First Published May 2023
DOLLY’S A ROCKSTAR
Global superstar and recent Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee, DOLLY PARTON, has joined forces with some of rock music’s most legendary artists along with today’s biggest stars, for her first-ever rock album, ROCKSTAR.
The ever-evolving Parton teamed up with an all-star roster of musicians for the thirty-song collection which includes NINE original tracks and TWENTY-ONE iconic rock anthems. ROCKSTAR is set for global release on November 17th via Butterfly Records, with distribution by Big Machine Label Group, and will be available as a four-LP set, a two-CD set, digital download, and on all streaming services.
“I’m so excited to finally present my first Rock and Roll album, Rockstar!”, shared the country icon. “I am very honoured and privileged to have worked with some of the greatest iconic singers and musicians of all time and to be able to sing all the iconic songs throughout the album was a joy beyond measure. I hope everybody enjoys the album as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it together!”
The lead track off ROCKSTAR is the timely original World on Fire, released last Thursday, May 11th, to coincide with the world premiere performance of the song at the ACM Awards.
“This is a song I felt very inspired to write. I think it speaks about everything and to everyone this day and time. I hope it is something that will touch you and maybe touch enough people to want to make a change for the better.”
Parton joined Garth Brooks to host the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards on May 11th, with the event streaming around the world from the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.
Dolly Parton is the most honoured and revered female country singer-songwriter of all time and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Achieving twenty-seven RIAA-certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, she has had twenty-six songs reach #1 on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist.
Parton is the first artist to have topped the Billboard’s Adult Contemporary, Christian AC Songs, Hot Country Songs, Christian Airplay, Country Airplay and Dance/Mix Show Airplay radio charts. She became the first country artist honoured as Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year given out by NARAS, and has forty-eight career Top-Ten country albums (a record for any artist), plus an astonishing 110 career-charted singles over the past fifty-plus years.
In 2014, the RIAA recognized her impact on recorded music with a plaque commemorating more than one-hundred million units sold worldwide. She has garnered eleven Grammy Awards and fifty-one nominations, including the Lifetime Achievement Award; ten Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year; five Academy of Country Music Awards, also including a nod for Entertainer of the Year; four People’s Choice Awards; and three American Music Awards. In 1999, Parton was inducted as a member of the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame.
In 2020, she released the Christmas album A Holly Dolly Christmas which went #1 on the Billboard Country and Holiday charts, as well as the bestselling coffee table book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. In 2021, she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie for the film Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square and in December 2022, she released on NBC an all-new original holiday movie called Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas with her starring as well as producing; it was the most watched film of that year and the two years prior.
To date, Parton has donated over 205 million books to children around the world with her Imagination Library. Her children’s book, Coat of Many Colours, was dedicated to the Library of Congress to honor the Imagination Library’s 100 millionth book donation. In March of 2022, Parton released the book Run Rose Run which she co-authored with James Patterson which sat at # 1 on the New York Times Bestseller’s List for five weeks, a record for this decade. She also released an accompanying album of the same name with original songs inspired by the book which reached #1 on three charts simultaneously — Country, Americana/Folk and Bluegrass Albums.
From her Coat of Many Colors while working 9 to 5, no dream is too big and no mountain too high for the country girl who turned the world into her stage.
~ WORLD ON FIRE, the lead-off single from DOLLY PARTON’s NEW album, ROCKSTAR, is OUT NOW. ROCKSTAR will be available on all platforms from November 17th.
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ACM AWARD WINNERS 2023
LAINEY SWEEPS THE BOARD AT ACM AWARDS
Winners have been announced for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards. Hosted by global superstars Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks last week, the two-hour commercial-free concert event streamed live for an international audience across 240+ countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, from the world headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
The Academy’s highest honour, Entertainer of the Year, was awarded to Chris Stapleton.
Lainey Wilson and HARDY led the night in total wins with four awards apiece, followed by Cole Swindell with three wins. The show celebrated country music’s biggest stars and emerging talent and featured eighteen show-stopping performances from twenty-five artists, along with exclusive collaborations and unexpected moments that captivated fans worldwide.
Fans can relive all of the excitement of the 58th ACM Awards with the full rebroadcast now available to watch on Prime Video, on the Amazon Music App, and for free on Amazon Freevee.
This is Chris Stapleton’s first win for ACM Entertainer of the Year, and his win qualifies him for the coveted ACM Triple Crown Award, celebrating artists who have won New Female/Male Artist of the Year, Female/Male Artist of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. His win brings his total ACM Awards count to fifteen.
This marks Lainey Wilson’s first wins for ACM Female Artist of the Year, ACM Album of the Year, ACM Music Event of the Year, and ACM Visual Media of the Year. Her four wins tie her for the most-awarded artist of the evening and bring her total ACM Awards count to seven. Lainey Wilson electrified the stage with her showstopping performance of Grease, complete with pyrotechnics and sizzling choreography in the background, marking its TV debut.
After being named ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Year and a winner for ACM Visual Media of the Year in pre-televised categories, HARDY took home an additional two ACM Awards during the show for ACM Music Event of the Year, where he won both as an artist and a producer for wait in the truck. That ties him with Lainey Wilson for the most-awarded artist of the evening and brings HARDY’s total ACM Award count to five. HARDY also rocked the ACM Awards stage with a head-banging performance of his latest single, Truck Bed.
In honor of the ACM Awards’ return to Texas, Keith Urban opened the show with an electrifying performance of his song Texas Time that included him being raised into the air on a platform while shredding a guitar solo.
Cole Swindell and Jo Dee Messina moved the sold-out crowd to enthusiastically sing along to their hit She Had Me At Heads Carolina – REMIX with karaoke lyrics displayed throughout the Ford Center encouraging the audience to join in.
Kane Brown sang Bury Me In Georgia in a powerful full-band performance that showed the audience why he earned his first-ever ACM Entertainer of the Year nomination this year.
Last year’s ACM Female Artist of the Year winner Carly Pearce and Trisha Yearwood performed a special medley of Yearwood’s hits including Wrong Side Of Memphis, XXX’s And OOOs and She’s In Love With The Boy, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Yearwood winning Female Artist of the Year.
Cody Johnson performed Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys in a tribute to Willie Nelson, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Nelson also surprised attendees with a special, cheeky Facetime moment with Dolly and Garth, where he thanked the two hosts for special birthday gifts.
Miranda Lambert performed Carousel, a song she described as one of her favourite songs she has ever written. She announced on social media that she’d be releasing the live version of the song on Amazon Music on May 16th.
New Female Artist of the Year winner Hailey Whitters made her ACM Awards stage debut decked out in pink with a performance of her fan-favorite song, Everything She Ain’t.
Luke Combs gave a heartfelt performance of his current radio single, Love You Anyway. Global superstar Ed Sheeran performed Life Goes On from his newly-released album “-” (Subtract) and surprised the crowd when he brought Luke Combs back to the stage to join him in a moment that immediately became a fan-favorite across social media.
The War And Treaty captivated the audience with an incredibly powerful, stripped-back performance of their song Blank Page, whilereigning ACM Artist of the Decade Jason Aldean rocked the stage with the epic TV debut of his newly released song Tough Crowd which had the audience on their feet.
Ashley McBryde, along with an all-star ensemble featuring Brandy Clark, Caylee Hammack, Pillbox Patti, and John Osborne, delivered a stunning and empowering performance of the critically-acclaimed Bonfire at Tina’s from McBryde’s ACM Award-nominated album Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville.
Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson performed Save Me in a touching moment highlighting Academy philanthropic partner ACM Lifting Lives that brought the two together for an emotional embrace at the end.
Bailey Zimmerman, the next Breakthrough Artist from Amazon Music, performed his hit single Rock And A Hard Place in a stirring performance, while Jordan Davis touched the crowd with his intimate performance of his latest hit, Next Thing You Know.
And as promised, ACM Awards host Dolly Parton delivered one of her biggest performances to date with the world premiere of World On Fire, the lead single from her highly anticipated forthcoming rock album Rockstar, featuring over-the-top production, pyrotechnics, backup dancers, and confetti.
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