Carrie Underwood Gets Waxed
- Carrie Underwood unveiled her wax figure at Madame Tussauds New York yesterday. (View pictures on PopCrunch)
- In his review of Call Me Crazy, Michael McCall draws parallels between Lee Ann Womack‘s “Last Call” and George Jones‘ “I Always Get Lucky With You,” saying that Womack’s song could be a reply to Jones’. And with Patty Loveless no long recording on a major label, he claims that Womack represents the most tradition-friendly female artist still likely to get played on corporate country radio, and that the dilemma that causes has surfaced repeatedly through her career.
- Cindy Watts has a short Q&A with Stephony Smith, the songwriter behind Trisha Yearwood’s “Perfect Love,” “Sin Wagon” by the Dixie Chicks, Chad Brock’s “Yes!,” “Big Star” by Kenny Chesney and the Tim McGraw/Faith Hill smash “It’s Your Love.”
- Otis R. Taylor Jr. lists 10 reasons Taylor Swift will be around for a long time to come. (via ggcolumn)
- After learning of Luke Bryan‘s recent endorsement deal with Luchesse boots, NashvilleGab went digging for more info and uncovered an article that lists several artists’ favorite boots and their price tag. Josh Turner and Joe Don Rooney are tied for most economical with different Ariat boots coming in at about $170. Willie Nelson takes the pot for most expensive at $4,000 for custom crocodile Luchesses and Dwight Yoakam falls to number two with his $1,895 Rocketbuster Western Gals.
- Listen to The Waco Brothers‘ melding of punk and honky-tonk in a session with World Cafe‘s David Dye.
- On Nov. 1, GAC will air a special titled Introducing Jamey Johnson, which will give “viewers an intimate look at the struggles and eventual triumph of an artist who refused to let go of his dreams, who found great success as a songwriter, and who is now climbing the charts as an artist himself with ‘In Color.’”
- Vanderbilt’s women basketball players Christina Wirth and Jennifer Risper let it slip that they’re taking a course on country music this semester.
- Tonight marks the debut of The Bio Channel’s two-hour documentary special entitled Johnny Cash’s America, and leading up to that airing, Country Universe’s Dan Milliken published a fantastic interview with filmmaker Morgan Neville. Good stuff.
- John Michael Montgomery and his brother Eddie Montgomery, from the duo Montgomery Gentry, both made stops in the Oklahoma City area recently and BAM’s Blog had the chance to ask them questions about each other. (via ggcolumn)
- Lee Ann Womack wants to be one of those singers that you believe when you hear her sing. In her interview with Craig Shelburne, she says that’s something that is important to her.
When she graciously accepts a compliment about her studio rendition of Don Williams’ “Lord I Hope This Day Is Good,” from a few albums back, she says, “I’ve done ‘Til the Rivers All Run Dry’ and ‘If I Needed You,’ too. They just haven’t come out. … They’re on my computer. I’ve got all kinds of stuff I’ve cut on my computer, with just guitar and vocals, that I just want to have down. I don’t know what I’ll do with them.”
Who else thinks we need a Lee Ann Womack Personal Files album?
- Country California: If you could take one CD to a desert island and leave it there to be forgotten by all humanity, which CD would you choose?
- Los Angeles Times‘ Lisa Guerro doesn’t normally listen to country music, but she recounts her journey to cover the Campbell Chevrolet Celebrity Golf Classic hosted by John Daly and Steve Azar where she drank moonshine, caught a show at the Grand Ole Opry and wrote a song about an aging pitcher who still wants to play.
- In his latest article, songwriter Craig Bickhardt uses Ansel Adams and the proliferation of digital photography as a metaphor for the deterioration of “craft” and “skill” in modern songwriting.
In fact it seems that a song is now just the vehicle that gets you to the cutting, pasting and undoing part. It’s all about how soon you can get in there and piece it all together into the sonic collage, better known as the modern song. Then you can either go home and learn the song off the record that you’ve made, or else you just perform to backing tracks. And the best part : almost anyone can do it. All those boring years of study, all those highly educational creative disasters that can’t be “undone”, the lessons that teach you to do the work before you spend the money, the “skill” and the “craft” that goes into the art of song; unnecessary.
- Crystal Shawanda‘s “My Roots Are Showing” is the iTunes Discovery Download of the week.
- It’s been announced that Jessica Andrews will be the first artists to join Disney’s Carolwood imprint, and her debut for the label will be produced by Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus. (via Country Aircheck Morning Bulletin)
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Carrie Underwood // Crystal Shawanda // Dwight Yoakam // Eddie Montgomery // Faith Hill // George Jones // Grand Ole Opry // Jamey Johnson // Joe Don Rooney // John Michael Montgomery // Johnny Cash // Josh Turner // Kenny Chesney // Lee Ann Womack // Luke Bryan // Montgomery Gentry // Patty Loveless // Steve Azar // Taylor Swift // Tim McGraw // Trisha Yearwood // Willie Nelson
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November 1, 2008
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October 23, 2008 at 11:30 am
I am glad to hear that Jessica Andrews will be putting out a new album, but not sure about having Jay DeMarcus as producer….Jessica has always been one of my favorites and her music has never left my ipod.
October 23, 2008 at 11:31 am
i caught the waco bros in Austin at sxsw a while back and was really impressed with their energy. good stuff from some pioneering “bloodshot era” alt-country guys….
October 23, 2008 at 11:35 am
Lanibug,
Jay DeMarcus is the producer on a couple of James Otto’s songs (“For You” was one of ‘em) and I generally have a favorable opinion of him. He’s a fine choice as a producer. I wonder if the label will try and release a duet between Jessica and Marcel down the line as they’re both Lyric Street/Carolwood artists and are a couple.
October 23, 2008 at 11:38 am
I’m glad for Jessica Andrews that she has a new label… unfortunately that kinda ruins an honest cover I designed…
Nifty headline.
October 23, 2008 at 11:47 am
In that list of reasons why Taylor Swift will be around awhile none of them even hint that she writes or performs good music, which I guess has become kind of irrelevant these days. Taylor’s new album will feature a duet with Colbie Caillat, Taylor and her band listen to Def Lepperd before her concerts, and she will be singing in the Jonas Brothers movie. Sounds like an “classic airhead country” icon to me……
Speaking of Taylor Swift, her new “behind the scenes” video uses Katy Perry’s “Hot and Cold” as the soundtrack. Now that’s what I call country! The video is very entertaining although I think Taylor’s cat steals the show:
Link: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=44903685
I have a question for Stephony Smith: Why did your paarents spell your first name to include the word “phony”? Did they have ESP and forsee the future direction of mainstream country music? Hmmmm……
October 23, 2008 at 12:01 pm
That wax doll was seriously disturbing.
October 23, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Yeah, that wax doll kinda disturbed me too, Rainbow. I had to scroll down to the rest of the pictures to be sure which one was the real Underwood.
On an side note, does anybody know if the wax museum with all the country music stars in Nashville is still open? I have pictures from a visit when I was about 10 or so that include Hank Williams Jr, George Jones, Conway Twitty, etc.
I heard the car museum with Dolly’s blue cadillac and one of Elvis’ cars (among dozens of others) was closed …
October 23, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I liked the Swift video, it was entertaining, and I guess her cat really is grumpy all the time… Of course, I love “Hot N Cold” but I hate Katy Perry with a passion, except that song, if that makes any sense.
I couldn’t tell which Carrie was real until I saw that one always had the same expression. CMT has a full body shot of both Carrie’s FYI.
I also enjoyed the Womack article.
October 23, 2008 at 12:45 pm
“Willie Nelson takes the pot for most expensive at $4,000 for custom crocodile Luchesses…”
Just couldn’t write a sentence about Willie Nelson and not use the word “pot,” eh?
October 23, 2008 at 1:57 pm
OK – so if Jay produced some of Jamey Johnson’s album, I am not so scared, as it is one of my current favorites — as least is is not John Rich — just so long as they do not take forever getting the album out –
October 23, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Eh, I feel like I’ve seen better wax statues. They didn’t really nail Carrie’s face, in my opinion.
Thanks so much for the shout-out, Brody!
October 23, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Lanibug,
Jay worked on James Otto’s not Jamey Johnson’s CD. Still, Jay’s cuts are pretty good and you can guarantee there won’t be ‘bombastic crunchy guitars production on it.
October 23, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Yeah, talk about a slap in the face… great news on a new Jessica Andrews CD…. *SLAP* RF style influence. oof.
October 23, 2008 at 4:35 pm
“Apparently, female country stars no longer sport sequins, cleavage, blue eye shadow or big hair, which was disappointing, but the dudes mostly still wear cowboy hats, which is good to know. I have no idea why, but it comforts me.”
Do they not have CMT in LA? How 1987 of Ms. Guero…
October 23, 2008 at 5:29 pm
OK – I was tying at work so sue me — either way I like them both
October 23, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Carrie looks so cute! Wow! That wax figure is impressive– that is the dress Carrie wore at the CMAs 2 years ago to perform Before he cheats. It is hard to tell the real from the fake– incredible!
I am so happy for CArrie! Great honor to be asked.
October 23, 2008 at 6:11 pm
That is good news for Jessica Andrews as anytime Disney gets behind something you know it will at least get put out with some exposure.
The Carrie Underwood wax figure is crazy because it looks pretty much like her, a little off but still good work. I see some of those things who don’t even look like the people their trying to resemble.
October 23, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Peter, the Time Warner cable TV system in Southern California carries both CMT and GAC as part of a premium programming package but I doubt if Lisa Guerro has ever watched them. Remember this is a reporter who “doesn’t normally listen to country music”.
I know how to tell the real Carrie Underwood from the wax figure! Interview them both and the most interesting answers will probably come from the wax figure! (Sorry, I just couldn’t pass that up.)
October 23, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Per the latest R&R real time tracker it looks like Carrie has another number one single and Taylor’s right on her heals:
Country
No.1 Carrie Underwood Just A Dream
+15588 Taylor Swift Love Story
October 24, 2008 at 12:17 am
Rick,
Carrie has her own special blend of cool.
October 24, 2008 at 1:41 am
Rick you know there is another way to tell the difference, the wax figure injects more energy into it’s concerts than Carrie does.
October 24, 2008 at 3:06 am
Todd, have you been to a Carrie concert in the past year? I went a week ago to the one in Boston, it was fantastic. Extremely well reviewed from the Boston Globe.
Oh, wait. Though Carrie actually attempts to hit notes in her concerts unlike other artists who do insert energy by jumping around, flipping hair a lot, and pretending to be hardcore.
October 24, 2008 at 8:07 am
@ JR — it’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to it but there were some of the wax figures in a small museum in the ‘shopping area’ where the ET theater, and the Crystal Palace and all that stuff are. If I remember hearing right quite a few years ago they were all stored somewhere after the original museum closed and some of them were damaged (melted) but some were rescued and put in this new display.
March 16, 2009 at 4:53 pm
ongrads to taylor keep it up!!!!!!!! keith urban to!
March 16, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Taylor only had a few more album sales than the Jb. Taylors album came out in Dec. and Jb\’s came out in August. The Jb\’s 4th album will beat hers anyways.