Sturgill Simpson/Johnny Blue Skies fans are having a field day in the comment section of the surprise, YouTube release of Mutiny After Midnight. The latest project from the artist formerly known as Sturgill Simpson wasn’t supposed to come out for a couple of more weeks. Mutiny After Midnight was actually set for a March 13 release, and not only that, it was said to only be available through physical media purchase – CD, vinyl, and cassette. So it was a pleasant and unexpected surprise when JBS dropped the entire disco protest album on YouTube – and did so just shy of two weeks until the official release date. And just as we were promised, the project gives off big time disco-country-rock-dance vibes. When Sturgill Johnny Blue Skies announced his new record with a Mutiny After Midnight letter, he described the new endeavor like this: “We decided to make an album centered firmly on groove. We started every day from scratch with a basic groove. I wrote the songs and lyrics in the moment on the spot, and everyone established their individual parts servicing the songs and not the individual ego… There’s a simple goal we as a band set out to achieve: to make a dance record. So this protest, this mutiny is really more about the primary dance. The dance of all creation. To be clear, it is a protest against oppression and suppression, and the only tried and tested true antidote to that is pure, unfiltered, unapologetic, relentless disco-hedonism.” That’s 100% what they achieved, and Sturgill/JBS fans are loving it (more on that in a bit). There’s all kinds of killer riffs, and plenty of political commentary (anti-ICE, anti-Trump, references to George Floyd). And above all, the album with an overarching theme of love had a healthy amount of head-turning, suggestive lines about, well…. sex. Considering Stu warned that he’d diving into unadulterated hedonism, I guess that’s not all that surprising. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to it, the album was posted as one long video (for the kids out there, it plays like it would on a record player). Here’s some guidance on where each song starts if you wanted to skip around and check out each one. Side 1 1. “Make America F** Again” – 0:00 2. “Excited Delirium” – 4:20 3. “Don’t Let Go” – 6:30 4. “Stay On That” – 11:15 5. “Viridescent” – 15:48 Side 2 6. “Situation” – 20:11 7. “Venus” – 25:50 8. “Everyone Is Welcome” – 31:35 9. “Ain’t That A B*tch” – 37:00 Now to the comment section. Fans have been patiently waiting for a new Johnny Blue Skies record ever since he dropped 2024’s Passage du Desir. That project landed well with a lot of music fans, so it was only natural for people to look forward to even more JBS. Once that arrived in the form of Mutiny After Midnight – and two weeks early – the Sturgill and Johnny Blue Skies die-hards lost their minds. And flooded the comment section of the YouTube release with hilarious replies and observations like these: “It’s 1973. After a long night of partying, Waylon and Earth Wind and Fire decide to make an album together. It only took 53 years but the album is finally here.” “My neighbors loved this album so much they invited the cops to my place to listen to it.” “Dammit guess I’m drinkin’ garage beers now.” “Time to get drunk and stoned in the garage with the dog.” “I didn’t know Horny Political Country Funk was a music genre.” “My neighbor threw a brick through my living room window and asked me to turn it up.” “Just added to my bucket list: See JBS and the Dark Clouds perform ‘Mutiny After Midnight’ at an outdoor amphitheater on a hot summer night.” “I’m drinkin’ wild turkey and building improvised explosives in the woods.” “Sleazy disco country rock at its finest! I’m pretty sure we all needed this.” “My old lady got pregnant 10 seconds into this.” “Listening to this at work, and now HR wants to see me. I’m guessing they want the link.” “Amazing to listen to an album and every new song is like ‘I wonder if this is gonna be one of my favorite songs I’ve ever heard in my life.'” “Making this record my entire personality for the next few weeks.” I can very much relate to that last comment.The post “Horny Political Country Funk”: Sturgill Simpson Fans Are Going Wild In The Comment Section Of ‘Mutiny After Midnight’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton rivalry continues. Ever since the two country music singers busted out onto the scene around the same time, they’ve somewhat been at odds with each other. Over the years, that rivalry has become more friendly and comical, and this recent video from Blake Shelton is the latest entrant into the overarching Bryan-Shelton feud. It all has to do with Luke Bryan’s new song “Word On The Street.” There’s a line in the chorus of the track that mentions being “B.S. free in B.F.E.” When Blake Shelton heard it for the first time while listening to the radio as he was out doing farm work in Oklahoma, he playfully assumed that “B.S.” was referring to his initials. Then he jokingly said he wasn’t aware of what “B.F.E.” stood for, so he looked it up: “I was listening to an old country radio station. I was driving along and heard my initials on this song and so I turned the radio up and I realized it’s Luke Bryan’s new song. I heard the lyrics, and man I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I actually had to look up what ‘BFE’ means. Cause he says ‘BS free in BFE.’ So I looked up BFE and, man I’ve got to say, this is one of the most honest lyrics that I’ve heard from Luke. I’m damn happy about it because I can honestly say that I’ve never been butt-effing in Egypt. I’ve never even been to Egypt, so I’ve definitely never butt-effed there.” Really going with the literal meaning of “B.F.E.” for maximum comedic effect… good to know, I guess? Shelton went on to sarcastically praise Bryan for being so brave to tackle that kind of subject in his song, and to simultaneously clear his name of any possible “B.F.-ing in Egypt.” It was actually pretty funny: “That’s a risky and powerful lyric from Luke, and very honest. I’ve never been there and he’s right about that. I’ve never done that there, and I’ll just leave it at that. It’s always shocking when you hear your name or your initials in a song, and come to find out it’s Luke. He is a buddy of mine, so it makes sense that he knows these things about me.” Proud of you and your new song @lukebryan!!!!! pic.twitter.com/ySogVDIAqS — Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) March 2, 2026 Well done, Mr. Shelton. Well done. That video was posted just yesterday, and by doing a little digging, I actually found that a Luke Bryan post from a couple of days before most likely triggered that “B.F.E. misunderstanding” video. Bryan took a shot at Shelton on his official YouTube page at the end of February when he explained that the “B.S.” lyric in his new song did, in fact, stand for Blake Shelton: “B.S. free is Blake Shelton Free. If I’m in BFE that means you are in ‘bum f*** Egypt.’ It’s a long way out there. It’s hard to be found in Egypt. So if I’m in BFE, and I’m Blake Shelton free, then I’m truly happy.” So technically, that video started the mini-feud, and likely prompted Blake Shelton to think up his “B.S. free in B.F.E.” misinterpretation bit. I’m glad that the two country music stars who were huge during the bro-country movement still have a bit of a rivalry going. At the very least, it’s entertaining to see them take jabs at one another… and this latest one from Blake Shelton is probably my favorite so far. Here’s the song that the “B.F.E.” line is included in, in case you wanted to hear it: “Word On The Street” by Luke Bryan The post “I’ve Never Even Been To Egypt”: Blake Shelton Trolls Luke Bryan With NSFW Reaction To His “Powerful” New Song first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The full story behind “Be Her.” Ella Langley released the most recent song from her highly-anticipated sophomore album Dandelion called “Be Her,” a couple weeks ago, which finds her singing about he perfect woman who has everything figured out. Written by Ella along with HARDY, Smith Ahnquist and Jordan Schmidt, the lyrics are quite honest as Ella looking inward and examines the kind of woman she wants to be, and what it might take to get there. She is seeking simplicity over drama, clearly longing to be comfortable in her own skin, and Ella’s co-writer Hardy says he knew it would be a hit from the very beginning, and it only took them 30 minutes to write because they were really onto something quickly. And during an interview with Katie Neal for her Katie & Company radio show, Ella explained how they came up with the melody and title: “So ‘Be Her’ I wrote with three guys, actually, that’s funny. HARDY, Smith Ahnquist and Jordan Schmidt, and Jordan was playing this one track, and one of us had the title ‘Be Her.’ He played that track, all I heard was, ‘I just wanna be her so bad, it hurts so bad… I just wanna be her.’ And we just kept singing that over and over, because when you write songs, whether those lyrics are gonna change or not, it’s good to get into how the cadence of the lyrics are moving around… I kind of fill it in like a puzzle afterwards. So I just kept singing that, and all of us were like, ‘Oh, that feels amazing.’ And they fought me on doing it twice in that first chorus… they were like, ‘That’s kind of boring.’ Is it? or is it just really easy, fun to sing. and it fells anthemic, and I can see this… but that song was written in 30 minutes.” She was right because it definitely has that anthemic, fun sing along feel, but Ella explained that it does tackle some pretty deep subject matter, and it’s really an admission of the type of woman she hopes to grow into: “And that song, what it’s about, truly, is it’s not about being someone else, it’s about being the her you want to be. I think there’s things that every single person on this planet would like to see themselves do better as a human being, you know what I mean? If you don’t, I do not want to be around you. I do not want to be around you at all. I was just honest, those are all things that I’m looking forward to, in my life, changing about myself a little bit.” Ella says the lyrics really are her truth, admitting that she knows “a whole bottle of wine is probably too much a lot of the time and “one glass could suffice”: “I want to stay in my Bible, I want to not have to do a whole bottle of wine, one glass could suffice, you know what I mean? Like, why do you have to go so far? What’s wrong with you? Finding someone to love and to support and to have a safe place in this world. And those are all things a normal 26-year-old girl or guy, or whoever in your life, whether it be those things specifically, I think everyone can just relate to bettering yourself and wanting to see that version. With that song, you just have to give into that thing, it’s not about we are who we are, yes, we understand that, but give into it… be her. You know what? I’m her tonight. I am her tonight.” I love the contrast of incredible raw, heartfelt lyrics with such a fun, funky track, and based on some other points she made during that interview, it sounds like Ella is going into the release of Dandelion as the most confident and authentic version of herself, and I’m excited to hear everything she has coming on the tracklist. Ella of course put out her debut album Hungover in the summer of 2024, which featured her smash hit, award-winning song with Riley Green “You Look Like You Love Me.” Dandelion is set for release on April 10th, and Ella will hit the road on her subsequent tour named for the record in May. “Be Her” The full interview: 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 Says “Be Her” Was Written From A Very Honest Place: “I Want To Stay In My Bible, I Want To Not Have To Do A Whole Bottle Of Wine” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

There’s no denying that country music has gotten bigger than ever before in the past decade. Spearheaded commercially by the likes of Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, Luke Combs and more, we’ve seen a plethora of records broken by country artists recently. Whether it’s Wallen setting numerous records from most songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single week to becoming the third-highest-selling artist in U.S. history, Bryan scoring the most-attended concert in U.S. history with his show at Michigan University last September or artists such as Megan Moroney, Ella Langley, Shaboozey and more breaking into the pop scene, it’s quite easy to argue that the genre is the most popular it’s ever been. After experiencing years of irrelevance, generally speaking, from an all-genre chart perspective, the 2020s have already proven to be one of the best decades in history for country music. In fact, there have already been more songs to go #1 on both the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs chart over the last five years than the 80s-2010s combined. Diving deeper into the discrepancies from the 2020s compared to the 90s and 2000s/2010s in particular, there were only two songs, Lonestar’s “Amazed” and Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (which can hardly be considered a country song), that topped both charts. In comparison, 2023 and 2024 alone saw eight unique country songs top them. Of course, there are a few songs present here that can hardly be considered country, with both Swift’s aforementioned hit as well as Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” being the most contestable. With that being said, however, there’s a fascinating mix overall. From all-time classics such as Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” and Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” to new smashes like Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything” and Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” to one-hit wonders like Oliver Anthony with “Rich Men North of Richmond,” there’s quite a few surprises on this list. Without further ado, here are the 31 songs in history that have topped both Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts. “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley Hot 100 #1 Date: February 14, 2026 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: December 5, 2025 “What I Want” – Morgan Wallen feat. Tate McRae Hot 100 #1 Date: May 31, 2025 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: May 31, 2025 “Love Somebody” – Morgan Wallen Hot 100 #1 Date: November 2, 2024 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: November 2, 2024 “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey Hot 100 #1 Date: July 13, 2024 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: May 4, 2024 “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen Hot 100 #1 Date: May 25, 2024 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: May 25, 2024 “Texas Hold ‘Em” – Beyoncé Hot 100 #1 Date: March 2, 2024 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: February 24, 2024 “I Remember Everything” – Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves Hot 100 #1 Date: September 9, 2023 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: September 9, 2023 “Rich Men North of Richmond” – Oliver Anthony Hot 100 #1 Date: August 26, 2023 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: August 26, 2023 “Try That in a Small Town” – Jason Aldean Hot 100 #1 Date: August 5, 2023 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: July 29, 2023 “Last Night” – Morgan Wallen Hot 100 #1 Date: March 18, 2023 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: February 18, 2023 “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” – Taylor Swift Hot 100 #1 Date: November 27, 2021 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: November 27, 2021 “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” – Taylor Swift Hot 100 #1 Date: September 1, 2012 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: October 20, 2012 “Amazed” – Lonestar Hot 100 #1 Date: March 4, 2000 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: July 17, 1999 “Island in the Stream” – Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton Hot 100 #1 Date: October 29, 1983 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: October 29, 1983 “I Love a Rainy Night” – Eddie Rabbitt Hot 100 #1 Date: February 28, 1981 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: January 17, 1981 “9 to 5” – Dolly Parton Hot 100 #1 Date: February 21, 1981 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: January 24, 1981 “Lady” – Kenny Rogers Hot 100 #1 Date: November 15, 1980 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: November 22, 1980 “Southern Nights” – Glen Campbell Hot 100 #1 Date: April 30, 1977 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: March 19, 1977 “Convoy” – C.W. McCall Hot 100 #1 Date: January 10, 1976 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: December 20, 1975 “I’m Sorry” – John Denver Hot 100 #1 Date: September 27, 1975 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: November 8, 1975 “Rhinestone Cowboy” – Glen Campbell Hot 100 #1 Date: September 6, 1975 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: August 23, 1975 “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” – John Denver Hot 100 #1 Date: June 7, 1975 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: May 31, 1975 “Before the Next Teardrops Falls” – Freddy Fender Hot 100 #1 Date: May 31, 1975 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: March 15, 1975 “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” – B.J. Thomas Hot 100 #1 Date: April 26, 1975 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: May 17, 1975 “I Can Help” – Billy Swan Hot 100 #1 Date: December 14, 1974 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: November 23, 1974 “The Most Beautiful Girl” – Charlie Rich Hot 100 #1 Date: December 15, 1973 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: November 24, 1973 “Honey” – Bobby Goldsboro Hot 100 #1 Date: April 13, 1968 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: May 25, 1968 “Harper Valley P.T.A” – Jeannie C. Riley Hot 100 #1 Date: September 28, 1968 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: September 21, 1968 “Big Bad John” – Jimmy Dean Hot 100 #1 Date: November 6, 1961 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: November 20, 1961 “El Paso” – Marty Robbins Hot 100 #1 Date: January 4, 1960 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: December 21, 1959 “The Battle of New Orleans” – Johnny Horton Hot 100 #1 Date: June 1, 1959 Hot Country Songs #1 Date: May 18, 1959The post From Dolly Parton To Ella Langley: Every Song To Go #1 On Billboard’s Hot 100 & Hot Country Songs Chart first appeared on Whiskey Riff.