CMT Blog: Jennette McCurdy

For the thousands of young adults who are college-bound this fall, Jennette McCurdy's "Not That Far Away" is sure to resonate. However, this fresh-faced 18-year-old has already established herself with a budding acting career in Nickelodeon's iCarly. Now she's hoping to find her way into the country field with a contract on Capitol Nashville and a cozy, colorful video that finds her signing up for an open mic night. Since she looks so comfortable up on the stage, her family and friends in California probably don't need to worry too much. Check out the video.

Jennette McCurdy has not let the narcissistic character she plays on iCarly bring her down in real life. Thank God. That's just her being Sam. But I much prefer the real McCurdy who you can get a glimpse of in this making-of video for her debut country video, "Not That Far Away." It's been a year and a half since I first wrote about the young star launching a country career after all those episodes of iCarly on Nickelodeon. And it's been 10 years since McCurdy got her first taste of Nashville's charms when she played Faith Hill's daughter in the video for "The Way You Love Me." McCurdy's video debuts on Saturday (Aug. 14) and was directed by Roman White, the man behind "Fifteen," "You Belong With Me," "Before He Cheats," "Last Name," "Just a Dream," "So Small," "Hillbilly Bone" and many more. So I think it's safe to say, this video will be huge.

Taylor Swift is not alone. She is, in fact, surrounded with rookie country singers who are barely old enough to drive, but are trying to get their piece of the young demo that is direct result of the core country music demo of women aged 35-54.

A feature story in the Washington Post says, "Nashville's record labels have gone on a signing spree to rope in teenage talent." And it goes on to give examples of artists they've signed who are actually making progress on country radio stations. Boys like Tyler Dickerson, 16, who is the youngest solo male to debut on the charts since Billy Gilman did it at 12 in 2000 with "One Voice." And girls like Jennette McCurdy, 17, and Jordyn Shellhart, 15. And bands like Shel, whose members range in age from 16-21. Age groups like that almost make Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood sound old.

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I'm sorry, but if there is an American Idol finalist who DOESN'T want to get a piece of the country pie, I'd love to know about it. That's because the latest in a long string of Idols Gone Country is that adorable little David Archuleta. He was just in Nashville again last week, working with singer-songwriter Joy Williams, and together they collaborated with Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsey, and Danny Orton -- all practically guaranteed hit-makers who have written for Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw and more. When it was all said and done, Archuletta had about 20 songs for his new album. Oh, and he got to hang in the studio with iCarly's Jennette McCurdy while he was in town because she's been in Nashville making her own country album. I'm not saying they are a couple. But if they were a couple, they'd be an awfully cute one.

Photo credit: Jive Records

Ten years ago, country music was kind of all over the place. Toby Keith was asking how we liked him now, the Dixie Chicks wanted cowboys to take them away and Lee Ann Womack hoped we'd dance. And Faith Hill? She was doing a little bit of everything in her video for "The Way You Love Me." It was her infectious hit song about wishing your man could know what he does to you. And not content to play just one role for the video, Hill branched out into a bit of acting when she became the diner waitress, weather girl, rich lady, tattooed nurse and a good ol' young mother. (That's Jennette McCurdy from iCarly in the backseat of the minivan, by the way.) At the end, when everything in the kitchen of her house is going haywire, I think it's supposed to symbolize the way she feels with his arms around her. It's classic Faith Hill, sweet and innocent but with some sexy little innuendos.

"The Taylor Swift Playbook is making the rounds." That's what The New York Times has to say about the influx of talented, young, blond singer-songwriters getting their collective feet in the door in Nashville. It lists some up and comers like Veronica Ballestrini, Jesse Lee, Whitney Duncan, Jennette McCurdy, Jessie James, Mallary Hope and Katie Armiger. And while the writer admits that youth used to be a bit of a liability in Nashville because country music leaned so heavily on life experience, things have changed and now fans' arms are more open. That videos fill the gaps. And that "the radio industry has lost its position as the genre's reliable indicator of success." Check out the videos from a few of these rookies mentioned by The Times.

Rookie artists, enthusiastic publicists and weird guys living in their parents' basements send me country songs all the time. And I always listen. But a song has to be really, really good to keep me listening past, say, the first 30 seconds. That rarely happens with new artists.

This time, though, I was moved to listen to this song not once or twice, but about 10 times. It's like someone took half of Taylor Swift, half of Miley Cyrus, poured some fiddle all over that and voila: Jennette McCurdy. The fusing of young vocals and traditional instruments gets me every time.

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