ELLA LANGLEY, "we weren't for the wind"
Columbia sensation Langley just earned eight ACM noms (the most of any artist this time around). Much of the love was for her high-spirited Riley Green duet, “you look like you love me.” But this newer tune, which she co-penned with Johnny Clawson and Joybeth Taylor, shows her more introspective side. The track appears on the deluxe edition of her debut set, Hungover.
ASCAP ELECTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WARNER CHAPPELL RAISES CURTAIN ON RISING STAR HAMILTON
NASHVILLE
COUNTRY AT A CROSSROADS
Country music has always existed in separate but relatively equal realms in American pop music. New York and L.A. labels, for the most part, left the genre to Nashville—and the largely white, lower-middle class, working peoples’ music had an isolated audience that didn’t really overlap the way hip-hop, disco, rock and R&B did with pop music.
LABEL EXECS ON COUNTRY 2025
JELLY ROLL: A LATE BLOOMER'S WINNING STREAK
Other than Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, no one in music has been as ubiquitous over the last year as Jelly Roll, the genre-smearing Memphis rapper who emerged as a working-class emo-country hero.
PROMOTERS DIALOGUE: STADIUM-SIZED, COUNTRY GETS GLOBAL
No matter how today’s country acts break out, when it’s time to connect the dots, it always comes down to touring. To understand the impact of live in today’s country space, HITS went after two of the very best promoters out there.
SAM BARBER, "INDIGO" F/AVERY ANNA
Lockeland Springs/Atlantic singer-songwriter Barber is one of country’s most compelling recent discoveries, and this incandescent duet with Anna (who co-write the song with Barber and Andy Sheridan) conveys his emotional depth and authenticity. “Indigo” appears on Barber’s acclaimed 2024 album, Restless Mind.
Jack Harlow, "Just Us" f/ Doja Cat
Atlantic rap-pop dynamo Harlow has undeniable (let’s face it: steamy) chemistry with guest Doja, and the video for this frisky duet (directed by Neal Farmer) is further elevated by a brace of celebrity cameos. If only we could get a table at that restaurant.
ARIANA'S WEEKEND "SUNSHINE"
a sombr tale: warner's alt-pop troubadour turns tears into streams
PUB CRAWLING
SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING INKS FINK
Sony Music Publishing has signed a global agreement with songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jesse Fink.
WARNER CHAPPELL RAISES CURTAIN ON RISING STAR HAMILTON
Hamilton, a rising star in Latin Music and Afrobeats, has inked with Warner Chappell Music.
SONY PUB RAPS UP DEAL WITH MTECH
RIDINGS ARRIVES AT SMP U.K.
The London-based singer-songwriter is prepping her third album.
Morgan Wallen, "I'm A Little Crazy" (lyric video)
New MW music is always an event, and we expect his new album, I’m the Problem (due 5/30 via Big Loud/Mercury/Republic), to rule the roost for the foreseeable future. On this thoughtful but infectious tune, he ponders being a little crazy in a world that’s stark raving mad.