CHARLES KELLEY of LADY ANTEBELLUM had a minor wardrobe malfunction at Wednesday’s “People’s Choice Awards”. It was a tiny hole in the seam of his pants but it was enough for E! host GIULIANA RANCIC to come up with this HI-larious comment, quote, “I think I see a little mole in your hole.”
Carrie Underwood Named Top-Earning ‘American Idol’ of 2014
For the second year in a row, Carrie Underwood was the highest-paid ‘American Idol‘ alumnus, earning the title again in 2014.
According to Forbes, the country superstar pulled in $10 million before taxes in 2014, owing to concert fees, sales of her music and her lucrative role in the NBC production ‘The Sound of Music: Live!’
That’s still significantly less than the $31 million she earned in 2013, which Forbes attributes in part to the waning popularity of ‘Idol’ itself.
Other factors are the general decline of music sales across the board, as well as the fact that Underwood toured extensively in enormous venues in 2013, but performed relatively little in 2014, and only released new music toward the very end of the year.
Kelly Clarkson ranked second, earning $8 million, and Scotty McCreery came in at No. 4 with $3.5 million, tying with Taylor Hicks. Kellie Pickler earned right at a million dollars in 2014 — enough to put her at No. 9.
Read More: Carrie Underwood Named Top-Earning ‘American Idol’ of 2014 | http://tasteofcountry.com/top-earning-american-idol-2014/?trackback=tsmclip
Kip Moore’s “Up All Night” Helped a Marine Find Peace on
the Battlefield
I can’t imagine an artist getting a better compliment than what KIP MOORE got from a soldier who found peace while listening to his music. Kip explains, quote, “I had a Marine come up to me after one of my shows.
“He told me my ‘Up All Night’ record was the only thing that gave him peace as he was camped out in some rough place where they’d been under fire, and he had his headphones in at this little place they were hiding out, and that record gave him peace.
“It’s wild to know that my thoughts and pen-to-paper and those dark places that I wrote those songs . . . not knowing if anyone was going to hear them . . . can have that kind of impact on somebody’s life.”
JERROD NIEMANN’s wife Morgan is on tonight’s episode of “Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta”. It was filmed last year as she was buying her wedding gown. They were married in October. The show airs at 9:00 P.M. Eastern on TLC.
Miranda Lambert Says Her Female Musical Role Models Include Dolly Parton, Beyonce
Miranda Lambert is certainly forging her own path in country music. The reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year for the last five years, Lambert’s recent ‘Platinum’ album debuted at the top of the all-genre Billboard 200 chart when it was released and spawned the No. 1 hit ‘Something Bad,’ featuring Carrie Underwood, which also became her seventh platinum-selling song.
But while Lambert is certainly on a string of successes, she admits that some of the credit goes to her female musical role models, who inspired her to push her own boundaries.
“There have been lots of people I’ve looked to for that,” Lambert tells Gibson.com. “It’s sort of like you take little parts from them and try to learn and apply them to your own life. One strong female artist I look up to is Beyonce. She handles herself well and has such class.
“As far as building an empire goes — and reinventing yourself and being true to yourself,” she adds, “I would say Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn are people I look up to most.”
Lambert may have found inspiration in some of the most influential women in country (and pop) music, but she’s inspiring a new wave of artists as well, including actress and rising star Jana Kramer.
“I was in a very discouraged time, and she was like, ‘You know what, it didn’t happen for me until my second album,’” Kramer recalls. “I was like, really? You’re Miranda Lambert. I just imagined it happened on the first album. So it really is about keeping on and not giving up.”
Lambert has a big year planned. In addition to embarking on her 2015 Certified Platinum Tour on Jan. 15 in Evansville, Ind., she will also perform at the inaugural Big Barrel Country Music Festival in June. Keep track of all of her upcoming dates here.
Read More: Miranda Lambert Shares Her Female Musical Role Models | http://theboot.com/miranda-lambert-musical-role-models/?trackback=tsmclip
A Mashup of 6 Hit Country Songs That Were “Separated at Birth”
There’s a mashup on YouTube of SIX different hit country songs that sound so similar it’s hard to tell when one ends and the other begins. It’s been out since late last year but it’s getting a lot of attention now.
The video starts with text that reads, “Once upon a time six nearly identical hit country songs were separated at birth.” The mashup then identifies each song and artist as it comes up so you know what you’re listening to.
The six songs are: Blake Shelton’s “Sure Be Cool If You Did”, Luke Bryan’s “Drunk on You”, Cole Swindell’s“Chillin’ It” . . . plus Parmalee’s “Close Your Eyes”, Florida Georgia Line’s “This is How We Roll”, and Chase Rice’s “Ready Set Roll”.
It’s worth mentioning that some of the tempos and pitch were slightly changed, so there’s that. But the similarities are still striking.
The title of the video is “Mind-Blowing Six Song Country Mashup”, and it’s by Sir Mashalot. His real name is Gregory Toddand he’s a disgruntled Nashville songwriter who claims he, quote, “can’t get a bite from the gatekeepers.”