How do you convince a skeptical country audience that you're country? You get Vince Gill to sing and play guitar on your first true country single. That's what Kelly Clarkson did with 'Don't Rush,' a song she'll perform at the CMA Awards on Nov. 1. The pairing is magic.
Mad scientists have been hard at work trying to develop a sex-drive-enhancement drug for women ever since those wily old coots emerged nearly 15 years ago with a little blue pill called Viagra. Interestingly enough, it appears as if science is no match for men dedicated to breeding a society full of hornier women, because those fiends have done it.
October 31, 2012 How do you follow up a debut CD that exceeds all expectations, puts four songs in heavy rotation on Texas radio, and yields a #1 single on the Texas Music Charts. If you're Huntsville, Texas native Cody Johnson, the answer is simple: You make a better album that is produced better, written better, sung better and sends notice to the country music world that you are for real. That's exactly what we get with Cody's sophomore album, 'A Different Day'.
Carrie Underwood used Twitter to announce that her new single would be 'Two Black Cadillacs,' the darkest song on a delightfully stormy new album called 'Blown Away.' The lyric pushes the normally plucky country superstar to the edge of evil. It's as far as she can go without falling off the cliff of believability.
New label, same sound for Tim McGraw. His new single 'One of Those Nights' falls in line with the soaring ballads from the singer's last half-decade. The song's production value battles the simplicity of the storyline during this just-released-to-radio cut from the upcoming 'Two Lanes of Freedom' album.
Two notes and two hand claps into the Band Perry's new single 'Better Dig Two' and one finds assurance that the sense of drama and danger the sibling trio infused into the best songs from their self-titled debut album will be back on album No. 2. Some ambient knocking combined with thin, haunting plucking make this song an instant soundtrack for Halloween. But it will likely have legs long after Oct. 31.
With George Strait announcing a retirement from the road after his next tour, it's tempting to gush all over his new single 'Give It All We Got Tonight' like a school girl going on about a cute new teacher. A wave of nostalgia threatens objectivity, even though Strait will still be recording after 2014. The first song from his upcoming new album can be summed up in three words...
October 26, 2012 The Bois d'Arcs have been around for a few years. The Muenster, Texas-based country rockers may have gone through some lineup changes, some growing pains, and even some down time. But through all of the trials, the music style that they refer to as "hard country" has survived, and is better than it ever was with the release of their new, self-itled EP.
Thompson Square's new single 'If I Didn't Have You' is the fifth straight love song from the married country duo. While some may yearn for more varied subject matter from Keifer and Shawna Thompson, an easy argument could be made for the "If it ain't broke ..." philosophy of life and country music.
October 24, 2012 Cyrus James is out to make a statement. He wants you to know that traditional country, outlaw country and red dirt country can all be blended with southern rock to make a unique and enjoyable sound. James backs up this statement very convincingly with his debut CD, 'Molly & The Devil'.
Lady Antebellum are practically built for Christmas albums. There's a Captain and Tennille quality to their partnership that's made hip by youth and intriguing subject matter. The trio's take on standards like 'I'll Be Home for Christmas' and 'Silent Night' are timeless, in that they could really be transported to any decade of country music. For them, covering yuletide hits is as easy as looking good.
Kyle Park's new single, 'The Night Is Young,' is as straight forward of a country song as you'll find. Park sets off to tell a simple one-night story of a guy, a girl and a little trouble, and does so effortlessly. The Texas country singer has surrounded himself with a strong production team to make the first single from an upcoming new album easy to remember.
