NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — If you liked the debut country EP from Aaron Lewis last year, there’s more where that came from. He’s out with a full-length solo album, called “The Road,” today.
Lewis says music has always been an avenue where he can get things off his chest that bother him. He says that’s true whether he’s writing country tunes or songs for his rock band Staind.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Carrie Underwood is donating all the proceeds from her recent show in New Jersey to the victims of Superstorm Sandy.
People.com reports that she announced on stage at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall that she “wouldn’t feel right making any money off” the show, adding that anything she made “is going right back into the community.”
Underwood has already been giving to the Red Cross since September, donating $1 of every ticket sold on her “Blown Away” tour.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jason Aldean’s having a good time lately. He and his buddies Luke Bryan and Eric Church opened the CMA Awards last week with a surprise performance of his new single “The Only Way I Know.” The next morning he woke to discover that he’d sold out more stadium shows.
According to Aldean, “The list of guys in country music who sell out stadiums is pretty short, it’s guys like Chesney and Garth.” Aldean says he’s “not supposed to be on that list.” But he is now. He sold out his first Fenway Park show in a record seven minutes and a second Fenway show along with one at the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium in less than hour. Aldean calls it “a big testament to the hard work” his band and crew put in every night and to the loyalty of country music fans.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — After five years as the top vocal duo at the CMA Awards, Sugarland has been dethroned.
Those honors go to Thompson Square — and it represents a real changing of the guard when it comes to vocal pairs at the CMA Awards. In the past 20 years, the CMA honor for top vocal duo has gone to either Sugarland or to Brooks & Dunn 19 times.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — A big night for Little Big Town. The group won the single of the year honors for “Pontoon” — and in doing so, beat out some of the top country acts of last year. And they weren’t shy about letting the world know how happy they were.
Members of the group jumped up and down, shouted and pumped their fists after winning their award. Karen Fairchild says the win is “living proof that if you work really hard and chase your dream, all the good stuff happens.”
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Eric Church might have felt a little like an outsider in country music before. But no more. He has won the CMA Award for album of the year for his project “Chief.” And in doing so, Church feels he has finally found a place among his country peers.
In his acceptance remarks, Church said he had spent much of his career wondering where he fit in, musically. But with his win, he says now he has somewhere to hang his hat. Church was the leading nominee going into last night’s awards ceremony. But says he didn’t expect to win — in part because some country fans felt his music had too much of a rock feel to be taken seriously by country music fans.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — They came to honor Willie Nelson. But the hosts of the CMA Awards also came to poke a little fun at the heavy-toking country legend.
Nelson was given a lifetime achievement award — an award that is named after him. But the honored guest was the subject of some gentle teasing by hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. Paisley said while Nelson was being honored, the CMA was also stripping him of all of his awards. Chimed in Underwood, “it appears there’s been some doping charges.” The noted pot smoker said: “Guilty!”
After performing with Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum and Blake Shelton and receiving his award, an emotional Nelson thanked the CMA and the city of Nashville for honoring him.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Blake Shelton is entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards.
“The Voice” star won the award for the first time Thursday night, beating out previous winners Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift and fellow nominee Jason Aldean.
It was the third win of an emotional night and caps one of country’s best career reboots.
The 36-year-old Oklahoma native had reached a stagnant point in his career, but started to climb again about three years ago with a series of hit singles, his marriage to fellow country star Miranda Lambert and his appearance in the spinning chair on “The Voice.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — There’s a sea change going on in Music City — and the Country Music Association Awards are in the middle of it.
When country music’s biggest stars take the stage Thursday night in Nashville, you’ll see many of your favorites from the last decade. But new faces are dominating the genre as country’s fan base shifts to a younger-skewing audience.
From Taylor Swift’s army of empowered young women to the power-drinking party boys who prefer lead nominee Eric Church and Jason Aldean, country’s audience is much different than it was 10 years ago. Church benefited with five nominations, including album and male vocalist of the year.
Country performers who have tasted their most significant success within the last five years outnumber the more established stars. Those newer artists received the lion’s share of the nominations.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Carrie Underwood says her CMA Awards co-host Brad Paisley is the same man on and off the camera. He is who he appears to be, says Underwood, adding that “It’s really great to see how somebody has balanced family life… in our crazy world.”
Underwood adds that seeing how Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams juggle everything is “very encouraging.”
But that doesn’t mean Underwood and her husband, hockey star Mike Fisher, are ready to start a family. She says children are in the plan “eventually,” but not just yet.
