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The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Jay Franze
186 episodes
1 day ago
The biggest country hits of 2025 tell a story the charts won’t say out loud: radio still gives men the mic. We dig into the top spins, trace the patterns behind programming decisions, and ask whether “audience demand” is real taste or a habit formed by gatekeepers. From Morgan Wallen’s multi-track dominance to a rare female breakout, we map how rotation rules, label strategies, and collaboration trends keep certain voices front and center while others fight uphill. We also widen the lens bey...
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Music Commentary
Music,
Music Interviews
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All content for The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews is the property of Jay Franze and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
The biggest country hits of 2025 tell a story the charts won’t say out loud: radio still gives men the mic. We dig into the top spins, trace the patterns behind programming decisions, and ask whether “audience demand” is real taste or a habit formed by gatekeepers. From Morgan Wallen’s multi-track dominance to a rare female breakout, we map how rotation rules, label strategies, and collaboration trends keep certain voices front and center while others fight uphill. We also widen the lens bey...
Show more...
Music Commentary
Music,
Music Interviews
Episodes (20/186)
The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
40 Most Played Songs of 2025, Best Lead Singer, and Country Music News
The biggest country hits of 2025 tell a story the charts won’t say out loud: radio still gives men the mic. We dig into the top spins, trace the patterns behind programming decisions, and ask whether “audience demand” is real taste or a habit formed by gatekeepers. From Morgan Wallen’s multi-track dominance to a rare female breakout, we map how rotation rules, label strategies, and collaboration trends keep certain voices front and center while others fight uphill. We also widen the lens bey...
Show more...
1 day ago
1 hour 24 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Top 10 Albums of 2025, Best Vocal Collaborations, and Country Music News
Country took some wild turns this year, and we sift through every twist with one big question: what actually deserves the spotlight? We kick off by ranking the top country albums of 2025, weighing the case for Tyler Childers at the summit, poking holes in Morgan Wallen’s lower-than-expected slot, and making room for Eric Church, Thomas Rhett, and a few traditional voices that feel older than retro yet strangely fresh. Expect strong opinions, sharper jokes, and a running thread about why some ...
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1 week ago
1 hour 10 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Top 25 Songs of 2025, Best Album Cover, and Country Music News
A viral “Top 26 Songs of 2025” list is only the start—we put every pick under the microscope to see what truly earns replay value. From Bailey Zimmerman and Luke Combs to Morgan Wallen’s double presence and Laney Wilson’s anchor tracks, we dig into the hooks, arrangements, and performances that separate a fleeting hit from a keeper. Expect honest takes, a few friendly disagreements, and a closer look at the production moves—floor tom hits, 70s textures, harmony blends—that make a chorus land....
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2 weeks ago
1 hour 13 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Country Scandals, Replacement Singers, and Country Music News
What happens when country headlines collide with hard radio data and a lightning-rod debate about replacement singers? We open strong with legacy-name scandals and the messy myths that follow artists, then pivot to why High Road became the most-played track and how Morgan Wallen still blankets the airwaves. From Garth Brooks saluting KISS to arena tours and heartfelt tributes, we trace the lines between genre, showmanship, and what actually moves listeners to hit replay. We get honest about ...
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3 weeks ago
1 hour 17 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Southern Rock Songs That Shaped The Genre, Best Debut Album, and Country Music News
A list can be a time machine. We kick off by diving into 35 Southern rock songs that didn’t just top bar jukeboxes—they built a genre’s backbone. Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, 38 Special, and more set the rules on groove, grit, and guitar heroics, and we ask the hard question: who shaped the sound versus who reflected it back? That sparks a bigger conversation about authenticity and the future of music as an AI-generated act climbs a country chart. Are we celebrating craft or sidelini...
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4 weeks ago
1 hour 26 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Corey Hooker (Corey Hooker & The Cadillac Preachers)
A left-handed guitar from a beloved grandpa. A band with grit and groove. A songwriter who lets chords decide the weather of a verse. That’s the heart of our conversation with Corey Hooker, where Americana isn’t a label so much as a living room: folk honesty, rock momentum, and stories that start one way and end somewhere braver. We trace Corey’s path from Ohio stages to a decisive leap toward Colorado, a move designed to meet strangers and grow beyond a friends-and-family ceiling. He opens ...
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1 month ago
33 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
CMA Night Recap, Ruin a Bands Name With One Letter, and Country Music News
A live-sung medley that actually left us breathless. That’s how Lainey Wilson opened a CMA night that felt tighter, braver, and more fun than it’s been in years—and yes, she backed it up with Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Female Vocalist. We talk about why her solo hosting worked, how she commanded the stage with eight outfit changes, and what her wins say about where country music is heading. We dig into performances that sparked debate, especially Chris Stapleton solo ver...
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1 month ago
1 hour 30 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
CMA Night Preview, Artists With the Most Style, and Country Music News
Awards night pressure meets a changing country music landscape. We break down the CMA slate with honest picks, why Entertainer of the Year is a different beast than Album of the Year, and how a solo-hosting Laney Wilson turned momentum into a movement. From Morgan Wallen’s chart gravity to Ella Langley and Megan Moroney’s six-nomination surge, we track who’s peaking, who’s pushing through, and what it takes to make the leap from “new name” to headliner. Beyond the trophies, we dig into what’...
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1 month ago
1 hour 16 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Country Stars That Have Vanished, Artist Who Don’t Have the Best Voice, and Country Music News
Two truths can live in country music at once: you can miss the artists who made your 90s radio sing, and still be curious about an AI act topping a digital chart. We open the show with a roll call of “where did they go?” favorites—Cindy Thompson, Ricochet, The Wreckers, BlackHawk—and the songs that still trigger instant nostalgia. Then we jump to now: Vince Gill’s well-earned lifetime honor, Jason Aldean’s collab-heavy release strategy, and the first AI-powered country hit breaking through, f...
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1 month ago
1 hour 14 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Darkest Country Songs, Best Album of All Time, and Country Music News
Ever wondered why the “darkest” country songs linger long after the last note fades? We crack open that list and find more than shock value—there’s craft, confession, and a lineage of storytelling that made the genre brave. From murder ballads to Whiskey Lullaby, we unpack what makes a song haunt you and why those narratives still matter. Then we sprint through the modern pulse: Jelly Roll’s global moment and community work, stacked festival lineups, Abbey Road sessions, and the not-so-silen...
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1 month ago
1 hour 12 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Kayn Falcon
Pop can sparkle and still say something. That’s the throughline as we sit down with recording artist Kayn Falcon, who blends Connecticut calm with New York urgency to craft synthwave-leaning pop that moves the body and nudges the mind. Kayn opens up about producing his songs from the beat up, guarding his creative sessions like sacred space, and trusting a small team of specialists to elevate his mixes and masters without diluting his vision. If you’ve ever wondered how minimal rooms and maxi...
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2 months ago
46 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Hall of Fame Worthy Artists, Songs That Make You Crank It Up, and Country Music News
What actually earns a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame—longevity, hits, or the kind of influence that changes what country sounds like? We dig into the real criteria and test the hype with a clear-eyed look at names like Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley, Crystal Gayle, Dwight Yoakam, Faith Hill, and more. Some feel overdue, others feel inevitable, and a few favorites might benefit from time cooking into legacy. With only three inductees selected each year across rotating categories, the bar...
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2 months ago
1 hour 17 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Robby Johnson, Songs You Hate to Love, and Country Music News
The first chord hits and the room lifts. That’s the magic Robbie Johnson chases with his country-flavored take on You Shook Me All Night Long—faithful to AC/DC’s fire, sparking new life with a searing fiddle solo and tasteful B3 that make crowds throw their hands up without missing the original’s bite. We dig into how Robbie and producer Danny Rader protected the heart of the song, why restraint can be a power move in the studio, and how a great mix turns memory into momentum. From there, we...
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2 months ago
1 hour

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Best Country Guitarists, Best Song in a Movie, and Country Music News
What makes a musician “the best”—flashy solos, bulletproof tone, or the quiet excellence of a session pro who lifts every track they touch? We dig into that question with a fresh list of country’s standout guitarists, then pressure-test the names you know—Keith Urban, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley—against a studio titan who’s played on nearly everything: Brent Mason. Along the way, we break down how electric and acoustic roles really differ, why Telecasters and chicken-pickin’ still define a lane ...
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2 months ago
1 hour 17 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Top Women in Country, First Artist You Connected With, and Country Music News
A fan hug mid-song. A chart where Megan Moroney owns the moment. Dolly Parton’s quiet resilience. We chase the heartbeat of country right now and get brutally practical about how artists truly break through—and stay there—when the spotlight moves on. We start with a listener-fueled rundown of the Top 12 women in country, using each pick to explore story, sound, and why certain songs stick. From Gabby Barrett’s early radio push to Trisha Yearwood’s six-year return and Miranda Lambert’s new ed...
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3 months ago
1 hour 28 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Jonny James
Big lights, bigger grit. That’s the pulse running through our conversation with country-rock artist Jonny James—a former college football player who built a million-stream career the hard way: booking his own shows, designing his own merch, and recording between a home base in Indiana and sessions in Nashville. Jonny takes us inside the moments that shaped his sound, from pop-punk roots and Eric Church’s rule-bending to the raw ache of writing Shotgun in the Sky after losing his father-in-law...
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3 months ago
1 hour

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Eugene Rice (American Mile)
A trunk ride with Billy Gibbons, a pair of “blessed” boots, and the moment a lyric became a band name—this one has stories. We sit down with American Mile’s Eugene Rice for a fast, funny, and unfiltered tour through the making of a modern Southern rock band built on grit, harmony, and a never-quit work ethic. From a Vermont town of 1,500 to SoCal stages, Eugene traces the path: sleeping in rehearsal spaces, selling a bike to buy an RV, and logging 200+ dates a year—often in four-hour marathon...
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3 months ago
44 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Remembering Brett James, Artists That Sound Like Other Artists, and Country Music News
Nashville's songwriting community suffered a devastating loss with the passing of Brett James, a prolific songwriter who gave up medical school to pursue his passion for music. With 27 number one hits among his 500+ released songs, Brett's legacy includes classics like "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood and "When the Sun Goes Down" by Kenny Chesney. His story reminds us how the unexpected paths we choose can lead to extraordinary impact. We dive into the ongoing story of Farm Aid, Wi...
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3 months ago
59 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Gale Bird
What happens when a childhood nickname becomes a musical identity? Josh Gale and Sean from the band Gale Byrd join us to share how football fields in Texas, marsh sunsets in Charleston, and the everyday struggles of marriage have shaped their distinctive sound. The conversation dives deep into the creative heartbeat of this Charleston-based band. Josh reveals how his football nickname "Gale Bird" eventually became their band name, while Sean explains the meticulous production process that tr...
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3 months ago
54 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
Nashville Stars Get Canceled, Artists More People Should Know, and Country Music News
When does a country star get "canceled," and does it even work? In this eye-opening episode, Jay and Tiffany dive into eight notorious country music controversies—from Morgan Wallen's racial slur captured on a doorbell camera to Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his 13-year-old cousin (which rock music rejected but country music... accepted?). Their candid exploration reveals the strange double standards that exist within different music communities. Beyond cancel culture, we uncover a startling radi...
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3 months ago
1 hour 17 minutes

The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | Interviews
The biggest country hits of 2025 tell a story the charts won’t say out loud: radio still gives men the mic. We dig into the top spins, trace the patterns behind programming decisions, and ask whether “audience demand” is real taste or a habit formed by gatekeepers. From Morgan Wallen’s multi-track dominance to a rare female breakout, we map how rotation rules, label strategies, and collaboration trends keep certain voices front and center while others fight uphill. We also widen the lens bey...