Viewership Down For “Idol” Finale

/by

American Idol winner Lee DeWyze

Lee DeWyze emerged victorious last night, as the ninth season of American Idol came to a close. The show drew 24.2 million total viewers, down 15.9% from the 28.8 million that watched last year’s Idol finale, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Last night was the lowest-rated season finale for the show since the first season, when Kelly Clarkson was the title. That finale earned 22.7 million viewers. The highest-rated finale happened in 2003, when Ruben Studdard won and 38 million viewers watched.

As the winner was revealed in the second hour, the show’s viewership on Wednesday night jumped dramatically. 19.7 million watched the first hour, while 26.5 million tuned in for the final hour, including the show’s seven minute overrun.

Chris LeDoux Honored In Wyoming

/by

Fans of the late country star Chris LeDoux will crowd tiny Kaycee, Wyoming (population 300) on Father’s Day weekend as one of the most popular entertainers to perform his music on the rodeo circuit across the U.S. is memorialized in bronze. The new Chris LeDoux Memorial Park is landscaped on downtown Kaycee property LeDoux and his wife, Peggy, had purchased many years ago. They raised five children on a ranch outside of Kaycee.

A life-and-a-half size bronze statue called “Good Ride Cowboy” is in its final stages of construction. Sculptor D. Michael Thomas of Buffalo, WY crafted the piece and began the project shortly after LeDoux’s death in 2005.

“Chris’ passing hit me like a ton of bricks right in the gut,” Thomas says. “I always had an idea there needed to be a monument of this fellow. He was Mr. Wyoming.”

LeDoux won the professional rodeo world championship in bareback riding in 1976. His music career included “What You Gonna Do With a Cowboy,” a top ten hit sung with Garth Brooks, and record sales of more than six million worldwide. He died at age 56 of a rare form of liver cancer. His capacity crowd concerts at Cheyenne Frontier Days beginning in the mid-1990s drew thousands of loyal fans. LeDoux is a member of both the Cheyenne Frontier Days and Pro Rodeo Halls of Fame.

Thomas’ bronze depicts LeDoux spurring for a coveted world champion’s buckle and the base is a replica of LeDoux’s guitar. The piece has been in production for more than four years and fund raising by a Kaycee-based memorial foundation has included the sale of several smaller models and an annual golf tournament.

“We are very happy to have been able to raise enough money to pay for the monument in this short a period of time,” said Kaycee resident Pam Kinchen, foundation coordinator. “People often come into Kaycee wanting to see something about Chris’ life. Now they will be able to bring their families to the park and tell their kids about Chris, how important family was to him, his artistry and how no dream is too big.”

Many Wyoming hands have been a part of the monument’s creation including a Cody mold maker, the crew at Caleco Bronze Foundry in Cody and finisher Clay Ward whose shop is near Deaver, Wyoming where “Good Ride Cowboy” is being welded into shape out of more than 100 bronze sections. The finished product will weigh 2,300 pounds and its size registers in the “heroic” category of monument designations. LeDoux was unquestionably a hero to many people. His tribute rodeo Facebook site has registered nearly 24,000 fans in seven months.

The bronze is being unveiled in Kaycee, June 19. LeDoux’s band, Western Underground, will play a free concert following the ceremony. More information is available at www.kayceewyoming.org.

Canadians Join Nashvillians For Flood Relief

/by

Victoria Banks

Two weeks after Nashville and areas of Tennessee declared a disaster area due to devastating flooding, American and Canadian artists have joined to record and release a song and video for the Red Cross flood relief cause.

The project came together after Canadian singer/songwriter Victoria Banks penned the song “City of Dreams” after seeing the flood devastation in her neighborhood. She posted a simple guitar/vocal slideshow of the damage on YouTube and within days the video had gone viral. Soon Banks was approached by members of the local Nashville music community who were touched by the song. They wanted to make it into a “We Are the World” for Nashville, and offered to donate their talents to record it as a single and a music video.

Over forty artists contributed to the recording, ranging from legendary voices to new faces, Grammy-winning musicians, and hit songwriters, including Pam Tillis, Buddy Jewell, Danielle Peck, Michelle Wright, and George Canyon. Logo design, recording, engineering and mastering studios and services were also donated, and a production company volunteered to film the event to make a music video for broadcast on CMT and GAC.

“Every participant checked their ego at the door,” says Banks. “It was incredibly moving. The whole thing was done in a spirit of community, motivated by our desire to help our Nashville neighbors who have suffered so much loss in this disaster.”

Watch the “City of Dreams” video below.

Sony Music Promotes McKinley

/by

Laura McKinley

Sony Music Nashville Marketing Vice President Tom Baldrica today announced the promotion of Laura McKinley to the position of Associate Director, Marketing & Artist Development, working with the label group’s Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville imprints. McKinley most recently represented the labels as Manager, Marketing & Artist Development.

“Laura’s passion, drive, and attention to detail are what make her the ideal person for this position,” Baldrica says. “She brings a creative energy to the office every day, and her relationships within the industry are a tremendous asset to the Arista and RCA labels. I am thrilled for her and Sony Music Nashville.”

An eight-year company veteran, McKinley reports directly to Baldrica as she spearheads the marketing team representing such artists as Brooks & Dunn, Sara Evans, Danny Gokey, Alan Jackson, Jypsi, Martina McBride, Jerrod Niemann, Jake Owen, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Chuck Wicks, and Chris Young.

An announcement naming McKinley’s replacement as Manager, Marketing & Artist Development will be forthcoming.

Asset Mgt. Firm Eyes EMI Music Publishing

/by

The New York Post is reporting today (5/27) that asset management firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) is in talks to buy a stake in EMI Music Publishing and combine those operations into a separate entity that would be 51 percent controlled by EMI, with the rest being controlled by KKR-owned BMG Rights Management.

Post sources report that EMI owner Terra Firma is also in talks with others about selling a stake in the music-publishing division
.
“This move does not surprise me,” a source said. “EMI only got enough money to survive another six months before they need to raise money again.”

A source familiar with KKR said the buyout giant is not going to be aggressive and was in no rush to strike a deal with EMI. KKR and Terra Firma offered no comment.

The discussions with KKR mark another twist in Terra Firma boss Guy Hands’ quest to keep EMI afloat amid a cash crunch and a bruising fight with lender Citigroup.

KKR was in talks this past winter with Warner Music Group about launching a break-up bid for EMI as the  label teetered on the financial brink. However, EMI got a reprieve when investors earlier this month approved a request from Hands to inject more money into the label and keep it from defaulting for another year.

A deal to sell a piece of the music publishing business could give EMI several years of breathing room.
That, in turn, could enable EMI to renew talks to license its music rights in North America to Universal Music Group. Such a deal, which EMI was close to inking before the discussions broke down this spring, would enable EMI to cut costs while also raising cash.

Reportedly KKR has been looking to bolster its music assets. Last September the firm committed to investing $332 million for a 51 percent stake in BMG Rights Management. Since then, BMG has been in buying mode, acquiring Crosstown Records and Cherry Lane Music Publishing.

JoggleBug Gives Social Networking a Voice

/by

JoggleBug, a new technology giving social media a voice throughout the Internet and on mobile phones, has officially launched. JoggleBug allows celebrities and politicians to “speak” to their fans in real voice, real time. The patent-pending JoggleBug technology allows personalities to pick up their cell phone and leave voice messages within the JoggleBug network, which are then instantly distributed to the celebrity’s website and multiple social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Simple and free, JoggleBug gives fans and followers an all-access pass to the world of artists, celebrities, public figures and more.

The JoggleBug technology includes the JoggleBug player, which fans, bloggers, journalists, and even news services can embed on any website and control the content they wish to receive. Fans can even listen to JoggleBug messages on their mobile phones, which allows celebrities and politicians a one-step, one-stop communication tool distributing a message to multiple points of presence which builds their brand globally.

“Wherever celebrities and politicians have an Internet presence, JoggleBug can be heard in that space,” said company CEO and Co-Founder Ann Cameron, who created JoggleBug after she felt something was missing in social networking. “We give celebrities and politicians an easy new way to communicate with their fans and followers. Our goal is to be in every social media space that exists. Social networking is a great way to connect. However, without voice, how connected are we? JoggleBug is a perfect way to bridge that gap.”

For celebrities desiring a more genuine connection to their fans, for elected officials spreading the word about a policy or platform to their constituents or for a comedian sharing something funny, JoggleBug is their instant, unfiltered, anywhere, everywhere answer. JoggleBug fans can hear directly from the green room, backstage, the studio, the road, wherever celebrities and politicians are and whenever they have something to share. For the fans, hearing the actual voice of their favorite celebrities and politicians adds a personal touch to social networking.

“Why would I want to read a text when I can hear the person’s voice,” added Cameron “Voice has been around since the beginning of time. It was taken out of our lives through texting and emailing. We’re missing a component of our socialization, the emotions and feelings that are attributed to another dimension of communication – voice. JoggleBug gives us back our voice.”

For more information or to set up a JoggleBug account, visit www.JoggleBug.com.

DISClaimer Reviews (5/26/10)

/by

There is plenty of activity on the Row this week.

Legal Aid reached out to the music community with a get-to-know-us breakfast at Sunset Grill yesterday. It was a real who’s-who gathering.

Later that day and across the street at Cabana, we celebrated the launch of the big Country Throwdown tour featuring Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Jack Ingram, Little Big Town, The Eli Young Band, Eric Church, The Lost Trailers, Ryan Bingham, Emily West, Jonathan Singleton, Heidi Newfield and more than 10 other attractions.

Then there was Sunday’s music-heaven Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Billy Sherrill and Ferlin Husky. What an amazing gig that was.

Somehow in the midst of all of this, I carved out a listening session. All right, I got up at the crack of dawn today to get this column done.

Give a Disc of the Day to the always impressive Gloriana. I remain an enormous fan.

For a DisCovery Award, you can’t do much better than Winfield’s Locket. I don’t know whether their project is actually available or not. But if or when it is, get it.

JENA WALKER & RODNEY WHATLEY/Stay With Me
Writer: Jena Walker/Rodney Whatley; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Jena Walker, BMI; JW (www.jenawalker.com)
—They are well matched, vocally. Both have a slightly tentative quality, as though they are new to singing. The track is very sweet, with a lilting, acoustic basis and a steady, true pacing. The song wanders around a bit, and sometimes doesn’t care to find a rhyme. But all in all, this is softly enjoyable.

BILLY CURRINGTON/Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer
Writer: none listed; Producer: Blake Mevis & Lane Caudell**; Publisher: none listed; Mercury Nashville
—He’s not much good for any kind of work. His best skill is stated in the title. Simple and relaxed sounding.

JAMIE TATE/I’ll Give My All
Writer: Renee Griffith/Jamie Tate/Lane Caudell/Blake Mevis/Bob Crumley; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Bodell/Carolina Sweet T/Blake Mevis, BMI/ASCAP; Bodell (www.jamietatemusic.com)
—She is backed by the 16-voice “82nd Airborne All-American Chorus” at the finale. They are not mixed terribly well, but there’s enough flag-waving, sis-boom-bah here for Lee Greenwood to be looking over his shoulder.

RECKLESS KELLY/The Ballad Of Elano De Leone
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Yep Roc (www.yeproc.com)
—Brightly country rocking in a Byrds-y kinda way, despite the downbeat lyric. It seems that young Elano rode his bike to work in the fields, but never came home and is feared dead.

WINFIELD’S LOCKET/Worth The Drive
Writer: none listed; Producer: Ilya Toshinskiy, Winfield’s Locket & Jason Henke; Publisher: none listed; Winfield’s Locket (track) (615-497-6791)
—The track is echoey and enchanting. Their vocals are fierce and fine. The Middle-Tennessee local traffic directions are ultra cool: “I’m a little bit hard to find…but I’m worth the drive.”

BILL ANDERSON/Thanks To You
Writer: Brad Crisler/Bill Anderson; Producer: Rex Paul Schnelle & Bill Anderson; Publisher: FSMGI/Have a Brad Day/State One Songs America/Sony ATV Tree/Mr. Bubba, IMRO/ASCAP/BMI; TWI (Track) (www.billanderson.com)
—The man is a walking legend. Fifty-two years after penning his first hit, he’s still in there slugging. Songwriter, his new CD, contains 12 brand-new compositions. And they are all jaw-droppingly good. Collaborators include such young pups as Tim Nichols, Jon Randall, Rivers Rutherford, Jamie Johnson, Brad Paisley, John Wiggins and Billy Montana. This lovely, string-soaked ballad will be his new video/single. The gist of it is he won’t ever know how it feels to score a touchdown, hit a homerun, fly a jet or climb so many other mountains. But he does know how it feels to be loved. Amen, brother.

MJ2 & CELEBRITY FRIENDS/You Can’t Say Love Enough
Writer: Don Goodman/Bill Nash/Sam Mizell; Producer: Dennis Money; Publisher: Big Hitmakers/Circle South/My Partners/Universal/MGB, BMI/ASCAP; Sweetsong Nashville
—How many gimmicks can you fit on one single? The act consists of two sets of twins—a mom, her twin daughters and her twin sister. Each set has one twin named Mollie and one named Jackie. Wait, there’s more. Guests on the disc include Dolly Parton, Andy Griggs, Wayne Newton, Buddy Jewell, Burns & Poe, Bill Anderson, Cowboy Troy (who announces his own name, just in case you don’t recognize him), Heartland, Larry & Rudy Gatlin, Heidi Newfield, T.G. Sheppard, Mark Collie, Moe Bandy, Rio Grand, Steve Wariner and Lee Greenwood. Plus, the single benefits the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. It’s a “We Are the World” style anthem.

GLORIANA/The World Is Ours Tonight
Writer: Matt Serletic, Lindy Robbins, Jess Cates; Producer: Matt Serletic; Publisher: Melusic, administered by Primary Wave/Emblem (ASCAP), Hey Kiddo Music, administered by Kobalt Music Pubilshing (ASCAP) and Right Bank Music obo itself and Lily Makes Music (ASCAP); Emblem/Bigger Picture/Atlantic (ERG)
—I love this band. As before, they revel in vocal harmony, ultra-rich melody and a rhythm-happy track. A celestial sound for the young and the young at heart.

JAKE McVEY/Red Line And Wasted
Writer: Bryan Fogle; Producer: J. Gary Smith; Publisher: Bryan Fogle, ASCAP; Purple Cow (CDX) (www.jakemcvey.com)
—This has an “outlaw” vibe. He’s out there on the road, trapped in his own wanderlust. With a sound somewhere between Southern rock and gospel, this is pretty hard to resist.

CASEY JOHNSON/Simple Girl
Writer: Casey Johnson; Producer: Larry Beaird; Publisher: none listed, BMI; Plumb Music (CDX) (918-689-0380)
—He has a solid, rube delivery. Like its title suggests, the song is direct and plain spoken. The track is a little busy, but his insistent vocal wins in the end.

Joey + Rory Prep Annual “Bib & Buckle Fest”

/by

Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records artist Joey + Rory are readying the 2nd Annual Bib & Buckle Fest, which has been dubbed the Unofficial CMT Can You Duet Season I Reunion. On Saturday, June 5 in Pottsville (45 minutes south of Nashville), the duo will be joined by Can You Duet cast members Caitlin & Will and Kate & Kacey as well as other cast members and musical acts for their annual community event with family, friends and fans. The event is put on in partnership with their family-owned restaurant, Marcy Jo’s Mealhouse, and is sponsored by Lyons-Chevrolet, Buick and GMC in Lewisburg, TN and workwear retailer Carhartt.

“We had been doing this for a few years before it got it’s official name,” says Rory. “It was originally created as a homecoming concert and a day of family fun, food and music for all of our neighbors. When people actually started coming in from as far as Michigan, Florida and even Washington State, we decided it needed to be a special yearly event.”

“When you travel all over the country singing for people like we do, it’s so neat to be able to have them come to us and to share our own community with them.” Joey says. “The name Bib & Buckle fest? Well, it’s kind of obvious I guess. I’ve always worn a belt buckle with my jeans and Rory loves his Carhartt bib overalls.”

The music begins at 3:00 PM and the eating at 5:00 PM. Live music will continue into the evening with the hosts’ headlining performance beginning at 7:00 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs or quilts for seating to fully enjoy a fun family evening outside in the grass and under the stars.

“This year, for fun, we decided to make it a Can You Duet Season 1 reunion and invite some of the other artists that were on the TV show with us in 2008”, says Rory. “They are all so talented and honestly, we never get to see each other any more. This is a chance for us to all reconnect, and even more…for our fans to connect with the other artists they loved on the show also.”

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and under (ticket price includes meal, dessert, drinks and entertainment.) To purchase tickets, visit www.joeyandrory.com or call Marcy Jo’s at 931-380-0968. Rain date is scheduled for Sunday, June 6, 2010.

Joey+ Rory's Annual Bib & Buckle Fest

Big Kenny Joins “Rock Band”

/by

Country music’s Big Kenny is partnering with the gaming phenomenon Rock Band to bring relief and donations to Nashville’s flood victims.

Kenny is one of the many artists joining Rock Band Relief, an organization that helps artists convert their music into playable songs for the Rock Band video game series. These tracks can be purchased from the Rock Band Network online store and a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross to help with the recent disaster. Any part of the sales commission the artist receives and wishes to donate to Red Cross will be matched by RockBandRelief.org.

“Big Kenny is a natural uplifter of people and has the ability to inspire hope in those around him,” says John Griffin, Executive Director of the Rock Band Relief project. “He is extremely well-respected in the music community, especially in Nashville where people are really in need of some hope right now. We’re so proud to be partnering with him and we hope this project will serve as a natural extension of his mission to make the world a better place through music.”

Big Kenny has contributed the songs “One More Time” and “Happy People” from his album The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy. These songs are currently undergoing the Rock Band conversion process and should be available to gamers in about 2 months. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from all downloads of the MP3 versions of Kenny’s songs via the Amazon links on the Rock Band Relief website will also be donated to the Red Cross.

CMT Awards Lines Up Celeb Presenters


/by

Celebrities from all facets of the entertainment industry have lined up to present at the 2010 CMT Music Awards, including celebrity cook Paula Deen, American Idol’s Kara Dioguardi, the NFL’s Terrell Owens, actress Hayden Panettiere, NASCAR legend Richard Petty and Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson.

In addition, country superstars Trisha Yearwood and Zac Brown Band are scheduled to present at the ninth-annual awards show, which will air live on Wednesday, June 9 at 7:00 PM/CT on CMT.

Hosted by Kid Rock, the 2010 CMT Music Awards will feature performances from country music’s biggest stars, including Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Zac Brown Band, with more to be announced.

Fans can vote online at vote.CMT.com through June 8 to determine the winners. The final nominees for Video of the Year will be announced at the beginning of the live show and fans can then vote at CMT.com and via text message throughout the live broadcast (ET/CT only) to determine the night’s big winner.