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When I talked to bluegrass queen Alison Krauss last year she told me she had some really great cooperations coming out soon. And maybe she had this one in mind as one of them. 

One of the best songs on the new Luke Combs album “The Way I Am” (out today, March 20) is “Ever mine (feat Alison Krauss)” that Combs wrote for his coming bluegrass album (still to see the light of day) with Charley Worsham and my personal favourite Hailey Whitters.

I know because I have had the opportunity to pre-listen to the full Luke Combs-album this week. And I have to say - so far - it is Album Of The Year, with the 22 tracks blasting out the speakers as a masterclass in contemporary country music writing.

On The Big Day, 4th of July 2026, we will experience Luke Combs at open air arena Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden, and I can’t wait to hear these 22 songs performed live.

Check out this short video below to hear Luke Combs explain more about the song mentioned above in an exclusive clip from the Luke Combs HQ.

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👑 Ella Langley Rewrites the Record Book. Again: "Choosin' Texas" returns to the Billboard Hot 100 summit for a third time (chart dated March 21, announced March 17), tying Taylor Swift's record for most weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 by a title that previously led the Hot Country Songs chart. On the March 14 Hot Country Songs chart, "Be Her" rises to #2, making Langley the third woman in chart history to hold both top spots simultaneously, joining Taylor Swift (2012) and Beyoncé (2024). The song holds Country Airplay #1 for a third straight week and Mediabase #1 for a second time.

🎬 Lainey Wilson Goes Multi-Platform: On March 13, the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year released new single "Can't Sit Still" (first new music since Whirlwind) while simultaneously making her feature film debut in Universal Pictures' Reminders of Him (a Colleen Hoover adaptation). A Netflix documentary, Lainey Wilson: Keepin' Country Cool, follows at SXSW before streaming globally April 22. Nashville's most decorated active female artist just went from one lane to three.

🎪 Houston Rodeo Owns March: NRG Stadium continues its run as country music's biggest active stage: Chris Stapleton headlined March 12, Shaboozey made his rodeo debut March 13, Koe Wetzel is on the star stage tonight (March 18), Lainey Wilson 🐴follows March 19, Parker McCollum on March 20, and Cody Johnson closes out the 21-night run on March 22 with Jon Pardi and Randy Houser as openers, the fourth concert-only finale in rodeo history.

🔦 CRS Hits Nashville: New Faces, New Hall of Famers, New Deals: Country Radio Seminar 2026 (March 18–20, Omni Nashville Hotel) is underway today, featuring the New Faces of Country Music show (Ella Langley, Chase Matthew, Kelsey Hart, John Morgan, Meghan Patrick, Josh Ross), CRS Honors with the Country Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2026 announcement, performances from HARDY and Frank Ray, and label luncheons from Warner, Big Machine, and others, the industry's annual power reset in session now.

🎧 Album Season Accelerates: Releases Stack Across the Format's Full Spectrum: March 13 was a major drop day: Gavin Adcock's Country Never Dies (already drawing a sharp Saving Country Music critique), Tucker Wetmore's "Sunburn" single, and Chase Matthew's "I Bet This Town Wishes We Would" all landed simultaneously. Charley Crockett dropped "Fastest Gun Alive" on March 12, previewing Age of the Ram (April 3). Luke Combs' The Way I Am (22 tracks) hits Friday (March 20), the genre's most anticipated album of 2026 drops in two days.

Well, he’s been around for a while now but he is NEW on the Buzz List this week. To be able to see exactly where Charley Crockett ends up on this week’s list you can scroll down and become a supporter of this newsletter. In that way you will always secure a view of position 11-20 on the Buzz List Top 20. But for all and everyone, here is the Top Ten Songs By Charley Crockett, according to yours truly, Honky Tonk Hansson: Listen here!

Week of March 12 – March 18, 2026 (generated: March 18)

Buzz Score: 97/100
Why She's Hot: "Choosin' Texas" returns to the Billboard Hot 100 #1 for a third time this week, tying Taylor Swift's record for most weeks at the summit by a song that previously led Hot Country Songs. On the chart dated March 14, "Be Her" rises to #2 on Hot Country Songs, making Langley just the third woman in chart history to hold the top two positions simultaneously, joining Swift (2012) and Beyoncé (2024). The song has now logged 15 weeks at #1 on Hot Country Songs, holds Country Airplay for a third straight week, and Mediabase for a second time. Her sophomore album Dandelion is due April 10. She also performs at the CRS New Faces of Country Music show this week.

Buzz Score: 90/100
Why She's Hot: A career-defining seven days. New single "Can't Sit Still" dropped March 13, her first new music since Whirlwind, co-written by Wilson herself. The same day, her feature film debut in Reminders of Him (Universal's Colleen Hoover adaptation) opened in theaters. A Netflix documentary, Lainey Wilson: Keepin' Country Cool, will premiere at SXSW before streaming globally April 22. She also led Jelly Roll's Grand Ole Opry induction on March 10 (still generating coverage this week) and is headlining the Houston Rodeo tomorrow (March 19). The CMA Entertainer of the Year is operating on every platform at once.

Buzz Score: 88/100
Why He's Hot: The Way I Am drops in two days (March 20), 22 tracks featuring Alison Krauss, with "Days Like These" and "Sleepless in a Hotel Room" simultaneously occupying the Country Airplay Top 10. His My Kinda Saturday Night Stadium Tour launches Saturday (March 21) in Las Vegas. This week he made headlines pitching a country artist for the Super Bowl Halftime Show ("somebody deserves to be up there doing the thing"), and Ashley McBryde called him "a pillar of country music" at CRS. The biggest country album drop of the year is 48 hours away.

Buzz Score: 83/100
Why She's Hot: Cloud 9 may have slipped from Billboard 200 #1 (Bruno Mars took the top slot March 14), but Moroney is still generating industry-level recognition this week: MusicRow named her their 2026 CountryBreakout Female Artist of the Year. Multiple Cloud 9 tracks continue to dominate TikTok, "Wish I Didn't" and "I Only Miss You" (with Ed Sheeran) remain active breakup-content drivers. Her Cloud 9 arena tour launches in May.

Buzz Score: 78/100
Why He's Hot: The Grand Ole Opry induction on March 10 continued to dominate country coverage through mid-week, featuring a Johnny Cash cross gifted by John Carter Cash, an emotional acceptance speech, and a closing duet of "Save Me" with Lainey Wilson. On March 10 he also hosted a triple #1 party at Opry Studio A (for "Liar," "Heart of Stone," and "Halfway to Hell"). This week, Country Radio Broadcasters announced he'll receive the CRS Humanitarian Award at CRS 2026. "Amen" with Shaboozey keeps climbing radio.

Buzz Score: 72/100
Why He's Hot: New single "Sunburn" dropped March 13, a coastal summer anthem co-written by Ryan Hurd that arrives as "Brunette" cracks the U.S. Top 15 (225M+ U.S. streams) and holds the U.K. Radio Country Airplay #1 for a third straight week. His career catalog has now surpassed 2 billion global streams. The Brunette World Tour's 17 new dates (including Red Rocks) went on sale the same day.

Buzz Score: 67/100
Why He's Hot: Wetzel is literally on the Houston Rodeo star stage tonight (March 18). The Night Champion World Tour general on-sale launched March 13, 45 cities across three countries (U.S., Canada, Australia), with support from Shane Smith & The Saints, Wyatt Flores, Wade Bowen, and more. New album The Night Champion is teased for summer 2026. General on-sale week plus a massive live appearance equals peak buzz moment.

Buzz Score: 63/100
Why They're Hot: C2C Country to Country Festival (March 13–15, The O2 London, OVO Hydro Glasgow, SSE Arena Belfast) marked Brooks & Dunn's first UK appearances since 2010 and their first-ever C2C headline slot. Three cities, three nights, the first major international performance of their Neon Moon-era revival, drawing massive overseas media coverage. The Neon Moon Tour arena run (September–October) and their Morgan Wallen stadium-support slot (Still The Problem Tour) keep the momentum building through fall.

Buzz Score: 60/100
Why He's Hot: MusicRow named him their 2026 CountryBreakout Male Artist of the Year, for the fourth straight year. "Don't We" (eighth single from I'm the Problem) is in active radio rotation. The Still The Problem Tour (23 stadiums) launches April 10. I'm the Problem is still in the Billboard 200 Top 10. Steady everywhere, but no new splash this specific week keeps him below the news-driving artists above him.

Buzz Score: 57/100
Why He's Hot: Country Never Dies, an 11-track collaborative covers project featuring nine artists (Braxton Keith, Ashley Cooke, Jake Worthington, The Creekers, and others), dropped March 13, generating widespread coverage. Saving Country Music's in-depth review (March 17) questioned whether Adcock was genuinely involved beyond two tracks, calling it a missed opportunity. Divisive or not, the discourse is loud, and his support slot on 16 dates of Morgan Wallen's Still The Problem Tour is imminent.

Methodology Note: Rankings based on aggregated signals from 10+ country news sources (MusicRow, Saving Country Music, Taste of Country, Holler, Country Standard Time, and more) plus streaming charts (Spotify/Apple Music), TikTok trends, radio airplay (Mediabase/MusicRow CountryBreakout), social media engagement, and Billboard chart data.
Buzz scores are calculated using: News volume (40%), News quality/prominence (15%), Streaming chart position (20%), Social media engagement (15%), Recency factor (10%)

NEXT LEVEL: Where Charley Crockett “hides”. Support to scroll down, thank you!