey! These people have Golden Retrievers for sale at the end of the road…’ I drove out there and these puppies were like, not being treated the greatest.” It was love at first sight for BZ and Pie and after getting some health complications settled, Bailey said sweet Pie is happy as can be. “Something was just pulling at me…. I picked up Pie.. and it was just like, Wow! She took right to me we’re like, best buds.” He continued, “Turns out, she was really sick… she ended up getting really, really sick and almost didn’t make it. We had to rush her to the ER… [get] all these shots. She was just a champ all the way through it… she’s doing good now. She’s chillin’, running around.” Hear more about Pie, Marley and of course, Bailey’s music by checking out his entoire conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal above. The 58th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan, and Peyton Manning, will broadcast live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 20 at 8PM ET/7PM CT on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu. Words by Monica Rivera, Interview by Katie Neal Photo: Chris Ashlee

It’s a big week for Riley Green who is a first-time nominee at this week’s 58th Annual CMA Awards. Ahead of Wednesday’s show, Green took time to catch up with Audacy’s Katie Neal to catch up on all the week’s festivities including his very first fashion show experience, upcoming CMA performance and more. Touching quickly on the Boot Barn fashion show that both he and Katie attended Monday night, Riley says he “felt like everybody there was looking at me for my reaction… it was like not laughing in church, you know? It was fun,” he adds. “But, I was like, right there and a lady came out doing splits, interpretive dance, and they were all staring a hole through me when they were walking down. I didn't know where to look.” Although it was his first fashion show, Riley says, “It won't be the last... I enjoyed it. I wished it lasted about 3 hours and I was drinking. That would have been fun. Here's what was tough: When it started and that girl was doing that dance thing where she was spinning on her head and stuff and it was real quiet. I wanted to clap. Miranda [Lambert] stopped me, because I was like, ‘You don't clap? That was awesome what she did.’” Getting back to business, Riley shared he's looking forward to his own performance during this year’s CMA Awards. The 36-year-old Riley is scheduled to take the stage with Ella Langley to perform their hit single, “You Look Like You Love Me,” which is also up for Musical Event of the Year. “This song is proof that I don't know what's a hit because, I mean, it was very organic how it happened" he shared. "[It] has been like [that] a lot of the collaborations I've done. I took Thomas Rhett duck hunting and we came out with ‘Half Of Me,’ and I was on tour with Luke Combs and played him ‘Different 'Round Here,’ and that ended up being a big hit for me. So, Ella was out on tour with me, heard the song -- I don't think they really knew what they were gonna do with it... I said, 'Well, I wonder… What if I wrote it from the guy's perspective? We did it and they liked it… I thought the talking verses were probably a little too traditional, but how awesome is it to see a song that's that Country, that's really that big of a hit.” “I've never had a viral hit, I guess,” Riley admits, “and that was like kind of an overnight thing… you picked your phone up the next day and you couldn't get away from it. It was on everything, you know, so it's cool to see that. I'm super happy for her success with it too, it's been awesome to watch.” This year’s ceremony will be Riley’s very first time on the CMAs stage, and although he’s feeling confident about the upcoming performance, there is one person he’ll be avoiding eye contact with. “Well, I didn't even think about that until you said it, I feel like Dierks Bentley,” he laughs. “I saw where everybody's sitting at. If I look at him [I'll laugh]” Finally, discussing his current single “Damn Good Day To Leave,” Riley describes it as “a fun breakup song if there is such a thing. I love the thought of, you know, the girl left and you're sad, but the fish are biting, and the beer's cold, so it'll be all right.” “It's a fun song, and it makes you wanna roll the window down and turn it up, so I love to sing that song," he says, "and it's always great when a song's climbing the chart because you get to watch the crowd sing it louder every week.” Fans can catch Riley on his Damn Country Music Tour along with Ella Langley kicking off next year. Listen to Katie's full chat with Riley Green above. Don't miss the 58th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning, and Lainey Wilson on Wednesday, November 20 at 8/7c on ABC, and available the next day on Hulu. Find more of Audacy's CMA Awards coverage at audacy.com/cma. Words by Joe Cingrana, Interview by Katie Neal Photo: Jeremy Cowart

It’s a big week for Luke Bryan who is returning to host the CMA Awards for a fourth year. A seasoned pro at leading the festivities by now, the Georgia native says he’s not nervous about much before the big night… except one thing. “I’m not really nervous about anything,” he told Audacy’s Katie Neal ahead of Wednesday night’s show. “The main thing is, how will I look?” While Luke might have a few jitters about his appearance, he’s not second-guessing for a moment that fans will be entertained and laugh a lot. “It’s got us laughing,” Bryan said after sharing he’s already run through the script a couple times over Zoom with Manning and Wilson. “Pretty sure the people at home are going to laugh too.” While the CMA Awards are only once a year, fans can plan on seeing Bryan a lot more on their television screens come Spring as he returns to host another season of IDOL on ABC. The new season will premiere March 2025 and feature Bryan alongside fellow returning judge, Lionel Richie and new judge, Carrie Underwood as they search across America for the next American Idol. “We’re doing auditions on Idol,” Bryan shared before detailing how Underwood is fitting into the already tight-knit judging crew. “Carrie’s doing great and she’s not requesting for my removal from the show yet,” he laughed. “No HR flags or anything… so, we’re doing good. She’s had to learn a lot on the fly, it’s a lot to process.” He continued, “What I’ve learned from her is she’s just got the best heart in the world. When she talks to these kids — it’s hard when you’ve gotta tell ‘em no and she’s learning you just gotta say no, but she’s doing great.” Hear more about Idol, his hosting duties and new single by checking out Luke’s entire interview with Audacy’s Katie Neal above. The 58th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, will broadcast live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 20 at 8pm ET/7pm CT on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu. Words by Monica Rivera, Interview by Katie Neal Photo: Jim Wright

It’s CMA Week and while Luke Combs is up for some of the most prestigious awards come Wednesday night’s broadcast, he’s busy celebrating a different kind of win to start the week. On Monday (11/18), Combs was crowned PEOPLE’s, “Sexiest 34-Year-Old Man on the Planet.” The award is a branch off the publication's Sexiest Man Alive title, which went to actor, John Krasinski, this year. While Krasinski won the overall title, PEOPLE decided to break it down even further this year by crowing the sexiest man of each age from 20-41. “1990, [a] down year when it came to sexy guys, but still proud to be at the top of the pile,” Combs laughed before sharing he was “very heavily surprised,” by his new title. “Maybe we’re re-defining sexy,” he laughed. “Guys’ [with] shirts that don’t fit that good, they fall asleep watching football —if that’s sexy, I’m your guy!” No need to worry about Combs’ ego getting too big from the new title as he shared his young sons currently keep him humble making him watch shows like, Stinky and Dirty, while playing with dinosaurs and tractors. “We’re into tractors and we’re into dinosaurs and we’re into the pool, we’re into swimming a lot,” Combs responded when asked how his sons, Tex (2) and Beau (1) are doing. “My kid has all the dinosaurs drive the tractors and stuff — that’s what’s going on right now.” Combs and his wife, Nicole, will have the night off from playing dinosaurs on Wednesday as they attend the 58th Annual CMA Awards where Luke is up for multiple awards including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Album Of the Year for his project, Fathers & Sons. Additionally, Combs will take the stage to perform his hit, “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma.” “It’s gonna be sick,” he said of his plans for the performance. “We’ve got all the crazy effects and everything, which we’ve never done. We’ve never done fire and smoke and all that… We’re doing that this time because I feel like the song warrants it. Usually, I’m like, ‘Let the song speak for itself,’ but this time, I feel like the song would just be better with a bunch of cool fire and stuff, which is usually is not the case.” Hear additional details about Combs’ performance, plus who he is most excited to see at the show, what fellow artist was an extra in his “Beer Never Broke My Heart” video and so much more by checking out his entire conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal above. The 58th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, will broadcast live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 20 at 8pm ET/7pm CT on ABC and stream next day on Hulu. Words by Monica Rivera, Interview by Katie Neal Photo: Zack Massey

Catching up backstage during the lead-up to the 2024 Country Music Association awards ceremony taking place on Wednesday, November 20, Audacy's Katie Neal spoke with Blake Shelton about being "fired up" about new music and more. Of course, Blake is super-excited to see his good friend Luke Bryan on stage as one of this year's hosts, joking that he likely got the gig again, "I think because people love to watch a train wreck on the TV. “I'm excited about Lainey [Wilson], I think she's incredible, I'm a huge fan of hers,” he adds, “and of course Peyton [Manning] is so funny… and Luke's funny too. I gotta give it to him. They got the right combination there.” Touching on his own new music, Shelton says he's been thoroughly enjoying all of the fan reactions to his latest single, "Texas." “I was nervous, you know. It's been a while since I've released any new music,” he admits. “When I retired from ‘The Voice,’ I just kind of like went away… 23 seasons I was on that show, so I was happy to get a break.” ““This spring,” he explains, “Post Malone reached out to me and asked if I would be on the record with him, and then that thing took off and now here I am making my own music again and, I'm fired up about it -- I really am. I’m just trying to take it all in this time around. The first chapter of my career, which I think goes from 2001 to probably 2021 or 22 is kind of a blur to me, and to be able to kind of relaunch again, and know how hard it is in this business to have success, and to have a hit song -- and I really enjoy slowing down this time and taking it in, and enjoying these moments for what they are because not a lot of people get to experience it.” Getting a chance to work with Malone, he says, reinvigorated his love for making music. “I feel like I'd kind of gotten lazy, you know, and I'd kind of taken for granted what I do because I've been staying on the hamster wheel for so long that you just kind of forget… When I was a kid, my only dream was being on the radio, and I mean, a very small, lottery winning percentage of people get to do this. But being around Post, it was like, ‘Look at this kid, man, he's the biggest star in the world.’ He couldn't be more excited about what he does, and what am I doing?” “I really do credit him for firing me up about it again,” says Blake, “and wanting to make some more music. As long as people want it, and want to at least hear it and give me a chance -- it's actually literally stupid not to do it.” Looking ahead, Shelton says “I probably have an album's worth of music that recorded that I have. I don't think it's there yet. I'm gonna keep recording and looking for songs until they tell me they gotta start printing albums and I need to turn something in.” Listen to Katie's full chat with Blake Shelton above. Don't miss the 58th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning, and Lainey Wilson on Wednesday, November 20 at 8/7c on ABC, and available the next day on Hulu. Find more of Audacy's CMA Awards coverage at audacy.com/cma. Words by Joe Cingrana, Interview by Katie Neal Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

After raising nearly $25 million for Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Western North Carolina with Concert for Carolina featuring Luke Combs, James Taylor, Billy Strings and himself, Eric Church says the fight following such devastation in his home state is far from over. “I realized pretty quick with the funds that we had raised that the biggest problem that we have in this country [is] — we do a pretty good job with the immediate 911 need of food and water and diapers — what we don’t do as well is keeping people in the community from a housing perspective,” he shared ahead of performing at the 58th Annual CMA Awards. “We committed to putting 100 homes in Avery county, which is one of the counties hardest hit. That’s been the big focal point.” On top of all the efforts he’s shown thus far towards relief, Church has also committed to giving to back “forever” by handing his song, “Darkest Hour,” to the state of North Carolina. This means 100% of the proceeds go to the state and towards those in need. “‘Darkest Hour’ has helped raise the awareness and keep the attention going,” Church said of the song he released following the hurricane which hit in September 2024. “We tend to move on as a society and those people are going to need help for a long time,” he continued. “It’s more of an anthem and part of the reason I’m doing it on the CMAs is to keep the focal point on those people [that] still need help… There’s still so much need there.” With a lot of work still left to do, Church continues to be inspired by the impact already made and the strong community within his home state which was ever-present during Concert for Carolina. “That was just a special night to see all the people — especially being in Charlotte and being in my home state,” Church said reflecting on the night. “I live half my year in Western North Carolina and those mountains mean so much to me creatively, but also as a person. To be there and see that togetherness that happened — to have James Taylor and Luke [Combs] and myself and Billy Strings — it was a special moment.” Hear more about Church’s efforts towards relief by checking out his entire conversation with Katie Neal above and be sure to catch his performance Wednesday night on the 58th Annual CMA Awards. The 58th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, will broadcast live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 20 at 8pm ET/7pm CT on ABC and stream next day on Hulu. Words by Monica Rivera, Interview by Katie Neal Photo: Robby Klein

After years of contemplating an acting role, Country star Kelsea Ballerini, has officially made the leap as she appeared as a guest star on the new ABC series, Doctor Odyssey this week (11/7). Playing the part of an over-compensating bride with deep secrets, Ballerini showed the power of her creative depth goes far beyond her music. “I’ve been dabbling with the idea of getting into the acting space for a couple of years now because I said the hardest ‘no’ to it for so long,” she told Audacy’s Katie Neal during an appearance on the Superstar Power Hour. “I was just scared of sucking. I'm scared of failing, especially publicly, like on a TV film situation, that feels terrifying to me.” The 31-year-old admits failure seemed especially scary to her now as she’s dating well-known actor, Chase Stokes who stars on Outer Banks, but after self-identifying as a “swing for the fences kind of girl,” she went for it. And while she might’ve had immediate access to her very own acting mentor in Stokes, Ballerini said she wanted to take this journey independently and didn’t rely on him for much help at all. “I'm so independent... the only time I had seen like a call sheet before was when I would go visit him on set at Outer Banks, so it was just, it was new. So I would ask him logistical questions like, ‘What does this mean, crew call?’ … But as far as helping me, I was like, ‘I wanna do it on my own and then show you,’ you know?” Ballerini’s episode on Doctor Odyssey — which centers around the medical staff on a luxurious cruise ship — premiered Thursday night (11/7) and featured Ballerini as a Type A-presenting bride who viewers find out at the end is battling deep, dark secrets. “Quite literally, I am screaming, crying, or throwing up the entire hour, the entire hour,” she shared. “Like, day one, my first scene is just me vomiting over and over and over again. So it was fun, it was an experience and I will do it again if I can.” While not an acting role, Ballerini already has her next television part on lock as she’s set to appear on season 27 of The Voice this Spring. Kelsea shared she has already started filming alongside fellow judges for that season which include Michael Bublè, Adam Levine and John Legend. “I knew John Legend, from when I filled in for Kelly [Clarkson], but I had never met [Michael] Bublè, and I had never met Adam Levine,” she shared. “I was nervous, you know, I grew up on their music. So being up there with them and knowing that I had to fight with them to get certain artists from my team was, I mean, that is such a head trip to be like, ‘I understand that you probably want to go to the lead singer of Maroon 5, But here's why you should pick me instead.’ Pick me, choose me, love me,” she laughed. “Everyone thinks it’s scripted - there’s no script. It requires so much presence,” she continued. “You are there, the camera’s on you 12 hours a day and you are coaching, you are available the whole time… It’s like, in my 10- years what can I give this person? And also, where can I just step back and listen too?” On top of all her TV time, Ballerini hasn’t abandoned her music as she recently celebrated the release of her studio album, Patterns, which she produced and wrote alongside five of her best, female friends which she takes tremendous pride in. “I just honestly, I didn't know where to start after [Rolling Up the] Welcome Mat because I didn't make that album to be what it became,” she disclosed. “I’m so grateful, but I was like ‘What do I do now? How do I make a record to follow this up?’” I don't know.” She continued, “So, I took a retreat and I just asked my friends that I felt safe with that happened to be stupidly talented. So Alysa Vanderheym, Jessie Joe Dillon, Karen Fairchild, and Hillary Lindsey, we all went to this beautiful house in St. Louis. I just knew if there was a way to dip my toe in, it was there. And if we d ...

Tucker Wetmore is on the ride of his life after entering the Country music world with his debut single, “Wind Up Missin’ You” which is currently top 15 and climbing. While it may look like it’s all success right now, Wetmore recently opened up to Audacy’s Katie Neal revealing his music career is the result of a life-changing injury that kept him from seeing his dreams of becoming a professional athlete. “I was in Montana, I played a year of football there and I’m gettin’ scout player of the year — they’re like, ‘Hey you’re the number one guy for the next four years — you’re the number one receiver, let’s roll.’ I was like, ‘Alright, let’s do it,’ but it just didn’t feel right for a couple months towards the end.” The Washington native continued to recall, “I remember sitting down after coming home from practice and… I locked myself in the bathroom and I just started bawling. Like, weeping crying.” In the midst of his meltdown, Wetmore tapped into his church-based upbringing for guidance and confided in God, asking for “a sign.” “I was just like, I need a sign,” he shared. “The next day, I went to practice like I would any other day and very first play, run a post over the middle and snap my leg in three places.” A career-ending injury for the now 25-year-old was a tough pill to swallow at the time, but looking back, he says’ it’s “exactly what I needed.” While the sign to part ways from football was clear, the next step wasn’t necessarily revealing itself. That is, until Wetmore’s mom encouraged him to spend time at the piano - a habit that he used to have in his younger years to decompress after school, before homework. “She was like, ‘just go sit at your piano — that used to ease your mind back in the day,’” he shared before remembering how much music helped him through his childhood after learning to play “by ear” and YouTube tutorials. “I started to teach myself when I was 11, never had a lesson on anything,” he shared. “I would just sit down and play for hours. Literally every single day I'd come home from practice and before I could wrap my head around homework, I'd have to decompress on piano.” Mama Wetmore’s advice following’s Tucker’s injury is just what he needed to propel himself to the next step. Later that very night, Wetmore wrote his very first song and a few months after that, he packed up and moved to Nashville to chase his new-found dream of being a Country artist. “Five months later, I was like, ‘Mom, I want to do this, I believe I can do this.' And then she was like, 'I never doubted you for a second, go do it,'” he said. It was a big move for Wetmore, who prides himself on being a big family man and moved to a town where he didn’t know a single soul. That didn’t stop him from integrating himself into the town quickly. Twenty years old at the time, and in the midst of a global pandemic, Tucker defied the odds and started seeing things take shape. He was quickly signed to a publishing deal which was later followed by a record deal that he signed Summer 2023. Just over a year later, Wetmore is celebrating his debut single at Country radio, “Wind Up Missin’ You,” in the top 15 as well as the recent release of his album, 'Waves On A Sunset,' available now. “First and foremost, I wanted to portray who I am as a person and as an artist,” Wetmore said of his intentions with the project before simply stating he needed more songs to fill his already sold-out shows. Fans will also be excited to know there’s a lot more where this album came from as he shares it is a direct lead into his next project which will dive deep into some of his biggest, present-day challenges and most tumultuous relationships. While there’s lots to look forward to, Wetmore does his best to take things one day at a time, and recently, that means getting ready to hit the road with Thomas Rhett for the 'Better in Boots Tour' in 2025. Th ...

Audacy's Katie Neal welcomes Kane Brown to our airwaves as this week’s co-host for the 'Superstar Power Hour' on all your favorite Audacy Country stations nationwide. The new year will kick off with new music for Brown as he recently revealed he’ll release his fourth studio album, 'The High Road,' on January 24, 2025. The project will feature Brown’s most-recent hit, “Miles On It” featuring Marshmello in addition to “Fiddle In the Band,” which he recently performed at the People’s Choice Country Awards in September. Additionally, the album will include the 31-year-old’s new single, “Backseat Driver,” which is available now. “It’s a beautiful song,” Kane said of the new single that marries his worlds of being a Country singer and girl dad together perfectly. “They said they’ve showed it to everybody and the first time I listened to it, I was like, ‘This is me!’ I think God just held it for me.” His daughters aren’t the only ones with a “moment” on the album, Kane also highlights wife, Katelyn in a special way as she joins vocals for two tracks as a featured artist. “We’ve got ‘Body Talk,’” Kane said, sharing the title of the first song he and wife Katelyn sing together. “It’s going to go to Pop radio — super sexy song. Kinda got like a little Latin vibe in the beat,” he shared. “Then you have ‘Do Us Apart,’ which is a Country vibe, which we love to duet,” explaining the inspiration came from Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis’ rendition of “I Told You So.” “We tried to come as close to that as we could. And this song reminded us of it.” With a wide array of sounds and styles on the project, there’s a little something for everyone and also importantly for Kane — everything is a fit for his live shows. “This album, I just really wanted to have every song that I could play live,” he shared. “The last couple albums — I like the songs, but some of them were used or years old so I had already grown as an artist so I don’t want to perform them. Or, I feel like they don’t have a big enough message for everybody — but this album, there’s so many great songs. Even the slow songs…. I feel like I could do a whole tour on this album and be happy.” Kane will take all the songs on the road next year with his recently announced 2025 High Road Tour which kicks off March 13 in San Diego and wraps July 13 in Chicago. Along for support on select dates are Mitchell Tenpenny, Scotty McCreery, Dasha and Ashley Cooke. Hear additional details about the tour, Kane’s evolving style choices, his new life as a father of three and so much more by checking out his entire conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal on the Superstar Power Hour above. Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Few things are stronger than Country music friendships - Justin Moore and Blake Shelton being a great example. During his appearance on the Superstar Power Hour with Audacy’s Katie Neal this week, Justin Moore opened up about how much Blake Shelton has helped him with his career and regularly puts friendship over stardom. “He’s always been really, really go to me,” Moore said of his longtime friendship with Shelton. “I went on tour with him, man, it was probably back in ’10, ’11, ’12, something like that and he’s always been really kind to me.” Beyond their time on the road together, Justin credits one almost-cancelled appearance on NBC’s The Voice for showing him the level of commitment Blake had to their friendship. “I was on The Voice in — I think it was maybe 2014 or something. Long story short, I was supposed to be on and they had to cancel for — I don’t know if it was another artist — but, what ever happened and he went to them and goes, ‘You’re gonna have Justin on. I called him and asked him to be on — you’re gonna have him on.'” He continued, “I was on the finale, actually, which was huge at the time for us and that was all his doing. I say that to say, he is probably the most unaffected superstar I’ve ever met. He’s really just a super nice guy.” Their friendship is also just as strong out of the spotlight, says Justin who calls Shelton a “nut.” “He’s a nut. Some of our text threads are — we couldn’t put them out — they’re pretty funny,” Justin laughed. While they may not be able to release the texts, what they did release is a brand new song together featured on Justin’s new album, This Is My Dirt, available now. “I sent him a text and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got this song.’ I actually sent him two songs and I said, ‘which one do you want to do?’ He goes, ‘Let’s do the beer one,’” Justin recalled, laughing. “I go, ‘That’s what I figured you’d pick.’ For him to do that, he don’t have to do that.” Blake wasn’t the only Country pal who fans can hear featured on the album — Justin also shared his gratitude for long time friends, Randy Houser and Dierks Bentley who appear on “The Worst” and “Time’s Ticking,” respectively. “Same with Randy [Houser] and Dierks [Bentley],” Justin continued. “For them to lend their talents and time and energy to this project is really cool.” Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

It was a wild weekend on the road for Brantley Gilbert who welcomed his third child with wife, Amber, in the middle of a show in Tupelo, MS. Days later, Gilbert joined Audacy’s Katie Neal to share the whole story and praise Amber for her courage and strength. “She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met, I can’t say enough about her,” he said, still in disbelief of the events. According to Gilbert, he was just four songs into his headlining set when his tour manager walked on stage and pulled at his arm telling him to exit. “We were four songs into the set and my tour manager comes up and pull on my arm… the first thing that came to mind is, ‘it’s a security threat,’” Brantley recalled, sharing he immediately had concern to take care of his bandmates and the crowd. “He looked at me and he gave me a stern like, ‘come on,’ he was like, ‘baby,’ he mouthed ‘baby’ to me and when he did, I dropped the mic and everything and took off running.” The 39-year-old had no time to spare as he walked onto the bus and almost immediately, Amber’s water broke. “The minute I walked on the bus, I washed my hands really quick and the minute I knelt beside her, her water broke,” Gilbert shared. “I looked at the midwife and she looked back at me and I was just wide-eyed. She’s like, ‘We’re having a baby.’” The situation is one Brantley said he and Amber had joked about before, but never actually thought could come true. “We joked that if it happened during a show, I’ll just hop off stage, we’ll have it and I’ll run back up there and I’ll hold the baby up like Lion King, like Simba... none of us thought that was actually going to happen.” While it did happen (minus the Lion King part), Gilbert credits his wife for keeping her cool and birthing their third child, Abram Howell, like a “soldier.” “She was a soldier - such an understatement,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. She was just so strong. I was such an emotional wreck - it was ridiculous. She handled it a million times better than I did.” Following the events, Gilbert says mom and baby are doing just fine. “They’re amazing,” he shared. “He’s tiny. He’s 5lb 7oz - he’s got the cutest little cry ever, but he’s precious.” Hear the full story of Abram’s entry into the world by checking out Katie Neal’s full conversation with Brantley Gilbert above. Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal