Quick Update...

Just dropping in to let y'all know we have official confirmation now. Carrie Underwood's new CD will be released on November 3rd. They issues a press release earlier to break the news. Still no album title though. As more information comes out, I'll let you know.

This is sure a busy time, huh? Carrie, Brad, Miranda and SheDaisy are all releasing new music this year. Can't wait to hear it all. Who are you all most looking forward to? Comment and let me know!

Miranda News....

Hey everyone!! Just saw that Miranda's been working on her video for "Dead Flowers". I guess that means we'll be seeing the video in the new few weeks, depending on what effects are added.

So what do you all think of the song anyway? I personally enjoyed it, but just not as much as her others. Still, i enjoy it and I'm looking forwar dto the release her her new album Revolution. For anyone who hasn't heard the song yet, here is a performance that was posted online:

The Best and the Worst: 2008

Good Afternoon, everyone!! I’m here to start the new year off right with a look at my personal highlight and lowlights of ‘08. Feel free to share yours, too!

As I mentioned before, I loved Miranda Lambert’s increased success this year. It’s been a long time coming.

LeAnn Rimes releasing ‟What I Cannot Change‟ as a single.

Brad Paisley and Keith Urban teaming up for ‟Start a Band‟.

LeAnn Womack’s single ‟Last Call‟.

Jessica Andrews getting signed to a new label and putting out a single to country radio again.

Brad Paisley getting a taste of his own medicine when Jewel played a trick on him.

Tim McGraw letting Curb and his fans know he is not happy with the latest Greatest Hits release.

Carrie Underwood being invited to the grand Ole Opry.

Getting the chance to chat with Can You Duet? contestants and new Big Machine recording artists Kate and Kacey Coppola via MySpace.

Dolly’s ‟Jesus and Gravity‟.

Discovering the talent that is Minnie Murphy.

Sugarland’s ‟Love on the Inside‟ CD

Lowlights:

Nashville Star and the fact it had very little to do with Country this year.

A former member suing Sugarland, claiming she’s owed money from the continued success.

The passing of Eddie Arnold.

Gone Country. Hmm... John Rich isn’t doing too well this year, is he?

Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus performing on the CMT awards.

The continued delays of CDs by Jo Dee Messina, Danielle Peck and others this year. (At least Danielle finally got a digital release...)

The end of the Wreckers.

Mindy McCreedy’s continued troubles.

Jessica Simpson crossing over to Country.

And so it ends....

Well, Nashville Star has ended, and I'm a little surprised by the outcome. I was personally thinking Shawn would be the surprise winner and Gabe would be the runner-up. When Shawn was eliminated, I figured it was going to be Gabe, considering John Rich has been pimping him so hard. But neither one was to walk away with the crown last night. Instead, Melissa Lawson became the new Nashville Star and I was left scratching my head in confusion.

I have nothing against Melissa, but her voice wasn't any better in my mind than most of the others (I'm still mourning Pearl Heart) and she's the one who's the least "marketable". So, how does she end up being the one who is supposed to become a new country star? If the powers that be would not put the effort into talents like Angela Hacker, Chris Young and Buddy Jewell, what hope does Melissa have? Not even the tiny little blonde Ericka Jo got much push and the entertainment industry in general seems to love that type.

No matter what happenes with Melissa, I do believe she'll find some kind of niche for herself somewhere. I don't think she end up a country susperstar, though. I do think that Shawn, Gabe or Pearl Heart will end up being the ones to have something come out of this show. Even if it's small-time success. Melissa, however, is in for an uphill battle for several reasons. One, she's not the usual "type" in this business and I wonder how invested a label will actually be. Two, I can't stand that song they chose for the winner.... one generic song about taking chances and changing your life given to all three, the winner releases it. If they were smart, they would have had the four finalists working with a songwriter to come up with a song that doesn't have "reality show coronation tune" written all over it to really show the person's talents off. Three, I point you once more to the Nashville Star track record. Not very impressive, save for Miranda Lambert.

Good luck Melissa and all the other contestants. Now is the time to do everything you can to establish your own credibility as artists and show people you really are deserving of the position you've been put in. Credibility, and a little luck, will be the thing that takes you somewhere from this point on. Not the "Nashville Star" title.

In better, and somewhat related, news.... Carrie Underwood's new video has been added to the CMT website. You can see it here. I haven't been able to see much of it yet, but what I have seen is pretty good! It's the first Carrie video to feature dialog and allow Carrie to show off her acting. So what do you all think? Did the right person win Nashville Star? Is Carrie's new video a hit or a miss? Comment and let me know! Take care, everyone... see ya next time!

Nashvile Star's Almost Done....

and I actually sort of enjoy some of it last night. With only one more week to go, things went pretty much the way I expected them to... with Coffey getting the boot. Again... nothing personal, but it always felt like he was trying way too hard to fit the "country" mold while never looking comfortable in the part. And here's a tip for you when you sign up for round two of Idol or whatever other talent show debuts over the next couple years: lose the excessive vibrato. It's annoying on the Rascal Flatts singer and it's annoying on you, too.

As for the others... I was so-so on Shawn through most of the competition and now I like her. Getting rid of John Rich was the best move she could've ever made, cause she's really coming into her own under Jeffrey's mentoring.

Melissa surprised me with her rendition of "Jesus, Take the Wheel". She seemed to make it her own and knew to change it up a bit instead of trying to do a straight copy of Carrie's version. A very wise move, indeed.

As for Gabe, I like him and think he has a pleasant voice. I just don't like John Rich's over-the-top praise every week and how he's constantly going on about the fact "country needs you". I kinda feel like John's just trying to find a replacement for Juilo, Jr. after he failed to take over the country world after winning Gone Country. If Gabe wins, I'll be fine with it. I just think he (and the rest) need a little bit of time to develop more before jumping out there.

Good luck to whoever wins this... there's not much time left before the Olympics and I can't imagine being thrust into such a major event so quickly. Let's hope whoever it is can pull it together and make it through the performance unscatched... and that their label will actually invest anything in them. Past winners haven't seemed to have much luck.

Nashville Star and "Love on the Inside"

Hey, country Music fans... how are y'all doing today? I'm doing well... especially after hearing Sugarland's new CD. A lot of the CD is just fun and makes you smile when you hear it. One of those feel good songs is "Steve Earl". It's a very country/almost bluegrassy song where Jennifer asks the man to write a song for her. The best part comes near the end where she launches into a crazy-fan type rant about their wedding and the kids needing to go to college. Trust me... you'll get a kick out of this one!

One of the stand out songs (besides the "Life in a Northern Town" cover) is "Very Last Country Song." It has Jennifer taking on the role of an older woman using her birthday as an excuse to go through old photos and reflect on her life. She muses about how there would be no more country songs if life was perfect and nothing ever went wrong.

Other stand out songs are "Joey", "Genevieve", "Fall into Me", "Wishing" and "Come On Get Higher". I had heard some talk before I got the disc that it was going to have simpler production along the lines of "Stay". They were right. I think the less is more approach really help the lyrics and Jennifer's voice to stand out and that's alright with me.

In other not-so-good news, it's time for my weekly thoughts on Nashville Star. First, let me say I am completely shocked Ashley was voted off. She seemed to be a favorite and usually got lots of praise thrown her way. I'm not even going to get started on Coffey and his song, titled "Inserting Sterotypes to Prove Myself". One I did like was Shawn... I thought her original song was good and internet posters are right: she made a great move when she dropped John Rich. Jeffery Steele has helped her quite a bit. While we're speaking of him... what a voice! I loved watching him perform those songs. He (and most of the contestants) wiped the floor with Jewel. I pretty much ignored John's part of the show. Everything else? Well.. I don't have much at all to say. Suffice it to say, I'm not sure this show should get renewed in it's current form.

Well, that's about all for now. If you heard the new Sugarland CD or you are a Nashville Star viewer, share your thoughts with me... I'd love to hear em! Same goes for anyone else. Take care and see ya next time!

How Cool is This?

If you're like me, you love getting to go behind the scenes and see what's goes into producing an album. Well, Lee Ann Womack is giving you the chance to do just that through her new website. According to the welcome page, a woman named Alison will be doing most of the posting. However, LeAnn herself will be providing content as well as other people involved with the new CD.

Good for her for doing this. Not only is it a genious way to get herself back out there after being out of the spotlight for a bit, it's a great way to really connect with the fans and help them gain a greater appreciation for the music. This is definitely more interesting, in my opinion, then yet another reality show that's more about the person's personal life than anything else.

Speaking of Reality.... Nashville Star needs a huge dose of it. I still can't understand Laura and Sophie and Coffey still being there when Pearl Heart isn't. At least they took care of part of that problem last night. Good luck, ladies. Honestly.... eliminating those two was one of the best moves they could've made. I liked them at first and have noticed they've been slipping quite a bit lately. Add in the personal tensions the judges hinted at and I think there was no other way to go. If they're already having issues after only a few short weeks, they are not ready emotionally to withstand being artists. The judges just may have saved their friendship.

Still.... John Rich can shut his trap. His attack on the girls was uncalled for, in my opinion. Not only that.... don't sit there and whine now about how NBC picked the people when you played along this long. If that's true, then you totally faked your "tough" choice in picking the final 12 during the premiere and have lost all right to complain. Go back to trying to turn pop stars into country acts on CMT and leave what was once my favorite music show alone.

It wasn't all bad, though. I did enjoy a few of the performances. Gabe and Melissa sounded great, Coffey was less annoying, Shawn did a decent Carrie cover and I do like Ashlee, even though her performance wasn't all that great this week. By the way... I didn't even realize this until it was pointed out on another board, but did you know Coffey was on the second season of American Idol? I have recently gotten into watching American Idol Rewind when people I like are on it. In season 2, that was Kim Locke and Coffey was part of the auditions process, although he didn't make it too far. If anyone has seen it, he's the guy whose wife was having a baby while he was auditioning. No wonder I keep wanting to ship him off to that show...

Well, that's it for now. See y'all next time with more news and reviews! Take care.

Hello, again!!

I'm back with some more news! I swear I am going to be posting more regularly soon, so bear with me as I feel my way through this new setup and all. Anyway... I guess you may have noticed I haven't posted about Nashville Star this week. I ended up missing the episode and well, frankly... I didn't care to see the repeat after I foun out Pearl Heart was cut. They're one of my favorites on that show and I just don't get them getting the boot over Coffey. Don't get me wrong- I do think the guy has some talent and he seems fairly cool and all but, he's just not a country act. And I still can't get past that horrible "Unbrella" performance when he yelled out random stuff between lines over and over. He claimed when criticized for it that it was to pull in the older audience who might not know the song. Um, Coffey? A little advice for you- the older audience most likely will not care about such gimmicks and just want to see someone do a good performance. Anyway... I guess it's back to checking out the episodes this week, as I do still like a couple of the acts.

Speaking of talent competitions, guess who's been signed? The Coppolas from Can You Duet? They'll be releasing their debut single "You're Not My Judge" on Big Machine records later this summer. Good for them! Hopefully, they and the winners of that show will find some success in the Country world. The people on that show are way ahead of some of the other show's contestants. Check out this video of the song, courtesy of the girls own YouTube account.



By the way... y'al also might be interested to know that they wrote the song "House With No Doors" on the new George Strait CD. Check it out. Well, that's it for now. Take care and I'll see you guys soon! Be sure to comment if you want with your thoughts about Nashville Star, The Coppolas new song and anything else Country!