3 January 2020

Hot Country Knights – fronted by Dierks Bentley using an alias – have signed with UMG Nashville and are planning to “bring real 90s country music back.” You can watch a video of their signing below. [wpdevart_youtube]t7keuw5uhAY[/wpdevart_youtube] The firmly tongue in cheek group consists of Bentley’s road band, who play a host of 90s country music covers while dressed in wigs and some of the most extravagant clothes from the decade. Bentley himself goes under the name Douglas ‘Doug’ Douglason for the group and a press release from UMG Nashville claimed that the group were going to “bring real ’90s country music back to a format that’s been drowning in male sensitivity, cashmere cardigan sweaters and programmed drum loops.” Speaking about the record deal, Douglason/Bentley said that country music could very much use a shot in the arm and that Hot Country Knights are exactly what the genre needs. “Some artists out there tried to put the ‘O’ back in country, that was a thing for a while…. but what it’s really missing is the ‘T,’” Douglason/Bentley said. “Country music has Low-T right now…it could use a pick me up, if you know what I mean. Those record label people over at Universal finally realised that only the Knights could be up to a task this big and hard.” UMG Nashville work with Bentley on his solo ventures, meaning that both his music and the soon to be released music from Hot Country Knights will all fall under the umbrella of that label.

Carrie Underwood is standing down as host of the CMA Awards after 12 years of doing so, saying that it’s “time to pass the hosting torch.” While Underwood is very much known for her music first and foremost, she had become a staple of the CMA Awards for her hosting, which began in 2007. At the 53rd CMA Awards in November 2019, Underwood controversially missed out on the Entertainer of the Year Award, which went to Garth Brooks for the third time in four years, with many believing that 2019 would be Underwood’s year. Speaking about her decision on her Instagram page, Underwood said that she doesn’t feel she can keep topping previous years and that being allowed to host the awards is something that she feels so lucky and grateful to have been able to do, while also saying that she has got a lot of things coming in 2020. “One of the highlights of 2019 and of my entire career so far was being on stage with the legends that are Reba and Dolly Parton,” Underwood said. ” I’m so proud that we could celebrate the incredible female artists that are part of the legacy of country music, past, present and future and I’m thankful for the huge audiences all over the world that tuned in to see it. “It’s hard to believe that it was my 12th year hosting and I will always treasure every show, from the 11 that I was so lucky to do with my partner in crime and friend for life, Brad Paisley, to sharing the stage with two of my all-time heroes. I’m so incredibly grateful to everyone involved with the CMA Awards all these years. “It’s hard to imagine topping what we have accomplished together, so I’ve decided that it’s time to pass the hosting torch (at least for now!) to others that will cherish it and honour it as much as I do. “I’ve got so many exciting things coming in the new year and beyond, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for all of us.”