TV Time: Artists Score Performance Slots, Guest Spots

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• Fresh off their American Music Awards win for Favorite Country Band, Duo or Group last night (11/20), Lady Antebellum is getting ready for back-to-back television appearances. The trio is scheduled to perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live!’s outdoor concert stage tonight (11/21) at 11 PM/CT on ABC. Tomorrow night (11/22) at 8 PM/CT they will debut “Dancin’ Away with My Heart” on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars.

• Craig Morgan will appear in an upcoming episode of the hit Lifetime series Army Wives. He taped the performance scene recently in Charleston, S.C. In turn, the singer tapped TV star Angie Harmon (Law & Order) for his new video, “This Ole Boy.”

• Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup” will be performed Tuesday, Dec. 6 on Fox’s hit show Glee.

• the JaneDear girls will make their television series debut in an episode of The CW’s Hart of Dixie. The bane will perform “Shotgun Girl” in an episode airing Mon., Nov. 28.

• Gloriana will appear on NBC’s The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Thanksgiving Eve (11/23). The audience will be made up of members of the armed services and Gloriana is set to perform “Soldier Song.” The band’s new single “(Kissed You) Good Night” is currently climbing the charts.

Church To Convert Audiences on Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour

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In what may be an early contender for rowdiest country tour of 2012, Eric Church has announced his headlining The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour hitting 50 cities starting in January. Church’s third album Chief has drawn heaps of critical praise, and originally sold 145k copies in its first week of release. His current single “Drink In My Hand” is sitting pretty at No. 3 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart.

Joining Church on the trek is the equally rowdy Brantley Gilbert, who recently hit No. 1 with his first single for Valory Music Co., “Country Must Be Country Wide.” Additional guests on select dates include The Cadillac Black, Blackberry Smoke, Sonia Leigh, Jon Pardi, and Drake White.

“We have been building our entire career for this tour. It is truly the culmination of a lot of blood, sweat and beer that has brought us to this point in our career,” says Church. “I have always trusted our fans to deliver with their dedication and passion, they have always exceeded my expectations. I have never been more excited to begin a tour than this one. The band and I are committed to emptying the tank every night and delivering the best show we can.”

Announced dates for The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour are included below. Additional dates will be scheduled in Portland, ME; Lowell, MA; Indiana, PA; Oklahoma City, OK; Jonesboro, AR; Orange Beach, AL; New York, NY; Binghamton, NY; Reading, PA; Atlantic City, NJ; Estero, FL; Orlando, FL; Tallahassee, FL; Las Vegas, NV; Tupelo, MS; Bossier City, LA; Auburn, AL; Evansville, IN; St. Louis, MO; Pikeville, KY; Columbus, OH; Lexington, KY; Bloomington, IL; Springfield, MO; Birmingham, AL; Nashville, TN; Toledo, OH; Chicago, IL; Youngstown, OH; Minneapolis, MN; Topeka, KS; and Morrison, CO.

Eric Church—The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour
January 19       Fort Smith, AR            Fort Smith Convention Center
January 20       Cape Girardeau, MO   Show Me Center
January 21       Southaven, MS            Desoto Civic Center
January 26       Madison, WI               The Alliant Energy Center
January 27       Saginaw, MI                The Dow Event Center
January 28       Terre Haute, IN           The ISU Hulman Center
February 2       Savannah, GA             Savannah Civic Center
February 3       Knoxville, TN              Thompson Boling Arena
February 4       Norfolk, VA                Ted Constant Center
February 16     Greenville, SC              Bi-Lo Center
February 17     Salisbury, MD              Wicomico Civic Center
February 18     Greensboro, NC           Greensboro Coliseum
February 23     Battle Creek, MI           Kellogg Arena
February 24     Cleveland, OH              Wolstein Center @ CSU
February 25     Ft. Wayne, IN               Allen County War Memorial Col.
March 1           Portland, ME                Cumberland County Civic Center
March 2           Lowell, MA                  Tsongas Center at UMASS Lowell
March 3           Indiana, PA                   Kovalchick Center
March 8           Oklahoma City, OK      Chesapeake Energy Center
March 10         Orange Beach, AL        Amphitheater at The Wharf

Swift, Shelton and Lady A Take Home AMA Awards

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Last night’s (11/20) American Music Awards show was filled with big wins for country music. Taylor Swift walked away with Favorite Country Female Artist, Favorite Country Album and Artist Of The Year. Swift has now won ten AMA awards, claiming Artist Of The Year twice.

Also for country, Blake Shelton took home Favorite Male Country Artist, while Lady Antebellum won Favorite Country Band, Duo or Group.

Nicki Minaj, who won Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album for Pink Friday, took a moment to thank Swift on stage for her “Superbass” success. A viral video of Swift rapping Minaj’s song went viral earlier this year and Minaj credits the country singer with the single’s popularity.

Still recovering from throat surgery and unable to attend, Adele notably tied Swift in number of awards with Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist.

Casting Crowns also took home its second AMA, winning Favorite Artist in the Contemporary Inspirational category. Also from Nashville, Hot Chelle Rae won Sprint New Artist of the Year.

And while she didn’t win any category awards, after her performance of “The One That Got Away,” Katy Perry was honored with a special AMA Award of Achievement for being the first woman in the history of pop music to have five No. 1 singles from one album.

The show included live performances by Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Kelly Clarkson, Drake, Minaj, David Guetta, Pitbull, Marc Anthony, Lil Jon, Gym Class Heroes, Adam Levine, will.i.am, Enrique Iglesias, Ludacris, Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera. LMFAO closed the night out their “Party Rock Anthem.”

A complete list of winners is below:

POP or ROCK MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Bruno Mars

Favorite Female Artist
Adele

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Maroon 5

Favorite Album
Adele/21

COUNTRY MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Blake Shelton

Favorite Female Artist
Taylor Swift

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Lady Antebellum

Favorite Album
Taylor Swift/Speak Now

RAP/HIP-HOP MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Nicki Minaj

Favorite Album
Nicki Minaj/Pink Friday

SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Usher

Favorite Female Artist
Beyonce

Favorite Album
Rihanna/Loud

ALTERNATIVE ROCK MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Foo Fighters

ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Adele

LATIN MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Jennifer Lopez

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Favorite Artist
Casting Crowns

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift

SPRINT NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Hot Chelle Rae

Twitter Used To Rank Republican Candidates

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Business Insider has research which shows that among the Republican presidential nominees, “Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich have more than twice the ‘social pull’ among Twitter followers than nominee favorite Mitt Romney.”

The study was conducted by PeekAnalytics to discover how effectively the candidates were taking advantage of social media with respect to the campaigns. According to the study, “Herman Cain and Michele Bachman have both spent brief periods leading the race, but their influence on Twitter–or lack thereof–suggests they are already also-rans.”

The following Twitter stats show a wide social media spread between the candidates… Interestingly, only 34% of Gingrich’s followers are actually verifiable. Earlier this summer, an article in Gawker.com claimed, “But if Newt is winning the Twitter primary, it’s because of voter fraud. A former staffer tells us that his campaign hired a firm to boost his follower count, in part by creating fake accounts en masse.”

However, as the “Verified” list below shows, even discounting for possible bogus accounts the Speaker has the largest number of Twitter followers by a wide margin among the Republican candidates.

To download a full copy of the report, which offers added details about gender and more,  click here.

Total Twitter Followers
Newt Gingrich: 1,370,386
Herman Cain: 168,171
Mitt Romney: 164,416
Michele Bachmann: 115,704
Rick Perry: 108,475
Ron Paul: 79,125

Number of “verified” Twitter followers:
Rick Perry: 51,402 ↔ 47%
Herman Cain: 77,548 ↔ 46%
Mitt Romney: 76,002 ↔ 46%
Ron Paul: 34,845 ↔ 44%
Michele Bachmann: 50,418 ↔ 43%
Newt Gingrich: 477,054 ↔ 34%

Social Pull
Rick Perry: 1082x
Newt Gingrich: 934x
Michele Bachmann: 526x
Mitt Romney: 404x
Herman Cain: 466x
Ron Paul: 184x

 

Singled Out (11/21/11)

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Here’s a roundup of country singles hitting airwaves soon:

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Wade Bowen

Singer/songwriter Wade Bowen has made the jump to a major with Sea Gayle/BNA, and his first single for his new label “Saturday Night” hit radio last week (Nov. 14). A much-loved live act, Bowen routinely plays over 200 concert dates per year. “I wouldn’t be here today getting the opportunity to record for a major label if it weren’t for all those shows I played and for all those die-hard music fans at home coming out to see me,” said Bowen. “They are the reason I am being afforded this opportunity. When it comes to my intent as a musician, I’ve not changed anything since day one. I’ve only tried to mature and to get better, and I think ‘Saturday Night’ is representative of that.”

• • •

Josh Thompson

Josh Thompson has a new single on the way called “Comin’ Around,” which he co-wrote with Kendell Marvel and Rodney Clawson. The song will appear on Thompson’s second studio album due in 2012 from RCA Nashville. “For me, the point of this song is to be able to look back and see how you’ve grown and where you’re going,” says Thompson. “It’s part of finding that line where you go, ‘OK, it’s time to get my life together.’ I’ve definitely had moments like that in my life, and think my fans will be able to relate to that.”

• • •

Mark Cooke

Mark Cooke has released his latest single, the upbeat “Any Way The Wind Blows” from his limited EP Living For The Weekend (Cotton Valley Records). Written by hitmakers Mark Nesler, Jennifer Hanson, and Marty Dodson, “Any Way…” was produced by veterans J. Gary Smith and John Smith. Cooke is currently on a national radio tour to promote the single and has plans to release a full length album in 2012.

• • •

HER & Kings County

Elektra/WMN group HER & Kings County has released the video for debut single “White Trash Country Boy,” which was directed by David Dutton (“Internet Killed The Video Star”). The song appears on HKC’s self-titled Six Pak, which was released Oct. 11. The band originated in Brooklyn, NY, the brainchild of frontwoman Monique Staffile and Caleb Sherman, and aims to blend elements of bluegrass, hip-hop, country, and rock.

• • •

Shawna Russell

Shawna Russell has released her new single “Waitin’ On Sunrise,” impacting radio Nov. 28. The second single from her self-titled sophomore album, “Sunrise” was written by Russell with her father Keith and uncle Tim Russell. Shawna Russell was produced by Julian King with Clif Doyal and Tim Russell, and was released in June 2011.

• • •

Joanna Mosca

Joanna Mosca is gaining some momentum with her current single “Where Does Good Love Go,” a collaboration with Bryan White and Lonestar frontman Richie McDonald. The song recently charted on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout chart and continues to add spins. “As an artist, this is very exciting for me!” said Mosca. “Knowing that my little song has come so far to be in the same league as some of the industry’s heaviest hitters, I couldn’t be more proud. Let’s hope it keeps climbing!”

• • •

Bryan Cole (L) pictured with WYVY/Union City, TN PD Jason Aldridge.

Bryan Cole has been out making the rounds at radio to support his single, “Pride & Passion.” The song is the title track from his upcoming album, and was used by MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates (Cole’s hometown baseball team) for recent advertising spots.

Brick and Mortar Retailers Struggle With Smartphone Shopping

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The growing prevalence of smartphones is changing the holiday shopping game this year. The old school of thought that getting the consumer in the door equals sales is gone, as shoppers increasingly stand in front of products and research them on their mobile devices. They are reading reviews, comparing prices at other stores, or scanning web merchants for a better deal and free shipping. AdAge reports that 40% of smartphone owners shop this way, and 14% have abandoned the in-store purchase and bought the item from their smartphones, while standing in store (comScore).

Some of the nation’s largest merchants are trying to beat the trend. Lowe’s and Best Buy are arming in-store employees with iPhones so that they can research products alongside the shoppers, according to AdAge. Many retailers are going one step further, empowering employees to undercut competitors’ prices on the spot.

Toys”R”Us and Best Buy are listing their in-store inventories with Milo, a service that is available to consumers for their smartphones, reports Reuters. This way, shoppers can use their mobile devices to find and purchase products, and then pick them up in the store.

Other outlets are debuting mobile friendly web stores. J.C. Penney’s offering has a wish list component that can be shared with friends.

Worley’s River Run Donates To Fight Cancer

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Hardin County Medical Center board member Jack Adams accepts a $200,000 check from Darryl Worley.

The Darryl Worley Foundation recently donated $200,000 to the Cancer Treatment Center that bears the artist’s name. The funds were raised through Darryl Worley’s Tennessee River Run, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in September. Worley recently presented the check on behalf of the foundation to Jack Adams, board member for the Hardin County Medical Center.

The TN River Run included concerts headlined by Montgomery Gentry, Kansas and Worley, a two-day bass tournament, golf tournament, arts and crafts festival, 5K, youth fishing tournament, motorcycle poker run and boat poker run. Songwriter-in-the-round events were held in Tupelo, Memphis, Jackson and Murfreesboro to raise money, as well. Bumpus Harley-Davidson sponsored the Tennessee River Run, which was named favorite outdoor adventure in West Tennessee by the readers of The Tennessee Magazine and best music event on the water by Life on the Water magazine.

The Darryl Worley Foundation was founded in 2001 to serve the special needs of people in West Tennessee, Northwestern Alabama and Northeastern Mississippi. The Foundation, which is a 501c3 public benefit corporation, has received $1.2 million in funds and paid out $1.15 million in grants.

IBMA Seeks New Exec Dir.

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The International Bluegrass Music Association is “looking for a very special person to serve as its Executive Director and chief of staff.”

Expected qualifications include a Bachelor degree or equivalent preferred, plus the person must reside in or be willing to relocate to the Nashville area.

Dan Hays who served as the organizatin’s Executive Director for 21 years resigned earlier this month, but will stay until Feb. 29, 2012. During Hays’ tenure with IBMA, he helped the organization establish its annual Awards, the World of Bluegrass business conference, Bluegrass Fan Fest, the creation of Leadership Bluegrass, and launched “Bluegrass in the Schools” programs for young people. Additionally, Hays has also been responsible for raising several million dollars for the Foundation for Bluegrass Music and the Bluegrass Trust Fund.

For complete information about the position click HERE

Country Divas Ring In The Holidays

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Martina McBride will host her 13th Annual Home For the Holidays special Wednesday, Dec. 21 7-8 PM/CT on CBS. In addition to performances by McBride, the program will feature performances by Justin Bieber, Mary J. Blige, Gavin DeGraw, OneRepublic, and Christina Perri.

The special’s 12 editions to date have focused on the subject of adoption and foster care, in hopes of raising awareness for the important issue. Actresses Katherine Heigl and Denise Richards, who both adopted children, and Heigl’s sister Meg Heigl-Beltran, who was adopted, will be among the presenters.

• •

Newcomer Lauren Alaina will also be performing through the holidays at a number of events, including next week’s Country Music: In Performance At The White House which will air on PBS Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 PM/CT. The following day on Thanksgiving (Nov. 24), Alaina will be in Detroit to sing the national anthem as the Lions take on the Green Bay Packers at 11:30 PM/CT.

She will then journey to Hollywood, to perform a medley of holiday classics “Blue Christmas” and “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” for TV special A Hollywood Christmas Celebration At The Grove, airing through January 1. Additional performers on the special include Robin Thicke, Colbie Caillat, Gavin DeGraw, Jackie Evancho, Sean Kingston, and IL DIVO. Check local listings for dates and times.

ACM Renewal Deadline; Marlee Scott Hits New Paradigm; Karen Light Exits BMLG

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>>>Today’s the last day to renew your ACM membership in order to be eligible to submit for the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Closing date for radio submissions is Dec. 9th. Only current ACM members may submit for Station or On-Air Personality category consideration.

Nominees for the ACM radio awards categories, outlined below, will be announced in the spring of 2012.

On-Air Personality of the Year – National, Major (Markets 1-25), Large (Markets 26-50), Medium (Markets 51-100), Small (Markets 101+)
Radio Station of the Year – Major (Markets 1-25), Large (Markets 26-50), Medium (Markets 51-100), Small (Markets 101+)

• • •

>>>BigRide Entertainment recording artist Marlee Scott has signed an exclusive booking agreement with international talent firm, Paradigm Agency. Scott  is finishing a full-length album for release in early 2012 and currently has a Christmas single at Country radio titled, “Someday At Christmas.” A native of Ontario, Canada, Scott was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2010 Canadian Country Music Awards. Visit www.MarleeScott.com for more information.

(L-R) Manager Gerry Leiske, Paradigm’s Mike Snider, BigRide artist Marlee Scott and Paradigm’s Greg Janese.

• • •

Karen Light

>>>Industry veteran Karen Light has exited her position as Administration Analyst for Big Machine Label Group and its publishing arm Super 98 Music, where she handled licensing, clearance and copyright matters for both the label and publishing. She joined the company in June 2010, and her resumé includes time with Encore Entertainment, ICG, Still Working Music, and Sussman & Associates. She is currently looking for her next opportunity and can be reached at karen.m.light@gmail.com.