CMT Blog: 2010 July

She has already admitted that her upcoming album, Speak Now, to be released on Oct. 25, is going to be full of songs that are kind of like open letters to the people in her life. She described the music as "things that I wanted to say in the moment that I didn't. Track by track, each song is a different confession to a different person." And from what I've been hearing about album's very first single, "Mine," Taylor Swift is ready to be that open book. One with a memorable hook, too. "You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter/You are the best thing that's ever been mine," she sings. The song is reportedly up-tempo, with a big chorus, and according to one radio station, unmistakably Taylor. It's about avoiding, then finding, love. And knowing Swift, the song with be as refreshingly honest as she is.

Photo credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Fans are delighted with Jewel's latest album, Sweet and Wild, and the videos for "Stay Here Forever," "Satisfied" and "No Good in Goodbye." Through her "Posted" page at CMT.com, she took the time to answer their questions submitted via Twitter. Here's what she had to say.

@Biebersmusic: Who's your favorite singer? Tough question! I taught myself to sing by listening to so many great singers. I considered each of them like a beautiful color I wanted to acquire, so I could paint my own stories one day. I learned agility and to listen to the band from Ella Fitzgerald. I learned passion and anger from Nina Simone. I learned a wry irony from Nanci Griffith. I learned bright notes from Joni Mitchell. I learned round, warm tones, almost like a cello, from Sarah Vaughan. I learned a full buttery approach from Patsy Cline. I learned phrasing from many jazz greats, and an earnest, straightforward, truth-telling approach from Loretta Lynn. I tried to take parts of each of these singers and combine them so I could use each thing like a tool when I sing. I vary and change my tone and vibrato depending on what I want to help the lyric and story and emotion of the song get across.

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Martina McBride turned 44 Thursday (July 29). That is, in my opinion as a fellow 44-year-old, a great age to be. You are old enough to know better but young enough to have magazines wanting you in a bikini on their covers. And I know she's seems happy with the stage of life she's in because she recently chatted with Us magazine about everything she has going on. My favorite part is where she talks about her 22-year marriage to John McBride. "I think it's important to find someone that you really like as well as love," she advised. "When the infatuation runs out, the first phase of the relationship changes. You really have to be able to say, 'I like to hang out with you. Let's keep hanging out.'" It may not be the most romantic way to look at love, but it's real. She also talks about how country stars have been crossing over into pop for ages, citing Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton as good examples. "There have been certain kinds of country music that have always crossed boundaries," she said.

I know, I know. We should all accept who we are and what we look like and all that. But c'mon. Just for one minute, it's pretty fun to try to look like Carrie Underwood, especially on her wedding day. With this Hollywood Hair Virtual Makeover on InStyle.com, you can try on Underwood's updo -- complete with the tiara -- and perfect the look with all the tools they provide. You can even add makeup once your hair is done. You just upload a picture of yourself with your own hair pulled back in a ponytail, then add Underwood's hair, then you can make it wider, longer, move it around and even change the color. (Although I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that.) It's probably not the most productive way to spend a lunch hour, but it is a cool way to make a little daydream come to life.

Photo credit: People.com

I was a Black and Tan virgin yesterday (July 29). But now? After hearing Gaelic Storm sing their new "Raised on Black and Tans" last night in Chicago, I had to properly celebrate the tiny little Irish side of my heritage. So as the bartender poured me this pale ale and stout after the show, I let it sink in as I thought about what is possibly my new favorite song.

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When Clay Walker was singing on Lopez Tonight a couple of weeks ago, I was thinking that I could almost make a living out of loving him. I have felt that way since 1994, when I bought his If I Could Make a Living album. For 16 years I've been crazy about his voice. On Lopez, he did "She Won't Be Lonely Long," which is a great tune made even better with his subtle Texas twang. But what has me even more wound up is his new one, "Where Do I Go From You?" It's so him. With mandolin and steel behind him, he seems to have one-upped himself musically and vocally. He sounds like a cross between Rascal Flatts' Gary LeVox and George Strait on this one. I know that may not sound like a straight-up combination, but I swear it works.

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LOL. Good one, Carrie Underwood. As if a few weeks off could ever do any harm to your flawless voice. Hahahaha. She told a crowd at the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday (July 27) that she was kind of worried about getting back up on stage because her pipes might be a little rusty. If anything, it sounds like her whirlwind wedding on July 10 and subsequent honeymoon in Tahiti only made her sound more lovely. People.com reported that she breezed through her medley of songs and signed autographs afterward. "It's the first time I've sung anything since I became a married lady," she told the crowd. We all know she looks so good in love, and I have a feeling she sounds good in it, too.

Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

I've been carrying Ana Egge's Road to My Love album around with me for a couple of months now. Her enticing voice draws me right into her songs, which are often soft-spoken and beautifully vivid. So whenever I just need to chill out, this is the album I've been reaching for -- and it's really nice on solo drives, too. The project starts with "Storm Comin'," which builds gradually, just like a mid-afternoon summer rain. Later, "Quitting Early" rises and falls like a relaxing breathing exercise. Egge grew up in North Dakota and now lives in Brooklyn and both locales clearly influence her craft. "Bully of New York" is vividly written about crossing paths with a Central Park ranger with a heavy heart, while "Farmer's Daughter" describes that wanderlust that comes from living on the prairie. Her true gift is being able to write about all this without boring me to tears.

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In Bomshel's latest video, "Just Fine," the feisty duo make a discovery that sends them on a mission to even up the score. It seems that "Donny" has been secretly dating both of the girls, so they hatch a plan that will not end nicely for this clueless Casanova. Equal parts Weekend at Bernie's and the ol' drug-the-bad-guy routine, the girls go on a spending spree with Donny's credit card that he won't soon forget. They even get him a lower-back tattoo. Ouch. That gives a whole new meaning to their album title, Fight Like a Girl.

If you think you know Michael Sarver (he finished 10th on season nine of American Idol) just as an oil rig worker, you may not know the whole story. He told USA Today that while many assumed he'd go country, he also has gospel and soul in his roots and that's kind of where his debut album ended up. In fact, one song comes right out and says his dreams stretch far beyond the country line. But as you sift through the track-by-track review from the paper, it still sounds like there are a lot of country influences going on. The ones that sound like the best bets to me are "Safe," a waltz about how he will always be your home, and "Ferris Wheel," about the weightlessness you feel when you are falling in love. Then there's "Always Surviving," which I know I will love no matter what it's about, because it was written by two of Nashville's most gifted tunesmiths, Rachel Thibodeau and Rivers Rutherford.