George Strait Becomes Winningest Act In CMA Awards History
- George Strait‘s two wins last night pushed him up to 22 all-time awards and made him the winningest act in CMA Awards history.
- John Rich is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Jerry Montano, the rocker who’s nose was smashed by Rich four weeks ago. The suit alleges that Rich intentionally hit Montano after realizing that one of his female friends “was only interested in talking to him and nothing else.”
- Universal Music Group is projecting that Taylor Swift‘s new album Fearless could move upwards of 600,000 copies during its first week, easily ranking as the best sales week for a country album this year. It’ll also be enough to put her at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
- Of the 1,000-plus songs on Taylor Swift‘s iPod, USA Today reveals the tracks she listens to the most.
- A couple of wees ago C. Eric Banister talked to author Loyal Jones about his new book Country Music Humorists and Comedians, and today he published his review.
In those 40-some pages he covers the history of comedy in country music and its importance to the development of country in growing a connection between artist and audience. This brief introduction packs in so much information and history that it alone would be worth picking up the book to have.
- Rolling Stone published a list ranking the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time,” with a short profile and playlist included for each artist. Blake Boldt conveniently pulled out the list and rankings of country artists and asks, “Who else deserved to make the roll call? And are six entries enough to represent country music?”
- Kellie Pickler pictures.
- Dierks Bentley played his new album for about 100 people at a bonfire party last at his hilltop property near Nashville and Craig Shelburne says it’s almost all uptempo and a little frisky.
In one song, he says that even though his lover is wide awake, he wants to make her close her eyes. Yowza! I get the feeling he was in an extremely good mood when he recorded it.
- Thanks to KathyP for the nice words and nomination in the 2008 Weblog Awards.
- Lonsome Day Records signed the Boston-based Americana band Girls Guns and Glory (MySpace) and will redistribute their current self-released album early next year.
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22 Comments
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November 13, 2008 at 11:39 am
Who was that guy last night who commented that he was stuck at work with no TV and wanted Kellie pics? Yeah, I bet he’s smilin’ now….
November 13, 2008 at 11:58 am
I don’t know if came up for anyone else, but the first on the list of Related ad links under Taylor Swifts iPod read: Top 3 Colon Detox Cleanses Reviewed. I’m just saying…
November 13, 2008 at 12:11 pm
They’ve got to stop with these iPod stories… Sugarland’s was terrible and Swift’s is even worse. It makes country fans even more weary.
Wow, thanks for those Pickler pictures… she was smoking last night. How about some Shania ones?
Not sure if I like to hear that every one of Dierks’ tracks on his new album is uptempo. He’s one of my favorite artists, so I’m sure I’ll like it either way, but tracks like “Long Trip Alone” and “Gonna Get There Someday” were just great, so I hope he goes back to that well.
And congrats G. Strait, well deserved.
November 13, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Oh, I’m smilin’. One of those is going on the wall next to Katie Cook from the Nashville Star finale.
November 13, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I like Dierks better when he’s doing slower songs, hopefully the album turns out okay.
November 13, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Ya’ll just featured a fine author (Loyal Jones) who I worked with on a few things while in college. :) Thank ya! He has some other interesting books and he really pushes traditional Appalachian & old time music.
Is it me or does Kellie sorta look like Lorrie Morgan when you see the thumbnails…the long blonde hair??
I can’t wait to get Dierk’s new album.
November 13, 2008 at 12:41 pm
When I saw Kellie Picler in that outfit I was waiting for someone to bring out a pole she could do her dance routine on….. Seriously, I just don’t know how far the “sex kitten” marketing angle will get a female artist these days in a marketplace dominated by female listeners. I think Kellie really should have sung “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” based upon her dress.
Will Taylor Swift’s vocal meltdown on the CMA Awards Show affect her album sales? Absolutely not because most of her pre-teen and teen girl fans see Taylor as a hero / role model and want to be her BFF! Taylor has sure tapped into the right demographic for music sales these days.
The way my computer is set up I can’t see Taylor’s iPod list. Are there even any country artists listed among her favorites?
“Girls, Guns, & Glory” sounds like it should be the title of a Miranda Lambert song. At least we know which mainstream artist’s fan base they’re after.
November 13, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Kellie does kinda look like Lorrie Morgan in the thumbnails. And I was totally stoked to see Lorrie Morgan in the audience last night …
So, now George Strait has more CMAs than anybody, more #1s, more platinum albums … Does he have 11 toes too?
November 13, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Yes, and they’re webbed.
November 13, 2008 at 12:56 pm
James Taylor did George’s writeup for Rolling Stone’s Top 100, and I think he said it exactly right:
George Jones doesn’t sound like he was influenced by any other singer: He sounds like a steel guitar.
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972/page/43
November 13, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Interesting that under her most-played is George Strait’s “The Best Day”, when Jim mentioned she had a very similarly themed song to that on her latest release…
November 13, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Rolling Stone always snubs country music in their lists of greatest things.
November 13, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Damn…I must admit, I’m really impressed with the diverse range of TS’s iPod selection. Stuff I never heard of and had long since forgotten.
November 13, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Oh yeah…CONGRATS to the one and only Strait guy. :D He sure knows how to continue hits after hits even though his stuff sounds pretty much the same since he started…
November 13, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Taylor’s Ipod makes Dale Watson cry
November 13, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I finally got to look at Taylor’s iPod artist list and would say artists classified as “country” comprise maybe 5% of the total. I can’t say I’m surprised at all based upon Taylor’s pop music orientation. Taylor does score bonus points though for including songs from Rebecca Lynn Howard, Sunny Sweeney, and Susan Haynes! Small beams of pure country light piercing the pop music darkness of her iPod databank.
The Rolling Stone list of country artists is spot on in the artists its included. I do think Loretta Lynn deserves a spot on the list as the most “country” female voice to ever become a big star and based upon her songwriting abilities.
November 13, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Shipping out 600,000 copies do not necessary means that it sells 600,000 copies… who knows? Nevertheless why do they wanna review someone’s ipod?
November 13, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Gerald,
the 600k “moved” would actually be units sold.
November 13, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Matt,
the 600k “moved” means that 600k was shipped to retail store, but not necessarily selling them in that same week. Nevertheless 600k “moved” is very impressive…. The country albums that “moved” that high of a figure that I can think of is Up! and Carnival Ride, 874,000 and 527,000 respectively
November 13, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Nope. You’re wrong. This album shipped over a million units. The sales will be over 600K. The label project actual sales to be about 550K.
November 14, 2008 at 2:47 am
If it ships a million units, it has a bigger opening than previous Shania Twains and virtually every other album that has its debut this year, with the exception maybe Lil Wayne. I don’t think she is on that stage yet. I feel some exaggerations.
November 14, 2008 at 9:19 am
Gerald,
It is simple supply and demand. In order to sell what she’s selling one has to have a huge amount of albums in a store. Stores want this album to be available for their customers so they order more than they’ll sell at first. Shania shipped way more than a million units as did Lil’ Wayne. You are right about most ‘every other album’ not shipping nearly what “Fearless” shipped. But there’s a reason for that: Not as many CDs are being sold but I guarantee you that Wal-Mart had well over a million units of the new AC/DC CD at their store as did stores for the new Metallica album.