Jerrod Niemann photo by Jeremy Cowart, courtesy of myspace.com/jerrodniemann.

When Jerrod Niemann went over and over the vocal parts for “Lover, Lover” — literally singing all eight or nine harmony lines himself — he had no idea what the song’s future held.

At the time, Jerrod was an unsigned singer-songwriter who had decided to put some of his friends to work and build an album that may, or may not, find a label home. Not only did it eventually land somewhere, the single rose all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Country Songs chart this week. It hit that spot as Jerrod is observing a personal anniversary.

“It’s pretty weird to have a song go No. 1 10 years after the day you set foot in Nashville to visit,” he says. “But at the end of the day, I’m just happy to have anything out there on the radio, and the most exciting thing for me is actually being able to step onstage and people be there to cheer you on, and then — of course, when we sing ‘Lover, Lover’ — to sing along. There’s no other word to describe it than ‘amazing.’”

It’s just the latest in a series of amazing events for Jerrod. He took part last month in AquaPalooza, performing for an estimated 70,000 people watching from boats outside of Austin at the biggest lake show in concert history. That show was headlined by Brad Paisley, a co-owner in Sea Gayle Music, which signed Jerrod and landed him with Sony Music Nashville. Jerrod also debuted at No. 1 with his first album, Judge Jerrod & The Hung Jury, when it was released last month.

In the meantime, he’s landed a spot on yet another album that’s certain to do well on the charts. “Lover, Lover” will appear on NOW That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 35. The pop compilation will also feature tracks by Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Nickelback. And two other country hits are pegged for NOW 35: Jaron And The Long Road To Love’s “Pray For You” and Carrie Underwood’s “Undo It.”

Learn more about Jerrod in this “5 Things” clip:

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Bucky Covington photo courtesy of Lyric Street Records.

Bucky Covington begins the new decade with a hit on his hands, and he’ll discuss it with host Nan Kelley on the year’s first edition of GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown this weekend.

Bucky remade the Nickelback hit “Gotta Be Somebody” for his latest single, and the video uses footage from a live performance in Rockingham, N.C., captured when Bucky performed there in September as the mayor declared Bucky Covington Day. The show is captured in the EP Live From Rockingham.

The remake comes at a time when Nickelback seems to be establishing some ties to country music. Lead singer Chad Kroeger co-wrote Tim McGraw’s 2009 hit “It’s A Business Doing Pleasure With You.” And the Canadian band’s original recording of “Gotta Be Somebody” was co-produced by someone who had his own impact on country: Robert John “Mutt” Lange, currently separated from his former co-writer, another Canadian named Shania Twain.

Top 20 Country Countdown counts down the week’s top country videos from No. 20 to No. 1 as voted by viewers on each week on GACTV.com. A new countdown premieres every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on GAC and airs again Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET; Sundays at 1 p.m. ET; and Mondays at 10 a.m. ET. Viewers can vote for their favorite videos, as well as purchase Top 20 artists’ albums and ringtones at GACTV.com.

Click here to preview each song on our Top 20 list and download the ones you want!

THIS WEEK’S CHART:

1. Carrie Underwood “Cowboy Casanova”
2. Kellie Pickler “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You”
3. Miranda Lambert “White Liar”
4. Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins “Hillbilly Bone”
5. Lady Antebellum “Need You Now”
6. Reba McEntire “Consider Me Gone”
7. Josh Turner “Why Don’t We Just Dance”
8. Toby Keith “Cryin’ For Me”
9. Jason Aldean “The Truth”
10. Taylor Swift “Fifteen”
11. Trace Adkins “All I Ask For Anymore”
12. Bucky Covington “Gotta Be Somebody”
13. Keith Urban “Only You Can Love Me This Way”
14. Chris Young “Gettin’ You Home”
15. Chris Young “The Man I Want To Be”
16. Luke Bryan “Do I”
17. Billy Currington “That’s How Country Boys Roll”
18. Tim McGraw “Southern Voice”
19. Gary Allan “Today”
20. Jimmy Wayne “Sara Smile”

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Bucky Covington photo courtesy of Lyric Street Records.

Lyric Street recording artist Bucky Covington has just released his brand new music video for his current rising single “Gotta Be Somebody.” Directed by Devin Pense, this live performance style video spotlights his hometown community of Rockingham, NC.  Filmed in the local town square during Bucky’s recent homecoming concert, the video features a packed crowd of over 6,000 fans, friends and family who all roared with excitement to be a part of this surprise video shoot.

“Playing back home is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time as a thank you to everyone in Rockingham,” says Bucky.  “And to surprise everyone with the video shoot was fun!  Seeing the excitement from my fans, friends and family in the crowd was incredible.”

Click here to watch the video at GACTV.com now »

The concert marked Bucky’s first visit back home to perform since competing on “American Idol “ in 2006.   “I was probably more nervous about playing back home in Rockingham than any other stage across the country,” admits Bucky.

Bucky’s new single “Gotta Be Somebody,”  was originally recorded by Nickelback and was a No. 1 hit for the band.  The song was written by Nickelback band members Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake, along with co-producer Joey Moi.  Bucky’s version is currently climbing the country charts and will be featured on his much anticipated sophomore album, I’m Alright, to hit streets in spring 2010.

To learn more about Bucky Covington check out his artist section at GACTV.com or visit his official website at www.buckycovington.com.

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Tim McGraw photo courtesy of Curb Nashville.

When Gregg Allman showed up Tuesday with Tim McGraw on “The Jay Leno Show,” it was a bit of an event, though maybe not quite as unusual an event as it would have been in years gone by.

Gregg was an appropriate musical partner — after all, Tim’s current single “Southern Voice,” which he performed on “Leno,” namechecks the Allman Brothers along with Tom Petty and Chuck Berry.

But Gregg’s hardly the only pop star or rocker with an attachment to country these days. The Zac Brown Band’s “Toes” is co-written with singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins, who referred to Los Angeles as “Nashville with a tan” in his 1998 pop hit “Lullaby.” Carrie Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova” counts Mike Elizondo, who’s worked with Maroon 5 and Snoop Dogg, among its writers. Brooks & Dunn’s “Honky Tonk Stomp” gets a signature vocal stamp from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. Jimmy Wayne enlisted Daryl Hall & John Oates to back him on his remake of “Sara Smile.” And Darius Rucker came to country music after first establishing himself in Hootie + The Blowfish.

Then there’s Kenny Chesney, who brought Dave Matthews in to sing on his current Top 10 hit “I’m Alive.”

“It was a good message for me, to me, about priorities,” Kenny says of the song. “You know, remembering what matters, keeping perspective, trying not to get so lost in running after whatever, that you forget what it is you’re chasing. And that’s really reinforced for me by having my friend Dave Matthews on this record. He’s someone I respect and I never get enough time to visit with, and that’s not the way we all oughta live. Every time I hear his voice, I smile and remember.”

That’s not where the pop influences end. Canadian rock band Nickelback got covered in Bucky Covington’s latest single, a remake of “Gotta Be Somebody.”

“When my producer came to me with this I said, ‘I’m not really sure about that idea.’” Bucky told BlogCritics.com. “Trying to put a banjo and a fiddle on a Nickelback song to a lot of people sounds unheard of. But we did do it, and it’s an amazing song. I’m very fortunate to have done the song, and I just love it to death.”

And Nickelback brings it all back to Tim McGraw, whose previous single, “It’s A Business Doing Pleasure With You,” was written by Nickelback vocalist Chad Kroeger and producer Joey Moi.

For the record, Tim was not the first to jump on the Allman bandwagon. Willie Nelson recorded Gregg’s “Midnight Rider” for the soundtrack to The Electric Horseman way back in 1980. And the Allmans’ “Ramblin’ Man” was mentioned in the lyrics of a couple of recent hits: the Eli Young Band’s “Always The Love Songs” and Brad Paisley’s duet with Keith Urban, “Start A Band.”

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Tim McGraw photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of Curb Records.

Tim McGraw releases his new Southern Voice album Tuesday, and in gearing up for the street date, he’ll appear this weekend with host Nan Kelley on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown.

The album’s first single, “It’s A Business Doing Pleasure With You,” was written in part by Chad Kroeger of the rock band Nickelback, and his current hit, “Southern Voice,” namechecks such rockers as Chuck Berry, Tom Petty, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Allman Brothers. In fact, Gregg Allman will sit in with Tim when he performs “Southern Voice” on “The Jay Leno Show” Oct. 27.

Tim has more than just an album and TV appearances up his sleeve. His next movie, The Blind Side, reaches theaters Nov. 20, and he kicks off his Southern Voice Tour Feb. 11 in Omaha. Lady Antebellum will open the entire run, which stretches through Aug. 15 in Virginia Beach. The Lost Trailers will take the lineup’s third slot through April 10. Beginning the following day, Love And Theft will take over that role and keep it the rest of the way.

Top 20 Country Countdown counts down the week’s top country videos from No. 20 to No. 1 as voted by viewers on each week on GACTV.com. A new countdown premieres every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on GAC and airs again Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET; Sundays at 1 p.m. ET; and Mondays at 10 a.m. ET. Viewers can vote for their favorite videos, as well as purchase Top 20 artists’ albums and ringtones at GACTV.com.

Click here to preview each song on our Top 20 list and download the ones you want!

THIS WEEK’S CHART:

1. Kellie Pickler “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You”
2. Lady Antebellum “Need You Now”
3. Luke Bryan “Do I”
4. Keith Urban “Only You Can Love Me This Way”
5. Chris Young “Gettin’ You Home”
6. Trace Adkins “All I Ask For Anymore”
7. George Strait “Living For The Night”
8. Billy Currington “People Are Crazy”
9. Toby Keith “American Ride”
10. Martina McBride “I Just Call You Mine”
11. Josh Turner “Why Don’t We Just Dance”
12. Jason Aldean “Big Green Tractor”
13. Jason Michael Carroll “Hurry Home”
14. Jake Owen “Eight Second Ride”
15. Brad Paisley “Welcome To The Future”
16. Alan Jackson “I Still Like Bologna”
17. Dierks Bentley “I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes”
18. Due West “I Get That All The Time”
19. Zac Brown Band “Toes”
20. Brooks & Dunn “Honky Tonk Stomp”

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