#CMA Tracking

[nashmusicguide]

Nashville Music Guide Summer Issue 2024

Festival season is in full swing and this issue of Nashville Music Guide has our ultimate guide to Tennessee’s two largest music festivals, CMA Fest and Bonnaroo. We have also featured local Nashville artists Jesse Keith Whitley and Eric Lee Beddingfield

Festival season is in full swing and this issue of Nashville Music Guide has our ultimate guide to Tennessee’s two largest music festivals, CMA Fest and Bonnaroo. We have also featured local Nashville artists Jesse Keith Whitley and Eric Lee Beddingfield on our cover this issue. We always enjoy covering our local scene which is where we had the opportunity to catch up with numerous artists that…

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Johnny Cash - Hurt 2002

"Hurt" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from their second studio album, The Downward Spiral (1994), written by Trent Reznor. It was released on April 17, 1995, as a promotional single from the album. The song received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Song in 1996.

In 2002, Johnny Cash covered "Hurt" for his final album during his lifetime, to commercial and critical acclaim. Reznor praised Cash's interpretation of the song for its "sincerity and meaning", going so far as to say "that song isn't mine anymore". The single contains a cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" as a B-side. The music video features images from Cash's life, and was named the best video of the year by the Grammy Awards and CMA Awards, and the best video of all time by NME in July 2011. When the video was filmed in February 2003, Cash was 71 years old and had serious health problems. His frailty is clearly evident in the video. He died seven months later, on September 12.

The Johnny Cash cover was given the Country Music Association award for "Single of the Year" in 2003. It ranked as CMT's top video for 2003, No. 1 on CMT's 100 Greatest Country Music Videos the following year (and again in 2008), and No. 1 on the Top 40 Most Memorable Music Videos on MuchMoreMusic's Listed in October 2007. As of March 2016, the single occupies the number nine spot on Rate Your Music's Top Singles of the 2000s. The song is also Cash's sole chart entry on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, where it hit No. 33 in 2003. In June 2009, the song was voted No. 1 in UpVenue's Top 10 Best Music Covers. "Hurt" was nominated for six awards at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, winning for Best Cinematography. With the video, Johnny Cash became the oldest artist ever nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. The music video won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. In a 2014 survey conducted by the BBC the UK public voted the Johnny Cash version the second greatest cover version (of any song) of all time.

"Hurt" received a total of 76,3% yes votes!

[aquaholicsanonymousworld]

Weren't for the Wind

Glen Powell x Rockstar!Reader

Summary: You and Glen Powell were Hollywood’s golden couple—until you weren’t. After months of silence and speculation, you take the stage at the CMA Awards, debuting a song that leaves no room for doubt about what happened between you. The world is watching. So is Glen. And for the first time since everything fell apart, he finally says something.

Paring: Glen Powell x Reader

Genre: Country Music Industry Drama, Angst, Public Breakup, Exes

Warnings: Heavy angst, heartbreak, implied cheating rumors, viral internet speculation, Glen Powell drowning in regret

Status: One-shot / Complete

Inspired by: “Weren’t For the Wind” by Ella Langley; also the rumor that this song is about him.

The CMA Awards were supposed to be your night. A long-awaited return to country music after years spent dabbling in rock, pop, and everything in between.

But instead? The headlines weren’t about the comeback. They were about him.

You and Glen had been inseparable for years—living in Austin, away from the Hollywood chaos, building a life together far from the flashing cameras. He was your anchor, the one who kept you grounded while you chased the highs of your career.

And now?

Now, you were stepping onto country music’s biggest stage with a song that was about to rip open everything.

People weren’t just excited to see you return to country music—they were waiting. Waiting to hear exactly what you had to say.

Because everyone knew this wasn’t just another song.

This was the song.

Your first since the rumors. Your first since Glen. Your first since the world had taken your silence and twisted it into a million different versions of the truth.

“You ready for this?” your manager asked, adjusting your in-ear monitors.

You exhaled slowly, gripping your guitar. “Doesn’t really matter, does it?”

The performance had been kept under wraps. No previews, no leaks. Just one announcement that sent the industry into a frenzy:

"[Y/N] to perform an unreleased song at the CMAs—her first country track in years."

But everyone knew.

The audience wasn’t just here for your return. They were here for the aftermath.

Backstage, you caught a glimpse of the teleprompter as the host introduced you.

"And now… making her highly anticipated return to the country stage, please welcome—[Y/N]!"

The arena erupted.

The lights dimmed, leaving only a single spotlight on center stage.

You walked out slowly, gripping your guitar, heart steady but hands a little less so. The silence was deafening—not a single whisper, not a single shuffle in the crowd. Just thousands of people hanging onto the moment before it even began.

You adjusted the mic stand, exhaled, and strummed the first chord.

Then, you sang.

I wouldn't paint me as a heartbreaker But I've said a few goodbyes I'd make a promise but I know later I'm bound to change my mind

The arena was still. No cheers, no murmurs—just wide eyes and held breaths.

Depending on the weather, I'm goin' Hell, baby, nobody knows when

A few hands clutched over hearts. People felt the weight of your voice, the unspoken meaning behind every lyric.

And then, the chorus hit.

Yeah, if it was a different time Might've been different in a different life Maybe that plane wouldn't ever take off Maybe that dust wouldn't fly off the drive

The camera panned to the audience. Some were staring, frozen. Some whispered to the person next to them. Others just watched, faces etched with realization.

Maybe that tumbleweed and me Wouldn't leave every other sunrise

The words settled in. This wasn’t just heartbreak—this was regret.

Maybe I'd settle down, dig in some roots Find me a farmhouse, find me you

The audience audibly gasped.

Because there it was.

Find me a farmhouse, find me you

The reference wasn’t lost on anyone. Not after all the stories about you and Glen leaving Hollywood behind to build a life together in Austin. Not after all those years of being inseparable, planning a future—only for it to unravel in front of the world.

Maybe I wouldn't be already gone again If it weren’t for the wind

And just like that, it was confirmed.

This wasn’t just a song. This was your story.

The second chorus came, and you closed your eyes, letting your voice carry through the arena.

I wouldn't stay wonderin' what's out there I wouldn't saddle up on a breeze I wouldn't disappear out of thin air I could put down these wings

Camera flashes erupted. People whispered, jaws slack. The song wasn’t an attack. It wasn’t a callout.

It was something worse.

It was the truth.

Maybe that plane wouldn't ever take off Maybe that dust wouldn't fly off the drive Maybe that tumbleweed and me Wouldn't leave every other sunrise

A slow, swelling realization spread through the audience like wildfire.

This wasn’t about him leaving.

This was about you leaving.

Maybe I'd settle down, dig in some roots Find me a farmhouse, find me you Maybe I wouldn't be already gone again If it weren’t for the wind

The camera panned to celebrities in the audience—some nodding along solemnly, some shook by what they were witnessing. Even people who weren’t involved in country music were watching history unfold.

And then—

Blowin', carryin' me to the wide open White lines rollin' and the tires smokin' It wouldn't be the rearview lookin' in If it weren't for the wind

That line.

That was when the crowd broke.

The reference to leaving. To looking back. To knowing what could’ve been but watching it disappear in the rearview.

Somewhere in the crowd, a woman dabbed at her eyes. Even industry veterans looked shaken.

Because you weren’t just reminiscing.

You were mourning.

Maybe that plane wouldn't ever take off Maybe that dust wouldn't fly off the drive Maybe that tumbleweed and me Wouldn't leave every other sunrise

By the last chorus, your voice was raw—powerful, but unpolished in a way that made the lyrics hit even harder. You weren’t just performing. You were reliving it.

Maybe I'd settle down, dig in some roots Find me a farmhouse, find me you Maybe I wouldn't be already gone again If it weren’t for the wind

The final note rang out.

Silence. A full second of stunned silence.

And then—

The entire arena erupted.

A standing ovation. Deafening applause. Camera flashes. People jumping to their feet, clapping so hard their hands hurt.

The camera immediately cut to a live reaction from the Anyone But You cast members in attendance. Some had wide eyes, some just stared at the stage, knowing this moment was bigger than any film press tour scandal.

And Glen?

Glen wasn’t there. But he was watching.

You barely made it off stage before your phone vibrated.

𝘉𝘻𝘻. 𝘉𝘻𝘻.

New Tweet from Glen Powell: "I never wanted to lose her."

Your stomach clenched.

The world had waited weeks for him to say something. He had stayed silent through the rumors, through the press cycle, through everything.

And now, when it was too late—now he wanted to speak?

Your fingers hovered over your screen.

𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺?

𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦?

Or was he just finally realizing what you had known all along?

����𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦.

[foxes-that-run]

Begin Again

I have had this in my drafts for 16 months. Regardless of writing it is an important song in Haylor lore and one I love so it took time. Taylor has said she started Begin Again in March 2011, that takes out every public theory for who the 'nice guy is'. Personally I hear it as Harry, but granted it is started long before they were seen at the Kids Choice.

The music video

I'll start by saying the video is directed by the same person as Everything Has Changed (released later 6 June 2013), which has footage of Paris in the classroom scene. For any other Taylor ship, especially if she was dating the guy at the time, I could say so they are about about the same person. The end. But the rules are different for Haylor so settle in for 1000+ more words.

The Begin Again video was shot in Paris on 30 September 2012 and released 23 October 2012 - that is a crazy turn around for a Taylor video. Taylor's schedule (see 2012) was packed for Red's release too, she had a fan event in Nashville on the 29th and press in London on the 5th October. But she still crammed in this video for a slow song as a second lead single. Harry randomly appeared in LA on the 1st October then both in London. The first photo of them together was on the 7th October. So just as Haylor started dating begin again became what seemed a late decision single.

On the video, the black version of Harry's car in 2012 is in it:

Harry shoot Falling in Paris wearing a similar dress:

And the Begin Again & Willow similarity:

Paris

Paris is special to both Harry and Taylor. Taylor has this weird quote from Pop Crush where it reads like she didn't finish a sentence, "it's just the city...???"

“Like, a love letter to Paris. ’Cause it’s just the city and this story line of somebody moving on and finding yourself again. … I think we’ve all had that day where we just decide to wander around and think about things.”

In 2022 the video Director said it was set in Paris because his wife was due to have their baby. OK... but why that director if the video was shot in a 4 day weekend gap for release in 4 weeks time.

And Taylor has made Paris the whole aesthetic of the song, she performed it in Paris, at the CMA awards she also gave it a French intro and set and it is the taymoji set, except for "I Can Fly!" A reference to CBBH and of course a later Harry 1D song. Again, this is enough for other ships.

When was it written

To People Country in December 2012 Taylor said:

The first inspiration came in the European leg of the Speak Now tour (that’s March 2011)

She picked it up and put it down several times, it took a long time to write, and

The muse is a composite character.

The European leg of Speak Now was short:

March 6 - 12, 2011 Belgium, Netherlands, Oslo and Germany

March 15, 2011 Milan Italy (she wrote a song)

On 16 March she visited Neuschwanstein Castle which later appeared in the Bejewelled Music Video. She wrote about this and said "my life is so beautiful right now" arriving in Paris in the Lover Journal.

March 17, 2011 Paris France, the first time she played the Soul Sister mash up.

March 19, 2011 Madrid Spain, and

March 22 - 30, 2011 England & Ireland. This included Wednesday 23 March when she wore a white dress and high heels, later that day she played a Radio 2 concert at Abbey Rd which included the mash up of Soul Sister with Fearless. Harry was also in London.

Said she wrote songs in Milan and Ireland. 8 months before March 2011 is when she broke up with John Mayer. She dated Jake for 7 weeks ending in December, only 3 months before she started Begin Again.

Taylor has spoken about Begin Again a few times, on 17 October 2012 at the VH1 Story Tellers event she said it is about being yourself after a break up. She is incredibly hesitant talking about it in the Red Track by Track (11 mins below) she says it is about a first date after a bad break up and being open to being OK:

However she has also said she put the song down and picked it up several times. It is about recovering from a relationship with someone who is withholding and makes her feel less than. In the lead up to Red's release Taylor Nation shared this throw back of Taylor recording in Bluebird Studios Nashville, which is where Begin Again, Red & Starlight were recorded. It is generally though she is playing Begin Again here because she is playing Cadd9 chord which features in Begin Again. With her fringe cut and being in Nashville means this was likely taken around her birthday when she posted this photo of red shoes. As we know it was started 9 months sooner this was recording or work on it (and Red). Red and Begin Again also have the same credits.

March 2011

Harry was in England when the Speak Now Tour was in Europe. Taylor also started playing Harry's X-factor audition song in the Paris show onward. They also both played the O2 the same week. I'll leave this there, but have a post on that.

Lyrics

Took a deep breath in the mirror He didn't like it when I wore high heels But I do

Taylor highlighted the high heels in the People Country post and told a story of going to meet friends and deciding to wear heels. The heels may be literal, Jake is short, however I think real or not they are a metaphor for feeling she is allowed to not make herself smaller. After dating older guys who put her down she’s standing tall.

Turn the lock and put my headphones on He always said he didn't get this song But I do, I do

I love the put my headphones on, it continues the story of getting to walk out to see friends on her own, and the metaphor holds for shutting out her ex’s negative thoughts. Love. A nice call back to WANGBT’s line about indie record.

Walked in expecting you'd be late But you got here early and you stand and swave I walk to you

This line reminds me of Harry, he’s known for his manners. Her expectations have been lowered by previous disappointments, she expects tardiness or indifference. But the new person surprises her by being present and kind. It’s a soft, healing contrast.

You pull my chair out and help me in And you don't know how nice that is But I do

Simple gestures chivalrous, thoughtful take on deep meaning because they were absent in the past. The line “you don’t know how nice that is” reminds me of the dinner scene in the ATW10MV

And you throw your head back laughing Like a little kid I think it's strange that you think I'm funny, 'cause He never did

This laugh line also brings Harry to mind. This moment is disarming and tender. Laughter, especially childlike laughter, represents trust and ease. She’s startled by the idea that someone might genuinely enjoy her company. There’s a quiet mourning in the comparison, but also awe.

I've been spending the last eight months Thinking all love ever does Is break and burn, and end But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again

8 months before March 2011 is June 2010, the guy that broke and burned love is John Mayer.

This chorus is the emotional heart of the song. The phrase “break and burn, and end” is weary, rhythmic, almost ritualistic, like she’s repeated it to herself many times. The final line simple and small marks a shift. Love doesn’t return in fanfare, but in quiet moments over coffee. It begins again with stillness and care.

You said you never met one girl who had As many James Taylor records as you But I do

Now they’re finding shared ground music again, this time not a point of tension, but connection. James Taylor is gentle, classic, nostalgic perfectly fitting the tone of new beginnings.

Harry likes James Taylor too, in 2015 he tweeted James Taylor Lyrics to Mexico:

We tell stories and you don't know why I'm coming off a little shy But I do

I feel like the Two Ghosts line “Telling those stories we already told” is a call back to this.

She’s emotionally guarded, and he doesn’t yet realize why. This verse suggests she hasn’t told him about the heartbreak but she carries it. “But I do” is now tinged with quiet sadness and vulnerability.

And we walked down the block, to my car And I almost brought him up

This part of the video has Harry’s car in white, and..

But you start to talk about the movies That your family watches every single Christmas And I want to talk about that

This part also makes me think of Harry, she recorded part of the song on her birthday just before Christmas.

And for the first time What's past is past

The song is not really about getting over the not nice guy more than the nice guy, the end is finally being OK with moving on.

[downtherabbitholewithauntieblegh]

Here is my two cents….

I absolutely despise modern pop country. Always have. Country died a long time ago. I love old, legit country music like Johnny Cash, Hank, Waylon, Reba, Alabama, country musicians like that.

Do I think Beyonce’ album is country? Nope. Sure don’t. Lainey Wilson is country. Jelly Roll is Country Rock. Not sure what Post Malone was doing in that bunch either.

Do I believe that the Grammies did this as an apology for the CMAs not recognizing Beyoncé last year, I CERTAINLY DO!

Do I think Sean Carter had something to do with her winning? Yup. Sure do. I don’t care for Carter, but he did what a good partner would do, he lodged a complaint with the Grammy organization, no quite the right way, but he did. These Grammies were apologies in my opinion. Do I agree with it? A resounding no.

The Grammies as an entity are so misguided and do not understand many music genres. It boils down to a popularity contest. Because if you look at the streaming platforms, you will see that Beyoncé did not have the most streams to deserve Best Country Album or Album of the Year. The most streamed was actually Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets, with Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft followed by Chappell Roan. Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish was the most streamed song of the year. If you go by numbers, Taylor should’ve won Album of the Year and Billie should’ve won Song of the Year. Therefore, the Grammies are nothing but a popularity contest. My pick for Album of the Year is Billie Eilish or Chappell Roan.Song of the Year should’ve gone to Billie Eilish. Record of the Year definitely went to the right person! For reasons we won’t talk about here. That diss track was incredible.

#saidwhatisaid

[shefanispeculator]

ABOUT BLAKE SHELTON

Often called “Country Music’s Chief Ambassador,” Blake Shelton has been delivering country music to a diverse audience for more than 20 years. This Grand Ole Opry member’s many successes include 28 #1 Country radio singles (beginning with his 2001 debut track “Austin”), 15 million albums sold and nearly 12 billion global on-demand streams. He is currently atop radio charts with “Pour Me a Drink,” where he guests with multi-genre hitmaker Post Malone. Blake Shelton’s many honors include 10 CMA awards, 11 CMTs, 6 ACMs, 3 AMAs, 6 People’s Choice awards, and more.

Shelton plans a wide array of shows in 2025, starting with his “Live in Las Vegas” February residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. His “Friends and Heroes Tour” kicks off on February 27 in Lexington, KY, featuring Craig Morgan, Deana Carter, and Trace Adkins with very special guest Emily Ann Roberts. Shelton partners with Opry Entertainment Group in Ole Red, a restaurant and world-class music venue with locations in Nashville, TN; Gatlinburg, TN; Orlando, FL; Tishomingo, OK; and Las Vegas, NV.

A generous donor and fundraiser for charitable causes in his native Oklahoma, Blake donated more than $150,000 to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to help families dealing with food scarcity during the pandemic; he has championed the Oklahoma University’s Children’s Hospital Foundation and raised over $600,000 for the hospital; and, following Oklahoma’s devastating tornado outbreak in 2013, he organized a relief concert, “Healing in the Heartland,” which raised more than $6 million and was broadcast on NBC. Earlier this year, Shelton headlined a Tulsa, OK show called “Blake Shelton & Friends: Oklahoma is All for the Hall” featuring fellow Oklahomans Ronnie Dunn, Kristin Chenoweth, Vince Gill, and others, raising more then $750,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. He is currently lending his name and his time to help raise money for the OKPOP Foundation as they work to build the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture in Tulsa. For more information, please visitwww.BlakeShelton.com and follow @BlakeShelton.��

[lightscamerabitchsmileee]

Vote for your fave & Reblog & feel free to give your thoughts as well ☺️☺️

Check out my masterpost for the other open polls ☺️☺️ tracks 20-22 polls are still open and today is the last day to vote in the other bonus poll for favorite soundtrack song ☺️☺️

Thank you and have fun ☺️☺️

[mariacallous]

There’s a nasty not-so-secret secret no one likes to talk about, so it’s best to start there: Black women are among the most hated demographic worldwide. In America especially, anti-Blackness is the air. It’s everywhere even when you can’t see it. From the ivory halls of Washington to C-suites at Fortune 500 companies, Blackness is treated as less than. And because that is how it works and how it has worked generation after generation, not even Beyoncé, currently the most commanding force in music, can escape the fangs of misogynoir.

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: A Black woman was told she did not belong, that she was not welcome in a certain space, so she paved a path all her own. That’s the story Beyoncé recounted in an Instagram post in March, the day she announced her new country album, Cowboy Carter. “The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” she wrote. Unlike other musical genres, country is infamous in who it chooses to exclude. The genre’s history is rife with allegiances to the old ways of American prejudice, and no bearing or social position can change that.

The sweet irony, of course, is that now we have Cowboy Carter, the second installment in a three-act project of historical and musical restoration that Beyoncé began in 2022 with Renaissance, her dance-floor tribute to house music. She is on a mission to reclaim her time. The rare artist who can pull off such a canny move, Beyoncé now represents something bigger than music. She’s an industry unto herself: swaggering and audacious in reach, with a built-in fan base that anticipates every album drop, Instagram post, and product release. Whether you agree with the motivations behind her work or not (and there are valid criticisms to be made for artists who create at such a grand scale as her; mass influence in all arenas of life necessitates questioning, there’s no denying that), no other contemporary Black musician will bring more awareness to country’s gated meadowlands—its past, present, and possible futures—than Beyoncé. If nothing else, she gets people talking.

“I’d like to actually thank the CMAs for pissing her off,” X user @gardenoutro wrote Friday morning, just past midnight, in the hour following the album’s official release, calling attention to Beyoncé’s 2016 performance with the Chicks that was later shunned by Country Music Association members. Where Lemonade was scorned memoir and Renaissance flirted with fantasy—a disco-lit dreamscape where freedom and love have no inverse—Cowboy Carter unravels like autofiction, blending biography with novelistic flair on songs like “Daughter” and “Spaghettii.” It takes country into uncharted terrain. “It’s easy to listen to 27 tracks when they’re all good,” songwriter Rob Milton wrote on X.

That’s the other thing about the Beyoncé Effect: There is no room for dissent in her universe. Online, and particularly across social media, new albums of hers are given billboard status. It is cause for celebration but rarely one for challenge or sharp inquiry.

“A lot of people still want to join in with something larger than themselves. Fandom offers them a way to do that. It is not, though, entirely a utopian space,” says Mark Duffett, a professor at the University of Chester who researches fandom. “The concerns and issues that society has are mirrored in fan communities. They do not escape from being part of the wider social world.”

As powerful as her music can be, the release of a Beyoncé album exposes the fiction of a shared internet. There is not one but many. In its most intense form, fan logic thrives in isolation. On Beyoncé’s internet, as with comparable fan cultures, logic finds comfort in the sideways geometry of the echo chamber. Its reasoning animorphs into blind zealotry, wagging its finger in the face of disagreement. Fan logic butts against balanced judgment. It has led Barbs (Nicki Minaj fans), Beliebers (Justin Bieber fans), Hive members (Beyoncé fans), and the like into a cycle of heated confrontation, and sometimes wild irrationality.

Brittany Luse wasn't expecting death threats when she commented about a Cowboy Carter ad that was projected onto the front of the Guggenheim Museum, but she also knew “the Hive can be so intense in their defense of any criticism of Beyoncé, let alone any perceived slight. So I wasn't expecting nothing to happen.” Luse is the host of NPR’s pop culture podcast It’s Been a Minute and a fan of the singer. “I maintain a pretty low-key presence online, so over the years, I’ve only dealt with wild social media attacks a handful of times, with the Swifties or the manosphere, but never death threats. They probably should have stressed me out, but they mostly just confounded me. I said I didn’t like an ad, and now you want me to choke? That’s too much.”

That, more than anything, is the tenor of fandom on the internet today: Perceived disloyalty is met with Tony Soprano–style intimidation. The rise and permanence of social media has led, in part, to the decomposition of fan culture. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram brought us closer together. Platforms that prized connection boosted the careers of artists from burgeoning to box office stars. But it had costs, Luse says. Instant access to celebrities rewired our relationships entirely.

“You can find seemingly endless content from your fave and befriend other fans more easily than ever before. Of course that would bring people joy,” she says. “But that constant, instant access also at least partially fuels an us-against-them mindset that puts some people into attack mode over their favorite artist.”

But perhaps the problem is not that such intense fandoms exist, but where they take root and make a home. “Another thing that has happened is that fans might be talking on social media to each other in ways that they do not necessarily anticipate nonfans will seek out or understand,” Duffett says. “It raises the question of whether a community can keep to itself and yet communicate in a public space.”

Beyoncé represents a monoculture at a moment when monocultures have gone all but extinct. For her, extreme fandom is both anchor and ascendence. There are downsides, unquestionably so, but the people who power Beyoncé’s platform provide a necessary function too: When the door has been slammed in her face and she’s told she’s not welcome inside, or when the Recording Academy twice overlooks her for Album of the Year, it is her fans who give her the authority to reboot country music in her image, and perhaps, in doing so, chart a new course altogether. “It would be cool if she never mentioned the Grammys again,” Luse said on X. “When you can do all this, who cares?”

[popbloganddropit]

Cowboy Carter - Beyoncé

1. AMERIICAN REQUIEM: Just light the CMAs on fire, B! An impeccable intro to this album with varied sounds throughout the song that is representative of the sonic journey this album is going to take you on. 4.5/5

2. BLACKBIIRD: Stunning. Knowing no background about the song, I think it would still stop you in your tracks to hear these women harmonize and deliver each line with the perfect performance, emotional but not overdone. With the addition of the knowledge that Paul McCartney wrote this song about black women in the civil rights movement adds to the feeling behind the song and the feeling this version should have always existed. 5/5

3. 16 CARRIAGES- I heard the first two singles described as Texas Hold ‘Em being for country fans that weren’t sure about Beyonce and 16 Carriages as being for Beyonce fans that weren’t sure about country music and that holds up. This song describes Beyoncé’s ascension in the industry, and while I do like it, it’s missing something that makes me NEED to return to it like some of the other tracks here and on RENNAISSANCE. The way the chorus builds up into the titular line is really striking, and does stick around in my head. 4/5

4. PROTECTOR- This song is so sweet, just the right amount of hymnal to feel it in your spirit. The protector into projector line is *chef’s kiss*. 4.5/5

5. MY ROSE- an interlude, but I really wish it were longer because it’s got some really gorgeous and touching moments. 3.5/5

6. SMOKE HOUR- again not rating this, just had to note how tickled I was to hear Willie Nelson say KNTRY radio.

7. TEXAS HOLD ‘EM- I think this song has been stuck in my head since the Super Bowl. It’s so fun and makes you want to learn how to line dance in a pair of Daisy Dukes. 4.5/5

8. BODYGUARD- so smooth and sexy. If I were figuring out what to do with the Bond franchise, I would build a movie fit to make this the theme song and it would be a for sure blockbuster. 5/5

9. JOLENE- there’s probably too much discourse around this song for how serious it is, the Creole banjee bitch is having fun, so we can ignore a few corny lyrics (don’t raise full grown men though, ladies). There’s some really fun stuff going on in the background too, which is keeps a familiar melody interesting. 3.5/5

10. DAUGHTER- MURDER AT THE OPERA, and it is me who has been slayed. 5/5

11. SPAGHETTII- Beyonce having rap as a little side hobby she keeps in her back pocket is so cunty, country, petty of her. This would be one notch better if the hook in the chorus did a touch more for me lyrically. Beyonce’s harmonies over Shaboozey’s verse is perfection, though, so I will overlook it. 4/5

12. ALLIGATOR TEARS- the driving beat in the background never lets you feel at ease with Beyonce’s soulful yet slick performance. 4.5/5

13. JUST FOR FUN- a souldul, heavenly performance. Bey and Willie Jones sound great together. Willie fits in so well, his voice adds a gravelly, twangy flair. This is the CHURCH GIRL of this album for me. It’s objectively good, but something about it just doesn’t go all the way for me. 4/5

14. II MOST WANTED - This so fun! Miley and Beyonce’s vocals sound great together. A music video for this song would be magnificent. Fringe and rhinestones everywhere, vintage cars speeding through the desert, and I can picture them singing together on an upright piano in an old-timey saloon. This song does remind me of Gaga’s “You and I” and some of Joanne. She would have been a great option for this duet too. This song was meant to be belted out your car window at sunset. 4.5/5

15. LEVII’S JEANS- It’s most notable how clean and smooth Post Malone sounds! Everyone cleans up their act for Beyonce! I prefer “II MOST WANTED” a bit more of these two duets, but this is a fun little number. 4/5

16. FLAMENCO- it’s giving mafia but make it country. I know it was noted that a lot of these songs were inspired by movie and I would love to know what movie this one was. FLAMENCO has a bit of a theatrical flair. 4/5

17. THE LINDA MARTELL SHOW- Again, not rating this, I just think it’s very important to the thesis of this album. Genres are limiting. More on this later.

18. YA YA- this song begins the best stretch of the record and is a highlight on an album chock full of great moments. “YA YA” really showcases so many things that Beyonce does well. The intro call and response showing her cheeky sense of humor, then takes off like a shotgun with killer vocals and some social commentary (“whole let of red in that white and blue”) and moves into a sickening Beach Boys interpolation and is ass-shakeable throughout the whole thing (plus some some wild guitar shredding). And it keeps the country line dance-y vibe the whole time. An instant Beyonce classic. 5/5

19. OH LOUISIANA- an excellent transition, because you honestly do need a minute after YA YA. Would love to eventually hear the unedited vocals and/or an explanation of how they made Beyonce sound like this??? Going to skip a rating because this is just a transitional moment; I think very few people are playing this intentionally on repeat as a solo track.

20. DESERT EAGLE- sexy with a hot bass line running through it. Beyoncé makes do-si-do sound cooler than it ever has. The only possible complaint is we need an extended version since it’s only ~70 seconds long. 5/5

21. RIIVERDANCE- only Beyoncé could get away with the combining “Folsom Prison Blues”-esque verses, The Gift esque “running through the river”’s, a hint of 2010’s folk-pop stomp claps, and a and cheeky twerk anthem, “bounce on that shit, no hands”and absolutely get away with it. 5/5

22. II HANDS II HEAVEN- love the “no hands” of the previous song moving into this. This wouldn’t be out of place on Renaissance, but belongs here lyrically and musically as well. It’s not a stand out track, but still very solid. 4/5

23. TYRANT- I really like the beginning and I wish there was a little more of it or it was its own song. I also really like the second part, so it’s not too sad. This is the tight black leather type of country song. That string in the background and the beat are doing some work, which really rides an interesting line between country and RnB. 4/5

24. SWEET/HONEY/BUCKIN- a JOURNEY of a song, I would take 5 minute cuts of any of these portions. It’s a mix of everything that’s on the rest of the album. SWEET starts off with Beyoncé’s soulful vocals and gets a verse from Shaboozey that balances a country and rap fusion significantly better than most garbage on country radio that sounds like rap for people who are afraid to leave their suburb. The claps that follow are scientifically designed to make you want to dance. Into a slower, sensual(but short) HONEY interlude that then takes off like horse into the BUCKIN section which is just a goddamn banger. Sickening how hype this gets. Does Beyonce say “Look at that horse” because you could lift a horse when it’s playing?? 5/5

25. AMEN- an AMERICAN REQUIEM reprise that is a nice bow on the end of this gift Beyonce has bestowed upon us. Works perfectly if you want to go ahead and start the album over again (and you might) or go right in to RENAISSANCE. 4/5

I overall do love so much of this album. If we were to compare to Act i, I would say Renaissance is better as it is, for me, a no skip, play front to back album that is so cohesive. I think the Linda Martell interlude is key to understanding Cowboy Carter, because what is genre and is it important? I think the thesis of this album is that genre is limiting. To the critics that will say xyz elements aren’t country enough, she’s got Willie, Dolly P, and Linda Martell’s co-sign. Country fans checking this out will find Beyonce playing with so many different genres but can hopefully see the country twist she has put on them. In the opposite direction, Beyonce fans who might limit themselves to modern pop and RnB might discover the original Blackbird or Jolene, or they might look at works by the interlude or featured artists and find something they love and relate to. How much of genre do we relate to who it is coming from? Can a Beatles cover by Beyonce be country? Does it matter if it’s “country” if you like it anyway? Beyoncé is exploring and pushing the boundaries of every genre here. Where Renaissance feels very tight and cohesive as a record, Cowboy Carter is the Wild West with a little something for everyone. There does seem to be a general consensus that it’s a little long, but there’s no agreement on what should be cut. I love the way the interludes divide the record up into cohesive segments and those segments would feel incomplete if you removed songs from them, so I must come to the conclusion that the more Beyonce, the better. There are rumors she might do a rock album next, but the real message to be found here is that she can do anything she wants.

This album gets an average of 4.4 and I do feel it is absolutely an album that works together from front to back, so we will round up to a 4.5/5.

Top 3: Bodyguard,Ya Ya, Sweet/Honey/Buckin

What’s Next:

A review straight from The Tortured Poets Department. Thinking I might split it up into a few pieces. This already took me a while and 31 songs is A LOT!

[ganxiously]

Jee le zara is my go to heartbreak song. I listen to it even when my result is not successful (CMA exams are not kind)

Ae dil h mushkil title track is top notch

Aaj din chadeya (from buck'pov)

Just imagine kesa khuda h to bs naam ka h tu

Channa merea from Tommy's pov

(Acha chalta hoon duao me yaad rakhna)

There are just too many songs that can fit

Damn, all the best to you! I've heard CMAs are even harder than CA exams) and as someone who has been trying for UPSCs, I completely understand your pain.

Your taste in music is awesome btw and I'm gonna go and listen to all this now. Plus, aaj din chadeya fits so well because yeah, Buck would absolutely try to gaslight God into giving him Tommy.

[ariesgamesandminis]

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[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss Announces New Holiday Tour Dates Across the U.S. & Canada

Darren Criss is celebrating "Crissmas" this year with a brand-new lineup of holiday tour dates!

Criss will be playing The Town Hall in New York City on December 5 and will also be stopping in Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Detroit, Toronto, Indianapolis, Nashville, and more. Check out the complete list of tour dates below!

"Summer is coming to an end (well, not in [Australia]) … which means it’s time to think about cold weather (in [the U.S.]!) Announcing a TON of NEW Holiday Show dates to warm up your November and December," Criss captioned his Instagram post announcing the dates.

Pre-sale will begin this Wednesday, September 13 at 10:00 am local time. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 15 at 10:00 am local. Click Here for more information on how to buy tickets.

Criss released his first-ever holiday album entitled “A Very Darren Crissmas” on Decca Records in 2021. In it, he brought his radiant imagination and encyclopedic musical knowledge to a wildly eclectic collection of songs: big-band standards and novelty tunes, mid-century musical numbers and modern-day folk-pop ballads.

Criss’ original track “Drunk on Christmas” featuring country chart-topper Lainey Wilson, showcased his effortless ingenuity as a songwriter. The result is an essential new entry into the holiday-music canon, both thrillingly unpredictable and touched with a timeless sense of Christmas magic.

Made with Ron Fair, multi-Grammy® nominee and producer of numerous GRAMMY-winning hits, “A Very Darren Crissmas” also featured special guest appearances by Adam Lambert and Evan Rachel Wood. “A Very Darren Crissmas” was only the latest evidence of Criss’ singular gifts as a song interpreter. 

Darren Criss Holiday Tour Dates November 21 - Atlanta Symphony Hall - Atlanta, GA November 22 - Knight Theatre - Charlotte, NC November 24 - Charleston Music Hall - Charleston, SC November 25 - Bilheimer Capitol Theatre - Clearwater, FL November 27 - Barbara B Mann Performance Arts Hall - Fort Myers, FL November 28 - Lillian S. Wells Hall at The Parker - Ft Lauderdale, FL November 29 - Steinmetz Music Hall at Dr. Phillips Center - Orlando, FL December 1 - Carolina Theatre - Durham, NC December 2 - The Barns at Wolf Trap - Vienna, VA December 3 - The Barns at Wolf Trap - Vienna, VA December 4 - Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center for the Arts - Red Bank, NJ December 5 - The Town Hall - New York, NY December 6 - The Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT December 7 - Emerson Colonial Theatre - Boston, MA December 9 - Elgin Theatre - Toronto, ON December 10 - Fisher Theatre - Detroit, MI December 11 - Atenaeum Theater - Chicago, IL December 12 - Barrymore Theatre - Madison, WI December 13 - The Commons at Nugent-Custer Performance Hall - Columbus, IN December 15 - Center Stage At Mgm Northfield Park - Northfield, OH December 16 - The Cabaret - Indianapolis, IN December 17 - The Cabaret - Indianapolis, IN December 19 - Lexington Opera House At Lexington Center - Lexington, KY December 28 - Cma Theatre At The Country Music Hall Of Fame - Nashville, TN

[sagereeid]

qergjgvkghighigh first of all omg ttpd?? Thoughts on the tracklist?

OH MY FUCKING LORD. TTPD I CANT IM SO EXCITED FOR THE FLORENCE + THE MACHINE TRACK!! ALSO CMAING SO LONG LONDON.

[dreamwritesimagines]

So for the record I don’t trust Ethan. But also this could end up being like CITF’s Alex if and when he gets faceclaimed and suddenly I’ll be rooting for him, so y’know…. I have a bad track record with this lmao

-CMA

CMA my love, I totally get you because same here 😂

CITF's Alex had an amazing faceclaim though like, come on, it fit him perfectlyyyy❤️

I can't wait for Ethan's faceclaim but I feel like we need more scenes with him first ❤️😁 I'm so exciteddddd❤️

[shefanispeculator]

Moreover, h

is stage wasn't just graced with country spirit but or a duet – a yet-to-be-released track named "Somebody Pour Me a Drink", which is part of Malone's much-anticipated foray into the country genre, as reported b

[hollywoodoutbreak]

For the third year in a row, Luke Bryan will be hosting the annual CMA Awards, live from Nashville. And, for the second year in a row, he'll be co-hosting with football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. While Bryan may not have any Super Bowl rings like his co-host, he does have seven albums and 25 singles that have gone to No. 1 on Billboard's Country charts. With a track record like that, no wonder Bryan says he's devoted his life to Country music.

The 57th Annual CMA Awards airs tonight on ABC.