Weekly Chart Report (2/18/11)

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SPIN ZONE

Capitol Records Nashville’s Walker Hayes isn’t kidding when he says he’s ready for winter to end. The “Why Wait For Summer” singer was in Birmingham, AL last week to perform at WDXB’s annual St. Jude event when he and WDXB morning show co-host Dollar Bill got down and ‘snowy’ together.


You knew this was coming, right? Following a huge night at the Grammys, Lady Antebellum’s anthemic “Hello World” ascends to No. 1 on the CountryBreakout Chart and holds off Taylor Swift’s “Back To December” by a mere 32 spins. Brad Paisley’s “This Is Country Music” is close at No. 3, and Jason Aldean’s “Don’t You Wanna Stay” leaps over Billy Currington’s “Let Me Down Easy” to stick at No. 4.
Sunny Sweeney’s “From A Table Away” has taken the Jamey Johnson/Lee Brice route to heavy rotation, clocking 33 weeks of chart visibility before reaching No. 8. Other recent songs to last longer than 30 weeks include the JaneDear girls’ “Wildflower,” which stayed 33 weeks and reached No. 23. Joe Nichol’s “The Shape I’m In” hit No. 10 after 30 weeks, and Eric Church’s “Smoke A Little Smoke” lasted 31. Back in 2009, Love and Theft’s “Runaway” bested them all with a 35 week run to get to No. 2.
Several older titles have fallen subject to our 20/20 rule this week, and that means a bounty of new debuts. Highest of them all is Kenny Chesney’s “Live A Little,” which hit No. 45 nearly a full month ahead of its March 14 add date. Then there’s Toby Keith’s “Somewhere Else,” which landed at No. 53 following a gain of 431 spins. And Justin Moore’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” has clearly caught some programmer ears as it debuts at No. 57.
Frozen Playlists: KYEZ, WBYZ, WTCM





Upcoming Singles
February 22
Aaron Lewis/Country Boy/Stroudavarious
Justin Moore/If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away/Valory
Sarah Darling/Something To Do With Your Hands/Black River
Charley Pride/Except For You/Music City Records
Walker Hayes/Why Wait For Summer/Capitol
Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow/Me and Tennessee/Curb
Royal Wade Kimes/I’m An Ole Song/Wonderment
February 28
Jessica Ridley/Flaming Red/EMG/Universal/Nine North
Frankie Ballard/A Buncha Girls/Warner Bros./WMN
Chris Young/Tomorrow/RCA
Jason Thomas/I’m Your Radio/MD Records
Eric Church/Homeboy/EMI Nashville
New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Kenny Chesney/Live A Little/BNA — 45
Toby Keith/Somewhere Else/Show Dog-Universal — 53
Justin Moore/If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away/Valory — 57
Chris Young/Tomorrow/RCA — 70
Gretchen Wilson/I’d Love To Be Your Last/Redneck Records/CO5 — 76
Badhorse/My Little Man/Global Maximus — 77
Eric Church/Homeboy/EMI Nashville — 79
Mark Wills/Looking For America/Mitzi Matlock Music — 80
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Kenny Chesney/Live A Little/BNA — 576
Ronnie Dunn/Bleed Red/Arista — 506
Keith Urban/Without You/Capitol — 473
Toby Keith/Somewhere Else/Show Dog — Universal — 431
The Band Perry/You Lie/Republic Nashville — 321
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Kate Russell/Damned If I Do/Urunga/Spinville Records — 216
Bucky Covington/Hometown — 215
Curtis & Luckey/Eye Candy/KMG Music Group — 204
Tim McGraw & Gwyneth Paltrow/Me And Tennessee/Curb — 202
David Nail/Let It Rain/MCA — 201
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Toby Keith/Somewhere Else/Show Dog-Universal — 32
Justin Moore/If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away/Valory — 25
Badhorse/My Little Man/Global Maximus — 23
Keith Urban/Without You/Capitol — 23
Eric Church/Homeboy/EMI Nashville — 21
Walker Hayes/Why Wait For Summer/Capitol — 16
Tim McGraw & Gwyneth Paltrow/Me And Tennessee/Curb — 12
Chris Young/Tomorrow/RCA — 11

Gearing up for his sold-out show at City Limits Saloon in Raleigh, NC, Show Dog-Universal’s Randy Houser gladly opened his bus to WQDR for some pre-show camaraderie. (L-R): WQDR's Marty Young, Houser, Billy's wife Amanda, and WQDR MD Billy Dukes.


The Dirt Drifters started their Southwest radio run with a stop at KAJA in San Antonio. (L-R): Ryan Fleener, Jeremy Little, Matt Fleener, KAJA PD Travis Moon, Nick Diamond, and Jeff Middleton.


Davis Music Group/Nine North artist Jacob Lyda brought his new single “I'm Doing Alright” to KMLE Phoenix during his recent SW tour. (L-R): Davis Music Group's Gator Michaels, KMLE's Andrew Bland, Lyda, KMLE's Jeff Garrison and Nine North's Dave Collins.

CMA Songwriter Series Invades LA; Music Festival Unveils Photo Contest

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The CMA Songwriters Series returned to Los Angeles on Feb. 15 with a stellar performance at Club Nokia. Backstage before their performance were (L-R): singer/songwriter/producer Victoria Shaw; songwriter/host Bob DiPiero; 2010 CMA New Artist of the Year nominee Chris Young; two-time CMA Award winner Gretchen Wilson; and singer/songwriter Brett James.


The Music Festival turns 40 this year and to help celebrate, the CMA is sponsoring a photo contest. Six of the submitted photos will be used as the artwork on the official event tickets. Past festival attendees can submit photographs online creating what will become an ongoing photo archive that documents the event’s history.
The contest will begin Feb. 17 and run through Mar. 7. Prizes will be awarded to submitting fans, including commemorative, framed 40th anniversary CMA Music Festival plaques with a ticket containing their photograph displayed for the top three photos; merchandise prize packs; and more. The Grand Prize winner will also receive two Gold Circle four-day tickets to the 2012 CMA Music Festival.
CMA Music Festival, which started as Fan Fair® in 1972 at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium; moved to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in 1982; moved to its current home, Downtown Nashville, in 2001; and changed its name to CMA Music Festival in 2004, the same year it was first filmed for a network television special. In addition to artist performances and artist/fan meetings, CMA is hopeful that photos will be submitted that capture images of fans interacting with each other; recent events like the parade and celebrity sporting events; former events such as the Chuck Wagon Gang serving meals at the Fairgrounds or the “CMA Celebrity Close Up” sessions at the Ryman Auditorium; or the unexpected.
For full contest rules and to submit photos, fans can visit CMAfest.com beginning Thursday, Feb. 17. CMA Music Festival 2011 will take place in Downtown Nashville, Thursday-Sunday, June 9-12.

Tennessee's Incentives For Filmmakers Can't Compete

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Tennessee is missing out on a boost to the economy by not doing more to attract filmmakers. The Nashville Scene’s latest cover story looks at why films don’t come to the Volunteer state, including a lot of missed opportunities for Tennessee stories to be filmed on local soil. Among the toughest blows was when Memphis native Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan) moved his latest production, a remake of Footloose, to Georgia.
When the state loses a project, it also loses out on a significant amount of economic impact. Films like Country Strong, which was shot in the mid-state, create jobs on-set and off-set in the surrounding communities, such as at restaurants and hotels.
The article also looks at how hard it is for full-time crew employees to live in the state and find work, including those who have been lured away. Luckily, a new bill is working to create more incentives for movies to be made here. Read more.

Artist Ink

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>> Luke Bryan, reigning ACM Top New Artist, has just sent his third consecutive single to No. 1. The song “Someone Else Calling You Baby,” comes from his Gold album, Doin’ My Thing which also produced No. 1 hits “Do I” and “Rain Is A Good Thing.” Currently the Georgia native is performing on the Rascal Flatts tour, and this summer will join Tim McGraw. Bryan’s next single will be “Spring Break 3…It’s a Shore Thing.”
>>Gretchen Wilson strikes hard with her new single, “I’d Love To Be Your Last.” Written by Rivers Rutherford, the song is monumental. Wilson was in LA earlier this week for the Grammy Awards, an appearance on The Talk and a performance on Leno’s The Tonight Show. She also performed at a special CMA songwriter show at the Nokia Theatre and earned a standing ovation on the new single.
>>Hazel Smith, host of CMT’s Southern Fried Flicks is jumping onto the radio dial. Smith joins the cast of Nashville’s New Country, a syndicated show that can also be heard online. This week she joins hosts Chuck and Steve as they talk to Josh Thompson and hear new music from Ronnie Dunn and Sarah Darling. Tune in here.

JaneDear girls


>>The JaneDear girls, nominated for ACM Top Vocal Duo and Top New Vocal Duo or Group joined with YouTube sensation Keenan Cahill to create a spin-off of The Lonely Island’s single “I’m On A Boat.” Not surprisingly the new title is “We Need Ya Vote!” Click here to watch. Susie Brown and Danelle Leverett our on the road with Jason Aldean and their hit “Wildflower is already Top 15.

Cumulus In Talks To Buy Citadel

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Cumulus Media is in exclusive negotiations to purchase Citadel Broadcasting for about $2.5 billion. The companies released an official statement this afternoon acknowledging the negotiations were taking place.
Under terms of the proposed agreement, Cumulus would pay $37 per share in a combination of cash and Cumulus stock.
Cumulus is the second largest radio broadcaster in the United States based on station count, controlling 347 radio stations in 67 US media markets.
Late last year Cumulus offered $31/share for Citadel but was rejected. More here.

Curious About Qriocity? Sony Debuts Music Service

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Sony launched a new music service in the U.S. today. “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” is a cloud-based, digital music service offering about 6 million songs from the catalogs of Universal, Sony, Warner, and EMI Music, as well as numerous indies and publishers.
The service is ad-free and runs on a monthly subscription basis. The Basic plan is $3.99/month and Premium is $9.99.
One thing Qriocity has going for it is that it is designed to work with existing Sony hardware, including certain Bravia TVs, Blu-ray Disc players, PlayStation3, Vaio computers, and portable devices. It is also expected to work with third-party portable devices including the Android platform.
Many of these connections play into the company’s desire to capture in-home listeners, where it says more than 70 percent of consumers listen, but are underserved in terms of digital music.
Qriocity essentially works as a customizable streaming station offering personalized channels. The Premium subscription plan enables users to listen to songs on demand, and create personal playlists. The system tailors stations based on “like or dislike” song ratings, and analyzing the user’s existing music collection. Sony claims, “the more you listen, the more uniquely personalized your music channels become.”
Users can also synchronize their existing music files from other media players including iTunes.
Qriocity was already available in the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Today it also launched in Australia and New Zealand.

Music Stars Set For Secret TV Taping Today

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According to his Twitter account, Luke Bryan will kick-off today's special TV taping.


Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, Luke Bryan and Gretchen Wilson are among the stars taping a television special today (2/17) in Nashville, and even though fans are invited, there has been no official announcement about who is organizing the event.
Many of the artists have been spreading the word about the show through their social media sites. Wilson’s Facebook tells fans she will go on about 7 PM. Crow and Bryan have also shared details.
The taping starts at 12:30 PM at Nashville Center Stage (514 8th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37203), across the street from Cannery Row.
Fans are invited to attend the free event, but space is limited. Guests must be 18 or older and should be dressed in summer clothes.

Artist Action: Gloriana Heads to White House

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Gloriana


>>Gloriana will be part of an all-star line-up at a White House concert on Feb. 24. The event celebrating Black History Month and the legacy of Motown Records will also feature Smokey Robinson, Natasha Bedingfield, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, and John Legend. “The Motown Sound: In Performance at the White House” will be broadcast on PBS March 1 and on the American Forces Network March 11. Gloriana’s second studio album is set for release later this year, and the first single, “Wanna Take You Home,” will be sent to radio next month.
>>Miranda Lambert‘s Grammy Awards performance of “The House That Built Me” is available exclusively on iTunes. She won her first Grammy (Best Female Country Vocal Performance) for the song.
>>Craig Morgan helped rescue two young children from a burning home in his hometown of Dickson, Tennessee last weekend. The singer is also a former EMT and Assistant Deputy Sherriff. The home suffered relatively minor damage and everyone inside made it to out safely. Hear him talk about it with Big D and Bubba.
>>Randy Montana will perform at this weekend’s Daytona 500 as part of the pre-race festivities. Next, he is headed to New Orleans to headline the 2011 Bassmaster Classic, followed by a Feb. 25 performance of his new single “1,000 Faces” on the local Fox show Tennessee Mornings.
>>Darius Rucker is pictured on a new scratch-off ticket in the New Mexico Lottery. Rucker was also on ABC’s Good Morning America on yesterday (2/16) to perform his current single, “This.”
>>Keith Urban sang “Without You,” the second single from his Get Closer album, this morning (2/17) on ABC’s Good Morning America.
>>Jason Aldean is set to perform his duet “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Kelly Clarkson on Ellen next Tues., Feb. 22. He will also perform his most recent No. 1 hit “My Kinda Party” on Conan that same night.
>>Zac Brown and his wife Shelly welcomed their fourth daughter, Joni Mason Brown, earlier this month. She joins big sisters Justice, Lucy and Georgia.
>>Lee Brice’s hit “Love Like Crazy” is being featured on televisions in select McDonald’s restaurants as part of the music programming.
>>Gretchen Wilson sang her new single “I’d Love To Be Your Last” on the CBS show The Talk recently. The show had flown in several of Wilson’s fans, including one who received an on-air marriage proposal from her boyfriend. Wilson is also set for The Tonight Show and the CMA Songwriter Series in Los Angeles.

Gretchen Wilson performs on "The Talk" on Valentine's Day with Paul Nelson (L) and Tony Obrohta (R).

The Band Perry Debut Certified Gold

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The Band Perry’s self-titled debut album has been certified Gold by the RIAA for shipments exceeding 500,000 units. Released in October 2010 by Republic Nashville, the album continues to hold steady at No. 7 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart.
The sibling trio’s sales were driven by breakthrough hits “Hip To My Heart” and “If I Die Young.” The band’s third single, “You Lie,” is now its fastest chart-climber to date.
“Having a Gold record is a tremendous accomplishment and to achieve that status in just under four months is even more amazing,” said Nashville Republic Pres. Jimmy Harnen. “This award is yet another wonderful accolade in a spectacular year for The Band Perry.”

New Smartphone Apps Connect Consumers To Artists

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The booming smartphone market is providing new opportunities for fans to connect with artists, and tech-savvy companies are leading the way with cool new apps.
Kenny Chesney has partnered with digital syndicator Qello for the release of his 2009 concert film Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D. The Chesney App is Qello’s debut product and gives fans with iPhone and Android smartphones interactive access to the film in 2D-HD format, including behind the scenes footage. Qello will also soon release the film and app to the gaming market to have it available on as many devices as possible.
“Kenny Chesney is one of the most popular performers in the world and a perfect partner for the launch of the exciting Qello platform,” says Qello President Bob Frank. “Just as Netflix did for movies, Qello is a first-mover, changing the way music fans will consume live concerts.”
The Qello app, available now, can be found here.
Red Light Management and AT&T have announced a mobile barcode program to allow fans more ways to connect with the company’s artists. Red Light has used this program in campaigns for its artists like Dave Matthews Band, Steel Train and Tim McGraw. Fans are encouraged to use smartphones to scan a barcode on an artist’s promotional materials, which will open up a world of special content including free apps, videos, fan club access and more.
“Our artists are continuously looking for new ways to connect with their fans and get the word out about their latest activities,” said Evan Cooper, Red Light Management. “By using AT&T’s mobile barcode program, we can effectively promote our artists and give fans the opportunity to keep up with their favorite musicians on-the-go.”
Check out the mobile barcode program here.