Billy Dukes

Women continue to rule the Taste of Country Top 10 Video Countdown. For a third straight week, a video for a song sung by a female topped the weekly countdown. It was Carrie Underwood's 'Two Black Cadillacs' last week, and prior to that, 'American Beautiful' by the Henningsens. Can new clips by Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton or Eric Church best the country superstar? It's up to fans to decide the weekly Top 10.

Read More

The setlist for the 2013 ACM Awards isn't as impressive as the top spots on the ToC Top 40 Country Songs list for April 2013. New songs from Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Hunter Hayes and Blake Shelton (twice) all find themselves inside the Top 20, but none of these cuts are No. 1. That honor goes to one of the more unique and surprising singles in quite some time. 

Read More

The Taste of Country March Bandness Finals will feature the two longest-serving bands in the competition. Alabama and the Charlie Daniels Band were playing country music before some of the 14 other groups in this bracket-style contest were born, and their longtime fans haven't forgotten. Both used social media to drum up support during semi-final matchups, and both cruised to comfortable wins. 

Read More

Newcomer Weston Burt's debut single 'Lucky Sometimes' aims right down the middle and hits the mark. The upbeat, head-over-heels love song is easy to find yourself singing along with before the first spin is complete. Listen again to hear him flex a little vocal muscle in the most subtle ways.

Read More

Two new videos make their Taste of Country Top 10 Video Countdown debut this week. '1994,' the new clip from Jason Aldean, and 'Hey Pretty Girl,' the latest from Kip Moore, both find a home amongst the most popular country music videos. They knocked superstars like Kenny Chesney from contention early, but did either get enough support to top last week's No. 1 video? 

Read More

Blake Shelton's week in New York City included a visit to 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,' where he dressed as a chicken and performed a clucking good version of 'Ho Hey' by the Lumineers on Thursday night (March 28). The 'Boys 'Round Here' singer played guitar and sang alongside the show's host, actor Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson from 'Parks and Recreation') and Fallon editor Chris Tartaro.

Read More

Country legend Charlie Daniels is expected to remain hospitalized until Friday as he recovers from pneumonia and a pacemaker implant to regulate his heart rate. The singer was admitted to a Nashville area hospital on Monday (March 25). He says he hadn't been feeling well.

Read More

Gordon Stoker, a longtime member of the Country Music Hall of Fame group the Jordanaires, died on Wednesday (March 27) after long illness. The tenor's influence on country music cannot be measured by chart hits and album sales, but his group's contribution to what became known as the Nashville Sound is as important as any famed producer, songwriter or executive.

Read More

'Cut to Impress' by Maggie Rose is one of the more entertaining listens of the year. Fans will either embrace the dark, swampy sound the singer creates with producer James Stroud, or they'll be terrified by her bad girl persona and downright chilling stories. The album is no teddy bear.

Read More

There is comedy in Blake Shelton singing with Pistol Annies, as he does on his new single 'Boys 'Round Here.' One imagines a country Hugh Hefner surrounded by his beauties. In real life, the Annies likely (very likely) don't attend to his every need and agree with him at all costs, but they do on this song, and it's absolutely charming. 

Read More

The best songs on Thompson Square's new album 'Just Feels Good' sound like a conversation between the two married lovers. Early on, their back-and-forth is light and playful. Later ballads take a more somber tone, but all that find the 'If I Didn't Have You' singers sharing lead are highlights from the duo's sophomore project.

Read More

In recent years, Kenny Chesney has began to reveal layers of his personal life through his music. Songs from 'Hemingway's Whiskey,' 'Welcome to the Fishbowl' and 'Life on a Rock' are his most personal and introspective to date, but he's still somewhat of a private person, one who shuns social media in favor of retreats to the islands. There are plenty of things even a superfan of the 'Pirate Flag' singer might not know. 

Read More