• 'Empire' Edges Madonna for Billboard 200 Top Spot, but Did New Metrics Steal a Landmark Accomplishment from Pop Star?

    This week's Billboard 200 was topped by the Empire Soundtrack: Season 1, but it touches off an interesting battle between it and Madonna's Rebel Heart, which finished no. 2. The current Billboard metrics place Empire at no. 1 with 130,000 "equivalent" albums sold—a count that includes total single downloads and album streams as well. Madge's album only sold 121,000 "equivalent" albums but unofficial tracking of pure album sales—or what the Billboard 200 used to be based on—suggest that Rebel Heart actually sold more albums than Empire did as a whole.

  • George Strait Debuting New Music at ACM Awards; Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and More Also Performing

    George Strait may have travelled off the touring horizon with his "The Cowboy Rides Away" farewell concert at AT&T Stadium in Dallas last year but that doesn't mean he's done with performing, or even new music. In fact, the Academy of Country Music confirmed that the icon would be playing just that, new music, when he appears at the ACM Awards on April 19. Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban will also be performing that night.

  • Luke Bryan Is Caring for His Orphaned Nephew Following the Death of His Brother-in-Law

    Luke Bryan seems like a pretty nice guy. He has the whole good ol' boy vibe going for him, but he is also truly dedicated to his family. Last year, the country star missed the CMT Artists of the Year ceremony due to the death of his brother-in-law Ben Lee Cheshire. Now it turns out the singer and his wife, Caroline, have been caring for Bryan's orphaned nephew Til, whom Bryan took to the American Country Countdown Awards in December.

  • Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line and More Mashed Up into "Bro Country" Mix That's Undeniably Similar Sounding

    All genres have combatting subsets, one of which will claim the other isn't "true" or "hardcore" enough. There is no genre where this is more in play than country music, which features constant battles between the fans of more popular mainstream country and those who stick to the "outlaw" country method of operation. It's reached a peak with the rise of the derisively nicknamed "bro country"—your Luke Bryans and Florida Georgia Lines. A songwriter from Nashville, Greg "Sir Mashalot" Todd, has used Pro Tools to make a hybrid song from those acts plus Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell, Chase Rice and Parmalee just to demonstrate how similar their music is.

  • One Direction, George Strait, Luke Bryan Top StubHub's Ticket Sales List for 2014

    StubHub released its year-end list recently and it serves as more proof that country music is one of today's most popular genres. While One Direction took the number one spot in ticket sales for their touring this year, George Strait and Luke Bryan were right behind the boy band. Justin Timberlake locked down the fourth slot, and even he had a big country year, performing with Garth Brooks in Nashville.

  • Luke Bryan Shares Country Parody of 'The Christmas Song'

    It is that time of year again — when musicians looking to make a quick buck go out and record a new version of an old Christmas song that we have already heard a million times before. Today, however, country star Luke Bryan offered a different twist for his version of "The Christmas Song" — aka "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire." Instead of recording a new version of the song — honestly, do we really need another one? — Bryan sent out an email to his fans with a countrified rewrite of the song's lyrics, which you can check out below.According to "The Boot," Bryan has rewritten the lyrics with autobiographical references to his own Southern upbringing, such as his father's peanut farm — "Peanuts boiling on an open fire." He also includes references to his own superstar singing career, with lines referring to "fans who come to all the shows ... with their phones all aglow."You can check out Luke Bryan's new lyrics for "The Christmas Song" here, via "The Boot":

  • Luke Bryan Thanks Fans for Support After Brother-in-Law's Death at American Country Countdown Awards Show

    Luke Bryan was not able to attend this year's CMT Artists of the Year ceremony because of a death in the family. The country superstar was on hand last night, Dec. 15, at the American Country Countdown Awards to perform "Roller Coaster" and receive the Male Vocalist of the Year Award. He took some time during his speech to thank his fans for their support after the passing of Ben Lee Cheshire."I wanna get serious just for a second. I wanna thank all of my fans — for the past couple of weeks of my life — for keeping my family in your prayers. And I wanna also recognize the country music community," he said, CMT noted.Cheshire was married to Bryan's sister Kelly, who died in 2007.
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