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Kristy Lee Cook Hooks Up With Arista Nashville; Single Due In August
American Idol’s Kristy Lee Cook scored a record deal with 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville. Her first single, “15 Minutes of Shame,” will hit radio on August 11 and her full album is due out sometime this fall. Last month, in his article proclaiming country music as American Idol’s uncomfortable bedfellow, Matt predicted that she’d be signed […]
Continue reading "Kristy Lee Cook Hooks Up With Arista Nashville; Single Due In August"
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Will Lady Antebellum’s Rise Put A Damper On Caitlin & Will’s Success?
John Maglite claims the deck is already stacked against Caitlin & Will, the winners of CMT’s Can You Duet, due to the meteoric rise of Lady Antebellum.
In any case, for Caitlin & Will, what should matter most about Lady Antebellum is that they recently released their second single. “Lookin’ for a Good Time” is different […]Continue reading "Will Lady Antebellum’s Rise Put A Damper On Caitlin & Will’s Success?"
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Escalating Gas Prices Put Halt To Concert-Goers
Galleywinter forum members discuss the effect that the escalating gas prices have had on the number of concerts that they’re able to attend. Most are saying that road trips to see favorite artists are almost out of the question.
Check out the fancy new Roughstock website. They’re currently featuring an exclusive interview with Ashton Shepherd.
If you […]Continue reading "Escalating Gas Prices Put Halt To Concert-Goers"
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Top 12 Nashville Star Contestants Revealed
NBC revealed the top 12 acts vying to become the next Nashville Star, and it seems they all have somewhat of a sob story overcome many adversities to get where they are. (via ggcolumn)
In an open letter to her fans, Shania Twain expressed her gratitude for their words of encouragement during her rough time.
I have […]Continue reading "Top 12 Nashville Star Contestants Revealed"
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Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney & Tiffany Fallon Have a Son
Tiffany Fallon, wife of Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney, gave birth to Jagger Donovan Rooney on Saturday.
A humbled Chris Cagle released a statement addressing his recent arrest:
I do want it to be known, however, that this argument was not elevated nor induced because of my being intoxicated. I’ve worked too hard and come this […]Continue reading "Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney & Tiffany Fallon Have a Son"
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Jessica Simpson Is The Highest Charting Debut Solo Artist
Jessica Simpson made history by becoming the highest charting debut solo artist in the history of Billboard’s country singles chart for her song “Come On Over.”
John Bohannon says John Hiatt’s formula becomes closer to perfect with each album and Same Old Man follows in that lineage.
His ability to relate to an audience through repetition and […]Continue reading "Jessica Simpson Is The Highest Charting Debut Solo Artist"
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Ashton Shepherd - “Sounds So Good”
Songwriter: Ashton Shepherd
“Sounds So Good,” Ashton Shepherd’s second single and the title track of her debut album, is best compared to the Randy Travis standard, “Deeper than the Holler.” Both songs address the dominant radio theme of the day – undying love in Travis’s classic and country living in Shepherd’s single – in […] -
Country Music Hall of Famer Eddy Arnold Passed Away This Morning
Country Music Hall of Famer Eddy Arnold passed away early this morning at age 89.
Before Garth Brooks came along, Arnold was easily country music’s biggest record-seller. Sales of his discs from the mid-1940s to the present, in every recorded medium from 78s to CDs, have topped 80 million. Along the way, Arnold became a key […]Continue reading "Country Music Hall of Famer Eddy Arnold Passed Away This Morning"
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American Idol Infuriates John Rich
In an effort to pump up awareness for Nashville Star John Rich attacked American Idol, saying the show infuriates him as an artist.
“You can tell when somebody’s comment was scripted. You can tell when they told an artist, ‘Wear this, and sing that, and do that.’ That’s not the way it’s going to work on […] -
March ‘08 Album Review Wrap-Up
Carlene Carter - Stronger
Born the daughter of June Carter and Carl Smith and step-daughter to Johnny Cash made Carlene Carter an heir to a rich line of country music nobility, but that doesn’t mean you’ll finder her latest album dripping with steel guitars, fiddles, and hillbilly twang. Stronger is at times beautiful and poignant, […]
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Carrie Underwood - “Just a Dream” “Just a Dream” is not perfect. In fact, it’s deeply, deeply broken. But the single is a great vocal performance of a risky song
Toby Keith - “She Never Cried In Front Of Me” Apart from the shifts in perspective and changes in tense, the major problem with this song is that the lyric fleshes out too many irrelevant details.
Brad Paisley - “Waitin’ On a Woman” Bizarrely, it took a song written by someone other than Brad Paisley for radio to hear what the Paisley style can truly accomplish.
LeAnn Rimes - “What I Cannot Change” When LeAnn Rimes enters a recording studio, she carries with her the most impressive instrument in the room.
Randy Travis - “Dig Two Graves” The combination of song and Travis’ performance together are an example of what makes country music truly exceptional.
Pat Green - “Let Me” The song itself owns Pat Green and he gets lost somewhere in the melody.
Merle Haggard at the Ryman Auditorium: Of the Haggard classics, “Silver Wings,” “The Way I Am” and crowd-favorite “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” were performed with confident ease while “Kern River” was sung with inspired tenderness and “Back to Earth,” from 2007’s Last of the Breed, contained more than a trace of Willie’s nasally twang.
One of an emerging wave of artists empowered by decreasing production costs and a rapidly changing distribution landscape, Kelleigh Bannen has taken a do-it-yourself approach to her debut album, Radio Skies.
The two-time Dancing With The Stars champion, Julianne Hough, recently took some time to answer questions for The 9513 in this exclusive interview.
After cutting ties with Warner Bros. Records, Ray Scott decided to take the proverbial bull by the horns and form Jethropolitan Records, a place where he can get back to the blood and guts of what he terms “real country music,” the kind of stuff you don’t hear on radio anymore.
Sing Me Back Home: Love, Death, and Country Music by Dana Jennings When Jennings addresses modern country in the final chapter, he leaves you with the impression that it just can’t tap into the primal psyche the same way the classics that served as his nursery rhymes did.






