Pop star Chappell Roan, who recently won Best New Artist at the 2025 Grammy Awards, released her debut country single “The Giver” last Thursday (March 13) via Island Records. She first performed the tune on Saturday Night Live last year, and the song is currently being serviced to country radio.

Roan sat down with Apple Music Country’s Kelleigh Bannen to gear up for the release. The two discussed why Roan wanted to write a country song with her current success in pop and how the genre connects to her midwestern roots.

“I just thought it would be funny. It’s campy and it’s fun,” explained Roan on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen. “I’m from southwest Missouri, grew up on Christian and country and then found ‘Alejandro’ by Lady Gaga. And I was like, ‘I think I like this too.’ So I have kept country in my heart and it’s so incredibly nostalgic to drive in West Hollywood and have Jason Aldean, or Alan Jackson on. And I love how… ‘Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)’ [makes me feel]. I was like, I want to feel that way on stage. I want to feel that because that’s how I write. I’m like, ‘How do I want to walk around on stage and sing?’ And I was like, ‘I want to write that song, but, like, Chappell’s version.'”

The song also serves as way for Roan to connect a part of her past to now by using her music to embrace her queer identity, which is something Roan did not openly express while growing up in her hometown.

“I don’t hate myself for not knowing everything about the queer culture at the time,” she shared. “I don’t hate myself for coming from Missouri and not knowing any lesbians. I don’t hate myself for being closeted and hating myself. Every person in the Midwest and the South, especially these tiny towns, are taught to not only keep it down, but hate or pray it away. I’m not mad at myself for doing that. It’s all I knew what to do. That’s all you’re told to do… I can hate myself for being gay at 15 and being like, ‘I’m a woman. I’m supposed to just be there for my husband and I’m going to learn how to cook.’ I can do that then move to LA, have a revelation, and write a country song to wrap it all up and be like, I love myself for loving country music and I love that I came around the other side. I love myself so much that I took a leap into a pretty painful part of my past in the Midwest and made a song of joy.”

Roan also sat down with Kelly Sutton and Amber Anderson from Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly Podcast to discuss her visit into the country music genre, and how releasing this single is paying respect to the genre.

“I wrote a country song not to invade country music, but to really capture what I think the essence of country music is for me–which is nostalgia, fun in the summertime, the fiddle, the banjo and feeling like country queen,” she explained. “It makes me feel a certain type of freedom that pop music doesn’t let me feel. I think it’s interesting and I had to do it. I had to do it for myself to know what is it actually like to write a country song and perform it next to ‘Casual’ or next to ‘My Kink is Karma’ or next to ‘Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl’ I just had to do myself justice.”

Clint Black is returning to the road following 2024’s sold-out “35 Years Of Killin’ Time World Tour” on his new “Back On The Blacktop Tour,” which kicks off March 19 in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry.

The new tour will celebrate Black’s catalog, featuring fan-favorite hits and new surprises, and will cross the country with stops in Abilene, Panama City, Baton Rouge, Corpus Christi, Park City and more through Aug. 31.

Black notably wrote or co-wrote every one of his more than three dozen chart hits, including “A Better Man,” “Where Are You Now,” “When My Ship Comes In,” “A Good Run of Bad Luck,” “Summer’s Comin’,” “Like the Rain” and “Nothin’ But the Taillights,” part of a catalog that produced 22 No. 1 singles. Along the way, Black  has sold over 20 million records and had billions of streams, earned more than a dozen Gold and Platinum awards in the U.S. and Canada including a Grammy, and has stars on both the Hollywood and Nashville Walk Of Fames.

Clint Black Tour Dates:
March 19 – Nashville, TN – Grand Ole Opry
March 21 – Hot Springs, AR – Oaklawn Event Center
March 22 – Abilene, TX – Outlaws & Legends Music Festival
March 28 – Biloxi, MS – IP Casino Resort & Spa
March 29 – Bossier City, LA – The Event Center At Live! Casino & Hotel
April 3 – Panama City, FL – Aaron Bessant Park
April 4 – Green Cove Springs, FL – Clay County Fair
April 10 – Gonzales, TX – Cattle Country Music Festival
April 11 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Casino
April 12 – St. Charles, MO – The Family Arena
April 25 – Oxford, AL – Oxford Performing Arts Center
April 26 – Vidalia, GA – Vidalia Regional Airport
May 2 – Baton Rouge, LA – L’Auberge Casino & Hotel
May 4 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium
May 9 – Corpus Christi, TX – American Bank Center
May 10 – Hidalgo, TX – Payne Arena
June 1 – Helena, MT – Helena Civic Center
June 6 – Madison, WI – Breese Stevens Field
June 7 – Battle Creek, MI – Firekeepers Casino Hotel
June 8 – New Haven, KY – The Amp at Log Still
June 14 – Petros, TN – Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary
June 19 – Shipshewana, IN – Blue Gate Performing Arts Center
June 20 – Bettendorf, IA – Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center at Isle Casino Hotel
June 21 – Winsted, MN – Winstock Country Music Festival
June 27 – Chandler, AZ – Gila River Wild Horse Pass
June 28 – Tulare, CA – Adventist Health Amphitheater
June 29 – Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Live Sacramento
July 3 – Pleasanton, CA – Alameda County Fair
July 4 – Valley Center, CA – Harrah’s Resort Southern California
July 5 – Coarsegold, CA – Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino
July 10 – Knoxville, IL – Knox County Fairgrounds
July 11 – Decatur, IL – Devon Lakeshore Amphitheater
August 3 – Camrose, Alberta – Big Valley Jamboree
August 15 – John Day, OR – Grant County Fair
August 17 – Calgary, Alberta – Country Thunder Alberta – Fort Calgary
August 22 – Mason, WI – Concert in the Corn
August 30 – Park City, UT – The Amphitheatre at Canyons Village at Park City Mountain Resort
August 31 – Dillon, MT – Dillon Jaycees

The 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards took place last night (March 17) at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. The 12th annual show was hosted by LL Cool J and included performances from Kenny Chesney, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, GloRilla, Gracie Abrams, Muni Long, Nelly and more.

Many awards were given out throughout the night, including four country awards. Post Malone and Morgan Wallen took home the award for Country Song of the Year with their hit collaboration “I Had Some Help,” and Post Malone also collected the trophy for Country Album of the Year with F-1 Trillion.

Country Artist of the Year went to Jelly Roll, while Shaboozey took home Best New Artist (Country).

In addition to his performance, Nelly also accepted the 2025 iHeartRadio Landmark Award, while Lady Gaga was honored with the 2025 iHeartRadio Innovator Award. Other big honors of the night included Mariah Carey‘s 2025 iHeartRadio Icon Award, as well as Taylor Swift‘s “Eras Tour” being named Tour of the Century. Additional winners throughout the night included Julian Bunetta, Amy Allen, Benson Boone, Sabrina Carpenter, Eilish, Abrams, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Teddy Swims and more.

A full list of 2025 iHeartRadio Music Award winners can be found here.

Jordan Davis Celebrates Eighth No. 1 With UMG Nashville Label Family

Jordan Davis stopped by UMG Nashville to celebrate his recent eighth career No. 1 with “I Ain’t Sayin,’” his first single from his upcoming new album.

Davis also shared additional new music from the project with staff before the team surprised him with a plaque recognizing his Platinum-certified, career defining album Bluebird Days, which earned Davis his first ACM Male Vocalist of the Year nomination as well as four consecutive No. 1s as an artist and songwriter, including the five-times Platinum CMA and NSAI Song of the Year “Buy Dirt;” triple-Platinum ACM Song of the Year “Next Thing You Know;” the triple-Platinum multi-week No. 1 “What My World Spins Around;” and the Gold smash, “Tucson Too Late.” With Bluebird Days, Davis became the only artist to earn two Song of the Year awards for two different songs off of one album.

 

Neon Coast Welcomes Temple University Students For Industry Q&A

Artist management company Neon Coast recently welcomed over 25 students and faculty from Philadelphia’s Temple University to its Nashville office for an exclusive office tour and Q&A with its execs and artists. NC’s Joey Russ and Clay Sweitzer sat down with NC-managed alternative pop band Nightly to talk about audio engineering, live entertainment, viral marketing and artist development, as well as the global music industry. The event took place right before Nightly’s latest album release Songs To Drive To. Nightly’s Jonathan Capeci also performed a new song for the students.

 

John Allan Inks With Centricity Music

Indie rock and alt-pop artist John Allan has signed an exclusive recording and publishing contract with Centricity Music. Inspired by the sounds of artists like The Killers, The National, Gang of Youths, Bon Iver and Novo Amor, Allan’s music fuses both his sonic influences and his genuine love for Jesus. With original tracks that reflect his church-centric upbringing and love of leading worship at his local SoCal church, Allan believes that song lyrics are what matter the most.

“I’m incredibly proud to welcome John Allan to the Centricity Music family,” says James Duke, Director of A&R. “His artistry is truly one of a kind and we can’t wait to see how his songs impact the world!”

 

Steve Lewis Promoted To Sr. Director UGC & Video At Symphonic Distribution

Steve Lewis has been promoted to Senior Director, UGC & Video at Symphonic Distribution. Lewis joined Symphonic in 2019 as Director of UGC and Video, managing the company’s UGC team, YouTube channel, and video distribution team. Prior to joining Symphonic, Lewis was the Senior Manager of Video and New Media for Naxos of America and also founded Broken Hip records. He is based in Nashville.

Outside of Nashville, Jakub Alexander has been promoted to VP, A&R and Client Development; Jon Mizrachi to VP & Head of Sync for Bodega Sync and Laura Catana to Director of Content and Social Media Strategy. Lewis, Alexander and Mizrachi will report to Randall Foster, Chief Creative Officer at Symphonic.

“I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with Steve, Jakub, and Jon over the course of the past five years and am so proud to see them all moving up in recognition of their individual contributions here at Symphonic,” says Foster. “All three have demonstrated great prowess in their respective lanes and have been part of the growth arc of Symphonic. I look forward to the continued growth of these business units under their leadership in 2025 and beyond as we aggressively expand Symphonic’s distribution services and Bodega’s sync presence as a champion for independent labels and artists.”