The Bluefield, Virginia native who received a key to the city, the "Outstanding Citizen Award" and a "Makenzie Phipps Day" on December 6, 2025, said the new single "Whiskey Kills the Time" is from her upcoming EP "Pick Your Poison."

"All my alcohol songs are on it," laughed the Southern Women in Film & Television Summit "Rising Star Award" honoree.

Phipps, who was noted as the "Future Star of Tomorrow" by the North American Country Music International Association, said she aways wrote drinking songs because that's what Country singers do.

"It's so dang easy to write alcohol songs, especially in Country Music," she pointed out. "'Whiskey Kills the Time' is the last, I am going to write other songs for the rest of the year!"

"The single is closing it out. The end of my era of songs about alcohol," Makenzie said with a slight laugh as we talked about her upcoming EP "Pick Your Poison."

"Now you can get them all in one place," she added.

Makenzie Phipps has earned the Josie Music "Female Country Song of the Year" Award and in 2022 garnered the "Songwriter Achievement Award."

I complimented Makenzie on the new single "Whiskey Kills the Time" because it showcases her natural Country vocal skills, letting you know what Snoop Dogg saw in her. She has the talent to be an iconic Country singer. Proof is, she is already, just look at her achievements. She just needs time under the belt!

"I put together the bridge," Phipps pointed out as we continued talking about the new single "Whiskey Kills the Time."

I asked her about her drink of choice and she said, "Whiskey does the trick for me."

I wanted to know what working with a Hip-Hop artist on "The Voice" looked or sounded like!
Being on Team Snoop Dogg means Hip-Hop and Country came together.

"It was insane," she laughed as we talked about her experience with Snoop. "I was on the team to make things interest! Everyone on Team Snoop was so talented! We were one big happy family."  www.MakenziePhipps.com

The "I Reach for Red" single is masterful. Well, maybe it's masterful because Kelly Lang is singing it. She has that pure Country vibe that covers her songs with her perfect vocal skills which make-up her signature sound, just as Dolly Parton has her signature sound and Crystal Gayle has her sound.

"It's PG-13," she laughed about the new single.

Married to Country legend T.G. Sheppard, who has 21 #1 hit songs to his credit and is currently promoting his "Midnight in Memphis" album, Kelly will be sharing some of her hit songs from her albums and her current single "I Reach for Red" during an upcoming show at Country for a Cause in Nashville on June 4, 2026 with T.G. Sheppard who is also hosting the CMA Festival (June 4-7th) this year. The Country for a Cause event has raised over $300,000 for the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.

Kelly Lang, who has garnered the Icon Award from the Alice Awards Gala, debuted in 2017. Her father Velton Lang was the road manager for Conway Twitty, and he took Kelly with him all the time. So, you can say Country music is in her blood. She had her first hit song at the tender age of 15 called "Lady, Lady." It reached #1 on Billboard's chart. She went on to write songs for Jerry Lee Lewis, Crystal Gayle, Ricky Skaggs, and The Oak Ridge Boys - to name a few. She has also recorded duets with Sir Barry Gibb and Olivia Newton-John.

Kelly Lang is also an author. She recently published her autobiography "I'm Not Going Anywhere" in 2021 that focuses solely on her time battling with breast cancer and being cancer free for over 17 years.

"The album has 11 tracks," Kelly told me when I asked about her "Jealous Green Eyes" album. "11 is my favorite number. It's uneven but it works for me!"

Her third album was title "11:11" and that was in 2011. The North American Country Music Hall of Famer also wrote a song on the soundtrack of the film The Deal starring Burt Reynolds. Lang also released an album of duet cover songs with her husband T. G. Sheppard titled "Iconic Duets." Some of the cover songs on that duet album include "You're Still the One," "Because You Loved Me," "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" and "Do That to Me One More Time" - to name a few - all of which are some of my favorite songs. Her last album was in 2023 titled "Dragonfly."

Kelly Lang's most popular single is "Under a Tennessee Moon." That song was officially named the state song for Tennessee in 2023. Governor Bill Lee and other lawmakers signed it as official state song on April 18th during a ceremony at the Tennessee State Capitol. Two months later Kelly went on to perform "Under a Tennessee Moon" at the Grand Ole Opry on June 27th.

"I wrote it as a gift for my mom years ago," Lang pointed out. "It's about the history of Tennessee. She asked, ‘Can you write me a song about Tennessee?' I'm thinking, ‘What do I say?' So, I decided to see Tennessee through her eyes. My mother was able to see it become the state song and watch me perform it at the Grand Ole Opry. She passed four months later."
 www.WaterlooRecords.com www.KellyLang.net

SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Dr. Eunice Moseley has an estimated weekly readership of over one million for her column The Pulse of Entertainment. She is the publisher of the digital magazine www.ThePulseofEntertainment.com, which has an estimated 160,000 visitors a month. An entrepreneur, Dr. Moseley’s company, Freelance Associates, is a business management/public relations strategic planning and consulting firm that is celebrating 32 years in 2025. Dr. Eunice also serves as professor for the School of Business at Stanton University in Anaheim, California and serves as promotions director (at-large)/journalist and business consultant for The Baltimore Times. Dr. Moseley founded the Uplifting Minds II Foundation (www.UpliftingMinds.com) in 2023, a 501 C3 with a mission to empower the underserved through three major programs – One Stop Business Shop, the ULMII Professional Conference and the ULMII Academy (business management and public relations). EVENTS: "Uplifting Minds II" Entertainment Conference (ULMII), was launched by Dr. Eunice in 1999, to educate aspiring artists/musicians about the business of entertainment – www.UpliftingMinds2.com. Next ULMII Entertainment Conferences for Baltimore on Saturday April 18, 2026, presented by Security Square Mall and The Baltimore Times, and for Los Angeles on Saturday, November 7, 2026, presented by The Pulse of Entertainment and the ULMII Foundation. The ULMII conferences are free with virtual access via Zoom. ULMII entertainment conference offers a Professional Panel Q&A Session, a Professional Talent Showcase and International Talent Competition where the top three scored acts receive the ULMII Best Act Award and over $20,000 valued in prizes/product/services and cash!