Michael W. Smith will welcome an impressive lineup of fellow artists for his upcoming holiday season release Michael W. Smith & Friends: The Spirit of Christmas, which will release Sept. 30. Bono, Vince Gill, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Nettles, Amy Grant and Michael McDonald have all recorded tracks for the project.
Pictured (L-R): Robert Deaton, Carrie Underwood, Michael W. Smith. Photo: Ryan Smith.
The project also marks
Robert Deaton‘s debut as an album producer. The CMA Awards and
CMA Country Christmas producer approached Smith about creating a full Christmas recording after Smith’s performance with Nettles during the 2013 Country Christmas program. Orchestral maestro
David Hamilton was brought in as the third co-producer, and arranged and oversaw the London Symphony Orchestra’s recordings on the album.
“When we started talking about who could be on this record with him, the list got really narrow really fast,” remarked co-producer Deaton. “There’s a difference between a singer and an artist, or a celebrity and an artist. While we were fortunate to have these amazing guests on the record, it all feels like a cohesive piece and you never leave the fact that it’s a Michael W. Smith record. That was important. That, along with working with co-producer David Hamilton, who is the resident genius, was amazing. This entire process has just been phenomenal.”
Little Big Town with Michael W. Smith. Photo: Ryan Smith
This marks Smith’s fourth Christmas album, following 1989’s
Michael W. Smith Christmas, 1998’s
Christmastime, and 2007’s
It’s A Wonderful Christmas.
“This is the most unique and unusual record I’ve ever done in my 31-year career. The entire record was sequenced together before we recorded one song,” comments Smith. “Sonically you’re hearing me in a way that you’ve probably never heard me before. At one point it’s like Smitty meets Bublé. There’s my granddaughter’s voice singing the song from ‘Home Alone,’ plus the whole orchestral and symphonic feeling of Christmas, mixed together with all these amazing voices and guests – yet it all fits together in a remarkable way.”
Michael W. Smith & Friends: The Spirit of Christmas Track Listing
1. The Miracle of Christmas
2. It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
3. Happy Holidays/Holiday Season
4. Christmas Time Is Here (feat. Vince Gill)
5. White Christmas (feat. Lady Antebellum)
6. Somewhere In My Memory
7. The Spirit of Christmas (Deck the Halls, Good King Wenceslas, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Feels Like Christmas, O Come All Ye Faithful)
8. Silent Night (feat. Little Big Town)
9. What Child Is This (feat. Martina McBride)
10. Almost There (feat. Amy Grant)
11. All Is Well (feat. Carrie Underwood)
12. Christmas Day (feat. Jennifer Nettles)
13. The Darkest Midnight (Spoken Word by Bono)
14. Peace (with Special Guest Michael McDonald)
Weekly Register: Is Friday The New Tuesday?
/by Sarah SkatesCurrently, new music is released on Friday in Australia, Monday in the U.K. and Tuesday in the U.S. This staggered schedule means the music is placed online and can be pirated on Friday, enticing fans to illegally download it because it isn’t available for purchase in their home country yet.
As you’ll see below, some U.S. labels are already experimenting with different street dates. Brad Paisley’s new album will become available on a Monday.
Now for this week…
• • •
Chase Rice’s “Do It Like This” is the top Country debut track, selling 15K, and coming in at No. 27 Country.
CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night To Rock aired last week, giving a track sales boost to artists who performed on the show. Those who experienced a week-to-week bump and landed in the Top 10 track sales are Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw Ft. Faith Hill, Miranda Lambert with Carrie Underwood, and Lady Antebellum.
Jason Aldean, “Burnin’ It Down,” 107K
Florida Georgia Line, “Dirt,” 76K
Kenny Chesney, “American Kids,” 67K
Lady Antebellum, “Bartender,” 59K
Dierks Bentley, “Drunk on a Plane,” 57K
Top 5 Country Albums (sales this week)
Luke Bryan, Crash My Party, 16K
Brantley Gilbert, Just As I Am, 15K
Miranda Lambert, Platinum, 14K
FGL, Here’s To The Good Times, 10K
Eric Church, The Outsiders, 7.4K
(according to Nielsen Soundscan)
Upcoming releases
Monday, Aug. 25 Brad Paisley
Tues., Sept. 9 Lee Brice
Tues., Sept. 16 Tim McGraw
Tues., Sept. 23 Kenny Chesney
Tues., Sept. 30 Lady A, Blake Shelton
Tues., Oct. 21 Little Big Town
Vevo And Pinterest Announce Partnership
/by Troy_StephensonVevo will be adding a “Pin It” option alongside all of the videos on Vevo.com and the iOS apps.
Users can select the “Share” icon underneath any video and choose Pinterest and select the board to save. Once they add a description and Pin, select “See It Now.” The video will start playing directly in the Pin at Pinterest.com or within the Pinterest iOS app.
Vevo is only the third external video player to be integrated into Pinterest (after YouTube and Vimeo).
Industry Ink: ole, Hunter Hayes, Guitar-B-Que
/by Jessica NicholsonIndependent rights management company ole has signed songwriter-producer Jason Massey to its expanding roster. Massey has written with Sony Music artist Ryan Griffin, as well as Black River artists John King and Kelsea Ballerini. Massey is also Ballerini’s co-producer.
“Jason is a prolific writer who should be, and will be, making records on a major scale within the year,” said John Ozier, ole’s General Manager of Creative in Nashville. “Jason is a great addition to ole’s Nashville roster, and we are proud to represent him.”
Pictured (L-R, back row): Emily Mueller (ole Creative Manager), Shellien Kinsey (ole Creative Coordinator). Front row: Austen Adams (Dickinson Wright, PLLC), Songwriter/Producer Jason Massey, John Ozier (ole GM Creative, Nashville).
• • •
Hunter Hayes surprised fans when he took the stage as an unannounced performer during the Jake Jam Sunday (Aug. 10). Among the performers at the event were Eli Young Band, Stoney LaRue, Natalie Stovall and the Drive, and Brothers Osborne. Hayes also visited with Oklahoma station KJKE’s APD/MD Owen Pickard.
Pictured (L-R): Mark Niederhauser, Southwest Regional Team WMN; Hunter Hayes; APD/MD Owen Pickard
Proceeds from the event benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Admission to the event is free.
Brothers Osborne To Drop Debut EP in September
/by Jessica NicholsonThe EP features their single “Rum,” which is climbing the MusicRow CountryBreakout chart, and currently sits at No. 22 this week.
Brothers Osborne EP Track listing:
“Shoot From The Hip” (written by John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Will Anderson)
“Arms Of Fire” (written by John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Tim Nichols, Connie Harrington)
“Stay A Little Longer” (written by John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Shane McAnally)
“Love The Lonely Out Of You” (written by John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Connie Harrington)
“Rum” (written by John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Barry Dean)
On The Cover – Brad Paisley (Aug./Sept. 2014)
/by contributorHis latest single, “River Bank,” is from his upcoming album, Moonshine in the Trunk, to be released Aug. 25.
Paisley is currently an expert on ABC’s new hit singing competition, Rising Star, airing Sunday nights at 9 p.m., ET, through Aug. 24. Paisley also made multiple contributions to the new Disney animated film Planes: Fire & Rescue, with a voice cameo as a pick-up truck named Bubba, as well as recording two songs for the soundtrack: “Runway Romance” and “All In,” which Paisley wrote and serves as the final song in the movie.
Paisley is currently headlining his Country Nation World Tour presented by KRAFT Cheese all summer. Visit www.bradpaisley.com for more information.
To receive your copy of the Artist Roster subscribe now. For information on purchasing individual copies of MusicRow magazine, click here.
Bentley Adds Second Leg of 'Riser Tour'
/by Sarah SkatesBentley’s smash hit of the summer, “Drunk On A Plane,” continues to sell an average of over 65,000 singles a week. The song is off his current album, Riser, which has tallied more than 1.5 million digital track sales. Check out MusicRow’s new Artist Roster issue for an interview with Bentley’s producer Ross Copperman.
Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine and Mountain Dew will return as tour sponsors of the tour. Fans can now purchase tickets for the first announced dates at www.dierks.com with more details to be revealed over the next few weeks.
First Announced Cities on the 2014 Riser Tour’s Second Leg:
Stockton, CA
Fresno, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Boise, ID
Missoula, MT
Edmonton, AB
Saskatoon, SK
Calgary, AB
Winnipeg, MT
Fargo, ND
Bismark, ND
Brookings, SD
Hershey, PA
Bethlehem, PA
Uncasville, CT
Utica, NY
Huntington, WV
Roanoke, VA
Baltimore, MD
Ottawa, ON
Hamilton, ON
Oshawa, ON
London, ON
CMA Adds Four Staffers
/by Jessica Nicholson• Evans was a brand manager at st8mnt before joining the CMA. Prior to that, she worked at 13 Management as a day-to-day manager and later as a point person for all branding, strategic partnerships and marketing for Taylor Swift. She has also worked for MAC Presents, managing strategic partnerships for artists.
• Brown joins CMA from Tractor Supply Company where she was the Accounting Coordinator in the General Accounting department. Brown has an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.
• Prior to joining CMA, Naylor was a freelance events producer, working with Freeman Enterprises on the Luke Bryan Farm Tour 2013, Music City Gives Back Concerts, the Capitol Street Party, Nashville Ultra Marathon 2013, Urban Runoff 2013, and the Mayor’s 5k Challenge. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Communication from Middle Tennessee State University.
• Randall comes to CMA from JRConsulting where he provided technology consulting support and network installation for multi-user environments. He assisted Bridgestone Arena as an IT infrastructure consultant on many of their major events including the CMA Awards, CMT Awards, and the NCAA and SEC basketball tournaments.
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CMA Awards, CMA Country Christmas Tickets On Sale Sept. 6
/by Troy_StephensonSubscribers of CMA’s free e-mail newsletter will have exclusive pre-sale access for both events. This is also available to fans who “like” CMA on Facebook and follow it on Twitter.
Ticket prices start at $110 for the 48th Annual CMA Awards and $25 for CMA Country Christmas. They will be available at ticketmaster.com, by calling (800) 745-3000 or by visiting the Bridgestone Arena Box Office in downtown Nashville.
The 48th Annual CMA Awards will again be hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and will broadcast live on ABC on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. CT.
More information can be found at www.CMAawards.com
Underwood, Nettles, McBride Slated For Michael W. Smith Christmas Album
/by Jessica NicholsonMichael W. Smith will welcome an impressive lineup of fellow artists for his upcoming holiday season release Michael W. Smith & Friends: The Spirit of Christmas, which will release Sept. 30. Bono, Vince Gill, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Nettles, Amy Grant and Michael McDonald have all recorded tracks for the project.
Pictured (L-R): Robert Deaton, Carrie Underwood, Michael W. Smith. Photo: Ryan Smith.
The project also marks Robert Deaton‘s debut as an album producer. The CMA Awards and CMA Country Christmas producer approached Smith about creating a full Christmas recording after Smith’s performance with Nettles during the 2013 Country Christmas program. Orchestral maestro David Hamilton was brought in as the third co-producer, and arranged and oversaw the London Symphony Orchestra’s recordings on the album.
“When we started talking about who could be on this record with him, the list got really narrow really fast,” remarked co-producer Deaton. “There’s a difference between a singer and an artist, or a celebrity and an artist. While we were fortunate to have these amazing guests on the record, it all feels like a cohesive piece and you never leave the fact that it’s a Michael W. Smith record. That was important. That, along with working with co-producer David Hamilton, who is the resident genius, was amazing. This entire process has just been phenomenal.”
Little Big Town with Michael W. Smith. Photo: Ryan Smith
This marks Smith’s fourth Christmas album, following 1989’s Michael W. Smith Christmas, 1998’s Christmastime, and 2007’s It’s A Wonderful Christmas.
“This is the most unique and unusual record I’ve ever done in my 31-year career. The entire record was sequenced together before we recorded one song,” comments Smith. “Sonically you’re hearing me in a way that you’ve probably never heard me before. At one point it’s like Smitty meets Bublé. There’s my granddaughter’s voice singing the song from ‘Home Alone,’ plus the whole orchestral and symphonic feeling of Christmas, mixed together with all these amazing voices and guests – yet it all fits together in a remarkable way.”
1. The Miracle of Christmas
2. It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
3. Happy Holidays/Holiday Season
4. Christmas Time Is Here (feat. Vince Gill)
5. White Christmas (feat. Lady Antebellum)
6. Somewhere In My Memory
7. The Spirit of Christmas (Deck the Halls, Good King Wenceslas, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Feels Like Christmas, O Come All Ye Faithful)
8. Silent Night (feat. Little Big Town)
9. What Child Is This (feat. Martina McBride)
10. Almost There (feat. Amy Grant)
11. All Is Well (feat. Carrie Underwood)
12. Christmas Day (feat. Jennifer Nettles)
13. The Darkest Midnight (Spoken Word by Bono)
14. Peace (with Special Guest Michael McDonald)
Industry Ink: T.J. Martell Foundation, AC Entertainment
/by Jessica NicholsonTo attend the event, call 615-256-2002 or visit tjmartell.org.
• • •
The Music Farm venues will join several venues booked and programmed by AC Entertainment, including Nashville’s Exit/In and Marathon Music Works, as well as Chattanooga, Tenn.’s Track 29. AC also exclusively programs all non-symphony concerts for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. AC Entertainment has operated and managed the Historic Tennessee Theatre since 1996. In 2006, it took the helm of the 105-year-old Bijou Theatre. Both theatres are in downtown Knoxville, Tenn.
• • •
Renee Grant-Williams
Vocal coach Renee Grant-Williams will host a MiniClinic for Singers at her downtown studio in Nashville on Friday, Oct. 17. The MiniClinic will be held from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., and is limited to six attendees. The clinic is designed for singers of all styles, skills and experience levels. The fee for the all-day event is $425. Those interested in attending can register at myvoicecoach.com or by calling 615-244-3280.
Grant-Williams is known for providing vocal coaching to artists including Faith Hill, Jason Aldean, Christina Aguilera, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, and others.