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Last night, The 43rd Annual CMA Awards certainly lived up to the motto "Country Music's Biggest Night." Taylor Swift captured the most wins - four in all. She became the youngest person ever to win the prestigious Entertainer of the Year, as well as the first solo female act in 10 years to win the honor, which was presented by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Swift also took the trophies for Female Vocalist, Album of the Year for Fearless and Music Video of the Year for "Love Story." Male Vocalist went to Brad Paisley for the third consecutive year, and he received a second award for Musical Event for his collaboration with Keith Urban on "Start A Band." Darius Rucker was voted New Artist. Lady Antebellum captured their first Vocal Group win and their hit "I Run To You" was voted Single of the Year. Sugarlandwas named Vocal Duo for the third year in a row. Songwriters Jamey Johnson, James Otto and Lee Thomas Miller were honored with Song of the Year for writing Johnson's hit "In Color." Musician of the Year was given to Mac McAnally.
Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova" with a group of scantily clad women which prompted her co-host Brad Paisley to quip, "You cannot believe the view that Little Jimmy Dickens got from backstage." Keith Urban sang his new single "'Til Summer Comes Around" and the Zac Brown Band brought the packed house to its feet with their rendition of Charlie Daniels' classic "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." Tim McGraw performed "Southern Voice" while photos of southern legends flashed in the background. Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles sang an emotional "Keep You" while Kristian Bush plucked an acoustic guitar accompanied by a complete string section. Brooks & Dunn performed their final farewell CMA performance - along with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top - singing "Honky Tonk Stomp." Kid Rock joined Jamey Johnson singing true blue country with a duet performance of Jamey's "Between Jennings and Jones." Taylor Swift opened the show with a performance of "Forever & Always" and then performed again her latest single "Fifteen" with a chorus of young teens surrounding her.
The surprise of the night went to Barbara Mandrell who was presented with a segment for entering the Country Music Hall of Fame this year. Martina McBride sang Mandrell's huge hit song "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" along with Hall of Famer George Strait. {Ed. Note: Be sure to check for audio from the CMA Awards Backstage and About Last Night for TV clips.}
Husband/wife duo Joey&Rory are offering their take on holiday traditions this November with their poignant single “It’s Christmas Time” and a unique children’s album from songwriter think-tank The Song Trust entitled Merry Kidsmas.
The couple is partnering with CMT One Country for both projects. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of “It’s Christmas Time” will be donated to the local affiliate of Feeding America, The Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, and a portion of the proceeds from Merry Kidsmas will benefit the USO through the end of 2009.
The Joey&Rory single “It’s Christmas Time” is a tune written during a stay at Joey’s family farmhouse in Indiana. It will be released digitally on November 24 and has been serviced to country radio for adds on November 16.
To hear "It's Christmas Time," "Box of Rocks" and "Bring Him Home Santa," visit http://www.frontpagepublicity.com/joeyrory/audio_holiday09.php
Recently, Shania Twain updated her fans via her blog at shaniatwain.com about her trip to New York City. While she was there, Shania checked out the 25th Anniversary Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame concerts at MadisonSquareGarden. One performance definitely affected her in a major way: Bonnie Raitt's rendition of "Love Has No Pride." Shania was "sobbing in the audience" during the song. She wrote, "This is a song from my early childhood and it ripped at my heart to hear her soulful voice cry it out so painfully. I am a HUGE fan of Bonnie and have spent many hours listening to her CDs over the years. She is one of my absolute fave's and so is that song." Twain also took in performances by Simon and Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and John Fogerty, Metallica and Mick Jagger.
Although she loves being an artist, Shania enjoyed her chance to be just a fan. She wrote, "The whole night I was on the 'other side' of the fence, so to speak, taking in the music and the backstage experience like a true fan would. It's nice to step outside of my 'artist' self and just enjoy and admire what everyone else is doing for a change." The event was inspiring for her, too. Twain adds, "Knowing so many of the people backstage from crew to performers, agents, security, etc., I felt at home, but nothing was expected of me other than to be myself, hang, catch-up with friends and have a laugh. Very good for the soul and super motivation to go home and keep writing music."
The “King of Country” is back! 17x CMA Entertainer of the Year nominee George Strait will kick off his arena tour early next year and this time, he’s bringing along one very special lady – Reba McEntire.
The superstar acts performed together for the first time in many years for a sold-out crowd at the Cowboy’s Stadium inaugural event in Dallas. Selling out in less than an hour, fans and critics proclaimed the show one hot ticket! The concert was hailed by the Dallas Morning News as “an extravaganza” that “showcased Strait at the pinnacle of his musical game” and Ft. Worth Star Telegram wrote “Reba McEntire’s performance was a breathtaking master’s class in effortless brilliance.”
“I can’t wait to get back out there and perform some of my new favorites from Twang along with hits the fans already love,” says Strait. “And with my friend Reba, we will make it a really spectacular night.”
Headliners Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town and Jack Ingram are among the 10 initial acts to be announced for the first-ever "Country Throwdown Tour," set to run from May 13 through June 20. Other artists confirmed for the first annual multi-stage country tour include Eric Church, the Eli Young Band, Lost Trailers and more.
Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry comments, "When Eddie [Montgomery] and I were approached about doing the 'Country Throwdown Tour' we immediately said yes. We loved the idea of it being like a big festival, a big party. I mean, that's what Montgomery Gentry is all about! We're keeping the ticket prices low because we know it's hard out there. Fans are going to get a lot of entertainment for their money. This tour is going to be a great experience for us, the other artists and especially the fans." For more information, visit countrythrowdown.com .
Lorrie Morgan salutes country music's past with her latest album, A Moment In Time. The project features Lorrie's take on "'Til I Get It Right" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and also pairs her with Tracy Lawrence on "After The Fire Is Gone" and Raul Malo on "Easy Lovin."
Recording such classics can be a daunting task, especially covering the likes of the legendary Patsy Cline, whose song "Leavin' On Your Mind" appears on the album. However, Lorrie shares that she was up for the challenge:
"Well, it is intimidating. Now, there are some songs I won't do, I will admit that, but this is not in any way to be compared to Patsy's version. This is just my appreciation of songs that made me fall in love with music when I was a young girl. This is one of those songs that just absolutely tore my heart out. There was an element of intimidation, singing some of these songs, but it was challenging and I love a challenge, but it's more in reverence to, not in competition with."
Tim McGraw uses his southern voice to rock a crowd of thousands!
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