Country Update BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS AUGUST 24, 2020 | PAGE 1 OF 21 INSIDE BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE [email protected] Wallen ‘Summers’ At Like Betty White And Fine Wine, No. 1 >page 4 Jeannie Seely Gets Better With Age Townes, Green ACM Were COVID-19 not in the way, Jeannie Seely would be holding on SiriusXM’s country oldies channel, Willie’s Roadhouse — Limbo Ends court at the SOURCE Awards on Aug. 25, co-hosting an event a role she was offered after participating in a roast of fellow >page 10 that celebrates the women who were instrumental in the growth personality Charlie Monk — she’s an ambassador for the of Nashville’s music business. Grand Ole Opry, and she’s still Seely would be swapping making new music, issuing the jokes and one-liners with appropriately titled album An Bryan, Hammack Get Brenda Lee about height American Classic through Curb Branded and aging, likely with a little on Aug. 14. >page 11 sexual innuendo thrown in The cover art treats the to keep the crowd laughing, golden girl like a bit of a glamour handling the spotlight at girl, but the contents mine age 80 as well as she ever has foundational sounds and ideals Lambert Song in over 50 years as a Music in popular music. Produced Re-‘Built’ City artist. Seely has been by music veteran Don Cusic, >page 11 a Grand Ole Opry member Classic includes remakes of her since 1967, the same year two biggest solo singles, “Don’t that she won a Grammy for Touch Me” (No. 2, 1966) and Makin’ Tracks: Song her signature song, “Don’t “Can I Sleep in Your Arms” You ‘Oughta Know’ Touch Me.” But her comfort (No. 6, 1973), plus versions of >page 18 and command of the stage songs associated with Dolly have her living out her golden Parton and Roger Miller, years as a veritable golden Paul McCartney’s “Dance girl, country’s version of Tonight” and a somewhat Country Coda: Betty White. forgotten pop standard, “Teach “I’ll take that,” she says Me Tonight,” associated with The Judds SEELY Come ‘Alive’ in a socially distanced 1950s MOR acts Jo Stafford >page 21 conversation on her back patio and The DeCastro Sisters. that overlooks the Cumberland River. “I love animals like she “I have wanted to sing that song somewhere besides my does. I hope I can live as long as she has.” shower since I was like 13, 14 years old,” she says of the lat- She’s certainly living well. Seely hosts a regular Sunday show ter tune. “It takes me back to my high school days, you know? HORNSBY CYNDI BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE APRIL 13, 2020 | PAGE 4 OF 19 BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE AUGUST 24, 2020 | PAGE 2 OF 21 ON THE CHARTS JIM ASKER [email protected] I think it’s a very romantic song, and I don’t know that we hear that many ro- mantic songs anymore.” The project pairs her with a series of collaborators (mostly fellow Opry mem- bers), includingSa ThemH Whitesunt, Steve Wariner’s Southside, Lorrie Morgan, Bill Anderson Rules, Top Country Rhonda Vincent, Ray Stevens, Vince Gill, Waylon Payne and Willie Nelson, whoA has lbubeen intertwinedms; with Brett Seely’s story Ythroughoutoung much of‘Catc her career. h’-es Fifth Airplay The Pennsylvania native first met Nelson in 1963 when she worked as a secretary forLea a Los Angelesder; record label.Travis When she suffered Denning multiple injuries Makes History in a 1977 car accident, Nelson aided her rebound by making her an opening act on his fair dates for several years and including her on-screen and in the soundtrack of his 1980 movie Honeysuckle Rose. And when the flood of 2010 Luke Bryan (center) and Darius Rucker (right) performed Aug. 15 on the Samswamped Hunt the’s second Cumberland studio River full-length, bank and and covered first in herover patio, five house years, Southside and front salesGrand (up Ole 21%) Opry in the. The tracking band includedweek. On Countryguitarist Airplay, Michael it hops Carter 18-15 (left). (11.9 mil- (MCAlawn, Nashville/UniversalNelson came to the Musicrescue Group again. Nashville), debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s lion audience impressions, up 16%). Top“Willie Country called Albums me,” chart she remembers. dated April “We18. In chatted its first for week a little (ending bit, and April he 9),said, it earned‘Well, I 46,000 see that equivalent you no longer album have units, a mailbox. including Where 16,000 do in I send album a check?’sales, ac It- TRY TO ‘CATCH’ UP WITH YOUNG Brett Youngachieves his fifth consecutive cordingjust makes to Nielsen me cry nowMusic/MRC to think ofData. it. So he was one of the first ones to step up, and total Country Airplay No. 1 as “Catch” (Big Machine Label Group) ascends offerSouthside help. And marks then Hunt’s again secondwith the No. [show 1 on on] the Willie’s Roadhouse, and now 2-1, increasing 13% to 36.6 million impressions. chartagain and with fourth this album.” top 10. It follows freshman LP Young’s first of six chart entries, “Sleep With- MontevalloLike others, which who arrivedhave reached at the theirsummit golden in No years- with grace, Seely remains out You,” reached No. 2 in December 2016. He vemberactive in 2014 the presentand reigned instead for nine of dwelling weeks. To on date, the past. She doesn’t deny her ex- followed with the multiweek No. 1s “In Case You Montevalloperiences, for has they earned inform 3.9 million how she units, handles with the 1.4 current moment and enabled Didn’t Know” (two weeks, June 2017), “Like I Loved millionher appreciate in album the sales. leadership position she occupies, both as an icon for country You” (three, January 2018), “Mercy” (two, August actsMontevallo now following has spent in her 267 footsteps weeks on and the list,as someone tying who has lived in the busi- 2018) and “Here Tonight” (two, April 2019). Lukeness roleBryan of ’sthe Crash women My sheParty has as helped the sixth-longest- to honor through the SOURCE Awards. “Catch” completes his longest journey to No. 1, running“[Hosting] titles inmeans the chart’s a lot to 56-year me because history. of my years of being a secretary and having taken 46 weeks to reach the apex. It out- Warner Music Nashville chairman/CEO John Esposito received the workingOn the at all-genre that desk, Billboard and knowing 200, Southside how you had ar- to be good at that position,” paces the 30-week climb of “Here Tonight.” CMA Jo Walker-Meador international award during an Aug. 14 virtual rivesshe says. at No. “You 5, awarding had to know Hunt a hislot ofsecond what topyour 10 boss knew. There’s a lot of re- On Hot Country Songs, “Catch” pushes 7-5 for HUNT YOUNGmeeting with Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern (top) and aftersponsibility the No. 3-peakingsitting there, Montevallo and a lot. of crap comes across that desk that you a new high. CMA vp international relations and development Milly Olykan. kindHunt of have first toreleased sort out the yourself. EPX2C ,It’s which a very debuted important position, it’s hard work, andand you’vepeaked got at toNo. be 5 able on Top to use Country every bit Albums of diplomacy.” in August 2014. Following COMBS ‘DOES’ IT AGAIN Luke Combs’ “Does to Me” (River House/Columbia MontevalloThat said,, Between Seely — the much Pines: like Acoustic Betty White Mixtape — has started figured at its out No. how 7 high to dip in- Nashville), featuring Eric Church, ascends 11-8 on Country Airplay, up 10% to Novemberlomatically 2015. flirt with blue humor and still maintain her shining aura. She 24.7 million in audience. The song is Combs’ eighth straight career-opening demonstratedMontevallo produced that when five she singles,performed four “Anyone of which Whohit the Knows pinnacle What of LoveCountry Is” top 10, following a record run of seven consecutive out-of-the-gate, properly Airplay:recently “Leave on the Opry. the Night As she On,” introduced “Take Your the Time,” song, she “House casually Party” recounted and “Make how promoted No. 1 singles. Youshe hadMiss written Me.” “Break it in the Up early in a Small 1960s. Town” peaked at No. 2. Church adds his 15th Country Airplay top 10. Hunt“Some co-penned guy hollered, all 12‘Holy songs shit!,’ on and Southside I mean, the including entire auditorium “Body Like fell a downBack Road,”laughing,” which she was says released with a chuckle.in 2017. The “I said, smash ‘Yeah, hit ruled that’s Country kind of Airplay what I wasfor THAT TOOK QUITE ‘A FEW’ MONTHS Travis Denning shatters the record for threethinking.’ weeks Everybody and the airplay-, was turning streaming- around and trying sales-based to see who Hot said Country it. This Songs guy, the most weeks it has taken to penetrate the Country Airplay top 10 as “After chartI think for he a then-record was drunk, 34 but frames. [even] It with now ranksSiriusXM second delayed, only to theyBebe didn’t Rexha get and it a Few” (Mercury Nashville) climbs 12-10 in its 57th week, up 4% to 21.4 mil - Floridastopped. Georgia So it went Line out’s “Meanton SiriusXM to Be” for (50 the weeks world.” atop the latter list in 2017-18). lion in radio reach. “Downtown’sSeely is, in her Dead,”eighth decade, which is getting also on the the last new laugh set, reached— honing Nos.