Search Results for "Randy Travis"

Carrie Underwood photo by Matthew Rolston, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Carrie Underwood’s new Play On album is perhaps the most representative of her yet as an artist. Of the 13 songs she recorded, Carrie wrote seven, including the first single, “Cowboy Casanova.”

Coming out of her win on “American Idol,” Carrie was launched straight into the life of an artist, a career she hadn’t actually planned to pursue. She picked up her earliest hits from other songwriters, but she already had a foundation to begin writing her own. After all, she’d done plenty of writing when she pursued a journalism degree before her “AI” tryout.

Continue Reading

Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

The Country Music Association has announced the first round of performers for the “43rd Annual CMA Awards.” Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

“The 43rd Annual CMA Awards,” hosted by Brad and Carrie, airs live from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.  Continue Reading

Miranda Lambert is all smiles after chatting with her hero, Merle Haggard, at the 2009 ACM Honors in Nashville, Tenn. on September 22, 2009. Photo by Keri Braswell, GAC Staff.

The 2009 ACM Honors was a star-studded event, with everyone from Carrie Underwood to Joe Nichols to Kellie Pickler and more! GAC was there on the red carpet and we captured some pretty special moments, including Miranda Lambert’s giddy meeting with Merle Haggard (above). Continue Reading

Carrie Underwood photo by Matthew Rolston, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Carrie Underwood has been well received in Nashville ever since she won “American Idol” and moved to Music City in 2005, and now she’s being embraced by the city’s orchestra.

Carrie will receive the Harmony Award during the Symphony Ball at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Dec. 12, according to The Tennessean. The honor, presented by the Nashville Symphony, recognizes her contribution to the community’s continued development as a music capital.

It places Carrie in good company. Previous winners of the Harmony Award include LeAnn Rimes, the Judds, Steve Winwood, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton and Rascal Flatts. Continue Reading

GAC's Bill Cody (r) chats with Randy Travis and Carrie Underwood on the red carpet at the second annual ACM Honors. Photo by Keri Braswell, GAC staff.

Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center was crawling with star power Tuesday night as the Academy of Country Music celebrated Randy Travis, Hank Williams Jr., Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton among others in its second annual ACM Honors.

Hosted by Lee Ann Womack, the event recognized a horde of winners of lifetime awards and musicians trophies with performances by Jamey Johnson, Joe Nichols, Blake Shelton and Steve Wariner, among others.  Carrie Underwood sang Randy’s “I Told You So,” Continue Reading

Brad Paisley photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Brad Paisley is a happy man with Wednesday’s unveiling of the finalists for “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards”. Announced on Sept. 9 — 9/9/09 — Brad showed up 7 times on the list. His haul included his fifth straight nomination for Entertainer of the Year and his ninth in 10 years for Male Vocalist.

Set to co-host the awards on ABC with Carrie Underwood on Nov. 11, Brad also secured a spot in the finalists for Single and Song with his ballad, “Then”; earned an Album nomination with American Saturday Night; and shared a Vocal Event slot with Keith Urban for “Start A Band.”

Brad might be at the head of the class, but he was hardly the only one to receive good grades. Continue Reading

Justin Moore photo by Kristin Barlowe, courtesy of The Valory Music Co.

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

If you can make your past come alive through music, then you’ve got a gift that will serve you well. In this department, Justin Moore is amply blessed.

Case in point: Though written by Randy Houser and Jeremy Stover, Moore’s first single, “Back That Thing Up,” conjures how life must have felt back on the Arkansas farm where he was raised. Kids grew up there hunting, fishing, milking the cows and working the land — the kind of routine that feeds the good-natured, double-entendre swagger in this tale of a country boy as he introduces a city lass to the wonders of rural recreation. Continue Reading

Carrie Underwood photo courtesy of Sony/BMG.

Given the success Carrie Underwood is enjoying with her remake of Randy Travis’ “I Told You So,” she might want to consider a cover of Ferlin Husky’s “Gone” as she records her third album. It would be appropriate: The sign that once welcomed visitors to the “Home of Carrie Underwood” is gone from the city limits. Continue Reading

Brad Paisley photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Since its debut in 2002, “American Idol” has become a cultural institution. Its longevity is impressive but nowhere near the continuity of the Grand Ole Opry, which has held sway on Nashville radio since 1925.

Next week, the two all-American titles will join forces as “Idol” uses an Opry theme, requiring contestants to sing a song made famous by an Opry member. Tying it all together, current Opry stars Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis will perform on the show from Los Angeles’ Kodak Theatre on Wednesday. Continue Reading

Carrie Underwood photo by Matthew Rolston, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Thanks to its theme nights, “American Idol” requires its contestants to ricochet between a variety of styles, from Motown to alternative rock. And “Idol” graduate Carrie Underwood is definitely working a stylistic range as she introduces a new farewell song for the year on Wednesday’s competition.

Carrie’s already in country’s Top 15 with her remake of Randy Travis’ stone-cold country ballad “I Told You So.” Now she’s serving up a new version of hard-rock band Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home.” Just as Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” and Daughtry’s “Home” were used in seasons past to bid adieu to the participants that get voted off “Idol,” Carrie’s track will also be a send-off to vocalists as the show’s roster gets trimmed. Continue Reading