• Riley Green released his new single “Think As You Drunk” on May 28, featuring a sample of Toby Keith’s 2005 hit “As Good As I Once Was” — a song Green says his dad used to joke was written about him
• Green also announced his new album That’s Just Me will be released on September 18; the album title signals a more personal statement after the commercial success of his previous record
• “Think As You Drunk” was co-written with Green’s frequent collaborators Erik Dylan, Wyatt McCubbin, and Jessi Alexander — the four of them finished it in 20 minutes
• The single is a comedic drinking anthem built around the malapropism “I ain’t as think as you drunk I am,” with Green deploying the kind of self-deprecating humor that has defined much of his catalog alongside his more emotional material
• Green is currently on the road for his Cowboy As It Gets Tour; his previous album Don’t Mind If I Do (October 2024) produced two No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits — “Worst Way” and the Ella Langley duet “Don’t Mind If I Do”

Riley Green has been one of country music’s most consistent hitmakers over the past two years, but “Think As You Drunk” is something different — a song that leans into absurdist humor and summer-party energy rather than the heartbreak and longing that made “Worst Way” a No. 1 hit.

The single arrived Wednesday alongside a bigger announcement: Green’s new album That’s Just Me is coming September 18. It’s the follow-up to Don’t Mind If I Do, which was released in October 2024 and cemented his standing as one of country’s premier solo songwriters with back-to-back chart-toppers.

“Think As You Drunk” is built around a Toby Keith sample — specifically a lift from Keith’s 2005 hit “As Good As I Once Was.” Green told Billboard the Keith song held personal meaning before it even became a sample: his dad used to joke that “As Good As I Once Was” was written about him. Green covers Toby’s songs at every live show, and weaving him into a new track is as much tribute as creative choice.

The song itself leans into comedic wordplay. The central hook — “I ain’t as think as you drunk I am” — is a deliberately scrambled version of a classic protest-too-much phrase, with Green playing a character who insists he’s sober while the evidence around him says otherwise. “Don’t pay no mind to the smell of those crushed up cans,” goes another line from the preview Green shared ahead of the release.

Written in 20 Minutes

Green wrote “Think As You Drunk” with three of his go-to collaborators: Erik Dylan, Wyatt McCubbin, and Jessi Alexander. The four of them knocked it out in 20 minutes — which tracks for a song that runs entirely on a single, gleefully stupid premise and doesn’t try to be anything other than that.

The release lands in the middle of Green’s Cowboy As It Gets Tour and gives the live show a new crowd-ready moment ahead of the album drop in September. That’s Just Me doesn’t yet have a tracklist or lead single beyond “Think As You Drunk,” but given that Green’s last album opened with a No. 1 and added another before the cycle was done, the expectations heading into fall are high.

The post Riley Green Drops ‘Think As You Drunk’ With a Toby Keith Sample — and Announces New Album ‘That’s Just Me’ appeared first on Cream.

• Ella Langley was the night’s biggest winner, taking home seven trophies across five categories at the 61st ACM Awards
• Kacey Musgraves made her ACM Awards performance debut with a scene-stealing, innuendo-packed rendition of “Dry Spell”
• Shania Twain hosted the Las Vegas ceremony for the first time, delivering multiple costume changes throughout the night
• Cody Johnson won Entertainer of the Year, while Riley Green and Parker McCollum also took home hardware
• The red carpet delivered major fashion moments from Musgraves, Lainey Wilson, Kelsea Ballerini and more

Las Vegas had a lot to celebrate Sunday night. The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards took over the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 17, and from the red carpet to the final trophy, it was one of the most memorable nights country music has had in years.

Ella Langley was the undeniable queen of the evening, walking away with seven trophies across five categories — including Artist-Songwriter of the Year, which she claimed before the show even began. The “Choosing Texas” singer-songwriter has been on a record-breaking run, and Sunday only added to it. Cody Johnson had his own massive night, picking up two key wins including Entertainer of the Year. Riley Green and Parker McCollum also took home awards.

But the trophies were only part of the story.

Kacey Musgraves Finally Takes the ACM Stage — and Makes It Unforgettable

Despite being a seven-time ACM winner, Kacey Musgraves had never actually performed at the show — until now. The 37-year-old East Texas native made her ACM Awards performance debut with “Dry Spell,” the lead single from her seventh studio album Middle of Nowhere, and she committed fully to the bit.

The set was styled like a country mart grocery store, and Musgraves opened the number perched on a washing machine — a direct nod to the song’s most memorable lyric. She tossed sausage into a grocery buggy, worked the aisles, and delivered the song’s cascade of innuendo with the kind of deadpan comedic timing that only she can pull off. For the performance, she traded the oversized camo hoodie from the music video for a white tank top, Daisy Dukes, and strappy silver heels.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=NlohfwTunwU%3Ffeature%3Doembed

“911, it’s officially a cry for help / Y’all, I’m going through a dry spell, yep,” she sang, and the crowd — and the internet — had feelings about it. The reaction was split almost immediately, which honestly felt like the whole point. Musgraves has always understood that polarizing and forgettable are not the same thing.

“If you do have a unique sound or unique style or perspective to offer, you’re going to be told that it’s too different or that it’s not going to work or it doesn’t make sense,” Musgraves said after her 2019 ACM wins for Female Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for Golden Hour. “And that’s, truthfully, just the industry being lazy.”

“Dry Spell” — which she co-wrote with Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, and Josh Osborne, and produced with longtime collaborators Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk — has reached No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100. Musgraves wasn’t nominated for an award this year, but she didn’t need a trophy to own the room.

Her appearance also carried an added layer of significance. Middle of Nowhere, which dropped March 11, features “Horses and Divorces,” a Texas dancehall-inspired duet with Miranda Lambert that put a long-rumored feud firmly to rest. The two co-wrote the track with Shane McAnally, and it debuted at No. 84 on the Hot 100 — making Musgraves and Lambert the first artists in over a decade to debut on that chart with an all-female country duet.

“My heart was beating so fast because I’m a crazy country music fan, and these two women are my Dolly and Loretta,” McAnally told Variety. “And they both switched roles; I’m not saying who is who, but there was no ego in it. They have so much respect for each other, and I got to be a part of what I really do believe is history.”

The Red Carpet Was Its Own Show

Before the performances and the trophies, the MGM Grand Garden Arena red carpet delivered a full fashion showcase — and the country girls showed up.

Musgraves set the tone early, arriving in a strapless black velvet Tanner Fletcher fall 2026 gown with ivory ruffled trim and a sweetheart neckline. She wore her dark hair in brushed-out waves with a small kiss curl on her forehead, added a red lip and winged liner, and finished with pearl drop earrings. It was a full vintage pinup moment — precise, considered, and completely her.

Lainey Wilson, who recently married Devlin “Duck” Hodges, arrived in a strapless coral Marmar Halim gown with a fringe skirt — ditching her trademark Stetson for gold chandelier earrings and signaling what feels like a new style chapter. Kelsea Ballerini came in a cream Roberto Cavalli gown with a corseted bodice and gold foliage print, her honey-blonde waves accessorized with a matching gold foliage piece.

Ella Langley wore a bridal-inspired white corseted gown with a statement lariat necklace featuring a gold flower — a tribute to her album Dandelion. Shaboozey kept it cool in a black leather trench coat, faded matching pants, half-buttoned white shirt, silver chains, and a black cowboy hat. Thomas Rhett arrived in a mocha suit with an ivory knit polo, complementing wife Lauren Akins, who wore a polka-dot Rodarte midi-dress with bow details.

And then there was host Shania Twain, who walked the carpet in a show-stopping silver strapless Falguni Shane Peacock gown — beaded palm-tree embroidery, a sequin panther across the skirt, and dramatic elbow-length leather gloves with grommet details — before proceeding to change outfits multiple times throughout the night. Twain, who called Las Vegas “a place that feels like home,” was hosting the ACM Awards for the first time, and she clearly came prepared.

The full show is available to stream on demand on Prime Video starting Monday. And if Musgraves sitting on a washing machine at the ACMs isn’t the image that defines country music’s 2026 moment, it’s hard to imagine what would be.

The post ACM Awards 2026: Best Looks, Moments and Winners appeared first on Cream.

• Ella Langley swept all seven of her nominations at the 2026 ACM Awards, including Song, Single, and Female Artist of the Year
• Cody Johnson won Entertainer of the Year — his first — and dedicated the award to fellow nominee Luke Combs
• The 61st ceremony moved back to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, hosted for the first time by Shania Twain
• Parker McCollum pulled off a surprise Album of the Year win over Morgan Wallen and others
• Blake Shelton closed the night with a tribute to the late Don Schlitz, performing Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler”

Ella Langley walked into the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night and didn’t stop walking back to the stage. By the time the night was over at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, she had collected seven trophies — every single nomination she had — making her the undisputed story of the evening even before Cody Johnson claimed the one prize she wasn’t up for.

It started with the very first award of the night. Michael Bublé presented Langley with Song of the Year for “Choosin’ Texas,” the crossover smash that’s turned her into one of country’s biggest names. She was visibly caught off guard. “I’m not at a loss for words very often,” she said from the podium. “Thank you to the fans. I don’t know why you latched on to this song, but thank you for doing it. I never would have imagined to even dream for it.”

Less than an hour later, she was back up there for Single of the Year — same song. Then she joined Riley Green as their duet “Don’t Mind if I Do” took Music Event of the Year. And then came Female Artist of the Year, her fourth trophy of the broadcast. Her voice cracked as she tried to speak. “I’m trying to get to say something, but I can’t,” she managed. “I would not be standing up here without the encouragement of so many women.”

Before the cameras even rolled Sunday night, Langley had already picked up Artist-Songwriter of the Year in the pre-show. Seven for seven. And for what it’s worth, her currently bestselling album Dandelion missed the eligibility window entirely — which means she’s already a frontrunner for Album of the Year at the 2027 ceremony.

Cody Johnson’s First Entertainer of the Year — and the Dedication Nobody Saw Coming

The top prize of the night went to Johnson, 38, on his third nomination for Entertainer of the Year and his first win. He’d already taken home Male Artist of the Year earlier in the evening, where he delivered one of the night’s most talked-about performances — a powerhouse, emotionally raw rendition of “Travelin’ Soldier” that reminded everyone exactly why he was in that conversation.

But his Entertainer of the Year speech is what people will be talking about. Johnson told the crowd he had a dedication they “probably didn’t expect” — and then he gave it to fellow nominee Luke Combs.

“There’s a man that was up for this award that I personally watched devote his life to country music,” Johnson said. “I was there the night in Australia when his wife gave birth to one of their sons. And I watched the anguish, I watched the defeat on his face for not being there, because he was across the world playing music in a sold-out arena. The next night, right after, I watched him get on stage and absolutely murder the stage, and go on stage and play country music and preach the message of country music to a bunch of Australians across the world.”

“So, tonight I want to dedicate my first Entertainer of the Year award to my buddy, Luke Combs. I love you, brother.”

Johnson was a supporting act on Combs’ 2023 world tour. The moment he referenced — Combs missing the birth of his son Beau while performing in Australia — Combs himself spoke about publicly at the time. Combs and his wife Nicole are now parents to three boys: Tex, Beau, and Chet, born this past February.

Earlier in his speech, Johnson reached back to his childhood: “When I was a little kid, I remember my mom walked in my room, and I had a little microphone duct-taped to the side of my bunk bed, and I had a guitar with no strings on it, and I was singing a Rick Trevino song. All I’ve ever wanted to do was be in front of a crowd and entertain.” He went on to call music “the greatest drug that has ever been introduced on planet Earth.”

Johnson’s upcoming 10th studio album, Banks of the Trinity, drops June 26. His single “The Fall” — which topped the US Country Airplay charts ahead of the show — follows his previous number ones “Til You Can’t” and “The Painter.”

Shania Takes the Helm, and a Big Night for Country’s Women

The show itself was a genuine event. Shania Twain hosted for the first time — taking over from Reba McEntire, who had held that post 18 times — and she walked out to her 1997 anthem “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” before getting reflective in her opening remarks. She talked about winning her first ACM Award 30 years ago, her first top 10 hit at age 30, and then turned her attention squarely to the women in the room. “Make it loud for all our sheroes,” she cheered. She also congratulated Lainey Wilson on her wedding, which had taken place just the Sunday before.

Wilson, the two-time reigning Entertainer of the Year, opened the broadcast with “Can’t Sit Still,” her latest single — an anthemic, big-swing song about ambition that was exactly the right way to kick things off. Miranda Lambert, the most-decorated artist in ACM Awards history, performed “Crisco.” Thomas Rhett and Jordan Davis teamed up for “Ain’t A Bad Life.” Avery Anna debuted “Bang Bang,” a country-rock reimagination of Nancy Sinatra’s classic. Zach Top did “Honky Tonk Till It Hurts.” Little Big Town brought “Hey There Sunshine.” The Red Clay Strays, who later won Group of the Year, delivered “Demons in Your Choir.”

Kacey Musgraves was a highlight, performing “Dry Spell” from her upcoming Middle of Nowhere album atop a washing machine and in a grocery store — her particular brand of cheeky staging landing perfectly. Langley performed “Be Her” acoustically. Carter Faith’s “If I Had Never Lost My Mind” was a vocal standout. Kane Brown delivered “Woman.” Tucker Wetmore, who won New Male Artist of the Year in the pre-show, performed “Brunette” on the broadcast.

McCollum Pulls the Upset, and a Closing Tribute

Album of the Year was the night’s biggest competitive surprise. Parker McCollum took it for his self-titled 2025 release, beating Morgan Wallen’s blockbuster I’m the Problem, Zach Top’s Ain’t In It for My Health, Riley Green’s Don’t Mind If I Do, and first-time nominee Carter Faith’s Cherry Valley. McCollum and Lee Ann Womack also dueted “Killin’ Me” from that album during the show.

Brooks & Dunn won Duo of the Year, with Kix Brooks offering the night’s most self-aware line: “I don’t know why y’all aren’t getting sick of us, but we love y’all.”

Jessie Jo Dillon made history in the pre-show, winning Songwriter of the Year for the third consecutive time — the first artist ever to do so. Avery Anna and Tucker Wetmore took New Female and New Male Artist of the Year, respectively. Stephen Wilson Jr. won Visual Media of the Year for “Cuckoo.”

The night closed with two final performances carrying real weight. Dan + Shay performed “Say So,” dedicated to Ben Vaughn, the late Warner Chappell president and CEO. Then Blake Shelton took the stage for a powerful cover of “The Gambler” — written by the late Don Schlitz, the country music legend who died last month, and most famously recorded by Kenny Rogers in 1978. The song went five-times platinum and helped crack open country music to mainstream pop audiences. It was a fitting, quietly moving way to end the night.

The post Ella Langley Sweeps ACMs With 7 Wins, Cody Johnson Takes Top Prize appeared first on Cream.

• Shania Twain hosts the 61st ACM Awards for the first time, calling it “the biggest gig of my life”
• She hit the red carpet in a show-stopping silver Falguni Shane Peacock gown with a sequin panther and elbow-length leather gloves
• Megan Moroney leads all nominees with nine nods, followed by Miranda Lambert with eight
• Kacey Musgraves makes her ACM Awards performance debut, bringing tracks from her new album Middle of Nowhere
• The show returns to Las Vegas’s MGM Grand Garden Arena after three years in Frisco, Texas

Country music’s biggest night is here, and Shania Twain is making absolutely sure you know it. The Canadian icon stepped onto the 2026 ACM Awards red carpet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas wearing a silver strapless gown from Falguni Shane Peacock — beaded palm-tree embroidery across the bodice, a massive sequin panther prowling across the skirt, and dramatic elbow-length leather gloves with grommet details finishing the whole thing off. It was, in a word, a lot. In the best possible way.

Twain, 60, is hosting the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards tonight, Sunday, May 17, taking over from Reba McEntire and making her hosting debut at an event she’s called a genuine bucket-list moment. “This is the biggest gig of my life,” she told Us Weekly ahead of the show. “You can expect a lot of excitement, glamor. We’re going to be very glamorous here in Las Vegas. You can expect that this is the ACMs Vegas style.”

She also teased that the fashion was going to be particularly elevated this year: “There’s going to be a lot of beauty because there’s more women on the nominees list this year. So that always brings up the fashion a little higher sometimes, I think. So you can see a lot of really fabulous, high fashion.”

She wasn’t wrong.

The Red Carpet Looks You Need to See

Twain’s entrance set the tone, but she wasn’t the only one bringing it on the carpet. Michael Bublé, on hand as a presenter, went full monochrome in royal blue — suit, shirt, the whole look — topped off with a pair of patent crocodile leather square-toe boots that had just enough personality to make it interesting.

Tyler Hubbard kept it relaxed in light blue jeans, suede boots and a tan blazer, while his wife Hayley Hubbard more than made up the glamour difference in a strapless olive-green column gown by Alex Perry, complete with a corset bodice and an eye-catching satin knot at the waist.

Old Dominion — Geoff Sprung, Trevor Rosen, Matthew Ramsey and Brad Tursi — arrived as a group and leaned into a neutral palette that let each member’s individual style breathe without tipping into coordinated-boy-band territory. They’re nominated for Group of the Year tonight, so looking good as a unit matters.

Shania Twain’s Fashion Legacy — and Why Tonight Feels Different

For anyone who’s followed Twain’s career across three decades, tonight’s silver panther gown is just the latest chapter in a long and genuinely iconic fashion story. She wore a Marc Bouwer sequined white turtleneck gown to the 1999 Grammys the night she won best country song and best female country vocal performance for “You’re Still the One.” She channelled punk-rock energy in reflective black vinyl at the 1996 American Music Awards. She gave fans a rhinestone-covered custom Levi’s denim two-piece at the 2024 People’s Country Choice Awards — matching long gloves included — that was essentially country Barbie come to life. And her 2023 CMT Music Awards look, a red-and-black butterfly-print Prabal Gurung gown worn with a flame-red hairstyle, reminded everyone that she never really went anywhere.

The leopard print, of course, is its own chapter entirely. “For better or for worse, I just really latched onto it,” she told Vogue in 2020. “It was a favourite.” She brought it back for the 2022 People’s Choice Awards with a leopard-print hooded shawl over a sheer black dress, letting her then-pink hair steal the frame.

Tonight marks the 30th anniversary of her first ACM wins — she took home Top New Female Vocalist and Album of the Year for The Woman in Me back in 1996 — and she’s arriving not as a nominee but as the host, which somehow feels bigger. “I am representing our genre,” she told USA Today. “I am there to represent the talent, to make them feel comfortable. So I think I’m just going to have a really fun time.”

She’s also been candid about what this moment means personally, coming off what she’s described as an era of mental liberation. “I was always like, ‘I need to be myself,'” she told Us Weekly for their March 2025 cover story. “Any artist’s greatest power is originality. I was insecure about lots of things, but I had conviction.”

What’s Coming Tonight: Nominees, Performers and More

The night belongs to women — for the second year running. Megan Moroney leads all nominees with nine, including her first-ever nods for Entertainer of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year. Miranda Lambert — the most decorated artist in ACM Awards history — follows with eight. Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson each have seven.

Twain has made no secret of her excitement about meeting Langley tonight. “When I first heard her song come out, I thought, ‘Wow, this is the real thing,'” she said on the Today show. “I realized how much I had been missing hearing that authenticity. Musically, production-wise, her voice, her lyrics. So I’m very excited to meet her.”

The performance lineup is stacked. Kacey Musgraves makes her ACM Awards debut tonight, performing from her newly released album Middle of Nowhere — and yes, she and Lambert have officially squashed their long-rumored feud, collaborating on a new duet called “Horses and Divorces.” Also on the stage tonight: Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Thomas Rhett, Little Big Town, The Red Clay Strays, Jordan Davis, Riley Green, Parker McCollum (performing “Killin’ Me” with Lee Ann Womack), and all Album of the Year nominees except Morgan Wallen.

A few awards were handed out before tonight’s main ceremony. Jessie Jo Dillon became the first songwriter to win the ACM Songwriter of the Year award three consecutive times. Stephen Wilson Jr. took home visual media of the year for “Cuckoo.” And Avery Anna and Tucker Wetmore were named new female and new male artist of the year, respectively.

The show streams live on Prime Video, the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and the Amazon Music app starting at 8 p.m. ET.

Twain dropped her new single “Dirty Rosie” earlier this week, and tonight she takes the stage she’s been building toward for thirty years. As she put it: “Hosting the ACMs is a very, very big deal for me.” The silver panther gown says she already knows it.

The post ACM Awards 2026: Best Red Carpet Looks & What to Expect appeared first on Cream.

• Eric Church delivered the 2026 commencement address at UNC-Chapel Hill on May 9, using his guitar as the centerpiece of his speech
• The country star spent nearly nine months writing the speech, tearing up multiple drafts before the guitar metaphor came to him in a “fit of frustration”
• Church structured his remarks around the “six strings of life”: faith, family, marriage, ambition and resilience, community, and authenticity
• He closed with a live performance of his song “Carolina” and received an honorary degree from UNC
• A clip of the speech has racked up over 1.6 million views and fans are calling it one of the greatest commencement addresses ever given

Eric Church walked onto the field at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill on May 9 carrying a Tar Heel-emblazoned acoustic guitar — and by the time he walked off, he’d delivered a commencement speech that the internet can’t stop talking about.

The 49-year-old country star, a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter with 11 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and seven Academy of Country Music Awards to his name, was invited to address UNC-Chapel Hill’s Class of 2026. What he gave them wasn’t a polished TED talk or a list of career advice. It was something more personal than that — and far more memorable.

“Three things mattered to my family when I was growing up,” Church told the crowd to open his remarks. “God, family and Dean Edwards Smith.”

The Tar Heels crowd loved it. And things only got better from there.

Nine Months of Work, One Night of Frustration

Church, a Granite Falls, North Carolina native who attended Appalachian State University (graduating in 2000 with a marketing degree), has been a self-described lifelong UNC fan his entire life. “My dad would even introduce us as Tar Heels,” he said in a post on UNC’s website. “I knew I wasn’t Wolfpack, and I wasn’t a Blue Devil. I was a Tar Heel. My entire life has been built around being a Tar Heel.” He even famously canceled a show in Texas to attend the Tar Heels’ Final Four matchup with Duke during the 2022 NCAA Tournament. So when UNC came calling with a commencement invitation eight or nine months ago, the pressure to get it right was real.

He tore up draft after draft. He threw things. Nothing felt right.

“I’ve been grinding on this for a little bit about how to do it,” Church admitted to the graduates. “I have torn up multiple speeches. I have thrown things. And in one of my fits of frustration, I sat down with a guitar.”

That’s when it clicked. “I hit all six strings,” he told Fox & Friends afterward, “and I thought, ‘Hey, what if I could make a speech out of these?'”

He built the entire address around that single moment of clarity — mapping each of the guitar’s six strings onto what he called the fundamental pillars of a well-lived life.

Six Strings, Six Pillars

Church opened with a demonstration — strumming an out-of-tune chord so the stadium could feel, not just hear, the point he was about to make.

“Some ancient, honest part of your brain knows it immediately,” he said. “You don’t need training to hear it. You just know. That sound is the sound of something beautiful that has not been tended to.”

Then he laid out his framework.

The low E — the thickest, heaviest string — is faith. “Your faith is the low E of your life. The thing that sits at the very bottom of you. Your belief about what this life is for, what you owe, what holds the universe together when science reaches the edge of its own explanation and shrugs.” He warned the graduates that life would try to pull them away from it — not dramatically, but quietly, through a full schedule and a full inbox. “Tend to your faith. Not just when you’re broken, but when you’re whole.”

The A string is family — “who loved you longer than you’ve been easy to love” and “who saw you at your actual worst, not your public-facing worst, and didn’t leave you.” Church told the graduates that family would rarely demand their time once life got busy. Don’t take them up on it. “Call your people. Not when there’s news. Not when there’s nothing. Show up when it costs you something. The A string is not a holiday string. It’s an everyday string. Protect it.”

The D string — the heart of any chord — is your spouse or partner. “The person you choose to share your life with is the most important decision you will ever make outside of your faith.” He didn’t soften it. “They will either amplify every other string you’re playing, or slowly pull the whole instrument into an out-of-tune mess. Choose them wisely, and then love them fiercely.”

Church got a genuine laugh from the crowd when he arrived at the fourth string. “The G-string,” he announced, letting the moment breathe. That one, he said, is ambition and resilience — the string that drifts fastest because both forces pull at it in opposite directions. He quoted Hemingway: “‘The world breaks everyone. Afterward, the best of us are stronger at the broken places.’ Get back up. Tune the string, keep playing.” And he pushed back against passivity with one of the speech’s sharpest lines: “The world has more than enough people standing at the edge of their own potential waiting for a permission slip that was never gonna arrive.”

The B string is community — and here Church went directly at the defining tension of his audience’s generation. “Your generation faces a temptation no generation before has ever faced. The temptation to perform for everyone and belong to no one. To be globally visible and locally invisible. To have thousands of followers and no one actually knows where you live. Resist this.” His prescription was simple and specific: plant yourself somewhere, learn people’s actual names (not usernames), volunteer, coach the team, build what your community needs even if the internet never sees it. “Generosity is not something you do after you make it. It’s how you make it.”

And the high E — the thinnest string, the one that carries the melody and bends most easily under pressure — is your uniqueness. “Social media is going to show you a thousand versions of a life that looks better than yours. The comparison will be relentless, curated, and a lie dressed up in really good lighting.” He told the graduates not to let anyone retune them to match someone else’s idea of what they should sound like. “You were made uniquely, wonderfully, distinctly. There’s a sound only you can make, a voice that has never existed before you and will never exist again. The world does not need another cover song. It needs an original.”

The Part That Hit Hardest

What made the speech land so differently from the average graduation address wasn’t just the guitar metaphor — it was what Church admitted about himself in the process of writing it.

On Fox & Friends after the speech went viral, he was candid about where the wisdom actually came from. “Full disclosure, the reason I know about these things is I have failed miserably at all of these things. I know what it feels like to have certain pillars of your life not in tune, and I know what it’s like to have them in tune. It was trying to convey that message of ‘You’re not going to get it right, but you should try to get it right.'”

He also said his wife Kathryn had a significant impact on shaping the speech — and that watching his two sons, now 14 and 11, navigate a world defined by phones and YouTube made the whole thing feel urgent. “Their life today is drastically different than my life was when I was their age. I don’t know if they get the fundamental messages that are not filtered through 50,000 different ways to get to them.”

Church brought all of it together in the speech’s closing passage — a reminder that all six strings will drift, not just one or two, and that the measure of a life isn’t whether you stay in tune but whether you stop to listen when you don’t.

“The difference between a life that sounds like music and a life that sounds like noise is whether you stop and listen. Whether you’re honest enough to hear which string has drifted out of tune and humble enough to make the adjustment instead of just turning up the volume and hoping nobody notices. Because you will notice. The part of you that knows what the chords should sound like will always notice. It will not let you go. Life won’t be right until it is tuned. Trust what your heart hears and is telling you about your song.”

Then he picked up his guitar and played “Carolina” — his 2008 tribute to his home state — as the crowd at Kenan Stadium came to their feet. UNC presented him with an honorary degree. UNC Chancellor Lee H. Roberts called him “a true legend” who has “shaped the music industry and inspired generations of artists and audiences alike.”

A clip shared on X by J.P. Hovey crossed 1.6 million views within days. The full speech on YouTube drew comments calling it the “best” and “greatest” graduation address in history. One viewer wrote: “Might be the greatest commencement speech ever. ‘Play your six strings!'”

Church noted the irony himself, with a laugh: “A lot of this speech talked about social media and how you have to ignore social media. And then it goes viral. What are you gonna do with that?”

The post Eric Church’s Viral UNC Speech Has Everyone Talking appeared first on Cream.

• Lainey Wilson and Devlin “Duck” Hodges married May 10 at The Ruskin Cave in Dickson, Tennessee
• Wilson wore a custom Oscar de la Renta gown with Japanese cherry blossom details
• The couple got engaged in February 2025 at the George Jones estate in Franklin, Tennessee
• A 12-piece jazz band and Cajun food from Wilson’s Nashville bar, Bell Bottoms Up, set the reception vibe
• The Rebirth Brass Band led guests in a second line march — a nod to Wilson’s Louisiana roots

Lainey Wilson is a married woman. The country superstar and her now-husband, former NFL quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges, exchanged vows on Sunday, May 10 — Mother’s Day — at The Ruskin Cave in Dickson, Tennessee, in a ceremony that was every bit as warm, unpretentious, and deeply personal as the woman herself.

Wilson, 33, and Hodges, 30, revealed the news Thursday, May 14, sharing stunning photos of the day with Vogue. And yes — she traded in her signature bell bottoms for a gown.

“Duck and I were driving backroads in Tennessee and saw a billboard for The Ruskin Cave,” Wilson told Vogue. “Duck said, ‘You wanna get married there?’ I said, ‘Done deal.’ We dropped by, saw the venue and fell in love with the natural beauty of the cave and the simplicity of the property.”

That’s about as perfectly Lainey Wilson as a venue origin story gets.

A Ceremony Built Around the Moment

The ceremony took place on a cobblestone ledge at the foot of a waterfall on the property. Wilson arrived in a white horse-drawn carriage and walked down the aisle with her father — whom she lovingly calls “Deddy” — to meet Hodges at the altar. The couple was married by Wilson’s close friend and mentor, Wes Williams, and the two took communion together during the ceremony.

“You could hear the water trickling down and birds singing, and we had a nice spring breeze,” Wilson recalled. “I have never seen Duck smile as big as he did then. It made me feel giddy about turning the page into this next chapter of marriage. We were both anxious to say ‘I do!'”

As the newlyweds walked back down the aisle, Raye’s song “Where Is My Husband!” played — and then the legendary New Orleans group Rebirth Brass Band kicked in, leading the entire wedding party in a second line march straight to cocktail hour. “It was so lovely to have that touch of my home in Louisiana up here in Tennessee,” Wilson said.

The Dress (and the Look That Almost Wasn’t)

For a woman who has built an entire aesthetic around denim bell bottoms, choosing a wedding dress was no small thing. Wilson worked with her stylist, Alexandra Mandelkorn, and the Oscar de la Renta team to create something that felt entirely her own — a custom gown featuring tiny Japanese cherry blossoms around the neckline and scattered throughout the dress.

“The cherry blossom represents living in the moment, and that’s exactly what we did,” Wilson explained.

Hodges matched the moment in a bespoke suit by D. Lacquaniti, complete with a custom bolo tie, cufflinks, and a hat pin created in collaboration with Mud Lowery. He finished the look with custom boots by Golden West Boots and a cowboy hat by Charlie 1 Horse — all styled by close friend Raina Gir.

Louisiana in Tennessee

The reception moved into the cave itself, where Wilson’s mother led guests in dinner prayer before the party really got going. Wilson wanted the evening to feel like home — her Louisiana home, specifically. The couple hired the Rebirth Brass Band for a second second-line march from cocktail hour to the cave reception, served a Cajun meal prepared by the chefs from her Nashville bar, Bell Bottoms Up, and kept the dance floor packed all night.

“We wanted it to be special and beautiful, but really welcoming and comfortable for our guests,” Wilson said. “We tried not to take ourselves too seriously.”

The night ended with Wilson and Hodges following the band through a send-off line of sparklers and cheering guests, before climbing into an old white Ford truck and driving off into the Tennessee night. Simple. Perfect.

Four Years in the Making

Wilson and Hodges were set up on a blind date in 2021 — a night that started at dinner, moved to a spot on the water called Moby Dicky’s, and ended at a honkytonk called Silverado’s. “We’ve been pretty inseparable since,” Wilson told Vogue.

What makes their love story especially charming is the full-circle nature of it. In her Netflix documentary, Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool, Wilson opened up about just how broke she was when they first met. “I was so broke when we met. And he thought I was doing a little bit better than I was. But a few weeks after we met, my sister had to Venmo me a couple hundred bucks.” That was 2021. By the time they walked down the aisle, Wilson had a Grammy, a starring role on Yellowstone, and her own bar in Nashville.

Hodges proposed in February 2025, on the front steps of George Jones‘s iconic estate in Franklin, Tennessee — a spot that meant everything to Wilson. “He had it set up with rose petals and pictures of the two of us from the last five years,” she recalled. “We love George Jones, and he knew it would mean a lot to me to do it right there on George’s front porch.”

@nc5nashville

Spilling the romance tea 💍: Lainey Wilson talked to us about the moments leading up to her proposal and wedding plans in the works ❤ love laineywilson countrymusic #nashville

♬ original sound – NewsChannel 5 – NewsChannel 5

The ring, for the record, came in a mini cowboy hat-shaped box. Of course it did.

Wilson has described Hodges as her “biggest supporter” and “biggest cheerleader” — someone who has been by her side through the full explosion of her career. “He’s just the place that I get to call home,” she told People ahead of the wedding. “And I think he’s pretty dang lucky to have me, too.”

Married life won’t slow Wilson down for long. She’s set to open for Chris Stapleton at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on May 23 — less than two weeks after saying “I do.”

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