“Indescribable”
Tall Tree/Lofton Creek
Sister duo Jenny & Ashley is releasing its debut single, the effervescent “Indescribable.” The song, co-written by Ashley, was originally part of a demo collection that caught the eye of Lofton Creek Records chief Mike Borchetta. The new version was recorded by Tim McGraw co-producer Darran Smith.
The teenage sisters spent part of their childhood in Pleasanton, California, and got an early start on their entertainment careers by modeling for catalogs and acting in local commercials. The two followed their dreams to Los Angeles, where Ashley had commercial spots with Nintendo Wii and Jenny secured work with Disney, Nickelodeon, and Fox.
www.jennyandashley.com
[wpaudio url=”https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/ja_idscrb.mp3″ text=”Jenny & Ashley – Indescribable” dl=”0″ autoplay=”1″]

The inaugural fan-voted American Country Awards will air live 8-10 pm ET on Fox tonight from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with Trace Adkins serving as the evening’s host. Show performers include Jason Aldean, Adkins, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry, Easton Corbin, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Blake Shelton, Steel Magnolia, Josh Turner, and Uncle Kracker. To see the full nominees in Artist, Album, Single, Touring and Video categories, click here. For winners updated in real time, check back to musicrow.com tonight.

Many of our friends from Nashville have been in Vegas since the weekend to participate in events surrounding the awards. The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Ceremony was held Friday 12/3 at the Wynn, with performances from Rascal Flatts and Colbie Caillat. Drivers present included five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

The Grascals are the latest band to release music through Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s exclusive program. The Grascals & Friends – Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin will be available Jan. 10, 2011, offering 13 tracks featuring guests Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels and Dolly Parton.

The bonus track “I Am Strong” was inspired by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and accordingly a portion of the album proceeds will be donated to the hospital.

So far in 2010, Cracker Barrel has released exclusive projects by Smokey Robinson, Rodney Atkins, Mandy Barnett, Craig Morgan, Wynonna, and Dailey & Vincent.

Track listing

1. Tiger By The Tail (with Brad Paisley)
2. Folsom Prison Blues (with Dierks Bentley)
3. Pain of Lovin’ You (with Dolly Parton)
4. I Am Strong (with Dolly Parton)
5. Louisiana Saturday Night
6. The Year That Clayton Delaney Died (with Tom T. Hall)
7. White Lightning (with Darryl Worley)
8. The Devil Went Down To Georgia (with Charlie Daniels)
9. Leavin’ Louisiana In Broad Daylight (with The Oak Ridge Boys)
10. Mr. Bojangles (with Joe Nichols)
11. Hank Williams Jr. Medley – Born To Boogie / All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin’ Over Tonight
12. Cracker Barrel Swing (Instrumental)
13. I Am Strong (Bonus Track) Featuring guest appearances by Dolly Parton, The Oak Ridge Boys, Darryl Worley, Charlie Daniels, Terri Clark, Randy Owen, Steven Seagal, Tom T. Hall, Joe Nichols and Ansley McLaurin

“The new Vince is great! Really like it as good as I did the original. Vince brings a new dimension to the song!
Mickey Alexander, WQNZ/Natchez, MS

“One of the best rock anthems in music history has been re-recorded. Who would have believed a country artist could take it 30 plus years later and make it a multi-format hit?”
Randy Adams, KKRB/KFLS-FM (Klamath Falls, Oregon)

“This one is testing through the roof. It needs to be on your radar today. Like Sunny Sweeney, this one is going to have some legs, so hop on it today!”
Ted Cramer, Program Director, WIFE/Connersville, IN

Following a series of successful singles, Vince Hatfield is releasing his rendition of the Kiss classic, “Beth” to country radio. Hatfield was introduced to the song by his wife, and recorded it for his forthcoming album at her request. Through the TV program Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Hatfield also learned Gene Simmons promised Peter Criss that Kiss would never perform “Beth” again after Criss retired and has stuck to his word. Hatfield hopes that his version will allow fans to once again hear “Beth” performed in a live setting.

Born the son of a West Texas oil refinery worker, Vince worked tough jobs like cleaning inside oil tanks to pay the bills as a young man just getting started. His early life revolved around music, where drew inspiration from icons like Marty Robbins, Bobby Goldsboro, Merle Haggard and Ronnie Milsap. Hatfield later went on to record with some of Nashville’s best producers and musicians, releasing albums and singles that have built the foundation for where he is today. He was also awarded New Music Weekly’s “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” earlier in 2010, and continues to build his following outside of Texas.

http://www.vincehatfield.com/

[wpaudio url=”https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/vhb.mp3″ text=”Vince Hatfield – Beth” dl=”0″ autoplay=”1″]

Music industry pundits at desks across the major music centers will be pounding out the story of Taylor Swift’s great debut week sales numbers—1.047 million! But maybe the real story is how Swift’s success flies in the face of conventional industry wisdom. “Album sales are falling, consumers only want to buy single tracks, piracy has destroyed sales, you can’t compete with free…” These are the current excuses for an industry in dire straits. So how does one explain Swift’s incredible result? What prompted over one million consumers to engage and relate to this young lady from Hendersonville, TN?

Unlike many of the top charting female artists of today, Ms. Swift eschews tabloid behavior and asks fans to focus on her music. With Speak Now she offers an emotion-packed journey bursting with insight into real life events. In some universal way her life contests connect with similar moments that have brushed the fabric of others as well.

There’s also something spunky about this lady; she’s a fighter. Critics complained she can’t sing, that her co-writers contributed everything on the other albums. On Speak Now, she walks out onto the stage having written all the songs by herself, including, “Mean” where she shares how hurt she was by some of these criticisms. “You have pointed out my flaws again, as if I don’t already see them,” she sings. But if Swift briefly falls to pieces, she also picks herself back up, asking, “Why you gotta be so mean?”
• • •
Speak Now ends its first sales week in the No. 1 position on both the all genre Top Current Albums and Top Current Country Album lists with sales of almost 1.047 million units, according to Nielsen Soundscan. About 26.5% of those sales were in digital format. Swift’s record breaking debut week eclipses Shania Twain’s previous title for highest ever female country artist sales of 874k in 2002. It also is Swift’s personal best, beating Fearless which debuted with 592k in 2008. Speak Now boasts the best first week showing of any album in 2010. (Eminem’s Recovery did 742k in June 2010.)

As noted by Spielberg Consulting’s Neal Spielberg, “Swift’s four albums (three CDs and a holiday collection) make up 60% of total country album sales this week and represent 18% of total album sales for the week.”

In organizing this multi-media debut, Big Machine’s team should not be underestimated. Only a few weeks ago, insiders deemed “impossible” a million plus result. The multi-layered marketing plan, forged with nerves of steel, should be documented, published and offered to others as a textbook example of engaging fans on all fronts.

The massive launch also moved the YTD country sales needle. Last week country album sales were off 12.3% compared with the same period last year. Voila!, this week’s scans improved numbers to only down 9.1%!

Sugarland’s Incredible Machine motored through second week sales with a “normal” drop of 56% to almost 89k units but sales on the Top 75 Current Country Chart minus Speak Now barely edged above 400k, even with all the new CDs in bins. How the year will play out is still shrouded in mystery. A parade of recent debuts from Darius Rucker, The Band Perry, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band, Toby Keith, Jamey Johnson, Billy Currington and more have slid rapidly from debut week glory. Upcoming launches are scheduled for Reba, Blake Shelton, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, and Jason Aldean and Brad Paisley both released this week.

The CMA Awards should be the switch that ignites holiday sales and starts the numbers climbing toward a seasonal frenzy. Will consumers be able to focus on so many different new titles this year or will they RSVP at their favorite music retailer for Taylor plus one? These are questions that are yet to be answered.