I guess I have been living under a rock… because I had no idea Kesha’s wrote a massive country hit.. If you’re anywhere in your late 20’s and early 30’s, then I’m sure Kesha’s songs like “Your Love Is My Drug” and “TiK ToK” still bring the nostalgia. The pop star has had huge hits and at one time was probably the biggest pop star in the world, or on a short list as one of them, but she has also been in the media quite a bit over the last decade because in 2014, Kesha accused Dr. Luke, one of her former producers, of sexual, physical, emotional, and verbal abuse, and attempted to break her contract with his label, Kemosabe Records. After Kesha’s accusations, Dr. Luke filed a defamation lawsuit, noting that her claims were false and defamatory. While the two reached a settlement agreement in 2023, Kesha’s nearly decade-long battle was very tumultuous. That garnered a ton of attention, and Kesha is now back to putting out new music, and she comes by her musical chops very honestly because her mom, Rosemary Patricia “Pebe” Sebert, is a very accomplished songwriter who wrote one of Dolly Parton’s early hits, believe it or not, in addition to of course writing for her daughter as well as Miranda Cosgrove, Miley Cyrus, Pitbull and more. The songs Sebert wrote for other artists have combined sales of over 8 million copies in the United States alone, and she released her self-titled debut album in 2025 through Kesha’s own independent record label, Kesha Records. But really, her signature song which is now a country classic is “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You,” which Sebert penned with then-husband Hugh Moffatt (who is not Kesha’s father) for country artist Joe Sun for his album Old Flames. Dolly then included a cover of the song on her 1980 album Dolly, Dolly, Dolly, and it became a huge hit, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. I honestly had no idea, but it being Kesha’s mom who wrote such a country classic is kind of mind blowing… I never would have guessed it. But some of that country influence still shows up in Kesha’s own catalog from time to time, and she previously recorded an acoustic version of “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You” for her 2013 Deconstructed EP. Kesha also recorded a song called “Resentment” in 2019 for her 2020 album High Road, which features country’s own Sturgill Simpson on background vocals and harmonies in the song’s chorus, and Brian Wilson (of The Beach Boys) and songwriter Wrabel are on it it too. Additionally, Kesha has worked with Morgan Wade, so she definitely knows her country, and I imagine that’s due in large part to her mom’s influence. And Kesha and Dolly brought “Old Flames” completely full-circle in 2017, Kesha and Dolly teamed up for a re-recording of the song for Kesha’s album Rainbow. While Kesha understandably had a lot going on in her personal life over the last decade or so, before that, she really was one of the world’s biggest young pop stars, and it’s cool to know that her mom is also a very important part of Dolly history. We have Kesha’s mom, Pebe Sebert, to thank for helping Dolly kick of her career with a massive hit and put her on the track to icon status… I mean, she has to be the coolest mom ever. “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You” Here’s the Kesha and Dolly duet: And “Resentment” with Sturgill: Kesha was also recently featured on Morgan Wade’s song “Walked on Water”: The post Did You Know Kesha’s Mom Wrote One Of Dolly Parton’s Biggest #1 Hits? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

What a moment for CoJo. After featuring the likes of Koe Wetzel, Riley Green, Chris Stapleton, Cross Canadian Ragweed, The Red Clay Strays and more over the past few weeks, Texas’ largest rodeo, Rodeo Houston, came to a close for the year with a bang last night, featuring none other than the local legend himself, Cody Johnson. Johnson, who is no stranger to the world of rodeo himself, pulled out all the stops on the final night. Along with openers, Jon Pardi and Randy Houser, he would surprise the crowd with both Carrie Underwood for a performance of their platinum hit, “I’m Gonna Love You,” as well as Carín León for their 2025 collaboration, “She Hurts Like Tequila.” In turn, the “Dirt Cheap” singer would set Rodeo Houston’s concert-only attendance record, performing to a crowd of over 80,000. This would subsequently break George Strait’s record of 80,020 at the event, which was set back on March 17, 2019. “HISTORY MADE! 80,203 guests showed out tonight at RODEOHOUSTON for an unforgettable performance by Cody Johnson, Jon Pardi and Randy Houser shattering the all-time concert-only attendance record.” View this post on Instagram I personally couldn’t think of a more deserving, local artist to break the record than CoJo. And to no one’s surprise, the “Blame Texas” singer capped off the night in style with a patented, powerful speech to commemorate the accomplishment. Beginning the speech, Johnson would reflect back on all the “no’s” he was told throughout his career, noting all the doubters he had due to his traditional sound and style. “I didn’t have this prepared, but right now, what’s going on in my brain, in case you were wondering, is I can remember being told no over and over and over again — ‘No, the cowboy hat’s not gonna work in Nashville,’ ‘No, your music’s too country; you’re just a Texas artist.’ ‘No, you can’t draw that many people at Houston Rodeo.'” He’d also speak directly to all the children present at the show, giving them a timely reminder to go out and work hard for their dreams: “I want to talk directly to every child in the room tonight. If you want something out of this life, you get up, you go to work and you put it all on the line and you go get it yourself. Nobody’s gonna hand it to you.” Wrapping up the powerful speech, he’d tell the crowd that they were all family for the night. Noting how it has always been his dream to break George Strait’s previous record of 80,020 back in 2019, Johnson would invite Strait to return so he could watch his record get broken by the King. “Tonight is a very momentous occasion for me and you, every one of you. Tonight, we’re family. You buying a ticket to the rodeo tonight helped me accomplish a goal that I’ve been wanting to accomplish my entire life. You are sitting smack dab in the middle of the largest sell-out in Houston Rodeo in NRG Stadium history. Somebody, please tell George Strait that, so he’ll come back and try to break my record, ’cause I’m getting a front row seat, baby.” At this point, I think it should go without saying that you should never skip a speech from CoJo. While there have been multiple contenders for the best of his career so far, this one might just take the cake. Watch here: View this post on Instagram Cody Johnson Tour Dates March 28 – Little Rock, Arkansas – Simmons Bank Arena with Kip Moore & Carter Faith April 10 – Bossier City, Louisiana – Brookshire Grocery Arena with Kip Moore April 24 – Indio, California – Stagecoach May 2 – Clemson, South Carolina – Death Valley (Clemson Stadium) May 9 – Des Moines, Iowa – Casey’s Corner May 30 – Rosemont, Illinois – Allstate Center July 11 – Cavendish, Prince Edward Island – Cavendish Beach Music Festival July 17 – Columbus, Ohio – Nationwide Arena with Drew Baldridge July 18 – Columbus, Ohio – Nationwide Arena with Ian Munsick & Walker Montgomery July 25 – Jacksonville, Florida – Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena August 8 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Paycom Center August 22 – Knoxville, Tennessee – Food City Center August 29 – Saint Paul, Minnesota – Grand Casinoa Arena September 12 – Tacoma, Washington – Tacoma DomeThe post “Nobody’s Gonna Hand It To You”: Cody Johnson Delivers Emotional Speech During Record-Breaking Rodeo Houston Show first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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It’s time to give Justin Moore the respect he deserves. The “Small Town USA” singer dropped his greatest hits album, Greatest Hits…Moore To Come on Friday, a 17-track album featuring his thirteen #1 singles, as well as four other tracks including his latest single “Time’s Ticking” featuring Dierks Bentley and his cover of Mötley Crüe’s “Home Sweet Home” featuring Vince Neil. With a resumé of #1 hits like “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away,” “Why We Drink,” “Til My Last Day,” “You, Me and Whiskey” featuring Priscilla Block and “Lettin’ the Night Roll,” the entire album is a reminder of just how underrated Justin Moore is as a consistent hitmaker for the past two decades. Justin is one of the few artists who got his start in the mid-2000s and managed to make it through the 2010s without falling into the “bro-country” sound that dominated the decade. The closest he came to changing his sound was on his 2016 Kinda Don’t Care album with singles like “Somebody Else Will” – but on that same album were stone-cold country songs like the album’s title track, as well as one of my favorite songs Justin’s ever recorded, the heartbreaker “Hell On A Highway.” To remain true to your sound for nearly 20 years is an impressive feat in and of itself, especially in an industry where the sound changes so drastically over the years and artists are quick to chase the next big thing. And not only has Justin remained authentic throughout his entire career, but he’s also been consistently releasing hits in three separate decades now: His first #1 single came in 2009 with “Small Town USA,” and his latest was his 2024 single “This Is My Dirt.” That’s an impressively long career of hits, especially considering all of the flash-in-the-pan artists who have come and gone over that time span. It’s a disservice to Justin, though, to only talk about his #1 hits when discussing his career. Some of his best songs – and in fact, some of his biggest hits – never hit #1 on the charts, and many of them never even made it to radio. One of the first songs you think about when you think of Justin Moore is probably “Bait A Hook,” a song that was released in 2011 and still goes viral every few months on TikTok. Though it’s one of Justin’s biggest hits, it only peaked at #17 on the charts. And songs like “Someday I Gotta Quit” from his 2019 Late Nights and Longnecks album or “Old Habits,” his duet with Miranda Lambert from Justin’s 2013 Off the Beaten Path album, are some of the best that he’s recorded. Another thing that any Justin Moore fan can vouch for is that he puts on one of the best live shows in country music: While he’s a reserved guy in person, on stage Justin consistently delivers high-energy performances that are just constant parades of hit after hit with passionate fans singing along to every word. Still, throughout his career, Justin has been consistently overlooked by awards shows: He’s been nominated for just one ACM Award, which he won when he took home the trophy for New Artist of the Year in 2014 (five years after his debut album). He’s never been nominated for a single CMA Award, which is absolutely bats–t insane considering the career he’s had – and even crazier when you look at some of the artists who HAVE been nominated for awards. I know Justin has chosen to prioritize his family over his career, and if you ask him he’ll tell you that he’d much rather be coaching his kid’s softball game than walking a red carpet. But the disrespect that he’s been shown for an artist who has sold millions of albums and racked up 13 #1 singles. It’s a little surprising to me that Justin has managed to fly as under the radar as he has throughout his career. You look at other artists who are bigger than Justin and he’s got a resumé that stacks up as well or better than most of them. And when you listen to his latest greatest hits album, you realize just how underrated Justin Moore really is. I mean, tell me this isn’t one of the greatest heartbreak songs of the last 20 years: The post Justin Moore’s New Greatest Hits Album Is A Reminder That It’s Past Time To Give Him The Respect He Deserves first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Cementing her place in country music history. Riding the highs of hits such as “you look like you love me” and “weren’t for the wind,” it seemed as if it was only a matter of time before Ella Langley broke out into the broader music scene. The former track, in particular, seemed hard to top as it won both the Alabama native and Riley Green a staggering 7 ACM and CMA Awards over the past year and a half. With that being said, however, as time passes, “Choosin’ Texas” is not only looking to be one of the biggest country hits of the decade but potentially one of the biggest hits ever… and it made even more history today. If you haven’t been paying attention to just how successful it’s been, let me give you a quick rundown of all the history it’s made over the past three months. Upon its release on October 7th, the track debuted at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100, also launching all the way to #7 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, both of which were career-highs for the “hungover” singer. Flashforward to December 2nd, it became Langley’s first career #1 hit on the aforementioned Hot Country Songs chart. In turn, it became the fastest solo female song to reach the top 10 at US Country Radio this decade, taking just eight weeks to crack the Top 10. Thanks to an incredible amount of buzz online and a last-minute push by fans, on Monday, February 9th, she went #1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 with the monster track. Additionally, she became the first woman ever to triple up and score #1s on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay and Hot 100 chart simultaneously. In case you were wondering just how rare the feat was, Langley became just the seventh female artist IN HISTORY to go #1 on the Hot 100 with a country song. Making even more history back on March 2nd, the “weren’t for the wind” singer would team up with Megan Moroney to become the only female country duo in history to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and 200 charts simultaneously, a feat that legends such as Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and many more all-time greats in the genre have never done. This was thanks to “Choosin’ Texas” spending its second week at #1 on the Hot 100 and Moroney’s junior album, Cloud 9, debuting at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart. Following that up, on March 10th, she made even more history on the Hot Country Songs chart. With “Choosin’ Texas” still holding strong at #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, it was joined by her other red-hot single, “Be Her,” which rose from #3 to #2. In turn, she became just the third female artist in history to occupy the top 2 spots on the chart. Just when you thought the list of accomplishments for “Choosin’ Texas” was beginning to fade, it went #1 on the Hot 100 again for the second straight frame this week, spending its fourth non-concurrent week in first place. View this post on Instagram Given that “Choosin’ Texas” has now spent its fourth week at #1 on the Hot 100, the Alabama native has now passed Taylor Swift, who spent three weeks at #1 back in 2012 for her pop hit, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” After tying Swift last week, Langley and “Choosin’ Texas” are now in sole possession of the longest-running #1 hit on Hot 100 by a female country singer in history. Keep in mind, this is an accomplishment that crossover stars and legends such as Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Patsy Cline and many more cornerstone artists had never done in the history of the genre. According to Talk of the Charts, one of X’s (formerly Twitter) leading chart news sources and predictors, “Choosin’ Texas” is once again the favorite to go #1 once again next week for a fifth frame, which will not only extend its lead for longest-running chart-topper on the Hot 100 in history by a female country artist but will also extend its status as the longest-running #1 hit of the year so far. Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ is currently aiming for a fifth week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. pic.twitter.com/QaJwZXHW8N — Talk of the Charts (@talkofthecharts) March 23, 2026 Though Morgan Wallen has blown expectations through the roof in terms of all-genre hit songs over the past few years with the likes of “Last Night” and “Heartless,” the massive success of “Choosin’ Texas” over the past few months has it primed to become one of the most successful country songs we’ve seen over the course of the past few decades. It’s hard to even understate its impact, especially for a female country artist, at this point in its run up the charts. “Choosin’ Texas” The Dandelion Tour Dates 5/7/2026 Toledo, OH Huntington Center (+,&) 5/8/2026 St. Louis, MO Chaifetz Arena (+,&) 5/14/2026 Estero, FL Hertz Arena (@, &) 5/15/2026 Savannah, GA Enmarket Arena (@, &) 6/18/2026 Oklahoma City, OK Zoo Amphitheatre (+,&) 6/19/2026 Independence, MO Cable Dahmer Arena (+,&) 6/25/2026 Salem, VA Salem Civic Center (+,&) 6/26/2026 Wilmington, NC Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park (+,&) 7/23/2026 Pikeville, KY Appalachian Wireless Arena (#, %) 7/24/2026 Cary, NC Koka Booth Amphitheatre (#, %) 7/25/2026 North Charleston, SC North Charleston Coliseum (#, %) 7/30/2026 Gilford, NH BankNH Pavilion (@, %) 7/31/2026 Canandaigua, NY CMAC (@, %) 8/13/2026 Austin, TX Moody Center (#, &) 8/14/2026 Corpus Christi, TX Hilliard Center (#, &) 8/15/2026 Fort Worth, TX Dickies Arena (#, &) @ Kameron Marlowe + Dylan Marlowe # Kaitlin Butts & Gabriella Rose % Laci Kaye BoothThe post Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” Becomes The Longest-Running #1 Hit On The Billboard Hot 100 By A Female Country Artist… EVER first appeared on Whiskey Riff.