Carrie Underwood performs in Birmingham, Alabama on her Cry Pretty Tour 360. Photo: Ralph Larmann
“Fourteen years ago I was on American Idol. My career is like a seventh grader,” Carrie Underwood quipped with her signature easygoing, dry humor as she spoke to the Birmingham, Alabama, crowd on Friday evening (May 3), during the second night of her recently launched Cry Pretty Tour 360. “Every day there is some moment that happens that I have to pinch myself and say, ‘How do I get to do this?’ The thing I wanted to do when I was like three years old, I’m doing right now.”
Indeed, over the past 14 years, Underwood has steadily built a career as a multi-talented entertainer, songwriter, singer, awards show host, clothing designer, fitness enthusiast and a role model for a generation of fans. Along the way, Underwood has also crafted a song catalog that relies as much on substance of lyric as it does awe-inspiring vocal runs.
Similar to her 2016 Storyteller Tour outing, Underwood opted for an in-the-round stage for her Cry Pretty Tour 360, this time with the stage arranged in a sleek eye shape, paying homage to the tour’s namesake album, Underwood’s sixth studio project (and first for new label home UMG Nashville), Cry Pretty.
Carrie launched the evening with the sunny, summery “Southbound,” which she recently debuted at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Underwood’s unmistakable voice brought everyone to attention, as she held court from a riser in the middle of the stage. Each corner of the riser was accented with pops of light, before Underwood descended to the main stage, and worked her way around the arena, shimmying to the song’s party-ready grooves, waving and greeting fans.
She continued with “Cowboy Casanova” and “Last Name,” before offering a new track from the Cry Pretty album, “Blacksliding.”
Carrie Underwood performs in Birmingham, Alabama as part of her Cry Pretty Tour 360. Photo: Ralph Larmann
After descending beneath the stage momentarily, Underwood reappeared in a sparkly pantsuit, welding a guitar for rendition of “Church Bells.” She was then flanked by eight band members, each on a separate riser that ascended to varying heights, each accented with sparks of fire, as they offered “Two Black Cadillacs.”
Throughout the show, she highlighted other instruments—bongos during “End Up With You” from the new album, and later played an upright piano for “See You Again,” as members of the audience held up cell phones throughout the arena.
While still clad in the sparkling pantsuit, Underwood donned a black hat as she slunk across a center stage catwalk and seated herself on a red velvet couch. Holding a classy microphone fit for Sinatra, she crooned a version of the sultry “Drinking Alone,” accented by jazzy saxophone and piano accompaniments.
The concert was marked by those subtle twists and turns on Underwood’s hits. She melded the military ballad “Just A Dream” with Aerosmith’s “Dream On”—made complete when Underwood stunned as she tilted her head back and let loose with a piercing, nearly feral-sounding falsetto note rarely heard from the country singer.
Underwood offered several songs that had been absent from her Storyteller tour, along with some fan-favorite deep album cuts.
Calling the medley a “walk down memory lane,” she performed “Temporary Home,” followed by the aforementioned “See You Again,” before letting loose with one of her strongest vocals of the evening, dipping into her Carnival Ride album for “I Know You Won’t.” Given the way the audience roared, the song might as well have been a chart-topping hit.
She followed with her debut hit “Jesus Take The Wheel.” As she walked across the stage, each riser acted as a stair step, lifting Underwood ever higher as song reached its inspiring crescendo.
“I’m proud to be part of a genre of music where I can sing songs like that, songs that are important to me. This next one is very important,” she said, introducing one of the most gut-wrenching songs from her Cry Pretty album, “The Bullet.” As Underwood stood on a riser over the audience, smoke billowed over the edges like a cloudy waterfall as she followed with “Something In the Water,” melding it with a segment from the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
Runaway June, Carrie Underwood, and Maddie & Tae. Photo: Ralph Larmann
Not only is she singing important songs, she’s offering herself to important causes.
Underwood is one of three female country artists—alongside Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris—spearheading all-female tours this year, one of three female artists using their headlining platforms to lift up other newcomer female artists, in light of the stark void of female voices on today’s country radio.
In addition to welcoming the all-female acts Maddie & Tae and Runaway June to open her concerts, Underwood and company paid tribute to the female artists who have paved the way by performing bits of their most iconic radio hits.
“We wouldn’t be able to do what we do if there had not been so many incredible country women,” Underwood said, before singing Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” a cappella. She was soon joined by Runaway June and Maddie & Tae for Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight,” Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Dolly Parton’s “9 To 5,” The Judds’ “Rhythm of the Rain,” Trisha Yearwood’s “She’s In Love With The Boy,” Martina McBride’s “Independence Day,” Faith Hill’s “Wild One,” Reba’s “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” and Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”
Throughout the evening, multiple thin screens projected images—plumes of smoke and a swirling tornado on “Blown Away,” jewels and photos of Underwood with husband Mike Fisher and their two sons, Isaiah and Jacob, as “Kingdom” played.
The vibrant and captivating stage production was matched only by the intensity of Underwood’s hallmark voice.
As the concert began to draw to a close, a live shot of Underwood putting on the purple and pink glitter tears (as featured on her Cry Pretty album cover) played on the screens, just before she again took center stage, belting out the vulnerable and fearless titular track as strands of glitter hung above the stage. She ended the evening with another hit from Cry Pretty, flanked again by her band as she ended with a message of hope and acceptance on “Love Wins.”
It was hard to miss that the show was a celebration of women, along with their triumphs and struggles, whether they are fighting to be heard on country radio, or whether they are facing battles of a more personal nature.
Carrie Underwood and guest Jessika belt out “The Champion.” Photo: Ralph Larmann
Prior to the launch of the tour, Underwood invited fans on social media to submit video of themselves performing Ludacris’ rap portion of “The Champion,” for the chance to perform the track with Underwood during the tour. For the Birmingham show, Underwood welcomed local resident Jessika to the stage, revealing to the crowd that Jessika’s daughter Olivia was fighting cerebral palsy.
Jessika offered a fearless delivery of the rap portion of the song, while waving and pointing to her daughter in the crowd. In one of the highlights of the evening, she surprised even Underwood when she belted the song’s final piercing melody in a moment that had fans and Underwood alike clapping, pumping fists and stomping in support.
While Underwood’s previous tour proved she is indeed an award-worthy, headlining superstar, with the Cry Pretty Tour 360, she’s building on that superstar status, using her own platform to encourage other women to fearlessly pursue their dreams, and to fight for the things and people that matter to them.
Judging by the smile that rarely left her face throughout the performance, she’s clearly having fun while she’s at it, a living embodiment of her own lyric from “The Champion”: Don’t think I did it for the fame/ I did it for the love of the game.
The Cry Pretty Tour 360. Photo: Ralph Larmann
Carrie Underwood Digs Deep With Superstar Spectacle, Empowering Moments On Cry Pretty Tour 360
/by Jessica NicholsonCarrie Underwood performs in Birmingham, Alabama on her Cry Pretty Tour 360. Photo: Ralph Larmann
“Fourteen years ago I was on American Idol. My career is like a seventh grader,” Carrie Underwood quipped with her signature easygoing, dry humor as she spoke to the Birmingham, Alabama, crowd on Friday evening (May 3), during the second night of her recently launched Cry Pretty Tour 360. “Every day there is some moment that happens that I have to pinch myself and say, ‘How do I get to do this?’ The thing I wanted to do when I was like three years old, I’m doing right now.”
Indeed, over the past 14 years, Underwood has steadily built a career as a multi-talented entertainer, songwriter, singer, awards show host, clothing designer, fitness enthusiast and a role model for a generation of fans. Along the way, Underwood has also crafted a song catalog that relies as much on substance of lyric as it does awe-inspiring vocal runs.
Similar to her 2016 Storyteller Tour outing, Underwood opted for an in-the-round stage for her Cry Pretty Tour 360, this time with the stage arranged in a sleek eye shape, paying homage to the tour’s namesake album, Underwood’s sixth studio project (and first for new label home UMG Nashville), Cry Pretty.
Carrie launched the evening with the sunny, summery “Southbound,” which she recently debuted at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Underwood’s unmistakable voice brought everyone to attention, as she held court from a riser in the middle of the stage. Each corner of the riser was accented with pops of light, before Underwood descended to the main stage, and worked her way around the arena, shimmying to the song’s party-ready grooves, waving and greeting fans.
She continued with “Cowboy Casanova” and “Last Name,” before offering a new track from the Cry Pretty album, “Blacksliding.”
Carrie Underwood performs in Birmingham, Alabama as part of her Cry Pretty Tour 360. Photo: Ralph Larmann
After descending beneath the stage momentarily, Underwood reappeared in a sparkly pantsuit, welding a guitar for rendition of “Church Bells.” She was then flanked by eight band members, each on a separate riser that ascended to varying heights, each accented with sparks of fire, as they offered “Two Black Cadillacs.”
Throughout the show, she highlighted other instruments—bongos during “End Up With You” from the new album, and later played an upright piano for “See You Again,” as members of the audience held up cell phones throughout the arena.
While still clad in the sparkling pantsuit, Underwood donned a black hat as she slunk across a center stage catwalk and seated herself on a red velvet couch. Holding a classy microphone fit for Sinatra, she crooned a version of the sultry “Drinking Alone,” accented by jazzy saxophone and piano accompaniments.
The concert was marked by those subtle twists and turns on Underwood’s hits. She melded the military ballad “Just A Dream” with Aerosmith’s “Dream On”—made complete when Underwood stunned as she tilted her head back and let loose with a piercing, nearly feral-sounding falsetto note rarely heard from the country singer.
Underwood offered several songs that had been absent from her Storyteller tour, along with some fan-favorite deep album cuts.
Calling the medley a “walk down memory lane,” she performed “Temporary Home,” followed by the aforementioned “See You Again,” before letting loose with one of her strongest vocals of the evening, dipping into her Carnival Ride album for “I Know You Won’t.” Given the way the audience roared, the song might as well have been a chart-topping hit.
She followed with her debut hit “Jesus Take The Wheel.” As she walked across the stage, each riser acted as a stair step, lifting Underwood ever higher as song reached its inspiring crescendo.
“I’m proud to be part of a genre of music where I can sing songs like that, songs that are important to me. This next one is very important,” she said, introducing one of the most gut-wrenching songs from her Cry Pretty album, “The Bullet.” As Underwood stood on a riser over the audience, smoke billowed over the edges like a cloudy waterfall as she followed with “Something In the Water,” melding it with a segment from the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
Runaway June, Carrie Underwood, and Maddie & Tae. Photo: Ralph Larmann
Not only is she singing important songs, she’s offering herself to important causes.
Underwood is one of three female country artists—alongside Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris—spearheading all-female tours this year, one of three female artists using their headlining platforms to lift up other newcomer female artists, in light of the stark void of female voices on today’s country radio.
In addition to welcoming the all-female acts Maddie & Tae and Runaway June to open her concerts, Underwood and company paid tribute to the female artists who have paved the way by performing bits of their most iconic radio hits.
“We wouldn’t be able to do what we do if there had not been so many incredible country women,” Underwood said, before singing Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” a cappella. She was soon joined by Runaway June and Maddie & Tae for Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight,” Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Dolly Parton’s “9 To 5,” The Judds’ “Rhythm of the Rain,” Trisha Yearwood’s “She’s In Love With The Boy,” Martina McBride’s “Independence Day,” Faith Hill’s “Wild One,” Reba’s “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” and Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”
Throughout the evening, multiple thin screens projected images—plumes of smoke and a swirling tornado on “Blown Away,” jewels and photos of Underwood with husband Mike Fisher and their two sons, Isaiah and Jacob, as “Kingdom” played.
The vibrant and captivating stage production was matched only by the intensity of Underwood’s hallmark voice.
As the concert began to draw to a close, a live shot of Underwood putting on the purple and pink glitter tears (as featured on her Cry Pretty album cover) played on the screens, just before she again took center stage, belting out the vulnerable and fearless titular track as strands of glitter hung above the stage. She ended the evening with another hit from Cry Pretty, flanked again by her band as she ended with a message of hope and acceptance on “Love Wins.”
It was hard to miss that the show was a celebration of women, along with their triumphs and struggles, whether they are fighting to be heard on country radio, or whether they are facing battles of a more personal nature.
Carrie Underwood and guest Jessika belt out “The Champion.” Photo: Ralph Larmann
Prior to the launch of the tour, Underwood invited fans on social media to submit video of themselves performing Ludacris’ rap portion of “The Champion,” for the chance to perform the track with Underwood during the tour. For the Birmingham show, Underwood welcomed local resident Jessika to the stage, revealing to the crowd that Jessika’s daughter Olivia was fighting cerebral palsy.
Jessika offered a fearless delivery of the rap portion of the song, while waving and pointing to her daughter in the crowd. In one of the highlights of the evening, she surprised even Underwood when she belted the song’s final piercing melody in a moment that had fans and Underwood alike clapping, pumping fists and stomping in support.
While Underwood’s previous tour proved she is indeed an award-worthy, headlining superstar, with the Cry Pretty Tour 360, she’s building on that superstar status, using her own platform to encourage other women to fearlessly pursue their dreams, and to fight for the things and people that matter to them.
Judging by the smile that rarely left her face throughout the performance, she’s clearly having fun while she’s at it, a living embodiment of her own lyric from “The Champion”: Don’t think I did it for the fame/ I did it for the love of the game.
The Cry Pretty Tour 360. Photo: Ralph Larmann
Carrie Underwood Digs Deep With Superstar Spectacle, Empowering Moments On Cry Pretty Tour 360
/by Jessica NicholsonCarrie Underwood performs in Birmingham, Alabama on her Cry Pretty Tour 360. Photo: Ralph Larmann
“Fourteen years ago I was on American Idol. My career is like a seventh grader,” Carrie Underwood quipped with her signature easygoing, dry humor as she spoke to the Birmingham, Alabama, crowd on Friday evening (May 3), during the second night of her recently launched Cry Pretty Tour 360. “Every day there is some moment that happens that I have to pinch myself and say, ‘How do I get to do this?’ The thing I wanted to do when I was like three years old, I’m doing right now.”
Indeed, over the past 14 years, Underwood has steadily built a career as a multi-talented entertainer, songwriter, singer, awards show host, clothing designer, fitness enthusiast and a role model for a generation of fans. Along the way, Underwood has also crafted a song catalog that relies as much on substance of lyric as it does awe-inspiring vocal runs.
Similar to her 2016 Storyteller Tour outing, Underwood opted for an in-the-round stage for her Cry Pretty Tour 360, this time with the stage arranged in a sleek eye shape, paying homage to the tour’s namesake album, Underwood’s sixth studio project (and first for new label home UMG Nashville), Cry Pretty.
Carrie launched the evening with the sunny, summery “Southbound,” which she recently debuted at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Underwood’s unmistakable voice brought everyone to attention, as she held court from a riser in the middle of the stage. Each corner of the riser was accented with pops of light, before Underwood descended to the main stage, and worked her way around the arena, shimmying to the song’s party-ready grooves, waving and greeting fans.
She continued with “Cowboy Casanova” and “Last Name,” before offering a new track from the Cry Pretty album, “Blacksliding.”
Carrie Underwood performs in Birmingham, Alabama as part of her Cry Pretty Tour 360. Photo: Ralph Larmann
After descending beneath the stage momentarily, Underwood reappeared in a sparkly pantsuit, welding a guitar for rendition of “Church Bells.” She was then flanked by eight band members, each on a separate riser that ascended to varying heights, each accented with sparks of fire, as they offered “Two Black Cadillacs.”
Throughout the show, she highlighted other instruments—bongos during “End Up With You” from the new album, and later played an upright piano for “See You Again,” as members of the audience held up cell phones throughout the arena.
While still clad in the sparkling pantsuit, Underwood donned a black hat as she slunk across a center stage catwalk and seated herself on a red velvet couch. Holding a classy microphone fit for Sinatra, she crooned a version of the sultry “Drinking Alone,” accented by jazzy saxophone and piano accompaniments.
The concert was marked by those subtle twists and turns on Underwood’s hits. She melded the military ballad “Just A Dream” with Aerosmith’s “Dream On”—made complete when Underwood stunned as she tilted her head back and let loose with a piercing, nearly feral-sounding falsetto note rarely heard from the country singer.
Underwood offered several songs that had been absent from her Storyteller tour, along with some fan-favorite deep album cuts.
Calling the medley a “walk down memory lane,” she performed “Temporary Home,” followed by the aforementioned “See You Again,” before letting loose with one of her strongest vocals of the evening, dipping into her Carnival Ride album for “I Know You Won’t.” Given the way the audience roared, the song might as well have been a chart-topping hit.
She followed with her debut hit “Jesus Take The Wheel.” As she walked across the stage, each riser acted as a stair step, lifting Underwood ever higher as song reached its inspiring crescendo.
“I’m proud to be part of a genre of music where I can sing songs like that, songs that are important to me. This next one is very important,” she said, introducing one of the most gut-wrenching songs from her Cry Pretty album, “The Bullet.” As Underwood stood on a riser over the audience, smoke billowed over the edges like a cloudy waterfall as she followed with “Something In the Water,” melding it with a segment from the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
Runaway June, Carrie Underwood, and Maddie & Tae. Photo: Ralph Larmann
Not only is she singing important songs, she’s offering herself to important causes.
Underwood is one of three female country artists—alongside Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris—spearheading all-female tours this year, one of three female artists using their headlining platforms to lift up other newcomer female artists, in light of the stark void of female voices on today’s country radio.
In addition to welcoming the all-female acts Maddie & Tae and Runaway June to open her concerts, Underwood and company paid tribute to the female artists who have paved the way by performing bits of their most iconic radio hits.
“We wouldn’t be able to do what we do if there had not been so many incredible country women,” Underwood said, before singing Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” a cappella. She was soon joined by Runaway June and Maddie & Tae for Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight,” Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Dolly Parton’s “9 To 5,” The Judds’ “Rhythm of the Rain,” Trisha Yearwood’s “She’s In Love With The Boy,” Martina McBride’s “Independence Day,” Faith Hill’s “Wild One,” Reba’s “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” and Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”
Throughout the evening, multiple thin screens projected images—plumes of smoke and a swirling tornado on “Blown Away,” jewels and photos of Underwood with husband Mike Fisher and their two sons, Isaiah and Jacob, as “Kingdom” played.
The vibrant and captivating stage production was matched only by the intensity of Underwood’s hallmark voice.
As the concert began to draw to a close, a live shot of Underwood putting on the purple and pink glitter tears (as featured on her Cry Pretty album cover) played on the screens, just before she again took center stage, belting out the vulnerable and fearless titular track as strands of glitter hung above the stage. She ended the evening with another hit from Cry Pretty, flanked again by her band as she ended with a message of hope and acceptance on “Love Wins.”
It was hard to miss that the show was a celebration of women, along with their triumphs and struggles, whether they are fighting to be heard on country radio, or whether they are facing battles of a more personal nature.
Carrie Underwood and guest Jessika belt out “The Champion.” Photo: Ralph Larmann
Prior to the launch of the tour, Underwood invited fans on social media to submit video of themselves performing Ludacris’ rap portion of “The Champion,” for the chance to perform the track with Underwood during the tour. For the Birmingham show, Underwood welcomed local resident Jessika to the stage, revealing to the crowd that Jessika’s daughter Olivia was fighting cerebral palsy.
Jessika offered a fearless delivery of the rap portion of the song, while waving and pointing to her daughter in the crowd. In one of the highlights of the evening, she surprised even Underwood when she belted the song’s final piercing melody in a moment that had fans and Underwood alike clapping, pumping fists and stomping in support.
While Underwood’s previous tour proved she is indeed an award-worthy, headlining superstar, with the Cry Pretty Tour 360, she’s building on that superstar status, using her own platform to encourage other women to fearlessly pursue their dreams, and to fight for the things and people that matter to them.
Judging by the smile that rarely left her face throughout the performance, she’s clearly having fun while she’s at it, a living embodiment of her own lyric from “The Champion”: Don’t think I did it for the fame/ I did it for the love of the game.
The Cry Pretty Tour 360. Photo: Ralph Larmann
FlyteVu To Launch Showcase Series Highlighting Clients And Local Brands
/by LB CantrellFlyteVu is launching a new showcase series, called ‘Escape the Ordinary.’ The entertainment marketing agency will partner with different organizations each month to host artists and songwriters at FlyteVu’s office for Nashville-based brands and FlyteVu’s existing clients. Music and entertainment is at the heart of FlyteVu’s work, and in the last year the agency has grown its roster by continuing to integrate brands authentically into the pop culture conversation by creating experiences for their clients.
The ‘Escape the Ordinary’ series will feature partnerships with Creative Nation, Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville, United Talent Agency, BMG, and BBR Music Group.
Monday, May 6 at 6 p.m.
Creative Nation: 3 Writers & The Truth
Talent: Luke Laird, Kassi Ashton, Barry Dean
May Date to be Announced
BMG: Beyond Music Genres
Talent: Clare Dunn, Lucie Silvas, Ryan Kinder
Tuesday, June 25 at 5 p.m.
Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville: Music is Universal
Talent: Hunter Hayes, Caylee Hammack, Striking Matches
Thursday, July 25 at 5 p.m.
United Talent Agency: United by Music
Talent: Jimmie Allen, High Valley
Additional series events will be added in partnership with BMG and BBR Music Group.
FlyteVu To Launch Showcase Series Highlighting Clients And Local Brands
/by LB CantrellFlyteVu is launching a new showcase series, called ‘Escape the Ordinary.’ The entertainment marketing agency will partner with different organizations each month to host artists and songwriters at FlyteVu’s office for Nashville-based brands and FlyteVu’s existing clients. Music and entertainment is at the heart of FlyteVu’s work, and in the last year the agency has grown its roster by continuing to integrate brands authentically into the pop culture conversation by creating experiences for their clients.
The ‘Escape the Ordinary’ series will feature partnerships with Creative Nation, Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville, United Talent Agency, BMG, and BBR Music Group.
Monday, May 6 at 6 p.m.
Creative Nation: 3 Writers & The Truth
Talent: Luke Laird, Kassi Ashton, Barry Dean
Tuesday, June 4
BMG: Beyond Music Genres
Talent: Clare Dunn, Lucie Silvas, Ryan Kinder, Cassadee Pope
Tuesday, June 25 at 5 p.m.
Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville: Music is Universal
Talent: Hunter Hayes, Caylee Hammack, Striking Matches
Thursday, July 25 at 5 p.m.
United Talent Agency: United by Music
Talent: Jimmie Allen, High Valley
Additional series events will be added in partnership with BMG and BBR Music Group.
Garth Brooks Surpasses 1 Million Vinyl Sold
/by LB CantrellGarth Brooks just passed the 1 million vinyl mark with his vinyl release, Legacy-The Vinyl Collection.
At the first pre-sale window from rehearsal for the stadium tour on February 28, Brooks sold out 420,000 copies in 18 hours. Pre-ordering these numbered editions allowed fans the chance to pick their own special six-digit number.
“Music is so personal, now, being able to make your package with your most important date on it, makes it even more personal. I have secured my packages with my daughters’ birthdays and my anniversary,” Brooks said.
The fourth and final window for pre-sale began during Brooks’s appearance at Zynga HQ on May 1. Within minutes of the window opening, Brooks passed the 1 million mark of vinyl albums sold.
The final window is open now until May 5th. You can purchase it at garthbrooks.com/vinyl.
Garth Brooks Surpasses 1 Million Vinyl Sold
/by LB CantrellGarth Brooks just passed the 1 million vinyl mark with his vinyl release, Legacy-The Vinyl Collection.
At the first pre-sale window from rehearsal for the stadium tour on February 28, Brooks sold out 420,000 copies in 18 hours. Pre-ordering these numbered editions allowed fans the chance to pick their own special six-digit number.
“Music is so personal, now, being able to make your package with your most important date on it, makes it even more personal. I have secured my packages with my daughters’ birthdays and my anniversary,” Brooks said.
The fourth and final window for pre-sale began during Brooks’s appearance at Zynga HQ on May 1. Within minutes of the window opening, Brooks passed the 1 million mark of vinyl albums sold.
The final window is open now until May 5th. You can purchase it at garthbrooks.com/vinyl.
Lauren Daigle Earns Most Shazamed Performance At Billboard Music Awards
/by Jessica NicholsonLauren Daigle. Photo: NBC/YouTube
Lauren Daigle‘s performance of “You Say” at the recent Billboard Music Awards was the most Shazamed moment of the night, according to Apple Music. The CCM crossover star earned 25 percent of all Shazams for the evening. Daigle also earned wins in all three CCM categories in which she was nominated, taking home Top Christian Artist, Top Christian Song (“You Say”) and Top Christian Album (Look Up Child).
The Jonas Brothers‘ performance of a medley of tunes, including “Jealous,” “Cake By The Ocean” and their latest, “Sucker,” was the No. 2 most-Shazamed, followed by Dan + Shay‘s collaboration with Tori Kelly on Dan + Shay’s Grammy-winning hit “Speechless.”
Lauren Daigle Earns Most Shazamed Performance At Billboard Music Awards
/by Jessica NicholsonLauren Daigle. Photo: NBC/YouTube
Lauren Daigle‘s performance of “You Say” at the recent Billboard Music Awards was the most Shazamed moment of the night, according to Apple Music. The CCM crossover star earned 25 percent of all Shazams for the evening. Daigle also earned wins in all three CCM categories in which she was nominated, taking home Top Christian Artist, Top Christian Song (“You Say”) and Top Christian Album (Look Up Child).
The Jonas Brothers‘ performance of a medley of tunes, including “Jealous,” “Cake By The Ocean” and their latest, “Sucker,” was the No. 2 most-Shazamed, followed by Dan + Shay‘s collaboration with Tori Kelly on Dan + Shay’s Grammy-winning hit “Speechless.”
On The Row: Adam Craig Shares New Music, Talks Determination
/by Jessica NicholsonAdam Craig. Photo: Haley Crow
Adam Craig’s recent successes, both as a songwriter and an artist, are a testament to determination and the strong love of a good family. He’s also another example of why Nashville is famously called a “Ten-Year Town.”
He moved to Nashville in 2004. Six years later, Craig got his first bit of success—Jason Aldean, included Craig’s song “Church Pew or Bar Stool” on an album. The cut led Craig to a publishing deal with Sony/ATV.
“I remember when I signed that publishing deal, they put you with every writer in town and you write 150 or 200 songs a year for the next three years,” he told MusicRow during a recent visit.
Craig was putting in hours and the creativity, but couldn’t get any songs recorded by major artists. Finally, during a visit to his family’s home in Washington over the holidays in 2013, he told his mother he was considering quitting music.
“I said, ‘Maybe this isn’t in the cards. Maybe I’m not supposed to be doing this. I’m seeing people who have moved to town have success just instantly.’ She had this stoic look on her face and she said, ‘You’ve been given a gift and it’s your responsibility to share it with as many people as possible. So get your butt back to Nashville, work harder, smile, and do the damn thing.’”
Craig took her advice and made the trip back to Music City to make one more big attempt. 2014 officially marked his 10th year in town.
“That first week, my publisher calls and it’s like, ‘Jason Aldean just cut another song and Dustin Lynch and a few indies.’ It was a good first week. The next week, I get another call—Montgomery Gentry, Love and Theft, Swon Brothers, Parmalee, they’re all cutting my songs. I got like 20 cuts in January 2014.”
His biggest hit was yet to come, when Parmalee released “Close Your Eyes” to country radio; the track would reach the Top 3.
Adam Craig with MusicRow Magazine owner/publisher Sherod Robertson. Photo: Haley Crow
“I was talking to Ash Bowers, who I used to play guitar for. He used to be on Broken Bow Records, and he suggested we set up a meeting to go over to Broken Bow, just to say hello and thank them for releasing the song. Benny [Brown] was the head of the label at the time.”
He went and met with the label staff. “I remember Benny looked at me and said, ‘Well, obviously I like your songs. Can you sing?’ So I did three songs, not knowing if I was pitching songs to his artists or if I was pitching myself as an artist.”
One week later, he had a deal with Broken Bow Records.
“I had almost quit months earlier, and last year, I had my first Top 40,” he marvels. His latest single, “If You’re Lucky,” was penned by Jessi Alexander and Chase McGill.
“I was blown away that these two writers that I had never really hung out with could write a song that hit me so hard and sounded like a song that was written about Washington and the crazy, stupid stuff I did growing up there.”
Adam Craig with MusicRow Magazine staffers.
On The Row: Adam Craig Shares New Music, Talks Determination
/by Jessica NicholsonAdam Craig. Photo: Haley Crow
Adam Craig’s recent successes, both as a songwriter and an artist, are a testament to determination and the strong love of a good family. He’s also another example of why Nashville is famously called a “Ten-Year Town.”
He moved to Nashville in 2004. Six years later, Craig got his first bit of success—Jason Aldean, included Craig’s song “Church Pew or Bar Stool” on an album. The cut led Craig to a publishing deal with Sony/ATV.
“I remember when I signed that publishing deal, they put you with every writer in town and you write 150 or 200 songs a year for the next three years,” he told MusicRow during a recent visit.
Craig was putting in hours and the creativity, but couldn’t get any songs recorded by major artists. Finally, during a visit to his family’s home in Washington over the holidays in 2013, he told his mother he was considering quitting music.
“I said, ‘Maybe this isn’t in the cards. Maybe I’m not supposed to be doing this. I’m seeing people who have moved to town have success just instantly.’ She had this stoic look on her face and she said, ‘You’ve been given a gift and it’s your responsibility to share it with as many people as possible. So get your butt back to Nashville, work harder, smile, and do the damn thing.’”
Craig took her advice and made the trip back to Music City to make one more big attempt. 2014 officially marked his 10th year in town.
“That first week, my publisher calls and it’s like, ‘Jason Aldean just cut another song and Dustin Lynch and a few indies.’ It was a good first week. The next week, I get another call—Montgomery Gentry, Love and Theft, Swon Brothers, Parmalee, they’re all cutting my songs. I got like 20 cuts in January 2014.”
His biggest hit was yet to come, when Parmalee released “Close Your Eyes” to country radio; the track would reach the Top 3.
Adam Craig with MusicRow Magazine owner/publisher Sherod Robertson. Photo: Haley Crow
“I was talking to Ash Bowers, who I used to play guitar for. He used to be on Broken Bow Records, and he suggested we set up a meeting to go over to Broken Bow, just to say hello and thank them for releasing the song. Benny [Brown] was the head of the label at the time.”
He went and met with the label staff. “I remember Benny looked at me and said, ‘Well, obviously I like your songs. Can you sing?’ So I did three songs, not knowing if I was pitching songs to his artists or if I was pitching myself as an artist.”
One week later, he had a deal with Broken Bow Records.
“I had almost quit months earlier, and last year, I had my first Top 40,” he marvels. His latest single, “If You’re Lucky,” was penned by Jessi Alexander and Chase McGill.
“I was blown away that these two writers that I had never really hung out with could write a song that hit me so hard and sounded like a song that was written about Washington and the crazy, stupid stuff I did growing up there.”
Adam Craig with MusicRow Magazine staffers.