Elvie Shane at No. 1, Chris Young and Kane Brown celebrate… and more
By Preshias Harris
Here’s a quick round-up of some of the stories that will be in my column in November. Scroll down for news about Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, Chris Young, Kane Brown, this year’s NSAI Annual Song Contest, the 2021 inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame … and “My Boy” Elvie Shane’s long climb to No. 1!
“My Boy” tops Billboard Airplay chart
Elvie Shane is No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart dated Oct. 23, 2021! Elvie’s debut single, “My Boy” (Wheelhouse), leaps from No. 5 to No. 1 for its 54th week on the chart, according to MRC Data. That’s right: a nail-biting fifty-four week climb!
On Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart (blending airplay, streaming and sales data), “My Boy” rose from No. 7 to No. 4. Written by Elvie along with Nick Columbia, Lee Starr and Russell Sutton, “My Boy” is a track from Elvie’s upcoming album Backslider, set for release Oct. 29.
Earlier on Instagram, I proudly posted:
So excited for @elvieshanemusic. He has the #1 #countrymusic song for #Myboy. I gave him this 2021 music milestone plaque when he, Mandy and their baby stopped by the office a couple of weeks ago. Photos are of his first tour bus, his first Grand Ole Opry appearance, Bonnaroo stage, and Elvie, Mandy and Caleb in a People Magazine exclusive. I watched him work hard all these years and wanted to give him something to remind him how truly special 2021 has been for his career and his family. I was blessed to be there at the journey’s start. Love y’all Elvie.
“My Boy” was written from Elvie’s perspective as a stepfather. “We’ve been told for five years that this song was a No.1,” Shane told Billboard. “I always found it hard to believe that I could be part of something like that.”
Preorder/presave Backslider here.
NSAI’s Song Contest open for entries
There’s still time to enter NSAI’s 22nd Annual Song Contest, with entries accepted now through November 30, 2021 at 5:00 pm CST. The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) along with presenting sponsors The Bluebird Cafe and CMT are inviting songwriters around the world to submit their songs and/or lyrics for a chance to win up to $5,000 cash, a one-year single-song contract with Anthem Entertainment, tickets to the 2022 CMT Awards, a 3-day trip to Nashville, and one of two incredible mentor sessions. The winner of the Song Category gets a one-on-one mentor session with mega-hit songwriter Rhett Akins and the Lyric-Only category winner will get the opportunity to learn from pop songwriting sensation Ali Tamposi in a one-on-one mentor session.
Each year the contest provides an opportunity for songwriters of all genres to have their song(s) and lyrics evaluated and judged by industry professionals through several phases of judging, with every entry receiving a scorecard with the song evaluation Final judging will take place in February 2022. Full details here with updates posted here and on NSAI’s official social media.
Chris Young, Kane Brown celebrate “Famous Friends”
Best friends Chris Young and Kane Brown together celebrated their duet single, “Famous Friends,” at a Number One party held at the Dawg House Saloon in Nashville, October 18. The party honored Cary Barlowe and Corey Crowder who co-wrote “Famous Friends” alongside Chris Young. The uptempo single was released in November 2020 and began its multi-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart on July 17, 2021. It marked Young’s tenth No. 1 and Brown’s sixth and is the third single from Young’s seventh studio album – also named Famous Friends (RCA Nashville).
This wasn’t the first time that they have recorded a duet: Young’s voice was previously heard on “Setting the Night on Fire,” a track on the Deluxe version of Brown’s 2017 self-titled album. More about Chris Young here and Kane Brown here.
Songwriters Hall of Fame honors Class of 2021 and 2020
For a songwriter, being inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame is considered one of the music industry’s highest achievements. The honoured members of the Class of 2021 are Rhett Akins and Buddy Cannon in the songwriter category; John Scott Sherrill in the veteran songwriter category; Toby Keith as songwriter/artist and Amy Grant as veteran songwriter/artist. The five new inductees-elect will join the 213 previously inducted members of the elite organization when they are officially inducted during the “50/51” Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala on Monday, November 1, at the Music City Center in Nashville.
Because the organization’s 50th Anniversary celebration was postponed last year, this year’s event will honor two classes in a special double-sized event that will also spotlight NSHoF’s previously named Class of 2020: Steve Earle, Bobbie Gentry, Kent Blazy, Brett James and Spooner Oldham. More about the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame here.
Luke Bryan’s single heading “Up”
Five-Time Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan, fresh off a West Coast run on his Proud To Be Right Here Tour celebrated with his UMG Nashville team as his latest single “Up” debuted mid-October as the most-added song in the nation at country radio. “Up” is the sixth single from Luke’s #1 debuting Born Here Live Here Die Here album that already contains five consecutive #1 singles. The song was written by Jeremy Bussey, Taylor Phillips and Bobby Pinson.
Luke has debuted a new music video for his song “Bill Dance,” another track from the album, in honor of Dance’s 81st birthday. The song was written by Luke, Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip. Since his debut, Luke Bryan has garnered 27 #1 hits and has more RIAA certified digital singles than any other country artist with 68.5 million, has 15.6 billion streams worldwide, and has sold nearly 13 million albums. Visit www.LukeBryan.com or follow Luke on Twitter @LukeBryanOnline, Instagram and Facebook.
Brad Paisley’s tour helps fund The Store nonprofit
Brad Paisley wrapped his Tour 2021 with a final run of shows on the West Coast. Special guests on the tour included multi-platinum selling and current ACM New Male Artist Jimmie Allen and Columbia Nashville rising star Kameron Marlowe. Live Nation was the official promoter of the tour. The tour played 30+ stops across the nation playing major markets like Tampa, Dallas, Houston, Charlotte, Raleigh, Chicago, Phoenix and more. Tour 2021 kicked off in Nashville, Tenn. on July 4 for Music City’s Let Freedom Sing! concert breaking attendance records as 350,000 people gathered into downtown for the show.
A portion of all ticket Tour 2021 sales are going to The Store – a nonprofit free-referral based grocery store co-founded by Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. The Store opened for in-store clients in March 2020, following the March 3 tornado that devastated parts of Nashville. The Store was open for only four days when the COVID-19 pandemic became widespread, and it was obvious in-store shopping was not going to be feasible. The Store, now reopened, serves 450 families a month. More information on The Store at www.thestore.org.
The next edition of my monthly column, Inside Track on Music Row, will be posted in November at Nashville Music Guide. Meanwhile, catch up with the October edition here.