COUNTRY SHINES AT GRAMMY AWARDS
Country music was very much present at last night's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Performances included:
- · Taylor Swift on her Grammy winning song "Mean," which received a standing ovation
- · Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson getting through some microphone problems on their nominated song "Don't You Wanna Stay"
- · Carrie Underwood singing with music legend Tony Bennett
- · And the best performance of the night in tribute to Glen Campbell by The Band Perry, Blake Shelton and Campbell himself singing a medley of his hits
Country music's Grammy Awards:
Best Country Solo Performance - "Mean" Taylor Swift
Best Country Song – "Mean" Taylor Swift
Best Country Album - Own The Night - Lady Antebellum
Best Country Duo/Group Performance – "Barton Hollow" - The Civil Wars
DOLLY PARTON REACTS TO HOUSTON DEATH
Just hours after the news began reporting of the death of Whitney Houston on Saturday, the songwriter of one of her biggest hits, "I Will Always Love," made a statement on the loss of such a great singer. Dolly Parton said, "Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston. I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, ‘Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed."
COUNTRY MUSIC MOURNS THE LOSS OF WHITNEY HOUSTON
Right after Whitney Houston was reported dead on the news networks, country music began reacting on Twitter. Here are some tweets that went out over the weekend by some of country music's biggest stars:
Reba McEntire – "Rest in peace, Whitney." She then tweeted Sunday, "I do think the Grammys tonight will be a wonderful way to celebrate Whitney's career while paying tribute to her."
Lady Antebellum – "We are so heartbroken to hear of the loss of Whitney Houston. One of the best voices EVER! Praying God’s comfort for her family. ~hill"
Jason Aldean – "Very sad to hear about the death of Whitney Houston…. What an amazing talent she was."
The Band Perry – "RIP Whitney Houston. #heartache"
Jay DeMarcus – "Whitney Houston has died!!! Oh my goodness, what a loss.... Sad." Then on Sunday he tweeted, "Still can't quite comprehend that Whitney is gone..."
Martina McBride – "So sad about Whitney. She was one of my singing idols. Prayers going up for her family, especially her daughter."
Sugarland – "A beautiful voice and a talent beyond compare. You will be missed. –K"
LeAnn Rimes - "I can't stop crying. I have a show to do soon. Wow, I learned how to do what I do because of 3 great women, one Whitney Houston was the first cd I ever bought. She had a God given gift. Hopefully, she's singing with angels now."
Luke Bryan – "On the bus listening to Whitney. Very heartbreaking to lose someone that defined my generation. Voice of an angel. A very sad day."
Sara Evans – "What a tragedy losing Whitney Houston. One of my all time idols. So very sad for her family. I will be praying for them."
Chris Young – "RIP Whitney Houston. Truly one of the best vocalists of all time/all genres. #sadday"
Scotty McCreery – "R.I.P. Whitney Houston"
Lauren Alaina – "I think I speak for so many people when I say Whitney Houston, #iwillalwaysloveyou. I’m sending out prayers to the Houston family. God bless"
Eddie Montgomery – "Wow really??? Whitney Houston one of the greatest singers of all time and I loved her in the bodyguard!! I smell bobby Brown"
REBA'S FIRST TV CONCERT SPECIAL IN A LONG TIME
Reba McEntire will have her first television concert special in over 15 years. All the Women I Am, a 90-minute concert special, will premiere on GAC on March 17 at 10 PM, ET. She brought along a film crew to a recent show at the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, Louisiana, to capture footage and energy of her live show. Reba says, "I'm thrilled to be partnering with GAC for this special. We had a blast out on the road with our new production this past fall, and I hope that all the fans who tune in enjoy it as much as we did." McEntire teamed up with Jon Small for the project; the two have worked on her music videos together since the mid '80s. Some of the tunes that you'll get to hear during the TV special include: "I'm A Survivor," "Somebody's Chelsea" and "Does He Love You," featuring The Band Perry's Kimberly Perry.
CHURCH ON BALANCE MAKING HIM BETTER
It's been an interesting journey for Eric Church headlining his own tour these days. On the second night of the "Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour," for example, he was trapped under the stage when he was trying to make his entrance. Eric tells The Tennessean, "Everybody sat in the dark for seven minutes wondering, 'What in the hell was going on?' It's such a big thing that every night you have to cross your fingers and go, 'I hope it works.'" One thing that keeps Church motivated for sure, despite everything else, is that his wife, Katherine, and baby boy, Boone McCoy, are on the road with him. Eric says, "It's fun to have him out and maybe take a walk and have those moments that don't empty you as an artist. There's a lot of artists that give everything to the road. I know a lot of those guys and girls and there's a real emptiness in their lives. I think that...if I'm able to keep that balance, it will make me a better artist and it will help me make better records and have better shows."
THOMPSON SQUARE'S MUSIC THERAPY
Thompson Square's Shawna Thompson knows what a lucky gal she is, married to her musical partner, Keifer Thompson. She tells The Huffington Post, "Yeah, it's a pretty special thing that we've got. Being able to do...have a career, doing what you love to do and also sharing that with the one you love, I mean it doesn't get any better than that. Of course, we have our days where we argue and fuss just like any other married couple. But I think, really, music is our therapy because we can be having our fight and then go onstage and by the end of the show, it's over with. We've forgotten what we were fighting about in the first place." Thompson Square will begin work this month on their new CD. Their new single is called "Glass."
MOORE THINKS THE TUNE CONNECTS WITH PEOPLE
Kip Moore, who co-wrote his hit single, "Somethin' 'Bout a Truck," believes that a certain group of people can relate to the lyrics of the song especially. Kip shares, "I think anybody that comes from a small town has lived that song. I lived that song 5,000 times growing up. When you are from a small town like I am, there's not a whole lot to do. You have to make your own fun and there’s a lot of sitting in fields, and a whole lot of Bud Light and fishing poles. It's real hot in south Georgia, so all of the girls were wearing sundresses. It was all you needed back then - a truck bed, beer, a radio and good company with you. It's a fun song that everybody lived at a young age." Moore recently completed his debut album, Up All Night, which will come out this spring. He wrote or co-wrote every song on the CD.
LORETTA SINGS A SONG WITH ROCKER BRET
Rocker and Celebrity Apprentice winner Bret Michaels' upcoming solo album, Get Your Rock On, will include his new friend, Loretta Lynn. Bret tells Rolling Stone magazine, "Loretta Lynn and I are gonna redo 'Every Rose Has It's Thorn' together. And, for me, growing up in a family that my father loved country music and 'Coal Miner's Daughter,' this is gonna be a really awesome time." So just how did Michaels meet Lynn? He reveals, "I met her at Thanksgiving and it was really great. We were out at her ranch in Hurricane Mills and we sat there, me and her, and after everyone, the whole family and my crew sort of dissipated we sat there and started writing some songs together. And one of the ideas she had was redoing 'Every Rose Has It's Thorn' and I thought it would be unbelievable for me and her to do that together."
CASH'S PURPOSE DEFINED BY GOSPEL MUSIC
In celebration of what would have been Johnny Cash's 80th birthday on February 26, Legacy Recordings will release a special two-disc album, Bootleg Vol. IV: The Soul of Truth. Paste magazine reports that the collection consists of 51 tracks of both previously released and unreleased material. Cash's son, John Carter, contributed a 1,500-word essay for the liner notes of the project. He writes in it, "The music set a foundation for J. R. Cash and upon it he established the motivation for his existence. With the songs of the gospel came faith, and along with faith, a fortitude and persistence that would not be denied. If you were convinced of my Dad's honesty, it is because he was confident of his purpose, and that purpose was defined by gospel music. Though he would sing many kinds of music in his life, he was never truer than when he sang songs of faith." Look for the album to hit stores on April 3.
-- Look for Blake Shelton tonight on NBC's The Voice.
-- Country Aircheck reports that the JaneDear girls' "Good Girls Gone Bad" is featured in spots promoting ABC's Good Girls Gone Bad starring Kristin Chenoweth. The show will premiere on March 4.
