Everybody Loves Chris

What a month for Chris Stapleton! First, the Grammy Awards performance with Stevie Wonder, and now more than 100 million seeing him do the national anthem at the Super Bowl. All done in his low-key style. He won even more fans after those two performances. Grade A -- well done!

The anthem is so dangerous. Superstars wear Kevlar and are not wired-up thinking things will go wrong. They just go do it.

Think of the artists Stapleton was compared with at the Super Bowl, Whitney Houston and the rest. He did not do it standard issue, but it was done with respect and style. It fit the night perfectly.

The Daytona 500 this weekend has BRELAND doing the anthem and Dierks Bentley doing the pre-race concert. Both will do great. Hopefully, the sun will be shining and BRELAND doesn’t trick the USAF Thunderbirds by singing faster or slower than he did in a run through. (The FOX TV people were a little late on the Super Bowl Navy flyover, where cameras were inside the cockpits pointing up. Where was the blimp/chopper? They blew it, showing four seconds and then going to break. It was an all-female flight honoring Naval aviation. FOX -- Grade D.)

Anyone see that great YouTube count figuring out the most played Country music artists around the world? Liberty Games UK had some cool maps with odd YouTube play counts. Alan Jackson was the most played “old school Country artist” (Brits’ words, not mine). Shania Twain was #2, then Kenny Rogers and Johnny Cash. Alabama was #1 in China, Buck Owens in Yemen and Hank Williams, Jr. in Laos. You can’t make things like that up!

Did Music Row shake when Forbes reported Taylor Swift made 92 million in 2022 with recorded music? She’s the highest paid female entertainer in the world. And look what the figure is going to be in 2023 with her tour. Every time I see this kind of Taylor story and recall her debut day in downtown Nashville when the first Big Machine Records lineup was being unveiled, then seeing her open from Brad Paisley. She was so new with that big old acoustic guitar. Then literally weeks later, she was on stage like Reba McEntire bending down and shaking hands. The most amazing arc I’ve seen of anyone in my career. She learned so fast!

She’s been out there a bit, but catch up with the music Kelsea Ballerini put out this week. The real lyrics. This might just be the thing that she needed. Very impressive lyrics based in real feelings, not some whiskey/pickup truck stuff. Grade A.

Country music badly needs DEPTH. Chris Stapleton showed it. Kelsea is showing it. Some of the stuff in the pipeline has it, I promise.

I like whiskey and trucks, yeah, yeah, just need a rich wine sometimes. Radio needs to discover the cool new while respecting the talents of those who have been around more than 10 minutes. We can do better than Yemen and Albania! Get on YouTube. Get online. Get on TV. These days you do it all. Radio people must be all media too.