The Country Music Hall of Fame welcomed its latest class of inductees Monday: country icons Patty Loveless and Tanya Tucker, and legendary songwriter Bob McDill.

Announced by country singer and current Eagles member Vince Gill, the three are the latest inductees to a hall that is widely regarded as country music’s highest honor. Loveless and Tucker were selected for the annual “Modern Era Artist” and “Veteran Era Artist” categories, respectively. McDill was selected in the “Songwriter” category.

• Tanya Tucker broke onto the country music scene while barely in her teens, with the classic “Delta Dawn” in 1972. She would go on to a string of hits that would extend into the mid-90’s, putting out such classics as “What’s Your Mama’s Name?”, “Two Sparrows In A Hurricane,” “Strong Enough To Bend” and “Lizzie And The Rainman.” She’s won multiple CMA, ACM and GRAMMY awards over the course of her storied career

• Patty Loveless began her country music career in 1985, but her first big hit came in 1988 with “If My Heart Had Windows.” She would go on to score 20 Top Ten country hits, including the #1 smashes “Timber, I’m Falling In Love,” “Chains,” “Blame It On Your Heart,” “You Can Feel Bad” and “Lonely Too Long”

• Bob McDill has written (or co-written) 31 #1 country hits over his career. His classic songs include “Amanda” (performed by both Don Williams and Waylon Jennings), “Song Of The South” (Alabama), “Louisiana Saturday Night” (Mel McDaniel), “Don’t Close Your Eyes” (Keith Whitley), “Gone Country” (Alan Jackson) and many others.

The induction ceremony will be held on a date not yet set, but expected to be some time in the fall.

Source: The Boot

Last night’s CMT Music Awards was three hours of performances, awards, and inclusiveness. A majority of the presenters – and many of the performers – had Texas ties.

The 2023 CMT Music Awards began with an emotional statement from co-host Kelsea Ballerini, dedicating the show to the victims and everyone affected by gun violence. From there, the mood lightened as co-hosts Ballerini and Kane Brown guided the festivities.

Here’s a play-by-play of how the whole evening unfolded:

• Kelsea Ballerini starts off the show with a heartfelt, emotional statement about mass shootings, dedicating the show to the victims and others affected by gun violence
• Blake Shelton opened the show musically with “No Body,” saluting the city of Austin by quoting his first hit of the same name – “If this is Austin, I still love you!”
• Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown came out to kick off the show as co-hosts
• Tyler Hubbard played “Dancing’ In The Country” in front of the Texas Statehouse in Austin
• Gary Clark Jr. performed a tribute to Austin blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan (“The House Is Rocking“)
• Newlywed Lily Rose performed an abbreviated version of “Whatcha Know About That”
• First award of the night, presented by “Stranger Things” Noah Schnapp – Collaborative Video Of The Year (WINNER: Hardy feat. Lainey Wilson “Wait In The Truck”)
• Jon Pardi introduced Carly Pearce for her performance of “What He Didn’t Do”
• Parker McCollum presented the award for “Breakthrough Female Video Of The Year” (WINNER: Megan Moroney “Tennesse Orange”)…and “Breakthrough Male Video Of The Year” (WINNER: Jelly Roll “Son Of A Sinner”)
• Wynonna and Ashley McBryde performed Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is“
• Texas-born and raised rapper Megan Thee Stallion introduced Equal Play Award winner Shania Twain
• Steve Howey (“True Lies”) introduced Cody Johnson, who performed “Human“
• Back to the outdoor stage, Keith Urban performed “Brown Eyes Baby“
• Kelsea Ballerini introduced Nate Smith for an abbreviated rendition of “Whiskey On You”
• Hardy and some of the cast of “Yellowstone” introduce Lainey Wilson who performed “Heart Like A Truck“
• Jackson Dean did a shortened version of “Don’t Come Lookin”
• Gwen Stefani and Carly Pearce duet on No Doubt’s “Just A Girl“
• Shania Twain presented Female Video of the Year (WINNER: Lainey Wilson “Heart Like A Truck”)
• Jelly Roll performed “Need A Favor” backed by a choir
• “Outer Banks” cast members presented the CMT Performance Of The Year Award (WINNER: Cody Johnson “Til You Can’t” from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
• NFL player Travis Kelce introduced Kelsea Ballerini for a performance of “If You Go Down (I’m Going Down Too)” accompanied by dancing drag queens
• Max Theriot of “Fire Country” introduced Kane & Katelyn Brown for “Thank God“
• Avery Anna did a shortened version of “Narcissist”
• Black Crowes and Darius Rucker duetted on “She Talks To Angels“
• LeAnn Rimes presented for “Best Male Video” (WINNER: Jelly Roll “Son Of A Sinner”)
• Lainey Wison, Madeline Edwards, Ingrid Andress and Morgan Wade joined Alanis Morrisette for “You Oughta Know“
• Megan Moroney did a brief performance of “Tennessee Orange”
• Carrie Underwood performed “Hate My Heart“
• Chapel Heart performed a short version of “You Can Have Him, Jolene”
• Darius Rucker presented “Video Of The Year” (WINNER: Kane & Katelyn Brown “Thank God”)
• Peter Frampton introduced the all-star Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute performance that featured Billy Gibbons, Slash, Paul Rodgers, Cody Johnson, Warren Haynes, Wynonna and LeAnn Rimes who played a medley of “Tuesday’s Gone” and “Sweet Home Alabama” to close out the show

A lot went on in those three hours, and CMT made a point to put on an inclusive awards show, with Black, white, LGBTQ+ performers and presenters, and as much rock as there was country. Women were featured prominently, with Shania speaking forcefully about how far country music has come for women, and how much further she hoped it would go.

Here’s the complete list of 2023 CMT Music Awards winners – both televised and those awarded off-camera.

Source: CMT

The 2023 CMT Music Awards are here! This Sunday, all of Nashville heads to Austin, Texas for the 57th Annual CMT Music Awards! To get you ready for the big night, we’ll run down what we know heading into the weekend:

• First, your hosts this year are Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini. While Kane hosted last year with Anthony Mackie (with Kelsea chiming in virtually), it’s a return for the duo who teamed up the two years prior to that.
• The Awards are being held at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas – the first time the ceremony takes place in the Lone Star State.
• It is the only fan-voted country music awards, though that won’t be true much longer – the People’s Choice Country Awards will debut this September.

The list of performers this year (that we know of at this point) includes: Alanis Morissette, Ashley McBryde, Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Cody Johnson, Gwen Stefani, Ingrid Andress, Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, Madeline Edwards, Morgan Wade, Slash with Billy Gibbons and Warren Haynes (in a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd), The Black Crowes and Darius Rucker, Jelly Roll, Tyler Hubbard and Wynonna Judd. Avery Anna, Chapel Hart, Jackson Dean, Lily Rose, Megan Moroney and Nate Smith will perform from the Ram Trucks Side Stage.

Your list of nominees:

• Blake Shelton, “No Body”
• Carrie Underwood, “Hate My Heart”
• Cody Johnson, “Human”
• HARDY ft. Lainey Wilson, “Wait in the Truck”
• Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown, “Thank God”
• Morgan Wallen, “You Proof”

• Carly Pearce, “What He Didn’t Do”
• Carrie Underwood, “Ghost Story”
• Gabby Barrett, “Pick Me Up”
• Kelsea Ballerini, “Heartfirst”
• Lainey Wilson, “Heart Like a Truck”
• Maren Morris, “Humble Quest”
• Miranda Lambert, “Actin’ Up”

• Bailey Zimmerman, “Rock and a Hard Place”
• Cody Johnson, “Human”
• Cole Swindell, “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”
• Jelly Roll, “Son of a Sinner”
• Kane Brown, “Like I Love Country Music”
• Luke Combs, “The Kind of Love We Make”
• Morgan Wallen, “Wasted on You”

• Dan + Shay, “You (Performance Video)”
• Lady A, “Summer State of Mind”
• Little Big Town, “Hell Yeah”
• Parmalee, “Take My Name”
• The War & Treaty, “That’s How Love Is Made”
• Zac Brown Band, “Out in the Middle”

• Avery Anna, “Narcissist”
• Kylie Morgan, “If He Wanted To He Would”
• MacKenzie Porter, “Pickup”
• Megan Moroney, “Tennessee Orange”
• Morgan Wade, “Wilder Days”
• Tiera Kennedy, “Found It In You”

• Bailey Zimmerman, “Fall In Love”
• Corey Kent, “Wild as Her”
• Drake Milligan, “Sounds Like Something I’d Do”
• Jackson Dean, “Don’t Come Lookin'”
• Jelly Roll, “Son of a Sinner”
• Nate Smith, “Whiskey on You”

• Elle King ft. Dierks Bentley, “Worth a Shot”
• HARDY ft. Lainey Wilson, “Wait in the Truck”
• Ingrid Andress with Sam Hunt, “Wishful Drinking”
• Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown, “Thank God”
• Midland ft. Jon Pardi, “Longneck Way to Go”
• Russell Dickerson ft. Jake Scott, “She Likes It”
• Thomas Rhett & Katy Perry, “Where We Started”

• Black Pumas & Mickey Guyton, “Colors” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
• Chris Stapleton, “Whenever You Come Around” (from CMT Giants: Vince Gill)
• Cody Johnson, “‘Til You Can’t” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
• Cole Swindell & Lainey Wilson, “Never Say Never” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
• Darius Rucker, “Let Her Cry” (from CMT Storytellers)
• Emmy Russell & Lukas Nelson, “Lay Me Down” (from Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of the Life & Music of Loretta Lynn)
• Keith Urban, “Wild Hearts” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
• LeAnn Rimes with Ashley McBryde & Carly Pearce, “One Way Ticket” (from CMT Crossroads: LeAnn Rimes & Friends)
• The Judds, “Love Can Build A Bridge” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
• Wynonna Judd & Brandi Carlile, “The Rose” (from Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration)

• Charley Crockett, “Time of the Cottonwood Trees” (from CMT Campfire Sessions)
• Chris Young, “Gettin’ You Home” (from CMT Stages)
• Ingrid Andress, “Wishful Drinking” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
• Jelly Roll, “Son of a Sinner” (from CMT All Access)
• Megan Moroney, “Tennessee Orange” (from CMT Viral To Verified)
• Scotty McCreery, “Damn Strait” (from CMT Campfire Sessions)

The 2023 CMT Music Awards will be held Sunday, April 2 and broadcast live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, beginning at 8 PM ET. The ceremony will be available to stream live and on-demand via Paramount+.

Paula Nelson is recording an album of tunes by Willie Nelson she considers personal favorites of hers. Among the tunes she’s chosen are some obscure album tracks that she thought would sound great with the original artist singing with her – not a hard ask, as she’s Willie’s daughter.

Among the tunes reimagined as duets are “Slow Down Old World,” and the duet they dropped yesterday, “Pretend I Never Happened.”

“Recording this with my dad is so special because it’s his song, so I knew already how much it meant to him. And it goes without saying how much it means to me to hear him say how proud of me he is. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe but will stay with me forever,” Paula says. Hear their new duet here. No word on a release date for the unnamed project, but we’re good if she keeps dropping singles like this.

Source: WhiskeyRiff