Nate Bargatze will host the Emmys in September.

Luke Combs played two new songs at his bar in Nashville recently.  He started out with a warning that, quote, “This might be really bad.”  But then the songs sounded great. (You can check out clips of his two new songs, here and here.) For his next album, Luke has said he has around 50 songs to choose from.  And now all he has to do is “whittle it down.”

Jelly Roll is the first-ever artist in residence at “American Idol”.  And he’s been a great influence on these singers already. Judges Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan also had nothing but good things to say about Jamal’s performance. (You can check that out, here.  Skip to 3:55 for Jelly’s comments.)

We already know country music has fully crossed over into the mainstream.  But if you needed further proof, look no further than Major League Baseball. Country music had four of the top five.  “White Horse” by Chris Stapleton was #1. Other country artists appearing on the most-used walk-up song list are:  Cody Jinks and Morgan Wallen. A reporter even posted every baseball team’s playlist of all of their walk-up songs.

“The Office” is now 20 years old so “Rolling Stone” put together a list of its 25 Best Moments…topped by “Kevin Spills the Chili”.  (They put one of my other favorite moments at #12:  Dwight Meets Mr. Buttlicker.  It’s a brilliant, three-way verbal dance between Dwight, Jim, and Michael that I think it deserves a place among history’s great comedy routines.)

RadarOnline.com says Garth Brooks has allegedly gained back 40 pounds due to stress-eating related to his upcoming harassment trial. A source says,  “The whispers and innuendos are getting to him. He can’t sleep – and food is his vice and solace. He’s taking out all his stress by pigging out. It’s a shame, too, because he was doing so well before.”

The Daily Mail says country music songwriter Larry Bastian, best known for hits like ‘Unanswered Prayers’ and ‘Friends In Low Places’, has died at the age of 90. Bastian also collaborated with Conway Twitty and Sammy Kershaw on successful songs. Garth says, “If one looks down the list of music’s greatest writers of all time, I couldn’t imagine the list being complete without the name of Larry Bastian.”

Page Six says “Sixth Sense” star Haley Joel Osment was recently arrested in eastern California for public intoxication. The 27 year-old was with a ski patrol when officers arrived. He was also booked for possession of a controlled substance. Cops don’t know what the substance was so they sent it off for testing. TMZ says Osment lost his home in the recent California wildfires and has been having trouble with his insurance. 

Luxurylaunches.com says a 1989 Batmobile replica, complete with a working flamethrower afterburner, is now for sale through Mecum Auctions. The street-legal car sits on a Chevy Impala chassis, has a Harrier jet nose and functional headlights.

People Magazine says Lindsay Lohan has landed a leading role in a new TV series called “Count My Lies”. The Hulu show, based on a novel by Sophie Stava, follows a compulsive liar who becomes a nanny in a household filled with secrets. This marks Lohan’s first lead television role as she also prepares to reprise her role in the “Freaky Friday” sequel. 

Imagine going to work and the next thing you know George Strait is at your drive-thru wanting a hamburger. This happened at a Dairy Queen outside of San Antonio, Texas.  George was wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses, but it’s hard to go incognito when you’re the most recognizable man in Texas. In case you were wondering, George ordered the Hungr-Buster.  That’s a quarter pound hamburger, and he had it topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, and mustard.

Tinsel Town Talk – Thu 04/17/2025