Grammy Awards Nominees Revealed

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Country female artists earned top nominations during Friday morning’s Grammy nominations announcement.

Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris earned nominations in top categories, with Musgraves’ Golden Hour earning a nod in the overall Album of the Year category, and Morris’ collaboration on “The Middle” with Zedd and Grey earning nods in the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories. “The Middle” was also nominated for Best Pop Group/Duo Performance.

Female country artists took three of the five Best Country Album nominations, with Kelsea Ballerini’s Unapologetically, Ashley McBryde‘s Girl Going Nowhere, and Musgraves’ Golden Hour nominated alongside Chris Stapleton‘s From A Room: Vol. 2 and Brothers Osborne‘s Port Saint Joe.

Female artists also took three of the five Best Country Solo Performance slots, with Loretta Lynn‘s “Wouldn’t It Be Great?”, Morris’ “Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters,” and Musgraves’ “Butterflies” soaring alongside Stapleton’s “Millionaire” and Keith Urban‘s “Parallel Line.”

Margo Price was nominated for the overall Best New Artist category, as was sales juggernaut Luke Combs.

In The Best Country Duo/Group Performance category, Brothers Osborne’s “Shoot Me Straight,” Dan+Shay’s “Tequila,” the Maren Morris/Vince Gill collab “Dear Hate,” Little Big Town‘s “When Someone Stops Loving You” and the Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line collaboration “Meant To Be” earned honors.

The Best Country Song honor, which is awarded to the songwriters, includes nominations for Cole Swindell‘s “Break Up In The End,” Maren Morris’ “Dear Hate,” Blake Shelton‘s “I Lived It,” Musgraves’ “Space Cowboy,” Dan+Shay’s “Tequila,” and Little Big Town’s “When Someone Stops Loving You.”

There were 21,000 submitted recordings for this year’s honors.

A full list of nominees is below:

Record Of The Year
Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.

I LIKE IT
Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin
Invincible, JWhiteDidIt, Craig Kallman & Tainy, producers; Leslie Brathwaite & Evan LaRay, engineers/mixers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer

THE JOKE
Brandi Carlile
Dave Cobb & Shooter Jennings, producers; Tom Elmhirst & Eddie Spear, engineers/mixers; Pete Lyman, mastering engineer

THIS IS AMERICA
Childish Gambino
Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, producers; Derek “MixedByAli” Ali & Riley Mackin, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer

GOD’S PLAN
Drake
Boi-1Da, Cardo & Young Exclusive, producers; Noel Cadastre, Noel “Gadget” Campbell & Noah Shebib, engineers/mixers; Chris Athens, mastering engineer

SHALLOW
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Lady Gaga & Benjamin Rice, producers; Tom Elmhirst, engineer/mixer; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer

ALL THE STARS
Kendrick Lamar & SZA
Al Shux & Sounwave, producers; Sam Ricci & Matt Schaeffer, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer

ROCKSTAR
Post Malone Featuring 21 Savage
Louis Bell & Tank God, producers; Louis Bell & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer

THE MIDDLE
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
Grey, Monsters & Strangerz & Zedd, producers; Grey, Tom Morris, Ryan Shanahan & Zedd, engineers/mixers; Mike Marsh, mastering engineer

Album Of The Year
Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than Artist.

INVASION OF PRIVACY
Cardi B
Leslie Brathwaite & Evan LaRay, engineers/mixers; Belcalis Almanzar & Jorden Thorpe, songwriters; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer

BY THE WAY, I FORGIVE YOU
Brandi Carlile
Dave Cobb & Shooter Jennings, producers; Dave Cobb & Eddie Spear, engineers/mixers; Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters; Pete Lyman, mastering engineer

SCORPION
Drake
Noel Cadastre, Noel “Gadget” Campbell & Noah Shebib, engineers/mixers; Aubrey Graham & Noah Shebib, songwriters; Chris Athens, mastering engineer

H.E.R.
H.E.R.
Darhyl “Hey DJ” Camper Jr, H.E.R. & Jeff Robinson, producers; Miki Tsutsumi, engineer/mixer; Darhyl Camper Jr & H.E.R., songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer

BEERBONGS & BENTLEYS
Post Malone
Louis Bell & Post Malone, producers; Louis Bell & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers; Louis Bell & Austin Post, songwriters; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer

DIRTY COMPUTER
Janelle Monáe
Chuck Lightning & Janelle Monáe Robinson & Nate “Rocket” Wonder, producers; Mick Guzauski, Janelle Monáe Robinson & Nate “Rocket” Wonder, engineers/mixers; Nathaniel Irvin III, Charles Joseph II, Taylor Parks & Janelle Monáe Robinson, songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer

GOLDEN HOUR
Kacey Musgraves
Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves & Daniel Tashian, producers; Craig Alvin & Shawn Everett, engineers/mixers; Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves & Daniel Tashian, songwriters; Greg Calbi & Steve Fallone, mastering engineers

BLACK PANTHER: THE ALBUM, MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY
(Various Artists)
Kendrick Lamar, featured artist; Kendrick Duckworth & Sounwave, producers; Matt Schaeffer, engineer/mixer; Kendrick Duckworth & Mark Spears, songwriters; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer

Song Of The Year
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

ALL THE STARS
Kendrick Duckworth, Solána Rowe, Al Shuckburgh, Mark Spears & Anthony Tiffith, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar & SZA)

BOO’D UP
Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai & Dijon McFarlane, songwriters (Ella Mai)

GOD’S PLAN
Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Drake)

IN MY BLOOD
Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, Shawn Mendes & Geoffrey Warburton, songwriters (Shawn Mendes)

THE JOKE
Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)

THE MIDDLE
Sarah Aarons, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Marcus Lomax, Kyle Trewartha, Michael Trewartha & Anton Zaslavski, songwriters (Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey)

SHALLOW
Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper)

THIS IS AMERICA
Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino)

Best New Artist
An artist will be considered for Best New Artist if their eligibility year release/s achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.

CHLOE X HALLE

LUKE COMBS

GRETA VAN FLEET

H.E.R.

DUA LIPA

MARGO PRICE

BEBE REXHA

JORJA SMITH

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.

FALL IN LINE
Christina Aguilera Featuring Demi Lovato

DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART
Backstreet Boys

‘S WONDERFUL
Tony Bennett & Diana Krall

SHALLOW
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

GIRLS LIKE YOU
Maroon 5 Featuring Cardi B

SAY SOMETHING
Justin Timberlake Featuring Chris Stapleton

THE MIDDLE
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new traditional pop recordings.

LOVE IS HERE TO STAY
Tony Bennett & Diana Krall

MY WAY
Willie Nelson

NAT “KING” COLE & ME
Gregory Porter

STANDARDS (DELUXE)
Seal

THE MUSIC…THE MEM’RIES…THE MAGIC!
Barbra Streisand

Best Pop Vocal Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal pop recordings.

CAMILA
Camila Cabello

MEANING OF LIFE
Kelly Clarkson

SWEETENER
Ariana Grande

SHAWN MENDES
Shawn Mendes

BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA
P!nk

REPUTATION
Taylor Swift

Best Country Solo Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo country recordings.

WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT?
Loretta Lynn

MONA LISAS AND MAD HATTERS
Maren Morris

BUTTERFLIES
Kacey Musgraves

MILLIONAIRE
Chris Stapleton

PARALLEL LINE
Keith Urban

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative country recordings.

SHOOT ME STRAIGHT
Brothers Osborne

TEQUILA
Dan + Shay

WHEN SOMEONE STOPS LOVING YOU
Little Big Town

DEAR HATE
Maren Morris Featuring Vince Gill

MEANT TO BE
Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line

Best Country Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

BREAK UP IN THE END
Jessie Jo Dillon, Chase McGill & Jon Nite, songwriters (Cole Swindell)

DEAR HATE
Tom Douglas, David Hodges & Maren Morris, songwriters (Maren Morris Featuring Vince Gill)

I LIVED IT
Rhett Akins, Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley & Ben Hayslip, songwriters (Blake Shelton)

SPACE COWBOY
Luke Laird, Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters (Kacey Musgraves)

TEQUILA
Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds & Dan Smyers, songwriters (Dan + Shay)

WHEN SOMEONE STOPS LOVING YOU
Hillary Lindsey, Chase McGill & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Little Big Town)

Best Country Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new country recordings.

UNAPOLOGETICALLY
Kelsea Ballerini

PORT SAINT JOE
Brothers Osborne

GIRL GOING NOWHERE
Ashley McBryde

GOLDEN HOUR
Kacey Musgraves

FROM A ROOM: VOLUME 2
Chris Stapleton

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best contemporary Christian pop, Christian rap/hip-hop, or Christian rock single or track.

RECKLESS LOVE
Cory Asbury; Cory Asbury, Caleb Culver & Ran Jackson, songwriters

YOU SAY
Lauren Daigle; Lauren Daigle, Jason Ingram & Paul Mabury, songwriters

JOY.
for KING & COUNTRY; Ben Glover, Matt Hales, Stephen Blake Kanicka, Seth Moslely, Joel Smallbone, Luke Smallbone & Tedd Tjornhom, songwriters

GRACE GOT YOU
MercyMe Featuring John Reuben; David Garcia, Ben Glover, MercyMe, Solomon Olds & John Reuben, songwriters

KNOWN
Tauren Wells; Ethan Hulse, Jordan Sapp & Tauren Wells, songwriters
38. Best Gospel Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional or contemporary/R&B gospel music recordings.

ONE NATION UNDER GOD
Jekalyn Carr

HIDING PLACE
Tori Kelly

MAKE ROOM
Jonathan McReynolds

THE OTHER SIDE
The Walls Group

A GREAT WORK
Brian Courtney Wilson

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, contemporary Christian music, including pop, rap/hip hop, or rock recordings.

LOOK UP CHILD
Lauren Daigle

HALLELUJAH HERE BELOW
Elevation Worship

LIVING WITH A FIRE
Jesus Culture

SURROUNDED
Michael W. Smith

SURVIVOR: LIVE FROM HARDING PRISON
Zach Williams

Best Roots Gospel Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional/roots gospel music, including country, Southern gospel, bluegrass, and Americana recordings.

UNEXPECTED
Jason Crabb

CLEAR SKIES
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

FAVORITES: REVISITED BY REQUEST
The Isaacs

STILL STANDING
The Martins

LOVE LOVE LOVE
Gordon Mote

Best American Roots Performance
For new vocal or instrumental American Roots recordings. This is for performances in the style of any of the subgenres encompassed in the American Roots Music field including Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk or regional roots. Award to the artist(s).

KICK ROCKS
Sean Ardoin

SAINT JAMES INFIRMARY BLUES
Jon Batiste

THE JOKE
Brandi Carlile

ALL ON MY MIND
Anderson East

LAST MAN STANDING
Willie Nelson

Best American Roots Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Americana, bluegrass, traditional blues, contemporary blues, folk or regional roots songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

ALL THE TROUBLE
Waylon Payne, Lee Ann Womack & Adam Wright, songwriters (Lee Ann Womack)

BUILD A BRIDGE
Jeff Tweedy, songwriter (Mavis Staples)

THE JOKE
Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)

KNOCKIN’ ON YOUR SCREEN DOOR
Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)

SUMMER’S END
Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)

Best Americana Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Americana recordings.

BY THE WAY, I FORGIVE YOU
Brandi Carlile

THINGS HAVE CHANGED
Bettye LaVette

THE TREE OF FORGIVENESS
John Prine

THE LONELY, THE LONESOME & THE GONE
Lee Ann Womack

ONE DROP OF TRUTH
The Wood Brothers

Best Bluegrass Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal or instrumental bluegrass recordings.

PORTRAITS IN FIDDLES
Mike Barnett

SISTER SADIE II
Sister Sadie

RIVERS AND ROADS
Special Consensus

THE TRAVELIN’ MCCOURYS
The Travelin’ McCourys

NORTH OF DESPAIR
Wood & Wire

 

DISClaimer: Karen Waldrup, Lori McKenna Lead A Banquet Of Ballads

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Karen Waldrup

It’s a banquet of ballads today at DisClaimer.

Rita Wilson, Brett Young, Josh Gracin and Blue Honey are checking in with slow songs. That’s okay, because it’s also a ballad that wins the Disc of the Day. That would be super country vocalist Karen Waldrup delivering an awesome Lori McKenna song.

The DisCovery Award goes to a charming, up-and-coming Music City singer-songwriter with the one-named billing Hardy.

BLUE HONEY/Can You See Me
Writers: Kassie Jordan-Brooks/Troy Brooks/Rob Klerkx; Producers: Kassie Jordan-Brooks/Troy Brooks; Publisher: none listed; BH
– It has an echoey, spooky atmosphere. Kassie’s lead vocal has a hushed intimacy. Decidedly left field, but undeniably intriguing. I look forward to more from this team.

BRETT YOUNG/Catch
Writers: Brett Young/Ross Copperman/Ashley Gorley; Producer: Dann Huff; Publishers: Super Big/Caliville/Big Machine/Songs of Black River/Wordspring/Memory Days/WBM/The Best I Could Do/WB, ASCAP/SESAC; Big Machine (track)
– This new track from Brett has an acoustic tracked, video version. The lyric terrain is familiar territory for this artist — dreamy and romantic and lost-in-love.

JIMMY CHARLES/I Am Not Alone
Writers: Jimmy Charles/C.J. Garton/Rich Fehl; Producer: Paul David; Publishers: Hook, Line and Singer, BMI; JC (track)
– This former American Idol contestant has issued this thumping rouser that tells the stories of folks impacted by cancer. Its inspirational vibe encourages us to remain strong and hopeful in the face of such a diagnosis.

JOSH GRACIN/Good For You
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed: Publisher: none listed; Sixteen 08 (track)
– This romantic ballad has a blue-eyed soul vocal performance that’s quite attractive. The drawbacks are a tempo that plods and its four-minute length.

RITA WILSON/Bigger Picture
Writers: none listed; Producer: Fred Mollin; Publisher: none listed; Sing It Loud/The Orchard
– The title tune of Wilson’s album is a gently strummed acoustic ballad. She has a sweet, lilting pop soprano voice that’s recorded crisply and clearly. The actor/singer/songwriter and hubby Tom Hanks recently attended the annual BMI awards banquet in Music City. Plus, she was a presenter on the CMA Awards, and she she staged her debut on the Opry.

KAREN WALDRUP/Sometimes He Does
Writer: Lori McKenna; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; KW (download)
– This gal is a Real Deal country singer. The stunning ballad is loaded with terrific visual details and emotional truths. A minor masterpiece. Listen and believe.

TUCKER BEATHARD/Leave Me Alone
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; TB (download)
– Intensely painful heartache, with a touch of rage. His anguished vocal is gripping, and the track pounds with repressed fury on the choruses. Highly recommended.

WALKER MONTGOMERY/Just Say When
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; WM (download)
-This Kentucky boy is “to the manner born,” as they say. He’s the son of John Michael Montgomery and the nephew of Eddie Montgomery. His country-boy vocal on this churning, lovelorn tune is right on the money. The gist of it is, he’s right here waiting when she finally comes back. Exactly in contemporary country music’s center lane.

HARDY/This Ole Boy
Writers: Corey Crowder/Tyler Hubbard/Brian Kelley/Hardy; Producer: Joey Moi; Publsher: none listed; Big Loud/Tree Vibez Music
– Hardy has cowritten hits for Morgan Wallen (”Up Down”) and FGL (”Simple”), the latter of whom collaborate with him on this catchy, cute and country rompin’ stomper. Its rock-ish tone can’t disguise the cleverness in his phrases. Lively, drawling and endearing.

DYLAN SCOTT/Nothing To Do Town
Writers: Dylan Scott/John Taylor/Matt Alderman; Producers: Matt Alderman, Curt Gibbs & Jim Ed Norman; Publisher: none listed; Curb
– The track is punchy and groovy. His vocal is just fine. But haven’t we completely worn out this song idea? Drinking in a field with your gals and guys on the weekend while celebrating your small-town, country ways? Really? Again?

On The Row: Tiffany Woys Previews Tracks Off Upcoming Debut

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Tiffany Woys performs for MusicRow staffers. Photo: Haley Crow/MusicRow

Tiffany Woys recently visited the MusicRow office to perform new music off of her upcoming debut EP, including her already available single “Priceless.”

Woys’ parents always wanted her to be an attorney; but she knew the courtroom wasn’t for her. Impressed upon by the likes of Celine Dion and Michael Bolton at a very young age, Woys knew the stage was for her. Country artists like Martina McBride, LeAnn Rimes and Faith Hill drew the Californian into country music.

After putting an independent album together and singing in a cover band while in college, Woys knew that she needed to move to Nashville to be in the heart of country music.

Woys, at this moment, is not a songwriter; but she has a great reverence for the craft of songwriting. While she would like to develop her writing one day, she is more interested in mining for great songs that might not otherwise be heard.

“As I was coming to Nashville back and forth for the last five years, I started to learn so much about the songwriting community,” said Woys. “That is what this city is based off of: songwriters. I knew there were thousands of songs in this city collecting dust and not getting heard. If I can be the vehicle [for those songs], I would absolutely love to do that.”

Tiffany Woys with MusicRow Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson. Photo: Haley Crow/MusicRow

The four-song EP has no shortage of great songwriters.

“Priceless,” Woys’ uptempo debut single, was penned by Emily Shackleton, Mickey Guyton, and Kelly Archer. The ballad of the EP, a tender heartbreak tune that was originally on hold for Brett Young, was written by Shane McAnally, Trevor Rosen and Sara Haze.

“This EP in general has been six years in the making for me,” said Woys. “One thing in my life I’m not impatient for is music. I know this is what I’ve always wanted to do.”

Tiffany Woys with MusicRow staffers.

 

Brett Young Plays The Long Game With Sophomore Album ‘Ticket To L.A.’

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Brett Young

“It was really important to me to not be another sophomore slump conversation,” BMLG Records artist Brett Young says, seated in an AirBnB in East Nashville. “I heard enough about it that I was determined not to fall into that.”

His second album, Ticket To L.A., which releases Friday (Dec. 7), follows a wave of four consecutive No. 1 singles, setting a high bar for his next outing.

His self-titled debut album on BMLG Records, as well as each single released from the project, has earned at least Platinum status. He earned the ACM’s New Male Vocalist of the Year honor. His tender love song “In Case You Didn’t Know” earned 3x platinum sales and cemented Young as an eloquent conveyor of his polished, pop-soul sound.

But beneath his effortlessly soulful voice and relaxed persona is an artist with an intense vision, and the hustle to make that happen. Talking about his new 13-song project, which features 10 tracks co-written by the hitmaker, Young seems to be equal parts passionate songwriter and album strategist. While Young delved into plenty of heartbreak on his debut project, Ticket To L.A. strikes a decidedly brighter tone.

In addition to his career success, Young, 37, wed longtime girlfriend Taylor Mills in November.

“The vibe of this album is different because Taylor and I are happy, and I’m at a different place than when I wrote the last record. With this album, I had to make sure every song wasn’t a sappy love song, and that we had some sad songs on the project,” he says. “It’s hard to do when you are happy.”

Young drew on some older material for some of those heartbreak songs, including the new album’s “Used To Missin’ You,” which was penned earlier in his relationship with his wife Taylor, when the two had been on break. The track was penned with Jimmy Robbins and Jon Nite around the time he neared the completion of his debut project, which also contains “Left Side Of Leaving,” another Young/Robbins/Nite co-write.

“’Missin’ You’ almost went on the first album,”  Young compares of “Left Side Of Leaving.” “The only reason we didn’t was they were both peppy breakup songs.”

The first half of the album plays like an unexpected whirlwind relationship that suddenly falls apart from a chance meeting in “Ticket To L.A.,” the first conversations and heady rush of attraction on songs like “Catch” and “Let It Be Mine,” to the confusion and loss that comes with tracks like “Used To Missin’ You.”

Elsewhere on the album, the hopeful “Runnin’ Away From Home,” seems a response to the devastation that runs through “You Ain’t Here To Kiss Me” from his debut album. While the later song chronicles Young’s attempt to exit a dying relationship with a one-way ticket out of California, “Runnin’” ruminates on that decision with What Was I thinkin’/flyin’ away that night…walkin’ away from you was like runnin’ away from home.

 

However, isn’t until the album’s ninth track, “Chapters,” that Young turns those laser-focused observations directly inward.

“From the very beginning, the label has been asking me to write what they call a ‘life song,’” he says. “There’s a girl in every song up until ‘Chapters.’ I tried and I wrote a ton of them but there was something missing with all of them. They were fine songs but not good enough to be on records, in my opinion.”

It took teaming up with friend and fellow musician Gavin DeGraw, whom Young has long idolized, to set the right tone for the song.

“I never wanted to mix business with pleasure, so I waited a lot of years to ask him to work with me,” Young says. When he finally made the ask, DeGraw had one stipulation for the writing session.

“He said, ‘You’ve been telling me the label wants a life song, so if we are going to write it, we are going to write your life story.’”

“Chapters,” which Young penned with DeGraw and Ross Copperman, chronicles Young’s story from rising baseball talent who was sidelined by an injury, to one of country music’s best-selling new artists. DeGraw co-writing and singing on the track makes it almost full-circle, given that listening to DeGraw’s Chariot album inspired Young to take up music following a sports injury.

“Everything about that song is special to me,” Young says. “Just a combination of getting to write it with Gavin, and the third chapter of my life is music. That’s his story, too, so the fact that we got to write both of our stories in that third verse, it was very clear that he should sing on that third verse, too.”

In his resolve to make his sophomore effort a success, artistically and commercially, Young threw himself into the songwriting process, even in the midst of a heavy touring schedule, both of his own shows and more than 50 shows opening for Lady Antebellum last year. He estimates he had around 500 of his own co-written tracks to choose from for the project, in addition to listening to outside cuts.

“I wanted to have too many songs to choose from on this record,” he says. “There were maybe two weekends that I didn’t have writers on the road with me, and I had writers out during my Caliville Tour. I probably wrote 150 songs per year for each of the two years while the first album was out,” he notes. “We put ourselves in an awesome position that there were songs that didn’t make this record that were good enough, too, that will probably go on the next one. This record isn’t even out and I’m already looking to ride the third album.”

In many ways, Young is indeed focused on playing the long game.

“You go into it initially with very broad goals—‘I want success’,” he says. “Then as some of that starts you begin refining what that means. Through all of this I learned how interested I am in the business side of things–publishing, touring logistics, stuff that I though I wanted to hire a bunch of people to take care of so I wouldn’t have to think about it, I find myself asking more questions and wanting to learn about it.

“I didn’t know I was going to feel this way, so it’s been interesting to see myself gravitate toward that,” he says. “I think that is probably the side of me that when the time does come—when you’ve started a family and your kids are old enough—when I think ‘What do I do in this business that doesn’t cause me to have to be gone four days a week?’”

In the years to come, Young says he could see himself delving into A&R and publishing.

“I’m most interested in finding talent,” he says,” whether that means going into A&R or potentially staring some sort of artist development thing. If not that, then something involving writing. What’s interesting is when I moved to Nashville four and a half years ago, it was to pursue the writing side of the industry. My investor at the time—one of my best friends—when he and I met, his goal was to get into publishing but then he met an artist, so the joke is kind of on both of us…I moved to Nashville to be a writer and I got a record deal; he wanted to get into publishing and he met an artist.”

CMA Touring Awards To Honor Louis Messina For Lifetime Achievement

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Louis Messina

The Country Music Association (CMA) will honor the Messina Touring Group’s CEO Louis Messina with this year’s CMA Touring Lifetime Achievement Award.

The announcement comes ahead of the CMA Touring Awards event, taking place Monday, Jan. 28 at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works, highlighting vital, behind-the-scenes members of the touring industry. Voting in final categories (below) closes Thursday, Dec. 13.

Country legend George Strait made a surprise phone call last Friday morning to his longtime promoter, Messina to deliver news of the forthcoming honor.

“I’m incredibly humbled by this honor from CMA and its membership,” said Messina. “Having George Strait call and tell me the news was so powerful, so meaningful, so special and a moment I will always cherish. I’m especially proud of the team we’ve built and the clients we work for, and this distinction caps off an incredible year for us all. I remain thankful to so many people. You have now rendered me speechless.”

“The touring industry is a vibrant part of our business and Louis is very deserving of this recognition,” said Brandi Simms, CMA Senior Director of Awards & Industry Relations. “His vision and passion for the artists and the touring community is an inspiration to those fortunate enough to have worked with him. He is a world-class promoter and it’s no surprise to me that he was chosen to receive the honor of CMA’s Touring Lifetime Achievement Award.”

As CEO of Messina Touring Group, Messina promotes the tours of heavy-hitters such as Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (Soul2Soul), Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran, Blake Shelton, Strait, Taylor Swift, and The Lumineers. Over his 50-year career, he has promoted a variety of acts including the Dixie Chicks, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, and Nickelback.

Messina began booking small shows as a high school student. Building a solid reputation, he moved onto club and theatre acts in and around New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. In 1975 Messina moved to Houston and (with longtime friend and mentor, Allen Becker) co-founded PACE Concerts. Under his direction, PACE Concerts gained regional and national acclaim among artists, agents, artist management and competing promoters. As the company evolved from PACE Concerts to SFX then to Clear Channel Entertainment, Messina established himself as one of the country’s preeminent promoters. In addition to promoting club, arena and stadium acts, Messina conceived and created the George Strait Country Music Festival, Ozzfest (along with Sharon Osborne), Texxas Jam, Van Halen’s Monsters of Rock and the Fleetwood Mac reunion tours. Since establishing The Messina Group, Messina has been the exclusive concert promoter for Chesney, Strait and Swift.

Messina is known for special events and record-setting stadium concerts such as the Jimmy Buffett—George Strait—Alan Jackson triple headliner at Texas Stadium and the opening event at Cowboys Stadium featuring Strait. Strait’s final sellout show at AT&T Stadium, The Cowboy Rides Away, set record numbers with over 104,000 tickets sold in 2014. Swift’s 1989 World Tour saw five sold-out shows at Staples Center, setting a record for the artist with the most sold-out shows at the venue (16) and all of them sold out instantly. Chesney has played 135 stadiums during his career and is ranked in the Top Ticket Sellers of the past 25 years, while only headlining the last 14. Messina has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career from the Academy of Country Music, Billboard, International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA), Performance Magazine, Pollstar, the T.J. Martell Foundation, and Venues Today.

The CMA Touring Lifetime Achievement Award is for an individual who has accomplished the highest level in the country music field of touring. The award was established to recognize an individual who has achieved both prominence and stature at the highest level. The individual receiving this Award has positively impacted and contributed to the growth of touring throughout a course of years that have proven to have an unprecedented historical impact on country music fans and the industry alike, and whose presence will have a long-term positive impact on country music and CMA for generations to come. The CMA Touring Awards, originally called the SRO Awards, were created by the CMA Board of Directors in 1990 to honor outstanding professional achievement within the touring industry. The SRO Awards were renamed the CMA Touring Awards in 2016.

Jerrod Niemann will return to host the CMA Touring Awards ceremony in January.

Final nominees for the 2018 CMA Touring Awards are as follows (in alphabetical order):

CATEGORY 1 – BUSINESS MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Renee Allen – Arnie Barn, Inc.
Julie Boos – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.
Legina Chaudoin – O’Neil Hagaman, PLLC
Jamie Cheek – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.
Dwight Wiles – Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC

CATEGORY 2 – COACH/TRUCK DRIVER OF THE YEAR
Ron Easley – Jason Aldean
Caleb Garrett – Luke Bryan
Larry “Big” Garten – Lee Brice
Larry Phye, Jr. – Chris Stapleton
John Stalder – Kenny Chesney

CATEGORY 3 – FRONT OF HOUSE (FOH) ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Kirk Kelsey – Keith Urban
Billy Moore – Eric Church
Chris Rabold – Kenny Chesney
Chris Stephens – Jason Aldean
Ian Zorbaugh – Old Dominion

CATEGORY 4 – LIGHTING DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Philip Ealy – Kenny Chesney
Justin Kitchenman – Luke Bryan
Gavin Lake – Eric Church
Will Lowdermilk – Darius Rucker
Mac Mosier – Chris Stapleton

CATEGORY 5 – MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Virginia Davis – G-Major Management
Kerri Edwards – KP Entertainment
Clint Higham – Morris Higham Management
Jason Owen – Sandbox Entertainment
Chris Parr – Maverick
John Peets – Q Prime South

CATEGORY 6 – TOUR MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Steve Bryan – Florida Georgia Line
David Farmer – Kenny Chesney
Jason Hecht – Chris Stapleton
Jake LaGrone – Jason Aldean
Jan Volz – Rascal Flatts

CATEGORY 7 – MONITOR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Bryan Baxley – Kenny Chesney
Cam Beachley – Miranda Lambert
Johnnie Branham – Chris Stapleton
Joel Stickrod – Darius Rucker
Phil Wilkey – Keith Urban

CATEGORY 8 – PRODUCTION MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Jay Ballinger – Dierks Bentley
Randy “Baja” Fletcher – Keith Urban
Todd Ortmeier – Florida Georgia Line
Jay Schwartz – Rascal Flatts
Ed Wannebo – Kenny Chesney

CATEGORY 9 – PUBLICIST OF THE YEAR
Erin Burr – Big Machine Label Group
Ebie McFarland – Essential Broadcast Media
Tyne Parrish – The GreenRoom
Jensen Sussman – Sweet Talk Publicity
Wes Vause – Warner Music Group

CATEGORY 10 – TALENT AGENT OF THE YEAR
Becky Gardenhire – WME
Kevin Neal – WME
Nate Ritches – Paradigm
Risha Rodgers – WME
Jay Williams – WME

CATEGORY 11 – TALENT BUYER/PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Ben Farrell – Lon Varnell Enterprises
Ali Harnell – AEG Presents
Patrick McDill – Live Nation Nashville
Brian O’Connell – Live Nation Nashville
Stacy Vee – Goldenvoice

CATEGORY 12 – TOUR CATERER OF THE YEAR
Dega Catering
Concert Kitchen
Hightopps Backstage Grille
HSG Catering
Taste Events Catering

CATEGORY 13 – TOURING MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Wyatt Beard – Kenny Chesney
Dan Hochhalter – Dierks Bentley
Mike Kennedy – George Strait
Tully Kennedy – Jason Aldean
Travis Toy – Rascal Flatts

CATEGORY 14 – VENUE OF THE YEAR
Alabama Theatre – North Myrtle Beach, SC
Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN
Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH
Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN

CATEGORY 15 – TOUR VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Zack Clevenger – Rascal Flatts
Jay Cooper – Kenny Chesney
Houston Creswell – Dierks Bentley
Ryan Rushing – Luke Bryan
Mark Willcox – Chris Stapleton

Chris Tomlin Announces 2019 Red Rocks Dates

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Chris Tomlin is returning to Red Rocks Amphitheater for two headlining nights, July 29-30, 2019 for Chris Tomlin: Worship At Red Rocks. Tomlin made history in 2017 as the first Christian artist to headline back-to-back shows at the iconic venue. Pre-sale tickets for the shows will be available on Wednesday, Dec. 12 with general on sale on Friday, Dec. 14.
“Red Rocks is one of the most beautiful venues in the world and we are excited to be back there again.” Tomlin said. “There’s nothing quite like singing to God while being surrounded by the beauty of His creation.”
Tomlin is currently out on the Chris Tomlin Christmas: Christmas Songs of Worship tour scheduled to wrap on December 16 in New York City’s Beacon Theater. The holiday tour celebrates his favorite time of the year with performances in some of America’s most beautiful and historic theaters. Tomlin’s Holy Roar Tour wraps next spring with guest performers Tauren Wells, Pat Barrett, Nicole Serrano and Chris’ Pastor Darren Whitehead.

Artist Manager, Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame Member Brian Ferriman Dies

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Michelle Wright with Brian Ferriman at the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. Photo: Grant Martin Photography

Artist Manager and Savannah Music President Brian Ferriman died Tuesday (Dec. 4) in Nashville.

Ferriman hailed from Southern Ontario, and operated his own recording facility. Ferriman soon became artist manager to Canadian artists including Michelle Wright, Terry Sumsion, Terry Carisse, The Good Brothers, Gary Fjellgaard, Anita Perras & Tim Taylor, Matt Minglewood, and more. Each of those artists earned hit songs released on Ferriman’s Savannah Music Group. Following the success of artist Michelle Wright in the early ’90s, Ferriman relocated Savannah Music Group to Nashville. During her career, Wright has charted more than 50 singles and earned best-selling albums on the Savannah, Arista/BMG and Icon labels. Her signature hit, “Take It Like A Man,” was a Top 10 country hit in the U.S. in 1992.

Ferriman was named the Canadian Country Music Association’s Manager of the Year eight times, and Record Industry Person of the Year on four occasions. Ferriman also served on the Board of Directors at the CCMA and served as Director of CIRPA and CARAS, as well as International Director for the CMA. He wsa inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

 

Nonprofit She Is The Music To Launch Global Database Of Female Music Creators And Professionals

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She Is The Music, a nonprofit launched in 2017 and aimed at supporting equality, inclusivity and diversity in the music industry, is working on building the largest global database of female creators and professionals.

The initiative is led by co-founders and Board Directors Alicia Keys, UMPG’s Jody Gerson, WME’s Samantha Kirby Yoh, and Jungle City Studios/AK-Worldwide’s Ann Mincieli, while the nonprofit’s creative and executive committees are also made of many top music industry professionals, among them artists Maren Morris, Meghan Trainor and Kacey Musgraves, as well as executives including AEG Presents’ Ali Harnell, and Morris’ manager Janet Weir.

The SITM Database, which will be powered by Billboard, will launch early next year, and will incorporate female songwriters, engineers, producers, studio positions and live / touring professionals, with additional positions to be included. Each database profile will be vetted for accuracy; applicant submissions are now open at sheisthemusic.org.

She Is The Music was launched in response to a study released by the University of Southern California, which analyzed the top 600 songs included in Billboard‘s year-end Hot 100 chart from 2012-2017. The study found that of 1,239 recording artists, only 22.4 percent were women. The study also found that of the 2,767 songwriters credited on those top songs, 12.3 percent were women. The results were even lower for female producers, who were credited on two percent of a subset of 300 songs in that same time span.

In addition to the database, SITM aims to launch a mentorship program in partnership with Billboard. This initiative seeks to empower females to join the music industry and to seek leadership roles. Earlier this year, SITM launched its first inclusive, all-female songwriting series, with sessions hosted by Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Loren Gray, and more. The series has earned support from ASCAP and BMI, with songwriting camps hosted by numerous publishers, streaming platforms, management companies and more.

Spotify Launches 2018 Artist Wrapped Campaign

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Spotify has announced the launch of its annual 2018 Artist Wrapped campaign, presenting artists with a custom micro-site celebrating their success on Spotify over the past year, including an overview of how their music connected with fans.

The news coincides with the launch of Spotify’s annual Wrapped campaign for listeners, which allows fans to rediscover and share the music and podcasts that formed their personal soundtrack in 2018. Artists and their teams can access and share their Wrapped pages by logging into Spotify for Artists.

“Since launching initially as a streaming analytics tool, Spotify for Artists has evolved into a powerful resource for artists and their teams to manage their profiles, understand fans, submit tracks to Spotify playlists, upload music, and more,” said Charlie Hellman, Head of Creator Marketplace, Spotify. “Over the past year, we’ve seen artists and teams connect with their fans through Spotify in powerful ways and our second annual ‘Artist Wrapped’ celebrates that. We hope it’s fun for artists to see how they reached new milestones, delighted their super fans, and got discovered by new listeners all around the world. And we know fans love celebrating artists’ achievements with them.”

2018 Artist Wrapped provides artists with the following data points:

  • Total Hours of Listening in 2018, contextualized into number of years
  • Year-over-year gains (increases in total fans, new fans, fan playlist adds, followers, total streams)
  • Total Listeners, contextualized in terms of populations of local cities
  • Number of Most Devoted Fans (number of consumers that had you as their #1 artist in 2018)
  • Total Followers (if all your fans lined up for your next show, it would be X miles long)
  • Total Number of countries + cities you were listened to in (with two cities that are far apart from each other for context) and
  • “Share Your 2018” (Total hours, total fans, total streams, number of countries)

Industry Ink: Brad Paisley, CMA, ACM, 117 Entertainment, YEP

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Brad Paisley Holds Court At Tootsies

Brad Paisley. Photo: Derek Cressman

Brad Paisley played a pop-up show at Nashville’s Tootsies Orchid Lounge Wednesday evening (Dec. 6), to film some of the music video for his current single, “Bucked Off.” For approximately 90 minutes, Paisley performed an array of his own hits, including the current single, as well as a few George Strait classics for the capacity crowd.

Let The Kids Play

Pictured (L-R): Barry Dean, Cassadee Pope, Bailey Bryan and Walker McGuire. Photo: Sunny Martini/CMA

Several Nashville songwriters and artists were on hand Tuesday (Dec. 4) to greet and perform for 150 music students from Seattle Public Schools’ Cleveland High School and Rainier Beach High School. Bailey Bryan, Barry Dean, Cassadee Pope and duo Walker McGuire performed as part of CMA Songwriters Series, while the CMA Foundation and U.S. Bank surprised students with $25,000 worth of musical instruments.

Chris Lane Visits The ACM

Pictured (L-R): Marc Rucker, Big Loud; Lanni Gagnon, ACM Coordinator, Events; Chris Lane; Erick Long, ACM SVP, Events. Photo: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music welcomed Big Loud Records recording artist Chris Lane to the office while he was in Los Angeles recently for his sold-out headline Laps Around The Sun Tour stop at the Troubadour. While at the Academy, Lane performed his current single, “I Don’t Know About You,” and other songs from his sophomore album, Laps Around The Sun.

117 Entertainment Makes Office Move

Zach Farnum‘s 117 Entertainment has moved offices to 199 Spence Ln., Suite B, Nashville, TN 37210. The company’s management clients include Josh Gracin and Bobby Bare, while Jerry Lee Lewis, Randy Travis, and Kalie Shorr are among the company’s PR clients.

Young Entertainment Professionals Celebrates Holidays With Performances From Bucky Covington, Seaforth

Pictured (L-R): Riley Thomas, Hayley Orrantia, Seaforth and Thomas Finchum. Photo: Jason Myers

Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP) kicked off the holiday season with their quarterly REWIND – Holiday Edition, YEP’s last event for the year. Held at a packed-out Basement East, the night included over 20 performances from local artists including Bucky Covington, Emily Hackett, Hayley Orrantia, Thomas Finchum, Seaforth and more.

YEP partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank for the event, collecting cash and canned good donations to benefit the organization. The generous contributions of those in attendance, along with Second Harvest’s current commitment to double all donations received, will provide over 1200 meals for those in need.