Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes and Scotty McCreery nominated for ACM New Artist of the Year
Brantley Gilbert
Hunter Hayes
Scotty McCreery
The Academy of Country Music and Great American Country has announced that Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes and Scotty McCreery have been named nominees for this year’s ACM New Artist of the Year Award, which will be given out during the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
The awards show will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 1 on the CBS Television Network. For the second straight year, Oklahoma natives Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton will co-host the show.
Voting for New Artist of the Year will begin at www.VoteACM.com at 11 a.m. March 19 and continue until 7 p.m. Sunday, April 1, 2012, ending just before the live show starts.
The New Artist of the Year final nominees were selected by a combined vote of the fans and professional members of the Academy of Country Music. Professional member votes will be combined with fan votes to obtain the winner of the category.
Leading up to the show, fans can watch interviews and exclusive performances with the three nominees on GAC’s “ACM New Artist of the Year” special, premiering at 8 p.m. Monday, March 19 and re-airing multiple times until voting closes on April 1. Additional air times and dates can be found at GACtv.com/ACM.
The winner of the New Artist of the Year category will be awarded on the 47th Annual Academy of
Read more about the nominees after the break:
New releases for Feb. 7, 2012: David Cook, Cady Groves, Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Dierks Bentley, “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″, “Phantom of the Opera”
Season 7 “American Idol” winner David Cook, who has Tulsa ties, has released today an EP titled “This Quiet Night” exclusively through Walmart. The CD includes acoustic performances of five songs from his 2011 album “This Loud Morning.”
Emerging pop singer-songwriter Cady Groves, who grew up in Marlow, Cache and Yukon, also is released today her “This Little Girl” EP.
Featuring tracks including her popular first single “This Little Girl” the digital EP will be available at all digital service providers and will include fan-favorite track “We’re The Sh*t” as well as Groves cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You”. The physical version will be available www.cadygroves.com and will include the same tracks as the digital version with the addition of Groves duet “Oh Darlin’” with Plug in Stereo.
Groves, who was just spotlighted in Seventeen Magazine’s “Ultimate Guide To Music” will be joining her labelmates and friends Hot Chelle Rae in select North American markets in February and March. (See the full list of tour dates after the break; it looks Dallas will be the closest she comes to Oklahoma.).
Among LPs, this week boasts new releases from Van Halen, Paul McCartney and Dierks Bentley. To read my review of Dierks’ latest, click here.
This week’s new DVDs include the 25th anniversary performance of “The Phantom of the Opera,” which I’ll be reviewing in the coming days; the excellent documentary “Project Nim,” which made my top 10 movies of 2011 list; and oh yeah, a little blockbuster called “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” which will be released in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
CDs
David Cook, “This Quiet Night” EP (Walmart exclusive)
Van Halen, “A Different Kind of Truth.”
Paul McCartney, “Kisses on the Bottom.”
Dierks Bentley, “Home.”
The Fray, “Scars & Stories.”
Various artists, “Waylon: The Music Inside, Volume II.”
Tony Bennett, “Isn’t It Romantic.”
Steve Tyrell, “I’ll Take Romance.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, “Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall: In Celebration of 25 Years.”
Air, “Le Voyage Dans La Lune” (CD/DVD).
Edith Piaf, “Edith Piaf” (3-CD special edition).
DVD
Anonymous
Downton Abbey: Season 2
Father Dowling Mysteries: The First Season
Fireflies in the Garden
Project Nim
The Rebound
The Sunset Limited
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (midnight Saturday)
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
A Warrior’s Heart
Books
Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman
Take the Stairs: 7 Steps to Achieving True Success by Rory Vaden
Kill Shot (Mitch Rapp)by Vince Flynn
Ali in Wonderland: And Other Tall Tales by Ali Wentworth
Hilarity Ensues by Tucker Max
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity by Katherine Boo
-BAM
New releases for Feb. 7, 2012: David Cook, Cady Groves, Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Dierks Bentley, “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″, “Phantom of the Opera”
Video: Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton perform during Super Bowl pregame
Oklahoma country music stars Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert gave a wonderful performance of the patriotic anthem “America the Beautiful” as part of the pregame festivities Sunday at Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.
The couple, who married last May and live in Tishomingo, held hands throughout their duet. It was just all-around sweet. To see a photo gallery of the performance, click here.
“American Idol” Kelly Clarkson, a pal of Lambert and Shelton, belted a great rendition of the National Anthem before the game.
The Super Bowl XLVI narrowly edged out last year’s to become the most-watched television show in U.S. history, scoring 111.3 million viewers. Last year’s NLF championship was watched by 111 millon, breaking the 2010 record, according to TheWrap.com.
Viewership climbed throughout the game, averaging 117.7 million in the final half hour, thanks to the close game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. The Giants won 21-17, but the game came down to the final second and play.
The good news continued for the second-season premiere of NBC’s “The Voice,” which features Shelton on its panel of celebrity coaches. Airing immediately after the Vince Lombardi Trophy was presented to the Giants, “The Voice” scored the highest ratings of any entertainment telecast since 2006.
The Voice” scored a 16.3 rating in the key demo and 37.6 million total viewers overall, according to TheWrap.com. It was the best rating since a 16.5 for “Grey’s Anatomy” after the Super Bowl on ABC in 2006, and provided a welcome boost for fourh-place network NBC.
Lambert and Clarkson are set to serve as celebrity advisers for the 12 singers on Shelton’s team later in “The Voice’s” second season.
The reality TV show moves to its new Monday time slot starting at 7 tonight. The show also will be the lead-in for NBC’s much-hyped musical drama “Smash,” which will air at 9 p.m. Mondays on NBC.
-BAM
It’s Super Bowl Sunday! Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert to perform in the pregame; “The Voice” premieres after the big game
Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton (AP file)
It’s Super Bowl Sunday! The New York Giants and New England Patriots will battle for the National Football League championship, and one to watch for the big game: Oklahoma native, amazing receiver and all-around great guy Wes Welker.
There’s also plenty of musical entertainment surrounding what is traditionally the most-watched television event of the year:
Oklahoma country music stars Blake Shelton and and Miranda Lambert will sing the patriotic anthem “America the Beautiful” as part of Super Bowl XLVI pregame festivities tonight at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The pregame show, including their duet of “America The Beautiful,” and Super Bowl XLVI will be broadcast worldwide. Kickoff for the championship match-up between the Patriots and Giants is set for 5:30 p.m. on NBC.
“American Idol” Kelly Clarkson will sing the National Anthem before the big game.
In addition, Lenny Kravitz and The Fray will help kick off Super Bowl XLVI as part of the pregame festivities at Lucas Oil Stadium. Madonna will perform the halftime show.
Shelton also will be prominently featured on NBC after the big game. He is currently one of the musician-coaches on NBC’s “The Voice” along with superstars Christian Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Maroon 5′s Adam Levine.
The hotly anticipated second season of “The Voice” premieres on a special night and time at approximately 9 to 10 tonight following Super Bowl XLVI on NBC. The reality TV show will then settle into its regular time slot of 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays (8-10 p.m. ET) the next day.
-BAM
Carrie Underwood and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler sharing stage tonight in special “CMT Crossroads” from Indianapolis
In this April 3, 2011, photo, singers Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood perform at the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. Tyler and Underwood are teaming up for a special CMT Crossroads the night before the Super Bowl. "CMT Crossroads: Steven Tyler & Carrie Underwood Live from The Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam" will air Saturday, Feb. 4. (AP file)
Checotah native and 2005 “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood and Aerosmith frontman and current “Idol” judge Steven Tyler and will share the stage in a “CMT Crossroads” special airing live from Indianapolis tonight, the night before Super Bowl XLVI.
“CMT Crossroads: Steven Tyler & Carrie Underwood From the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam” will take place at the Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fair Grounds, reports CMT.com.
The show will premiere live at 10 tonight on CMT. Their “CMT Crossroads” special will reair at 1 a.m. and 9 a.m. Sunday on CMT.
As Aerosmith’s frontman, Tyler established himself as one of rock music’s most popular vocalists with hits such as “Sweet Emotion,” “Dream On” and “Last Child.”
After winning “Idol” in 2005, Underwood has sold more than 14 million albums and won five Grammys, seven CMT Music Awards and six American Music Awards. She is a two-time winner of the Academy of Country Music’s entertainer of the year award and a three-time winner of both the Country Music Association’s and ACM’s female vocalist of the year award. She announced last week that her fourth album will be out May 1.
Tyler and Underwood previously performed together in 2011 at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. The duo brought the arena crowd to its feet and wowed millions of viewers at home performing Underwood’s No. 1 song “Undo It” followed by Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”
“I just love to sing and I love her stuff. A good friend of mine writes songs with her. When I heard ‘Undo It,’ I said, ‘What is that?’ That is an Aerosmith song, right? I am going to finish recording that with you. He said, ‘No, I wrote that with Carrie, it is coming out in a week,’” Tyler told the Associated Press.
“I met her and it was all over after that, once I looked into her eyes. She opened her mouth and sang and she is that good. I loved singing with her.”
The two stars rehearsed Thursday evening in North Greenfield, just outside of Indianapolis, ahead of tonight’s show. The former “Idol” champ says she enjoys working with the lively Tyler because he “makes everybody all warm and fuzzy.”
While Tyler, closely connected to Boston for years, made clear he was rooting for the New England Patriots in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, Underwood demurred when asked to name her pick. In her house, she says hockey is the main focus, since husband Mike Fisher is a professional hockey player in Nashville.
“He is Canadian so I have had to switch his focus from so much hockey to a little football because we watch a lot of hockey,” she told the AP. “I love watching him and I love watching the Predators.”
-BAM
Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert to perform during Super Bowl pregame; “The Voice” premieres after the game
Oklahoma country music stars Blake Shelton, left, and Miranda Lambert arrive at the 2010 BMI Country Awards in Nashville, Tenn. Lambert will serve as an adviser on the second season of "The Voice," which premieres Sunday after the Super Bowl. Lambert is married to Blake Shelton, one of the show's musician-coaches. AP photo
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert to perform during Super Bowl pregame
BAM: The eagerly awaited second season of NBC’s hit reality TV show “The Voice,” on which Shelton serves as a celebrity coach, will premiere Sunday night after the big game.
Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are going to the Super Bowl.
The country music power couple, who live in Tishomingo, will sing a duet of “America the Beautiful” during the televised pregame festivities Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the NFL and NBC confirmed earlier this week. “American Idol” Kelly Clarkson will belt the National Anthem prior to Super Bowl XLVI, which will kick off at 5:30 p.m. Sunday on NBC.
That means that before the New York Giants and New England Patriots get down to the business of determining the National Football League’s 2012 champions, Team Blake already will have a bit of an advantage when it comes to deciding the Season 2 winner of “The Voice.”
After the reality singing competition’s surprising breakout last year, the peacock network opted to devote its coveted post-Super Bowl slot to the second season debut of the “The Voice.”
The special premiere of “The Voice” is set for approximately 9 to 10 p.m. Sunday, depending on how long it takes the Giants and Patriots to settle their score. The hit reality TV show will settle into its regular time slot of 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays the following night.
Musician-coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine and Shelton, who emerged as the show’s breakout star last year, are all returning for the series’ hotly anticipated second season, along with host Carson Daily. The superstar quartet will kick off Sunday’s season premiere by performing a rocking medley of Prince’s hits.
Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton is shown during the first season of "The Voice." The second season of the reality TV show, which features Shelton as a musician-coach, will debut Sunday night after the Super Bowl on NBC. NBC photo
While the coaching panel remains the same, practically everything else about “The Voice” seems to be getting bigger and better. As Shelton predicted shortly after the show’s strong first season started, Season 2 will bring more of the series’ innovative blind auditions, and everyone involved with “The Voice” has promised that more talented contestants will be trying out before the coaches’ big, red, backward-facing chairs.
The four teams will be expanded from eight to 12 contenders, and each coach will get two celebrity advisers instead of one to ready their competitors for the dueling duets that are the battle rounds.
Team Blake will get its game on a bit earlier than the other coaches, since Shelton has tapped his fellow Super Bowl pregame performers Lambert and Clarkson as his Season 2 advisers. Since the Super Bowl is the biggest television event of the year — more than 162 million U.S. viewers watched last year’s big game, making it the most-watched TV program in history — a pregame singing slot offers an incredible showcase for the individual performers as well as for Team Blake.
Hey, considering how close Dia Frampton, Shelton’s Season 1 finalist and now tour opener, came to wresting “The Voice” title away from eventual winner Javier Colon, the finalist for Levine’s team, every advantage helps when it comes time for the fans at home to start casting their votes during the show’s third and final stage, the live performance phase.
Of course, since the series is called “The Voice,” Shelton and his fellow panelists emphasize that the talent of the performers, rather than the celebrity of the coaches, is what counts.
“Last year set the bar incredibly high. When you have four people who walked away from this show last year that got major record deals, that’s an eye opener,” Shelton says in Season 2 previews.
“‘The Voice’ is unique because there is a one-on-one interaction (and) connection with an artist who has broken through the wall of this business with someone who is trying to breakthrough. There is no other show like that; in fact, there’s no other opportunity like that in this business.”
It will be interesting to see how “The Voice’s” unique twists on the TV singing contest format help it this year as it goes head-to-head against the granddaddy of the subgenre: “American Idol,” which started its 11th season about three weeks ago. After years of dominating the ratings, “Idol” has started to show its age, with the CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” defeating the reality show in their overlapping 30-minute timeslot last week.
“My fan base has definitely grown since doing ‘The Voice,’ but I think the biggest surprise to me is how young the fan base has become. I think a lot of young people must watch ‘The Voice,’ and I love that. I love to walk out on stage and see kids holding up signs that say ‘Team Blake,’” Shelton says.
“It shows me that maybe those people hadn’t even heard of me until this television show aired, and I’m very proud of that because I’m proud of what this show does. It’s coming from a real place, an honest place. It’s a celebration of music.”
Whether this season’s Super Bowl launch helps “The Voice” beat out “Idol” in the ratings, it’s clear Shelton considers himself a winner for being part of the NBC series.
“When you work that closely with a bunch of people trying desperately to make it in this business, you can’t help but see yourself in ‘em a little bit. They reminded, you know, how lucky I am that I’m in this position, because that was me not long ago,” he says.
“They really recharged me and made me excited about what I do again.”
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Feb. 2, 2012: Hear Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Lauren Alaina at Chesapeake Energy Arena
Jason Aldean
Today’s featured event:
Hear country music stars Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan, along with “American Idol” runner-up Lauren Alaina, at 7:30 tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W Reno. Information: (800) 745-3000 or www.chesapeakearena.com.
To read my new interview with Luke Bryan, click here.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert release their cover of “America the Beautiful” in advance of Super Bowl performance
Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert (AP file)
Oklahoma country music power couple Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert have released their cover of the patriotic anthem “America the Beautiful” on digital retailers such as iTunes and Amazon.
The Tishomingo residents will sing “America The Beautiful” as part of Super Bowl XLVI pregame festivities at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday, the NFL and NBC confirmed today.
“American Idol” Kelly Clarkson will sing the National Anthem before the big game.
In addition, Lenny Kravitz and The Fray will help kick off Super Bowl XLVI as part of the pregame festivities at Lucas Oil Stadium.
More than 162 million viewers in the U.S. watched last year’s Super Bowl, the most-watched television program in history. The pregame show, including the National Anthem and “America The Beautiful,” and Super Bowl XLVI will be broadcast worldwide.
Kickoff for the championship match-up between the New England Patriots and New York Giants is set for 5:30 p.m. on NBC.
Clarkson will make her Super Bowl debut. She is among many great performers who have been honored with singing the national anthem including Oklahomans Garth Brooks and Carrie Underwood, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Neil Diamond, Whitney Houston, Harry Connick, Jr., Natalie Cole, Vanessa Williams, Luther Vandross, Jewel, Cher, Faith Hill, the Backstreet Boys, Mariah Carey, Dixie Chicks, Beyoncé Knowles, Christina Aguilera and many more.
Shelton and Lambert join Vicki Carr (Super Bowl XI), Ray Charles (Super Bowl XXXV), Mary J. Blige and Marc Anthony (Super Bowl XXXVI), Alicia Keys (Super Bowl XXXIX), Faith Hill (Super Bowl XLIII), Queen Latifah (Super Bowl XLIV) and Lea Michele (Super Bowl XLVI) as the only artists to perform “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl.
The NFL previously announced that Madonna will perform in the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show.
Shelton also will be prominently featured on NBC after the big game. He is currently one of the musician-coaches on NBC’s “The Voice” along with superstars Christian Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Maroon 5′s Adam Levine. The hit reality TV series begins its second season at approximately 9 p.m. Sunday after the Super Bowl. Lambert and Clarkson will be celebrity advisers on Shelton’s singing team later on during the second season.
-BAM
Carrie Underwood to release “Good Girl,” first single from her 2012 album, to radio Feb. 23
With her announcement about her forthcoming single, Checotah native Carrie Underwood also released this sultry new publicity photo.
Country music superstar Carrie Underwood, who hails from Checotah, announced today that she will release her new single, “Good Girl,” to country radio on Feb. 23. The five-time Grammy winner’s fourth CD is due out in spring.
One of the most anticipated country albums of the year, Underwood’s fourth album – the title has not yet been announced – will be the follow-up to her November 2009 release “Play On,” which has been certified double-platinum.
Underwood penned the new album’s lead-off single with Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley, who co-wrote two of Underwood’s No. 1 hits “Don’t Forget to Remember Me,” and “All-American Girl.” Once again Carrie teamed up with Mark Bright, who produced her two previous albums as well as seven tracks from her debut album “Some Hearts.”
Since releasing “Some Hearts” in 2005 after winning “American Idol,” Underwood has sold more than 14 million albums with “Some Hearts,” 2007’s “Carnival Ride,” and 2009’s “Play On.” She’s amassed 14 No. 1 singles, six of which she co-wrote, and became the first country artist in history and the only “American Idol” winner ever to achieve 10 No. 1 singles from their first two albums.
The Oklahoma native is a current Grammy Award nominee and a five-time Grammy Award winner, a two-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, a three-time Country Music Association and ACM Female Vocalist winner, and a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Underwood and Aerosmith frontman and current “Idol” judge Steven Tyler and will share the stage in a “CMT Crossroads” special airing live from Indianapolis on Feb. 4, the night before Super Bowl XLVI.
“CMT Crossroads: Steven Tyler & Carrie Underwood From the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam” will take place at the Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fair Grounds, reports CMT.com.
The concert is a private event. It will premiere live at 10 p.m. Feb. 4 on CMT.
-BAM
Carrie Underwood and Steven Tyler to play “CMT Crossroads” live special from Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam
In this April 3, 2011, photo, singers Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood perform at the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. Tyler and Underwood are teaming up for a special CMT Crossroads the night before the Super Bowl. "CMT Crossroads: Steven Tyler & Carrie Underwood Live from The Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam" will air Saturday, Feb. 4. (AP file)
Checotah native and 2005 “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood and Aerosmith frontman and current “Idol” judge Steven Tyler and will share the stage in a “CMT Crossroads” special airing live from Indianapolis on Feb. 4, the night before Super Bowl XLVI.
“CMT Crossroads: Steven Tyler & Carrie Underwood From the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam” will take place at the Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fair Grounds, reports CMT.com.
The concert is a private event.It will premiere live at 10 p.m. Feb. 4 on CMT.
As Aerosmith’s frontman, Tyler established himself as one of rock music’s most popular vocalists with hits such as “Sweet Emotion,” “Dream On” and “Last Child.” After winning “Idol” in 2005, Underwood has sold more than 14 million albums and won five Grammys, seven CMT Music Awards and six American Music Awards. She is a two-time winner of the Academy of Country Music’s entertainer of the year award and a three-time winner of both the Country Music Association’s and ACM’s female vocalist of the year award.
Tyler and Underwood previously performed together in 2011 at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. The duo brought the arena crowd to its feet and wowed millions of viewers at home performing Underwood’s No. 1 song “Undo It” followed by Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”
-BAM
