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
CD review: Carrie Underwood, “Play On”
A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Country
Carrie Underwood “Play On” (19 Recordings Limited/Arista Nashville)
Contemporary country star Carrie Underwood stretches her strong soprano, her songwriting skills and musical boundaries on her third album, “Play On.”
The Checotah native co-wrote seven of the 13 songs, ranging from “What Can I Say,” a twangy heartbreaker with country brother act Sons of Sylvia, to the anthemic title track, which could well be next season’s “American Idol” farewell theme. The album’s sonic diversity reveals the 2005 “American Idol” winner’s willingness to grow and experiment.
The record opens with her latest hit, “Cowboy Casanova,” a feisty country-rocker about a “snake with blue eyes” lothario. She co-wrote the cautionary tale with successful country songsmith and fellow Okie Brett James (who also co-wrote her Grammy-winning hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel”) and hip-hop writer/producer Mike Elizondo, who has worked with Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent.
She keeps rocking with “Undo It,” a catchy kiss-off with a stuttering chorus and strutting groove that she penned with “Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi and hard-rock producer Marti Frederiksen. Her woman-wronged sass takes a more distinctly country turn on “Songs Like This.”
Underwood, 26, gets sentimental with songs like the spiritual weeper “Temporary Home,” which she co-wrote with Zac Maloy, former frontman for Oklahoma City band The Nixons, and the earnest ballad “Mama’s Song,” her other DioGuardi/ Frederiksen collaboration. And if “Change” comes across as a too syrupy bit of idealism, her youth and philanthropy (including a recent donation of musical instruments to Checotah schools) can probably earn her a pass.
The crossover hitmaker often takes her lumps from the Nashville establishment for her pop-flavored music, but she spotlights her country side on the beautifully sad “Someday When I Stop Loving You” and the slow-dancer “Look at Me,” featuring Oklahoma star Vince Gill on vocals.
- BAM
Carrie Underwood to play Bahamas concert
Oklahoma country music star Carrie Underwood will perform her first concert following today’s release of her new album at the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in The Bahamas.
The Checotah native will play Dec. 5 at the resort as part of the Atlantis Live! concert series, according to a news release from the venue.
The reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year and four-time Grammy winner with album sales of more than 10 million, Underwood’s placed her third album, “Play On,” in retail outlets today.
Atlantis, Paradise Island rates for the weekend of Dec. 6 begin at $269 per night, including concert tickets. Guests who stay for two nights will receive an additional $650 in complimentary signature Atlantis activities and dining experiences, such as dolphin interactions, sushi and sake at Nobu, access to the exclusive Cain at The Cove ultra-pool and the new Snorkel with the Mantas program.
The Atlantis Live! concert series is known for hosting many popular names in music, with previous artists including Miley Cyrus, Colbie Caillat, Fergie and the Jonas Brothers.
Packages can be booked by calling (800) Atlantis, or by booking online at www.Atlantis.com.
-BAM
Carrie Underwood featured on the cover of Country Weekly magazine
Carrie Underwood watches the Ottawa Senators take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in an NHL hockey game March 11 in Ottawa. The country star chats with Country Weekly magazine about her boyfriend, Senators star Mike Fisher, in the current issue. (Associated Press photo)
Country music star Carrie Underwood, who releases her new album “Play On” today, is featured on the cover of the Nov. 9 issue of Country Weekly, on sale now.
In a story titled “Carrie Underwood: What Makes Me Cry,” the Oklahoma native talks with the magazine about her beau, forgiveness, her new music, long-term goals and what makes her tear up.
She tells the magazine that her boyfriend, NHL hockey star Mike Fisher, exhibits the “cowboy” traits she likes in a man.
“When I think of cowboys, I don’t just go stereotypical hats and boots and Wranglers,” she tells Country Weekly. “I think of somebody who’s very strong, and kinda quiet and has this confidence about them. Something that’s very sexy and not overstated.”
Check out my feature on Underwood and review of “Play On” Friday.
-BAM
Video: Carrie Underwood kicks off series of TV appearances
Oklahoma native and country star Carrie Underwood kicked off a series of several TV appearances Monday night on “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
In the next month or so, Underwood will perform songs from her new album “Play On,” releasing today, on several shows. She also will be profiled in an episode of “Biography,” play two different awards shows and co-host the CMA Awards and host her first Christmas special.
Here is a list of her TV appearances:
Yesterday The Late Show with David Letterman
Today Good Morning America- live in New York
Nov 5 Live! with Regis & Kelly
Nov 10 Good Morning America- live in Nashville
Nov 10 “In The Spotlight with Robin Roberts: Bright Lights. Big Stars. All Access Nashville”- ABC Special
Nov 11 43rd Annual CMA Awards
Nov 12 A&E “Biography- Carrie Underwood”
Nov 16 The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
Nov 18 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Nov 19 Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Nov 22 American Music Awards
Dec 7 “Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special” on Fox
If you want more TV news, check out Penny Soldan’s TV blog at http://blog.newsok.com/television.
-BAM
Carrie Underwood talks “Play On”
Oklahoma native and country music star Carrie Underwood sat down with the Associated Press to talk about her new album, where she fits in the country genre and her relationship with hockey player Mike Fisher.
Underwood, who hails from Checotah, told the AP she prefers to call her music “contemporary country” rather than “country-pop.” She acknowledges her sonic style differs from the music her childhood idols made.
“I loved Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn, those were the people that really first made me love country music. Then there were people like Bryan White who were like coming on the scene,” the 26-year-old Oklahoma native explains. “And he was like one of the people that was like ‘OK, they don’t have to all sound like this.’ People can sound all kind of ways. And he was young and hot.”
“I’ve had people tell me, ‘I never listened to country music until I saw you on “American Idol,” and now I’ve been to a Rascal Flatts concerts, and I went and saw so and so,’” she adds. “And it’s wonderful that we all kind of have our place in country music and we all pull listeners in for different reasons, and because of that we can hear everything.”
She worked with collaborators from across genres on ”Play On,” including rap producer/writer Mike Elizondo on first single “Cowboy Casanova.”
“I’m not trying to move anywhere away from country music,” she tells the AP while sitting in a production studio, dressed comfortably in jeans, a T-shirt and sandals. “I love what I do. And let’s say ‘Cowboy Casanova’ crosses over, it’s going to cross over as it is — fiddles, steel and all. Growing up I never liked it when people would have a country song and then change it for a different format.”
Underwood and songwriter Luke Laird, a friend who wrote several songs on her 2007 album “Carnival Ride,” teamed up with “American Idol” judge and pop songwriter Kara DioGuardi and Marti Frederiksen to produce two of the album’s tracks, “Undo It” and “Mama’s Song.”
“Undo It,” with its revved up banjo intro and na-na-na chorus, is a scorching spurned love song.
“I like to be sassy. I’m a smart aleck and it’s just fun to have a little sass,” says Underwood.
“Mama’s Song” is a love song about helping a mother gain trust for a good man who wants to marry her daughter. The presence of her boyfriend, Ottawa Senators center Mike Fisher, can be felt on the song, the most personal of the seven Underwood wrote for the album.
The song seems destined to get played at weddings, but she’s not getting married. But she feels comfortable enough in the relationship that it’s starting to show through in her work — and add depth to it as well.
“This has been kind of my first attempt at love songs,” Underwood says. “And I think there’s a reason for that. I think it’s because I’m a private person anyway, and I’m not so great with emotions. I consider myself more boyish in that way, so I’m pretty closed off. But you know when you’re happy in your life, you can just kind of tell.”
Click here to read more of Underwood’s interview with the AP. And look for my feature and review of “Play On” Friday.
-BAM
New releases for Nov. 3, 2009
Carrie Underwood (Associated Press photo)
Oklahoma native and country music star Carrie Underwood releases her third album, “Play On,” in stores today.
The new album, one of the most eagerly anticipated country records of the fall, already has spawned one hit with the sassy first single, “Cowboy Casanova.”
Also in music news, Oklahoma country star Reba McEntire makes an appearance on Andrea Bocelli’s “My Christmas”; she and the Italian singing star do a duet of “Blue Christmas” on the album.
Here is a list of new CDs, DVDs and books out this week, from Amazon.com, VideoETA.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
Carrie Underwood, “Play On.”
Andrea Bocelli, “My Christmas.”
The Rolling Stones, “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones In Concert” (40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set).
Weezer, “Raditude.”
Foo Fighters, “Greatest Hits.”
Slayer, “World Painted Blood.”
Straight No Chaser, “Christmas Cheers.”
DVDs
Aliens in the Attic
The Answer Man
Command Performance
Food, Inc.
G.I. Joe Real American Hero: Season 1.2
G.I. Joe: Resolute
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
I Love You, Beth Cooper
The Marc Pease Experience
North By Northwest
Star Wars The Clone Wars: The Complete Season One
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Will Ferrell: You’re Welcome America
Books
“Ford County” by John Grisham.
“Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer.
“The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama’s Historic Victory” by David Plouffe.
“A Christmas Blizzard” by Garrison Keillor.
“The Humbling” by Philip Roth.
“In Too Deep (39 Clues Series No. 6)” by Jude Watson.
“It’s Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams and Increase in God’s Favor” by Joel Osteen.
“Kindred in Death (In Death Series No. 29)” by J. D. Robb.
“The Lacuna” by Barbara Kingsolver.
“No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War II” by Jeff Shaara.
“One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity” by Debbie Macomber.
“Our Choice” by Al Gore.
“A Quilter’s Holiday: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel” by Jennifer Chiaverini.
“Rachael Ray’s Book of Ten: More Than 300 Recipes to Cook Every Day” by Rachael Ray.
“Rainwater” by Sandra Brown.
-BAM
Carrie Underwood named Harmony Award winner
Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood, the reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, will be honored as recipient of the 2009 Harmony Award at the Ball Dec. 12 at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
The Harmony Award is presented annually at Nashville’s Symphony Ball to individuals who have demonstrated continued interest and support of music in Nashville. The recipients exemplify the unique harmony between the many worlds of music that exist in that city and have contributed significantly to the development and appreciation of Nashville’s musical culture, according to a news release.
A four-time Grammy Award winner, Underwood is also the three-time, reigning ACM and Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year. Today, she releases a new album, “Play On,” on 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville with producer Mark Bright. He produced 2007’s hit-filled “Carnival Ride,” as well as seven tracks including four No. 1s from Underwood’s blockbuster 2005 debut, “Some Hearts.”
Earlier this year, the Checotah native became the first country artist in history to achieve 10 No. 1 singles from their first two albums when “I Told You So” became the fifth consecutive chart-topper from “Carnival Ride.” To date, she is the U.S. best-selling “American Idol” winner with album sales of more than 10 million.
Previous recipients of the Harmony Award include Amy Grant, LeAnn Rimes, Michael W. Smith, Tony Brown, Mike & Linda Curb, Lyle Lovett, Oklahoman Trisha Yearwood, Dolly Parton, The Judds, Steve Winwood, Oklahoma native Vince Gill, Wynonna and Naomi Judd, Chet Atkins, Rascal Flatts (which includes Joe Don Rooney of Picher) and Martina McBride, the 2008 recipient.
Nashville’s Symphony Ball is Music City USA’s premier winter social event, a white-tie, invitation-only evening benefiting the Nashville Symphony and its music outreach programs. This year marks the event’s 25th anniversary.
-BAM
BAM Column: Carrie Underwood’s star keeps rising with “Play On”
Carrie Underwood (Photo by Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman Archives)
From Tuesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Carrie Underwood’s star bright in ‘Play On’
Carrie Underwood’s star just keeps rising with today’s release of her highly anticipated third album, “Play On.”
It’s been fewer than five years since the Checotah native won “American Idol,” but Underwood’s music career has been supernova hot since. Between her first two albums, 2005’s “Some Hearts” and 2007’s “Carnival Ride,” she already has sold 10 million records, notched 10 No. 1 hits and won four Grammy Awards, along with numerous other industry accolades.
So, sky-high expectations hang over “Play On,” but the Oklahoma native seems poised to meet them. The album’s first single, “Cowboy Casanova,” rocketed into the top five in just seven weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. A sassy cautionary tale about a man “who looks like a cool drink of water, but he’s candy-coated misery,” it blasted out of the gate with first-week sales of more than 110,000 digital copies.
Underwood co-wrote seven of the 13 songs on “Play On,” penning “Cowboy Casanova” with fellow Okie Brett James (who also co-wrote her Grammy-winning hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel”) and hip-hop impresario Mike Elizondo.
She keeps the country-rock sound and tough-chick tone on “Undo It,” a scathing kiss-off to someone “who stole my happy.” She collaborated with three other writers on the song, including “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi.
But Checotah’s sweetheart also shows her softer side on “Play On.” The ballad “Mama’s Song,” about a woman assuring her mother that the man in her life is a keeper, is sure to be a favorite at weddings. And “Temporary Home” tugs the heartstrings as effectively as her previous smash singles “So Small” and “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”
Underwood is marking the album release with a publicity blitz in New York City. She performed Monday on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” and she will play an outdoor show at the Lincoln Center today on “Good Morning America.” On Thursday, she will round out her Big Apple outing with an appearance on “Live with Regis and Kelly.”
Then, it’s back to Nashville for the white-hot star, who will perform on “Good Morning America” outside the Sommet Center with fellow country luminary Brad Paisley on Nov. 10, the day before they co-host the 43rd Annual Country Music Association Awards on ABC.
-BAM
