Cup of Country- 7/30/15

Garth Brooks is Country Music’s Top-Earning Artist

The list makers at Forbes.com have put out a list called “Country Cash Kings: 2015” . . . and GARTH BROOKS came out on top, earning an estimated $90 million. TOBY KEITH was a distant second at $53 million.

Here’s the list, along with the money they made from things like: Album and merchandise sales, concerts, licensing, publishing royalties, and other business interests. The money was earned between June 2014 and June 2015.

1. Garth Brooks, $90 million

2. Toby Keith, $53 million

3. Jason Aldean, $43.5 million

4. Luke Bryan, $42.5 million

5. Kenny Chesney, $42 million

6. Tim McGraw, $38 million

7. Florida Georgia Line, $36.5 million

8. Zac Brown Band, $32 million

9. A tie between Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, with $28.5 million apiece. (No indication of an even split because of marriage . . . so the tie is ironic, and sad.)

Here’s 11 through 15 in order: Keith Urban at $28 million, Eric Church at $26 million, Brad Paisley had $24 million, Rascal Flatts with $19.5 million, and Lady Antebellum at $17 million.

Kelsea Ballerini Describes Her “Special Moment” Jamming with Taylor Swift

KELSEA BALLERINI recently opened up about the jam session she had with TAYLOR SWIFTlast month. The best part was when she realized she’s kind of following in Taylor’s footsteps.

Quote, “We jammed for hours, but the last song we played was ‘Tim McGraw’. It was this cool moment because‘Love Me Like You Mean It’ was Top Five and it was my first single, and she was sitting there looking at me playing her first single.

“And it was like, ‘I’m where you were when you were playing that song.’ It was this really special moment for me of how quick life can change, but people don’t.”

Just as a reminder: The love fest between these two started back in March when Taylor gave Kelsea a huge push by Tweeting, “Driving around with the @KelseaBallerini EP on repeat. So lovely.”

Kelsea quickly Tweeted a thank you. She wrote, “You are one of the main reasons I started writing songs and being ‘Fearless’ enough to do this. That just made my year.”

Kacey Musgraves is designing a line with Lucchese!

“My “Kacey for @lucchese” line is gonna be cute, y’all! Such a dream come true. Been workin’ on some great pairs. Expected later this year. More info coming. ✨?✨ #LuccheseBoots“

DARIUS RUCKER’s lovely wife Beth has a cameo in the new video to his song “Southern Style“.

SCOTTY MCCREERY gives a tour of his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina on the segment of “CNN Travel Insider” that airs today at 10:00 A.M. Eastern. (Full Story)

KACEY MUSGRAVES posted a video on Instagram from her vocal cord checkup . . . and it’s not for the squeamish. She captioned it, “When you listen to my music, picture this and be haunted. Though veiny and swollen because they’re used a lot, status is pretty healthy.”

Miranda Lambert is finding ways to nurse her broken heart. The Grammy winner, 31, took the stage in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday, July 28, and spoke to the crowd about how she’s been feeling in the days since news broke that she and Blake Shelton were ending their marriage.

With a guitar on her lap, Lambert addressed the crowd and nodded to the turmoil in her personal life. “Well, I’ve been living off of caffeine and sad songs lately,” she said with emotion in her voice. She then reached for a nearby mug and began to strum on the guitar, adding, “So, we’re gonna drink some caffeine and sing sad songs.”

Lambert then did just that, launching into a stunning performance of her 2011 song “Dear Diamond,” singing, “You cost more than he wanted to lose / And with this ring I said I do / I promised I’d never do what I’ve done / I’ve lied to someone.”

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter