CMT Blog: 2008 May

Kacey Coppola is one of the finalists in CMT’s Can You Duet competition.

Ok…I think the coolest thing ever just happened. We got to sing our own songs on national television! Kate and I sang a song we wrote with Danny Myrick and Jeff Spence called Pouring Over Me. Live, at the Wildhorse, with Sixwire!! I feel so blessed and excited right now…except we had to follow Joey and Rory…and they ROCKED that stage:) We had so much family come out from Denver and Iowa…thank you to EVERY SINGLE fan out there. Y’all are beyond awesome!

til next time…kacey

Kacey Coppola is one of the finalists in CMT’s Can You Duet competition.

 Today the cast that’s left jumped into a van and drove down to Joey and Rory’s restaurant and farm. It was by far one of the best days we’ve all had since this crazy experience started! The food was incredible….it has been weeks since any of us has had a home cooked meal! Then we just played for the rest of the day! There was football, horseshoes, barbecue, roping cattle (don’t ask), hammocks, a bonfire, and OF COURSE music:) It was like we all got to shed our competition skin for an afternoon and just be a bunch of kids again…..Jeremiah was running around with all kids, Jared was diving for footballs, David roped cattle like a professional…! I wish we could have stayed longer…there was talk of a sleepover, but….we all have rehearsal tomorrow! Back to work! Thank you to Joey and Rory though, for opening up your home to all of us….what wonderful, wonderful people!

kacey

David Oakleaf is one of the contestants in CMT’s Can You Duet competition.

Today Rory and Joey opened their home up to all us. We enjoyed a homemade lunch at “Marcy Jo’s,” the best fried pork chops around. We then spent the afternoon doing interviews and hanging out at their farm. I really enjoyed this day because it reminded me so much of home. Joey and I gave roping lessons while others sat around the camp fire relaxing and making smores. Joey and Rory are wonderful people, I’m honored to have the opportunity to have met them and learn about their daily routine.

Nick Brownell is one of the finalists in CMT’s Can You Duet competition.

After last week’s show, we totally redeemed ourselves. This week was songwriter week and we decided to do a song that I had written called “A Place to Hide.” When Rossi announced our names, there was barely any applause. By the time we were done, there was a roar so loud I thought the ceiling was going to collapse! During the performance, the sunglasses on my head were creeping down. While the camera panned across me, I made a slight head nod and my sunglasses fell perfectly upon my face. Towards the end of the song I did a little knee slide and blew a huge face melting solo. The crowd went wild and Naomi loves me again. We received all three yeses and moved onto the next round. Please do not turn the channel while viewing this performance. THE END.

Kate Coppola is one of the finalists in CMT’s Can You Duet competition.

This week has been a really fun week for me and Kace! Original song night, finally! We had a mentoring session with Amy at SIR. (SIR is the rehearsal hall where we practice with the band before the show). Amy is such a well respected writer in Nashville - it was fun to get to talk with her about writing songs, picking great songs to sing, etc! So, I’m excited for the show this week! A lot of our family from Denver and Iowa are driving in for the show - Kacey and I feel so blessed and humbled that they are all making such an effort and taking time off of work to come all the way to Nashville to cheer us on! My heart is full!

We hope everyone enjoys the show this week - it’s really cool to hear all the songs that everyone else has written.

xoxo,
Kate

Jeremiah Richey is one of the finalists in CMT’s Can You Duet competition.

Well, this last week was REALLY rough on me. After last week’s performance I have been really struggling with my confidence and can’t help but wonder if I even belong here. One of the things that drives me as an artist though is feeling like I am never good enough. I am never satisfied with a performance and last week helped me in a sense.

I know that we are not invincible and that every moment we have on this show counts. It felt so good to get back on stage and show the fans and the judges that we do belong here. It was also a lot of fun getting to work with some original material (I can only take so many covers!). I want to say a very special thank you to all of the people out there in T.V. land that did not give up on us. We are here to entertain all of you and I hope we get the chance to do it for years to come.

Talk about a scheduling snafu. Chris Cagle’s next court appearance is the same day as his fan club party.

$20 million just doesn’t buy what it used to. That’s why Nicole Kidman is selling her Australian estate in favor of one with a bigger lawn.

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant can do no wrong, as evidenced by this stellar review of their recent show in London.

Country music’s nothing but the white man’s blues, James Otto tells the Dallas Morning News.

If you’re a pickup man, they don’t come any better than this. Fully loaded, with 103 autographs from country stars. Bidding ends Saturday.

Only in Brooklyn could you find a near-transsexual pedal steel guitar player.

New videos from Billy Ray Cyrus, Cory Morrow, and Gary Allan went under the microscope at the latest CMT Music and Talent department’s weekly video meeting. The videos enjoyed varying degrees of success from the committee members.

The videos:

Artist: Billy Ray Cyrus
Video: “Real Gone”
Director: Trey Fanjoy

Comments: Billy Ray’s newest is a blistering, feel-good remake of the Sheryl Crow song with plenty of drag racing, beautiful babes and lots of action. A summing-up of viewers’ opinions: “I like it,” was an early comment. Read more…

Oh, the irony of it all. My very favorite Shania Twain song, and possibly one of my favorite country songs ever, is “I Ain’t No Quitter.” So now, with the news of this alleged affair between Twain’s husband and their glorified secretary, I feel blindsided, frankly.

I mean, Twain says right there in the song (that she wrote with said husband Mutt Lange), “I ain’t givin’ up on him just yet. ‘Cause I’m as stubborn as a girl can get.” She goes on to admit that “he flirts too much, and he loves blond chicks” and “his body rocks, and the girls they flock.” Was that all just some kind of cruel hoax, like a foreshadowing they set to music?

Read more…

Mammoth Cave has drawn tourists underground for more than 200 years – and lured Native Americans within its walls thousands of years before that. Today it’s one of the most easily explored National Parks, even though there are still hundreds of untapped miles in the cave, lurking underneath the central Kentucky property. In fact, it’s the world’s longest known cave, and would still hold that rank even if the second-longest and third-longest caves were attached.

Read more…