Breaking into the country music industry is just not the same as it used to be. Oliver Anthony blew up on social media and routinely says no to all the record labels. Here are some country music stars whose music careers started on TikTok:
2. Ashley Cooke. She has 1.3 million followers. One of her best posts was Ashley with her family listening to herself on the radio for the first time.
3. Bailey Zimmerman. He has 2.9 million followers. According to “Billboard” in 2023, he was the 5th most popular country artist. One spot below T-Swift.
4. Megan Moroney. She has 1.1 million followers. She posted a video of her new song “Indifferent” back in March and it racked up over 5 million views.
5. Priscilla Block. She has 1.9 million followers.
7. Zach Bryan. He has 2.8 million followers.
Lainey Wilson is getting a bar in Nashville on Broadway in the same spot that Florida Georgia Line’s bar used to be. The “FGL House” opened in 2017 to much fanfare, but now, much like the band itself, it is no more. Lainey’s new bar will be called “Bell Bottoms Up” and it will open this summer. It will have two stages, four bars, and some disco-themed décor. And the bar will give a shout-out to Lainey’s Louisiana roots with Cajun-inspired entrees. Lainey joins Miranda Lambert as the only two women to own bars on Broadway in Nashville. In other Lainey news, she just scored her seventh number one hit with her song “Wildflowers and Wild Horses”. She said, “This song has such a special place in my heart, as a fifth-generation farmer’s daughter and someone who grew up on wide open land.” She finished it off by saying, “Thank you to my collaborators . . . and to my fans, my wild horses, this is your theme song. None of this would be possible without you.”
Plenty of big names and familiar faces were at the 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Wynonna Judd sang the National Anthem. Some other stars who made the trip to Louisville.
1. Thomas Rhett was there in a baby-blue suit, along with wife Lauren Akins.
2. Randy Travis showed up with wife Mary Davis.
3. Eric Church opted for a PINK suit and posed for photos with Wynonna.
4. Kid Rock also wore pink.
5. Lee Brice – and his wife Sara went all-in on the big hat thing.
6. Travis Tritt wore a tan fedora.
9. Russell Dickerson wore a white pinstripe suit.
Kelsea Ballerini made her Met Gala debut Monday with her boyfriend Chase Stokes. She wore a nude gown covered in orange and pink flowers. Back in 2018, Kelsea said, “I will wear a fish tank on my head and crocs on my feet, I just want to go one day.” Keith Urban was also in attendance with Nicole Kidman. Nicole says the event makes her nervous, but, quote, “I have my man with me.”
Parker McCollum is a HUGE John Mayer fan. He even admits he’s spent HOURS in front of the mirror, playing guitar and trying to, “write something that he would approve of.” So when Parker had the opportunity to meet John, of course he said . . . NO??? He explains, “I’m such a fan of those records and I don’t really want to know him, I don’t want him to be real and really exist. I’m sure he’s a great guy, nice guy. I don’t think it would be a bad experience or anything, I’m just still chasin’ that. I always will be, so I don’t want it to be tangible.”
The 2024 ACM Awards are happening on Thursday, May 16th at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas. Yesterday, they announced some more headliners that will be taking the stage. Post Malone will make his ACM debut . . . Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani are appearing together . . . Nate Smith will sing with Avril Lavigne . . . and Kelsea Ballerini will perform with “Stick Season” singer Noah Kahan. Previously announced performers are: Jason Aldean . . . Kane Brown . . . Jelly Roll . . . Cody Johnson . . . Miranda Lambert . . . Thomas Rhett . . . Chris Stapleton . . . Lainey Wilson . . . along with host Reba McEntire.
Actress Susan Buckner passed away. “Grease” fans would remember her as Patty Simcox.
Travis Kelce has been cast in the new Ryan Murphy horror series “Grotesquerie”.
ABC is bringing back “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”.
Enrique Iglesias is 49. The son of Julio Iglesias and father of Anna Kournikova’s twins.
Melissa Gilbert is 60. Laura Ingalls Wilder on “Little House on the Prairie”.
Ronnie Lott is 65. San Francisco 49ers legend.
Alex Van Halen is 71.
Toni Tennille is 84. The Captain & Tennille
David Attenborough is 98. British naturalist who’s responsible for all of those amazing nature documentaries on the Discovery Channel
