Sugarland performs “Stuck Like Glue” at “The 44th Annual CMA Awards,” live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010, on the ABC Television Network. Photographer: Donn Jones / CMA.

The stereotypical images associated with country music include cowboy hats, rhinestones and steel guitars, and with that in mind, Sugarland’s appearance on last week’s Country Music Association Awards shook up the standards.

The duo’s “Stuck Like Glue” has a reggae-influenced bridge, and lead singer Jennifer Nettles took to the stage as a wind-up, music-box ballerina to perform it. The fact that the song and the album, The Incredible Machine, both went to No. 1 suggests that country fans are open to music that tests the outer limits of the genre. Which doesn’t surprise Jennifer in the least.

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BMI Icon Billy Sherrill and Taylor Swift with her awards for BMI Songwriter of the Year and Co Writer of BMI Song of the Year and BMI President Del Bryant at the 58th Annual BMI Country Music Awards at BMI on November 9, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BMI)

Through songs such as “Mine,” “White Horse” and “Fifteen,” Taylor Swift has shown a real appreciation for great drama and complex character development.

This week, she’s experienced drama firsthand. On Tuesday, she won BMI’s Country Songwriter of the Year award, becoming the youngest person ever to claim it. And she and co-writer Liz Rose shared Country Song of the Year for “You Belong With Me,” recognized as the most-played country title over a full year, according to the performing rights organization.

Just a day earlier, Taylor sang at a funeral for a friend.

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Sugarland is a one-name duo, and both members of the act are now known by one name to their fans, too.

If people talk about “Jennifer and Kristian,” it doesn’t take too long for country fans to figure out they’re referring to Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush. And that’s pretty much just the way they want it.

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

“Do it, do it, one time.”

Sugarland might sing that line in the current Top 5 hit “Stuck Like Glue,” but the “one time” reference is already out of date — if you want to interpret the “it” they’re singing about as debuting at No. 1 on the country albums charts.

The duo’s new release, The Incredible Machine, sold more than 202,000 copies last week following its Oct. 19 release, launching it to No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart as well as the all-genre Billboard 200. It’s actually the third time Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have had a No. 1 debut. They also turned that trick with Love On The Inside and last year’s concert album Live On The Inside.

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Two artists who are putting country music to the test will show up on this weekend’s edition of GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown. Sugarland and Gwyneth Paltrow are on deck to visit with host Nan Kelley.

Gwyneth is an actress, but she’s taking a shot at being a country singer through the Country Strong soundtrack. She sings several songs on the album, which accompanies a movie that has her portraying a vocalist, and she’ll even make her live performance debut as a country singer during the CMA awards Nov. 10.

While Gwyneth is kind of an outsider working her way into country, Sugarland is an inside artist that’s pushing out against the stylistic boundaries of country. The duo just released a new album, The Incredible Machine. The first single, “Stuck Like Glue,” has some reggae elements in it, and it’s been a bit controversial as a result. And that’s exactly what Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush had in mind when they recorded it.

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Taylor Swift photo by Joseph Anthony Baker, courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Taylor Swift will do the tube on Turkey Day. John Rich is expected to compete on “The Celebrity Apprentice.” And Lady Antebellum and Easton Corbin have the best prospects for a new awards show.

A ton of artists — and one actor — have country-related TV news to pass along.

Here’s the rundown of the genre’s tube talk:

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

When Sugarland shrank from a trio to a duo a few years ago, it wasn’t long before fans began speculating that Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush were an item. Never mind that he’s happily married, the thinking went. Guys and girls can’t be friends without wanting to become more.

Fortunately, Sugarland weathered that period and the public perceptions have become much more realistic. The world seems able to understand that they really are friends and creative partners — almost, as Jennifer puts it, like a brother and sister.

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CMA congratulates this year's crop of artist/songwriters on receiving a Triple Play Award at this year's CMA Songwriters Luncheon. Pictured (l-r): Steve Moore (CMA CEO), Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Brad Paisley, Victoria Shaw (songwriter and Chair of CMA's Community Outreach & Education Committee), Taylor Swift, Alan Jackson, and Gary Overton (CMA Board President). Photo credit: John Russell / CMA

It was three cheers for three No. 1s at the annual CMA Songwriters Luncheon with the presentation of the CMA Triple Play Awards, which honor songwriters who pen three chart-topping hits in a 12 month period.

The Triple Play Awards were presented at the Second Annual CMA Songwriters Luncheon, which was held at the Pinnacle at Symphony Place in Nashville and attended by several artist/songwriters including Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban in addition to hit tunesmiths from ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, as well as songwriter members of CMA, NSAI, and representatives of some of the most successful publishers in Music City.

In alphabetical order, the recipients of CMA’s Triple Play Award included: Continue Reading

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Jennifer Nettles gets into character for her performance of the '70s disco classic "Stayin' Alive." Image courtesy of Sugarland.

Sugarland‘s new album The Incredible Machine is set to hit stores next Tuesday, October 19.  And the duo has been on the road with their “Incredible Machine Tour.”  What’s more, it appears the tour actually doubles as a “Time Machine,” judging by this clip captured back in August when their show hit Atlanta.  Jennifer Nettles is channeling a mix of the Bee Gees and Foxxy Cleopatra in this performance of the ’70s disco classic “Stayin’ Alive.”   Enjoy…

Lots of artists pull out a favorite cover song to surprise fans at their concerts.   Over the summer I got to see Darius Rucker belt out a killer version of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”   I’d love to hear about a favorite country concert cover performance you got to see.  Drop me comment below and tell me about it.

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Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Contemporary country acts borrow rather blatantly from other genres — particularly Southern rock and arena rock — but with their new album The Incredible Machine, Sugarland is taking the unorthodox step of wedding country with sounds inspired by the post-new wave era of the 1980s.

Acts like Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure and Orchestral Manoeuvers In The Dark blended pop and rock and a strong fashion sense in that time period, and a lot of it found its way into movie soundtracks. Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush were in their teens at the time, and that sound from their youth is part of the creative foundation for the duo’s forthcoming project.

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