Luke Bryan is celebrating the release of his 8th studio album, Mind of a Country Boy, and while it has a lot of the hip-shaking, dance anthems we love to hear from the five-time Entertainer of the Year, he’s also reminding fans he can still tap into some big emotions.

One song in particular that’s popping off the track list for many due to its emotion is, “For The Kids.” Co-written by Luke, the song brings raw honesty and a relatable message that details the strain parenthood can put on a marriage.

“I think, naturally, there are phases in your marriage that the kids are kind of like the dominating thing of the marriage and a lot of times they're what keeps the marriage going and keeps it together,” Luke told Audacy’s Katie Neal of the idea behind the song. “I want people when they hear it to go, ‘Oh yeah, we forgot that Luke can do this from time to time and really hit us with a big heartfelt emotion song.'”

The track is one of many that Luke co-wrote for the album, which he says resulted in the whole project becoming a direct reflection of where he’s at in life both personally and professionally.

“What I'm proud about is, I think that all the songs on the album… it's where I'm at as a human and as an artist,” he expressed. “I think I can sing any song on this album with a lot of pride and really put my heart and soul in it. I think the fans will hear all that.”

While he surely digs deep with songs like “For The Kids,” Bryan also shows his fun side and that he can stay relevant in the new era of Country music (according to his sons’ playlists).

“'Southern and Slow' is the dude song on the album," and “But I Got A Beer In My Hand,” he said when asked what songs his teenage sons seem to listen to most.

“They're listening to what all the kids are listening to around the world,” he said before sharing it makes him extra proud when one of his songs makes their playlist. “The Dylan Marlowes and the Dylan Scotts and theres some other Dylans out there they're listening to,“ he laughed. “And then they're obviously listening to Morgan [Wallen] and Luke [Combs]. So, whenever dad gets in their playlist, that means I'm hitting. I can still kind of sneak one in to the younger places.”

Hear all about the album, creative process, and more by listening to the Superstar Power Hour with Katie & Company every weekday from 2PM - 3PM on your favorite Audacy Country station!

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Cody Johnson’s new single, “I’m Gonna Love You,” featuring Carrie Underwood is proof that songs land exactly where they’re supposed to, when they’re supposed to.

During his recent appearance on the Superstar Power Hour with Audacy’s Katie Neal, COJO opened up about how the song came to be and its 10-year journey to finally get recorded and finding a spot on an album.

Written by Travis Denning alongside Chris Stevens and Kelly Archer, the tune was originally intended to be a single for Denning. “I heard this Travis Denning song, ‘I’m Gonna Love You,’ and I fell in love with it,” Johnson explained of the first time he heard the song. “[I] was like, ‘Man, I really want to have this song — I feel like it’s got potential to be something on radio, I love the lyrics.”

Unfortunately, for Johnson (at the time), Denning’s team stood firm and kept the song for him and Johnson was forced to move on. A couple years later, Denning decided to forego recording the single, but the word never got to Cody. Instead, Denning’s label mate, Carrie Underwood, got her hands on the song, which she ultimately passed on as she felt it didn’t fit the vibe of her album.

Fast forward to present day — “I’m Gonna Love You,” resurfaced in mind for Johnson and after reaching out, he was told it was up for grabs. It was a no-brainer for the Texas native, who scooped up the tune he knew was a fit from the first time he heard it years ago.

“Most of the songs that I have recorded that have become big hits have sat around in Nashville for over 10 years,” he explained. “Whenever my ear heard them, I immediately went, ‘Wow! How in the hell has this song sat here 10 years?’”

Now that he had the song on lock, the hunt for a duet partner was on. Although it might seem like a daunting task, it wasn’t a tough search for Johnson who had his sights set on one person — Carrie Underwood.

“There was talk of Lainey Wilson, there was talk of Miranda Lambert, there was talk of maybe a ‘90s female artist and I was like, ’No, I just really hear Carrie’s voice on this. I’d like the opportunity to sing with her.'” It was unbeknownst to him she’d already passed on the song once.

Luckily, that worked in his favor as Underwood saw the second opportunity with the song as a clear sign that it was meant to be and agreed to the duet with Cody whom she’d only met at awards briefly before. The pair spent time in the studio working directly with each other and ultimately landed on a finalized recording that they sang standing next to one another in one take in the studio.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Cody Johnson’s new single, “I’m Gonna Love You,” featuring Carrie Underwood is proof that songs land exactly where they’re supposed to, when they’re supposed to.

The single is the first taste of Cody’s newly-announced new album, Leather Deluxe Edition, arriving November 1. The project is an extension of his 2023 album, Leather, and follow up to 2021’s Human The Double Album. While he says he had more than enough music to release another double album, Johnson shared the decision to do a deluxe was strategic and one to protect his fans from content overload, making sure all songs get the spotlight they deserve.

“We had Human The Double Album and I didn’t want to seem redundant and have another double album,” he expressed. “Here’s the issue with a double album…. I feel like on Human, a lot of great songs got overlooked because of single timing and how much content was out at one time.”

He continued, “If I’m the consumer, I’ve got to look at all 25 songs and that’s a lot to digest. I’ve learned through the years that people’s attention span sometimes is very short. I’ve seen it in radio, I’ve seen it with consumption [and] streaming.”

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

New music from Keith Urban is here with the release of his new album, HIGH, and he joined Audacy’s Katie Neal for a conversation surrounding the songs, creative process, and “dark humor” of the title.

After a public battle to sobriety nearly 20 years ago, Keith isn’t hiding from his past with the title, HIGH, which may raise some eyebrows now that he is 18 years sober. “I love the dark comedy of it, given my past. That's very intentional,” Keith said of the title. “But it also means something different to every person that hears the word. I mean, some people immediately think of just great sort of euphoria, or being in a mountain, or being in love, or getting good news, or being fit and healthy, or whatever it is. It's a place…. how we all get there is different but we all agree on the destination.”

With many of the songs capturing the feelings and moments of being “high on life,” Urban does address his dark past head-on with the closing track, “BREAK THE CHAIN.” A song that was born out of his own struggles with drug and alcohol addiction in addition to growing up with an alcoholic father. While the subject matter is heavy, Urban presents pure hope and a refreshing mindset to those that may be going through a hard time.

“That was just one of those beautiful, divine days where a song wants to come out and we happen to be in the right place at the right time portaling it in,” he said of writing the song alongside Marc Scibilia. “That song wanted to be here and I'm grateful that we were able to bring it in because it was not something I had in mind.”

He continued, “I come from a family with an alcoholic father and being raised in that environment… all its challenges aren't really apparent at the time, but as I get older I've got a lot of dysfunctions I'm trying to work through,” he expressed. “I can either keep blaming my circumstance, which is not my fault… it's nobody's fault whose family they're born into, but at some point it becomes my responsibility to change that… No matter what it is, that bit is up to me to be willing to take the steps to change past behaviors and break the chain.”

While clearly unafraid to touch on topics of real intensity, Keith also gives us plenty of his fun, playful, guitar-shredding style on songs like, “LAUGHIN’ ALL THE WAY TO THE DRANK,” where he not only name-checks actor, Matthew McConaughey, but also gives his best impression writing, “alright, alright, alright,” into the lyrics.

“I actually FaceTimed him when I was recording the song,” Keith said, before sharing he asked McConaughey if he’d be interested in coming in to record his infamous “Alright, alright, alright” line for the track. Unfortunately, McConaughey filming schedule didn’t allow him to make it happen, however, Urban said he was very appreciative for the shout-out.

In addition to brand new songs like “LAUGHIN’ ALL THE WAY TO THE DRANK,” and “BREAK THE CHAIN,” fans will also hear some familiar tunes on the album including current single, “MESSED UP AS ME,” and previously-released tracks, “HEART LIKE A HOMETOWN,” “STRAIGHT LINE,” WILDSIDE” and “GO HOME W U (WITH LAINEY WILSON).”

Experience the "HIGH" of them all by checking out the new album, HIGH, available now.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Country music is having a global moment and Tullahoma, Tennessee native, Dustin Lynch, could not be more proud.

During his time as a guest on Audacy’s Superstar Power Hour with Katie Neal, Lynch opened up about the current state of Country music and the excitement he feels seeing others embrace the genre he’s known his entire life.

“With the success of Morgan [Wallen] worldwide and Luke Combs and then the album that HARDY made [Quit!] that was rippin’ and rockin’, it's really opened to a lot of these, ‘I hate Country. I'm a Rock fan. I'm a Rap fan’ people,” Dustin shared of the current expansion of the Country music fanbase. “It’s opened the genre up… some guys and girls that probably had always written Country music off as a whole and dip their toe in it. They go, ‘Oh, maybe I like this.’”

While there’s clearly been a major shift in the acceptance from once-skeptical fans, there’s also been a shift on the artist side as mainstream artists are also taking a dip in the Country pool. With unexpected Country albums from Beyoncè and Post Malone this year, Country music is gaining appeal to more artists and Lynch says he’s witnessed the impact first hand with pal and Alternative Rocker/Rapper, Machine Gun Kelly.

Dustin shared he and MGK have been friends for a few years as they’re both part of an annual group trip to Lake Powell, and the the change in his attitude surrounding Country from their first meeting has been monumental. “The first year that I was on that trip, you couldn't get Kells [MGK] to even give Country the time of day,” Dustin said. “Really, he hated it… Since then, it's evolved. I think the genre has, you know, probably in a way made him respect and recognize.”

It’s been quite the evolution for MGK as he went from not giving Country music the time of day to now having his own Country collaboration with one of modern-day Country’s biggest artists, Jelly Roll. In July, the pair gave one of the genre’s most iconic songs the crossover treatment with the release of “Lonely Road,” which samples John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” from 1971.

Mainstream artists like Machine Gun Kelly aren’t the only ones having fun with the shake-up — longtime Country artists like Dustin himself are also enjoying pushing the boundaries of what Country music has always been and that’s exactly what Lynch did with his most-recent single, “Chevrolet,” featuring Jelly Roll.

“I was scared to death of it.” Lynch admitted when he first heard the song which interpolates Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" from 1973. “Interpolation of a classic song that’s been around forever — it's like, ‘Okay, can we do this again?’”

He continued, “I was just nervous. I didn't want to be judged, you know, and that's probably why the conversation ever started [of featuring Jelly Roll]. Like, ‘Should we bring in somebody else in to soften the blow?’”

With the song recently reaching number one on the charts marking a 10th hit record for Lynch, he’s happy he went for it, but says he’s ready to return to a more original Country sound with his new music, which is in the works.

“There's a song on the Killed the Cowboy album that really inspired, I think, what's going to be the next chapter for me,” Lynch revealed. “And that’s, 'Honky Tonk Heartbreaker,' just musically and sonically, that one excites me a lot. It's fresh and new for me, kind of getting back to where I started with, 'Cowboys and Angels,' a little bit. There's no definite direction yet.”

While all the logistics if the next album are still very much in the beginning stages, Lynch says there’s one thing for sure — he wants it to be fun. “I want to keep it light and fun and make music for guys and girls to dance too,” he shared. “I think that's kind of where I'm at in life right now just providing some fun for some people… I think I want more of those moments in our show right now.”

Hear more about his ideas surrounding a new album, his friendship with MGK, his inability to “veg out” and more by checking out Dustin Lynch’s full interview on the Superstar Power Hour with Katie Neal above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Chris Young is a man of many talents. Not only does he have 14 number ones under his belt at Country radio — including his most recent, “Young Love and Saturday Nights,” but he’s also a closet breakdancer.

Young’s breakdancing talent has been exposed thanks to his mom, Becky Harris, who shared his secret during an appearance on the Got It From My Mama Podcast with Jennifer Vickery Smith which has resurfaced following breakdancing being added to the Olympics this year.

“Down on second avenue [Nashville] there was a group of B-boys that would actually go meet up so i would play shows acoustic and then go down to second avenue and they had cardboard and a drummer.”

He continued “A lot of those guys were really close friends of mine and I just picked it up. It was something that I thought was really fun. I guess that's part of me being a Gemini because that has absolutely no bearing on me being a Country artist.”

While Young seems to have some serious cred, fans shouldn’t expect to see him bust any moves at upcoming shows. “It’s a party trick,” he said when asked if he could bust out some moves on the spot. “Nor will I do it on stage because everybody immediately goes and asks for that.”

Breakdancing may have no place on Young’s current Young Love & Saturday Nights Tour, but he did share some unexpected things that do when asked about his pre-show rituals.

“There are multiple handshakes, there are certain things that I'm just a creature of habit about praying before I go on stage,” he shared. “My stage manager always has a movie quote that he says once we're ready to go for the show — different movie every day and we all have to try and guess what movie it is. I actually love that.”

We’re sure many of those quotes come from sports movies as Young is a known sports fanatic made clear by the bling he sports on his finger which is a legitimate World Series ring for the Texas Rangers. “I know people that know people,” he said when asked how he got the official bling.

“I didn’t think honestly I’d be able to get one,” he admitted. “I was making a casual observation that those rings are really, really cool and I used to live in Arlington, Texas and went to Rangers games.”

Definitely a man of many different hobbies, music still holds the top spot in Young’s heart and he’s feeling extra grateful that his most recent album, Young Love & Saturday Nights, has been received so well by fans. “There's so many songs that people have leaned into,” he said of the project, which released earlier this year. “That's really all you're hoping for as an artist is for people to love your music and relate to it.”

Hear about the music, hobbies, breakdancing and so much more by checking out Young’s full conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal on the Superstar Power Hour above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Music has always been a family affair for Thomas Rhett. From spending his childhood on the road with his Dad, Rhett Akins in the 90s, to his own successful music career today with many of his songs centering around his wife and their four daughters — Rhett has proven himself a true family man and his fans love him for it.

The family inspiration continues with Rhett’s recently released, 7th studio album, About A Woman, which as most could guess is filled with tracks inspired by his wife, Lauren. Also the inspiration behind many of Rhett’s biggest hits including “Die A Happy Man,” “Look What God Gave Her” and “Unforgettable,” Lauren is no stranger to being the subject of a hit song, but this go-around she had a special request for her husband of 12 years.

“She was like, ‘I love when you write songs about me, but can you make me dance this go around?’” Rhett said of his wife’s request for this project. “And so that was kind of my bar, and sort of my benchmark.”

Lauren wasn’t the only one ready to dance — Rhett says his four daughters also helped him select some of the songs for the album and were clearly loyal to the ones that made them want to move including, “Fool,” which Rhett says is their clear favorite.

“I remember playing the demo of that for them,” he shared of the track that sits number one in honor of his girls. “That was Willa Gray's number one of the whole record, like most requested song. That, for me, was enough to be like, ‘Alright, well, this is your track on the record and we'll put it number one for you.'”

Rhett credits the support and fun-loving nature of his wife and kids for helping him accomplish this number one goal with the album, which he shares was to put a smile on every listeners’ face. “The first mission was to bring joy,” he shared. “Like, literally, that was like at the root of every song we sat down to write was like, does this put a smile on your face?”

His second goal was to make the project digestible in a world full of massive music releases including double, triple, and quadruple albums. “I remember the conversation being so long about how many songs makes a record good these days because it's all over the place. Some people are putting out EPs, some people are putting out songs with 40 songs on the project… at the end of the day, I wanted to make a record that… felt digestible, something that you could carve out 36 minutes of your time to listen to, and hopefully it had the repeatability.”

That’s exactly what the 34-year-old served up with 14 tracks encompassing joy, musicality and talent, once again, proving he’s at his best when influenced by the love, inspiration, and support of his family.

Hear more about the album, upcoming live shows and his family by checking out Thomas Rhett’s full conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal