One Week Left For No Shave November

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Dang, does something itch around here? Oh, my bad, that’s my unshaven face and neck. There’s one week left in No Shave November benefiting St. Jude and some of us (including yours truly) have yet to pick up a razor.

The bearded masses of Music Row have been busily raising funds (instead of grooming) to help the cause, and the current total raised stands at $19,231.75. The goal for Nov. 30 has been set at $20,000, so make with the clickin’ and give already. Donations can be made here.

On Nov. 30, participants will gather at The Moose Music Row barber shop for the “Beard Bash,” where prizes will be awarded and a “No Shave November Champion” will be crowned by a panel of celebrity judges. Which, as you can see below, ain’t gonna be me. Maybe there’s a Mr. Congeniality?

(L-R): BBR Management's Shawn Pennington, R&J Records' Tim McFadden, Magic Mustang Music's Keithan Melton, and some dude in a purple shirt.

Cumulus Radiothon Today, And More Benefits

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• All local Cumulus radio stations are commercial-free today (11/21) from 5 a.m. – 7 p.m. for their annual radiothon to raise money for the Nashville Rescue Mission. $2.26 will provide a meal for a homeless person. To donate call (615) 312-1500 or click above. Cumulus stations include Supertalk 99.7 WTN; 92Q Nashville’s Big Station, WQQK; 95.5 FM WSM; Classic Hits 97.1, WRQQ; and i106 All the Hits, WNFN.

• There is also a benefit tonight (11/21) at Music City Bar & Grill for songwriter Earl Clark, to help with his medical costs. He is behind the hits “Renegades, Rebels and Rogues,” “Can’t Break it to My Heart,” “I Know it’s Not the End of the World,” and “I Found Jesus on the Jailhouse Floor.”

• The Springs Music Hall in Salado, TX is proud to present Kinky Friedman and B.J. Thomas on Sat., Nov. 26, benefiting The Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch. Thomas’ credits include “Hooked on A Feeling,” “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head.” Tickets are on sale for $35 and can be purchased online here.

Willie Nelson Offers Classic Covers Today

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Willie Nelson will honor 14 country singers and songwriters from the past 70 years with his new collection, Remember Me, Vol. 1, hitting stores today (11/21).

Songs from Ernest Tubb, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Rosemary Clooney, Porter Wagoner and Ray Price are brought to light again by Nelson and longtime friend and producer James Stroud. Their recording sessions yielded more than 30 songs, half of which are slated to appear next year with the release of Remember Me, Vol. 2. The two-disc set is be released through Stroud’s R&J Records.

Remember Me, Vol. 1 track list below (original hit-making artist, year and peak Billboard position):

1.  Remember Me (Ernest Tubb, 1950, No. 5 Country)
2.  Sixteen Tons (Tennessee Ernie Ford, 1955, No. 1 Country & Pop)
3.  Why Baby Why (George Jones, 1955, No. 4 Country)
4.  Today I Started Loving You Again (Merle Haggard, 1970)
5.  I’m Movin’ On (Hank Snow, 1950, No. 1 Country)
6.  That Just About Does It (Vern Gosdin, 1989, No. 4 Country)
7.  This Old House (Rosemary Clooney, 1954, No. 1 Pop)
8.  Sunday Morning Coming Down (Johnny Cash, 1970, No. 1 Country)
9.  Smoke That Cigarette (Tex Williams, 1947, No. 1 Country)
10.  Slowly (Webb Pierce, 1954, No. 1 Country)
11.  A Satisfied Mind (Porter Wagoner, 1955, No. 1 Country)
12.  Roly Poly (Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, 1946, No. 3 Country)
13.  Release Me (Ray Price, 1954, No. 6 Country)
14.  Ramblin’ Fever (Merle Haggard, 1977, No. 2 Country)
*15.  More And More (Webb Pierce, 1954, No. 1 Country) *iTunes exclusive

Awards Ratings Showdown: CMAs Trump AMAs

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Swift won top honors at the AMAs, and was also profiled on 60 Minutes.

The American Music Awards pushed ABC to a third-place finish in last night’s (11/20) TV ratings race, averaging about 12 million viewers, according to EW.com. By comparison, about 16.3 million fans tuned into the Nov. 9 CMA Awards, also on ABC. Taylor Swift was a big winner at both ceremonies.

Also last night, CBS won the 7 PM/ET hour and placed second in the 8 PM/ET hour thanks to an NFL game that ran over, and a profile of Swift on network mainstay 60 Minutes.

Overall, NBC’s Sunday Night Football won the night with 14.8 million pairs of eyes. This info according to Zap2It.

Embedded below:

• Members of Nashville’s Hot Chelle Rae talk to The Hollywood Reporter about their AMA win last night.

• See more of Swift’s interview on 60 Minutes Overtime.

 

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:

• • •

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.