Riley Green has stayed busy following the conclusion of his successful Ain’t My Last Rodeo 2024 tour. The country star took to Instagram on Friday (December 20) to share a video of him performing a heartbreaking unreleased new song titled, “What Am I Supposed To Do Now.” The clip features Green singing the mournful song while strumming the delicate melody of the tune on an acoustic guitar. The singer is sitting comfortably in a cozy spot in his home that is decorated for the holidays, with an array of deer heads mounted on the wall behind the avid hunter. Green even poked fun at himself for how raw and emotional his new track is by tagging the tune “#sadcountry” in the caption for the video. Green has one last show scheduled in 2024, a special New Year’s Eve gig in Durant, Oklahoma with Ella Langley. Green’s Damn Country Music 2025 tour is set to get underway on March 27, with Langley again serving as main support. (Holler)

In a new Instagram video promoting the upcoming season of American Idol, country superstar Carrie Underwood reflects on her journey from aspiring contestant to taking over the prestigious judges' chair. Underwood replaces former Idol judge Katy Perry this season, coming back to where her award-winning music career began. In a preview video ahead of the March 9 premiere of American Idol on ABC, Underwood’s 2005 audition for the show is juxtaposed alongside footage capturing the moment the singer stepped into the audition room as a judge for the first time. “Twenty years ago I was standing on a stage just like this one,” Underwood says in the video, as fellow judge Lionel Richie replies, “And now you’re sitting here with us.” “That’s the power of American Idol,” fellow judge Luke Bryan adds, before host Ryan Seacrest chimes in, “So, should we save some lives together?” “Let’s do this,” Underwood replies with a smile, culminating her 20-year path from Idol contestant to music superstar and now, Idol judge. (Billboard)

Koe Wetzel and Jessie Murph’s new collaboration, “High Road,” has landed at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. The duet is the very first Country Airplay entry for the 20-year-old Murph as well as the 32-year-old Wetzel, and is featured on both artists' respective albums. Murph becomes the first woman to top the Country Airplay chart as a lead artist with her first entry since April of 2020, when Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope” reached No. 1. Murph is also only the second female artist to rule the Country Airplay chart in 2024, following Ella Langley’s “You Look Like You Loved Me,” with Riley Green reaching No. 1 two weeks ago. “For Murph and I to get our first No. 1 at country radio on top of everything else feels unreal,” Wetzel says. “I poured my heart into this, and seeing it connect the way it has … man, I don’t even have the words. Huge love to Jessie for making ‘High Road’ what it is.” (Billboard)

During a recent interview with Rob + Holly, Dolly Parton’s sister Rachel Parton George discussed the recipes and family memories that fill the famous sisters’ new cookbook together, Good Lookin’ Cookin’. The cookbook provides a year’s worth of meals conveniently divided up by months, with recipes that are easy to make no matter your cooking skill levels. “All these recipes in this book, I can tell you, you will be able to cook these meals and you will be proud at the end,” Rachel said. The cookbook is also filled with memories from around the Parton’s dinner table while growing up, which gives it a personal touch. “I think one of my favorite things to make is skillet cornbread,” Rachel shared. “My mama taught me how to make that when I was five years old. She made me feel so special and like I had really contributed to dinner. That night, Dad said it was the best cornbread he had ever eaten, so I cooked cornbread ever since.” (Audacy)