In this week’s crop of new country releases, Miranda Lambert displays strength against those who would underestimate her, while a new posthumous album from country music icon Johnny Cash highlights previously unreleased music of his from 1993. Check out all that and more of our latest favorites below.

Miranda Lambert, “Dammit Randy”

ACM Awards Triple Crown winner Miranda Lambert’s songs are known for whiskey-fueled, fiery dismissals of wrecked relationships, whether on early hits such as “Kerosene” or her recent “Wranglers” — but this time around, there’s no need for blazing, burn-it-all-down anthems. Here, in her latest release since inking a deal with Republic Records, she’s confident in her own value and strength (of both song and character) — she simply moves on, knowing the one who underestimated her will come to regret it. That perspective is evident on lines such as “You gave up ’til the very last minute/ Now that I’ve gone, I’ve got your attention.”

The Castellows, “Miss America”

This sibling trio offers up a harmonica-laced, coming-of-age story arc, one embedded with nostalgia and longing for simpler childhood moments of “bare feet in the dirt,” before this small-town girl grew up, moved away from home, and “got a big city chip on her shoulder.” This trio excels at these kinds of sepia-toned, neo-traditional country songs, which operate as a perfect vessel for their idyllic harmonies. The trio’s Powell, Lily and Eleanor wrote the song with Nicolle Galyon and Will Bundy.

Johnny Cash, “Hello Out There”

Cash’s new posthumous, 11-song project Songwriter stems from untouched demos Cash recorded at LSI Studios in Nashville in 1993, in between his 1991 set The Mystery of Life and what would become his career-revitalizing American Recordings series of projects with producer Rick Rubin. This celestial-tinged gospel song marks the project’s opening track, centered by Cash’s haunting calls for redemption and keen observations on humankind, and entrenching Cash’s reputation as not only a commanding vocalist but also a versatile songcrafter. “Hello Out There” is further elevated by a mesh of guitar from Marty Stuart, along with additional steel guitar, percussion, and vocals from Ana Cristina Cash and Harry Stinson.

Mackenzie Carpenter, “Only Girl”

Carpenter offers up her first true love song here, capturing the heady feeling of young love in this lilting, acoustic guitar-driven ballad. She wrote this song with her brother Micah, as well as Mia Mantia and SJ McDonald. With its slow-rolling feel and Carpenter’s honeyed vocal, “Only Girl” feels destined to be a wedding dance staple.

Midland, “Lucky Sometimes”

Trio Midland will issue their new eight-song project Barely Blue on Sept. 20, and are offering an early look at the set with their new single “Lucky Sometimes.” A tumble of pared-back guitars, harmonica and Laurel Canyon-esque harmonies, the group captures the euphoric feeling of being on a high-rolling streak of good luck, and enjoying the ride no matter how long it runs.

Simone Biles is in her Reputation era, and the world isn’t ready for it — Taylor Swift included. After the celebrated gymnast used “…Ready for It?” in her show-stopping floor routine at Day 1 of the 2024 Olympic Trials in Minneapolis last week, the pop star sang her praises with a tweet Saturday (June 29) ahead of Team USA’s journey to the Games in Paris next month.

Biles opened her high-scoring drill Friday (June 28) with the first 30 seconds of Swift’s 2017 track, striking fierce poses before diving into a triple-double flip that one announcer dubbed the “hardest tumbling pass in the entire world.” The 27-year-old athlete walked away with a score of 14.850 in the category and 58.9000 total, making her a frontrunner for the U.S. women’s team.

Needless to say, the Miss Americana herself couldn’t have been prouder. “Watched this so many times and still unready,” she commented on a video of the routine on X. “She’s ready for it tho👏👏👏🥇🇺🇸❤️”

On Sunday (June 30), Biles performed the routine again, at one point soaring 12 feet in the air with a particularly impressive flip. She ended Day 2 with an all-around score of 117.225 and was selected for Team USA for the third time in her career, having previously won gold at the 2016 Games.

Swift has long been a supporter of Biles. When the athlete made her grand return to the Tokyo Games in 2021 after withdrawing from her previously scheduled events due to mental health reasons, the 14-time Grammy winner starred in a promo video cheering on the world champion’s resilience.

“Throughout the last week, her voice has been as significant as her talents,” Swift said in the NBC ad. “Her honesty as beautiful as the perfection that had long been her signature. But don’t you see? It still is. She is perfectly human. And that’s what makes it so easy to call her a hero.”

“I’m crying 🥺🤍 how special. I love you @taylorswift13,” Biles tweeted after the video aired, to which Swift responded, “I cried watching YOU. I feel so lucky to have gotten to watch you all these years, but this week was a lesson in emotional intelligence and resilience. We all learned from you. Thank you.”

Watch Biles’ Reputation-inspired floor routine and see Swift’s tweet below.

Watched this so many times and still unready. She’s ready for it tho👏👏👏🥇🇺🇸❤️

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 29, 2024

You can tell the presidential election is really heating up when the White House dispatches Vice President Kamala Harris to do some awards show politicking. On Sunday night (June 30), Harris made a surprise appearance during the 2024 BET Awards in a pre-taped bit paid for by the Biden/Harris campaign in which she sis’d down with fellow Howard University alum and awards show host Taraji P. Henson.

The two spoke to each other on FaceTime, with Henson dialing in from backstage and Harris appearing to connect from her residence as they chopped it up about the HBCU they both attended and Henson confessed to being worried about the upcoming presidential election. “Women’s reproductive rights are on the line, our Supreme Court is on the line,” Henson said. “Our basic freedoms are being tested Madame VP! I know you’ve been traveling across the country, what have you been hearing,” the Color Purple star added.

“Yeah, girl I’m out here in these streets, and let me tell you — you’re right, Taraji, there is so much at stake in this moment,” Harris assured her. “The majority of us believe in freedom and equality. But these extremists, as they say — they ‘not like us.’”

“No, they not,” Henson said in response to Harris dropping the title of the recent Kendrick Lamar Drake diss track that debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100.

Continuing the Biden/Harris campaign’s attack line that former president Donald Trump and his Republican followers are a threat to American democracy, Harris added, “There’s a full-on attack on our fundamental freedoms, the freedom to vote, the freedom to love who you love, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom for a woman to make decisions about her own body and not having her government tell her what to do.”

Elsewhere, Henson very adamantly urged the crowd to keep their eye on the ball. “Its’ time for us to play chess, not checkers. It’s about making decisions that will affect us as human beings… out careers, our next generations to come,” she said, referring to a just-announced Supreme Court ruling that enforces bans on sleeping outdoors that some have said is tantamount to criminalizing homelessness.

“Pay attention, it’s not a secret,” Henson said. “Look it up. They are attacking our most vulnerable citizens. The Project 2025 plan is not a game. Look it up,” she added vehemently about the conservative presidential transition project in place to radically reshape the U.S. government in a fashion that some have said has authoritarian overtones.

Henson also paid tribute to “Not Like Us” elsewhere in the show when she dressed up as K-Dot and performed verses with BET-specific lyrics as her dancers mimicked the moves of Kendrick’s dancers from his recent Pop Out concert.

The appearance by Harris came just days after what was widely viewed as a poor performance by Biden during his first debate with convicted felon Trump, during with the president appeared confused and meandering at times.

Check out Henson and Harris below.

Vice President Kamala Harris for the #BETAwards: “The majority of us believe in freedom and equality, but these extremists, as they say, they not like us.” pic.twitter.com/wE0hDB3XId

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 1, 2024

OMG! Taraji P. Henson just called out Republicans for their INSANE Project 2025 plan live at the BET Awards “The Project 2025 plan is not a game!” BOOM! We need more of this. Keep calling out MAGA and their awful policy! pic.twitter.com/dx5lks2Kqb

— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) July 1, 2024

Just hours after triumphantly returning to the scene of his Grammys night arrest to accept the BET Album of the Year award for MICHAEL, Killer Mike dropped a powerful new single and video, “HUMBLE ME,” in which he reflects on the incident and its aftermath.

In the striking black-and-white music video, the Run the Jewels MC is seen stripped of his jewelry and placed in handcuffs, symbolizing the events of his Grammy night arrest.

Through his lyrics, he draws parallels between his experience and the Biblical story of Daniel in the lions’ den. The video culminates in a hopeful note, with a cameo from his son Mikael “Pony Boy” Render, who recently received a life-saving kidney transplant.

Reflecting on his Grammy night ordeal, Mike raps, “I won at the Grammys / did that for Atlanta / swept up like a janitor / got sent to the slammer / treat me like an animal or some kind of Hannibal.” He then reveals, “I went to sleep as free as could be / and the next day my son got a kidney.”

“I believe that humility and worship granted me God’s grace in the face of that test,” the rapper says.

During his album of the year acceptance speech at the BET Awards, Killer Mike addressed his arrest and the subsequent journey, saying, “Technically, I was not supposed to be here. I was put in handcuffs and I was marched out of this building, but I want to tell you, look at God because I’m back baby. I’m back and I’m winning.”

“I want to tell Black people that because of BET I’m back. Not ’cause of no white person calling nobody. A Black man runs this business, a Black company put this show on, and they got my Black ass back in here. Thank y’all.”

Mike also took the opportunity to emphasize the importance of civic engagement, urging viewers to vote in the upcoming elections.

“Who we vote for on the big stage is important, but it’s more important you know who your city council person is, who your prosecutor is,” he said “And if you don’t like the people running, run your Black a** to the polls and run yourself.”

Killer Mike’s arrest on Feb. 4, 2024, after winning three Grammys, including best rap album for Michael, stemmed from an altercation with a security guard outside the Grammy pre-telecast in February.

Although he was initially charged with misdemeanor battery, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office later declined to pursue criminal charges. Instead, Mike completed a community service requirement, leading to the case’s resolution.

Killer Mike is currently on a North American tour supporting his latest album, with upcoming performances at major festivals including Lollapalooza, Newport Folk Festival, and Montreal International Jazz Festival.

“HUMBLE ME” is slated to appear on the follow-up to MICHAEL – Mike’s first solo album in over a decade – which is expected to drop later this summer via Loma Vista Records.

The rapper, backed by the Mighty Midnight Revival choir, will be on tour through early fall with stops at major festivals and a Blue Note Jazz Club residency.