Swift To Make Wonderstruck Appearances

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With Taylor Swift’s signature fragrance, Wonderstruck, arriving in stores, she is preparing several promotional in-store and media stops for October. The Wonderstruck appearances occur in between dates on her Speak Now World Tour, and there’s even a local date on the itinerary.

Swift’s appearances include the following:

Oct. 13 – Good Morning America, Live! With Regis and Kelly, and Macy’s Herald Square in NYC
Oct. 18 – Sephora in Glendale, CA
Oct. 19 – The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Oct. 28 – Belk in Franklin, TN

“I wrote the lyric, ‘I’m wonderstruck, blushing all the way home,’ for the song ‘Enchanted,’ about the first time you meet someone. A fragrance can help shape someone’s first impression and memory of you, and it’s exciting to think that Wonderstruck will play a role in creating some of those memories,” Swift says. She worked with Elizabeth Arden on creating the fragrance.

DISClaimer Single Reviews (10/12/11)

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Top-tier country radio stars, the triumphant return of a veteran and a stunning debut album are all ingredients in this week’s audio recipe.

The radio stars in question include Brad Paisley, Craig Morgan, Lee Brice and our Disc of the Day winner, Dierks Bentley.

The comeback belongs to K.D. Lang & The Sis Boom Bang. Their Nashville-recorded Sing It Loud album sizzles with excellence.

The Damn Quails have one of the finest freshman collections I’ve heard all year. It is titled Down the Hatch. The debut single is out now, and the rest of the disc drops on Oct. 25. Brand new band. Brand new label. Brand new sound. The core of the group is a pair of singer-songwriters, Gabriel Marshall and Bryon White. Give those boys a DisCovery Award.

CRAIG MORGAN/This Ole Boy
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Black River (ERG)
—Sunny, romantic and utterly optimistic. Plus, he still sings his face off.

DIERKS BENTLEY/Home
Writer: Dan Wilson/Brett Beavers/Dierks Bentley; Producer: Brett Beavers & Luke Wooten; Publisher: Chrysalis/Sugar Lake/BMG Rights Management/Chestnut Barn/Big White Tracks, ASCAP/IMRO/BMI; Capitol Nashville (CDX)
—Stirring and uplifting. This manages the tricky task of being patriotic without being jingoistic. In addition to being well written, it is brilliantly produced, with a rumbling, drumming undertow and subtle, judiciously placed chimes.

THE DAMN QUAILS/Fools Gold
Writer: Bryon White; Producer: Mike McClure & Joe Hardy; Publisher: C.P. Sparkman, BMI; 598 (track)
—Refreshing, with a splash of harmonica, a dash of dobro, an acoustic-guitar solo, lightly crunchy rhythm and jaunty, folkie vocals. Oklahoma strikes again.

LEE BRICE/A Woman Like You
Writer: Johnny Buford/Phil Barton/Jon Stone; Producer: Jon Stone & Lee Brice; Publisher: Warner-Tamerlane/3JB/Sixteen Stars/How Bout That Skyline/Songs From Ferry Street/BMG Chrysalis, BMI; Curb
—Charming. She asks him what he’d be like if he hadn’t met her. He rattles off a list that includes poker, fishing, football, golf, poor dietary choices and more. But the payoff is that he’d also be looking for her.

WADE BOWEN/Saturday Night
Writer: Wade Bowen/Lee Thomas Miller; Producer: Justin Niebank; Publisher: House of Sea Gayle/Sparks to Strings/Itchy Baby, ASCAP/BMI; Sea Gayle/BNA
—Very cool. He sings with a lot of heart, and the track is cooking with gas. Best of all, the song is superbly written: He’s alone, out on the town and miserable, so why is everybody in love with Saturday night?

BRAD PAISLEY/Camouflage
Writer: Brad Paisley/Chris DuBois/Kelley Lovelace; Producer: Frank Rogers; Publisher: House of Sea Gayle/Words & Music/EMI April/Didn’t  Have To Be, ASCAP; Arista
—I generally dislike records with crowd cheering/shouting in the track.

COREY WAGAR/I Hate My Boyfriend
Writer: P. Brust/C. Brown/C. Wagar; Producer: Kent Wells; Publisher: none listed; GTR (track)
—It rocks with plenty of percussion and screaming guitars. She wants to go out and party with her friends, but he doesn’t like that, hence the title.

KID ROCK & ANGALEENA PRESLEY/Care
Writer: R.J. Ritchie/M. Young/H. Boone/C. Harris; Producer: none listed; Publisher: RJR/Kobalt/Jo Ray Dean/Sony ATV/Family Three/Universal/Crown Club/Warner-Tamerlane, BMI/ASCAP; Atlantic/Top Dog/Quaterback
—Alas, all the time he’s spent in Nashville has not made him a country songwriter.

ANSON CARTER/One Of Those Days
Writer: Arlis Albritten/Mickey Jack Cones/ Chad Hudson; Producer: Michael Bowen & Anson Carter; Publisher: none listed; Black Gold (track) (www.ansoncartermusic.com)
—It’s a little thin sounding, but he gets the job done vocally.

K.D. LANG & THE SIS BOOM BANG/I Confess
Writer: K.D. Lang/Daniel Clarke/Joshua Grange; Producer: K.D. Lang & Joe Pisapia; Publisher: Bromelain/It All Works/De La Grange, ASCAP; Nonesuch (track) (www.kdlang.com)
—Lang returned to Music City to craft her new Sing It Loud CD, and her new Sis Boom Bang band is comprised of East Nashvillians. The album’s lead-off single has an Orbison-bolero vibe that simmers with sensuous heat. Essential listening.

Mary Steenburgen and Friends In-The-Round Friday

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Mary Steenburgen has recruited her songwriting friends for a special in-the-round performance on Fri., Oct. 14 at the Hermitage Hotel.

The Academy Award®-winning actress has been coming to Nashville to write in recent years and has been working with stellar tunesmiths who will join her at the upcoming show including Shawn Camp, Kim Carnes, Trent Dabbs, Kat Danson, Barry Dean, Natalie Hemby, Audrey Dean Kelley, Luke Laird, Lori McKenna, and Troy Verges.

The event corresponds with the Southern Festival of Books & Americana Music Festival and proceeds benefit The Oxford American, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tickets are $250 per person. Click here to purchase, or call 501-320-5730.

Check MusicRow.com tomorrow morning for an exclusive interview with Steenburgen.

Nashvillians Among American Music Awards Nominees

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American Music Awards nominees were revealed today, and the list includes several Nashville artists. The show will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, Sun., Nov. 20 on ABC.

Adele leads with four nominations. Among the artists with multiple nods are Taylor Swift and The Band Perry with three each, and Jason Aldean with two. See Nashville list below.

Country Music
Favorite Male Artist: Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton
Favorite Female Artist: Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo or Group: The Band Perry, Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum
Favorite Album: Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party; The Band Perry, The Band Perry; Taylor Swift, Speak Now

Contemporary Inspirational
Favorite Artist: Casting Crowns, Tobymac, Third Day

Artist of the Year
Taylor Swift, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Katy Perry

Sprint New Artist Of The Year
Hot Chelle Rae (Pop/Rock category)
The Band Perry (Country category)
Thompson Square (Country category)

American Music Awards® nominees are selected from both BigChampagne’s Ultimate Chart and Mediabase. For the fifth year, winners will be determined by online fan voting. Details on voting, and complete nominations list at AMA.abc.com.

 

“Footloose” Premiere Pics

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The premiere of Footloose has held last week at the Franklin Theatre. The flick starring Julianne Hough and others opens nationwide on Friday (10/14). Catch Blake Shelton performing the signature song tonight (10/11) on the Dancing with the Stars results show on ABC at 8:00 PM CST.

All photos by Alan Mayor.

The cast and director (L-R): actor Miles Teller, director Craig Brewer, actor Kenny Wormald, actress Julianne Hough and soundtrack star Blake Shelton.

 

Big and Rich ft. Gretchen Wilson perform "Fake ID" on the soundtrack

Whitney Duncan contributes "So Sorry Mama" to the soundtrack.

Jason Aldean Delivers

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MusicRow staffers and Jason Aldean. (L-R) Back—Jon Freeman, David M. Ross and Sherod Robertson; Middle—Michelle Stephens and Caitlin Rantala; Front—Christie King, Sarah Skates and Jason Aldean.

Jason Aldean stopped by MusicRow’s corporate world headquarters on 17th Ave. S. to say, “Thanks” and deliver a double platinum/2 million units sold plaque for his latest album, My Kinda Party.

“I still remember,” laughed Aldean, “my first-ever award was presented by MusicRow during its CRS party in 2006. It was a CountryBreakout Chart Award.”

Aldean’s star has been exploding. He set attendance records this past summer with his My Kinda Party tour which has been extended into 2012.

Aldean is also tied for the most CMA nominations with five nods for the 45th Annual Awards, including his first ever in the categories of Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. His current Top 20 single “Tattoos On This Town” is the fourth release off his double platinum album My Kinda Party and follows three consecutive platinum-certified and No. 1 hits for the disc. Aldean currently claims the top selling country album of the year.

Aldean’s RIAA Album Awards
Jason Aldean/Gold/11-8-05; Platinum/3-6-07
Relentless/Gold/10-1-07
Wide Open/Gold/6-24-09; Platinum/11-30-09
My Kinda Party/Gold/12-7-10; Platinum/1-14-11; Double Platinum/9-7-11

Toby Keith: New No. 1, New Song, New Video

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TKO Artist Management celebrated Toby Keith's No. 1 single, "Made In America," at this past weekend's Atlanta stop on his standing-room only Locked & Loaded Tour Presented by Ford F-Series. (Back, L-R): TK Kimbrell - Pres./Owner, Berkley Myers - Assist. to TK, Laura Covington - Dir. of Special Markets, Toby Ketih, Cassie Petty - General Manager, Alex Bridge - Artist Representative, Taylor Shults - Artist Representative, (Front, L-R): Emily Jennings - Receptionist, Misha Williams - Publishing Administrator & Jessica Johnston - Office Assist.

Toby Keith celebrates his 29th No. 1 single, “Made In America.” It topped MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart and is one of the fastest rising releases of his career.

For Keith, the song is almost an unexpected hit. “I’ve done so much patriotic stuff that I have people sending me and bringing me those kinds of ideas daily,” he says. “And when I hear most of this stuff it’s like, I’ve already done that. I’ve already done my warrior song— ‘American Soldier.’ I’ve already done my battle cry— ‘Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue.’ I’ve already done my fun uptempo— ‘American Ride.'”

Frequent Keith co-writer Bobby Pinson offered up an idea anyway. “We got to talking about how when we were kids, if your car broke down your dad could take a wrench, WD40, bailing wire and a screw driver and about fix it,” Keith explains. “We jumped on that, started writing. I just couldn’t get past thinking that my old man was that old man.”

“Made In America” is one of 11 new tracks on Clancy’s Tavern, which will be released Oct. 24. A Deluxe Edition also includes four extra songs that are covers recorded live at Keith’s 2010 Incognito Bandito club show at The Fillmore in New York City.

A new song from Keith’s Clancy’s Tavern is “Red Solo Cup,” an ode to the classic party beverage receptacle written by Brett and Jim Beavers with Brad and Brett Warren. The four writers also star in the song’s video.

Guests in the clip include TV host Craig Ferguson; sports icons Roger Clemens and Larry Bird; fishing guru Jimmy Houston; entertainers Jeff Dunham (with Bubba J), Carrot Top and Lance Burton; and fellow recording artists Sammy Hagar, Ted Nugent, Eric Church, Joe Nichols, JT Hodges, Carter’s Chord, Rose Falcon and Trailer Choir’s Butter.

 

Photo Round-up: Rascal Flatts, Frankie Ballard, The Roys

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Rascal Flatts Inducted Into Grand Ole Opry

Rascal Flatts was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by Opry member Little Jimmy Dickens during the Opry’s 86th Birthday Bash celebration which aired live on GAC: Great American Country. (L-R): Opry GM Pete Fisher; Little Jimmy Dickens; and Joe Don Rooney, Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts.

Photo: Chris Hollo

Frankie Ballard Surprises Nashville School Teacher for OfficeMax’s “A Day Made Better”

Last Wednesday (10/5), Frankie Ballard made a surprise visit to a Title 1 elementary school in Nashville to deliver an award and $1,000 worth of school supplies to an unsuspecting teacher in support of OfficeMax’s national “A Day Made Better” event. Ballard surprised Mr. Josh Wright at McGavock Elementary with new supplies from OfficeMax including a printer, digital camera, desk chair and other essentials. (L-R): OfficeMax associate Steve Gray, Wright and Ballard.

Photo: Getty Images

The Roys Singing National Anthem

Rural Rhythm Records bluegrass duo The Roys performed the national anthem at the Tennessee Titans/Denver Broncos game to a 97,000-plus crowd at LP Field in Nashville.

Photo: Donn Jones

Mat Kearney Sets Hometown Show

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Mat Kearney

Nashville singer-songwriter Mat Kearney has announced a homecoming tour date Oct. 20 at the Cannery Ballroom. Kearney is currently on a headlining tour supporting his latest album Young Love, which was released in August and hit No. 1 on iTunes and No. 4 on Billboard. Following the Nashville show, Kearney’s tour will continue through Nov. 20 in Minneapolis, MN. Full dates here.

Kearney also recently performed a special acoustic set on a New York City rooftop for Baeble Sessions, offering selections from Young Love including his current hit “Hey Mama” (video below). Check out the performance video, as well as an exclusive interview, here.

 

Watch the full video at Baeblemusic.com

Lambert Goes Hipstamatic

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Miranda Lambert has teamed with the popular iPhone app Hipstamatic to offer fans an exclusive “Listen & Create” contest merging her music with the app’s unique analog camera settings.

For the contest, fans will hear the premiere of Lambert’s song “Mama’s Broken Heart” from her forthcoming Four The Record, and submit photos using Hipstamatic’s numerous lens, flash, and film options for a chance to win an autographed guitar.

“Listen & Create” is live now here and ends Oct. 18. Hipstamatic is one of the best-selling iPhone apps of all time, and Apple named it “App of the Year” for 2010.

Lambert’s Four The Record is due Nov. 1, and she will perform on the 45th Annual CMA Awards live from the Bridgestone Arena Nov. 9. She’s nominated for CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, an honor she won last year, as well as Musical Event of the Year for her collaboration on Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”