Rascal Flatts closes 2009 tour, sells 550,000 tickets
Rascal Flatts (Associated Press photo)
Top-selling country band Rascal Flatts, which includes Joe Don Rooney of Picher, wrapped the first leg of the “Rascal Flatts American Living Unstoppable Tour” last weekend. The tour sold 550,000 tickets in 39 shows since it began in June, according to a news release.
This total includes the two sold-out stadium concerts at Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Columbus, Ohio’s Crew Stadium. From January of this year, the band has sold more than a million concert tickets, bringing the trio’s four-year total to more than 4 million tickets sold.
Critics claimed their live shows were a huge success. The Minneapolis Pioneer Press said, “the biggest band in country employed showers of sparks, a well-lit runway that ran the length of the arena’s main floor, and big screens bedecked with images of misty moors and words like “passion,” “faith” and “courage.” And it all fit well with their songs, which assign weighty import to the events of everyday life through carpe diem lyrics, every chorus screamed out with vein-popping urgency.” “Rascal Flatts is a dominant country band for a reason. The songs are catchy and the musicianship is some of the best in ANY genre,” claimed the Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Dallas Morning News said, “The show is high-energy, flat-out from the get-go.”
Next up for Rascal Flatts are nominations for Group of the Year at next Wednesday’s CMA Awards (watch the Country Music Association’s awards show on ABC and follow the live-blog here) and Country Group of the Year and Country Album of the Year at the American Music Awards (Nov. 22 on ABC).
Rascal Flatts newest CD, “Unstoppable,” has been certified platinum for sales in excess of 1 million. The CD launched as the group’s fourth consecutive studio album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, more than any other country artist in the history of Soundscan. This brings the band’s career album sales to a staggering 20 million units in just this decade, and the group has amassed 22.5 million digital downloads.
Rascal Flatts is the biggest-selling and grossing group in country music history and has been named a Billboard Top Ten Touring Act in all genres with more venue attendance records than any other country act.
-BAM
Jamey Johnson-Kid Rock duet, Martina McBride added to CMA Awards performers’ list
Jamey Johnson
Kid Rock
Martina McBride
The performer lineup for the Country Music Association’s 43rd Annual CMA Awards gets even more star-studded with the announcement that Kid Rock will join four-time nominee Jamey Johnson in their first televised duet.
Kid Rock will also present an award during the evening.
In addition, four-time Female Vocalist of the Year winner Martina McBride will perform.
Nine-time CMA Award winners The Judds, Country Music Hall of Fame member Kris Kristofferson, and six-time CMA Award winner Lee Ann Womack have been added as presenters.
The 43rd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Brad Paisley and Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood, will air live from the Sommet Center in Nashville from 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday on the ABC Television Network. You can follow along with my live-blog of the show here at BAM’s Blog.
Performers already announced include Oklahomans Brooks & Dunn, which includes former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill, who will perform with rock band Daughtry, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, and Carrie Underwood.
Other performers include Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney and Dave Mathews, Billy Currington, , Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band.
Previously announced presenters include Dale Earnhardt Jr.; stars of ABC’s “The Middle” Neil Flynn and Patricia Heaton; Julianne Hough; nominee Randy Houser (for both New Artist and Music Video of the Year for “Boots On”); nominee Jake Owen (New Artist of the Year); Kellie Pickler; LeAnn Rimes; and ABC News’s Robin Roberts, co-anchor of “Good Morning America” and host of the upcoming “Robin Roberts: Bright Lights. Big Stars. All Access Nashville” ABC television special (airing Nov. 10). Love And Theft will host the Pre-Telecast Awards.
Johnson is nominated in four categories: New Artist, Album (for his Gold-certified That Lonesome Song), and Single and Song (both for “In Color” which he co-wrote with Lee Thomas Miller and James Otto). He won Song of the Year in 2007 for co-writing the Strait hit “Give It Away” with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon.
Kid Rock was nominated along with Sheryl Crow in 2003 for Vocal Event of the Year for their song “Picture.” The artist, who has sold more than 25 million albums, performed on the CMA Awards last year and at 2009 CMA Music Festival in June. His most recent album is the three-times-Platinum-certified Rock N Roll Jesus.
McBride is nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, an Award she has received four times (1999, 2002-2004), tying her with Reba McEntire for the most wins in that category. The singer/songwriter/producer also won Music Video of the Year in 1994 for “Independence Day.” McBride, whose current album is Shine, has sold more than 18 million albums.
-BAM
Carrie Underwood writes more on new album “Play On”
A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Carrie Underwood’s got the write stuff for new album
Underwood co-wrote seven of 13 titles on her New album, ‘Play On’
Between the No. 1 hits and the TV appearances, the magazine covers and the red carpet fashions, music fans can be forgiven for forgetting that country superstar Carrie Underwood was once an aspiring journalist.
But the credits for her new album “Play On” serve as a pointed reminder that the Oklahoma native was sharpening her pen long before she won “American Idol” in 2005.
“I got a lot of practice writing in general, especially in college. You know, in high school I wrote for the school paper, in college I wrote for the school paper, and was always busy writing stories,” she said in a September press conference at her Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame induction in Muskogee.
Underwood, 26, co-wrote seven of the 13 songs on “Play On,” her third album. She helped pen four tracks on her second record, 2007’s “Carnival Ride,” and one on her 2005 debut “Some Hearts.”
“This one, I had a lot more time to do a lot more writing, and I feel like I’m a lot more comfortable in myself as a writer. That just happens — the more you do it, the better, the easier it gets, I suppose,” said Underwood, who received her mass communications degree from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah almost a year after she won the reality TV singing contest.
“Play On,” released Tuesday, has been one of the fall’s most anticipated country albums — for good reason. Since winning the fourth season of “Idol,” Underwood has sold more than 10 million records, notched 10 No. 1 hits from her first two albums and won four Grammy Awards, as well as myriad other industry accolades. On Nov. 11, she will co-host and compete for two honors at the Country Music Association’s 43rd Annual CMA Awards.
While she is best known for belting out feisty breakup songs, uplifting anthems and soaring ballads, Underwood is demonstrating a knack for helping craft her hits. Three songs she co-wrote for “Carnival Ride” — “So Small,” “All-American Girl” and “Last Name” — topped the country charts.
For “Play On,” she set out to stretch her songwriting skills.
“I kind of branched out and wrote with a lot of people that I’ve never even met before — people that weren’t even necessarily involved in country music,” she said. “We’d take like me and a good friend of mine who I’d written with before who is a staple in country music and then kind of bring another element to it, which was a lot of fun.”
For instance, she penned “Cowboy Casanova” with respected Nashville songsmith Brett James, who also co-wrote her Grammy-winning hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” and hip-hop writer/producer Mike Elizondo, known for his work with Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent. The saucy lead-off single zipped into the top five in just seven weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
“This is probably the fifth song I’ve written with Carrie and she’s just delightful. She’s a fantastic person, she’s a fantastic singer, obviously an amazing singer, and she’s a really, really great songwriter,” said James, who grew up in Oklahoma City and Cordell.
The songstress also wrote with rockers Raine Maida of My Lady Peace on the lovely ballad “Unapologize” and Zac Maloy, former frontman of Oklahoma City band The Nixons, on the spiritual tearjerker “Temporary Home.”
“I had to be a fan,” she said of Maloy. “I was like, ‘I saw you when I was in high school.’ So, it was a lot of fun for me to work with him.”
Underwood, who counts fellow Oklahoman Garth Brooks as one of her idols, remains unapologetic for making rock- and pop-flavored country music.
“Right now in country music is a great time for a lot of different kinds of country music,” she said. “If you turn on the radio you can find something you like, whether you like things that are more kind of contemporary country, or you find more things that are traditional country or more kind of rock-influenced.”
But she acknowledged her mix-and-match approach to choosing songwriting partners didn’t always work.
“Sometimes we’d get things that were like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is new and fresh and awesome,’ and sometimes it was like, ‘Whoa — what have we done?’ she said. “Most of those you’ll probably never hear — that’s why they were ‘whoa, what have we done moments.’ But it was a great learning experience.”
Among the collaborations that didn’t make it onto the album were songs she co-wrote with fellow Oklahoma native and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill.
“It was still an investment in somebody you like, and a neat kid who’s got her head on straight. And you just root for her,” said Gill, who sings on her new track “Look at Me.”
“She’s all things good.”
Contributing: Assistant Entertainment Editor George Lang.
-BAM
Vince Gill talks Will Rogers, musical diversity and more before receiving Sunday award
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma musician Vince Gill to receive Will Rogers Spirit Award in Tulsa
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Vince Gill considers humorist/cowboy/social commentator Will Rogers “the coolest Okie in history.”
So, it’s fitting that the Oklahoma-born country music star is traveling from Nashville back to his home state this weekend to receive the 2009 Will Rogers Spirit Award from the Rotary Club of Will Rogers. The club, along with members of Rogers’ family, will present the award to Gill during a gala Sunday night at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa.
“We look for somebody who exemplifies the spirit of Will Rogers,” said gala committee member Lucy Cravens. “He’s raised a lot of money for a lot of different organizations.”
The “roast and toast,” themed “Oklahoma Swing” after the Gill hit, will feature friends and colleagues of the star performing and speaking in his honor.
For Gill, 52, getting an award named for Rogers, who famously declared “I never met a man I didn’t like,” is a great compliment.
“I don’t know that they’re actually comparing you to (Will Rogers), but you do hopefully some decent things for people and live life for other people instead of just yourself. And that’s all I’ve ever really tried to do is if somebody needs a hand up, you give it to ‘em. And if somebody needs you to help out, you help ‘em out. That just seems like a commonsense way of life,” Gill said in a phone interview from his Nashville home. “That to me comes from where I’m from.”
The Country Music Hall of Famer and his wife, fellow singer Amy Grant, are known for lending their talents to an array of philanthropic projects. The couple this year hosted a concert in Washington, D.C., to benefit Challenge America, a charity working with injured veterans. Since 1993, Gill has hosted his own pro-celebrity golf tournament, “The Vinny,” to support junior golf programs.
He has been busy this year working with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. He not only serves as president of the museum’s board of officers and trustees, he also is the creator and driving force behind its “All for the Hall” fundraising initiative.
“I asked everybody to just when they’re playing out there and they’re doing 125 shows a year, just say, hey, while we’re in Omaha, we’re going to play for free and just take the proceeds from that show and give it to the hall of fame,” he said. “Because it was always my belief that the reason I ever played music was because of how much I loved it. It was never how much I could get out of it.”
On Oct. 1, Gill joined Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, Melissa Etheridge and others in Los Angeles for the third annual “All for the Hall” guitar pull, in which the musicians traded off playing new and favorite songs.
A few days later, Gill and fellow star Keith Urban co-hosted the sold-out “We’re All for the Hall” benefit concert at Nashville’s Sommet Center. The event, which also featured Taylor Swift, Faith Hill and Brad Paisley, raised more than $500,000.
“It created a tremendous amount of attention and I think it’ll be like dominoes. I think that it’ll inspire a lot of other people to do the same thing,” Gill said.
The 20-time Grammy winner finds inspiration in working with musicians and singers from across genres. He will perform with rock band Daughtry on the Country Music Association’s 43rd Annual CMA Awards, which will air Nov. 11 on ABC. They will play their country-rock collaboration “Tennessee Line,” featured on the band’s new album “Leave This Town.”
He said frontman Chris Daughtry asked him to lend his voice to the song after a mutual friend, singer-songwriter Richard Marx, suggested it.
“Not everything I do is country, you know. I’ve worked with Barbra Streisand, I’ve worked with Ralph Stanley, I’ve worked with Daughtry, I’ve worked with Mark Knopfler,” Gill said.
“That creates its own versatility, being willing to go play bluegrass with Del McCoury and then sit down at a jazz piano with Diana Krall and rock as hard as you want with Mark. … It’s just an open mind is all that’s created all those kind of relationships. And I’m prouder of that anything I’ve accomplished my own. The reason I learned to play music was to play it with other people.”
Former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker praised the Oklahoma native for his musical generosity, noting that Gill sang on his debut country album last year.
“Vince is the coolest guy on the planet,” Rucker said. “There’s not a lot of people who are the real deal … and Vince is the real deal.”
Going on
The Rotary Club of Will Rogers’ 2009 Gala “Oklahoma Swing”
What: Honoring Will Rogers Spirit Award winner Vince Gill.
Benefiting: Proceeds will go in part to Blue Star Mothers of America Inc., Oklahoma Chapter 1.
When: 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main, Tulsa.
Cost: $125 for individual tickets.
Information: (918) 749-6661 or www.willrogersrotary.org.
-BAM
George Strait, Reba McEntire bringing tour to Tulsa’s BOK Center in 2010
George Strait
Reba McEntire
“King of Country” George Strait is taking along Oklahoma country music star Reba McEntire on his 2010 tour, with a stop planned in February at Tulsa’s BOK Center.
The tour will kick off Jan. 22 in Baltimore, according to a news release from Strait’s publicist. The pair will Feb. 20 at the BOK Center; the sale date or ticket prices for the Oklahoma show have not yet been announced.
The country superstars performed together for the first time in many years for a sold-out crowd June 6 at the Cowboy’s Stadium inaugural event in Dallas. The show, which also featured Oklahoma star Blake Shelton and Lee Ann Womack, sold out in less than an hour. It was hailed by the Dallas Morning News as “an extravaganza” that “showcased Strait at the pinnacle of his musical game,” and Ft. Worth Star Telegram wrote “Reba McEntire’s performance was a breathtaking master’s class in effortless brilliance.”
With 57 No. 1 hits, 33 multi-platinum albums and countless sold-out shows year after year, Strait holds the record for the most Country Music Association wins and a record 17 CMA Entertainer of the Year nominations.
“I can’t wait to get back out there and perform some of my new favorites from Twang along with hits the fans already love,” Strait says in the release. “And with my friend Reba, we will make it a really spectacular night.”
Strait’s latest album, “Twang,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart. This is the fourth time in Strait’s career that a new release has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and his 13th time debuting at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. It has become a critically acclaimed album and received rave reviews in USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, People, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, The Boston Globe, Billboard and many more.
Strait co-wrote three songs on “Twang,” including the debut single, “Living for the Night.” The current single and title track of the album sits at No. 22 on Billboard and Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart.
At last year’s CMA Awards, George became the artist with the most CMA Awards in history with an album of the year win for “Troubadour” and single of the year for “I Saw God Today.” This year, he has four CMA nominations - nods for entertainer of the year, male vocalist of the year, video of the year for “Troubadour” and vocal event of the year for “Everything But Quits” with Womack - going into the Nov. 11 awards show.
His platinum-selling “Troubadour” was named best country album at the 51st Grammy Awards in February, and Strait was the fifth artist ever to receive the Academy of Country Music’s Artist of the Decade honor in April. Strait also has won 19 Academy of Country Music Awards including entertainer of the year.
With a career spanning more than 25 years, Strait has the most No. 1 singles of any artist in history, including Elvis Presley, with 57 to date. He has sold more than 67 million records, and with 33 platinum or multi-platinum albums to his name, he has the most RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) platinum certifications in country music and the third in all genres, behind The Beatles and Elvis .
One of the most successful female recording artists in history, McEntire, who grew up in Chockie, has sold more than 55 million albums worldwide, earned 33 No. 1 singles and was recently recognized as the biggest female hitmaker in country music history by Billboard, Mediabase and Country Aircheck.
The Oklahoma native is the winner of 15 American Music Awards, 12 ACM Awards, nine People’s Choice Awards, seven CMA Awards and two Grammy Awards.
McEntire’s new album, “Keep On Loving You,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart – her first solo studio album to do so. With 11 No. 1 albums, she holds the record as the female artist with the most No. 1 albums in the history of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
The superstar also recently scored her third consecutive Top 10 single of 2009, as her new song “Consider Me Gone” jumped into the Top 10 this week on both the Billboard country singles and the USA Today/Country Aircheck Chart powered by Mediabase) charts.
In November 2008, McEntire signed with The Valory Music Co. reuniting her with multimedia entertainer and industry leader Scott Borchetta, president and CEO of Big Machine Records and sister label The Valory Music Co.
For more information on the tour, go to www.georgestrait.com or www.rebamcentire.com.
See the full list of 2010 tour dates after the break.
Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts to be profiled in CMA TV special
Vince Gill (Photo by Chris Landsberger/The Oklahoman Archives)
Carrie Underwood (Associated Press photo)
Rascal Flatts (AP photo)
Oklahoma country music stars Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill and Rascal Flatts (which includes Joe Don Rooney of Picher) will be featured on the television special “In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: Bright Light. Big Stars. All Access Nashville.”
The special will air on ABC (KOCO-5 in Oklahoma City) on Nov. 10, the day before the 43rd Annual Country Music Association Awards air live on the network. It will be hosted by “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts.
Tim McGraw and Martina McBride also will be profiled on the one-hour special, according to CMT.com. The show will include interviews with Gill, Rosanne Cash and Loretta Lynn about their musical families.
Also, President Barack Obama, Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts will take part in a segment about their favorite country songs. Viewers can go to www.abcnews.com to cast their votes for their favorite country track. The winning song will be revealed the following morning, the day of the big awards show, on “Good Morning America.”
ABC has started posting online a few snippets of Roberts’ interviews with the stars. Video clips up now include Underwood talking about the record deal she didn’t land when she 15 and the ways she copes with life as a celebrity. Also, bits featuring Underwood with her mom Carole and Gill with his daughter Jenny are available for viewing.
To see the clips and learn more about the special, go to http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/InTheSpotlight.
-BAM
Taylor Swift coming to Oklahoma City’s Ford Center in March; tickets go on sale Nov. 6
Taylor Swift (Associated Press photo)
It’s official: Country music starlet Taylor Swift will bring her extended “Fearless” tour to Oklahoma City’s Ford Center next spring.
Swift, who at 19 is the youngest artist to ever be nominated for the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award, will play March 31 at the arena, the venue confirmed today.
Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Nov. 6. Tickets will be available at the Ford Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets, including participating Suncoast, FYE and Homeland stores, by phone at (800) 745-3000 or online at www.okfordcenter.com.
Oklahoma City was listed as a stop for the “Fearless” 2010 tour when the dates were announced earlier this month, but the Ford Center was not confirmed as the venue until today.
The teen star will kick off the second leg of her first headlining tour Feb. 4 in Brisbane, Australia. After playing five shows Down Under, Swift will start her North American run on March 4 in Tampa, Fla. The singer-songwriter will headline 37 shows in 29 cities in 22 states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada next year.
“I’m so excited to take the ‘Fearless’ tour back out on the road again in 2010!” Swift said in a news release. “This year’s tour has been so much fun and even more unforgettable than I ever imagined. The fans have been so amazing, and I’m thrilled to play in new cities and see even more of my fans on the 2010 ‘Fearless’ Tour!”
Swift’s pal and fellow singer Kellie Pickler and up-and-coming country band Gloriana will return as opening acts on the 2010 leg of the tour.
All shows on this year’s “Fearless” outing, including one at Tulsa’s BOK Center, sold out in a matter of minutes. One concert at Madison Square Garden sold out in one minute, while one at Los Angeles’ Staples center was tapped in just two minutes. The blockbuster tour was chronicled in the one-hour primetime NBC special “Dateline: On Tour With Taylor Swift.”
That sell-out trend seems destined to continue: All available tickets to 15 dates on her 2010 tour sold out within moments of going on sale last Friday, according to CMT.com.
Swift will appear Thursday on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and will serve as host and musical guest of “Saturday Night Live” on Nov. 7.
On Nov. 11, she will compete for four awards, including the top prize, entertainer of the year, at 43rd Annual CMA Awards. The awards show, co-hosted by Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, will air live on ABC.
Swift’s two albums, “Fearless” and her self-titled debut, have topped 10 million copies in combined total sales, plus an additional 20 million paid song downloads. Her label, Big Machine Records, released a platinum edition of “Fearless” earlier this week.
For more information, go to www.taylorswift.com.
-BAM
UPDATED: Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley to play free show Nov. 10 in Nashville
Country superstars Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will play in downtown Nashville, Tenn., for ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Nov. 10, one day before they host the 43rd Annual Country Music Association Awards.
Paisley and Underwood will perform on the Sommet Center’s outdoor plaza, according to CMT.com. The event is open to the public.
UPDATE: The Country Music Association has clarified that Underwood and Paisley will each perform one song for “Good Morning America” on Nov. 10. The public is invited to come and cheer on the stars and enjoy the performance, but the organization doesn’t want fans to be expecting more than two songs to be played.
Underwood, who hails from Checotah, and Paisley are co-hosting the CMA Awards for the second time. The awards show will air live from the Sommet Center on Nov. 11.
The co-hosts also will appear on “The Late Show with David Letterman” on back-to-back nights next month.
Underwood will perform on the late show Monday, Nov. 2, the day before her hotly anticipated third album, “Play On,” is released.
Paisley will play Letterman next Tuesday, Nov. 3.
-BAM
First presenters announced for 43rd Annual CMA Awards
Julianne Hough
The first group of presenters has been announced for the 43rd Annual CMA Awards, which will hosted by Brad Paisley and Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood, and air live from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 11 on ABC.
The first celebrities announced as presenters for the Country Music Association’s award show: NASCAR superstar driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.; stars of ABC’s “The Middle” Neil Flynn and Patricia Heaton; Julianne Hough; nominee Randy Houser (for both New Artist and Music Video of the Year for “Boots On”); nominee Jake Owen (New Artist of the Year); Kellie Pickler; CMA Award winner LeAnn Rimes; and ABC News’s Robin Roberts, co-anchor of “Good Morning America” and host of the upcoming “Robin Roberts: Bright Lights. Big Stars. All Access Nashville” ABC television special (airing Nov. 10).
In addition, hot emerging trio Love And Theft will host the pre-telecast awards, which are given out during the half-hour before the televised event begins. Among the awards presented during this time are the CMA Broadcast Awards, which recognize the Broadcast Personality and Station of the Year in four categories (small, medium, large, and major market) as well as the National Broadcast Personality of the Year.
Performers already announced include Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney and Dave Mathews, Billy Currington, Vince Gill and Daughtry, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band, with more to be named soon.
Tickets for the 2009 CMA Awards can be purchased by logging on to www.ticketmaster.com; calling (800) 745-3000; or in person at the Sommet Center box office, 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, in Nashville). Ticket prices begin at $110 for Upper Level. Lower Level seats are also available.
-BAM
Carrie Underwood to perform at American Music Awards
Oklahoma country star Carrie Underwood, along with Kelly Clarkson and Daughtry, has been added to the performance lineup of the American Music Awards, according to CMT.com.
The American Music Awards will air Nov. 22 on ABC.
The award show is shaping up to be a sort of “American Idol” alumni reunion: Underwood and Clarkson are both “Idol” winners, while Daughtry frontman Chris Daughtry was a finalist in 2006.
As previously announced, “American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert will perform on the show as well.
The Black Eyed Peas, Jennifer Lopez, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys also have been added as AMA performers.
It’s turning into a hectic fall for Underwood, who is planning a flurry of TV appearances next week to go with the release of her third album, “Play On.” The Oklahoma native and Brad Paisley will co-host the 43rd Annual CMA Awards Nov. 11 on ABC.
-BAM
