THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE -- 7UP Finale Part 2: Sweet Victory -- Pictured: (l-r) Donald Trump, John Rich -- Photo by: Heidi Gutman/NBC.

Country stars were well-represented in reality TV in 2011. From The Voice and American Idol  to Celebrity Apprentice and The Biggest Loser, stars were giving up their guitars and putting on their game faces or else signing for their chance to be music’s next big thing.

Perhaps the biggest reality star from the country music realm ended up being Blake Shelton. Blake took on the role as a coach on NBC’s The Voice alongside artists Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Maroon 5‘s Adam Levine. Blake coached team member Dia Frampton all the way to a second place finish, winning over America in the process. Blake will take Dia on tour with him in 2012 and he’ll return to the coach’s chair when the second season of The Voice premieres on NBC January 5.

American Idol has been known to springboard the careers of several country artists — and season 10 proved no different. It was an all-country Top 2 with Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina being voted into the finale by fans across America. Scotty went on to win, but both artists released highly-successful debut albums and singles in 2011 and will hit the road on major tours in early 2012.

“This is pretty wild, I gotta say,” Scotty told Billboard after winning. “It’s a whole lot more than I bargained for coming into this. I never would have expected it. But I’m handling it well — this is what I asked for, and it’s my new life, so this is a really crazy ride so far.”

American Idol Finale Photo Gallery >>

John Rich continued the country tradition of doing well on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. John won the competition over Marlee Matlin in what Trump’s daughter Ivanka said was the closest finale in the show’s history. John was awarded $250,000 for his charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, bringing his total for the hospital to over one million dollars. Continue Reading

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Josh Gracin's 2011 CD, Redemption. Photo courtesy of Essential Broadcast Media.

The art of the country power ballad was not lost on Josh Gracin. On his first album in roughly three and a half years, and his third overall, the 31-year-old Michigan native sings of burning love over dramatic arrangements full of acoustic/electric interplay, big synthesizers and a soaring voice.

A lot has changed since Josh’s most recent album, We Weren’t Crazy, was released in 2008. For starters, Josh found a new label home with up and coming Average Joe’s Entertainment after parting ways with now-defunct Lyric Street Records. His first project with Average Joe’s Entertainment, the 16-song collection Redemption, hits stores next week with a polished sound similar to the pop leaning epics of groups like Rascal Flatts.

Josh handles most of the songwriting himself on Redemption, which is also a shift from his first two records. After writing or co-writing only three songs total on those albums, Josh writes/co-writes 15 out of the 16 songs here. A Top 5-finishing contestant on the second season of FOX’s American Idol (2003) singing competition, Josh’s talent for performance is evident early and often throughout the record as his songwriting displays a knack for building dramatic love songs.

“Over Me,” a rising power ballad realizing that a lover has moved on, features vocal runs reminiscent of Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox as Josh sings, What I didn’t know, that it still hurts this bad since I let you go, over piano, strings and soft acoustic picking. Strong piano tones hold many songs on the album together. “Enough” and “Lie To Me” both feature piano-based foundations before erupting in the chorus. On the latter, Josh shows off the ability to maneuver complicated production elements through a sea of electric guitars, drums, piano and synthesizer, remaining steady and passionate with lines, Baby, just lie to me/ let’s make this easy. On the standout and creatively produced track, “Let You Go,” soft echoes and effected vocals support Josh’s bittersweet message as he admits, I had to ask myself the hardest question/ Am I the best she’s ever gonna know?/ The answer’s the reason I’ve got to let her go.

Josh’s willingness to bring a fresh approach to Redemption even extends to his methods finding duet partners. Continue Reading

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Lauren Alaina photo by Brian Bowen Smith, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Lauren Alaina’s debut album, Wildflower, is the best-selling female country debut since 2006 and is also the highest country album debut this week, entering the charts at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200. With first week sales of 69,013, Lauren is the youngest female artist to debut this high on the Billboard charts since LeAnn Rimes’ debut album 15 years ago. Wildflower is also the best-selling digital album by a debut female country artist, selling 19,659 copies.

Read our review of Lauren Alaina’s Wildflower >>

“I am just so thankful that I have been given the opportunity to share my music with the world,” Lauren said. “To see my name on the charts alongside country greats that I have admired and looked up to my whole life is absolutely mind-blowing!”

5 Things You Don’t Know About Lauren Alaina >>

“Everyone here at Universal Music Group is really honored to be working with Lauren and so proud of what she has already accomplished,” Luke Lewis, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group Nashville, said. “At just 16 years old, Lauren has already proven she is dedicated to her career and willing to put in the hard work and it’s already starting to pay off. I believe this is just the beginning of what you are going to see from this young lady.” Continue Reading

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Lauren Alaina's 2011 CD, Wildflower. Photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

With immediacy and energy on the opening track “Georgia Peaches,” Lauren Alaina makes it clear that she has studied her country well. Way beyond the city lines, lies a cowboy’s paradise/ honeysuckle on the vine, growing up on Southern time, she sings proudly of her country upbringing. After a quick fiddle hook, she’s giving shout-outs to fellow peach state heroes Alan Jackson and Jason Aldean.

Lauren, runner up on the tenth season of FOX’s singing competition American Idol, was raised on country music in Georgia and auditioned for the show in the center of it all; Nashville, TN. Now, on her debut album Wildflower, the sixteen-year-old showcases her musical roots on a tight collection that features coming of age stories with a need to make her own path.

Through slow acoustic guitars, fiddle and light pedal steel on “The Locket,” Lauren uses her dynamic voice to tell a love story reminiscent of the film The Notebook. Her voice hints at early Carrie Underwood while she sings to a grandmother, You made a promise to the boy inside your locket. On “I’m Not One Of Them,” chunky, pop-hook guitars support her as she displays vocal textures similar to Shania Twain classics like “That Don’t Impress Me Much.” Here, the music has a modern edge and the lyrical content follows suit with lines like, I’m not some notch on your Facebook wall.

5 Things You Don’t Know About Lauren >>

Lauren continually makes statements about the need to follow one’s heart. This is most clearly expressed over the twang heavy guitar of “Growing Her Wings.” Through a blend of classic country melody and teenage angst delivery, Lauren sings, She’s dreaming about the girl she’s gonna be, stuck in Rice County, growing her wings to describe a sheltered teenage girl yearning to break free. On the grooving “Tupelo,” acoustic guitars, fiddle and rolling drums set the tone as Lauren sings of a young couple falling in love under the July sun. Her voice takes on Southern soul as a B-3 organ plays lightly in the background.

The album’s first single, “Like My Mother Does,” is a mid-tempo power ballad that allows Lauren to show off her strong voice and steady control. I see myself like my mother does, she sings through the chorus, continually gaining strength. During the song’s climax, Lauren lets it fly as her technical ability is impressive. She’s a rock, she is grace/ She’s my angel, she’s my heart and soul/ She does it all, Lauren sings, holding certain syllables for emphasis.

Wildflower, produced by Byron Gallimore, is a cohesive collection that captures this moment for Lauren. On one hand, she’s Continue Reading

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Lauren Alaina photo by Brian Bowen Smith, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Lauren Alaina spent 9 years telling everyone who would listen she was going to be on American Idol one day. GAC’s new special, Introducing: Lauren Alaina, tells the story of Lauren’s journey from small town Georgia to the Idol Hollywood stage through photos, videos and interviews with family and friends. The special premieres Monday, October 10 at 9/8 CT, the day before her debut album, Wildflower, hits stores.

A happy baby, Lauren grew up singing. She would sing anytime she was in public with people following her, often making requests. She won her first local beauty contest at 7 and continued winning competitions as she entered  them. “From the time she was a baby she never cried,” JJ, Lauren’s father, said. “She learned how to say ‘Momma’ and ‘Daddy’ and she was singing from that point on.”

At 12, she made her first trip to Nashville with her parents and wandered into one of the honky tonks on lower Broadway. Unsure of the appropriate way to go about getting onstage, Lauren just asked. “We didn’t know what to do so we’d just walk in where we heard music and ask if I could sing with the band,” Lauren said. “And they’d let me because how do you tell a 12-year-old girl, ‘No?’”

5 Things You Don’t Know About Lauren Alaina >>

As a high school student, Lauren spent her time cheerleading and spending time with special needs students. “From the time she was in sixth grade, she would Continue Reading

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Scotty McCreery photo by Andrew Southam, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Scotty McCreery has allowed GAC cameras to follow him since June, capturing the first days of his career following winning American Idol in May. Introducing: Scotty McCreery will premiere on GAC Monday, October 3 at 9/8 CT. The special includes footage of several major moments in Scotty’s young career, interviews with his parents, teachers and coaches, and never-before-seen photographs and video footage from his childhood in Garner, North Carolina.

Scotty’s mother, Judy McCreery, noticed Scotty’s musical talent at a young age. He started singing in his church choir at age three. By nine, he had taken up guitar. “At the end of his one-year check up I told the doctor Scotty could sing,” Judy said. “I looked him in the eye and hummed a verse to him and he hummed it back to the doctor.”

“Scotty had a natural knack,” guitar teacher Gary Epperson said. “He had rhythm in his right hand, something you rarely see in a nine year old.” Scotty was involved in school choir and theater productions but when play rehearsal interfered with baseball practice, his other love, he chose rehearsal. “I remember at the time telling him I hoped he was a better singer than he was a baseball player,” baseball coach Derik Goffena said.  “He was very competitive and very well composed on the mound.” Continue Reading

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Scotty McCreery's 2011 CD, Clear As Day. Photo by Andrew Southam, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

In summer 2010, then 16-year-old Scotty McCreery started turning heads when he entered and won the local “Clayton Idol” singing competition at the Clayton, N.C. Harvest Festival. Within a year’s time, Scotty was standing onstage next to Ryan Seacrest, in front of millions of television viewers, when he heard his name announced as the season ten winner of the pop culture phenomenon American Idol. What has changed since taking the stage in Clayton are things like tour schedules, being recognized in public and signing a major label record deal. What hasn’t changed are the thoughts, feelings and voice of a 17-year-old country singer from Garner, N.C.

Like a lot of the artists he covered on American Idol, such as George Strait and Alan Jackson, Scotty’s debut album, Clear As Day, strikes a strong neo-traditionalist stance. Producer Mark Bright’s work lives up to his surname with a sound that is crisp and polished, yet rooted in traditional country. Songs like Scotty’s first single and coronation piece from the American Idol finale, “I Love You This Big,” draw on shiny acoustic guitars, thick electric Telecaster guitar tones and sweeping pedal steel. Scotty’s deep vocal sounds somewhere between Dierks Bentley and Josh Turner as he sings, I’ll spend the rest of my life explaining what words could not describe but I’ll try, after a nod admitting his youth and relative inexperience with love.

Many of the songs on Clear As Day embrace Scotty’s youth. Opening track “Out Of Summertime” features shuffling percussion, mandolin and a quick hook as lyrics flow with reflection on young love. On “Walk In the Country,” sharp acoustic guitars support Scotty’s rolling vocals as he (ironically?) sings, I’m so sick of all them TV shows, I need some dirt road under my feet, with conviction. “Write My Name On Your Hand,” one of the album’s biggest highlights, vividly captures the innocence of teenage love. After tales of rope swings, rivers and sharing Coca-Colas, Scotty sings comfortably with a bit of soul, Did you say you’re only here for a couple of days?/ Well, alright, we ain’t got much time to waste.

Slower songs like the acoustic based “Dirty Dishes” and “Back On The Ground” focus on the importance of family. Continue Reading

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Scotty McCreery photo by Andrew Southam, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Scotty McCreery releases a new song today called “The Trouble With Girls,” which is the second single from his much-anticipated debut album, Clear As Day, due Oct. 4.

“It’s a really sweet song,” Scotty says. “I played it for my sister and I said, ‘Would you like to hear what’s said in this song?’ She said, ‘I would love to have a guy say some of this stuff to me.’

“It’s talking about how great they are and it’s tough for the guy to handle because he just loves it. It has a nice twist to it. It’s like the songwriters wrote it just for me.”

The chorus of the song, written by Phillip White and Chris Tompkins, is, “They smile that smile/ They bat those eyes/ They steal you with hello/ They kill you with goodbye/ They hook you with one touch/ And you can’t break free/ Yeah, the trouble with girls/ Is nobody loves trouble as much as me.”

“The Trouble With Girls” is one of Scotty’s favorites on his new album. “Right off the bat when I heard it,” said Scotty, “I told my mom when we were listening to the demo, ‘This is the kind of song when you are in the kitchen doing dishes that makes you stop what you are doing and listen to it.’ It struck a chord with me and Continue Reading

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Scotty McCreery photo by Andrew Southam, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

This morning, Season 10 American Idol winner Scotty McCreery premiered the video for his debut single, “I Love You This Big.” It aired on GAC at 6:24 a.m. ET and will also air today at 8:30 a.m. ET, 10:30 a.m. ET, 2:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. ET, and 11:54 p.m. ET. GAC cameras have been following Scotty since June in preparation for a new GAC special, Introducing: Scotty McCreery, which is set to premiere this fall.

“I Love You This Big” was directed by Shane Drake while in Los Angeles for rehearsals of the American Idols Live tour.  “He was the guy who shot all of our music videos for the Ford commercials for American Idol,” Scotty says. “It was great because I already knew him and we had a good relationship.”

The video was shot in an area called Angels Point. “The location for the shoot was really cool,” he says. “If you looked one way, you could see Dodger Stadium, and if you looked another way, you could see downtown L.A.

“We found this park that had a little country feel to it and it all worked out,” says Scotty. “If I hadn’t told you that, you would think we would have shot that in North Carolina. The music video has a summertime barbecue feel, like a July Fourth party with fireworks and hot dogs and families.”

After the shoot ended, Scotty spent time with all of the video’s cast members of all ages. “They were there the whole day and helped me out in the video,” he says. “They’re going to be in my first video, so I thought it was important to thank them for being there.”

Watch the video for “I Love You This Big” below. And if you’re a Scotty fan, be sure to vote for “I Love You This Big” on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown! Vote now >> Continue Reading

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Lauren Alaina photo by Brian Bowen Smith, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

This morning, American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina premieres her debut single, “Like My Mother Does.” Lauren is excited for her fans to finally see the video, which was shot by Nashville video director Shaun Silva in Altadena, Calif.

“The video is all about my mom and it has footage from my childhood and pictures of me and my family while I was growing up,” she says. “It’s all projected on this beautiful Southern-style house. It’s really great. It shows my life, so people will know more about me after they see it. Continue Reading

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