#148 - The 2018 Year End Special

And so this episode one, it's the year end episode where I called Mike today and I was like, Hey, it's one of the last days we're gonna be in town before we jump away. We're I mean, I'm officially on vacation. What does say today? Monday? It is Monday. I was in Birmingham, Alabama. Today is it's our one day off on the Dancing with the Stars tour. And I was in my hotel room and I was like, I do not feel like sitting in a hotel for twenty eight thirty hours when home is like two and

a half hours away. So I run into the car, just drove home. And I've been so uto the weather, mostly because I can't. I haven't been sleeping at all. I mean basically in four months I got Dancing with the Stars and started doing all that, and it was so physically demanding, and I think it just finally caught up with me. And then I've been on this Dancing When the Stars Live tour and um after I did idle. So I've just been sick. So I came home with Land a bit. But that Dancing Starts Live tour has

been fun. I don't have to dance a lot, which is awesome. What do you do that? What do you do when you get out of here? So I do a little dancing, but I purposefully said, hey, I would like to dance as little as you can make me dance. I get dance anxiety now because I just think about dancing on that show and how nervous and anxious I would get. And I just don't like dancing like that anymore. Like I think I'm a better dancer four and I've always had decent rhythm, but you can tell if you

watch the show. I wasn't the best ballroom dancer, and so I was like, hey, let me not do as many dances and so I do I host, right, So I host, and usually the host just goes out and says, here's what's happening and then leaves. And I was like, he says, I'm not dancing as much. I'm just gonna go out and do some comedy. So I go a hated like four different parts of the show, and the shows an hour and forty minutes, and I just do stand up related to Dancing with the Stars and it's

pretty good. Yeah, it's pretty good. And they weren't expecting it, and so um, I went out and rather than ask permission, I thought I would go out and just ask for forgiveness later. So I went out in the first you know, you go at seconds what was written on my card on the live show, and I was like, no, let's just see what happens. So I go out and I walked out and I tell three or four jokes and the crowd was laughing pretty good, and then they danced, and I was like, well, no one told me not

to do that anymore. So I went and again did more jokes and so yeah, it's good, and that the tour is really good, like those guys are such good dancers, and I don't want to run the tour. It's so good. So if the show does come by the live show and now you can afford because tickets are pretty steep. I think they're like six year seventy bucks. Um go to that would recommend you go to the show. You posted that picture and they're like perfectly sculpted human beings. Yeah,

it's nutty. How in shape and and they're also in shape because they've been in shape for so long, Like I I think they work out. I don't know, but they danced so much. I don't know. They have so many muscles up top it's insane. Sane. Uh, And they're they're really. Like I've always said about that show, I was never really loving the dancing part of it. I

was always enjoying the people part of it. And I was always enjoying also the sociology of it, like trying to figure out how to win something by not being the best at the exact thing you're doing. And like most things in life, it's it's never about let's you have a job as an account and you're trying to

get a promotion. It's never about really just being the best account it it's about can you be a really good account and also be uh nice to people and be pleasant for your boss is to be around and be somebody who's trustworthy and be like, it's never really about what you think, it's about a big part of

it is. And for me on that dancing show, I did get to be a better dancer, but to me, it was about all the other things in sociology with the human part of it and so uh that being said, the two things that I took away from that show was that one the people on that show were great, and I did that in that podcast you know what you didn't know, the true untold story. And then too for me it was I felt like if I could want a dancing show, because I've always had aspirations to

be the governor of Arkansas, maybe be the president. One day, I left that show going, oh, I can't for sure do that, because I always wondered, because I've built a road, I've built a highway. By the way, we're gonna go back over all the ueer stuff. I don't need plan to talk about this. I felt like I've built this road, and I drive the car that I built down the road that I built, and we have all of our people that are all on the same highway with us,

they know what to expect. They know every day when I come on the air, I come on the podcast, or they read a book, what they're gonna get there. They've kind of subscribed to me, and I've subscribed to them. But I didn't know if you put me on a highway that I didn't build, like Dancing with the Stars because those people didn't know me, then if that would still resonate. And it did, like like our message still resonated, and so I felt like, man, I really can do this.

That show has inspired me to do you know, uh, bigger things, you know. So I think I was talking one of my friends who had been on the show last night, and she was on the show and she didn't win, but she didn't really well. And she was like, you know, I just love to dance. I love to dance. And she was like, do you love dance? Like no, Like I don't. I don't. Actually I think I like dancing less like the physical part of dancing. I think

I like it less than I did. And then she was like, well, I don't feel like that you're taking the show stairs. They said, oh, you're wrong. I took something completely different away from that show than you did to me. It was not about learning to dan. It was about can you know what iron what we stand for actually be shared with people that have no idea who we are and they still embrace it. And it did.

It worked, And so I think she was irritated because I won and she didn't win, and she really wanted to win. I did too, but it wasn't about I don't want to win because I was the best dancer. She wanted to win because she was the best dancer. So she's still irritated at me for winning. And that

was where the conversation. She was like, I just feel like you're making light up and I was like, you're out of your mind making light of it just because I took something completely different away from it than you did. I said, it changed my life. And it has nothing to do with dance. I was talking to um Or Shot, who won two or three seasons ago, and so, uh, he's NFL running back and he went on and one Dancing with the Stars and he loves dance because he's up.

I think he's hosting a set of touring shows after I'm done loves Dance, has continued to dances, continue to learn, and he's like, how have you continue your dancing? And I was like, oh, I have it, and I'm not like I was never good at it and I I was only gonna get so much better. But it's just funny how the people what people take away from it,

you know. And I've said before that always felt bad for Sharna who And by the way, Sharnon, I've grown much closer with humans since the show ended, because during that show it was just bam bam, bam bam. You're together all the time and you're trying to fit in human time in between training time. But um I was talking to uh him about how Sharna had to learn to teach differently with me than any of her because she had a bunch of athletes in a row, like six I think six athletes in a row are five

athletes in a row, like professional athletes. And regardless of you know how to dance or not, if you're a professional athlete, you know how to use your body, you know what works what doesn't work movements. So when she got me was the first non athletic person she had in a long time, and so I was like, yeah, she hadn't learned because I'm here here at the piece of paper and pin going three degrees, turned to the left, four degrees, left knee, leftknee, and I was like, I

had to write it all down. And he was blown away by that. But every is different, everybody learns different. That was a big deal for me this last year. I guess we could start with that for me, and just because we came off of it, this is the year end episode. Uh, the Dance with the Stars thing was crazy for me. I really didn't know if I was going on it. I knew that I had I've been.

So I started that year going out American Idol for just a few episodes, and it was really just to be honest, I was going on for one episode, I think, and I went on and they paid me not nothing, basically for free. I think I made a union, which is the bare minimum that you can pay somebody that you you can't have somebody work for you, which is why we can't have interns on our show that are free, because you can't legally have people work for you in

certain places and not compensate them with something. And so I did American Idol. They pay me, and they pay me the minimum, and I was okay with that because I knew I could go on and hopefully do a good job. They would ask me to come back, and they did so I did the second episode. I got paid minimum, and again it was never, never, never about the money with that show. This is the first um, because I don't want they're paying me now, um, And

so I go and then they asked me back. And then even at the end when I was doing episodes, they were paying me, but it was it was a little bit more, but it was never anything substantial. But I didn't need anything substantial to me, and that investment was let me just get on the show and see people like what I do and how I talk to people and hopefully how I teach people and how I interview people. And it was an investment. I probably lost money going in American out all the first of the year, um,

But it's never about money with me. And so I was just talking to a friend who's getting into hosting and they were like, I have to lose money. I was like, who cares, Like, go invest in yourself. Sometimes it's about taking, you know, two full steps back to be able to jump as hard as you can forward and so I do, I don't. It was a big look for me, and that's whenever I signed this deal with ABC. It was right after that, and so they were like, wow, you're cool and I was like, I'm

not really that cool, I'm just different. And they were like, okay, you're right, you're not that cool, but you are different. And so so I signed this deal with ABC for a whole network deal and they said, okay, we're uh, we want you to come to do Miss America. We're gonna sign get this idle thing lined up if Idol gets renewed. This is way or like right after Idol last season um and then mentioned Dancing with Stars and I was like, oh, it sounded to fun and theory

um and and I was like okay. So a couple of months had gone by with this ABC deal because it was a whole world that they want me to like create shows for them too. I was like, okay, great, so Idol goes by, which is a huge look for me, and I was super pumped and just grateful they put me on a show and I was well received and I felt like they the team that was amazing they edited me wonderfully, and so I come off that and they're like, okay, uh, we're gonna work on a new

deal and get you this full time on Idol. It's okay, great, this is like Mayor June of last year. They said, Okay, come to miss and Mayor Ka and then from and then after that, Man, Dance of the Stars would be perfect. And I've been mentioned before, but I didn't know, and I was like, man, because I knew I had to

like Mike when you're not talk. We had to move out there, and that was a big deal because we had to move out to Los Angeles, and I travel and do the show sometimes from other places if I do theater events, but to actually move somewhere and lips somewhere in a different time zone without the crew for months at a time, Uh, to me, I didn't know

if that was fair. Uh. So we talked about it, and I was right in the middle of negotiating, uh, for me, the most fulfilling radio deal in my career, which I signed a five year deal this year, and it was it's everything that I ever imagined I could do in radio. I've always had aspirations of doing like a talk show on television. But I've always wanted to radio. I don't think I'll ever get out of radio, and radio changes. Radio is gonna change. This is radio to

me right now. This is radio too, So I do that idole. I put out a book, that second book, and I was scared of death. That book was gonna bomb, not because I wrote it any better or worse than the first book, but because I thought, what if that first book I was just lucky and I was like oh, And I was so subconscious to put in that book out and I was worried about myself. And I was like, oh, I'm a look at idiot. If it if people read it,

and and it did, it did well. It was the best seller, and I'm one best seller and I was like wow, right off the idle stuff and I was like, it's really we're like cooking here. I signed a new radio deal and Dancing with the Stars was coming up, and it was like a week before the annalyce and we had we were still going back and forth because I wanted to do the show. I decided in my hard loner to the show, but because it overlapped Idol for a big for like a month and I don't

wanted me to come on full time. And there's also another show on another country music show that was on a cable network. I believe it's it's over now, but they wanted me to come on and host the show. So for the first time in my life at all these oftens. And there's another show on Fox with the people singing the costumes that all those shows that come at me and they were like, hey, we think you're cool and out and I was like, oh, I've always been the same, Like Idol is the one that gave

people the first look at me. I've I've i haven't got any better or anything. The people that Idol just took a chance on me first, so that all these decisions to make, and so which is a fantastic place to be. And so I'm stressing a bit because I've never really had these opportunities and I'm going, Okay, I'm gonna do Dancing with the Stars, and I'm gonna tape

Idol while I'm doing Dancing with the Stars. I didn't know how hard Dancing with Stars would be, or I didn't know that would be so bad, probably a combination of the two. Because most people can juggle things while they do that show. UM, so I'm like, okay, I'm committed to Dancing with the Stars and I'm just gonna do Idol in the last, you know, a few weeks of Dancing with the Stars, or as I thought, after I get kicked off, I'll go right to Idol, And that's what ABC said to But when you can talk,

you go to Idol. Because nobody expected me to win. Listen when the Vegas odds came out, I was last. I wasn't even like middle. I was last. And so I go on Dancing with the Stars, as you guys know. And it's not that I danced wonderfully the first episode, but I got through it and I fell down and I made an impact. I just wanted people. There were thirteen people. I think. I just want people to know who I was. Um. And every week as I worked at getting better to be a dancer, I worked at

how can I connect with people? It could be happy or sad. It's like a radio show, like how can I Connect with people? Funny? It didn't matter. I just wanted to be different. In my whole life, I've been different, and I always felt like that was a bad thing. Because everybody tell you how weird you are, how different you are, how stupid you are. But finally, in the last few years, I've really figured out that man being different is and being unique is really where the worth is.

Because we're all different and unique. We just we see everything cool, We're like, oh, we want to be like that, and then all of a sudden, we're one of a million millions and nobody pays attention. And so I was like, I wanna be gonna be different on this show. Um, My poor partner had to figure out how to teach me. I go to Dance with the Stars. There was a point at Dancing with the Stars that I was supposed to go do the American Idol auditions in the cities

we supposed to fly around in. All season, I've been just killing myself relatively speaking, because I was doing the radio show every day, I was flying around doing comedy dates.

I was training six, seven to sometimes thirteen hours a day dancing because I was taking that show so seriously and that I wanted to get as good as I could for the competition part of it, not so much to be a better dancing for the rest of my life, but because I was in a competition, and so we're dancing, and at one point they called and said, hey, ABC, call and said, don't come to the Idle auditions because you need to stay and keep you with Dancing with

the Start now that we're gonna take me off the show where we're gonna there would two or three days at a time. I couldn't train, and I couldn't afford not to train even for one day. We never took a day off during the show, and so I, um, okay, I didn't really know what to think of that and right now and I'm just speculating because they said don't come to Idle and stay on Dancing with the Stars. Now, my judge scores are always like sevens and eights, occasionally sixes.

I was like, man, either they know I'm going home them this week, or I must be doing really well in the voting and they can't have me be bad on the show, like really bad and still survive. And so it turns out, my what I think now is we were doing and I think I have a pretty good reason to think this, that Sharon and I were doing so well in the voting that they were like, you have a real chance to win this, you need to stay and do this. So they took me off Idle.

So when they go to like Idaho and they're doing all the Charleston wherever they are doing, I'm not there and I'm supposed to be there in those episodes, but they took me off those. But they still paid me because I was under contract and I just gotta I just got paychecks for all those A minute ago. I looked at my bank account and I was like, huh, what's this all for? Because I've only an Idol for

like week and a half at this point. And but yeah, they still paid me for all those weeks because they took me off of I didn't pull out, they took me off the idol um. So I go to Dance with Stars. We freaking win the show. Crazy. I'm just gonna quick recap of my year before I get to do the stuff. It's crazy. Uh, Sharon and I win. She hasn't won ever and she's been in the finals

so many times. I was like the second worst dude dancer on the show, maybe the fifth overall worst day because there were people that were worst dancers than me. I wasn't the second worst dancer I was the worst in the finale. I was the worst after a while, this controversy because good people kept getting kicked off. But what people don't understand. People like, it's not a popularity contest. Yes it is. Half of it's a freaking popularity contest.

And if anything, I think me and winning that show and job getting late is great for the show because I know people that they've asked to go on the show before and they go, no way, because the only people that can win that show are people that are great dancers. So why would I go on that show and embarrass myself. So now the people from dancing starts

to go. Look, Bobby one and Joe went to the freaking semifinals, so come on, try hard, but you know, really like put yourself out there and you have a chance to go far. Um So as people keep going on, the show got canceled because of Bobby. Know, the show got cancel because I were doing three Dancing with the Stars at the same time. Basically what they did athletes and juniors and adults, and there was just a lot

and American. I took that first full spring spot. Anyway, we talked about in the last episode, So I do that. I go to American Idol, we shoot Hollywood Week. It's absolutely insane. It's crazy, and I thought it was. I didn't do Hollywood Week last week last year. I did it this year. Stayed up every night, was sick. UH fought through it. And here we are now today at the end of my year and review. As far as that goes, it's a crazy year. It's crazy. It's a

crazy year. I'm gonna say this though. It's it's a year that has it sounds cool on paper because it was freaky cool. Don't get me wrong. Um a year have no balance though whatsoever. Nothing personally happened in I mean nothing. It was all super professional, one thing after the other, and I'm glad because I worked for that crap.

But as I finished now the year, I'm like, man, I didn't get a girlfriend that year, and it sucks to to have cool stuff and I don't mean actual material things that have cool stuff and not be able to share it with anybody. So in like one, I'm really gonna try on this personal thing. I'm still committed that I gotta I got a few more years of working. I know I'm more a way too hard for uh. I'm I'm milking this thing. Man, there's my window of

these opportunities that don't feel it's very big. It's not like I have this really elite talent that I can go I'm good. Let me turned down to I don't so, uh yeah. Is pretty good for me on this on the professional side. On the personal side not so much. Is you know, a year of I mean you literally for three months I did nothing except work. Just I mean in the dancing was working and work. That's it, and then and then go to sleep and then do it again, and you know it's I'm back now for

Christmas Hall Days. And by the way, don't feel sorry for me. I've I've chosen this life and I believe to have something amazing in your life, you have to sacrifice other things. Because I know people that have amazing personal lives and they're like, man, I wish I would have worked harder. I'm like, dude, it's just grass is greener wherever you are, there's always something cool over there.

And so I have friends that have wonderful families and I'm so jealous, and he's like, yeah, they're like, man, I just wish I would have you know, stayed and spent more hours doing this at work, and I'm like, yeah, but then you wanted to have the family, Like, you only have so many points, and it's like mad and the football players, you know, they give you a hundred points and you can put them in you know, twenty two of them in speed and eighteen of them in

agility and twelve with them in strength. You only have a hundred points put in different places, put all hundred of them and professional and my football player has zero points in his personal life. And so but you know, I chose that I put the points there. It's a fantastic here for me professionally, I would have been able to do it without people that look like listen to this podcast. I think part of my strength is I come in numbers, and I know I represent a bunch

of people. And so that's why I say we so much. I don't even mean just the radio show. I mean like the people that listen, and I catch myself on the air of talking about we, and yeah, it's a it's a I come with numbers and for now, like, I represent my people and they don't always have to let me do that. So but I'm very grateful for that. There are a lot of things that happen in UM. I was looking back at some of the biggest news stories and I always wish I would have kept a

journal every year. When the year ends, I go, you know what, I should have kept a journal the whole year, because then I could just really nail these end of the year things. I never do, so I end up googling what happened, and I have a bunch of stuff. Musically, I'd like to start with this, and I've picked ten songs for different reasons. It's not like just a top ten songs, but I put them in top ten. Uh and you hear why every single time at number ten as I do my top ten of the year, here

is Jilly and Jack and Sad Girls. It's two day. You don't have The reason I picked that is I'm just a massive fan of Jillian as an artist. And she put out a Side B which was second half of Side A, and I'm just such a fan. I just like going people that I really enjoy their music. Also, I think Jillian is awesome as a person. I took her out on tour for for a bit too. She opened for my comedy shows, right or sheen bridging Idiots,

comedy shows, comedy shows. Yeah, so I put Jillian Jackline at number ten because she came out and opened for a bunch of my shows. And what's cool is when you can take someone out and be a fan of them at the same time. So she was at opening shows for me and I was just a massive fan. Uh. There's a two part podcast with her on this too if you search it back, and I think it's only two parts because we were like forty five minutes into it. We were like, well, we're gonna talk for a lot

more time, so let's just split it up, right. Is that whether like she came back Jillian Jacqueline Sad Girls at number ten, at number nine my top ten of the year, Scotty McCreary five more minutes. Now, why this song not my favorite song? May I like the song, but it's not like I'm picking this one of my favorite songs. But what happened was is that Scotty had sent me this song. He didn't have a record deal and the song wasn't out, and it was one of

those that I was like, wow, that's really good. Let me let my listeners decide. And so That's why I say we it's it's such a numbers game with us. And so I played this song and you couldn't even download it yet, and I was like, yeah, like that. Everybodys are tweeting we like that. I'm like, all right, cool. I remember getting Scotty on the phone and him going, I'll put we'll put that online. And now I can't remember this wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm not it.

So they put it up, plays it, it propels and you know whatever on the streaming and digital charts. Then he gets a record deal because of it. Then it goes number one. It's the first ever number one. I have a plaquet here, yeah from and I don't keep many plaques in here unless it's something super personal to me, because they throw those things out like candy if you're in the business. But because that was one of those songs that it wasn't even out yet heard, it was like, dude,

you gotta get that out. I was also like, dudes, a little too long and get a short a little it was like four minutes and um, but I put that number nine because good for Scotty, good dude. I love the song. When I heard it, and we made it it, we gave it legs and then it made itself a hit. But that's why I put at number nine. It was a good, good story for us and Scotty and just like the good guy winning one Um and Scotty and number eight Marion Morris, I could use a

love song. This song came out in but it hit number one in January, and it was her first ever freaking number one after she had just crushed it in My Church should have been a number one and people were like, it's no researching, and I'm like, you're idiot, and so my Church wasn't number one, and then after it was dropped, it was like the highest testing song, you know. And with all these radio I think these radio people driving me crazy, obviously, But good for Maren.

It was her first number one song. And I'm a big fan of Maren as a person and as an artist, and you know, I had no Marin for a while, and I put that at number eight because it's not my favorite song on that album and that Hero album, but it was her first number one, and I think it was a big deal for country music and for her and for females and for just that whole thing.

So number eight merimors. I could use the love song top ten of at number seven Lindsay l Criminal mostly well all the way because it was written about me. There you go, let me say, and it was her. It was her first top twenties song for her, it was the biggest deal. But and talk about that while

it was out, did I know? I kind of shut it down because we ended up having to break up because it was just too much stress and pressure on her because I remember she got kicked out of a radio studio of another company because she was dating me, and so that was the beginning of the end of our romantic relationship, which sucks because it was actually pretty good. That's really good sometimes, but that song was learned about me, and so number seven, Yeah, listening to the words, that's right,

it's all about me, like Kells, that's funny. I considered not putting that in the list, but I felt like it wouldn't be honest because when I wrote these down, I was just like, oh, when I put on this list, but yeah, that's a lot of that record. I was heavily an influence of go back and read all those lyrics, not all as well I'm scared of her next record.

Get the opposite number six David Lee Murphy. Everything's gonna be all right, just because it's a gym and because Davidie Murphy is old school and new school at the same time. And there's a good Bobby cast with Davidlee Murphy. I liked the guy a live. I didn't know him really, I met him and he still wrote a bunch of songs on Nashville. But by the way he is, You're gonna be a little dust on the bottle, big country song if you listen to country music. UM, huge song

in like the nineties. But he came back. I think he's maybe sixty six. I think so yeah, and good for him, and everybody loves him in town. And I met him at a Toby Keith concert. I was opening up Eddie and I were opening up for Toby Keith. He was watching on the side google his age and

that the first time I met him. And but the first time I heard that song, I remember driving and I was like, there's this guitar riff that goes and I was like, I don't have those things song, but that's a jam and uh, I just loved it so much, and it was good to see him. He's not on a major label, it's good to see him. Uh have a number one song, Okay, so basically goo ahead, good

for him, number five. Just love this song. And I think I told Brett when he was in here, like this is one of those songs I listened to and go, Man, that song speaking to me. It's Brett Eldridge the Long Way. It's like sappy song where it's like, I can't wait to meet you, can then take me the long way around your town and tell me all about you. And I was like, man, that song speaks to me because that's what I'm looking for. And then uh, I put that at five for a couple of reasons. One because

I loved that song. That's my favorite song of his ever. And then I think I went number one. I'm not sure. I'm not even sure if went number one. But also Bright and I become friends. Casey Musgrave's the number four with slow Burn, which has been my favorite album over the year. I've kind of had to stop saying that because it started to be the cool thing to say once she won the CMA for Album of the Year and had to be like when I was a Cubs.

I've been a Cubs fan my whole life, and when they won the World Series, I had to stop saying I was a Cubs fan because everybody became a kind of fan all of a sudden, and I knew in my heart I was a Cubs fan, so I didn't even need to say it anymore like I was. I am a true, die hard Cubs fan. So when when it became cool to like the Cubs, I knew in my heart I didn't need to share like the Cubs anymore because everybody liked the Cubs. But I felt good about it because I was a freaking Cubs fan from

the beginning. Same thing with I'm just a huge Casey fan of all the like new newer artists in the past twenty years, like Gartha Side, like Casey Musgrabs is my favorite country artist. So yeah, slow Burn at number four because that album was so good. Number three on my Top ten Songs of the Year, The Middle from Marion and z and all this just because holy crap, this this was the jam of the year, possibly the biggest. I don't know, I don't like a pop charts anymore,

maybe the biggest song of the year. It wasn't even if not from charts. The Target commercials had this song launched. You know, people are like, oh that sun, Like yeah, they put millions of dollars into it at the very, very very beginning, and it was on every Target commercial maybe during the Super Bowl, if I'm thinking, were the premiered and so what a massive look for her. Like I told you earlier, I liked mare in a whole

lot and this song just the jam. I remember her playing in the middle of her set at the I R Country Festival again. She played all her songs and then she plays the middle the freaking place exploded, and I think it was the first time she'd ever played that herself, like as a Marion Morris song without the other guys, Like she didn't go up with Z and changed the who are the other news else on it?

The traveling will Berrys whoever it is? And I remember because I was talking to her before she performed and she was like, it's the first time I want to play it, and I recorded it. I went back and talked to her after and I was like, oh, the whole arena was athlete bonkers, because as an artist you have these ears in and and it kind of cuts off the sound to the outside, and you keep these ears in so you can hear all the instruments playing.

Because if you're just playing in a loud arena, there's a bunch of instruments playing around you, you can't really hear anything. So that's why they keep those ears in their ears, those ear monitors. And I was like, oh, the whole place erupted. And she didn't need me to tell her, but we've had that conversation, and I wanted to show the video. But yeah, that song was that. That's just a jam. Number two my favorite Keith Urban song,

and this ang was never a single at radio. I do believe it was just nominated for a Grammy though oddly, uh it's Keith Urban parallel line no Babe, Babe. This is from his Graffiti You album, which I really liked, and it was one of the few times and I have a pretty good personal relationship with Keith, always stuper friendly.

Was always a good relationship. But I remember, and I don't listen to music early with artists, um, but I remember I went over to Keith's house and and he has a whole studio in his house and he was like, bo, listen to this Cassie Ashtion has on the Cassi Ashtion on the album, and then I don't know, I kind of a like I really liked the record unfairly, maybe because I get to hear some stuff earlier. I don

remember why I was even over there. It's about something else, but anyway, that song is my favorite song from that record, and I really liked the record, so I put it at number two, and that song is a jam and number one of my top ten songs of the year. Dan and Shay Tequila still just a com play game changer for these guys who they just go, They grind it out, they try all these different things. They get

there under a pre shaded in our format. But man, what massive hit for them that song and meant to be and meant me. It's probably a bigger song. I'm not sure. I don't depending on what standards, but that's my number one song, Tequila. But I just separated them, and I was upset for them. They didn't win any of the c m as. I didn't care which one they won, because that's and listen, everybody who won the cmas that they were up for was deserving of it.

I just thought they pulled at least one of the three they were nominated for, but throughout for a couple of Grammys too. But those are two dudes that Dan and Shade. They're in like my class, meaning we started at the same time. I came and started to do my thing right when they joined together and started their thing.

And I remember the first time that they had that song twenty three You and Me or nineteen You and DNA testing Kid, and I remember they just put it out and I was playing it and not it was really good for into them separately and not I used to do digital for us, And I was like, man, this guy sound like like the country Savage Garden. They really could have took that the wrong way or the way that most people would have taken it. And they did, and they were like that's funny. And they came up

and they did Savage Garden. I knew I loved you and it was and I was like, Okay, these guys are down, like it was just being cool and the joke doesn't always have to be they can actually be like if the joke's on me, as long as I'm in on the joke, I'm cool. Like make fun of me all you want um And they were like, yeah, make fun of us, let's come perform. I did, and we became friends. And that's the game changer for them. And that's my number one song of the year. Dani

Sha had tequila there. It is all for different reasons there, but that was It's a big, big, cool year for those guys. That song, I think kind of crossed over a little bit some the other things that happened in eighteen. There was the uh and you do you think back, how big is this big? This thing was for like a week and how stupid it is now? But it was the Yanny or Laurel and everybody would hear different things. So here's the clip, now, laure what do you hear

ny And I think every clip, I don't know. I hear Yanny. Now what did I used to hear? Do you know I think Yanny. He's like a different version of it. Okay, I hear Yanny all every time. Yeah, maybe the show all heard Laurel and they all yelled at me because I was stupid, But I really hear Yanny, and you hear you hear Yanny. But yeah, a lot

of marriages broke up because of that sad time. On June, those those Thaie boys at soccer team, they went hiking in a cave and they got trapped and that was and then we all just watched on the news hoping that they would they would get out of there, and tie Navy steals end up freeing all of them and their coach after eighteen days. And I remember it. They were like the rain's coming, what do we do? And the and like Tesla, it was like and it was

like man um so that happened. I think one of the thin Navy stills died too, right like early on in that like one person died, but it was one

of the rescuers. Rita Franklin died. In August. Yes, the Royal wedding happened, in which I actually kind of cared about, not because I care about the Royals, but because I watched The Crown on Netflix and the Crown is true true because I Wikipedia and Wikipedia is ninety percent true, and so I got really into the Royal family because I just felt like I was watching another episode of the Crown on Netflix, and so it's interesting to me. And then also the dude in the Royal Nous what's

the name, Harold pre Terry. He married someone that had been married before, was an American and was by racial which I think was all new to that, Like here in the in the States or here talking you and I, that's that's just a normal person. But to that to the royal family, I think they have these crazy rules where they all that SIVI isn't supposed to happen listen. I don't know. I just watched The Crown once on Netflix. Thought it was good. It does a little boring at times,

but I still learned a lot. But yeah, that happened, and um, Megan Markle and she was on I didn't watch Suits. Watch That would be weird though, if I would have been a big fan, because I could see where fans of of that show would go, well, that's weird with this character that I like, Like I think about you know, if Maggie from The Walking Dead, you know it was marrying a prince and it was I would be like, that's the weirdest thing, that freaking zombie

killers marrying a prince. So the people that watched Suits probably had to be weird that a little bit by that A crazy thing was Bill Cosby just like what an awful dude? Huh? And who knew forever? And that I was watching on CNN they had this whole special and clean comic watching the History of Comedy Ever. I

watched that. I was on the bus traveling with Dancing with the Stars, and it was what it was a whole like our unjus clean comics because they do this series the History of Comedy, and they were talking about Bill Cosby and how he was like the best clean comic and the juxtaposition of how he's just the worst human. On stage he was the cleanest and funniest, and off stage he obviously just the worst. It was raping people and so uh, this is the year where he was

convicted of aggravated indecent assault. I don't even know what that means. I just know he's a rapist, right. He sent us to thirty ten years in prison. I'm gonna die in jail. Um yeah, I mean, like, go away, Bill Cosby. He just said it for so long on it was never caught and that sucks, but that was a big deal. I mean, Bill, you can't even catch the Cosby Show on TV anymore, you know. Was that's such a good show. I remember Aimy talking about she was annoyed because that show was so good that she

liked her and her kids would like it. And now, of course you can't keep the Cosae show on the freaking rapist. You can't have that so um and all those people that worked on the Cosby show that we're getting paid, Yeah they lost. Yeah, Macmiller died. Now I think maybe you were a bigger mcmiller fan than I wasc Miller. I really knew him mostly as Ariana Grande's boyfriend, and I'm really not that much about Ariana Grandey, but I know him most from that. But he was just

a white rapper, right, Yeah. I saw The first time I saw him was with a little Wayne who did a show in Austin. I want to go see him, Like, was this guy? Oh you saw him live? Yeah, it's good. Yeah, he was good. He died mm hmm. Oh. You know. Because I'm looking at notes that freaking climbing raccoon, and because it was like the climbing raccoon, I was like,

what does that even mean? In the summer of eighteen, a raccoon climbed this skyscraper in Minnesota and we watched it or like is he gonna fall and when we would track it was he gonna fall off and dies. He's gonna make it. That freaking raccoon climbed at the top. He climbed the entire skyscraper. How about that, the climbing even thought about the climbing raccoon. George H. W. Bush just passing in his funeral that's pretty recent. Um on

November twenty, he passed away. Uh, that's that's sad. You know, I thought you about that, the thing that came from that, and I don't I'm not sure how old he was. Nine lived a long life, right, I hope to live

to be ninety four years old. But I can tell you for me, what I found the best about after he passed was that both sides red and blue, Democrat, Republican hobody just kind of got along for a minute because he was just a good dude, meaning he did he served in every capacity, and it was like, man, listen, I don't know personally, I don't know. I got a

duty was every day. But to look at his credentials as a public servant, he did it on all levels, including serving in the freaking military and crashing up like and so you saw both sides go like that sucks, and because it sucks for both sides, it kind of felt like both sides kind of were together. And so as sad as that was for people who knew him, to me, I didn't know him, it was almost like a breath of fresh air afterward. Even at the funeral, you were sad, but in a way of like there

was like a real beauty too. President Obama, George his son, President Bush's son, Hillary Clinton, all of them there together, anybody screaming each other in a little boxes on TV. So yeah, rest in peace to him. Um. There was speaking on you Gone day here and Pete David she said what happened with them? Because he wrote on Instagram and he was like the kill himself. And then I see the machine gun Kelly Again, I don't even know these people except for TMZ puts them up on my feed,

machine collized. The Rappers came after Eminem like flies in against their boys, and then Pete davidsone on SNL like three hours later. Yeah, but he only did the intro to Miley Sires and that was it. But I guess it was more of a hey, let's show people that like we got him, we're under control, like he's surrounded with good people. Right, m hm. That was I followed that engagement a bit because why I think Pete pet Davison's super funny. It's really funny. Didn't he get um

like clean, he got through like rehabbing it clean? Yeah, but I think he started smoking again fairly recently. Well, I think I started to like follow his story after he got clean, and then like, here's a nerdy, funny dude dating this super hot chick, and I'm like, all right, I like this. So I started like and then all you know, all this stuff happens, like where they get tattoos and engaged, and I mean, but now it just seems like getting engaged. I was like first base now

in Hollywood, alright, alright, but they get engaged. That's swipe left, expect left or swipe right whatever. Um what else that post Malone had It was up in an airplane, and they were like, well, as tires exploded, we're not sure if the plane's gonna end, and he might die, and so we all, much like we watched the Raccoon, we watched post Malone flying round up in the air and so he was one of sixteen pastors on a private jet and I mean, think about this for a second.

Upon takeoff, the tires blow out. So the whole time you know that what's about to happen is dangerous. And I was just like for then blow out, like right before we land, so it's only like a minute. I gotta worry. Like the whole time, they're worried that we gotta get down. And so he was on his way in England and performing a festival, and so I think what they did is they burned off a bunch of fuels flying around and flew around the whole time knowing

their tires were blown out. His manager was like posting on into the story, is right. I guess I had why find the plane? Come on, Um, there we go, Thank you hit the wrong button. Lebron goes to the Lakers. Roseanne bar tweets and they cancel freaking the biggest show on TV. I sometimes smart people can be so dumb. And I've done some really dumb things, not anything down the same lines of that where people are like she's tweeting racist things, um, which I thought she tweeted something racist.

I've done things like set off. Yeah, yes, and get find a million dot like really dumb things. But just the scale of she had the biggest show on all TV. It was doing I'm not sure what it was doing at one point because I don't the numbers are are so low now in general because there's so many options, But it was doing like tens of millions of viewers

and gone just like that. You know, we learned from those kids freaking we are racist and if you are, well, you need some need some help, then if you take help, then shut up. Um who knows. I don't even know. I just couldn't believe that a massive show like that, And good for them for pulling it, because I think it's set a precedent to like, don't we don't have any room for racism here. So that's that was a

big story though, and they pulled it quick. It was like ABC, you know, they got pulled to an emergency meeting. They sat around like what do we do? And you know, I applied them for making a decision. I got no room for racism in my heart, and I was like, well they just regardless of the reasons that they talked about in the room, I don't know what they talked about in the room wasn't in the room. But good for him for setting that precedent, like you want to be a racist or if you want to be like,

we don't have room for you here. And you know that goes for a lot of a lot of the issts. We have no room for John McCain died. I saw that that sucked. That was another one of those this year where you get where people kind of came together a bit. Most people came together. And again what he spent more than five years as a pow and they were gonna let him out earlier because he had some privilege and he said, nope, not leaving, Alma, dudes leave, So he stayed for five years. He said in the

pow camp. I mean that's a hero. That d is straight hero. Anthony Bourdine died. Isn't it crazy though? Too? Now how fast news stories can come and go and it's like onto the next you had a double check it. That happened this year. That happened so fast, even if it's a big thing, it's like all right, there it is and like you go, huh, Like when anton A. Boor Daine died, it was a big big, big, big deal.

Now it's not even really a thing unless you were super close to him or really really watched the show. The show is during another season. I think they're about the show, so it'll kind of come back up. I think a season he shot before he died. But um, it's crazy how many things happen and just move uh. In country music, Keith every one entertainer of the Year,

which was crazy. Um. And again I speak from a bias place because I really like Keiths, but there are a lot of It's weird for me because I had the luxury being friends or at least friendly with a lot of these people, and so I think Staple Tom was up there, Al Dean was up there, Luke, Kenny and Keith and Keith one and I don't think Keith was expecting it. And so that was a really cool moments at the c M. As Country Music carry Underwood's

face injury. We were the first show ever coming. We were the first interview she did when she came back. And I just think that was not because I'm some stellar interviewer, which I am, by the way, don't get

me wrong, I'm the best. But I think it's that she felt comfortable that I wasn't gonna take her somewhere she didn't want to go and carry and I have worked together and UM and even socially and even with the American Idol we share people like agent people like I just think that, Uh, there was a trust with that. And she came in on the show and I know that she was nervous about it, and it's up on YouTube and and good for her because they listen. There was some stuff that I didn't none of us knew,

but apparently it was so bad. She didn't know she'd be able to sing against stitches like in her face, and that's her tool for for work, Like she had fifty stitches in her tool that she makes a living off of, which is singing. And so that was the deal. Nashville was canceled. Uh, sugar Land got back as a band, which was cool for me because Christian Bush and Christian and I are UM. He's hafter sugar Land. Christian and I are super close, UM, and we wrote some songs

together and they got back together. So I was happy to see that. I think that's most of the year. Um, here are the highest rated TV events of the year. Are they all sports. Sports is the only thing that's going to keep people going in at set times to watch television. Myself included, meaning I watched network TV shows. I really I don't watch them when they come on and and listen. I'm not going on alone by saying

this in anyway, because everyone sees it happening. But the live and maybe maybe not just sports, but live events are going to be really what keep people at networks or at appointment television times. Otherwise we're just gonna watch things want to watch them. There's no need to gather around the TV set. Who and again, who's watching TV on TV? All the time? I watched eight five percent. I consume probably eighty five of my visual media through

my laptop on my phone. The only thing I watch on TV is I'll turn it on if I'm going to sleep to watch Friends or if Competential is playing The Office over and over. I don't have to think about it. I just keep it on. I don't really watch TV anymore unless it's the Super Bowl number one, the World Series number two, the NBA Finals number three, the Winter Olympics number four, and the Stanley Cup Finals number five. You have to watch those because if you don't.

One you wouldn't go back and watch it and replay anyway. And two it's such a big story that it's all out there on the internet. You can't get on the internet that's seeing the end of it. Um. But even some live shows, like I would say even like Dancing with the Stars, I'll give that as an example, because I'm on there like that shows live and there's something

to live shows. And that's gonna be what keeps, in my opinion, people watching network television because you're seeing these numbers go way down in and live consumption, because why would you unless you just happen, there's no point to ever go. Gotta get home back in the day, guy, get home, freaking full House is gonna be on, And if I'm not in my deal on the cow, I don't get to see it. And it wasn't like anyone knew how to record on their VCR when they weren't there.

The only way that we could figure out how to record on the VCR was if you put the blank tape in push record play and then record it. And you were already there anyway. So yeah, there was no DVR. There wasn't even really a boot like DVR back in the day, unless you had a friend recorded for you Like that was DVR, someone who was smart enough to have a VCR and could put a blank tape in for you and record it and then get you the blank tape because you weren't putting a blank tape in

with a timer on a BCR. I couldnt even walk the clock on a VCR, much less the timer. So, um, that's the that's the deal for for networks live shows, you know, even like American idolm on that. So I'll speak on that, those live shows where you vote, that would be something that keeps people watching the voice. What else happening live now that you can watch and vote, because if it then you fall off and you see it on the internet and you go, yeah, But anyway, Uh,

there's that deal. But has been freaking crazy, man, for me, it's been crazy. I had a lot of a lot of new things happen, you know, career wise. I you know, I've often said that I'm so lucky to be so exhausted and man like, right now, I'm peat tired. It's almost happened to be open. Like I drove home for one day today just because I can lay on my bed. I'm driving back to Birmingham in the morning to do

a show and then drive back from Birmingham tomorrow night. Um, I'm so lucky to be so tired because I've worked so hard to have these opportunities and has been been nutty for me all around. I'm healthy, I mean I'm not healthy right the second, because I have this this I don't know what I have. I have some sort of like mixture of like mad cow and the sniffles, and they mix just right where they will not go away. And I've taken every bit of medicine I can take.

But here's the problem is I haven't been sleeping still because they're there, and that's that's where it all comes. Your body just can't get better if you don't rest it. So after I finished the show tomorrow night in Birmingham, I'm just gonna sleep. I have no plans for the holidays except to rest, and most time I go like, oh why wait await, but I need the rest. One and two, I didn't put in any work to cultivate anything like relationship wise to have anything to do with

the holidays, So I don't know. I don't feel sorry for myself. Some years I'm feel sorry for myself, and then some of your I was just an idiot, Like when Wendy now were dating, I didn't go to her place for Christmas. I just was like, I don't want to go to Canada because what does that mean in my mayor right now, I gotta go spend family and I don't like I have a TV in the bedroom and I don't sleep. I can't sleep it up TV. And then then and I freaked myself out. So I've

either been an idiot or sorry for myself. Or this year it's like I put all my eggs into this basket and so I we're never a big fan of the holidays, but this year I'm actually pretty good because I'm gonna take a break from from everything. Make it on this app, on this Yeah. Well I've been on this app a little bit, this dating app. I haven't met anybody from it, but i've been on it, ray

familiar with it, I'm aware of it. Yeah, I got back on it and then and there's really nothing everybody's in Like other states, are you supposed to have a dating thing. I'm not flying anywhere else. I have time when I go to California to work, and I was like, oh, you're in l all the time. Look got cool you are. I'm like, when I'm in l A. As soon as I land, I drive to work, or I drive right to go to bed so I can work the next day and then I have my real job, which is

the most important job to me. Twenty Team was also a year that I think my company was testing me a bit. We're like, okay, go and do your stuff, but if raidings go down while you're doing it, we're gonna bust your balls. And even like Dancing with the Stars, and I think I even wonder, like what's gonna happen, but I think and this was the first year that actually brought someone into actually like look over things, and Mike was that guy, and it was just like, all right,

let's end. The ratings went up, went far, significantly up, So I appreciate that, and a lot of that was new audience coming in from the TV show. But also we kept the show a real priority. Um, even when you know, we were out of our comfort zone and you had to take on a lot more this year. Yeah, we went hard man a lot more. A lot. I mean, there would be times in the car and Mike would be briefing me on things. I felt like the president going to me and he's like, Okay, here's what I've

never worked more from the back of the car this year. Okay, happening all right? Al didn't had to have the baby, right, and he's feeling pretty good about it, and I'm yeah. So when we would get there and I'd be in the know, I'd be sweating and just disgusting, and the show would have to deal with me being just so tired, and if I was so tired as of the loopy

happy or just cranky. But we did it, man, we did it, and we're here, and um yeah, I'm A big takeaway from eighteen is that it's a jam packed year and I have learned that hopefully what we do, I can do on a bigger level and hopefully continue to represent the people even better than that. I'll tell you that dancing show and I say that it wasn't a dumb show to me, and it's not dumb show to them, but people that don't know about Dancing with

the Stars just the dumb dancing show. But that dumb dancing show really shifted on the amount of like just the amount of good that I feel like I can do for other people, because I feel like people will listen if they can just be exposed. And I just want to keep a good message so people can hear it, and so like that's my goal. Show me that I

shouldn't have won that show. I did win the show, and you know what, I should have won the show because because I did, I should have won it based on past standards where just good dancers came in who cares um, and we broke the show in a way of they won't cast that show the same anymore, and I think more people will be a part of it. And I think, you know, um, even with the American Idol, they brought me on because I wasn't famous and I would talk to people like a normal human and on

Dancing with the Stars, I was a normal human. I think it's the year the normal human, That's right. I think the normal human one one this year. So we won one, folks, the normal human one one this ship. It was amazing. Chalk one up for the normal human the just okay looking uh, nothing too fancy about him talking with an accent. Uh. Normal humans got one score ones for the little guy. All right, this has been twenty what's been your takeaway from your mind? You have

something here. I mean, I think a big thing for me this year was doing the comedy stuff like that was kind of towards the beginning of the year where you gave me that slot of opening for you. Yeah. I was like, hey, man, you ever done you ever thought about doing comedy? I know you like comedy and you're right yeah. I was like, hey, what don't you do a few minutes? Okay, all right? And then you went out to open mic nights and just bombed over

and over again. Not so brutal, man, and not because you weren't funny, but because the crowds were there to watch like a tuba player someone do slam poetry, um. And Yeah. You would go out and work on material, and then you opened up all year on tour. Yeah, learned about yourself, my little extra money, You got a girlfriend. Did get a girlfriend for the first time in your life, first time ever. Look at you like you well, thank you all. This probably will be the last episode of

the year. Possibly not, I don't know. It depends on if Mike and I are like, hey, your bored, uh? I just wanted to get one on. Um, I gotta go back. I go to bed and then I'm gonna go dance tomorrow and then I'm gonna be done. Don't forget check out what what should promote here? We have their ears anything Amy? Check out again as people really liking that four Things podcast. It's about four things. I don't know what things they are. They're all different things.

Every time she breaks it up, it's four different things. Uh. And good for her because it's gonna be a big one. People love that. Amy. And then lunchbox, Eddie and Ray have their sports Shelfie like sports. How is that thing going? It's going good? Yeah? I like them. Yeah, they talk about sports and they yell at each other. Uh. They yell at each other for about ten minutes at the beginning,

then they talk about sports. They do. Yeah. I would listen at first, and then I was like, I hear this every day, Like I'm in the room with him all the time. No, it's changed since just I'm like, what has it's gone too? Like, all right, let's do this first and then we'll get into it. Oh yeah, instructure. Now we'll look at them. I'll also be checking that out all right, thank you very much, Episode one The

Bobby Cast, Americ Christmas, Happy New Year. If I don't uh see you before then or if you know hear from me to appreciate you on Instagram, Mr Bobby Bones, and have a good with everybody. By Burn