As 2018 wraps up, The Boot is looking back at some of the best new music and biggest headlines of the year. To determine the five biggest stories of each month, The Boot's staff looked at website traffic; the featured stories received the most visitors throughout the month in which they broke.

In September of 2018, Keith Urban joined the cast of The Voice, George Strait and his band suffered a terrible loss, and Carrie Underwood debuted a new song -- but not one from her Cry Pretty album.

Other big news that made headlines during the month? A country icon was mourning the death of a loved one, and a rising artist made a splash with a nostalgic new tune.

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