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Fremantle is to handle worldwide sales on country music feature documentary “Rebel Country,” which will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The film looks at a new breed of stars who are rewriting the rules and challenging the culture of country music. It explores the tensions of race, class, poverty, gender, sexuality and creativity versus commerce and geography that are prevalent in the U.S., while also acknowledging the musicians’ connection to Nashville’s rebellious roots.

“Rebel Country” is directed by Francis Whately, whose credits include “Five Years” and “Dolly Parton: Here I Am.” Executive producers are BMG, and Gabriel Jagger and Janet Lee for WhyNow Studios.

Whately said: “I am excited to have ‘Rebel Country’ premiere in this current moment that the country music genre is experiencing. The musicians, noted music journalists, and historians included in the film help give a broad picture of the genre...

In 2017, I ended my marriage of almost 12 years. It wasn’t one big betrayal. No one was a villain, not really. What happened was the oppressive weight of being a wife and mother and the burden of heterosexual marriage broke me. Three years later, in 2020, I realized I wasn’t alone. That the cultural weight of society keeps slipping onto the shoulders of mothers and wives. We are breaking. My book This American Ex Wife examines the way marriage is inherently unequal, and the way our culture defines love as misery,...

Nyt Writes A 5,000 Word Op-Ed Questioning Taylor Swift’s Sexuality! (Photo Credit –Instagram)

The New York Times needs to calm down because it’s being too loud! An op-ed written by their staffer has questioned the sexuality of American singer Taylor Swift. We all know about her history of boyfriends, including Harry Styles, Joe Alwyn, and her current flame, Travis Kelce. The opinion piece is leaving Swifties furious, who’re calling it out for being highly disrespectful. Scroll below for all the details!

The 5,000-word opinion piece talks about a list of LGBTQ references made by Taylor in many of her songs and performances. Editor Anna Marks claims that the You Need To Calm Down singer may be hinting she identifies with the queer community for years now!

Is Taylor Swift queer but isn’t coming out of the closet?

Back in 2019, Taylor Swift clarified that she believes in standing...

Country singer Chely Wright, who came out in 2010 as gay, has called a New York Times opinion piece that’s being criticized for speculating about Taylor Swift’s sexuality “triggering” and “awful.”

Wright, who first publicly discussed being gay in 2010 and shared her personal challenges around coming out as a Christian from rural Kansas in a Huffington Post blog, was mentioned in an op-ed the Times published Thursday titled, “Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do.”

The 5,000-word guest essay suggests that Swift is a closeted queer woman who has been sending subtextual signals about her sexuality. Beyond Swift, the piece discusses major moments in pop culture and the political progress that has been made around the LGBTQ community’s rights in the U.S. since Swift’s career began. That includes Wright coming out.

“I was mentioned in the piece, so I’ll weigh in. I think it was awful of @nytimes to publish,...

When Brandy Clark launched a country-music recording career in 2013, there wasn’t any template to follow for an openly gay artist in Nashville. Despite co-writing hits like Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow,” Clark heard loud and clear the industry’s subtle messages that she wouldn’t be supported as an out performer. Even Chely Wright, who had big radio hits in the Nineties, had been forced to wait years and change stylistic directions before she came out publicly.

“One of the things that was hard for me to grasp was...

Howard Bragman, public relations and crisis management expert and longtime LGBTQ+ activist, has died after a short battle with leukemia. He was 66.

According to a journal entry by his husband, Mike Maimone, Bragman died peacefully in his sleep in Los Angeles Saturday, where he was surrounded by his brother, Alan, his niece, Lizzy, and many of his dearest friends.

“It is with our heaviest hearts we share that our dear Howard passed away peacefully in his sleep at 8:50 Pm, tonight, February 11, 2023,” Maimone wrote on Caringbridge.com, an online forum that allows people facing various medical conditions, and their families, to communicate. “Mike, Alan, Lizzy and (Dr.) Gary were with him, holding him close, to his last breath. The enormity of our shared loss can’t be overstated – Howard was a constant in so many of our lives and the brightest star in his wide constellation of friends and family.

(Updated with more information) Howard Bragman, one of Hollywood’s top crisis management experts whose clients included Sharon Osbourne, Monica Lewinsky, Stevie Wonder, Chaz Bono and many more, died peacefully in his sleep Saturday night after a private battle with acute monocytic leukemia. He was 66, just days shy of his 67th birthday.

Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Jeffrey Ballard Dies: Veteran Hollywood Publicist For Charlie Sheen, Paula Abdul & Many Others Was 64 Related Story Carlos Saura Dies: Iconic Spanish Director Was 91

The PR vet was surrounded by his husband Mike, his brother Alan, his niece Lizzy and friends when he passed, we are told.

According to a family representative, Bragman will be laid to rest in a private ceremony later this week in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Arrangements are being made for a memorial service in Los Angeles at a date to be named.

Howard Bragman, a decades-long veteran of entertainment PR, has died of leukemia, according to a journal entry by his boyfriend Mike Maimone. He was 66.

“The enormity of our shared loss can’t be overstated — Howard was a constant in so many of our lives and the brightest star in his wide constellation of friends and family,” Maimone wrote.

The news, which initially arrived via social media tributes late on Saturday, Feb. 11, comes as a shock to the community of journalists and public relations professionals who worked closely with Bragman in his many different capacities. Bragman worked in PR for over 40 years, co-founding the firm Bnc (Bragman Nyman Cafarelli), which was later merged with Pmk, and then his own Fifteen Minutes PR and, later in life, Labrea Media.

His clients have included Cameron Diaz, Paula Abdul, Stevie Wonder, Sharon Osbourne, Monica Lewinsky, Joe Manganiello, Anna Kendrick, Terrence Howard, Ricki Lake and Melissa Rivers,...

Earlier this week, Glsen, the leading education organization working to create safe and inclusive K-12 schools for LGBTQ+ youth returned in-person to their 2022 Glsen Respect Awards presented by Hollister at Gotham Hall in New York City.

Wilson Cruz speaks onstage during The 2022 Glsen Respect Awards at Gotham Hall

Credit/Copyright: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Glsen

The annual event, hosted by Star Trek: Discovery star Wilson Cruz, honored Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski with the Champion Award; trailblazing actress, model and activist Leyna Bloom with the Champion Award; and Nickelodeon who received the Corporate Ally Award which was accepted by Marva Smalls, EVP, Global Head of Inclusion, Paramount & EVP, Public Affairs, Kids & Family Entertainment Brands, Paramount. Brooklyn’s Ms 442 School for Innovation received the Gsa of the Year Award powered by Hollister, and Florida’s s Pinellas County school teacher Alex Quinto accepted the Educator of the Year Award. Notable...

Kristin Chenoweth, Kathy Najimy, Linda Perry, Lauren Blitzer and Chely Wright are being announced as the compilers of a forthcoming book that, inspired by (but not limited to) the #MeToo movement, lets women from the entertainment industry and other walks of life describe a crucial point of adversity that propelled them into forward motion for good.

The essay collection, titled “My Moment: 106 Women on Fighting for Themselves,” has been acquired for world rights by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and will come out April 26, 2022.

“For so long, women have been silent about things that have hurt them or made them feel ashamed,” says Chenoweth. “I’ve kept my story quiet for a long time, and yes, it was scary to tell, but I’m doing it because I feel so empowered to stand with these incredible girls and women. Working on this book has changed us all,...

Fresh off her recent Emmy win for the comedy series “Hacks,” Jean Smart is ramping up development at her production company, SmartAngel Entertainment. Smart and her producing partner, Angeliki Giannakopoulos, have acquired the rights to the real-life stories of two individuals who challenged the status quo and took a stand to make a difference for marginalized voices.

Projects in development at SmartAngel include the true stories of John Hawkins, an Ole Miss college student who in 1981 refused to carry the Confederate flag; and country music artist, author and LGBTQ activist Chely Wright.

In 1981, Hawkins was at the University of Mississippi (“Ole Miss”) under a band scholarship. He became the first Black cheerleader to join the Ole Miss Varsity Cheerleader Squad. When asked by a reporter if he was willing to carry the Confederate flag on game days, he said no — which led to racial abuse and threats. Hawkins’ story resurfaced...

When Brooke Eden first began dating her now-fiancée Hilary Hoover, the country singer received some sobering advice: Keep the romance a secret. Any nights out or displays of affection had to happen far from prying eyes, at the request of her team.

“We were told we couldn’t be seen in public together,” Eden says of her relationship with Hoover, a radio promotions director for Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. “I spent so many years not being open and free about it.”

That sense of being is inhibited what made...

Glsen, the leading national non-profit organization working to create safe and inclusive learning and school experiences for LGBTQ+ youth, is pleased to announce that this year’s Respect Awards will honor outgoing Executive Director Eliza Byard for her twenty years of service and leadership.

The virtual event will celebrate Glsen’s accomplishments during her tenure and look to the future at what’s next for the organization. The evening will feature past Glsen honorees, music performances and some of the amazing LGBTQ+ student honorees from past Respect Awards celebrations. The combined LA and New York event will premiere on Thursday, October 14th.

Glsen is also honored and excited to announce the Honorary Co-Chairs for this year’s event are Kalen Allen, Jennifer Beals, Greg Berlanti & Robbie Rogers, Matt Bomer & Simon Halls, Jess Cagle & Matt Whitney, Charlie Carver, Jason Collins & Brunson Green, Tim Cook, Rosario Dawson, Connor Franta, Bob Greenblatt & Stephen Loguidice,...

Pride Live, a social advocacy and community engagement organization for the LGBTQ+ community, today announced its fourth annual Stonewall Day, a global campaign to elevate awareness and support for the Stonewall legacy and the continuing fight for full LGBTQ+ equality.

This year, Pride Live teams up with Outloud: Raising Voices, the award-winning Lgbtqia+ Pride artist series, to kick off Pride month with a three-day, one-of-a-kind global concert experience to be held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the heart of Los Angeles. June 4-6. Stonewall Day takes place on Sunday, June 6.

Tickets for the in-person event, which will closely follow all Los Angeles County health and safety protocols, are available at Ticketmaster. The event is also free to stream live each day from 4:00 p.m. Pacific time / 7:00 p.m. Eastern time – 10:00 p.m. Pacific time / 1:00 a.m. Eastern time, exclusively on Twitch @officiallyoutloud. For more up to date event information,...

Adam Lambert will headline and curate a three-day festival centered around Pride Live’s fourth annual Stonewall Day celebration to elevate awareness and boost the legacy of the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ+ activism.

Lambert was announced as the host of Stonewall Day 2021 back in January, although, at the time, the event was scheduled to take place virtually. It will now be a three-day, in-person concert, taking place June 4th through 6th — the 6th being Stonewall Day — at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Per a release, the concert will follow all Los...

First, there were the drafts of tweets that went unsent. Then there were the profanity-laced text messages to trusted friends. Finally, there were nerve-calming cooking videos on YouTube. Making some sense of the sadness and confusion I felt in the wake of the Morgan Wallen video took time. The disappointing revelation that country’s hottest new star had been caught on camera using a racist slur was quickly followed by the joyful coming out of Brothers Osborne frontman T.J. Osborne, stirring up even more emotions. As a country-music fan from...

Brothers Osborne singer-guitarist T.J. Osborne has publicly come out as gay, revealing the news in an interview with Time. With this revelation, Osborne becomes the first openly gay man signed to a major country label and one of the first mainstream country artists to come out in the prime of their career.

“I’m very comfortable being gay,” Osborne told writer Sam Lansky. “I find myself being guarded for not wanting to talk about something that I personally don’t have a problem with. That feels so strange.”

And...

The Academy of Country Music’s charitable arm Acm Lifting Lives, Cmt, GLAAD, and country music star and philanthropist Ty Herndon today announced new appearances and performances for the upcoming 2020 Concert for Love and Acceptance, set to take place as an online event amid the ongoing COVID19 crisis.

Musicians Lauren Alaina, Lewis Brice, Terri Clark, Billy Gilman, Dennis Quaid, Kalie Shorr, and Rita Wilson will join the performance lineup, which already includes two-time 2020 Grammy winner Tanya Tucker, who is set to open the show. In addition, singer Mickey Guyton will make a special appearance, as will actor, producer, and director Matt Bomer, who will introduce Wilson. The event will be live-streamed on YouTube, Facebook, and at www.F4LA.org/concert, with additional appearances and performances to be announced.

“This show just gets better and better each year, and while we would rather be doing it as a live event in Nashville,...

The Academy of Country Music’s charitable arm Acm Lifting Lives, Cmt, GLAAD and country music star and philanthropist Ty Herndon today announced Tuesday, June 30, as the date for the 2020 Concert for Love and Acceptance, set to take place as an online event amid the ongoing COVID19 crisis.

Produced by Herndon’s newly formed charitable foundation, The Foundation for Love & Acceptance, the event will be co-hosted by Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth and Cmt’s Cody Alan, who has hosted the event alongside Herndon since 2017. GLAAD and Acm Lifting Lives are the beneficiaries of event proceeds.

Two-time 2020 Grammy winner and original female outlaw Tanya Tucker will open the show at 8:00 p.m. Et. The event will be live-streamed on YouTube, Facebook, and at www.F4LA.org/concert, with additional appearances and performances to be announced.

“Now more than ever, it’s so important that...

The Concert for Love and Acceptance will present this year’s edition online Tuesday, June 30th, with Grammy-winning superstar Tanya Tucker opening the show. Co-hosted by Emmy- and Tony-winning singer-actress Kristin Chenoweth alongside Cmt’s Cody Alan, additional appearances and performances will be announced soon. The live music event in support of the Lgbtq community was founded in 2015 by out country star Ty Herndon.

Produced by Herndon’s newly formed charitable foundation the Foundation for Love & Acceptance, the show will benefit Acm Lifting Lives — the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music...

With live music events at a halt and social distancing having become the new normal, many performing artists have lost an essential part of their income. But a new livestreamed concert series, “Shut In & Sing,” will bring artists and fans back together, while also offering financial support to performers during this challenging time.

Thursday night’s livestream via StageIt will feature performances from Chely Wright, Lori McKenna, Robert Randolph, Mary Gauthier, Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, Amythyst Kiah and many others. Profits from the stream will be split between the participants.

In early 2000, just as a new year, decade, and millennium were getting underway, a year-old country-pop trio debuted on the charts with their first single for Disney’s Nashville-based label, Lyric Street. The group, made up of singer Gary LeVox, bassist and keyboard player (and LeVox’s second cousin) Jay DeMarcus, and guitarist Joe Don Rooney, was Rascal Flatts and their debut hit was the harmony-rich “Prayin’ for Daylight.”

Twenty years later, Rascal Flatts have just announced they will ride off into the sunset with their Farewell: Life Is a Highway Tour,...

The 30A Songwriters Festival will return to the panhandle of Florida January 17th, 2020, with an all-star group of artists set to perform. Among them are formidable tunesmiths who represent a range of genres, including John Prine, Brian Wilson, Indigo Girls, and Tanya Tucker.

With 200-plus artists on tap to perform during the four-day festival, the 30A Songwriters Festival will be spread across 30 venues bordering the Gulf of Mexico before it wraps on January 20th. Wilson will bring his nine-piece band to perform some of his Beach Boys classics, and Prine...

Ty Herndon doesn’t particularly have any doubts about his singing ability — these days, it’s more the song itself that can prove intimidating for the Alabama native. The latest to make him feel that way is one that should give pause to any singer with a shred of self-awareness: “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” the Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin tune turned into a massive 1991 hit by Bonnie Raitt.

“I was afraid because I wanted to do it justice,” says Herndon, who included his version on the...

In September 1989, Wellsville, Kansas, native Chely Wright made the first of many appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, a venue that would become an important touchstone in her career. But after coming out as a lesbian in 2010, Wright, now 48, went more than nine years without an invitation to come play the hallowed stage. That is, until August 10th, nearly 30 years after her debut.

As Opry member Jeannie Seely introduced her to rousing applause, Wright performed the familiar hits “Shut Up and Drive” and “Single White Female” — the latter of which...

1930: Clara, Lu & Em premiered.

1989: Another World's Rachel said goodbye to Mac.

1992: One Life to Live's Asa married Blair.

2006: Days of our Lives' Ej and Sami danced the tango."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1930: Clara, Lu and Em, radio's first network daytime soap opera, premiered on Wgn-am in Chicago. It continued through the 1930s and early 1940s on the NBC Blue Network and CBS, finally airing as a syndicated series in 1945.

1972: On Another World, Gerald (Walter Mathews) dialed Steve's number, handed Rachel (Robin Strasser) the phone,...

Singer-songwriter and activist Chely Wright made her first appearance at the Concert for Love and Acceptance on Thursday night, performing a pair of her hits as the event celebrated its fifth year.

One of those was “Shut Up and Drive,” a 1997 hit for Wright that got a huge cheer from the crowd. Leaving the original pronouns intact, Wright gave a soulful, emotive performance of the tune, which was written by Rivers Rutherford, Sam Tate and Annie Tate and included on Wright’s album Let Me In.

But Wright’s presence...

Chely Wright and Austin Jenckes take different approaches to chronicling the journey to meet their partners in a pair of excellent new tracks, the Sisterhood aim for summer radio dominance with “Get Up and Go” and Tenille Arts pays tribute to her mother in this week’s group of must-hear songs.

Chely Wright, “Revival”

The title track from Chely Wright’s new Ep finds the singer/songwriter ruminating over past relationships, all of which helped shape her into a worthy partner for her wife. A moving song about closure and forgiveness,...

Since her brilliant 2010 LP Lifted Off the Ground, Chely Wright’s musical output has been both startlingly confessional and increasingly eclectic. That LP, which coincided with Wright’s coming-out and her Like Me memoir, forever altered the Acm Award-winning country singer’s career trajectory but it allowed her the freedom to heal from years of concealing her truth.

Although shaded in melancholy, the Kansas native’s most recent release, the 2018 holiday Ep Santa Will Find You, was as much a love letter to her younger self as it was to...

The initial lineup for this year’s Concert for Love & Acceptance, co-hosted by country star Ty Herndon and Cmt’s Cody Alan, will include a special acoustic performance by rock & roll frontman Daughtry, country newcomer Harper Grae and trailblazing musician Chely Wright, who made history in 2010 as country music’s first out artist. Presented in association with GLAAD, the world’s largest Lgbtq media advocacy group, the 2019 Concert for Love & Acceptance is set for June 6th at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon.

“I am so excited to have my friend Chely...

This week’s list of must-hear songs features a holiday theme, as there was no shortage of new Christmas recordings released this year. Here’s 10 of the best.

Jillian Jacqueline, “Kid at Christmas”

Two acoustic guitars and a pair of harmonized voices trace circles around one another in this wintry ballad, which finds Jacqueline longing for a return to the childlike innocence that once characterized her Christmas holidays.

Aaron Watson, “Lonely Lonestar Christmas”

“Even this fire is giving me the cold shoulder,” sings Aaron Watson, who finds himself spending Christmas...

The title cut of Chely Wright’s new holiday Ep Santa Will Find You is a sweet-as-candy tune originally inspired by Wright’s relationship with U.S. service members throughout the world. These days, however, the song assures her twin 5-year-old sons with wife Lauren that even though they may be spending Christmas away from home with family, St. Nick won’t have any trouble knowing where to leave their presents.

But Santa Will Find You also includes a heavy touch of melancholy. The cover photo of the Ep, featuring a 3-year-old Wright,...

Fifty-five years ago this summer, on August 4th, 1963, housewife Connie Smith won a talent contest in Columbus, Ohio, earning a performance spot on a local Grand Ole Opry concert where songwriter Bill Anderson took note of her and encouraged her to make a trip to Nashville when the two met again at a New Year’s Day concert in Canton, Ohio.

As 1964 unfolded for the young wife and mother, she garnered yet another invitation – this time a spot on the popular Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree, which followed the Grand Ole Opry on Wsm radio.

1930: Clara, Lu & Em premiered.

1989: Another World's Rachel said goodbye to Mac.

1992: One Life to Live's Asa married Blair.

2006: Days of our Lives' Ej and Sami danced the tango."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."

― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1930: Clara, Lu and Em, radio's first network daytime soap opera, premiered on Wgn-am in Chicago. It continued through the 1930s and early 1940s on the NBC Blue Network and CBS,...

In putting together this week’s feature on the new, more inclusive Nashville, Variety spoke to a number of prominent figures in the country music community about their coming out experiences and life as a gay resident of Music City. In reporting “Nashville’s New Guard” on the heels of the March controversy over anti-same-sex-marriage crusader Mike Huckabee’s appointment to a charitable Cma board (reversed in a day under pressure), lingering questions remained over the challenges and opportunities Music Row’s gay community still faces.

For this attendant roundtable, we put some of those questions to a handful of pioneering figures in country: Jason Owen, the manager and Sandbox Entertainment president (Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town) whose letter to the Cma helped shorten Huckabee’s tenure to a single day; Chely Wright, the first country star of stature to come out; Shane McAnally, the hit producer and co-writer for...

Since coming out as gay last week, Cmt host Cody Alan has received an outpouring of support from fans and his country music peers.

On Thursday, the radio and TV personality, 44, opened up about his sexuality for the first time on social media after speaking to People exclusively earlier in the week about his decision to share his revelation.

Chely Wright — the first major country star to come out publicly in 2010 — is now coming forward to congratulate Alan on his announcement.

“Cody Alan’s choice to share his whole truth is important on a lot of levels. It’s a huge moment for him,...

To country music fans, Cody Alan has always been a ball of sunshine. But for years, the seemingly happy-go-lucky Cmt and iHeartRadio host suffered an identity crisis, holding onto a secret he’s finally ready to share — that he’s gay.

“Though my TV or my radio persona was always that of a happy guy, there was this underlying ache inside of me for years, so I decided either I was gonna do something about it, or I was gonna live with this layer of misery underneath that happy face on the TV,” Alan, 44, tells People exclusively.

“Once I realized...

Tonight, Meryl Streep received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the 74th Golden Globes. During her elegant acceptance speech the actress took critical aim at President-Elect, Donald Trump. The following is a transcript of what was said.

At tonight's #GoldenGlobes we honor Hollywood legend Meryl Streep with the prestigious Cecil B. Demille Award. pic.twitter.com/dxpeCDNXY6

— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 9, 2017

Please sit down. Thank you. I love you all. You'll have to forgive me. I've lost my voice in screaming and lamentation this weekend. And I have lost my mind sometime earlier this year, so I have to read.

Thank you, Hollywood Foreign Press. Just to pick up on what Hugh Laurie said: You and all of us in this room really belong to the most vilified segments in American society right now. Think about it: Hollywood, foreigners and the press.

But who are we,...

Two years ago, country singer Ty Herndon came out as gay, and that revelation has changed his life — and now his music — for the better.

Since opening up about his sexuality for the first time in an exclusive People interview in November 2014, Herndon has gotten educated by and active in the Lgbt community, working with groups including the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD and the Trevor Project.

In addition, the singer’s relationship with longtime partner Matthew has grown stronger.

“I used to say, ‘I’m in the best place of my life for this 24 hours,'” Herndon, 54, tells People. “But...

In 2010, Chely Wright made history as the first major country music singer to come out as gay. Shortly after, she faced backlash from the Nashville community â€. and her own family.

Today though, the singer, 45, is back with I Am the Rain â€. her first album in six years â€. and is feeling stronger and more comfortable in her skin than ever, having gotten married, had kids and reconciled with her mother.

Coming Out in Country

After coming out and telling her story in a memoir, album and exclusive interview with People, Wright felt liberated but also at odds...

Authorities are searching for country music star Craig Morson's son, who went missing following a boating accident on Sunday (July 10).

The singer's 19-year-old son Jerry Greer went tubing with a friend on Kentucky Lake, a section of the Tennessee River, in Humphreys County, Tennessee on Sunday and went missing following a collision. Tubing is a recreational activity where a person sits on an inflatable as it is pulled along the water by a boat.

A search for Greer was launched at 4pm local time Sunday afternoon, and five boats patrolled the area overnight. Full-scale "recovery efforts" resumed at 6am local time on Monday morning (11Jul16), with reports suggesting up to fifty boats could be used for the operation.

"The family is grateful for everyone’s support and prayers and requests privacy during this difficult time,” Morgan's publicist wrote in a statement.

Morgan's fellow country stars sent messages of support to the musician,...

Ty Herndon feels like a new man after coming out to People back in November 2014, and he says it will show in his next album. Although the 52-year-old Nashville artist may not be the first country star to come out (singers like Billy Gilman and Chely Wright preceded him), he’s hoping to be a trailblazer when it comes to gay country music. "I may be the first man in country music to sing a love song to another man. And I'm very proud to do that," Herndon told reporters at Family Equality Council's Los Angeles Awards Dinner in Beverly Hills on Saturday.

Only three weeks after coming out to People, country singer Ty Herndon made his first public appearance with his partner of 5 years, Matt Collum, at the 2014 TrevorLIVE in Los Angeles on Sunday. Herndon, 52, showed up hand-in-hand with Collum, a pharmaceutical rep from Missouri, to support The Trevor Project, an organization that helps lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (Lgbt) youth struggling with suicidal ideation. "I looked at him and said, 'You know, once we walk this carpet, you're totally gay,'" Herndon told People before the event. "He looked at me and said 'Dude!' He has a great sense of humor.

Only three weeks after coming out to People, country singer Ty Herndon made his first public appearance with his partner of 5 years, Matt Collum, at the 2014 TrevorLIVE in Los Angeles on Sunday. Herndon, 52, showed up hand-in-hand with Collum, a pharmaceutical rep from Missouri, to support The Trevor Project, an organization that helps lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (Lgbt) youth struggling with suicidal ideation. "I looked at him and said, 'You know, once we walk this carpet, you're totally gay,'" Herndon told People before the event. "He looked at me and said 'Dude!' He has a great sense of humor.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson will co-host the 92nd Annual National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 4. Wilson will perform during the show, along with Ne-Yo, Steve Miller, Chely Wright, Fifth Harmony, Patti Labelle, Nico & Vinz and The Tenors. The festivities kick off at 4:30 p.m. Et with a pre-show on the Ellipse at President's Park. The national tree lighting tradition was started by President Calvin Coolidge in 1923 and is presented by the National Park Service. Support is provided by the National Park Foundation, the fundraising arm for the

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He hasn't even been out of the closet a week, yet country star Ty Herndon says the positive reaction he's already received "just blew my mind." After revealing to People last week that he's gay, Herndon's phone buzzed with supportive texts and Tweets from stars including Ricky Martin, Kristin Chenoweth, Lance Bass and LeAnn Rimes. "My mom says I need to send thank-you cards, so I've got a long list!" Herndon says with a laugh. "My life feels open," the artist, 52, tells People. "It feels free, like the weight of the world's been lifted off my shoulders." First Show after...

Ty Herndon has been telling people he's gay for decades, but this week, he finally told People. "I'm an out, proud and happy gay man," the country star tells the magazine. Herndon says he's been out to friends and family for a long time but was inspired by a Tony Robbins seminar to come out publicly. He hopes that his announcement "could help someone's son or daughter or grandchild's life not be as difficult as mine has been." It's inaccurate to call Herndon the first gay country star — Chely Wright has him beat there — but Herndon is the most successful male artist in Nashville to come out. Herndon had three country No. 1s in the '90s, but a 1995 arrest for allegedly exposing himself to an undercover cop hindered his career.

Five years ago, country singer Ty Herndon finally recognized that he had a very important story to share. "During an Anthony Robbins seminar, I realized I had an incredible story that could possibly help someone's son or daughter or grandchild's life not be as difficult as mine has been," he tells People. "Maybe they wouldn't have to go through as much pain and suffering. It's time to tell my truth." That "truth" is about a part of himself he has kept secret for his entire career: "I'm an out, proud and happy gay man," the Nashville artist revealed to People...

Actress Jane Lynch will host Monday night’s Uprising of Love: A Benefit Concert for Global Equality, featuring performances by multiple-Grammy award winners Sting and Patti LuPone, to support the advancement of rights for the worldwide Lgbt community.

The concert, which takes place at New York City’s Gershwin Theatre, is written by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black (Milk), directed by Schele Williams, musically directed by Alex Lacamoire, produced by Jayson Raitt, and executive-produced by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) and Bruce Cohen (Silver Linings Playbooks).

Tony-winner Lena Hall, currently starring in the Broadway hit Hedwig and the Angry Inch, will also perform.

Click below to watch a special moment from 'In Focus' with Eden Lane's one-on-one with composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz during the Pippin National Tour launch in Denver. Schwartz discusses a special one-night-only event he is executive producing. 'Uprising of Love A Benefit Concert for Global Equality' will be hosted by Jane Lynch and features Sting, Patti LuPone, Celina Jaitly, Greg Louganis, Billy Porter, Chely Wright, and the casts of Wicked, Once, I Am Harvey Milk, and more...