Rascal Flatts, Natasha Bedingfield video “Easy” to debut Friday on CMT
Rascal Flatts (AP file)
Natasha Bedingfield
Country band Rascal Flatts, which includes Picher-bred guitarist Joe Don Rooney, will premiere its new music video “Easy” exclusively on CMT and CMT.com on at 9:45 a.m. Friday. Both song and video feature special guest Natasha Bedingfield, according to CMT.com.
The single comes from the group’s latest album, “Nothing Like This.”
As part of the premiere, CMT will debut a 15-minute special, “CMT Premieres: Rascal Flatts Featuring Natasha Bedingfield ‘Easy,’” which includes interviews with the band and behind-the-scenes footage from the video shoot.
“Easy” will premiere across CMT’s multiple properties including CMT, CMT.com, CMT Pure and the network’s new social media game, CMT Platinum Life: Country.”
The video will also debut on Palladia, MTV Networks’ high-definition music channel, and air on VH1′s Top 20 Video Countdown on Saturday.
-BAM
Movie based on Stephenie Meyer’s “The Host” due in theaters in 2013
Open Road Films has announced that the film adaptation of “The Host” — “Twilight” writer Stephenie Meyer’s 2008 sci-fi novel — will be released in theaters on March 29, 2013.
The film is set to star Saoirse Ronan (“Atonement,” “Hanna”) as a young woman whose body is taken over by the soul of an alien. It will begin shooting in Louisiana and New Mexico in February, reports EW.com.
Writer-director Andrew Niccol will adapt the novel and helm the film. His previous credits as a writer-director include “Gattaca” and “Lord of War.” He also wrote one of my all-time favorite films, “The Truman Show.”
Here is the synopsis for the book “The Host”:
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.
Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.
When Melanie, one of the few remaining “wild” humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Wanderer probes Melanie’s thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer’s mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body’s desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.
-BAM
Video: Miranda Lambert, Ryan Tedder, Stevie Nicks, Pat Monahan do duets with “The Voice” finalists
Javier Colon was named the inaugural winner of “The Voice” Wednesday night to cap the hit reality show’s first season finale.
He narrowly defeated indie-folk singer-songwriter Dia Frampton, representing Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton’s team. The other two finalists were gritty rocker Beverly McClellan, representing Christina Aguilera’s team; and fiery soul singer Vicci Martinez, representing Cee Lo Green’s team.
Before the winner was announced, though, the hourlong finale featured the finalists performing duets with music superstars.
Grammy-winning country star and Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert, who happens to be married to Shelton, partnered with Dia for an emotional rendition of Lambert’s Grammy-winning smash “The House That Built Me.”
Tulsa native and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder was paired with Beverly for a rendition of his band’s “Good Life” that emphasized the contrast in the the singers’ voices and styles.
Train lead singer Pat Monahan and Martinez collaborated on a fresh version of the band’s hit “Drops of Jupiter.”
And Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stevie Nicks teamed with Colon to croon the Fleetwood Mac classic “Landslide.”
I had the chance to talk with Colon today via conference call, and he spoke enthusiastically about his experience singing with Nicks, what winning “The Voice” means to his family and what he thought of his time spent with Blake and Miranda. Look for my feature on Javier next week.
Also, check out my new interview with Miranda on Friday. Mrs. Shelton will join Merle Haggard and Stoney LaRue in an Independence Day weekend show Saturday at Fort Sill.
-BAM
Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine all returning for 2nd season of “The Voice,” NBC confirms
This story also appears in Friday’s The Oklahoman.
NBC has at long last confirmed that all four musician coaches of “The Voice” – Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton, pop belter Christina Aguilera, colorful soulman Cee Lo Green and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine – will return next season when the vocal competition series resumes in mid-season at 7 p.m. Mondays. The announcement was made today by Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, NBC and Universal Media Studios.
“Our fantastic coaches were integral to the tremendous success of ‘The Voice’ this year and we are thrilled that they are all returning,” said Telegdy in the news release. “We look forward to building season two and making ‘The Voice’ an even greater experience for fans.”
“The Voice” is an innovative vocal competition series modeled after Holland’s top-rated vocal talent discovery show, “The Voice of Holland.” The series is hosted by Carson Daly and features the musician coaches working through the various phases of the competition with the most talented vocalists.
Javier Colon, a member of Levine’s singing team, was named the inaugural winner of the hit reality TV singing contest Wednesday night during the show’s hourlong season finale.
The smooth-voiced family man from Stratford, Conn., narrowly defeated the finalist from Shelton’s team: indie folk singer-songwriter Dia Frampton, 23, of St. George, Utah.
“The voting was extremely close,” host Carson Daly said during the finale. “It was so close, in fact, that the top two were within only 2 percent of each other.”
The other finalists on the NBC competition were gritty rocker Beverly McClellan and fiery soul singer Vicci Martinez.
“The Voice” performed solidly in its finale effort, drawing 10.8 million total viewers at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central and averaging a 3.5 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Though it sank 20 percent from Tuesday’s performance episode (12.6 million, 4.4), compared with the previous Wednesday results telecast (10 million, 3.3), “The Voice” ticked up 6 percent.
Shelton told me in an interview last month that he hoped to go another round with “The Voice.”
“I love the show. I’d be happy to come back,” Shelton said.
On Wednesday’s finale, Shelton watched Frampton and his wife, fellow country star Miranda Lambert, sing together on Lambert’s Grammy-winning smash “The House That Built Me.” After the duet, he emotionally declared that Frampton was “family to me now, and I love you. I really do. And I’m so proud of you.”
“The thing that’s most important to me is my artists that are on my team. It’s not just a television show to me,” Shelton told me in last month’s interview. “I really do want to do what’s best for them, and I’m in constant contact with them. … I want to see ‘em go on and be stars so that I can wave my hands and say ‘I knew it. I picked those people.’”
Read more about “The Voice’s” quartet of celebrity coaches after the break. Also, look for my new interview with Lambert on Friday and my feature on Colon next week.
Video: Javier Colon wins “The Voice”
A version of this story appears in Thursday’s The Oklahoman.
Javier Colon named “The Voice”
The smooth-voiced family man narrowly defeated indie folk singer Dia Frampton, who represented Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton’s team on the hit reality TV show.
Javier Colon was named the inaugural winner of the hit reality TV singing contest “The Voice” Wednesday night during the show’s hour-long season finale.
The smooth-voiced family man from Stratford, Conn., narrowly defeated indie folk singer-songwriter Dia Frampton, 23, of St. George, Utah.
“The voting was extremely close,” host Carson Daly said during the finale. “It was so close, in fact, that the top two were within only 2 percent of each other.”
The other finalists on the NBC competition were gritty rocker Beverly McClellan and fiery soul singer Vicci Martinez.
“I don’t even know where to begin other than to say that the three women behind me are absolutely awesome and it was a pleasure to be here with them,” Colon said, choking up after his name was announced. “I want to thank everyone at home who believed in me and voted for me. Thank you all and thank you to my family.”
Colon, a 34-year-old husband and father of two, will receive a recording contract and $100,000 prize.
The show’s contenders trained during the 10-week series under the tutelage of a celebrity “musician coach.” Frampton worked with Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton, Colon represented Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine’s team, McClellan received coaching from pop belter Christina Aguilera, and Martinez trained with Gnarls Barkley soulman Cee Lo Green.
Shelton’s wife, fellow country star Miranda Lambert, appeared on Wednesday’s show to perform a moving rendition of her Grammy-winning smash “The House That Built Me” with Frampton.
“It finally hit me watching that … I know now why I get so emotional why I’ve been around you the past few weeks,” an emotional Shelton told Frampton after the duet. “You’re family to me now, and I love you. I really do. And I’m so proud of you.”
Frampton topped the iTunes chart after Tuesday night’s live performance episode, while Colon ascended to No. 2 on the digital retailer’s ranks, Daly announced on the show.
Other music stars appearing on Wednesday’s finale: Tulsa-born OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder did a duet with McClellan, Fleetwood Mac legend Stevie Nicks sang with Colon, and Train vocalist Pat Monahan performed with Martinez.
Modeled on a Dutch show, “The Voice” proved a ratings smash for beleaguered NBC, which has already renewed it for a second season. While the network has yet to confirm that its popular coaching quartet will return in winter for the second run, Shelton told me last month he would like go another round with “The Voice.”
“I love the show. I’d be happy to come back,” Shelton said.
To know more
Read my live blog of Wednesday’s season finale of “The Voice” by clicking here.
-BAM
Video: Greyson Chance’s “Unfriend You”
“Unfriend You,” the latest music video from Edmond teen music sensation Greyson Chance, debuted online early this morning.
The heartbroken power ballad is the second single off the Internet phenom’s hotly anticipated debut album, “Hold on ‘Til the Night,” due out Aug. 2 on Ellen DeGeneres’ boutique recording label eleveneleven.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on June 30, 2011: Hear Cami Stinson for free in Bricktown
Cami Stinson
Today’s featured event:
Hear Oklahoma City singer-songwriter Cami Stinson for free at 7:30 tonight in front of the fountain just south of Mickey Mantel and Reno in Bricktown.
The show will include special guest Bundles. It is part of the Lower Bricktown Live Summer Concert Series bringing free homegrown music to the OKC area every Thursday night.
For more information, go to www.lowerbricktown.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: Trailers for “Brave,” “War Horse,” “MI: 4″ and more
Occasionally here on BAM’s Blog we like to share some of the hot new trailers for upcoming films in the Wednesday Video Spotlight. Let’s do that now, shall we?
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: Blake Shelton’s “Red River Blue” preview, “The Voice” duet with Brad Paisley
Country Weekly magazine has an exclusive preview of the title track from Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton’s new album “Red River Blue.”
In this Video Spotlight, Shelton chats about the song and what it means to the “southeastern Oklahoma guy” while the ode to lost love plays. See the video after the break, or to hear just the song, click here.
The plaintive ballad about an Oklahoma boy losing his Texas girl features Shelton’s wife, Texas native and fellow Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert.
“Red River Blue” is due out July 12, and I’ll have a feature on Shelton around that time.
In the meantime, I’ll have a new interview with Lambert this Friday prior to her Independence Day weekend show at Fort Sill on Saturday.
As a bonus, I’m embedding here Shelton’s duet with Brad Paisley of “Don’t Drink the Water” from Tuesday’s live performance episode of the hit reality TV show “The Voice.” If you want to read how Team Blake finalist Dia Frampton fared on tonight’s season finale of “The Voice,” click here to read my live blog of the show, which featured a Dia-Miranda duet.
Wednesday Video Spotlight: David Cook releases sophomore album “The Last Goodbye”
Tags: David Cook, Top 20 Countdown
“American Idol” winner David Cook, who has Tulsa ties, released his second post-”Idol” album, “This Loud Morning,” Tuesday on 19 Recordings/RCA Records.
“This Loud Morning” is Cook’s first new album since November 2008, when he released his self-titled major-label debut six months after winning on “Idol.” “David Cook” went platinum. And the singer/songwriter/guitarist has really been making the rounds to promote his long-awaited sophomore effort.
In the Video Spotlight, check out his Associated Press video interview about the album, his video track-by-track breakdown with Billboard.com and his cover of Radiohead’s “High and Dry” from VH1.com.
He will perform Thursday on “Lopez Tonight,” airing at 11 p.m. on TBS.
Executive produced by Matt Serletic (Rob Thomas, Matchbox Twenty, Collective Soul), “This Loud Morning” features tracks written and co-written by Cook along with many acclaimed songwriters including, Tulsa native Ryan Tedder, David Hodges, Johnny Rzeznik, Kevin Griffin and Marti Frederiksen.
Look for my review of “This Loud Morning” in the coming days here on BAM’s Blog, on NewsOK and in The Oklahoman.
-BAM
