[Updated w/ Ratings] WMN Celebrates Team Blake’s Win

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Warner Music Nashville celebrated Blake Shelton after his team member Jermaine Paul won Season 2 of NBC’s The Voice last night (5/8). Paul, a former backup singer for Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige, won first place over other finalists Chris Mann, Juliet Simms and Tony Lucca.

The Voice drew about 10.9 million viewers in the 9 p.m. ET time slot, and about 12.25 million the following hour, according to Zap2It.com. This is a 16 percent bump over last year’s finale ratings reports the New York Times. The Voice won the 10 pm slot, when the champion was revealed. During the program’s first hour, NBC came in third behind CBS’s NCIS: Los Angeles (14.5 million) and ABC’s Dancing With the Stars results show (13.3 million).

(L-R): Tree Paine, John Esposito, Blake Shelton, Bob Reeves, Scott Hendricks and Brandon Blackstock

Chris Young Debuts Video, Launches Charity Auction

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Photo: Reid Long

Chris Young will premiere the video for current single, “Neon,” today (5/9) during a live chat with fans. The video will go live at 5 pm CT on LiveStream.com, and will be available on Young’s Facebook and official website.

Other broadcast outlets will receive the video in the days following the premiere.

Directed by Ryan Hamblin and shot earlier this year at Melrose Billiards in Nashville, the video uses black lights to paint Young’s world in bright neon.

Recently, Young partnered with his grandmother, “Nanny” May to auction off her handmade quilts every month to benefit St. Jude. The current quilt highlights many of Young’s songs and is available for bidding among registered website users at Chris’ Chatter forum.

Young has been on the road with Miranda Lambert’s On Fire tour, which visits Nashville on May 19. He recently celebrated his fifth consecutive No. 1 single, and “Neon” currently sits at No. 28 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart.

 

“Tuskegee” Certified Platinum

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Lionel Richie’s Tuskegee has reached platinum certification from the RIAA within five weeks of its release.

The best-selling album of 2012 held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top 200 for two consecutive weeks, and currently sits at No. 1 on the Country Albums chart for the fourth week since its March 26 debut.

RIAA platinum certification is based on shipments of one million units. Richie’s actual sales total 680k.

With Tuskegee, Richie joins Ray Charles as the only artists in history to have No. 1 albums on both the Billboard Country Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.

“Just when I think it couldn’t get any bigger, Tuskegee reaches a new level of success,” said Richie. “It is truly living up to the vision we had when we created it.”

The album features duets of 13 of his hits with Jason Aldean, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Jennifer Nettles, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Rogers, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton and Shania Twain.

DISClaimer Single Reviews (5/9/12)

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Disc of the Day goes to Lady A; and the DisCovery Award goes to Grady Skelton

It might be optimistic and springtime outside, but it’s sad-ballad day here at Music Row.

Blake Shelton, Heidi Newfield, Chris Webb and Lady A are all singing downbeat fare on their latest singles. But only one of them is essential listening. That would be Lady Antebellum, nailing the Disc of the Day award with ease.

Of our more upbeat entries, Mark Collie, Grady Skelton, the Agave Posse Band and Rodney Atkins are all worth some spins. Texan Grady Skelton wins the DisCovery Award with his “Girl I Love.”

MELISSA BROOKE/Sticky Situation
Writers: Minnie Marianne Murphy/Pat Murphy/Ted Hewitt; Publishers: Montage/Machinafree/Pakimo/Ted Hewitt, ASCAP; Producer: Bill Green; Label: BGM (www.melissabrooke.com)
—This Texas teen takes the tune at a plodding, march-like tempo. It’s about a blind date that goes wrong, thanks to a girlfriend’s mix-up. Brooke’s pert singing needs some seasoning to sound more womanly.

RODNEY ATKINS/Just Wanna Rock n’ Roll
Writers: Rodney Clawson/Chris Tompkins; Publishers: Big Red Toe/Amarillo Sky/Big Loud Songs/Angel River/Big Loud Bucks, BMI/ASCAP; Producers: Ted Hewitt & Rodney Atkins; Label: Curb
—Despite the title, it’s a lilting, attractive invitation to party, country style. Well produced and highly listenable.

TJ BROSCOFF/Bigger, Better Than You
Writers: TJ Broscoff, Bill Green, BMI; Producer: Bill Green; Label: BGM (www.tjbroscoff.com)
—His singing and the band’s playing seem to be in different time signatures. A mess.

MARK COLLIE & HIS RECKLESS COMPANIONS/One More Second Chance
Writers: Mark Collie/T Graham Brown/Steve Schuffert; Publishers: Daniel Island/EMI Blackwood/Leipers Fork/River of Time, BMI; Producers: Tony Brown, Mark Collie & David Z; Label: Wilbanks (www.markcollie.com)
—In 2001, Collie went to the notorious Brushy Mountain State Prison with a batch of tunes about crime and punishment. His show, which also featured Kelly Willis, was recorded, but not released until this month. The Tennessee prison closed in 2009, but its energetic, in-concert album has found new life. It kicks off with this snappy, rockabilly romp that has the inmates whistling and shouting in appreciation. Alive at Brushy Mountain also includes versions of “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Why Me, Lord” and “Gospel Train,” but the bulk of the repertoire was freshly penned by Collie and his collaborators. Highly recommended.

GRADY SKELTON/Girl I Love
Writer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Clayton Corn; Label: Gamagrass (www.gradyskelton.com)
—The current single from Skelton’s Live Simply CD is a hearty, drawling, endearing and irresistibly jaunty ditty that rumbles along with such good will that you can’t help smiling. Feel-good Texas music, tailor made for summertime. Producer Corn is Pat Green’s keyboard player and Skelton has also worked with folks associated with Robert Earl Keen, Jerry Jeff Walker, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Eli Young Band and other mainstays of the Lone Star State.

LADY ANTEBELLUM/Wanted You More
Writers: Dave Haywood/Charles Kelley/Hillary Scott/Jason Gambill/Matt Billingslea/Jonathan Long/Dennis Edwards; Publishers: Warner Tamerlane/DWHaywood/Radiobulletspublishing/EMI Foray/Hillary Dawn/Songs to Make Out To/Christina Marie/Ebug/Donelson/Sussman & Associates, BMI/SESAC/ASCAP; Producers: Paul Worley & Lady Antebellum
—Swirling and magical, this has a deeply sensual vibe. The multi-layered percussion, midnight-hour vocal echo, super strings and full-throttle production make this one fabulous listening experience. Co-writers Gambill, Billinslea, Long and Edwards are in the Lady A band, so that’s extra cool.

CHRIS WEBB/D.J. Please
Writer: Chris Webb; Publisher: none listed, BMI; Producer: Gary Sadker: Label: Red Ridge (www.chriswebbcountry.com)
—It’s a plea to a D.J. to play a tune about romance. His smooth, baritone vocal on this ballad is solid, but the tempo is taken so slowly he’s practically having to drag his knuckles along the ground

BLAKE SHELTON/Over
Writers: Paul Jenkins/David Elliott Johnson; Publishers: Sony-ATV Cross Keys/Touch My Music, ASCAP/BMI; Producer: Scott Hendricks; Label: Warner Bros.
—The amped-up choruses on this power ballad are thunderously over the top. He’s a country singer, so give him a country song.

AGAVE POSSE BAND/We’ll Get It On
Writer: Chad Beedy; Publisher: Agave, BMI; Producer: none listed; Label: Agave Posse (www.agaveposse.com)
—Garage country, sounding like it was recorded live in a shed made of corrugated metal. That said, the rhythm-happy band sounds like a raucous good time, and the vocalist has a slap-on-the-back friendliness that’s hard to deny. Worth a spin around the dance floor.

HEIDI NEWFIELD/Why’d You Have to Be So Good
Writers: Jeffrey Steele/Jeremy Popoff; Publisher: Jeffrey Steele/BPJ/EMI April/Jagermaestro, BMI/ASCAP; Producer: Blake Chancey: Label: Sidewalk/Curb
—Her vocal performance burns the house down. The song puts a wet blanket on the blaze.

Marlee Scott To Release Debut Album

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Marlee Scott at the Unbridled Eve Gala. (L-R): Big Ride Entertainment’s Gerry Leiske, Scott, Randy Owen, John Howard. Photo: Doug Fraser/Art Of The Game

Marlee Scott is set to release her first full-length album, Beautiful Maybe, with Big Ride Records on Tues., June 19.

Nearly a year in the making, Beautiful Maybe is comprised of 12 tracks produced by David Kalmusky. Her 2011 single, “Beautiful Maybe” is included on the album along with her current single, “Train Wreck,” which features guest vocals from Vince Gill. Allen Morgan remixed a dance version of “Train Wreck” available at iTunes.

Contributing songwriters include Desmond Child, Sarah Buxton, Blair Daly, Marcus Hummon, Hillary Lindsey, and Troy Verges, among others. Scott co-wrote two titles, “Kiss of Coming Home” and “I Love Hating You.”

“Beautiful Maybe is something I am so proud of,” says Scott. “I really feel like I have come into my own on this project musically.”

Scott recently performed the national anthem and an acoustic set at the Chicago White Sox/Boston Red Sox baseball game in Chicago and is scheduled to perform the song again on ESPN at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. She also appeared at an Unbridled Eve Gala in conjunction with the Kentucky Derby in Louisville.

Beautiful Maybe track list:
“Beautiful Maybe”
“Jane Doe”
“I Love Hating You”
“I Won’t Love You Anymore”
“I’m Not Your Baby Anymore”
“Let It Rain”
“Planet Of Your Own”
“Rhinestone In The Rough”
“Crazy For You”
“Kiss Of Coming Home”
“Train Wreck”
“Life Is Not A Movie”

Gilbert’s “Halfway To Heaven” Goes Gold

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(L-R): Back Row—Harry Lyons, Justin Key, Kelsey Chandler, Megan Knutson, Whitney Sutton, John Zarling, Annie Ortmeier, George Briner, Jake Basden, Erik Powell, Jimmy Chapin; Middle Row—Matthew Hargis, Jimmy Harnen, Sandi Spika Borchetta, Scott Borchetta, Brantley Gilbert, Allison Jones, Kelly Rich, Brittney McKenna; Front Row—Wayne Milligan, Andrew Kautz, Nikki Burns, Seth Hellman. Photo: Chase Reynolds

Before Saturday night’s (5/5) sold-out concert at the Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville, Brantley Gilbert was surprised with a gold plaque to commemorate sales of over 500,000 copies of Halfway to Heaven. His Big Machine Label Group family, and booking agency CAA hosted a pre-show celebration for the accolade.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Brantley and are not only celebrating a gold record but that Halfway to Heaven is now officially halfway to platinum,” said Big Machine Label Group President & CEO Scott Borchetta.

The album features the gold-certified, No. 1 hit, “Country Must Be Country Wide,” as well as his current Top 15 single, “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do.”

Chosen for an opening slot on Eric Church’s Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour, Gilbert played a rockin’ 45-minute set that had the crowd on their feet with their fists in the air.

For tour dates and more, visit Gilbert’s Facebook page.

CMHoF To Open Patsy Cline Cameo Exhibit

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The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will honor Patsy Cline with the cameo exhibition Patsy Cline: Crazy for Loving You, which opens in the Museum’s East Gallery on August 24, 2012, and runs through June 2013.

“Patsy Cline is an American music icon and perhaps the most accessible artist in country music history,” said Museum Director Kyle Young. “Though she recorded for only eight years and made her last record nearly 50 years ago, her body of work—those classic torch songs and ballads of heartache—have continued to resonate with music fans of all genres. While she considered herself a country singer, she was equally adept at pop stylings, and was a key influence in bringing the two genres closer stylistically in the 1960s….Our exhibit will also offer visitors a look at the woman behind the songs, the firecracker who overcame childhood hardships to emerge as one of the most important artists of the 20th century.”

Patsy Cline: Crazy for Loving You will be accompanied by an ongoing series of programs throughout the exhibit’s duration.

 

Rachele Lynae Expands Single Promotion To Dance Clubs

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Rachele Lynae

Rachele Lynae’s new single “Party ‘Til The Cows Come Home” is gaining traction in dance clubs and at radio. Jamie O’Neal’s Momentum Label Group tapped Marco Club Connection to promote its flagship artist to dance clubs, and highlighted Lynae’s video with a DownCast video news release.

Nashvillechoreography.com’s Kevin Andrews created a line dance for the track, and award-winner Trey Fanjoy directed the video which showcases the dance.

“This song is a perfect vehicle to introduce Rachele into the Country dance club scene,” says Bobbe Morhiser, Marco Club Connection’s Manager/Venue Marketing. “Early testing by club DJs has been very positive, with many outlets adding the single right out of the box. Normally it might take several weeks after a song is released to radio before they add a song to their playlist. Many venue DJs work at local radio stations, and club spins can often translate into airplay on those stations and websites.”

DownCast launched a campaign this week (view it here) that showcases Lynae’s video and other artists who have benefited from dance club hits in recent years including Luke Bryan, Laura Bell Bundy, Jake Owen and Gloriana. DownCast, a joint venture between AristoMedia and Travis Television, distributes EPKs and VNRs to approximately 10,000 U.S. and international media outlets.

Todd Fritsch Preps Digital Release

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Todd Fritsch will release his latest album, Up Here In The Saddle (Saddle Up Records),  June 26 on iTunes. The CD is already available for purchase at Fritsch’s live shows and autographed pre-orders can be placed on his website.

The title track features hit songwriter Dean Dillon on a duet with Fritsch. Other songs are penned by Nashville’s finest including Ashley Gorley, Kent Blazey, Al Anderson and Scotty Emerick.

Fritsch released several Country singles before a roping accident and injury left him in a three-year recovery. His upcoming project, with producer Butch Baker, will be the first music he has released since.

“Everything was going my way, and then it all just ground to a halt,” said Fritsch. “But I focused on what I could do instead of what I couldn’t do and that kept me going.”

TRACK LISTING:
1.  My Kind Of Crowd (Bryan Simpson/Ashley Gorley/Wade Allen Kirby)
2.  Calls I Haven’t Made (Fred Wilhelm/Michael Terrence Post)
3.  That Ain’t Gonna Fly (Wes Hightower/Tony Martin)
4.  In A Song (Doug Johnson/John Ramey)
5.  Love Never Goes Out Of Style (Bryan Simpson/Ashley Gorley/Wade Allen Kirby)
6.  Texas Girl (Matt Caldwell/Nate Barrett/Kent Blazy)
7.  Horses He Can’t Ride Anymore (Dean Dillon/Al Anderson/Scott Emerick)
8.  Top Of My List (Dean Dillon/John Northrup)
9.  It Don’t Hurt To Ask (Dean Dillon/Roxie Dean/Jeremy Spillman)
10.  Up Here In The Saddle [with Dean Dillon] (Dillon/Buddy Brock/Will Nance)
11.  Like I Wasn’t Even There (Wes Hightower/Tim Mensy/Monty Criswell)
12.  That Girl’s Got A Cowboy’s Heart (Dean Dillon/Scott Emerick/Tim Ryan)

Lady A to Debut Single Tonight on “The Voice”

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Lady Antebellum will debut single “Wanted You More” on the season finale of NBC’s The Voice tonight (5/8) at 8:00PM CT where Justin Bieber, Flo Rida and Hall And Oates are also scheduled to perform.

“Wanted You More” was released to radio yesterday (5/7). The song was penned by the trio along with band members Jason Gambill, Jonathan Long, Dennis Edwards and musician Matt Billingslea.

“One of the added benefits of being out on the road so much is the time it gives us during the day to write,” said Lady A’s Dave Haywood. “The three of us love writing together, but it’s always special when something starts organically with the guys in our band.”

Wednesday (5/9) and Thursday (5/10) Lady A will appear on Anderson to surprise a member of the studio audience with tickets to a sold out Own The Night 2012 World Tour date (check local listings).

Fans can catch the tour this weekend in Jacksonville, FL (5/10), Tampa, FL (5/11) and West Palm Beach, FL (5/12). For a full listing of upcoming appearances and tour dates, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.

To preview “Wanted You More,” click here: www.thegreenroompr.com/ladyantebellum.html