Cabbage patch kids were not just a toy but a test.

A chilling warning echoed from Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a barrage of hostile rhetoric and strategic threats that sent shockwaves across Europe. Speaking before senior defense officials, Putin abandoned diplomatic restraint, openly mocking Western leaders and singling out Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with a demeaning insult. His words were not […]

EtherealX aims to take on SpaceX's Falcon 9 with its fully reusable rocket.

Senate passes defense bill, House passes bill without enhanced O'Care subsidies, Bongino leaving FBI, Tyler Robinson was radicalized by trans boyfriend, and more.

With the never-ending news cycle, there’s certainly no shortage of topics for me to address.  Choosing a topic for my weekly messages can be challenging.  With all that’s happening in the world, I must wade through it all and decide what’s most urgent and what’s just more “noise?” With a 24/7 news feed, I read the headlines multiple times …

What could have been. Earlier this week, Morgan Wallen made history, becoming not only the highest-selling country artist of all time according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) but also the third-highest-selling artist in history, all-genre. Receiving a mind-blowing 80 new certifications, the “Whiskey Glasses” singer has now sold over 240 million units in his career, third only to global superstars Taylor Swift (247.5 million) and Drake (331.5 million). Additionally, he has now sold the second-most singles by any artist in history and has totaled an incredible 26 million albums sold. This, of course, is thanks to the nearly incomprehensible success of his last three albums, I’m The Problem, One Thing At A Time and Dangerous: The Double Album, which have proven to be some of the most successful records in history chart-wise, all of which were Billboard’s Top 3 Country Albums of 2025, despite Dangerous now being four years old. With Wallen’s monster 80 platinum certifications this week, he is now the first country artist in history to own five separate certified-Diamond songs with “Heartless” (10x platinum), “Whiskey Glasses” (13x platinum), “Chasin’ You” (10x platinum), “Wasted On You” (12x Platinum) and “Last Night” (12x platinum), all selling over 10 million units. It’s safe to say Wallen has a laundry list of smash hits at this point in his career, but what if I told you he could have had yet another monster #1 hit, one that he actually wrote himself? Well, that’s exactly the case with Jason Aldean’s 6x platinum #1 hit, “You Make It Easy.” If you’re a fan of the Tennessee native, you probably already know that he wrote the song in the early days of his career, before the release of his debut album, If I Know Me. In fact, he wrote it with none other than the former powerhouse bro-country duo Florida Georgia Line (Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard), along with Jordan Schmidt. Given the fact that Wallen was in the early stages of his career, far from his status of being the top-selling artist in the genre’s history, he ended up having to relent the song to Aldean, given the fact that the “She’s Country” singer was obviously one of the biggest names in the genre at the time. During an interview with the radio show, Ty, Kelly, & Chuck, all the way back in May 2018, right after the release of If I Know Me, Wallen would discuss giving the song up to Aldean. When asked about it, he said: “Don’t remind me, man. I think it was mostly timing, you know? Whenever we wrote the song, Jason had contacted Tyler. Him and Tyler are pretty close… From what I understand, once that song came on, he was like, ‘Yep, that one.’ And he kind of said he knew that it was his first single off his new project from that moment.” Wallen would also note that he knew not to overstep his boundaries as a new artist when an artist as popular as Aldean was at the time wanted one of his songs he co-wrote. “You know, when he’s saying stuff like that, you’re kind of like, ‘Okay dude, go ahead.” As we all know, “You Make It Easy” was nothing short of a smash for Aldean, becoming not only his highest-streamed song on Spotify, currently having over 590 million streams, but also his highest-certified track to date (6x platinum). Luckily for Wallen, losing out on that song ultimately wasn’t anything more than an interesting tidbit in his career, given the fact that he is now arguably the most successful country artist of all time. Nonetheless, it’s a fun little “what-if” scenario in the grand scheme of things. Listen to Wallen’s version here: Still The Problem Tour Dates April 10 || Minneapolis, Minn. || U.S. Bank Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason April 11 || Minneapolis, Minn. || U.S. Bank Stadium w/ HARDY, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason April 18 || Tuscaloosa, Ala. || Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Vincent Mason, Zach John King May 1 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 2 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 8 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Zach John King May 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Flatland Cavalry, Zach John King May 15 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King May 16 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King May 29 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 30 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason June 5 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 6 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 19 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 20 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 26 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat June 27 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 17 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 18 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 24 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 25 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ HARDY, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 31 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ ​​Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten August 1 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Ella Langley, Hudson Westbrook, Blake WhitenThe post Did You Know Morgan Wallen Almost Recorded Jason Aldean’s 6X Platinum Hit, “You Make It Easy” For Himself? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

No one can sing classic Christmas hymn like Carrie Underwood. Back in 2020, she released a beautiful Christmas album called My Gift, which was her first Christmas album and seventh studio album overall. Produced by Greg Wells, the record features guest appearances from John Legend on “Hallelujah,” and Underwood’s oldest son Isaiah appears on a sweet rendition of “The Little Drummer Boy.” And she turned it into a live performance special called My Gift: A Christmas Special from Carrie Underwood, which first debuted on HBO Max the same year she put out the album, and features performances from John Legend on “Hallelujah,” Carrie’s oldest son Isaiah with some behind-the-scenes footage of them recording “Little Drummer Boy,” as well and solo performances by Carrie of songs like “Favorite Time of Year.” Carrie previously opened up about how special it was to get to sing with Isaiah on the album, and that part of the special is just precious: “‘Little Drummer Boy’ is a central song in ‘My Gift.’ That’s where the title of the album came from, and it’s one of my favorite Christmas songs. I started thinking about what would make it extra special, so I have a very special duet partner. He loves to sing, and that is so his personality. He’ll make crafts, or he’ll do things for you, and he’s like, ‘Didn’t I do a good job? Didn’t I do my best? Are you proud of me?’ And it’s the sweetest thing. And I just thought his sweet little voice would sound perfect. If nothing else, I will have this for the rest of my life. I think it’s the perfect piece of the puzzle for this whole album.” I can only imagine how special it is to her now as her kids get older, and when Isiah gets to be an adult and reflects on his special Christmas memories, I’m sure this will be at the top of his list too. The album itself is mixed with Christmas standards as well as several originals, it’s one of the best country Christmas albums out there, and I say that as someone who usually passes on Christmas music. And there’s just something about the way Carrie does a hymn, and kind of hymn, whether it’s a Christmas song or otherwise, that I can never get enough of… I still keep her gospel album My Savior on repeat. So you know her live performance of “O Come All Ye Faithful” is spectacular, which is of course a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade, John Reading, King John IV of Portugal, and anonymous Cistercian monks, though the earliest printed version is in a book published by Wade. The original four verses of the hymn were extended to a total of eight, and these have been translated into many languages. English Catholic priest Frederick Oakeley translated the hymn into English as in 1841, and that’s when it became popularized in English-speaking countries. Carrie released the live performance video for her special today on YouTube, and it’s simply exquisite. She looks like an angel in a big white dress, and as per usual, her voice is just unbelievable. It’s one of the best renditions of this song I’ve ever heard, and it is part of that longer special, so if you’re looking for something family-friendly with a focus on the real reason for the season, Carrie’s is incredible. You can watch the full video here: “O Come All Ye Faithful” The post Carrie Underwood Releases Stunning Live Performance Video Of Christmas Classic, “O Come All Ye Faithful” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

A few old friends singing on stage together. This year, Lainey Wilson embarked on her extensive Whirlwind World Tour, which took the Louisiana native to Europe and countless cities across the United States. There were many memorable moments from the tour, like Kaitlin Butt and Lainey Wilson throwing down a stellar cover of “Tulsa Time,” Wilson bringing out a viral group of young dancers for another stellar version of “Tulsa Time,” and Wilson hilariously pranking her old friends Muscadine Bloodline on stage by having them sit on toilets during an acoustic portion of her set. And while the “Hang Tight Honey” singer might be done touring for the year, she and her incredible ensemble of supporting acts are not done sharing moments from her time on the road with her. Muscadine Bloodline is closing out the year reminiscing on the tour by sharing a stellar acoustic performance from their set at Bridgestone Arena. Muscadine Bloodline got the party going in Nashville during their opening set, and later joined Wilson on stage for an acoustic performance of “Pieces,” which was released on Muscadine Bloodline’s 2020 album Turn Back Time.  While Gary Stanton worked through technical issues on his way out to the stage, Wilson took the pause as an opportunity to share with her fans that she and Muscadine Bloodline, especially Gary, go way back. “Like I said, Gary and I go back. We wrote on Music Row in a janitor’s closet and not long after that, we were writing again and he was like, ‘Hey can I invite my buddy Charlie?’ And I was like, ‘Alright, cool.’ But I’ll tell you what these boys right here have done the thing from the ground up. Just whooping butt, and I’m proud to see it.”  Gary Stanton added to Wilson’s thoughts, sharing with the Nashville crowd: “I’ll tell you what, like she said, Lainey was the first friend I made when I moved to Nashville. She’s done a lot for us, and also there’s this one time too, I’m gonna tell on you. Me and wife, my truck was out of commission, and Lainey let me borrow her car for a whole month. Without hesitation, she was just like, ‘Here come pick it up. Take it.’ That’s just the kind of girl she is, and you’ve always been a friend to us, and it’s amazing to see us going from us writing in some janitor’s closet to out here at Bridgestone, doing the same thing.”  A true testament to Wilson’s character. No matter how big she gets, she never forgets who was chasing a crazy dream with her and that she continues to support her friends. Charlie Muncaster then introduced the song they would be performing and wrapped it up perfectly, surprising her with an RIAA Certified Gold plaque for “Pieces.” “I’m almost positive that Lainey said something about ‘loving you to pieces,’ you know how country Lainey is. And we were like, that’s something we need to write.” A true full circle moment for this group of friends. They then dove into the song, laying down the stunning acoustic melody. The three harmonize flawlessly on stage as they deliver the beautifully heartbreaking lyrics. “Guess you really love me to pieces for a reason Tryna find the silver lining and seeing Why does leavin’ lead to bleedin’? Cut me deeper than the cracks in the ceiling Wasn’t easy but I’m findin’ out them words can have a whole ‘nother meaning Guess you really love me to pieces…” I am glad the Alabama boys chose to release this performance for fans to enjoy, as it highlights the artistry of all these individuals. Turn this one all the way up. Ironically, “Pieces” is not the only song that Muscadine Bloodline has collaborated with Lainey Wilson on. Back in 2023, Muscadine Bloodline shared with Whiskey Riff that they had recorded another song with Wilson. However, it will never see the light of day, so don’t get your hopes up. “A fun fact I’m not sure y’all know. We actually cut another song with Lainey Wilson years ago. Never came out and won’t ever come out. But it is funny to say that “Pieces” is the second song we recorded with her. You won’t hear it, so don’t ask about it.” While we might not get to hear that song ever, given the popularity of “Pieces,” I would not be opposed to this trio hitting the studio all together in the future. @whiskeyriff♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff The post Muscadine Bloodline Shares Killer Live Acoustic Performance Of “Pieces” With Lainey Wilson From Bridgestone Arena first appeared on Whiskey Riff.