Jerrod Niemann

Not-so-newcomer Jerrod Niemann follows the non-traditional path of his good friend Jamey Johnson to country music success and reveals the secret to hitting the ultra-low notes in his top 10 hit "Lover Lover." (July 13)

"American Idol" Comes to Nashville

'American Idol' season 10 underway in Nashville

By CAITLIN R. KING, Associated Press Writer - Fri Jul 16

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 10th season of "American Idol" is under way in Nashville, and despite the long lines and big dreams of wannabe contestants, there's no denying that something's missing.

"'Idol's' going to be different this year first and foremost because (judge) Simon Cowell's not here," supervising producer Patrick Lynn said in an interview. "But secondly, this is our 10th season, we're going into it, and we're really this year are making it about the contestant. It's all about them, and let me tell you, Nashville, the crowd here does not disappoint."

People began lining up for wristbands outside Nashville's Bridgestone Arena early Thursday morning. By 9 a.m, Lynn estimated there were upward of 10,000 people waiting in the nearly 90-degree heat.

Contestants are mixed on Cowell's departure from the show. Some are relieved they won't have to face him; others wish they could get his critique.

Jayson Kim, 22, from Springfield, Missouri, smiled when Cowell's name came up.

"I'm kind of glad," said Kim of the fact that he wouldn't have to face Cowell in the audition. "He could be mean, and I don't like mean people. So, I'm glad."

Maurice Buchanan, a 28-year-old Christian music singer from Nashville, initially said it was "wonderful" that he would escape Cowell's assessment but then backtracked a little when he thought of Cowell's celebrity.

"I actually wanted to meet Simon," said Buchanan.

Survival instincts kicking in, he reverted back to his original feeling: "But I believe that it's good, that I can actually impress someone else."

Brett Hunter, a 16-year-old student from Hendersonville, Tenn., defended Cowell's role on the show.

"There's a difference between being mean and being honest, and he always had the honest thing to say," argued Hunter.

Fifteen-year-old Christy Barger from Loretta, Tenn., said Cowell was her favorite.

"He made the show funny," she said.

Last year, Barger would've been turned away from auditions because the minimum age was 16. However, producers changed the rules this year to allow 15-year-olds. Lynn said the decision came from a perfect storm of having to turn away talented young people from auditions and the phenomenon of Bieber-fever.

"We have a whole new generation of people that has sort of grown up with 'Idol,'" he said. "We noticed a lot of young people coming out, and then Justin Bieber came along and kind of confirmed all that. So it's kind of hand in hand."

Bieber blasted onto the scene with his 2009 hit "One Time" at age 15.

Even though 19-year-old college student Casey Wright from Moorehead, Ky., wasn't affected by the rule change, she believes it was a great idea.

"I say give as many people as you can a chance," she said.

Her 16-year-old sister Corey Wright thought so, too.

"Everyone, no matter what the age, can have a good voice. Let it show," she said.

"Idol's" ratings have slipped in recent years. Over 24 million viewers tuned in for the finale in May according to Nielsen Co, down nearly 5 million viewers the previous year.

That reality, combined with Cowell's departure is giving producers something to think about.

"We're trying to look at the show with fresh eyes this year, to kind of say, 'What's been our biggest successes' and really kind of focus on those," said Lynn. "I think it really comes down to the people behind me in line. That's what the success of the show relies upon and that's what the show is."

Wristbands will be handed out again Friday in Nashville, with auditions beginning Saturday.

__

Online:

http://www.americanidol.com

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift to release album 'Speak Now' Oct. 25

By CAITLIN R. KING, Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Taylor Swift will release her third album, "Speak Now," worldwide on Oct. 25.

She announced it to her fans Tuesday through a live web chat.

It's been two years since Swift released her sophomore album "Fearless." She says, "You've got to give yourself a little bit of time to live a lot of things so you can write about a lot of things."

Swift explains that the title, "Speak Now," is the theme, and that "track by track, each song is a different confession to a different person."

She wrote all 14 tracks herself. The first single, "Mine," will be released Aug. 16. Swift also plans to launch a world tour following the release.

"Fearless" was the top-selling album of 2009 and earned Swift every major award, including four Grammys.

I Love My Country

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Julianne Hough

Julianne Hough keeps coy on Ryan Seacrest rumors

By CAITLIN R. KING (AP) – 7 hours ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country singer and "Dancing With The Stars" pro Julianne Hough isn't making her romantic life public, but she is giving hints that rumors linking her to "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest are true.

When asked Tuesday whether she is dating Seacrest, Hough laughed and said that she wasn't going to confirm or deny anything. While she answered, Hough looked up and to the right with a coy smile on her face.

Hough went on to say: "Ryan's great. He's a really good guy."

Hough was in Nashville to participate in the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp for people with Williams Syndrome. She sang karaoke with the campers at a local bar and signed autographs.

___

Online:

http://www.juliannehough.com

http://www.acmliftinglives.com

Nashville Rising

Big names flock to Nashville for flood benefit

By CAITLIN R. KING, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jun 22, 2:35 pm ET NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Big names from all music genres are coming together for a benefit concert Tuesday to help victims of last month's devastating flood in Nashville. Faith Hill, who is leading the Nashville Rising concert with husband Tim McGraw, said just bringing everyone in the Nashville community together in the same venue will be powerful. "Sometimes the only way we can possibly do that is to experience a tragedy like we did in the last couple of months," she said. "The musicians on stage have gone through it. Some of them have lost every instrument they ever owned, and some in the audience have lost their homes and their businesses. So we've been through this together, and we're going to pull ourselves up." The all-star line up for Tuesday night's concert includes McGraw, Hill, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, LeAnn Rimes, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Lynyrd Skynrd, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and ZZ Top. A statement on the Brooks & Dunn Website said the duo had to pull out due to illness. Performer Julie Roberts is a flood victim herself. "We went upstairs to the second floor and had to wait to be rescued for about 5 1/2, 6 hours. We lost our home that day. We lost all of our belongings, all of our cars, but we were rescued and my four dogs were rescued." She also broke her ankle during the ordeal. "It can heal," she said, with a quiet peace about her. "I'm alive and my mom's alive and my sister's alive, and I'm here to talk about it, and I'm here to sing tonight. So I feel very blessed." McGraw said the timing of the concert — nearly seven weeks after the flood May 1 and 2 — was intentional, to bring another wave of disaster relief funds to the city. "What's really the part that is the most work right now is neighborhoods, where people live and where their families live," he said. "That's where the focus is for us now is families and neighborhoods and for people to get their homes and their lives back together." Ellen Lehman, president of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, says Nashville is moving from the stabilization phase to the restoration phase where the unexpected expenses of a disaster are most acutely felt. "Since the flood, (families) are not only required to pay their mortgage and the rest of their bills, but they're also needing to pay rent," she said. "Going forward...they're going to have to find the money to rebuild. That is a huge unexpected burden, and there will be people who can't financially put together a package that will allow them to do that, and they're going to have to walk away from their homes." Lehman said over 37,000 people have filed claims with FEMA throughout 40 counties in middle Tennessee. Officials say the flooding caused over $2 billion in damage. Jason Aldean said he is grateful to McGraw and Hill for organizing the event. "All of us, all the artists involved in this thing have all adopted Nashville as our home," he said. "It's our community, and our city, and we want to help out as much as anybody. This town was built on music and who better to help the community out than the artists that kind of helped to build the city?" Organizers hope to raise upward of $2 million. The sold-out concert is Tuesday at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. __ Online: http://www.nashvillerising.org

John Mayer and Keith Urban on "CMT Crossroads

Urban, Mayer celebrate their 'arranged marriage'

By CAITLIN R. KING, Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Forget eHarmony. When it comes to pairing up musicians, "CMT Crossroads" is the ultimate matchmaker.

"I see them sort of as arranged marriages," said pop star John Mayer of the series that pairs country music stars with artists from other genres.

Mayer is featured on a new episode with country singer Keith Urban that premieres on CMT Friday.

"I think at some point it would've been inevitable that we came together and played guitars together, so the only thing that's missing is we didn't just sit together and play guitars and say, 'Hey, let's do a 'Crossroads.' It was more like people who knew us and knew each other thought that would be something that made sense, and within seconds we both knew that it did."

After just a day of rehearsing for the show, Mayer and Urban were already finishing each other's sentences when describing how they put off preparing for the gig.

Mayer: "It is not our strong suits as musicians to ..."

"To be organized," said Urban.

"Yeah, we're not administrative creatures," continued Mayer. "When people say, 'Did you call Keith yet?' or 'Did Keith call you yet?'... I'm like, 'No. We're not going to call each other until we totally have to.' It's never a disrespect. It's just really hard to cold call another artist and go, 'Hey, it's John here. Want to talk about these songs?'"

But finally, Urban phoned Mayer.

"I think I said to you, 'I'm sitting at my house with a guitar and a bit of unexpected time, and I thought, well now is a good time to learn those John Mayer songs — if I only knew which ones they were!'" said Urban.

The duo ended up collaborating on Urban's hits "Til Summer Comes Around," "Sweet Thing" and "If Ever I Could Love." They sang Mayer's songs "Perfectly Lonely" and "Gravity" as well as a cover of "Faith" by George Michael.

This is the first time that the series is bringing back "Crossroads" alumni. Mayer was featured with Brad Paisley in an episode that premiered in May 2004. Urban performed with John Fogerty on a show that aired in February 2005.

One reason the series is such a success is its appeal to fans and artists alike.

"When you've been playing these songs for months or years, it's really great to hear another element on them," said Mayer. "

Urban says he loves seeing the "collaborative mojo" during episodes of "Crossroads," because "sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

"I also think it's important to find some musical common ground where it makes sense if you're going to collaborate with someone," added Urban. "I think in the case of John and I, we both play guitar. We both sing. We both write songs. I'm trying to find a lot of the commonality between us, where you can actually see the connection between his music and mine."

The series started in January 2002 with Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello. Over eight years, it has featured artists including Hank Williams Jr. and Kid Rock, Brooks & Dunn and ZZ Top, Kenny Chesney and John Mellencamp, Sugarland and Bon Jovi, Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Taylor Swift and Def Leppard, Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett and many more.

Chesney returns to the "Crossroads" stage with The Steve Miller Band in a new episode premiering Friday, July 9.

__

Online:

http://www.cmt.com

http://www.johnmayer.com

http://www.keithurban.net

Father's Day

In honor of Father's Day, country stars Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Randy Houser and Justin Moore reflect back on nuggets of wisdom their dads gave them.

CMA Fest

Country music stars stress importance of CMA Fest

By CAITLIN R. KING, Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country music fans are flooding downtown Nashville where water flowed just over a month ago.

The CMA Music Fest is always an important event for the city, but especially this year, since flooding that began May 1 caused over $2 billion in damage.

"I think everybody is really conscious about the flood relief and stuff like that that's going on," Carrie Underwood said. "There's a lot of charity events this week for flood relief. It's just really cool, too, the show must go on, to get out and do our thing."

Underwood performed on Music Fest's opening night Thursday at LP Field, one of the many structures that suffered extensive flood damage. There will be concerts there every night through the festival's closing on Sunday.

"This year I just think it's so much more important," Miranda Lambert said. "It's everybody coming together in a city that really needs support right now, and it's people that all have one thing in common, which is country music and the love of country music."

Lambert was scheduled to perform at LP Field on Friday night.

Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum, a native of Nashville, acknowledged how much effort it took to pull off this massive event.

"The artists like us, we owe everybody with the CMA, every volunteer, everyone who has worked so hard to get the facilities back to a point where they could hold people and the show could go on," she said. "It's been a lot of work. We're thankful, because that's a way for a lot of money to be pumped back into the city. And it's one of the most fun weekends of the year in Nashville."

Her band performed a number of their hits Thursday night, including "Need You Now," "American Honey" and "I Run to You."

Tim McGraw couldn't wait to perform Thursday night.

"I've been on tour all summer, but this is the first time I've played at the new Fan Fair site, the CMA Fest. I still call it Fan Fair," he said, smiling. "But it's the first time I've played in this setting in a long, long time. I can't remember the last time, so I'm excited about it."

After all, stadium gigs are what many artists only dream about. Lady Antebellum guitarist Dave Haywood agreed.

"It's the top of the top," he said. "We played some last year with Kenny Chesney, but the energy here, when everyone comes from around the country and the world for these shows. ... There's nothing like it."

"Most of us don't know what it's like to go out and play in a stadium other than Chesney," said Jason Aldean. "So for us it's exciting to go out and play in front of that many people, and you know that every single person in that crowd is a country music fan. You know they are or they wouldn't be here this week. For me that's the coolest part about it."

Fans are a priority for artists this week, but that's not all.

"The other important side of this festival is obviously the flood, and the fact that we're able to go and show that we've risen from this as a city by having this festival," said Brad Paisley, who lost many of his guitars and other touring gear stored at Soundcheck, a popular storage and rehearsal space that was submerged.

"I know the importance of that myself, having had to go back out there and do shows with all new guitars and a crew that's very tired. This town is ready, and it's excited about the prospect of having something like this happen this quickly and be a success."

___

Online:

http://www.cmafest.com/

Carrie Underwood's lucky fan

AssociatedPress — June 15, 2010 — Fifteen-year-old Riley Ahlstrand is now on a first name basis with her favorite singer thanks to an e-mail she sent to the Country Music Association, asking for Carrie Underwood to perform at CMA Music Fest.