Eye On Idol (5/20/11)

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And then there were two.
Following last night’s (5/19) exit of Haley Reinhart from American Idol, only country contestants Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina remain. That’s right, an all country finale, which has never happened in the show’s 11 seasons.
No matter who wins, this is great news for Nashville. We get not just one, but two, Idol voter-approved talents to mold into the next future stars. But as is the case with any new artist, there will be some important hurdles. Below is an examination of those hurdles and an Idol finale scorecard.
First off, let’s talk talent. Detractors have criticized Scotty for not being a great singer or perhaps sounding too much like Josh Turner. Sure he may not be the rangiest vocalist out there, and he may have sung “Your Man” one too many times in the early rounds, but I haven’t heard him hit too many sour notes so far. He seems to know his limitations and wisely stays close to his sweet spot. Lauren, on the other hand, is a naturally gifted singer with a gorgeous tone and extraordinary range. She gets the win in this category.

Haley Reinhart


There’s also an aspect of preparedness to consider. Scotty has a definite lead in this category, showing a confidence onstage and in front of the camera that belies his 17 years. He also has a keen ability to adapt and make instinctively appropriate choices for the moment, like choosing Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You” on the Wednesday following Osama Bin Laden’s death.
By comparison, Lauren’s song choices seem completely slapdash. For example, her own song choice for Wednesday’s (5/18) highly critical Top 3 show was Faith Hill’s cute-but-forgettable “Wild One.” Hardly a slam dunk. And I’m still not exactly clear how she sees herself as an artist… is she more Miranda or Martina or something completely different? Issues her label will have to confront.
Country radio is still an important piece of the puzzle, and Scotty in particular may face some challenges there. If Phyllis Stark’s recent article for Radio-Info is any indication, many country PDs and MDs aren’t going to be signing up for the Scotty fan club anytime soon. The response to Lauren was less hostile, provided that she comes with some A-plus material.
Hopefully, some of these folks in country radio will come to their senses and realize that both artists are young and still developing their skills. They should also pause to consider just how many of their listeners (and potential new ones) have been calling to vote for these kids (95 million total votes this week, fyi). And I won’t want to presume to speak for the labels here, but I imagine great care will be taken to ensure Scotty is not just a Josh Turner soundalike. His performances and choices suggest a wide range of ability and taste and it shouldn’t be a problem for him to bury that criticism.
Lastly, there’s a certain all-important X factor. Scotty has this in droves. He’s the all-American kid that helps your grandmother cross the street and rescues helpless kittens out of trees. Seriously, how can you compete with something that symbolic? To her credit, Lauren possesses a likeable southern girl charm but she’s no match for Scotty in this area.
Yes, both contestants have some checks in their columns. Both are distinct talents with their own set of pluses and minuses. But for my money, nothing short of the supposed Rapture tomorrow is going to stop Scotty from being crowned the next American Idol.

Cloud Battle Will Rain On Consumers

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[UPDATE: When this article was published on May 19, only EMI Music and Warner had finalized licensing deals with Apple for its cloud service. Now CNET is reporting that Sony Music has also struck a deal with Apple, making Universal the lone holdout.]
Apple has reportedly signed a licensing deal with EMI Music for a cloud-based music service, and is close to finalizing deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music.
Warner Music Group reached an agreement with Apple last month, and having EMI on board will bring the tech giant one step closer to offering a full-featured cloud music service. At present, available cloud options from Google and Amazon are unlicensed.
Once deals from Sony and Universal are finalized, Apple will be in a position to offer a service with more bells and whistles than its rivals. With Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on the horizon for June 6, the company might finally be ready to unveil the long-awaited service.
It remains unclear, however, which new options and features will be part of the Apple cloud experience. One possibility is the ability to scan a user’s iTunes library and match tracks with existing master copies in the cloud, thereby eliminating the need to upload gigabytes of files. Apple could also charge a subscription fee for cloud usage.
The stripped-down Amazon cloud interface could stand some improvement. Aside from a clunky file uploading process, it’s essentially just a hard drive with some navigational features to help track down the album, artist or song desired. Furthermore, the service offers no clear way to find any track-specific information like number of plays or year released. On the upside, users can apparently download the files to any computer and new mp3 purchases from Amazon are automatically sent to the cloud.
But there’s also also a strange disconnect between the Cloud Player and Amazon’s massive retail arm. One of the things that has always made Amazon such a vital and exciting place to shop is its discovery and recommendation engine. If a user rates, say, the latest Miranda Lambert album AND an old Talking Heads record, then Amazon makes all kinds of recommendations based on the purchasing habits of other users who own similar things. None of that appears to be happening in the cloud.
This is one area where the iTunes cloud service will likely triumph over its competitors. As an organizing tool, iTunes is without peer. Presumably Apple will inject its cloud product with a similar logic for grouping and sorting music in myriad ways. If it can also include an engaging recommendation tool that will encourage users to explore and discover, Apple will have the edge.
The major labels are rumored to be pulling for Apple to win the cloud battle. If a fully-licensed Apple cloud takes a huge chunk of the digital music marketplace, then Amazon and Google will be forced to secure licenses for their services to stay relevant.

Submissions Open For CMA Broadcast Awards

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The Country Music Association has begun accepting online submissions for the 2011 CMA Broadcast Awards at Broadcast.cmaawards.com. Categories include Broadcast Personality and Station of the Year in four different market sizes (major, large, medium, and small), as well as CMA National Broadcast Personality of the Year. Submissions are accepted until 5 p.m. CDT on June 30.
All entries must reflect performances and events between June 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011. CMA’s panel of judges, which includes more than 40 distinguished radio and industry professionals, will be able to view and evaluate each entry online. After the judges’ scores are submitted, Deloitte & Touche LLP® will tabulate the winners.
Winners will then be notified in early October and recognized at “The 45th Annual CMA Awards,” which will be held later this year in Nashville. The annual gala, which is known as “Country Music’s Biggest Night,” will be broadcast live on the ABC Television Network.
To submit an entry, CMA member radio stations and broadcast personalities in the U.S. and Canada should log on to Broadcast.CMAawards.com, where guidelines and instructions for entries are posted.
 

RPM Inks Publishing Deal With Idol Finalist

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(L-R) MTM’s Rusty Harmon, RPM’s Scott Siman, Bo Bice and RPM’s Blake Chancey.


Singer/songwriter Bo Bice has been signed to RPM Music for publishing. “I’m proud to welcome Bo to the RPM family,” says company President Scott Siman. “We value Bo’s great experience and creativity and both staff and writers look forward to the music they will be creating together.”
Bice, who was an American Idol finalist in season 4, is currently represented by Rusty Harmon of MTM Management. MTM’s roster also includes Scarletta and Yarn. Former clients include Jason Michael Carroll plus Hootie and the Blowfish.
RPM Music is co-owned by Siman and Blake Chancey. The company’s catalog includes rights to songs such as “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (Alan Jackson), “I’m Movin’ On” (Rascal Flatts) and “Leave the Pieces” (The Wreckers), among others. Recent hits include “What Kinda Gone” (Chris Cagle), “Anything Goes” (Randy Houser), and Montgomery Gentry singles “One in Every Crowd” “Long Line of Losers” and “Oughta Be A Song About That.” The RPM Music writer roster includes Aubrey Collins, Benji Harris, Nathan Stoops, and Katie Rae Davis.
 

AFTRA Praises LimeWire Settlement, Requests Info From Labels

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The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO, a union of over 70,000 music industry members, praised the recent $105 million copyright infringement settlement awarded to the record labels against LimeWire and CEO Mark Gorton.
The union has also requested information from each of the major labels and subsidiaries involved, with the aim of securing a fair and appropriate share of the settlement to AFTRA recording and non-royalty artists in accordance with the union’s agreement with the labels.
“As the exclusive collective bargaining representative and voice of recording artists, AFTRA applauds this landmark settlement which awards our members their fair share of the monies they are owed as a result of LimeWire’s infringement of our members’ copyrighted works,” says Randall Himes, AFTRA Assistant National Executive Director for Sound Recordings. “AFTRA is moving quickly and aggressively to ensure that the settlement monies are apportioned fairly and disbursed timely to ensure that all artists, including AFTRA members get their rightful share.”
Specifics of the label agreement aren’t provided, but the 2010 winter edition of AFTRA Magazine claims that 90 percent of members’ earnings are tied to physical and digital sales.

Artists Salute Soldiers For Memorial Day

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Darryl Worley


• • • Darryl Worley is donating $1.00 from each paid digital download of his new song “Unsung Heroes” to the U.S. Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command (FMWRC), and the 9/11 Families for a Secure America Foundation. The song is also available for free download for those serving in the military, past to present.
• • • Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Randy Travis are donating a portion of proceeds from his Cracker Barrel CD exclusive to the Wounded Warrior Project. The self-titled album contains nine classic hits and three previously unreleased songs.
• • • James Otto will give away handwritten, autographed lyrics for his latest single “Soldiers and Jesus” in honor of Memorial Day. The contest is open at www.facebook.com/jamesotto until Monday, May 30.
• • • Lee Greenwood has a new version of his patriotic anthem, “God Bless The USA.” He is giving away digital downloads of the song with all pre-sale orders of his upcoming book from Tate Publishing, Does God Still Bless The USA? The book will be in stores July 4 and includes the new version of “God Bless The USA,” and new single “Show Me the Way.”

Weekly Chart Report (5/20/11)

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CMT Radio Live visits with John Rich as he prepares for the big “Celebrity Apprentice” finale this Sunday. (L-R): CMT Radio host Cody Alan, Rich


SPIN ZONE
No lie at all, The Band Perry’s “You Lie” takes over the CountryBreakout Chart’s No. 1 spot, making this the sibling trio’s second consecutive No. 1. Taylor Swift is still chasing the Perry clan with “Mean,” which advances to No. 2. Toby Keith’s “Somewhere Else” gets a bump to No. 3, but within a hundred spins are Justin Moore’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” at No. 5 and Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” at No. 6.
Make way for more summer smashes, people. Lady Antebellum’s “Just A Kiss” is already huge, rocketing up to No. 18 in its third week charting. In hot pursuit is Zac Brown Band’s Jimmy Buffett-assisted “Knee Deep,” which climbs onward to No. 20 in its fourth week. Songs with guest performers are a hot item, apparently, as Kenny Chesney’s “You And Tequila” featuring Grace Potter slides upward to No. 30 after three weeks. Also performing well are Billy Currington’s “Love Done Gone,” at No. 38 and Thompson Square’s “I Got You” at No. 43.
Darius Rucker’s latest, “I Got Nothin'” clearly has something, because it leads the pack of chart debuts at No. 67. Also making first appearances are Jonalee White’s “Sugar” at No. 76, Landon Michael’s “This Ain’t California” at No. 78, and Glen Templeton’s “I Could Be The One” at No. 80.
Frozen Playlists: KBCR, KRVN, KVVP, KWWR, KYEZ, Nashville XM 11, WCMS, WKWS, WTCM




Upcoming Singles
May 23
The Lunabelles/A Place To Shine/BNA
Shawna Russell/Get Right Or Get Left/Way Out West
Phil Vassar/Let’s Get Together/Rodeowave
Joe Nichols/Take It Off/Show Dog – Universal
Darius Rucker/I Got Nothin’/Capitol
Josh Kelley/Gone Like That/MCA
May 31
Kenny Chesney feat. Grace Potter/You And Tequila/BNA
Bobby Dean/Rebound/Lamon
Jaron and TLRTL feat. Big Kenny/Beautiful Lies (Jaronwood/Universal Republic/Nine North)
• • • • •
New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Darius Rucker/I Got Nothin’/Capitol — 67
Jonalee White/Sugar/Lick — 76
Landon Michael/This Ain’t California/Big Dog Records — 78
Glen Templeton/I Could Be The One/Capstone — 80
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Lady Antebellum/Just A Kiss/Capitol — 505
Kenny Chesney feat. Grace Potter/You And Tequila/BNA — 438
Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett/Knee Deep/Southern Ground / Atlantic — 282
Darius Rucker/I Got Nothin’/Capitol — 215
Billy Currington/Love Done Gone/Mercury — 213
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Sarah Darling/Something To Do With Your Hands/Black River — 202
Phil Vassar/Let’s Get Together/Rodeowave — 199
Jadi Norris/Workin’ Man’s Saturday Night/IGO Records — 198
Ben Gregg/From Lonely To Love/Cupit — 193
David St. Romain/Twenty Years Late/Aria/Turnpike — 180
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Kenny Chesney feat. Grace Potter/You And Tequila/BNA — 22
Darius Rucker/I Got Nothin’/Capitol — 16
Thompson Square/I Got You/Stoney Creek — 14
Lady Antebellum/Just A Kiss/Capitol — 11
Joe Nichols/Take It Off/Show Dog-Universal — 11
Phil Vassar/Let’s Get Together/Rodeowave — 10
Rachel Holder/Chocolate/All Entertainment — 10

Brett Eldredge visits with WKDF/Nashville staffers before an acoustic performance for the station. (L-R): WKDF PD Marty McFly, Eldredge, MD Matt Bradshaw


WIRK/West Palm Beach and Bud Light presented a concert The Plaza at CityPlace recently, featuring performers Corey Smith and Easton Corbin. (L-R): Smith, WIRK personalities Sammy Cruise and John O'Connell, Corbin


MCA's Ashton Shepherd poses with the staff of WUSY/Chattanooga. Shepherd's sophomore album "Where Country Grows" is due out July 12. (L-R) MCA regional "Uncle" Louie Newman; WUSY's Gator Harrison; Shepherd; WUSY staffers Bear, Mo (Melissa Turner), and Dex.

Shelton Shares New Album Details

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Blake Shelton today (5/19) revealed details about his upcoming album. The full-length release, titled Red River Blue, will come out July 12 on Warner Bros. Produced by multi-award winner Scott Hendricks, it is his ninth album, and follows his two most recent projects which were Six Paks.

The lead single “Honey Bee” is Shelton’s fastest rising song to date. Less than seven weeks since its debut, the feel-good summer tune is already No. 6 on MusicRow’s Country Breakout chart. During its first week the single sold over 138,000 digital downloads, a feat unmatched by any country male soloist. Read MusicRow’s exclusive coverage of the single sales strategy here.
Shelton is the reigning CMA Male Vocalist and is currently one of the musician coaches on NBC’s The Voice. He is part of a panel with stars Christian Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine on the hit show that has already been renewed for a second season.
“Honey Bee” follows his three consecutive No. 1 hits: “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking,” “All About Tonight” and “Hillbilly Bone.”

Tornado Relief Efforts Continue With Help From Swift, Nelson

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Taylor Swift announced today via Twitter that she will expand her fundraising efforts for tornado victims by streaming two performances during Saturday’s “Speak Now … Help Now” benefit event. The stream will be on www.taylorswift.com at 9:00 p.m. CDT on Saturday, May 21. It will give fans a first look at Swift’s new stage and her show for the North American leg of the Speak Now World Tour. Information on how to donate to help tornado victims will be posted during the stream.
Speak Now … Help Now, the final dress rehearsal for the upcoming tour will be held at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, and is open to the public as a benefit event for tornado victims.
• • • • •

As Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown Tour 2011 prepares to launch, Nelson, Jamey Johnson, and other Throwdown artists announce that they will donate their performance fees from the Orange Beach, AL show on June 5 to tornado relief efforts in Alabama.
The 24-city second annual music extravaganza launches in Philadelphia on May 27, with Nelson, Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert, Craig Campbell, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, and Drake White.
The tour also is known for spotlighting emerging singer-songwriters, and Adam Hood, Caitlyn Smith, Austin Lucas, Brent Cobb, Dani Flowers, and Erin Enderlin have signed on for the specially designed Bluebird Cafe stage.
 

Underwood Heading Down Under

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Carrie Underwood will make her first-ever trip to Australia this summer to promote the June 10 release of Play On: Deluxe Edition in Australia and New Zealand. The special two-disc set includes her entire current album Play On, plus six of her previous No. 1 singles.
Underwood’s Australian visit will launch mid-June and will undertake a full promotional schedule while visiting Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
Soul Surfer, the film in which Underwood made her big screen debut, will be released in Australia later this month.
Underwood is the latest in a string of country artists embracing fans in Australia. Earlier this year Alan Jackson and Lady Antebellum also toured the continent.
Play On: Deluxe Edition
1. Cowboy Casanova
2. Quitter
3. Mama’s Song
4. Change
5. Undo It
6. Someday When I Stop Loving You
7. Songs Like This
8. Temporary Home
9. This Time
10. Look At Me
11. Unapologize
12. What Can I Say (Featuring Sons of Sylvia)
13. Play On
(Additional Tracks)
1. Don’t Forget To Remember Me
2. Jesus, Take The Wheel
3. Before He Cheats
4. So Small
5. Just A Dream
6. Last Name
7. Home Sweet Home