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Weekly Chart Report (11/9/12)

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Josh Turner visited with syndicated host Whitney Allen at the DG studios during last week’s CMA Awards festivities.

SPIN ZONE
When you set the car to “Cruise,” you just let it ride, man. And Republic Nashville duo Florida Georgia Line’s breakout hit maintains its speed for a second week as MusicRow’s No. 1 song, followed by label mate Greg Bates’ “Did It For the Girl” and Rascal Flatts’ “Come Wake Me Up.” Closing in are Kip Moore’s “Beer Money” at No. 4, Darius Rucker’s “True Believers” at No. 6, and Brad Paisley’s “Southern Comfort Zone” at No. 7.

Speaking of Republic Nashville, have a look at The Band Perry’s “Better Dig Two.” The arena-sized murder ballad from the Perry siblings picks up the week’s biggest spin increase and launches from No. 55 to 28. “Better Dig Two” also leads the week in new adds with 42 stations pitching in. Also on the fast train to charttoppingsville are Hunter Hayes’ “Somebody’s Heartbreak” at No. 28 and Jason Aldean’s “The Only Way I Know How” with Eric Church and Luke Bryan, which pulls into the station at No. 36.

Leading the list of new songs is Toby Keith’s “Hope On the Rocks,” the title track to his latest album, which lands at No. 58. Toby also pulls in 23 new adds for the big debut. Others joining the chart include Lucky Ned Pepper’s “I Remember the Music,” John Karl’s “Redneck Rich,” Love and Theft’s “Running Out of Air,” and Logan Mize’s “Good Life.”

 Frozen Playlists: KSED, KVOM, KYKX, KYTN, WBKR, WEZJ, WKSR, WMEV, WXXK

Upcoming Singles
November 12
Amy Rose/I Just Want You to Know/Wild Rose
Aaron Lewis/Forever/Blaster
Mark Cooke/Stay With Me Tonight/CVR-Quarterback
Jason Aldean w/Luke Bryan & Eric Church/The Only Way I Know/BBR

November 19
Dustin Lynch/She Cranks My Tractor/Broken Bow Records

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Toby Keith/Hope On The Rocks/Show Dog-Universal – 58
Lucky Ned Pepper/I Remember The Music/Nine North – 76
John Karl/Redneck Rich – 77
Love and Theft/Running Out Of Air/RCA Nashville – 79
Logan Mize/Good Life/Big Yellow Dog – 80

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
The Band Perry/Better Dig Two/Republic Nashville – 42
Jason Aldean/The Only Way I Know/Broken Bow – 37
Toby Keith/Hope On The Rocks/Show Dog-Universal – 23
George Strait/Give It All We Got/MCA – 23
Tim McGraw/One Of Those Nights/Big Machine – 20
Hunter Hayes/Somebody’s Heartbreak/Atlantic-WMN – 11
Kelly Clarkson w/ Vince Gill/Don’t Rush/19 Recordings-RCA Nashville – 10
Thompson Square/If I Didn’t Have You/Stoney Creek – 10

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
The Band Perry/Better Dig Two/Republic Nashville – 639
Jason Aldean/The Only Way I Know/Broken Bow – 587
Toby Keith/Hope On The Rocks/Show Dog-Universal – 343
George Strait/Give It All We Got/MCA – 317
Hunter Hayes/Somebody’s Heartbreak/Atlantic-WMN – 308

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Vince Hatfield/Sometimes You Gotta Get Away/Blue Moon – 218
Craig Campbell/Outta My Head/Bigger Picture – 196
Brooke Hudgins/80 Acres of Stars/VBC – 187
Michael Dean Church/Still Not Over You/MDC – 177
Steve Holy/Hauled Off And Kissed Me/Curb – 170

The Henningsens recently met up with KKBQ staffers in Houston. (L-R): Lesly Tyson (Arista Nashville VP), Aaron Henningsen, Johnny Chiang (KKBQ PD), Clara Henningsen, Christi Brooks (KKBQ MD), Brian Henningsen

Clay Walker recently visited KSON in San Diego in support of his latest single, "Jesse James," which lands at No. 34 on this week's MusicRow Chart. Pictured (L-R): Roger Fregoso (Sidewalk Records), Brooks O'Brian (KSON MD), Walker and Kevin Callahan (KSON PD)

Colt Ford and KNIX's morning show duo, Ben Campbell and Matt McAllister, stopped by Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, AZ to visit Robert, who was unable to attend Ford’s show after being paralyzed in a recent work-related incident. Pictured (L-R): Ford, Robert, Campbell, McAllister.

Primetime ‘Nashville’: Episode 105

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Cast members from “Nashville” were part of SESAC’s 30th anniversary salute to the legendary Bluebird Café, the setting for many scenes in the popular series. Pictured at the SESAC Nashville Music Awards on Oct. 28 (L-R): Todd Truley ("Marshall Evans"), Jonathan Jackson ("Avery Barkley"), Charles Esten ("Deacon Claybourne") and Sam Palladio ("Gunnar Scott"). Photo: Peyton Hoge

Episode 105, titled “Move It On Over” in honor of the Hank Williams classic.

Rayna stars in a cosmetics commercial.

Nashville needs a bombshell—and I’m not talking about Hayden Panettiere’s looks. Since its premiere, the show has set the stage for drama with plenty of juicy storylines, but fallen short with few gasp-worthy moments. Ratings ticked up slightly from last week’s season low (6 million/5.8 million), according to Zap2It.com. ABC has yet to order a full season of the sudsy drama.

Last night’s episode was packed with fantastic new music from the characters. Juliette (Panettiere) pulled an all-nighter in the studio while recording “Yellin’ From the Rooftop” (written by Busbee, Sarah Buxton).

Rayna starred in a beauty product commercial featuring her song “American Beauty” (Bob DiPiero, Jon Nite, Ross Copperman). But this led to the latest bump in her rocky relationship with Deacon, when the cosmetics maker wanted to change a lyric in the song she and Deacon wrote. At first he refused, but by the end of the episode he came around, hoping to give Rayna’s bank account a much needed boost. In another scene, Rayna nabbed lunch from the Riffs food truck downtown.

Deacon debuted “Sideshow” (Aaron Scherz, Brad Tursi) at the Bluebird, and Sam Bush was among the musicians accompanying him. When a drunk yelled out that he preferred Rayna’s singing, Deacon was clearly annoyed. He took out his frustrations by punching the guy in the parking lot and ended up in jail. Rayna refused to bail him out, but Juliette came to his rescue.

Click to see Juliette's awesome new digs in Oak Hill. Listed for $2.75 million.

After all, he’d saved her earlier in the episode. Juliette caught her druggie mom passed out in bed with a stranger, and Deacon, given his own struggles with addiction, convinced her to check into rehab. Rather than deal with the unpleasant memories tied to her current mansion, Juliette decided to move. In real life, Panettiere’s single “Telescope” has been released to radio by BMLG, and the video was recently directed by Taillight’s TK McKamy.

Meanwhile at South Circle Music, the fictional publishing company which signed Gunnar and Scarlett, producer Paul Worley was looking for songs for Lady Antebellum, although Worley and the band didn’t actually appear in the episode. Gunnar and Scarlett performed “Loving You is the Only Way to Fly” (Rodney Crowell, Sarah Buxton, Jedd Hughes) for the producer, but Avery hijacked the song with some super annoying guitar noodling and ruined their chances of getting the cut.

As the episode closed, Rayna recorded a song she wrote alone, “Buried Under” (Chris DeStefano, Natalie Hemby). During the final montage, we saw Mr. Rayna, err Teddy, meeting with old flame Peggy (played by Kimberly Williams Paisley). They are guilty of bank fraud in a property deal gone bad and are at risk of being exposed in more ways than one. The Feds are auditing the bank which could reveal their secret, and they are being followed and photographed by a private investigator.

Things to look forward to in coming weeks: The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach produced Rayna’s version of the Lucinda Williams song “Bitter Memory.” And Wyclef Jean will guest star.

Also, a special thanks to BMLG’s Amber Holguin for helping spotlight the songwriters behind the show’s music. If you have news about Nashville, email sskates@musicrow.com.

Weekly Register: Awards Bump Becomes A Minor Convexity

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As the dust settles on the post CMA Awards SoundScan numbers and one of the most contested Presidential elections in history, it’s hard to assign perspective. Fortunately, in this space we only have to deal with the former event and can leave the latter to pundits better suited to that pursuit.

The 46th CMA Awards reaped its lowest ever ratings last week due to events such as the power blackout in New York and New Jersey, the program’s move to Thursday night and perhaps somewhat due to the overall erosion of network TV audiences. Regardless, it still won the evening for ABC and creatively was extremely successful. But how did it reflect at the cash register?

The Awards were a major force in the week’s sales, but one also has to allow for the fact that Taylor Swift’s 1.2 million unit album launch happened the week before the show, (and luckily pre-hurricane Sandy). Swift’s 72% post-launch drop this week clouds our numbers giving the post-awards country album sales a highly unusual week over week drop of 40%. However, if we compare this post-awards week (1.165 million country albums) with two weeks ago (1.054 million) then country sales are up about 10.5%. Still tepid, especially when you consider Swift’s week two sales of 344k are in the post show numbers.

Happily the Awards show did propel some artists to phat week/week percentage gains. But those numbers can also be misleading. For example, Eric Church jumped 121%, but actually gained only 12,371 units. Blake Shelton’s Red River Blue spiked 179% which equates to 5,389 additional sales units; Luke Bryan saw an 87% uptick on 11,233 additional sales. Considering the costs involved in putting an artist and band on the show, these increases are less joyous than the percentages would indicate. The Top 5 album gainers by percentage (all Awards performers) were Miranda Lambert +194%, Thompson Square +184%, Blake Shelton 179%, Brad Paisley +153% and Eric Church +121%.

Also noteworthy in the album department was a debut from Toby Keith (he did not appear on the Awards show) at No. 3 with over 48k units. (Keith’s last debut was around 69k.) And what’s that holiday “bundle” at No. 20 with almost 5k units? It’s a QVC two-album package from Scotty McCreery.

Keeping Track
Country tracks had some nice gains to report with a 25% overall week over week jump. Miranda Lambert/Blake Shelton Song of the Year winner “Over You” was downloaded over 38k times, racking up an impressive 974% gain. The Band Perry performed “Better Dig Two” causing it to debut on the country tracks at No. 2 with over 82k downloads. Swift led the country tracks with “We Are Never…” scanning over 87k units. Her performance of “Begin Again” placed that track at No. 11 with almost 40k units.

The Kelly Clarkson/Vince Gill duet, “Don’t Rush” performed on TV debuted at No. 10 with over 41k units and CMA Award winner Thompson Square’s “If I Didn’t Have You” debuted at No. 12 with almost 39k units.

There are now four Taylor Swift tracks charting on the Billboard/SoundScan all genre list that are purposely being withheld from the country tracks chart. Those four songs currently account for total sales of about 935k units that are not being credited in country coffers. Still no explanation from either Billboard or SoundScan. Perhaps it’s time for the CMA, country music’s trade organization to step in and request clarification.

Turning The Telescope
Eight weeks remain in the 2012 sales calendar. Country sales are currently ahead 2.3%. To end the year flat, we will need to average 1.17 million country album units each week. This week ended 11/4/12 we shifted 1.16 million units. Stay tuned…

MusicRow Launches New Print Issue

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MusicRow’s December 2012/January 2013 issue will be a “Digital Toolbox” for the music industry. Formerly known as the “Rewind Issue,” the newly reformatted magazine will serve as the music industry’s premier guide to all things digital, including the Digital Tools directory, resources and services, and exclusive interviews with the industry’s top digital experts.

“We are all navigating the constantly changing environment in the digital world,” says MusicRow Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson. “It’s a great resource to have an issue dedicated to aggregating the digital tools that have risen above the fray, expose new ones on the horizon, and solicit input from leaders in the digital field.”

If your business is primarily a digital company, submit your information (company name, address, phone number, email, website, contact name and title) to directory@musicrow.com by Fri., Nov. 16 to be considered for the directory.

Advertising inquiries should be made to Sherod Robertson at 615-499-5418 or emailed to sales@musicrow.com no later than Wed., Nov. 19.

MusicRow will offer the annual awards recap and Rewind of the year’s most notable stories on its website.

Bobby Karl Works the 2012 CMA Awards

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Chapter 414

It was unquestionably Blake’s night at the 46th annual CMA Awards.

Triple awardee Blake Shelton is always a delightful interview, and by the time he hit the press conference backstage, he was in rare form.

“I didn’t see this comin’,” he said of his Entertainer of the Year win. “There’s Taylor Swift, right there….Oh my gosh, I’m starting to become one of these guys I read about and I’ve worshipped.

“We’re proud of every single one of these things,” he added. “But the Song of the Year award will have its own shelf and spotlights on it. It’s a real big deal to Miranda and I.”

His brother died in a car accident when Blake was 14. His father, who died in January, always told Blake he should write a song in his brother’s memory, and the awarded “Over You” was the result. Blake wanted wife and cowriter Miranda Lambert to record it, because “I didn’t want to re-live it every night” on stage. “Everything that happened, happened how it should,” he said of the song’s journey.

“Country music is where I come from and where I’m going. This is my heart and my soul. Nashville should never be painted into a corner or pigeonholed. We’re always gonna be country, and we should be proud of that, and we should own it.”

He was just as candid on stage. “I don’t know how this happened!” he shouted to the crowd “Entertainer of the Year? What are you talkin’ about?

“When I moved to Nashville in 1994, I had two goals. One was to someday have a Gold record, and the other was to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Entertainer of the Year? What is this?” In addition to Entertainer and Song, Blake won Male Vocalist.

Miranda was just as chatty with the press. “Song of the Year was very special to us,” she said, adding that it was the one award she wanted. She had a pre-show chant: “Say it to the universe, ‘We’re taking Song of the Year.’ Blake wouldn’t say it, because he felt it would jinx it.

“I’ve cried all night,” she added. “My tough exterior is now disheveled.” Miranda won both Song and Female Vocalist trophies.

“Young females are non-existent right now; I refuse to accept that,” she said of country’s current state. “I kicked the door open, and I’m gonna keep my leg in there. I love the guys, but we’re awesome, too.”

Thompson Square. Photo: Alan Mayor

The backstage stuff is what we live for. And we press folk especially like first-time winners. On Thursday night (11/1) at Bridgestone Arena, they included Duo of the Year Thompson Square, Single and Vocal Group honorees Little Big Town, Album of the Year winner Eric Church and New Artist Hunter Hayes. All were babbling bon mots.

“I distinctly remember playing to eight people in Amarillo, Texas four years ago, and to go from there to here is unreal,” said Church. “I’ve never put a lot of weight on awards, but I wanted this for the people who believed in me. When I started touring, it wasn’t cool to wear a country-music t-shirt on a college campus. There was a stigma.”

Recognizing that this is a singles-driven marketplace, the Album winner added, “I still think in order to get a fan base, you need to give them more than a page. You need to give them a book.”

“It’s really, really hard to put into words what this feels like,” said Thompson Square’s Keifer Thompson. “We were serving drinks in a bar called The Wheel down the street, a week before our first radio tour. We were singing for tips for eight years, up and down Broadway. Winning this is the greatest night of our life. It’s surreal.”

“It’s just huge for me,” said Hayes. “This is what I saw a lot of my favorite artists achieve early in their careers. I know who has held this trophy before me.

“As soon as they called my name, it caught me off guard. There’s so many people who made this happen. I’m just the one who makes the noise.”

Little Big Town. Photo: Alan Mayor

“How loud can I scream?” asked Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet. “It was like an out-of-body experience,” added the group’s Kimberly Schlapman. “We couldn’t believe it was happening.”

“We always kept believing and dreaming,” said Karen Fairchild. “Every struggling writer and artist, we’re their story.” “Sing your song, dream your dream, hope your hope, say your prayers,” said Kimberly. “It just keeps getting more and more sweet as the days go by,” said Phillip. Jimi Westbrook noted that the timing was perfect, since LBT is about to launch its first headlining tour, with Kacey Musgraves and David Nail in support. As the producer of both LBT’s single “Pontoon” and Church’s CD Chief, Jay Joyce was also a first-time CMA winner.

It was also a “married couples” night. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were both prominently featured on the CMA telecast. Keifer & Shawna Thompson were winners. So were Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton. And so were LBT’s Jimi Westbrook & Karen Fairchild.

“We love getting to celebrate together,” said Miranda. “I’m so proud to be his date tonight.”

“Shawna and I met almost 17 years ago,” said Keifer. “And from that first night, we haven’t been apart….We spend every waking moment together. We’re best friends.”

You know what they say: People who watch music awards shows don’t remember who won or lost. They remember the performances they liked.

Hunter Hayes. Photo: Alan Mayor

For my money, the show’s most memorable moments were the following. Zac Brown Band brilliantly harmonized “Goodbye in Her Eyes.” Eric Church was predictably sensational on “Springsteen.” Hunter Hayes really showed his vocal shops on “Wanted.” Taylor Swift was lovably tender with “Begin Again.” Brad Paisley rocked his new “Southern Comfort Zone.” Kelly Clarkson and Vince Gill introduced “Baby Don’t Rush.” Little Big Town drew an ovation for “Pontoon.” Eli Young Band nailed “Even If It Breaks Your Heart.” Dierks Bentley was rugged on “Tip It On Back,” while Kenny Chesney was sensual with “Come Over.” Tim McGraw also did well, introducing his new “One of Those Nights.”

Also singing on the music-packed telecast were Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Faith Hill, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban (with ZBB), The Band Perry, Carrie Underwood and Brantley Gilbert, who was doubly humiliated by not being introduced and being the excuse to announce radio-station CMA winners.

The finale was a Willie Nelson tribute starring Lady Antebellum, Tim & Faith, Keith and man-of-the-hour Blake. Nelson, who led the “On the Road Again” capper, was given the first CMA Lifetime Achievement Award. What? He’s a member of the Hall of Fame. Isn’t that already a lifetime-achievement thing?

Anyhow, back to the backstage chit-chat. “One of the first times I met Tim McGraw, he was up there in a bar by himself singing a Keith Whitley song,” recalled Kenny Chesney. That was 22 years ago in Printer’s Alley. “We’re still talking about our dreams.”

They won for Vocal Event. “This is our second one. We won with Tracy Lawrence several years ago.” The two spent much of the past year on the road touring together. “The connection that Tim and I had with the fans on the road this year was special.”

With the national election coming up, Tim was asked about politics. “Vote,” he said. “That’s what people have fought and died and bled for. You can’t bitch about it if you don’t vote.”

In the press room, Wendy Pearl presented a surprised Ray Sells and Jennifer Meyer with the CMA Media Achievement Award. “Jennifer and I are the team behind CMT Insider,” said Ray. “But we’ve worked together for 20 years,” dating all the way back to the TNN and Crook & Chase days. Afterward, he admitted to getting teary eyed.

Bob Doerschuk gave Lipscomb University’s Caitlin Selles the CMA Close Up Award of Merit. It’s an honor given to a student who has trained in journalism with the CMA.

Let’s see: What else can I tell you? I counted nine costume changes to Carrie Underwood and five for her show co-host Brad Paisley. Besides Tim and Kenny, pre-show winners included Musician of the Year Mac McAnally and Toby Keith “Red Solo Cup” video director Michael Salomon. British broadcaster Bob Harris won the Wesley Rose International Media Award.

Telecast presenters included Lisa Marie Presley, Jake Owen, Jana Kramer, Kellie Pickler, Darius Rucker, Sugarland, Nashville’s Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, Kimberly Williams Paisley, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Martina McBride, Tim Allen and Reba McEntire.

Being backstage instead of in the house means that I am with my brothers and sisters of the media. Sharing the fellowship were Allen Brown, Alan Mayor, Charlie Chase, Chuck Dauphin, Chuck Aly, Peter Cooper, Lorianne Crook, Katie Cook, Kay West, Terry Bumgarner, Tom Roland, Tree Paine, Brett Woolcott, Brian Mansfield (whose cancer was happily caught early and cured), George Walker IV, Wes Vause, Phyllis Stark, Paula Erickson, Katharine Richardson, Donna Hughes (who provided Halloween candy to the hard working scribes), Storme Warren, Hunter Kelly, Heather Bohn, Vernell Hackett and our genial and capable press conference host, Gary Voorhees.

Also mingling were Ansel Davis, Brandon Blackstock, Ralph Emery, Jake Owen, Big & Rich, Brandi Simms and Ed Benson. 

Weekly Chart Report (11/2/12)

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Tim McGraw visits with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment’s Boxer, who was attending Premiere Networks’ 21st annual CMA Awards Radio Remote Broadcast in Nashville

SPIN ZONE
Little Big Town’s “Pontoon” may have made a splash at the CMA Awards last night (11/1), but it’s Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” that floats to the MusicRow Chart’s No. 1 spot at the end of the week. Looking back over the chart’s history, “Cruise” is the fastest rising debut to hit No. 1 since Darius Rucker went solo in 2008 and took “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” to the top in 18 weeks. Major kudos, all around.

Following in the wake of “Pontoon,” Little Big Town’s “Tornado” looks to be carving out a path of its own at No. 16. Also looking very strong is “I Can Take It From There,” the latest from Chris Young, which moves 45-34 after a gain of 282 spins.

Lisa Torres stopped into the KSMA/98.7 Kiss Country Studios in Mason City, Iowa to sing a few songs and hangout with morning personality J. Brooks.

Bookending the MusicRow Chart at No. 80 is another entry from the gang at Big Machine Label Group: “Telescope,” the first single from ABC’s Nashville and first chart appearance of Hayden Panettiere. BMLG label mates The Band Perry scored the week’s biggest debut with “Better Dig Two,” landing at No. 55, followed by the CMA Awards-opening “The Only Way I Know” by Jason Aldean (with Luke Bryan and Eric Church) at No. 66.

Frozen Playlists: KITX, KMKS, KYKX, KZZY, WKWS, WXXK, WWBE

Upcoming Singles
November 5
Jana Kramer/Whiskey/Elektra Nashville-W.A.R.
Livewire/Lies/Way Out West
Love and Theft/Runnin’ Out Of Air/RCA

November 8
Matt Farris/Redneck Radio/Skytone

November 12
Amy Rose/I Just Want You to Know/Wild Rose

• • • • •

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
The Band Perry/Better Dig Two/Republic Nashville – 55
Jason Aldean/The Only Way I Know/Broken Bow — 66
George Strait/Give It All We Got/MCA – 68
Thompson Square/If I Didn’t Have You/Stoney Creek – 70
Tim McGraw/One Of Those Nights/Big Machine – 75
Jerrod Niemann/Only God Could Love You More/Sea Gayle-Arista Nashville – 78
Hayden Panettiere/Telescope/BMLG – 80

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
The Band Perry/Better Dig Two/Republic Nashville – 36
George Strait/Give It All We Got/MCA – 23
Tim McGraw/One Of Those Nights/Big Machine – 21
Chris Young/I Can Take It From There/RCA Nashville – 16
Hunter Hayes/Somebody’s Heartbreak/Atlantic-WMN – 16
Jason Aldean/The Only Way I Know /Broken Bow – 15
Brantley Gilbert/More Than Miles/Valory – 13
Hayden Panettiere/Telescope/BMLG – 11
Thompson Square/If I Didn’t Have You/Stoney Creek – 11
Toby Keith/Hope On The Rocks/Show Dog-Universal – 10

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
The Band Perry/Better Dig Two/Republic Nashville – 458
George Strait/Give It All We Got/MCA – 318
Chris Young/I Can Take It From There/RCA Nashville – 282
Zac Brown Band/Goodbye In Her Eyes/Southern Ground-Atlantic – 276
Tim McGraw/One Of Those Nights/Big Machine – 258

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
John Karl / Redneck Rich — 236
Lucky Ned Pepper/I Remember The Music/Nine North – 225
Randy Rogers Band/One More Sad Song/MCA Nashville – 222
Vince Hatfield/Sometimes You Gotta Get Away/Blue Moon – 210
Love and Theft/Running Out Of Air/RCA Nashville – 198

HIGH Valley visits Clear Channel’s KEEY/Minneapolis. Pictured (L-R): KEEY PD Gregg Swedberg, HV's Brad Rempel, Curtis Rempel and Bryan Rempel and KEEY MD J.D. Greene

Wade Hayes chatted with WIVK/Knoxville about his new single, "Is It Already Time," during the Music Row Live radio remotes in Nashville earlier this weekPictured (L-R): Andy Ritchie, Hayes and Alison Mercer. Photo: JR Hughes

2012 CMA Awards Winners [Full List]

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Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton. Photo: Donn Jones/CMA

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
WINNER Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
WINNER Chief, Eric Church, Produced by Jay Joyce, EMI Records Nashville
Four The Record, Miranda Lambert, Produced by Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay, and Glenn Worf, RCA Nashville
Home, Dierks Bentley, Produced by Brett Beavers, Luke Wooten, and Jon Randall Stewart, Capitol Records Nashville
Own The Night, Lady Antebellum, Produced by Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum, Capitol Records Nashville
tailgates & tanlines, Luke Bryan, Produced by Jeff Stevens and Mark Bright, Capitol Records Nashville

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kelly Clarkson
WINNER Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
WINNER Blake Shelton
Keith Urban 

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
WINNER Little Big Town
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band

SONG OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” Will Hoge and Eric Paslay
“God Gave Me You,” Dave Barnes
“Home,” Dan Wilson, Brett Beavers, and Dierks Bentley
WINNER “Over You,” Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton
“Springsteen,” Eric Church, Ryan Tyndell, and Jeff Hyde

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lee Brice
Brantley Gilbert
WINNER Hunter Hayes
Love & Theft
Thompson Square

SINGLE OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
“Dirt Road Anthem,” Jason Aldean, Produced by Michael Knox, Broken Bow Records
“God Gave Me You,” Blake Shelton, Produced by Scott Hendricks, Warner Bros. Records
“Home,” Dierks Bentley, Produced by Brett Beavers and Luke Wooten, Capitol Records Nashville
WINNER “Pontoon,” Little Big Town, Produced by Jay Joyce, Capitol Records Nashville
“Springsteen,” Eric Church, Produced by Jay Joyce, EMI Records Nashville

DUO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich
Love &Theft
Sugarland
Civil Wars
WINNER Thompson Square

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Sam Bush, mandolin
Paul Franklin, steel guitar
Dann Huff, guitar
Brent Mason, guitar
WINNER Mac McAnally, guitar

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Artist and Director)
“Come Over,” Kenny Chesney, Directed by Shaun Silva
“Over You,” Miranda Lambert, Directed by Trey Fanjoy
“Pontoon,” Little Big Town, Directed by Declan Whitebloom
WINNER “Red Solo Cup,” Toby Keith, Directed by Michael Salomon
“Springsteen,” Eric Church, Directed by Peter Zavadil

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR (Award goes to each Artist)
“Dixie Highway,” Alan Jackson featuring Zac Brown, ACR/EMI Records Nashville
WINNER “Feel Like A Rock Star,” Kenny Chesney (duet with Tim McGraw), Blue Chair Records/Columbia Nashville
“Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” Willie Nelson with Snoop Dogg, Kris Kristofferson, and Jamey Johnson, Legacy Recordings
“Safe & Sound,” Taylor Swift (featuring The Civil Wars), Big Machine Records/Universal Republic Records
“Stuck On You,” Lionel Richie (with Darius Rucker), Mercury Records Nashville

Check here for CMA Broadcast Award Winners, which were presented earlier in October.

Primetime “Nashville”: Episode 104

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Episode 104: “We Live in Two Different Worlds”
The episodes are named for classic country songs, this week it’s a Hank Williams tune.

Nashville ratings slipped to a season low Wednesday (10/31) night, impacted partly by Hurricane Sandy coverage and Halloween. The ABC show drew about 5.8 million viewers, according to overnight ratings from Zap2It.com. In more business news, the network ordered full seasons of several other series, but not Nashville.

Last night’s episode was packed with new locations (Catch This Music, Jack’s BBQ, Watermark, Hillwood Country Club) and cameos (Katie Couric, Robin Roberts), but only debuted one song. Laying the foundation for a few story arcs, including one led by Kimberly Williams Paisley, resulted in a somewhat slow-paced hour.

During a $1400-per-ticket fundraiser for husband Teddy’s slumping mayoral campaign, Rayna sang “Changing Ground,” a Gillian Welch song making its first appearance as part of Rayna’s catalog. The concert at the country club ended disastrously after a fight between Teddy and Deacon caused Rayna to decide to fire Deacon from her band. Emotions between the star and her former lover remain fresh years after the end of their romantic relationship. It makes for the show’s best drama, with Rayna’s steamy dreams and their fantastic onscreen chemistry.

New plot developments included a secret meeting between Teddy and former flame Peggy to discuss keeping a deep secret, which has yet to be revealed but could destroy their families. Adding to the intrigue was the revelation that Deacon’s addiction recovery sponsor is opposing mayoral candidate Coleman Carlisle, which means he is also in recovery.

Teddy and Peggy's secret meeting.

Juliette’s shoplifting scandal spun out of control after she refused to accept the seriousness of the situation. She repeatedly tried to shrug it off because “it’s just a bottle of nail polish.” She slammed the door in the police officers’ faces and laughed, “seriously, get a real job.” Her story showed up in all the major media, including a report by Katie Couric and an SNL sketch. But when the CMA Awards dropped her as a presenter, she conceded to an interview with GMA’s Robin Roberts (a real life country music supporter). When asked about her mother’s recent arrest, Juliette yanked off her microphone and ended the interview. It should have been a dramatic, highly-charged scene, but was anticlimactic instead. Industry viewers might have noticed James “Spoon” Williams as part of the TV crew, and Juliette’s Martin Guitars shirt in another scene.

One of the episode’s most emotional moments was when Juliette found a tattered photograph in her mom’s bag, a picture of them when Juilette was a child. She collapsed in tears. During such a trying time, Juliette didn’t have one friend in her corner. The scandal resulted in her losing tour sponsors and likely having to call off the outing. Looks like Deacon is going to be out of job from both camps. Her manager Glenn tried to drop her as well, but she convinced him otherwise.

The Scarlett, Avery, Gunnar triangle is getting tired. Avery’s jealousy and resentment of Scarlett and Gunnar’s new publishing deal, as well as their potential interest in each other, is driving Avery and Scarlett apart. Spicing up the storyline was Gunnar’s fling with Hailey, an assistant at the publishing company, which is housed at the real-life offices of Catch This Music. The video below features the actors singing “Fade Into You” with The Mavericks at a recent party at Anastasia Brown’s home.

Send Nashville show news to sskates@musicrow.com.

CMA Awards Predictions

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ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Skates: Taylor Swift—Her global impact is unprecedented. In 2012 her mind-boggling success continued with a blockbuster world tour and record breaking sales.

Freeman: Kenny Chesney—He spent much of the last year reminding us why he’s won four of these things already: a monster stadium tour with his buddy Tim McGraw and a couple more smash hits for good measure.

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Skates: Miranda Lambert—Four The Record is a masterpiece and her popularity both inside and outside of country music grew this year.

Freeman: Carrie Underwood—After a relatively quiet 2011, Carrie came roaring back in 2012 with a hot new album (Blown Away), tour, and a batch of big singles.

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Skates: Luke Bryan—A string of monster hits resulted in a breakthrough year for Bryan.

Freeman: Jason Aldean—The Georgia native vaulted into the superstar stratosphere with a record-setting tour, spectacular sales, and a string of chart-topping hits.

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Skates: Brantley Gilbert—A winning combination of radio hits, sales and touring added up for a fantastic debut year.

Freeman: Hunter Hayes—A thrillingly talented musical prodigy finds his footing and an enthusiastic fanbase.

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Skates: Lady Antebellum—A smash world tour and songwriting chops helped Nashville’s favorite trio maintain momentum.

Freeman: Zac Brown Band—This hard-working ensemble has been consistently churning out memorable hits on its steady trajectory to stardom.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR 
Skates: Chief, Eric Church, Produced by Jay Joyce, EMI Records Nashville—It’s a production marvel enhanced by masterful songwriting. Church’s edgy sound and lyrical perfectionism can’t be topped.

Freeman: Chief, Eric Church, Produced by Jay Joyce, EMI Records Nashville—Near universal acclaim, hits-a-plenty, sonic alchemy–this one seems pretty obvious.

SONG OF THE YEAR 
Skates: “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” Will Hoge and Eric Paslay—They perfectly captured the pursuit of musicians, and simultaneously touched heartstrings of everyone on Music Row. Plus, Hoge’s hard-earned success and Paslay’s stellar breakout year gave voters all the more reason to pick this song.

Freeman: “Home,” Dan Wilson, Brett Beavers, and Dierks Bentley—Expertly walks the tightrope of being patriotic, inspiring, and anthemic without resorting to hawkish chest beating.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR 
Skates: “Springsteen,” Eric Church, Produced by Jay Joyce, EMI Records Nashville—A big hit from a fantastic album. The well-written, radio friendly track even drew praise from The Boss himself.

Freeman: “Pontoon,” Little Big Town, Produced by Jay Joyce, Capitol Records Nashville—Summer’s inescapable smash about escape, “Pontoon” motorboated to the top of the charts with help from an exotic mandolin riff and one slinky, party-ready groove.

DUO OF THE YEAR
Skates: Sugarland—The band soldiered onward, with Nettles scoring a judging slot on primetime show Duets.

Freeman: The Civil Wars—The critical darlings broke out big time and managed to unite fans of all stripes in the process.

The show airs at 7 pm/CT tonight on ABC, live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

First CMA Award Winners Revealed

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Musical Event of the Year
(Award goes to each Artist)
“Feel Like A Rock Star”
Kenny Chesney (duet with Tim McGraw)
Blue Chair Records/Columbia Nashville

Music Video of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Director)
“Red Solo Cup”
Toby Keith
Directed by Michael Salomon

• • • •

Winners in two of the 12 CMA Awards categories were announced live on Good Morning America from New York’s Times Square this morning (11/1). The news was welcomed with cheers from the audience gathered on Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Plaza waiting to watch Reba perform.

Hosted for the fifth time by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, The 46th Annual CMA Awards airs tonight (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) from the Bridgestone Arena on the ABC Television Network.

McGraw and Chesney also received the Musical Event honor for their work on Tracy Lawrence’s “Find Out Who Your Friends Are” (2007).

Chesney, who is performing on tonight’s gala, will vy for three CMA Awards including Entertainer of the Year. If he wins Entertainer, he’ll take the record for the most wins in the category. He is currently tied with Garth Brooks with four wins.

McGraw is performing with Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum, and Blake Shelton as part of the Willie Nelson tribute during tonight’s broadcast. He has a career total of 12 CMA Awards.

Michael Salomon

Keith has received 28 CMA Award nominations in his career, and this marks his third CMA Award win. He and Salomon won Music Video of the Year in 2005 for “As Good As I Once Was,” and Salomon won in 1995 for “Baby Likes To Rock It” with The Tractors.

The two categories announced on Good Morning America are normally presented during pre-televised activities and acknowledged during the CMA Awards broadcast, which will happen again tonight. Two-time CMA Awards nominee Love and Theft will host pre-tel ceremonies and present the trophies to the winners as well as Musician of the Year and the CMA Broadcast Awards winners.

On GMA, Paisley announced the donation of a Chevrolet Traverse to Metro Nashville Public Schools for the new instrument repair facility funded by CMA’s Keep the Music Playing music education campaign.

See the complete list of nominees here.

YouTube video