Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines has started a defense fund for three Arkansas men that she (and many others) believe were wrongly convicted of killing three children in 1993. On the group's website, Maines encourages fans to watch the HBO documentaries, Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost 2 to get the whole history of the case that sent teenagers Damien Echols, Jesse Misskelley and Jason Baldwin to jail. While Misskelley and Baldwin received life without parole, Echols continues to sit on Death Row. Maines is directing her supporters to the website, wm3.org, where they can donate money to the West Memphis 3.
BURBANK, CA - In their quest to discover the next Johnny Cash and June Carter, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Big & Rich or The Judds, FremantleMedia North America, producers of "American Idol," and CMT will hold an open call audition on January 12, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee, to find contestants for their new music competition show CAN YOU DUET? Performers can also audition via video-taped submission. Slated for Spring 2008, the weekly series is designed to find the best country music duet in America.
Unlike other talent competition shows, each contestant will compete as part of a duo. As a result, viewers will witness first-hand all the on and off-stage drama to be had in creating a dynamic musical duet. In addition to critiquing each performance and deciding who will advance to the next round, the Judges (to be announced) will also serve as mentors to guide, groom and develop the duets along the way.
For more information, such as audition applications, video submissions, eligibility requirements and location for the open audition in Nashville, please go to www.canyouduet.com or call (866) 800-6539.
PLEASE NOTE: This competition is subject to applicable rules, which are subject to modification at any time in the producer's discretion.
CAN YOU DUET? is produced by FremantleMedia North America. Jeff Boggs ("Nashville Star," "Spy TV") is executive producer. Bob Kusbit and Melanie Moreau serve as executive producers for CMT.
*Nationwide Search Allows Performers To Also Audition By Video-Tape Submission
FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. production division of global media giant FremantleMedia. Based in Burbank, California, FMNA produces entertaining and innovative television programs for network, cable and syndicated platforms, including the Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon "American Idol" (FOX), "The Next Great American Band" (FOX), "America's Got Talent" (NBC), "American Inventor" (ABC), "Thank God You're Here" (NBC), "The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency" (Oxygen), "Property Ladder" (TLC), "Family Feud" (syndicated), "Temptation" (syndicated), "Million Dollar Password" (CBS), and the longest-running game show in television history, "The Price Is Right" (CBS).
FremantleMedia is one of the largest international creators and producers of entertainment brands in the world with leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming in over 40 countries worldwide. FremantleMedia is a subsidiary of RTL Group, Europe's largest television and radio broadcast company, which is 90% owned by Bertelsmann AG, an integrated media and entertainment company that commands leading positions in the world's media markets. For further information, visit www.fremantlemedia.com.
CMT has a rich history of finding and creating dynamic musical pairings with such series as CROSSROADS, which joins country music stars with artists from other genres. Upcoming CMT CROSSROADS combinations include Joss Stone & LeAnn Rimes and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.
CMT, a unit of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and Heartland entertainment, reaching more than 87 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network's digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.
Taylor Swift will be one of the performers for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2008. Taylor will join several big acts in Hollywood to bring in the New Year including Fergie, Natasha Bedingfield, Sean Kingston, OneRepublic, Plain White T's and will.i am. The 36th Annual Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve will be broadcast on December 31 on ABC. The special event will be hosted in New York by Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest starting at 10 PM, ET and will include three-and-a-half hours of special performances and reports on New Year's celebrations from around the globe.
[via ArtistoMedia]
Sugarland is spicing up Christmas for their fans this year as they release five holiday songs for an exclusive Wal-Mart edition of their Enjoy The Ride album, with one original co-written by Kristian Bush. Kristian used to record Christmas songs and give them as gifts, but now he does it for himself and has fun with it.
He explains, "Historically, I have given my family, when I was at the height of my poverty as a musician, I would give them recordings of myself and my friends, whoever I could talk into recording Christmas songs. As it became more and more affordable to give them a CD, it became the gift that a lot of my friends would look forward to every year...it helps me get in the spirit in that last two or three weeks. We had a really good time." The original he contributed is called "Little Wood Guitar."
[ArtistoMedia]
Reba McEntire and her buddy Kelly Clarkson recently announced that they will be touring together and it sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun for the "girlfriends." Reba shares that she and Kelly have been good friends for some time now: "Kelly Clarkson and I have become great friends and I am so thrilled that not only are we friends and buddies, but we get to sing together and visa versa. We've gotten to go on trips together. Matter of fact, she and I and my niece, Calamity McEntire, and two of her buddies and Narvel - we all went over to Yosemite National Park, and that's the first time I'd ever gotten to go over there since we've been in L.A. doing the television show. And so I called Kelly and I said, 'You wanna go on a road trip?' and she said, 'Right on, I'm there with ya.'" Kelly will be with Reba on the "The 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour" through February. [ArtistoMedia]
Gary Allan tells The Tennessean this week that his new tour with Keith Urban is the best he's had to date. He says of Keith, "He is a class act. We've gotten along so well. It's the best tour I've been on, just as far as how I've been treated. There are no insecurities - 'Hey, don't use this stuff of mine.' He is letting us do whatever we want." Gary also admits that his low profile in the world of famous people, red carpets, magazine interviews and glitz is no accident. He explains, "That is me not liking to do interviews. I think everything in this industry works against you as an artist. I am introverted and in a business that forces me to be extroverted. I've avoided a lot of stuff. My management would disagree with me, but I think it gives more mystique to you. If people don't have complete access to you, they have to wonder more. You can be overexposed."