You’ve probably heard someone cover a song, and thought, “They just can’t do it justice.”  But have you ever heard a singer live, who struggled to perform THEIR OWN SONG?  Carrie Underwood has.

Carrie told “Rolling Stone” that she takes pride in putting in the work on her vocals . . . because since she was a kid, she’s always been bothered by artists who don’t sound like how they’re supposed to sound.

She said, “[It’s] always so deflating.  I’d lose respect for them . . . I’d go to a concert . . . hear them drop keys, and I was like, ‘You can’t hit the notes!  Why’d you record them if you can’t sing them?’  That stuff is important to me.”

(Rolling Stone)

Jelly Roll‘s star continues to rise, and his career arc seems to have no peak in sight. Wednesday night JR played the prestigious Houston Rodeo, and in doing so, he set a personal career milestone.

From the stage, JR told the crowd of 73-thousand, “My name is Jason ‘Jelly Roll’ DeFord, from Nashville, Tennessee…and as of right this moment, as of right this second, on March the 6th of 2024, at the Houston Rodeo at the NRG Stadium, this is officially the biggest show of my entire life!” It’s a long way from prison to being on one of the biggest stages in country music, but Jelly took it in stride, playing his hits for the crowd and bringing out Texas’ own Cody Johnson to join him on their duet “Whiskey Bent.” “I figured since I’m in Texas, I should also tell y’all, I grew up loving Texas country music,” Jelly Roll said while welcoming his guest to the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honor tonight that I would like to introduce, right out of Texas, my brother Cody Johnson.”

Also Wednesday night, Jelly was presented with a Houston Rodeo belt buckle, which he gratefully accepted, saying, “The only person more excited about this is my daughter. Yeah, she’s been fired up. She said, ‘let me know when you get the buckle!'”

Source: CountryNow

Shania Twain got her own Barbie in honor of International Women’s Day, and she celebrated by copying Ryan Gosling’s classic line from the movie.  (Here’s the original.)

In an Instagram post she said, quote, “All I’ve wanted to do my whole life is tell stories of empowerment, independence and self-expression through my songwriting.”

Shania is one of several women getting Barbies, including Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, and Kylie Minogue.

(After Midnite)

Talent recognizes talent. Lainey Wilson visited with Kelly Clarkson yesterday on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and the two spent some quality time chatting before treating the audience to an epic duet.

The two singers spent considerable time fangirling over each other, each praising the other for their talents and their ability to convey emotion through song. Lainey pointed out that Kelly sings other people’s songs better than they do, and it’s not just learning the lyrics: “Even when you’re up here just covering everybody else’s songs, it’s not just like, you just learn the words and you got up there…you were feeling it, for everything that it is,” adding that it meant so much to her when Kelly covered her “Heart Like A Truck.” And Kelly fired back with her own raves, saying “That’s the thing I love about your voice – you open up your mouth…a musical baby of Dolly (Parton) and LeAnn (Rimes), but it’s still your sound…no one sounds like you..that’s so cool. I love it. And I’m obsessed with you.”

After, the pair jumped on stage and performed a duet version of Lainey’s “Country’s Cool Again” to the delight of the audience.