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It was “19(90) Somethin’” when Grand Ole Opry member Mark Wills went from singing at Atlanta’s infamous Buckboard to releasing his first of 19 Billboard-charting singles across seven albums. While climbing his musical ‘ladder,’ he has recorded Gold and Platinum albums and released some of the most enduring and recognizable Country Music hits of the last 25 Years.

“Wish You Were Here,” “Jacob’s Ladder” and “I Do (Cherish You)” cemented his country status in the late ’90s and at the ‘dawning of a new decade’ in the early ’00s. “Jacob’s Ladder” was released via Mercury Nashville in May 1996 as Wills’ debut single, and it became the singer’s first of eight Top 10 hits. His debut self-titled album followed “full of rambunctious good-time songs teeming with sly wit and bittersweet ballads — all in a baritone that throbs with emotion” per Entertainment Weekly. Released 20 years ago as part of Wills’ Greatest Hits collection, the feel-good track stretched the singer both musically and vocally. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart Top 5 hits “Places I’ve Never Been,” “I Do (Cherish You),” “Don’t Laugh at Me,” and No. 1 single “Wish You Were Here” hit the airwaves between 1997-1999. Fittingly, Wills’ early chart success earned him an Academy of Country Music Award for Top New Male Vocalist in 1998. One of his biggest hits to date is the RIAA Gold-certified “19 Somethin’” – a six-week No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

He also has taken more than a dozen trips to entertain U.S. troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Korea, and Italy. Wills continues to hit the road with his high-energy show full of hits that were the soundtrack to so many people’s lives.

With poignant lyrics, enchanting melodies and a sunny southern charm, newcomer Kelsey Lamb is undoubtedly a star-in-the-making. Raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Lamb ventured to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue her dream in country music.

As a singer-songwriter, Lamb made a name for herself as a vocalist with a rich, emotionally transparent voice, influenced by the likes of Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett, and Tim McGraw. And though 2020 and 2021 presented a myriad of COVID-linked hurdles, Lamb continued her forward momentum, releasing a succession of successful singles, including “Talk to Me,” “Where Do You Go,” “Little By Little” – which has seen well over 1 million collective streams on its own – and “They Never Loved You,” a duet with now-husband and fellow artist Taylor Goyette. Lamb’s most recent single, “Me & the Bar,” is a beat-driven tune that pays homage to the important role a place like a bar can play in one’s life.

Outside of her musical endeavors, Lamb’s also had success in acting: she’s appeared in multiple movies, including Hallmark’s Christmas in Homestead and Traces, and UPtv’s A Very Country Christmas, in which Lamb acted alongside country star Deanna Carter (the film also featured several songs from her debut holiday EP Christmas with Kelsey, as did Hallmark hit Christmas Wedding Planner).

In March, Lamb took the national stage in the NBC series premiere of American Song Contest, where she performed as the official representative of her home state of Arkansas and competed against 55 other singer-songwriters – one from each US state or territory. Her rendition of “Never Like This,” co-written by country darling Carly Pearce, Parker Welling, and Casey Brown, garnered a standing ovation. Co-host and pop superstar Kelly Clarkson praised it “sounded like a hit country song,” while Clarkson counterpart Snoop Dogg said it made him get “in my zone.”