Country Update BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS JANUARY 19, 2021 | PAGE 1 OF 23 INSIDE BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE [email protected] Wallen Swarms What’s New In 2021? 13 Country Acts Hot Country Songs >page 4 With Debut Projects Through June Garth Brooks On It’s a new year, thankfully, and it may turn out to be a signifi- says Barnes. “I had an amazing life, but I knew in my heart this Insurrection, Healing cant one for several new artists taking important first steps in is where I needed to be. God put all this together in the right >page 12 their career paths. time, and I had to say yes to it.” At least 13 acts have their first album or EP set for release Release schedules can change, but here’s a look at 13 country during the first half of the year, with the field including a couple artists planning their first album or EP for a label of significance of former contestants from The Voice, a teenage female who before June 30: Eric Church: earned attention by posting bedroom vocal performances on • Nate Barnes (Quartz Hill) — Signed to former BBR founder Super Man Facebook and a singer-songwriter who caught Nashville’s ears Benny Brown’s new label, Barnes owns a classic country voice >page 14 with a good old-fashioned with a reedy filter shading appearance on a heritage Jimmy Wayne’s tone. He media platform: terres- weaves Southern rock in- trial radio. fluence and a touch of Paisley, Shelton, With streaming pro- modern programming Opry Hit TV viding more means of into a mainstream coun- >page 14 exposure, the volume of try framework. The sin- individual, introductory gle “You Ain’t Pretty” pre- tracks released by labels cedes a debut EP. CLARK CARTWRIGHT HOOT Makin’ Tracks: and indie acts is way up, • Troy Cartwright HARDY, ‘Heaven’ but many of those come (Warner Music Nashville) And ‘Hell’ and go after one or two releases. This list specifically looks — Emerging from the Texan club circuit, Cartwright applies a >page 20 at artists who have inspired enough confidence that a label is slight snarl to a variety of sounds: burning Southern blues in committing to a first album or EP. “Hammer,” light pop-country in “Hung Up on You” or Doobie- The class features plenty of quality, from the self-proclaimed like rhythms in the dance track “Cake for Breakfast.” Look for “bell-bottom country” of Lainey Wilson to the western-fused an EP, perhaps in April. Country Coda: percolations of Ian Munsick to the smooth centrist sound of • Callista Clark (Big Machine) — A 17-year-old from When Nail Tacked Up Nate Barnes, who ended the last year by releasing his debut Zebulon, Ga., Clark has amassed over 65 million views on A No. 1 single, “You Ain’t Pretty.” Facebook, many featuring inventive, unpredictable mash- >page 23 New artists are a roll of the dice for labels, but the career ups. With Aretha Franklin and Jennifer Nettles among her path is likewise enveloped in uncertainty and risk for the acts. icons, she puts a fresh spin on soul phrasing, leading to her YVEASSAD CARTWRIGHT: FAIRCHILD, FORD CLARK: “I left an amazing career working at a nuclear power plant,” first EP in March. BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE JANUARY 19, 2021 | PAGE 2 OF 23 • Hannah Dasher (Sony Music Nashville) — Dasher was still working at Bass Pro when she earned her first cut as a songwriter on a Brad Paisley project. Her ability to twist a phrase — “Guys buy the drinks, girls call the shots” — mirrors Paisley’s, and she brings a stark country resonance to her first EP. • Alex Hall (Monument) — Hall’s smoky tones convey a brightness and optimism, mixing blues and pop influence with his brand of country. He has definitely engaged fellow Nashville musicians: Guests on his Six Strings EP, due Feb. 5, include Vince Gill, Tenille Townes, Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi and Brothers Osborne guitarist John Osborne. • Joey Hendricks (Sony Music Nashville) — The influence of modern trou- badours John Mayer and Keith Urban is evident in Hendricks’ first single, “Yours or Mine,” which was unleashed last July. A former Phoenix club singer, KUPERSMITH SETH Hendricks won a Parallel publishing deal before landing his Sony contract. Brett Young (left) will roll out the BY40 Challenge on Jan. 25, An EP is currently in the works. encouraging fans to join the 10-week fitness program, featuring • Jake Hoot (self-released) — “Soy capitan!” A 2019 winner on The Voice, celebrity trainer Don Saladino (Jake Gyllenhaal, Emily Blunt). Hoot certainly takes command in a remake of “La Bamba,” a highlight from his debut EP, Love Out of Time, arriving Jan. 27. Hoot’s roots are undeniably country, and his voice is big, illustrated in a Kelly Clarkson duet, “I Would’ve Loved You.” • Ian Munsick (Warner Music Nashville) — Wyoming-bred with a tinge of Josh Abbott twang, Munsick ties country, western, J.J. Cale pulse and modern pop phrasing into an inventive ball of ragged hooks. His first album, Coyote Cry, is due Feb. 26 and compelling enough to keep feet stomping until at least July. • Pryor & Lee (Black River) — Roommates while competing on NBC’s The Voice in 2018, Pryor Baird and Kaleb Lee lit a Southern-rock fire in their label debut, “Y’allsome.” Their affinity for Brooks & Dunn and Montgom- ery Gentry points to more burning country in other forthcoming material, expected in a March EP. • Restless Road (Sony Music Nashville) — The harmony-based trio made its Phil Vassar welcomes Lonestar, Tracy Lawrence and Old Dominion’s arena debut opening for Kane Brown last January, only to see the pandemic Matthew Ramsey among his guests for season three of Phil Vassar’s shunt its tour exposure. The group quietly released an indie EP, but is about to Songs From the Cellar podcast, which launched Jan. 15. From announce a signing with Brown’s imprint and plans its first album during Q2. left: Lonestar’s Dean Sams, Vassar and Lonestar members Richie • Teddy Robb (Monument) — His sophomore radio single, “Heaven on Dirt,” McDonald, Keech Rainwater and Michael Britt. rides the Country Airplay chart at No. 54, putting a nostalgic spin on Robb’s subtle scratch. Arriving in Nashville after honing his live chops in Colorado, his easy-going vocal confidence landed a 2020 debut EP. A first full album is in production. • Heath Sanders (Valory) — An Arkansas-bred oil worker, Sanders addresses music with a natural blue-collar grit. Produced by Dann Huff (Thomas Rhett, Brantley Gilbert), Sanders got his break when iHeartMedia’s Bobby Bones spotted a video and brought the then-unsigned singer onto his show. A debut EP, Common Ground, will arrive Jan. 29. • Lainey Wilson (BBR) — Raised on a farm in northeast Louisiana, Wilson inherited her Southern accent and her get-it-done attitude naturally. Produced by Jay Joyce (Miranda Lambert, Eric Church), she has a prior indie album Luke Combs (left) appeared in the Jan. 11 edition of USA Network’s under her belt, but her first with an established label arrives Feb. 19. Straight Up With Steve Austin. FOR YOUR ACM® CONSIDERATION BILLBOARD TOP COUNTRY ARTIST ENTERTAINER & TOP MALE COUNTRY ARTIST OF 2020 OF THE YEAR “THE MOST PROMISING “THIS IS COMBS’ TIME, ———————————— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— —————— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ————— AND INFLUENTIAL NEW AND HE’S SEIZING THE COUNTRY STAR OF THE LAST MOMENT.” FIVE YEARS” - BILLBOARD MALE ARTIST – THE NEW YORK TIMES “ONE OF THE BIGGEST OF THE YEAR “COMBS IS PROBABLY THINGS GOING IN COUNTRY ———————————— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— —————— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ————— THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MUSIC RIGHT NOW” SUPERSTAR IN THE GENRE AT – STEREOGUM THE MOMENT” “ONE OF COUNTRY’S SINGLE – THE WASHINGTON POST OF THE YEAR BRIGHTEST STARS” “BETTER TOGETHER” - VULTURE ———————————— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— —————— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ————— MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR “DOES TO ME” (FEAT. ERIC CHURCH) ———————————— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— —————— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ———— ————— VIDEO OF THE YEAR “LOVIN’ ON YOU” © 2021 Sony Music Entertainment. BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE JANUARY 19, 2021 | PAGE 4 OF 23 ON THE CHARTS JIM ASKER [email protected] Wallen Makes Record-Setting Start With Dangerous: The Double Album; It Gets Even ‘Better’ For Combs On Country Airplay Morgan Wallen’s second LP, Dangerous: The Double Album (Big Loud/ sold, and flies in atop Country Streaming Songs (marking his fifth No. 1) and Republic), blasts in atop the all-genre Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums Country Digital Song Sales (third). charts dated Jan. 23. Wallen makes even more history by swarming the Hot Country Songs top The 30-song set, released Jan. 8, launches with 265,000 equivalent album 10 with a one-week record six titles, all from Dangerous. Previously, seven acts units earned in the week ending Jan. 14, according to MRC Data. (including Wallen) placed as many as three tracks in the top 10 at once. Join- Wallen earns his first Billboard 200 leader, after his ing “Wasted,” “More