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Another week, another Buzz List, what’s the country music world buzzing about right now? Check out the full list below.

One of the hottest topics is the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards, happening in Las Vegas on May 17th with all the industry’s BIGGEST NAMES in attendance.

Two of this year’s standout nominees are the incredible Carter Faith and Tucker Wetmore. And get this, I’m personally meeting up with both Carter and Tucker in my hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, next week! Now, I need your help.

Send your suggestions directly to me at [email protected], and I’ll take them with me to our meeting.

Stay tuned right here to find out how these two stars answered! After all, we’re all in this country music world together.

Thanks for subscribing! It truly means the world to me. If you’re enjoying the newsletter, please spread the word! Remember: we’re all in this country music journey together.

Your friend,

🏆 Five Weeks at the Top - Country's Crossover Ceiling Gets Raised: "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley claims its fifth week at Hot 100 #1 (chart dated April 11), placing Langley alongside Olivia Rodrigo, Lizzo, Adele, and a short list of women who've commanded the all-genre pinnacle for five or more weeks with their first No. 1.

🤠 The Critics Have Spoken - The Sagebrush Trilogy Earns Its Flowers: Charley Crockett's Age of the Ram (April 3, Island Records, 20 tracks) completes a three-album outlaw narrative recorded across 13 months with producer Shooter Jennings. Mr. Crockett has completed the most ambitious roots concept project attempted at this commercial scale in at least a generation.

💼 ACM Season Opens Its Performer Window - and an Era of Leadership Closes With It: Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, and Little Big Town are added to the 61st ACM Awards performer lineup, joining Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, and Riley Green. One of the industry's biggest live awards night is 40 days out and still accelerating.

Carter Faith is up for Album of the Year, and Tucker Wetmore has earned a nod for Male Artist of the Year at the upcoming ACM Awards in Las Vegas. To celebrate, I’ve curated a custom playlist featuring both artists.

Here it is: The five best tracks from Carter Faith and the five best from Tucker Wetmore, according to Honky Tonk Hansson.

Enjoy! Listen here!

Week of April 2 – April 8 2026 (generated: April 8)

Buzz Score: 97/100
Why She's Hot: "Choosin' Texas" reaches its fifth week at Hot 100 #1 (chart dated April 11), joining Olivia Rodrigo as the only women this decade to hold the pinnacle for five or more weeks with a debut #1. The song also tops Hot Country Songs for a 19th consecutive week, and the star-studded "Choosin' Texas" music video drops this week featuring Luke Grimes, Miranda Lambert, Kaitlin Butts, and Ava Phillippe. Dandelion (18 tracks, SAWGOD/Columbia) drops today, April 10.

Buzz Score: 95/100
Why He's Hot: His first live performance of 2026 — a 16-song intimate SiriusXM launch set at The Pinnacle in Nashville (April 2, 4,000 attendees) — delivers country's most-covered live event of the week, including a surprise Ella Langley duet on "Sand In My Boots," their first-ever live performance together. Morgan Wallen Radio launches April 7 on SiriusXM channel 64, available free to all equipped vehicles through May 6. On the show, Wallen confirms new music is in early stages and says he's "at a place to where I'll start showing little sneak peeks soon," driving massive social speculation.

Buzz Score: 82/100
Why She's Hot: On April 7, the ACM confirms Musgraves as a performer at the 61st ACM Awards, where she'll debut a new song from Middle of Nowhere (May 1) — her first-ever performance on the ACM stage despite seven wins in the competitive categories. The album's lead single, "Dry Spell," holds at Hot Country Songs #15.

Buzz Score: 78/100
Why He's Hot: "Sleepless In A Hotel Room" ascends to #1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart (April 3), and Combs simultaneously climbs to #1 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart (April 6), a rare double inside the same tracking week on two separate MusicRow panels. The Way I Am (March 20, 22 tracks) is now in its third week with critical coverage still expanding

Buzz Score: 72/100
Why She's Hot: Netflix documentary "Lainey Wilson: Keepin' Country Cool" is now 15 days from its April 22 global premiere, generating fresh promotional coverage from Holler, Broadway World, and Deadline. "Can't Sit Still" continues building at country radio. Stagecoach headlining set is 17 days out (April 24-26), ACM Awards confirmed performer (May 17 for the world premiere of "Can't Sit Still"), and the stadium summer tour with Chris Stapleton is fully confirmed.

Buzz Score: 70/100
Why He's Hot: Age of the Ram dropped April 3 via Island Records, completing the Sagebrush Trilogy — three albums in 13 months, co-produced with Shooter Jennings. The review cycle hits its peak density this week: NME, Saving Country Music, Whiskey Riff, Taste of Country, Entertainment Focus, Glide Magazine, and Country Central all publish within 96 hours of release.

Buzz Score: 65/100
Why He's Hot: The With Heaven On Tour reach its Oklahoma home-state dates this week — two sold-out nights at H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa (April 3-4, Trampled By Turtles as support), generating substantial social and press coverage as Bryan performed nearly three hours per set.

Buzz Score: 57/100
Why She's Hot: A three-way collision of Lambert stories drives one of her biggest buzz weeks in months: confirmed as an ACM Awards performer (April 7 announcement), featured visually in the "Choosin' Texas" music video she also co-wrote and co-produced, and the "Horses and Divorces" duet with Kacey Musgraves (on Middle of Nowhere, May 1) resurfaces across Billboard, NPR, Rolling Stone, and Saving Country Music as the ACM confirmation lands.

Buzz Score: 55/100
Why She's Hot: Two distinct announcements bookend the week: the "6 Months Later" chart-topper celebration party in Nashville (April 3) marks her third career country radio #1, and on April 7, Billboard and Revlon jointly announce her as global ambassador for the brand's new "Be Unforgettable" campaign, covering the PhotoReady collection and the Glimmer franchise.

Buzz Score: 52/100
Why He's Hot: "Time's Ticking" reaches #1 on both the Mediabase Country Aircheck chart and the Billboard Country Airplay chart this week, his 14th career #1 and a milestone on two fronts: it's Moore's first chart-topper in several years, and it's the inaugural #1 for Blue Highway Records, HYBE America's recently rebranded Nashville country, Americana, and roots rock division — a landmark that makes this a label story as much as an artist story.

DROPPED OUT: Parker McCollum (#13), Chase Matthew (#17), Tucker Wetmore (#18), Jason Aldean (#20) NEW ENTRIES: Kacey Musgraves (#3), Zach Bryan (#7), Miranda Lambert (#8), Justin Moore (#10)

Methodology:  Rankings based on aggregated signals from primary country news sources (MusicRow, Saving Country Music, Taste of Country, Holler, Maverick Country, Country Standard Time, Country Beat Magazine, Lone Star Music Magazine, Texas Country Music Magazine, Roots Music Magazine, Feedspot) plus secondary editorial sources (Billboard, Rolling Stone, Variety, American Songwriter, Consequence). Supplementary streaming and social signals from Viberate (7-day Spotify streams, monthly listener growth, YouTube, TikTok, and social engagement), Spotify/Apple Music chart data, Mediabase/Country Airplay data, and social media engagement over the past 7 days.
Buzz score formula: news volume 40%, streaming/chart position 20%, news quality 15%, social media engagement 15%, recency 10%.