Latest news with #CountryMusicHallofFame
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Shaboozey responds to viral side-eye at 2025 AMAs with a word on country music's real roots
After going viral at the AMAs, Shaboozey reminds fans that 'the true history of country music' is 'so powerful that it cannot be erased.' When Shaboozey offered Megan Moroney a well-timed side-eye on the AMAs stage, the internet clocked it in real time. And as far as side-eyes go, this one came with history. During the 2025 American Music Awards on May 26, the 'A Bar Song (Tipsy)' artist and rising country star Megan Moroney stepped onto the Fontainebleau Las Vegas stage to announce the Favorite Country Duo or Group winner. What seemed like a routine presenter moment quickly turned into a viral flashpoint. 'Country music has been an important part of AMA history,' Shaboozey, 30, began. 'The very first year of this show, the award for Favorite Male Country Artist went to the great Charley Pride.' A needed namecheck. Pride, who passed away in 2020, was a trailblazer and one of the few Black artists to break through the genre's historically white walls. Then Moroney picked up her line: 'That same year, Favorite Female Artist went to Lynn Anderson. And this award went to the Carter family, who basically invented country music.' Cue the glance. Shaboozey's quiet chuckle and knowing look said what history books often don't. The next day, the Nigerian-American artist set the record straight on his shady reaction. First, he took to Instagram to defend the hateful comments he had seen directed at Moroney. 'Just want to clear something up: my reaction at the AMAs had nothing to do with Megan Moroney,' he commented under Moroney's Instagram post. ''I've seen some hateful comments directed at her today, and that's not what this moment was about. Let's not twist the message — she is amazing and someone who represented the country community in the highest light.' He then moved to X where he wrote: 'When you uncover the true history of country music, you find a story so powerful that it cannot be erased…' 'The real history of country music is about people coming together despite their differences, and embracing and celebrating the things that make us alike,' he added in a separate tweet. While the Carter Family, a trio made up of A.P. Carter, Sara Dougherty Carter, and Maybelle Addington Carter, is widely celebrated as country royalty, their legacy can't be separated from Lesley Riddle, a Black guitarist who helped A.P. Carter collect songs in the early 1900s. According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Carter Family helped popularize country harmonies and standards, but it's voices like Riddle's that helped shape the very foundation of their sound. Time magazine has noted that country music owes a profound debt to African and African-American traditions. However, that fact has often been pushed aside thanks to decades of whitewashed marketing and the gatekeeping of Nashville's commercial country industry. Shaboozey's AMA moment joins a growing wave of Black country artists and cultural critics rewriting the narrative and reclaiming space. From Hank Williams' mentorship under Rufus 'Tee Tot' Payne to DeFord Bailey's groundbreaking Grand Ole Opry debut, Black creativity not only contributed but also helped create the genre. Most recently, Beyoncé dedicated her 2025 Grammy nominations and wins for her album 'Cowboy Carter' (a title some fans think also nods at the genre's shady history) to Linda Martell, the first Black woman to release a country album. 'I want to dedicate this to Miss Martell, and I hope we just keep pushing forward, opening doors. God bless you all. Thank you so much,' Beyoncé said during her acceptance speech. With artists like Shaboozey, Beyoncé, Tanner Ardell, and more holding the mic and using it with intention, the genre's future might finally start to reflect its full past. More must-reads: 'Intuition is a superpower' How Keisha Lance Bottoms bet on herself as executive producer on Tyler Perry's 'She The People' Sacha Jenkins, noted filmmaker and journalist, passes away at 54 from multiple system atrophy WNBA says it cannot substantiate claims that racist remarks were made by fans at Sky-Fever game
USA Today
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Kenny Chesney delivers vibrant, visually arresting feast at Las Vegas Sphere
Kenny Chesney delivers vibrant, visually arresting feast at Las Vegas Sphere Show Caption Hide Caption Kenny Chesney, June Carter Cash among Country Hall of Fame inductees Kenny Chesney, Tony Brown and June Carter Cash's family speak after they are named the 2025 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees. LAS VEGAS – About a third through the second night of Kenny Chesney's groundbreaking residency at the Sphere, the gregarious country superstar dipped into his 2004 hit 'I Go Back.' It's a song steeped in nostalgia, with lyrics that reminisce about wistful moments. High school gyms. Hearing John Mellencamp on the radio. A friend gone too soon. The accompanying video – well, better classified as all-encompassing graphics that sucked you into the visual vortex – of football fields and basketball courts pulled at the hearts of 17,000 people as Chesney sang of days gone by with his typical earnestness. But for all its nodding to the past, the song represented a milestone in Chesney's awards-laden, 30-plus-year career as he performed it May 24. As he looked around in awe of the crowd and the enveloping video, there was as much a sense of 'How did we get here?' as 'Let's look back.' Chesney, 57, is the first country singer – and the first solo artist, despite an ace six-piece band – to play the game-changing venue. His two-hour show, a technicolor wonder, continues for sporadic dates through June 21 and are his only live performances of the year. It's as much a concert as a sonic and visual roller-coaster ride pairing one of the most acclaimed stars of country with the evolving technological wizardry of the Sphere. From the opening deep-sea dive that morphed into a fleet of pirate ships bobbing on the ocean while Chesney bopped through 'Beer in Mexico' – his skinny jeans tight, his sleeveless shirt baring biceps – a carefree vibe permeated the show. Las Vegas Sphere concerts: All the bands that are playing and how to get tickets For years, Chesney has been a reliable stadium filler, a guy who feeds off his fans' adrenaline as he clocks tens of thousands of steps scampering around the stage. While he was slightly limited to roam given the Sphere's structure, Chesney found ways to maintain a lifeline to the front row of fans on the floor as he bent down during 'Keg in the Closet' to smack a palm or accept a Nevada license plate emblazoned 'Sphere.' 'Not only do we see you all, we feel you tonight,' Chesney said in one of his frequent humble acknowledgements of the crowd. Typically, Chesney's concerts offer few embellishments. So to see a Ferris wheel looming over him (' 'Til It's Gone'), a live shot of No Shoes Nation devotees blasted onto the 240-foot-tall backdrop ('No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems') and Chesney on a towering cell phone surrounded by vibrantly colored fish (the prescient 'Welcome to the Fishbowl') elevated the fun quotient. At his opening show May 22, Chesney brought Kelsea Ballerini to the stage. But on this night, Grace Potter, who croons with Chesney on 'You & Tequila,' was the guest of honor to sing that Grammy-nominated hit from 2011. It was a breezy stroll for the pair, but when Potter, whom he introduced as 'one of my best friends in the world,' broke out her signature Flying V guitar, Chesney knew things were about to get rock-y. 'We were in Vegas that last time this happened,' he said, before the familiar sawing guitar notes of Rod Stewart's 'Hot Legs' filled the room (Chesney and Potter covered the song during his 2013 shows at the now-defunct Hard Rock Hotel). It was a playful, if milquetoast version of the song sans Stewart's raspy vocal leering, but also an indication that Chesney plans to shake up the setlist each show and maybe debut more deep cuts. The melancholic 'Seven Days,' from 2010's 'Hemingway's Whiskey' album, made its first live appearance at Chesney's opening Sphere show and he revisited it again for night two, complemented by a foggy lighthouse scene. During 'Big Star,' fans will relish the vintage photos of Chesney posing with music icons including Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn and Taylor Swift while sinking into the sensation of being dropped into a pinball machine. It was also another reminder of Chesney's longevity in an unforgiving industry. As he cranked out the country rock of 'Living in Fast Forward,' which plopped the crowd into the driver's seat on a NASCAR track, Chesney punctuated the lyric, 'I still got some miles to go.' It was an ideal capper to a song that summarizes the focused Chesney. Even three decades into his career, he's hardly slowing down.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dolly Parton, 79, Makes Emotional Admission About Her Career: 'I've Carried My Pain'
Dolly Parton, 79, is one of the most influential people in country music, and the back story about how she came to be one of the biggest stars of our time has always captured people's hearts. Growing up in a one-room cabin in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee with her parents, brothers, and sisters, nobody would've guessed she'd become a true legend and national treasure. Now, with more number one hits than any other female country artist, it's safe to say she's had quite the incredible career. However, Parton's road to fortune and fame wasn't easy. While celebrating the opening of a new exhibit, Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker at the Country Music Hall of Fame, she opened up about the sacrifices she had to make to get where she is today. "I've sacrificed time with family and friends... I gave up vacations for work without end. Twenty-four seven, 365, but I was willing to make that sacrifice. But empty or full, I've carried my pain. But you don't drink the water if you don't dig the well." She continued, "Grindstones and rhinestones have made up my life, and you ask, 'Was it worth the sacrifice?' Well, I reckon it was because I'm here tonight."Fans were so touched by her poetic words, and one person who viewed the clip put it perfectly by saying, "Absolute legend 🔥," and another echoed that sentiment with, "Treasure and icon." This was definitely a serious moment for Parton, and it must be so surreal for her when she looks back on just how far she's come. However, she also has a knack for always lightening the mood. Just a few days ago, she shared this cute snippet on Instagram, which shows off her comedic side. She can sing, write poetry, and crack jokes... is there anything Dolly Parton can't do? 🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬
Los Angeles Times
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Country star Alan Jackson retires from touring
Country star Alan Jackson has retired from touring after more than three decades on the road. Jackson, 66, had previously announced that he would end his touring career after battling health issues. His current live run, Last Call: One More for the Road Tour, ended in Milwaukee on Saturday. 'Y'all may have heard that I'm kinda winding down,' Jackson told the crowd onstage. 'In fact, this is my last road show of my career. Y'all gonna make me tear up out here.' That show is likely not the final performance of Jackson's career, though. 'We're planning on doing a big finale show in Nashville next summer sometime,' he told the crowd. 'I just felt like I had to end it all where it all started, and that's in Nashville, Tenn. But this is the last one out on the road for me.' Jackson began this tour a year after revealing his struggles with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a nerve condition related to muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease that impacts his motor skills. While not fatal, the disease does not yet have a cure and, Jackson has said, it affects his ability to perform live. The 'Chattahoochee' singer and two-time Grammy winner has said he hopes to continue writing and record, however. 'I feel like there'll be some more music to come, yes,' he said on his daughter Mattie Jackson's podcast in 2023. 'The creative part jumps out every now and then.' Jackson is one of the bestselling and most-decorated acts in modern country music. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ashley Judd Recalls Final Moment With Late Mom Naomi
During Lifetime's two-night docuseries The Judd Family: Truth Be Told, reflected on her final moment with her mom, Naomi Judd. Naomi, born Diana Ellen Judd, died by suicide on April 30, 2022, at the age of 76. Naomi and her eldest daughter, Wynonna Judd, were scheduled to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame as The Judds on April 30, so Ashley traveled to her mother's farmhouse in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee, a couple of days earlier to help her prepare for the honor. 'On the evening of the 28th, [Mom] went to sleep and I went to sleep. When I woke up, I had a text from Mom that just said, 'Please help.' When I got there, Mom was very uncomfortable in her body, pacing around the kitchen and expressing that she didn't want to be here anymore,' Ashley recalled. 'I put my hand on her leg and she patted me and she slowly softened and came back to herself and calmed down and shared a couple of things that I would say are private, between us, about why she chose to continue to live,' the Double Jeopardy actress added. Ashley then explained that her mother went upstairs. 'When I rounded the corner, I entered her bedroom, and I saw that she had harmed herself,' Ashley detailed. 'And then I spent the next whatever it was—half hour—just holding my mother and talking to her, and the first thing I said to her was, 'It's OK, I've seen how much you've been suffering,'' she continued. 'When she died, my most earnest wish was to make sure that she was relieved and absolved of her guilt and shame.' Ashley concluded that she was ultimately grateful she got to be there for Naomi. 'It was like this final consummation of the love in the relationship that we had transformed,' she said. 'What an honor, to be born into this human life, to be chosen by her. I got to hold space, I got to bookend. And I'm just so glad I was there.' If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available 24 hours a day through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
