The nominees for the 2025 CMA Awards have been announced. The awards will be presented on Wednesday November 19th in Nashville, broadcast live on ABC-TV. “THE 59TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINAL NOMINEES (by ballot category order): ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Luke Combs Cody Johnson Chris Stapleton Morgan Wallen Lainey Wilson SINGLE OF THE YEARAward […]
The co-host this wknd is Russell Dickerson, who’s in our Top 5 with “Matters To Me.” His new album, “Famous Back Home,” was just released. He’s about to kick off his fall Russellmania tour. Russell told Lon this story about a song on his new album called “Never Leave:” “Somebody played me this song, but […]
This wknd the co-host is Keith Urban, who joins Lon from Australia. He’s on his High & Alive World Tour, and just spent the month of August in Australia. He returns to North America this week, and the tour continues thru October in Nashville. He’s also part of the new TV talent contest “The Road,” […]
The history of country music is filled with songs about work and workers. The Father of Country Music, Jimmie Rodgers, wrote a dozen songs on the subject, mostly about trains and trainmen, but also about muleskinners, sailors, and farmers. Recent history has continued the trend, with Merle Haggard, Alabama, and Alan Jackson each delivering several appropriate […]
While co-hosting Country Countdown USA, Shaboozey mentioned that he & his father were recently driving around Nashville looking at houses. So Lon asked him what he meant by that, because he’s lived in LA for more than ten years. “I love LA, it’s awesome, great weather, so many of my friends are here. lotta creative […]
The co-host this wknd is Shaboozey, who makes his first appearance as Lon’s co-host. His current Top 5 is “Good News.” He also had a huge hit in 2024: “A Bar Song (Tipsy.)” Lon began by asking him what the year’s been like: “It’s been a dream come true. It feels a little like destiny. I’ve been doing […]
The co-host this wknd is Bailey Zimmerman, who joins Katie Neal while Lon is away. Bailey & Luke Combs are in our Top 5 with “Backup Plan.” Bailey explains why he chose Luke for this song, and how they shot the video at this year’s Stagecoach. Bailey debuted “Backup Plan” last spring during Luke Combs’ Stagecoach show: “Him […]
The co-host this wknd is Thomas Rhett, who’s in our Top 5 with After All The Bars Are Closed. He’s on the road now with the Better In Boots Tour. He’s playing a stadium show this weekend in Cleveland with Morgan Wallen. He also updates us on his four little girls. He’s been joined on […]
The co-host this wknd is Luke Bryan, who is in our Top 10 with “Country Song Came On.” He’s currently on the road all summer. He says he’s ready with new music that’ll be released later this year. He has great stories about the artists who took part in this year’s Crash My Playa festival […]
This past week, Josh Ross achieved his first #1. It was actually his first Top 30 hit in the United States. Country Countdown USA host Lon Helton and his co-host Chris Janson called Josh to congratulate him. Where were you when you got the news? “I got woken up with a call on zoom with […]
