Avenue Beat’s Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Sami Bearden. Photo: Delaney Royer
Avenue Beat’s Sami Bearden, Savana Santos and Sam Backoff came onto the Nashville music scene with clever, relatable songs and a fresh sound. With wry songs like “Delight” and “Be A Bro,” and relatable anthems “Ruin That For Me” and “Broke,” Avenue Beat charmed their way into the hearts of fans and industry members alike.
After signing with Big Machine Label Group’s Valory Music Co. and Tape Room Records, they released their self-titled, debut EP, which showed off their wit and interesting vocal harmonies. Their song “F2020” became a viral hit and the soundtrack for a year filled with anxiety, cultural hostility, and pain from the the COVID-19 pandemic.
To mark the pop trio’s end, Avenue Beat has announced a 12-track project, The Debut Farewell Album, will release Oct. 15 via Big Machine Records.
Ahead of the album’s release, the group dropped “This Is Goodbye,” which serves as an elegy to the adventures, the surprises and the laughter Avenue Beat has shared over the years. Featuring vocals from friend and “unofficial” fourth Avenue Beat member, Summer Overstreet, the song says good-bye to their collaboration that sustained all three girls throughout their time on a major label.
The album cover, which serves as a perfect representation of the clever, self-aware 20-somethings, only features Santos and Backoff, not Bearden.
“There’s no real drama,” offers lead singer/producer Santos. “Sami decided this life wasn’t for her. She didn’t like what it was, and it was time for her to stop. So it was time for this to stop. We didn’t really see it coming, but we wanted to support our friend.”
“And we’re so glad we got to finish the journey with these songs,” Bearden explains. “It’s all here, and it tracks us from ‘F2020’ to the very end. It’s hard when you know it’s time to go, because I’m leaving two people I really love. But I also know this is not where I need to be.
“All we ever did was process our lives through these songs,” Bearden continues. “There was no master plan, no big set-up or ideas. Just this happened, now here’s a song.”
“And now here are the last songs,” Santos picks up. “This is how it ends. Nobody saw it coming. There’s nothing else to say. But for the people who’ve been in here with us, it’s the craziest thing of all: actual closure. Everything you never get to say, it’s in these last few songs.”
The Debut Farewell Album Official Track List:
1. “F2020” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos
2. “Woman” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Joey Hendricks, Michael Whitworth*
3. “I Don’t Really Like Your Boyfriend” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
4. “Rock In Outer Space” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet+
5. “DTF” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet, Jordyn Shellhart, Emily Weisband^
6. “Space For You” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet^
7. “New Strangers” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Jason Gantt
8. “Parties” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
9. “Interlude” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos
10. “Different” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos
11. “Happy For You” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Victoria Canal, Summer Overstreet
12. “This Is Goodbye” (featuring Summer Overstreet) | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
Produced by Savana Santos
*Produced by Savana Santos, Alysa Vanderheym
+Produced by Savana Santos, Julian Bunetta
^Produced by Savana Santos, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Afterhrs
Chart Action: Carly Pearce, Ashley McBryde Earn Most Added Milestone
/by Alex ParryCarly Pearce and Ashley McBryde impacted radio this week earning the most added title for their single “Never Wanted To Be That Girl.” This is the first time a female duet earned this milestone since 2007 with Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson’s “Because Of You.” The single earned 142 adds this week across the Billboard, Mediabase, and MusicRow CountryBreakout charts.
The powerful duet reignites the country tradition of a cheating song. The CMA and double ACM Awards winner and 4x Grammy nominee combined forces to write and record the track alongside co-producer Shane McAnally, which is featured on Pearce’s new album 29: Written In Stone released via Big Machine Records.
For more chart data, view the latest edition of The MusicRow Weekly.
Jameson Rodgers Offers Hook After Hook On Debut Album, ‘Bet You’re From A Small Town’ [Interview]
/by LB CantrellJameson Rodgers. Photo: Matthew Berinato
In just a year, River House Artists/Columbia Nashville artist Jameson Rodgers has had his debut single “Some Girls” hit No. 1, embarked on his first headlining tour, released an EP (In It for the Money), sent another single to the Top 5 (“Cold Beer Calling My Name”), and, most recently, released his debut album Bet You’re From a Small Town.
He was named MusicRow‘s Discovery Artist of the Year in 2020, and was nominated for the publication’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year just a year later in August.
When asked about the past year, Rodgers grins and quietly admits it’s been a crazy time. “The last two or thee years have been an absolute whirlwind. They call it a 10 year town, I’ve been here 11, so I hit it right on the head,” he says.
His debut album, Bet You’re From a Small Town, features fifteen songs produced by Chris Farren and Jake Mitchell. Rodgers, who co-wrote 14 of the album’s 15 tracks, really shows off his knack for writing a modern country hook on several songs throughout the project.
In addition to his Platinum-certified, No. 1 debut single “Some Girls,” and his current Top 5 hit “Cold Beer Calling My Name,” which features Luke Combs, Rodgers’ penmanship shines on the other 13 songs on Bet You’re From a Small Town.
This is most evident on “You Won’t,” a song co-written with Smith Ahnquist, Will Bundy and Lynn Hutton that lists all the things that come back around like old songs, bird dogs, football season and Jesus, but that his lost love won’t.
Another great song on Bet You’re From a Small Town is “Missing One,” which starts with Rodgers singing about missing an Eagles record from his collection and wraps up in the chorus with him missing a girl. Rodgers wrote it with Phelps and Ahnquist, who appear a lot on the record.
“This is probably the oldest song on the record,” Rodgers says. “We were sitting in the writing room that day. Smith had done a demo session and the engineer had sent him some songs back. He was going through them and he said, ‘Oh, I’m missing one.’ When he said that Hunter perked up and said, ‘We’re writing that today,’ but it took us four months to finish it for some reason. Most of them fall out in an hour or two, but we had to work for that one.”
The track “Merle Haggard” not only pays homage to one of Rodgers’ heroes, but features the singer tapping into Haggard’s mastery of heartache tunes. Rodgers sings, “You’re the leaving in the story, you were good but no good for me / Mama tried to warn me you’d break my heart in two, Merle Haggard woulda wrote songs about you.”
Another tear-jerker is “Good Dogs,” a heart-wrenching tribute that captures the misery of losing a dog.
“That song was born on a writing retreat. I wrote it with Hunter Phelps, Brent Anderson and Jake Mitchell. Hunter had just gotten a dog and came in with that title,” Rodgers says. “It was one of those where we had to keep walking out of the room to go cry in private thinking about dogs. It’s hard to write those songs, dogs are family members that don’t get to stick around as long as they should.”
On top of more gems on the project, like “Girls That Smoke,” “Bars Back Home” and the title track “Bet You’re from a Small Town,” Rodgers’ shows off the shine of his 11-year journey on his debut album.
“They say you have your whole life to write album one,” Rodgers says. “I’ve taken advantage of that.”
Rita Wilson Shares Final EP In Trilogy Series
/by Lorie HollabaughRita Wilson
Rita Wilson has released the third and final EP in her Trilogy series–Trilogy 3.
The project features three new tracks including lead single “Thin Air,” a collaboration with Sleeping At Last. The track was co-written and co-produced by Rita and Sleeping At Last’s Ryan O’Neal.
Other tracks on the new EP include, “Aftershock,” co-written by Rita, Jon Levine and Lindy Robbins, and the powerful ballad “You Are My Heart,” co-written by Rita, Liz Rose and Nathan Chapman.
Wilson has a busy fall in store as she heads to perform at the Women Who Rock Benefit Concert in Pittsburgh on Oct. 16 presented by Gibson Gives featuring an all-female line-up, and the Tortuga Music Festival in Ft. Lauderdale on Nov. 13.
Bellamy Brothers Offer Up Some ‘Covers From The Brothers’ In October
/by Lorie HollabaughBellamy Brothers. Photo: Derrek Kupish,
The Bellamy Brothers are tackling some of their all-time favorites on a new project, Covers From The Brothers, set for release on Oct. 15. Fans who pre-order the album now will instantly receive the Bellamys’ cover of the Billy Swan hit “I Can Help” featuring Dennis Quaid.
For their first-ever, covers-only album, the Bellamys interpret some of their favorites by Bob Dylan (“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”) and Stevie Wonder (“I Just Called to Say I Love You”) and also perform some tracks they’ve played countless times like Joe South‘s “Games People Play.” Produced by the Bellamys and Randy Hiebert, the 12-song collection also includes the talents of Paul Franklin and Jenee Fleenor.
The Bellamy Brothers are currently on the road on Blake Shelton’s “Friends And Heroes Tour.” They will embark on their own European tour beginning in 2022.
Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood Return No. 1 On MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart
/by Alex Parry“If I Didn’t Love You” by Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood returns to No. 1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart this week, marking its third week on top. The singles holds +57 spins over the No. 2 position despite losing a total of -29 spins the last two weeks.
“If I Didn’t Love You” was written by Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan and Lydia Vaughan, and produced by Michael Knox.
Underwood earned a nomination for Entertainer of the Year at this year’s 55th Annual CMA Awards, which airs live from Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 10 (8:00 – 11:00 p.m. EST) on ABC. Click here to see a full list of nominees.
Click here to view the latest edition of The MusicRow Weekly containing the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart.
Avenue Beat Announces Break-Up With ‘The Debut Farewell Album’
/by LB CantrellAvenue Beat’s Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Sami Bearden. Photo: Delaney Royer
Avenue Beat’s Sami Bearden, Savana Santos and Sam Backoff came onto the Nashville music scene with clever, relatable songs and a fresh sound. With wry songs like “Delight” and “Be A Bro,” and relatable anthems “Ruin That For Me” and “Broke,” Avenue Beat charmed their way into the hearts of fans and industry members alike.
After signing with Big Machine Label Group’s Valory Music Co. and Tape Room Records, they released their self-titled, debut EP, which showed off their wit and interesting vocal harmonies. Their song “F2020” became a viral hit and the soundtrack for a year filled with anxiety, cultural hostility, and pain from the the COVID-19 pandemic.
To mark the pop trio’s end, Avenue Beat has announced a 12-track project, The Debut Farewell Album, will release Oct. 15 via Big Machine Records.
Ahead of the album’s release, the group dropped “This Is Goodbye,” which serves as an elegy to the adventures, the surprises and the laughter Avenue Beat has shared over the years. Featuring vocals from friend and “unofficial” fourth Avenue Beat member, Summer Overstreet, the song says good-bye to their collaboration that sustained all three girls throughout their time on a major label.
The album cover, which serves as a perfect representation of the clever, self-aware 20-somethings, only features Santos and Backoff, not Bearden.
“There’s no real drama,” offers lead singer/producer Santos. “Sami decided this life wasn’t for her. She didn’t like what it was, and it was time for her to stop. So it was time for this to stop. We didn’t really see it coming, but we wanted to support our friend.”
“And we’re so glad we got to finish the journey with these songs,” Bearden explains. “It’s all here, and it tracks us from ‘F2020’ to the very end. It’s hard when you know it’s time to go, because I’m leaving two people I really love. But I also know this is not where I need to be.
“All we ever did was process our lives through these songs,” Bearden continues. “There was no master plan, no big set-up or ideas. Just this happened, now here’s a song.”
“And now here are the last songs,” Santos picks up. “This is how it ends. Nobody saw it coming. There’s nothing else to say. But for the people who’ve been in here with us, it’s the craziest thing of all: actual closure. Everything you never get to say, it’s in these last few songs.”
The Debut Farewell Album Official Track List:
1. “F2020” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos
2. “Woman” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Joey Hendricks, Michael Whitworth*
3. “I Don’t Really Like Your Boyfriend” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
4. “Rock In Outer Space” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet+
5. “DTF” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet, Jordyn Shellhart, Emily Weisband^
6. “Space For You” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet^
7. “New Strangers” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Jason Gantt
8. “Parties” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
9. “Interlude” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos
10. “Different” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos
11. “Happy For You” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Victoria Canal, Summer Overstreet
12. “This Is Goodbye” (featuring Summer Overstreet) | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
Produced by Savana Santos
*Produced by Savana Santos, Alysa Vanderheym
+Produced by Savana Santos, Julian Bunetta
^Produced by Savana Santos, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Afterhrs
Brett Young Plans New Christmas Album, CMT Crossroads Special
/by Lorie HollabaughBrett Young is giving fans an early Christmas gift this season with his first-ever Christmas album, Brett Young & Friends Sing The Christmas Classics, on Oct. 22. The eight-song collection is available for pre-order with “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” featuring Sam Fischer available everywhere now.
Young enlisted an all-star lineup of guests for the project, including Colbie Caillat, Fischer, Dann Huff, Darius Rucker, Maddie & Tae, Chris Tomlin and Phil Wickham. Producer Noah Needleman helped Young produce the project after getting in the spirit with his release of the classic “Silver Bells” last year.
“I’ve always known that I wanted to make a Christmas album one day, it was just a matter of figuring out how I could do something a little bit different,” Young says. “We tapped into an old school, lo-fi sound with ‘Silver Bells,’ and knew we had the blueprint for a full album. It means the world that so many incredible artists who I respect were open to singing with me on the project… we don’t take the title Brett Young and Friends lightly!”
Later this year, Young will bring the album’s must-see duets to TV on the special CMT Crossroads Christmas: Brett Young & Friends. More details on the show will be announced in the coming weeks.
Brett Young and Friends Sing The Christmas Classics Track List:
Silver Bells
White Christmas ft. Colbie Caillat
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) ft. Phil Wickham
The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) ft. Dann Huff
Silent Night ft. Chris Tomlin
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! ft. Maddie & Tae
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree ft. Darius Rucker
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas ft. Sam Fischer
RaeLynn Takes Fans Back Home On Full ‘Baytown’ Album [Interview]
/by Lydia FarthingRaeLynn. Photo: Alysse Gafkjen
Two-time ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year nominee RaeLynn has many things to celebrate this season with the birth of her first child, daughter Daisy Rae, on Sept. 8, and the release of her new full-length album, Baytown, which is available everywhere today (Sept. 24).
After releasing a six-song EP by the same name in 2020, the Baytown album expands upon the original set by adding eight more tracks to the full-length project.
Baytown, named after RaeLynn’s hometown outside of Houston, Texas, draws serious inspiration from the place that made her the person and artist that she is today.
“Any artists I meet that didn’t come from Nashville are all unique in their own way. What makes them unique is where they grew up, what they were around, what music they were surrounded by, and what their environment was,” RaeLynn tells MusicRow. “For the first couple of years, I was trying to figure out who I was in Nashville. I realized that what makes me different and what makes me special is that I grew up in a place called Baytown and being the baby of eight kids. I realized that all of these different things that are woven inside of me have made me who I am, and that’s going to show into my music,” she explains.
“The best way for me to describe Baytown is country people with a little grit and sass.” When describing Baytown in a sonic sense, she sums, “It’s like if Cardi B and Dolly Parton had a baby. It’s fun, but a little ratchet in the best way.”
With tracks like the heartfelt “Small Town Prayer” and the revealing “Only In A Small Town,” RaeLynn offers up the different shades of growing up in a place like Baytown on the aptly named record.
“I love those two songs because they go to show the undeniable pureness and authenticity of a small town that makes us who we are, but then they also have the rowdiness of what a small town represents too. Everybody knows each other and gets into a little bit of trouble, but everybody has each other’s back too,” she comments.
Additionally, the album includes a couple of welcomed duets, including the entertaining “Why I Got A Truck” with her former The Voice coach Blake Shelton, and the flirty “Get That All The Time” with Mitchell Tenpenny.
Baytown also features familiar favorites like “Keep Up,” “Judgin’ To Jesus,” “Rowdy,” and “Bra Off,” while also giving fans new tracks that showcase more sides of the Platinum singer-songwriter that they haven’t heard before.
RaeLynn. Photo: Ford Fairchild
“She Chose Me,” which undoubtedly serves as the album’s centerpiece, takes listeners behind the curtain of RaeLynn’s life as she learned that she was the result of an extramarital affair. Giving a vulnerable invitation into how she came into this world, the track chronicles her mother’s momentous choice to keep the pregnancy despite the small town scrutiny while also serving as a prequel to her 2016 breakout Gold-certified single, “Love Triangle.”
Coming full-circle from there, RaeLynn also shares a demo version of “Made For Me To Love,” which make her own daughter, Daisy, her muse for the first of what’s sure to be many times to come.
With over 840 million career streams and nearly half a million album equivalents sold, one of country music’s newest parents will be spending the next few months diving into motherhood with plans of returning to the road in early 2022.
“I don’t know anything about [motherhood] so it’s all gonna be new to me, but I’m beyond excited,” she shared as she was preparing for Daisy’s arrival. “This pregnancy has honestly been an incredible experience… I’ve had such a beautiful time being pregnant, and it’s been so cool to be able to do something beyond myself.
“I’m gonna miss being pregnant for those special moments, but I am excited to drink a margarita,” she jokingly admits.
RaeLynn’s full-length album, Baytown, is available now.
Co-Founding Member Of The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Jimmy Carter, Releases Solo Album
/by LB CantrellJimmy Carter, the last original member of The Blind Boys of Alabama, released his first solo album Blind Faith on Sept. 20.
Carter is the eldest member of The Blind Boys of Alabama, the five-time Grammy-winning, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award-winning, Gospel Hall of Fame members. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama and has featured a changing roster of musicians over its history, the majority of whom are or were visually impaired.
Carter dedicated the song “I Am With You Still,” the first single off of Blind Faith, in memory of his good friend, co-founder of The Blind Boys of Alabama, Clarence Fountain.
Produced and co-written by songwriter and musician Ron Pullman, Carter aims to send a Gospel message and a source of peace with the solo album.
Carter says, “This is my first solo album and I am excited to be able to sing some original music that’s in harmony with traditional Gospel, while using a range of different musical genres that embrace the Gospel sound with an up-lifting message.”
Weekly Register: Kacey Musgraves Enjoys “Simple Times” With Top Country Album & Song Debut
/by Lydia FarthingKacey Musgraves. Photo: Sophia Matinazad
Kacey Musgraves nabbed the top country streaming song and album debut this week. The Grammy-winning songstress’ fourth studio album, Star-Crossed, debuts at No. 1 on the country albums charts and No. 3 overall with 77,000 first-week streams. Her nostalgic track, “Simple Times,” also made its debut at No. 16 on the country streaming songs chart, earning 4 million streams, according to Nielsen.
Monument’s Walker Hayes continues his reign at No. 1 on the top country streaming songs chart as “Fancy Like” earns a staggering 14 million streams, bringing him up to 137 million streams RTD. Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood follow at No. 2 as “If I Didn’t Love You” adds 7.4 million streams, Ryan Hurd & Maren Morris‘ “Chasing After You” adds 7 million streams in the third spot, and Nelly & Florida Georgia Line drop to fourth with “Lil Bit” gaining 6.5 million streams. Cracking the top five, Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan‘s “Buy Dirt” receives 6.5 million streams this week.
After 36 weeks, Morgan Wallen‘s Dangerous: The Double Album falls to the No. 2 spot on the top country streaming album chart, adding 38,000 streams, according to Nielsen. Luke Combs takes the third spot with What You See Is What You Get and the fifth spot with This One’s For You, earning 22,000 and 15,000 streams, respectively. Hayes fills out the top five as Country Stuff remains at No. 4 with 16,000 streams.