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Kane Brown | Superstar Power Hour Mar 07, 2024

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After welcoming two baby girls, Kane Brown and his wife, Katelyn, are having some fun browsing a fresh list of names as they get ready to welcome their first son later this year.

During his recent appearance on Audacy’s Superstar Power Hour with Katie Neal, Kane shared he and Katelyn have narrowed it down to four names, however, his original favorite isn’t on that list.

“We wanted to name him Knight because it starts with a K,” Brown said, admitting the baby will have the initials KB like all their other family members; Kane, Katelyn, Kingsley, and Kodi. “But, it’s just the N. We’d have King and then Knight — for Knight in shining armor — but we need the K [sound]” he said, pronouncing the letter.

Appears the couple hasn’t had too hard of a time moving past the name Knight as they already have a new favorite which they are hoping gets family approval before the baby boy arrives. “We have like four that we’re choosing from. There’s one that I would say is our number one name, but Kate’s [Katelyn’s] brother is not in love with it, so it’s really really [bothering] her…. I don’t know, maybe we will, maybe we won’t go with it.”

While he anxiously awaits the arrival (and we all anxiously await the name), Brown is keeping busy as he climbs the charts with his current single, “I Can Feel It,” a stadium tour and making a new album… and even with all that, Brown says he still desires to do more.

“I’m like, so competitive, I would definitely put me at the top of the list of the most competitive people in the genre,” Kane said, admitting he is always keeping an eye on his peers to make sure he is keeping up. “Like, when I was watching the Super Bowl — just to see some of the artists on Super Bowl commercials and things like that — and I’m sitting at the bar watching I’m like, ‘Man I could be doing something else.’ Sometimes it makes me feel like I’m being lazy.”

Admitting he’s constantly battling thoughts of “never enough” when it comes to his career, Brown shared he received some much-needed clarity from actor and wrestler, John Cena, during a conversation that felt like therapy.

“I had a therapy session with John Cena the other day,” Brown said. “Not really, but I was in the car with him and he was asking me questions — he’s actually a great interviewer — he asked me a lot of questions that I’ve never answered [before]. When I would give the answer, he would kinda tell me how he saw it.”

One of those questions got Brown to open up about his struggles with feeling like he’s “less hungry” than he was in the early days when he had to brainstorm, plan and execute every move surrounding his music in the search for success.

“I have a lot of extra time now, compared to my Facebook days where I had to think about what I ...

Cody Johnson | Superstar Power Hour Feb 29, 2024

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Cody Johnson has shifted the perspective of millions across the globe with his life-affirming hit, “’Til You Can’t,” and according to the cowboy-turned-Country star, that includes his own. While the song has been one of his biggest to date and reached the #1 spot on Country radio, Johnson says the impact on him and his fans was much greater than just topping music charts.

During his recent appearance on the Superstar Power Hour with Audacy’s Katie Neal, COJO shared the song took on a whole new meaning to him shortly after he recorded it when a private jet he was flying in experienced an engine malfunction sending him and his team plummeting mid-flight.

“We were all on a plane coming from Mississippi going to Austin to do a NASCAR Race National Anthem,” Johnson told Katie Neal of being on the jet with his wife, assistant and tour manager. “[We] were going to fly through the night and long story short, the jet stalled, engine failure, and we started plummeting from about 41,000 feet, down to about 10,000 feet and the pilot said, ‘This is it, we’re goin’ down.’”

He continued, “I remember thinking about all the things I’d left unsaid and all the things I’d left unfinished and how angry I was — immediately, I thought, ‘I should have said that, I should’ve did this’ — and I don’t want to live with that regret anymore. Next night, when I sang, ’Til’ You Can’t,’ I was like, ‘This song is for me…’ it changed my perspective and I hope it’s affected other people like it’s affected me and I thank radio for giving it such huge platform.”

While humbled that song in particular reached the top — Johnson is quick to clarify it’s not the #1 status that means the most to him, it’s the message he was able to spread and will continue to share whether he continues to reach #1 or not.

“We followed ’Til’ You Can’t’ with ‘Human,’ which made it into the top 5 but didn’t get a #1 with it. Everybody was so concerned [saying] ‘We don’t think this is going to get #1’ and I was like, ‘It doesn’t matter… so we got a top 5, we didn’t get a #1 — boo hoo!’ I’m never going to chase #1s, I’m here to put out music I believe in and stories that are real.”

Proof of the 36-year-old doing just that is everywhere as he regularly hears stories and meets fans who tell him how his music has changed — and even saved — their lives.

“There was a young lady in Australia that came up to me at a meet & greet and explained to me how ‘Human’ came on as she was about to commit suicide and she decided not to,” Johnson revealed. “She said, ‘Who is this guy Cody Johnson?’ And the next song that comes on is ’Til You Can’t’ and she said, ‘I just want to thank you, it saved my life.’ That’s so much bigger than a Platinum record or a number 1 hit.”

Johnson’s continues to impact listeners with his latest single, “The Painter,” whic ...

Dierks Bentley | Superstar Power Hour Feb 23, 2024

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Dierks Bentley is honoring the great Tom Petty with the release of his next single, a cover of Petty’s “American Girl.” With his own Country sound and hints of Bluegrass throughout, Bentley says he’s excited and honored to share his spin on the classic with the world.

As Bentley sends the single to Country radio beginning February 26, the song is part of an even bigger project, Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty, set to release May 31. The tribute album will feature greats like Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Chris Stapleton, Marty Stuart, Margo Price and many more as they cover the iconic songs of Petty’s monumental career.

“This idea was presented to me and I was so excited to have a chance to be a part of it.” Dierks told Audacy’s Katie Neal during his time on the Superstar Power Hour. “I jumped on it. I said I’d love to get ‘American Girl,’ and I got it and we went in the studio and I had a lot of the same cast I use on some of the more Bluegrassy stuff, but we also put big drums, electric guitar — so it has a mixture of the two worlds… it turned out great.”

While he never got the chance to meet Tom Petty before his passing in 2017, Bentley says growing up as a fan of Petty’s music, and also inspired greatly by his work as a musician, he feels like he has a strong connection and understanding of the icon.

“It’s one thing to listen to ‘American Girl’ so many times as a fan, but to listen to it as a singer, knowing that this is really going to be out there, I wanted to try and make it as me as possible, but also grab some of the pieces of Tom Petty — just his vocals — there’s so much authenticity to his vocals, so raw, he’s just singing straight from the heart.”

He continued, “I never got a chance to meet him… but that’s the thing about music… you know the artists through the music and you have the relationship there that, to me, that’s good enough. Getting a chance to honor him and be a part of this project, I’m happy with that — more than a handshake would have been.”

Getting to cover one of his biggest inspirations in such a high-profile way isn’t the only plus for Bentley — he’s also excited to play the song live at his shows as well as have the single buy him a little more time to work on a new album.

“It gives me more time to work on my record, coming out sometime next year,” Dierks said of having “American Girl” to promote while he works on a new album. “To be handed this song, an instant hit, you go out there on the road and everyone is excited to sing along to it. It’s actually an incredible gift.”

In between promoting the new single, working on his album and touring on his Gravel & Gold Tour, Dierks says he is also keeping ...

Chris Young | Superstar Power Hour Feb 16, 2024

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Chris Young has brought new focus to his health and fitness routine and fans are taking notice. More than 50 pounds down, Young is quick to clarify he isn’t “taking” anything but more trips to the gym.

“Somebody walked up to me like, ‘What are you taking?’” Young shared in a puzzled tone. “Umm, water? Advil, sometimes,” he laughed. “It’s about being more healthy for me. In the gym, on a regular basis.”

A tight gym community has helped Young continue to reach his health goals and while he feels comfortable celebrating his progress with his fellow work-out pals, he sometimes feels awkward sharing it with the world.

He continued, “I work out with a bunch of guys who train tight ends in the NFL and they’re always hyping each other up at the gym and just having a good time, so it’s like, yeah, the workouts suck, but it’s been a lot of fun for me.”

On top of his fitness journey, Young has been hard at work on his ninth studio album, Young Love & Saturday Nights, releasing March 22. His first album since Famous Friends in 2021, it will also will mark his largest collection of songs to date with 18 tracks.

“It’s just time for some new music,” he shared. “Every album is a snapshot in time, right? Of like, where you are as a person, artist, writer, producer… this one in particular has been the biggest sort of labor of love that I’ve ever done.”

He continued, “It’s something I’m really, really proud of. I am so happy that this project is finally coming out and that everybody gets to hear all the songs because I’ve been living with ‘em forever.”

Hear additional details about the new album, Young’s fitness journey and more by checking out his entire conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal on the Superstar Power Hour above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Chris Janson | Superstar Power Hour Feb 08, 2024

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Chris Janson got us all excited about the possibility of a duet with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson last October when he posted a video calling out the legendary celeb. Now, he’s giving us an update on the status of that duet.

“I’d say it’s pretty close,” Chris said when asked by Audacy’s Katie Neal how close a duet with The Rock is to happening. “When it happens, it happens, and it can be quick. It can be just like spur of the moment, ‘Okay, we’re gonna do it Tuesday.’ And so I think that’s kind of where it is right now.”

Definitely excited at the opportunity for a collab with The Rock, Janson said he is making sure to still respect the space and time of his high profile pal.

“As I do consider him a friend, he’s also an extremely famous friend, and even though he doesn’t act that way, he is, and I respect that very much,” Chris expressed. “I like to give that space... I’m sure he’s got plenty of buddies who hammer all the time about stuff, and I’m not that guy. I want to be very mindful of his situation, and he has a lot going on - I would say probably ’24 you could probably look [for a song with him] and certainly some live collaboration moments between he and I singing.”

The buzz around Janson and Johnson doing a duet started when Janson posted a video on TikTok dedicating a cover of Hank Williams Jr’s “The Blues Man,” to The Rock and sharing with viewers they’d talked about doing something together.

“This one goes out to my buddy, The Rock,” Janson said to start out the video. “We have yet to sing together live and I know we’re talking about it and I know we’re going to do it.”

Can’t wait!

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Lady A | Totally Private Feb 01, 2024

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After nearly 20 years in the business, 11 #1 singles and 7 GRAMMY wins, it’s safe to say Country trio Lady A has quite the catalog, however, there is one song that “got away” that they just can’t stop thinking about.

Ahead of their performance at Audacy’s Totally Private concert series at the Hard Rock in Nashville, Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott revealed they were pitched the song “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” and passed on it, making room for Meghan Trainor and John Legend to swoop in and make it a big ol’ hit.

“Meghan Trainor and John Legend’s [“Like I’m Gonna Lose You”], got pitched to us and we said ‘No,’” Hillary recalled with a stunned look on her face. “What were we thinking?! [That’s] such an amazing song.”

While the trio continues to wrap their minds around what could have been, they were quick to admit they’ve been on the receiving end of the same kind of story with some of their own hits — for example, “Downtown.”

“‘Downtown’ was on hold for Miranda [Lambert],” Charles shared. “Someone had sent it to us… technically, they shouldn’t have sent it to us but we were in the studio and were like, ‘We need a song like this!’”

He continued, “It kind of got back to Miranda that we were thinking about it and she goes, ‘Oh, I love those guys. You know, if they’re going to the studio and cutting it, let ‘em have it.’ It could have been a Miranda hit.”

While no one will ever know what the song would’ve accomplished for Miranda, Charles shared he believes songs have a way of “ending up where they’re supposed to,” which was exactly the case for a number of songs penned by Dave, Scott and Hillary, which found their best life with other artists.

“‘A Little Bit Stronger' [by] Sara Evans” Hillary shared is a favorite song she penned made famous by another artist. “That one — before ‘Thy Will’ was probably the most personal song I’d ever written and so, to let it go, it was OK that we pitched it and I was so excited when she cut it because she’s just a huge, huge influence on me as an artist and a singer.”

Dave then chimed in sharing a favorite from his own catalog, “I think the one with Luke Bryan [that] Charles and I wrote, ‘Do I.’ It was just a special moment in time too — we were early on in our career and just kind of coming up a similar time with Luke and getting to kind of be a part of — a little tiny part — of his star just shooting and rising early on.”

While the song shuffle is all part of the business, Lady A is determined to make sure no song falls through the cracks as they continue work on their next ...

Jelly Roll | Superstar Power Hour Feb 01, 2024

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As the GRAMMYs near, Jelly Roll is reflecting on his first-ever nominations and the hard work, dedication and sacrifice it took to get him there.

“It’s the ultimate ultimate,” the 39-year-old told Audacy’s Katie Neal of his nominations for New Artist and Country Duo/Group Performance for his song “Save Me” with Lainey Wilson. “When you get nominated for a GRAMMY, every other accolade you’ve had takes a backseat to just the nomination.”

The pair of nominations is the perfect representation of Jelly’s self-described “ground-shattering year” as he skyrocketed to ultra-fame with three #1 singles on the Country charts and impacted millions with his messages of hope, resilience and faith.

“It’s crazy to be nominated for New Artist at the GRAMMYs and win it at the CMAs going into the year I’ll be 40, It’s insanely unreal,” he said before detailing he’s excited to continue impacting people with his platform. “My thing is, how can I continue to help people? I want to be a man of service more than anything.”

While his impact has been grand, it hasn’t come without sacrifice for the Nashville-native who says his personal goal in 2024 is to spend more time with family. “I gotta get back to my family a little bit. One of the costs of having a stellar year was sacrificing a little bit of personal time with the family. I’m just spread so thin, I want to make sure I can get back to gettin’ in the bunker with them.”

As he works to find a balance between it all, Jelly says he has some good friends and fellow artists helping him find his way and make sure he has support. At the top of that list is Country artist, Eric Church.

“Eric Church has been really good at answering my questions in detail and me being able to kinda talk to him about anything and just really kind of articulate through it,” Jelly said with gratitude for Church’s selfless nature. “He’s really helped me a lot… and he’s just been really cool to lean on. Kid Rock is that way too… Miranda [Lambert] is another one.”

With more support than ever, a solid fan base and a strong drive to continue making a difference, Jelly is fired up about where he’s headed next — not only with his philanthropic efforts, but music as well.

“We’ve been writing a ton,” he said of his work towards a new album. “I’m really fired up about where I am in the writing process for the next album. I’m way far ahead of the hog on this one.”

Hear more about the music, his GRAMMY nominations and more by checking out Jelly’s full interview with Audacy’s Katie Neal above. Plus, be sure to tune into the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards this Sunday (February 4) to see if ...

Jon Pardi | Totally Private Jan 30, 2024

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Jon Pardi and Luke Bryan’s relationship has gone from “hold my beer” to “hold my baby.”

Ahead of his performance for Audacy’s Totally Private concert at Hard Rock Nashville, Pardi shared with Audacy’s Katie Neal that he and Luke spent some quality time together at Bryan’s recent Crash My Playa festival in Cancún where Luke got to hold his daughter, Presley.

“We had a good time,” Pardi said, while admitting things were much tamer for him since he had his daughter. “Me and Luke hung at his hotel, by the pool and just talked it up. He got to hold Presley. Me and Luke have been friends for a long time, so… he was like, ‘Man, I never thought, Pardi with a kid,’” he laughed.

While Luke wraps his mind around “Pardi with a kid,” Jon is currently wrapping his mind around having two daughters under two as he and wife, Summer get ready to welcome another baby girl in 2024.

“I knew it was going to be a girl, I just knew it,” he said before sharing he and Summer are excited to welcome another little one before they’d originally thought. “We were like, ‘Let’s get it out of the way,’ you know? Instead of us waiting two years, they’re 18 months apart, so they’ll be buds. It’ll be a lot of fun.”

Just after they become a party of 4, the family will move into their dream home, which Jon and Summer have been building for some time. While Pardi says the home is “practical” compared to what people might think they’re building, there are a couple features he’s really excited about — the first being a pool.

“We’re just making a practical house,” he said when asked if his pool would resemble fellow Country artist Jason Aldean’s, which has water slides, waterfalls and more. “Aldean’s pool is amazing, but like, totally irrelevant to me,” he said before admitting they did reach out about the fake palm trees.

“We did reach out to them about their fake palm trees. I was like, 'Man! If we can get some fake palm trees, that’d be very west coast.’ They’re pretty cool.”

The pool isn’t the only place Pardi plants on spending a lot of time — he also shared he’s looking forward to having a home gym where he can continue to better his health — something he’s been working on for a few months now by working out more and temporarily cutting out alcohol.

“For now, I really, really want to look better in photos,” he said of his health goals. “We’re only aging and it’s time to really be healthier. You’ve got these guys like Riley Green showing off six-pack abs. I’ve got tough competition, so I gotta be on it,” he laughed. “I guess all I’ve really done is party, party, party so I’m just trying to le ...

Lainey Wilson | Totally Private Jan 29, 2024

Show notes

One week away from the GRAMMYs and first-time nominee, Lainey Wilson, has stars in her eyes.

“My heart just started, whew!” Lainey said after being reminded the GRAMMYs are only a week away. “I didn’t realize it’s so close, but I’m so excited. This is my first time to the GRAMMYs and it’s a huge deal.”

“I’m going to be in a building with people from so many different walks of life and so many different stories and just a lot of hard work in the building… I normally don’t get starstruck, but I’m not gunna lie, if I see Adele or even Bruno Mars… I’ll probably be like, ‘How in the world is this little redneck in a room with these folks?’ It’s gonna be awesome.”

Up for two awards herself, it’s not lost on Lainey that her own hard work is finally getting the recognition it deserves after years of sacrifice and staying the course. “I knew there were a lot of folks back home who just thought I was absolutely crazy, and they were wondering when I was going to pack it up and come back home,” she said of staying the path to living out her Country music dream.

“But I have always had this sense of peace in knowing that I was given this gift and I’m supposed to use it. I’m just so thankful that I stuck in there and I’m thankful I’ve had people in my life who have encouraged me to stick it out.”

While her parents remain her biggest supports, Wilson has gained many more cheerleaders along the way, including Miranda Lambert, who Wilson says watches out for her on a regular basis. “She’s become a dear friend of mine and she checks on me,” Lainey said of Lambert’s friendship. “She’s just a genuine person, what you see is what you get with her, and I can’t help but love people like that.”

She continued on to share a story of visiting Lambert’s farm for a writing session and Miranda forcing her to take a nap. “She said, ‘You need to come out to my farm, and first off, you need to take a nap,’ She said’ I’m gonna make you take a nap.’ And I did,” Lainey laughed.

Following the much-needed nap, Wilson, Lambert and songwriter Luke Dick went on to write, “Good Horses,” a song Wilson debuted at a show alongside Lambert and is excited to share with fans in the future.

“We were writing this song and they [Luke and Miranda] were in the exact same spot where they wrote [the song] ‘Bluebird.’ As we were writing this song, ‘Good Horses,’ three bluebirds flew up,” she shared. “And when they were writing ‘Bluebird,’ three bluebirds had flew up too and I believe in signs like that. I think it’s a really special song.”

As Lainey looks to the future of her music with songs like, “Good Horses,” and celebrates past releases with her two GRAMMY nominati ...

Lady A | Superstar Power Hour Jan 18, 2024

Show notes

Lady A is headed into the new year with a new album in the works and a whole lot of gratitude.

The GRAMMY-winning trio recently joined Audacy’s Katie Neal for a conversation on the Superstar Power Hour and shared the season of gratitude they’re in as a band and how much they’re looking forward to continuing it with a new album.

“For us, we’re in such an appreciation spot in our career,” said Charles Kelley, before revealing some details about the new album. “We’re definitely going in a nostalgic direction, I think we tend to do that a lot,” he shared. “It’s a really warm record. So far, we’ve cut half of it and we’ll just continue to over the early [part] of this year and keep trying to chase what we feel are the best songs.”

Fans can get a taste of what’s to come with the the album’s current single, “Love You Back,” available now, in addition to "A Love Song,” which Hillary Scott saysset the tone of what’s to come perfectly.

“We’re gettin our plans together, we have ‘Love You Back’ out to radio and then ‘A Love Song’ is also another song that’s out and you can stream that everywhere.” She continued, “Those are two, really pillar songs from the project. We’ll just kind of see how it lays out, and then we’ll release the whole thing.”

Hear more about the project, plus the stories behind some of Lady A’s most popular songs and so much more by checking out their entire conversation with Katie Neal on the Superstar Power Hour above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

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