Russell Dickerson's wife, Kailey, revealed in a year end post on social media that they suffered a miscarriage in September. "It felt like drowning and trying to swim towards the sun to find the surface," she wrote. "I didn't know if I'd ever share this, but something about going into this next year, I needed to leave this news in 2022. The loss, however, is something that will always be written into our story. I know I'll share more about it when I'm ready, but for now, and for the last several months, I'm holding these two extra close..." Kailey ended the post with reflections on both her experience and the experiences that she has seen others share from 2022.
Jelly Roll recently shared that he plans to spend the first half of the year, before getting back on tour, to losing weight and improving his health. The singer, whose real name is Jason DeFord, says weight has been a struggle for him for much of his life. In fact, he earned his Jelly Roll nickname from his mom. He also has big goals for his career. 2023 will be about releasing new music and continuing to establish himself as a top country artist.
Dolly Parton's next children's book will feature her God-dog Billy the Kid. Dolly Parton's Billy the Kid Makes It Big will hit store shelves this spring. The book follows the French bulldog as he chases his dream of becoming a country music sensation in Nashville. The only problem is a group of bullies he comes across while competing in the Battle of the Bow-wows. Some of Billy's favourite songs are "Jowlene" and "I Will Pawlways Love You." Dolly wrote the book with Erica S. Perl, and MacKenzie Haley provided illustrations. Billy the Kid Makes It Big will be available April 25th.
Blake Shelton will be saying goodbye to The Voice after its upcoming Season 23. He says he would happily come back for one reason...to mentor Team Gwen Stefani. Despite this next season being Blake's last in the red chair, Gwen has not ruled out future seasons for herself. Blake will compete for his 10th win when The Voice returns on March 6th.
Nashville will be celebrating the new year with New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash, airing on CBS. The evening will feature more than 50 performances, including a number of collaborations that CBS announced yesterday. The artists who will team up for performances tomorrow night include Jimmie Allen and Flo Rida, Kelsea Ballerini with Wynonna Judd, Sheryl Crow and Ashley McBryde, Steve Miller and King Calaway, Thomas Rhett with Riley Green and Zac Brown Band with the War and Treaty. New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash starts at 8pm.
Shania Twain will release her sixth studio album, Queen of Me, on February 3rd. This is her first album since her official return to music with 2017's Now, and her first since the throat surgery she underwent in 2018. The open-throat surgery is one of many she had during her battle with Lyme disease. "For me, this album means so, so much about my decision-making and the courage to get the operation, knowing that I may never even be able to sing again after the surgery," Shania says. "So that was a big decision." She's counting her blessings right now because she knows there's a chance it won't last. "What's even more precious to me is that I don't know if the procedure that I had will last forever," Shania shares. "With age, it could just not hold up, and that could be it." She says if it gets to that point, she'll have to decide whether to get the procedure done again to keep singing or take a more behind-the-scenes role in music. Shania is getting ready to hit the road in 2023 for her Queen of Me Tour.
2022 has been a great year for Bailey Zimmerman. The success of his debut EP, Leave The Light On, helped to land him at number two on Billboard's year-end Top New Country Artist list, and made him the number four Top New Artist across all genres. Bailey admitted that he's a little surprised to have so much success so early in his career. "People come up to me in airports now," he said. "Just to come up and be like, 'Man, I love the music.' It's really cool to just feel all the love all the time from them." When he was asked about his next career steps, Bailey's response was, "more songs and just continuing to grow as a person, as a human."