Jeff Webb, founder of Varsity Spirit and a key figure in modern cheerleading, has died at 76 following an accident. He was also a former mentor to late activist Charlie Kirk. Continue reading…

Luke Combs is taking a stand against the industry's networking game, prioritizing family over awards and fame. What does this mean for his future in country music? Continue reading…

One of my favorite singles from Luke Combs…and it almost never happened. Luke Combs scored his 18th straight #1 song at country radio back in 2024 with “Where The Wild Things Are.” The nostalgic hit, written by Randy Montana and Dave Turnbull, was featured on Luke’s Gettin’ Old album and quickly became a fan-favorite, going viral on TikTok and becoming a staple of his live shows. But the song had been floating around Nashville for a while, waiting on somebody to pick it up – and even Luke didn’t plan on recording it when he went into the studio. During a recent appearance on Therapuss with Jake Shane, Luke revealed that he had heard the demo of the song as far back as 2016: “That song had been kinda famous in town. There’s a demo of Randy [Montana] singing that song… That song, it ended up in my phone probably in 2016, maybe? I mean it’s been around a while, and it had already been around sometime at that point I believe. It wasn’t like, ‘Hey I wrote this yesterday, check it out.’ I didn’t even get it from Randy.” Well Luke obviously loved the song, but at the time he had never recorded a song that he wasn’t a writer on himself. Fast forward to around 2022, and Luke was in the studio putting the finishing touches on his fourth album, Gettin’ Old. Shockingly, nobody else had recorded the song yet – despite Eric Church apparently coming close to cutting it at one point. Luke finished up a session in the studio for the album and he realized they had some extra time left, so he threw out the idea to try “Where The Wild Things Are.” “We had like an extra hour, and I was like, ‘Well what if we just cut it?’ It wasn’t on the plan, it wasn’t on the sheet of stuff that we were going to cut. And I was like, ‘Man, I’ve just always loved this Randy song.’ And I played it for Jonathan [Singleton], who’s best buddies with Randy, who produces my records with me, and he was like, ‘We oughta do it man, that song’s awesome.'” Even after recording it, Luke says that he wasn’t sure that it was going to be a massive hit because it’s a “story song” that requires a lot of attention from the listener to understand. But as he says, “people just gravitated towards it.” I’ve gotta say, the song is perfect for Luke and his voice, but when you hear it you’ve gotta wonder why nobody had recorded it when it was up for grabs for nearly a decade in Nashville circles. But Luke has a couple theories on that. One potential explanation is that, at the time (remember it was around at least as far back as 2016 or so), nobody was releasing story songs – other than Eric Church. Another reason, though, is that it’s so damn hard to perform live: “It’s not the easiest song to sing, from a breath support standpoint. You have to have a lot of breath to be able to sing that song live. I think that was probably some people’s hesitance with that song. It’s like, well if I put the song out and it’s a big hit and I have to sing it every night, can I even sing it every night?” Luke says it took him a few days of rehearsals to learn where he could breathe during the song to get through it on stage, but I think that perfectly explains why it’s become such a fan favorite at his live shows: It’s one you scream at the top of your lungs until you’re out of breath. Not only that, but it’s got an incredible storyline as it tells the story of a free-spirited brother who takes off for the west coast on his Indian Scout motorcycle, before he ultimately passes away due to that same wild spirit: “Oh, it’s hearts on fire and crazy dreams Oh, where the nights ignite like gasoline And oh, them Indian Scouts, man, they’re built for speed And oh, they said he hit that guardrail at half past three Lit up those streets that never sleep when the sky goes dark We buried him out in the wind ‘neath the West Coast stars Out where the wild things are” It’s a common saying around Nashville that a good song always eventually finds its home, and I firmly believe “Where The Wild Things Are” ended up right where it belongs with Luke. But as it turns out, it was only because he had an extra hour in the studio… The post Luke Combs Reveals How “Where The Wild Things Are” Almost Never Even Happened first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

High praise from the ’90s legend. It’s safe to say that Ella Langley has captured the hearts and minds of many around the country over the past year. While many non-country fans may assume she’s appeared out of nowhere over the past few months, if you’ve been keeping up with the genre, there was an almost tangible feeling she was primed to be country music’s next female superstar since roughly the end of 2023. With early success on tracks like “Could’ve Been Her,” “paint the town blue” and her Koe Wetzel collaboration, “That’s Why We Fight,” all signs pointed to Langley blowing up into the stratosphere. Then 2024 rolled around, and she shattered all expectations with the monster success of her Riley Green collaboration, the viral “you look like you love me.” It’s hard to truly state just how popular the track was among both fans and critics at the time. Though it has begun to fall into “overplayed” territory as we sit in 2026, there’s simply no denying how much of a force to be reckoned with both the song and Langley have become. As for “you look like you love me” itself, the track has been nothing short of an award show darling, snagging a staggering 7 wins across categories at the CMA and ACM Awards in both 2024 and 2025. Just when you thought that “you look like you love me” would remain as Langley’s signature hit over the next few years, “Choosin’ Texas” was released on October 7th, and it’s become one of the biggest hits in country music we’ve seen this past decade. Most notably, she just spent her fourth frame atop the all-genre Billboard 100 this week, cementing herself and “Choosin’ Texas” as the longest-running #1 hit on the chart by a female country artist in history. Additionally, she also became the first woman ever to triple up and score #1s on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay and Hot 100 chart simultaneously. Between the monster success at various award shows, the historic run on Billboard’s charts, the virality online and the massive brand deals like her new partnership with American Eagle, you could think that she’s let some of that fame get to her head. With that being said, however, that’s the farthest thing from the truth. In a recent interview last week during Country Radio Seminar (CRS) 2026, Langley sat down with none other than the ’90s country legend herself, Jo Dee Messina, for an exclusive conversation about their careers. In the midst of discussing everything from Langley’s whirlwind of a year in 2025 to the influence the “Heads Carolina, Tails California” singer had on her throughout her career, Messina would take the time to tell the crowd just how humble Langley has stayed lately. Particularly, Messina would tell the audience how Langley is much more than just the face on a billboard or an album cover, saying her inner beauty is ultimately what she sees when the “weren’t for the wind” singer is on stage. “You see the success, and you see the glamour. And you constantly see her up here, but when I look at her, I see the inner beauty, like a kid that just wants to play or just give me a chance or just let me sing this… And I told her backstage, I said, ‘I love you because I love the girl around the Christmas tree, not the girl on the billboard.'” The “Lesson In Leavin'” singer would also add that Langley is “fifty billion” times more magnificent on the inside compared to her beauty on the outside. “It’s the heart of who she is; [it’s] so beautiful. I wish you would look past the hype and see who she really is, because as magnificent as she is lying in the dandelions in all of the press and stuff, she’s fifty billion times more magnificent on the inside.” @kponair It was hard not to be moved to tears today when @Jo Dee Messina and @Ella Langley ♬ original sound – Kponair You truly love to hear it from somebody as respected as Messina. In a time when major stars make headlines for being less than great to both fans and the people around them, it’s great to see someone like Langley not only carry the torch for the next generation of women in country music but also be a positive influence on everyone around her. Before you go, fire up her latest single, “Loving Life Again.” 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 “Fifty Billion Times More Magnificent On The Inside”: Jo Dee Messina Has High Praise For Ella Langley Amid Her Historic Success first appeared on Whiskey Riff.