I took this photo of Taylor Swift at the 2006 CMA Music Festival. She was singing on the Riverfront Park stage and was introduced as a new face in country music. I could tell she was a bit nervous and rather timid onstage, but she seemed to charm the crowd nonetheless. As I was looking through the viewfinder, clicking away, I knew she had something special.
After several nonstop months of young country girls gracing the pages of every fashion, style and gossip magazine, it's Brad Paisley's turn to be the cover boy. He's on the March issue of Guitar Player magazine, on newsstands now. And it's not just a fluffy piece on standard-issue artist questions (what's your dog's name, what products do you use in your hair?). It's a nine-page feature story about Paisley's thoughts on Nashville and country music. For the obsessive guitar guys out there, Paisley also goes into details about making his mostly-instrumental album, Play. The associate editor of the magazine calls Paisley "a most welcome pop culture iconoclast" and someone who "is as dedicated to his guitar playing, his tone and his quest for righteous gear as he is his singing, songwriting, videos."
I think I have a hearing problem. Either that or everyone around me has gone deaf.
I just got back from a trip to Abercrombie to pick up a birthday gift for someone in the under-13 crowd, and I swear the music in that store could be heard a mile away. It is just so loud. When the salesgirl yells, "Can I help you find anything today?" and I respond, "Where are the hoodies with your gigantic logo splayed across the front?" ... it's as if we're having the conversation in a nightclub. (I have actually heard that the music they play is something like 90 decibels, so right around the same as a construction site. But that could just be an urban myth.)
His latest hit, "Don't," is making all kinds of folks take notice of Billy Currington all over again. And the people at Entertainment Weekly got him on the phone to give him what they refer to as their pop culture personality test. It's full of things you'd never know about Currington, like the fact that he hasn't owned a TV since 2001 and doesn't know how to put ringtones on his cell phone. Other highlights from the Q&A include: Song he wished he'd written (Elton John's "Candle in the Wind"), who he wants to see in concert before he dies (Willie Nelson, who he has actually already seen in Hawaii), who he wants to duet with (Patti LaBelle), who he gets mistaken for all the time (Dierks Bentley), chick flick he loved (The Notebook) and the film he thinks was totally underrated (O Brother, Where Art Thou?).
The folks at KC Masterpiece have so moved on. Last year, they were all about Tim McGraw. But now? It's all about Keith Urban and his upcoming tour. They've said that it was the hugely successful run as McGraw's sponsor that made them get behind Urban's Escape Together tour that starts in May. In an interview with Billboard, a company spokesperson said, "There's a perfect link between people who barbecue out in the backyard and people listening to country music." As for switching to Urban, he said that they looked at who was touring this summer and "Keith just seemed like a perfect fit." Does that mean McGraw's not touring? No, but he only has 10 tour dates on his schedule right now, while Urban has way, way, way more. And he's supposedly "grateful and excited" about the KC Masterpiece/Kingsford sponsorship and the Backstage Barbecue Experiences that will be part of his shows.
Over the last few days, I've been happily reacquainting myself with Dolly Parton's music. You know how so many people sing about how they are country? Dolly could always convey that sentiment in her lyrics without clobbering you over the head. Instead, the rural imagery she offers is unmistakable -- strolling up to Joshua's cabin, taking pride in a patched-up coat of many colors and listening to the crickets at her Tennessee mountain home. In other words, she doesn't have to spell it out for you. She's showing you that she's country.
I did not know what to expect. The excitement and anticipation just kept building up, and it felt like this was the longest two weeks of my life! I could not wait to meet Blake Shelton. Once getting the tickets, my husband and I enjoyed some time at the Championship Bull Riding event that was going on before Blake's show. We had never been to an event like that before, and well, that was an experience all on its own. We then left the arena and waited by the merchant table (Hi Matt!) to be escorted to the meet-and-greet room.
I was born to multi-task. So I thought nothing of turning a working trip to Nashville into a rescue-my-new-dog trip as well. As long as I was going home anyway, I thought I might as well take the dog with me. But since it was too cold too fly [with a dog], I rented a car and thought I'd just drive north out of Nashville on Wednesday morning (Jan. 28). But Mother Nature, that bitch, had other plans.
My mother sometimes says she lives vicariously through me. But tonight, I will be living and listening through her. She's been excited about this evening for months because finally, after a lifetime of loving Kris Kristofferson, she's finally going to see him in concert. He'll be playing at the Rosebud Theatre in Effingham, Ill., only about 15 minutes from where I was raised. I'm so excited for her and wish I could be there to experience it along with her. I keep wondering what he'll sing, what stories he'll tell, who he'll mention and what the moment will be like.
Kellie Pickler's made quite the transformation from her American Idol days. Those were the days of long, flat hair. But now? Now Pickler's got Big Sexy hair. And she's looking so good after using the Big Sexy products for a couple years that she's decided to become their spokesperson. "I'm thrilled to be working with them," says Pickler. "I need all the Sexy Hair I can get!" Look for print ads in with Pickler in spring issues of Allure, Cosmopolitan and the like. She'll be hawking all things sexy: Big Sexy Hair, Short Sexy Hair and Sexy Bath and Body. And if she makes a believer out of you, you can get the sexy stuff at places like Borics, Supercuts and Ulta.
|
E-commerce on this website is brought to you by MTVN Direct Inc. |
Terms of Use | Job Opportunities |
©2008 Country Music Television, Inc., a Viacom company. A division of MTV Networks. All Rights Reserved.