Country superstar Jason Aldean grabs his first # 1 Album on the Billboard 200and his 3rd Country Album chart topper as his latest, Night Train, sells a big 409,000 copies in its debut. That’s the second biggest debut week this year behind Mumford & Sons and ahead of P!nk, Madonna and Justin Bieber. Aldean should relish his success because he and everyone else is bound to be trounced by Taylor Swift‘s new one next week… In the meantime, Aldean holds off debuts from Brandy, Scotty McCreery, and Jamey Johnson. Take a look at the new top ten below and head to Billboard herefor more.
Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Night Train- Jason Aldean (debut)
2. Babel- Mumford & Sons (last week~ 1)
3. Two Eleven- Brandy (debut)
4. Christmas with Scotty McCreery- Scotty McCreery (debut)
5. Living for a Song…- Jamey Johnson (debut)
6. The Truth about Love- P!nk (lw~8)
7. Kaleidoscope Dream- Miguel (lw~ 11)
8. Tornado- Little Big Town (lw~ 14)
9. 21- Adele (lw~ 15)
10. Metalocolypse: Deathalbum II- Dethklok
Over on the Hot 100 Singles Chart, Maroon 5 makes it six weeks on top with “One More Night” keeping Psy at bay yet again. Will he ever make it to the top? It’s looking less and less likely especially with hot new tracks from Ke$ha, Rihanna and NeYo making serious gains… We’ll see. For now, take a look at the new top ten below and head to Billboard here for all the charts.
Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “One More Night”- Maroon 5 (lw~ 1)
2. “Gangam Style”- Psy (lw~ 2)
3. “Some Nights”- fun. (lw~ 4)
4. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”- Taylor Swift (lw~ 5)
5. “Die Young”- Ke$ha (lw~8)
6. “As Long as You Love Me”- Justin Bieber & Big Sean (lw~ 6)
7. “Too Close”- Alex Clare (lw~ 7)
8. “Diamonds”- Rihanna (lw~ 11)
9. “Let Me Love You (Until You Love Yourself)”- Ne Yo (lw~ 12)
10. “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”- P!nk (lw~ 9)
And heres’ Ne Yo’s brand new to ten single “Let Me Love You”. Enjoy~
After months of speculation, rumors, hype and insanity, American Idol has finally settled on a new judging panel for season 12. Returning is veteran Randy Jackson (who many thought might transition to a mentor role but didn’t), plus Grammy nominated rapper/headline maker Nicki Minaj, multiple Grammy winning country superstar Keith Urban and iconic Grammy winning pop superstar Mariah Carey. The first picture of the judges along with Emmy nominated host Ryan Seacrest is below. They already started working together this past Sunday with the taping of the first open auditions. I have no doubt it will be a juicy fun season. Here’s why…
Randy Jackson: is the veteran who will represent stability on the panel and grew as a type of moderator on the panel last year. It will also be fun to see how he works with Carey who he also manages and has been friends with forever. Mariah Carey: she clearly knows music with more # 1 singles than anyone in history except The Beatles, has sold over 200 million records worldwide and has an incredible voice. She actually knows how to sing (hello Paula and J Lo!) and she’s a great songwriter, so she has the background and the insight needed for critical judgement. She’s also a little loopy so that will be fun. Keith Urban: he’s an accomplished singer and songwriter and brings the country fan base that the show has been riding high on for the past few years. (Hello, Carrie Underwood is a huge star while Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Josh Gracin, Bucky Covington, Casey James and Kellie Pickler have all found post-Idol success on the country charts.) Urban also seems like the most “sane” and intelligent of the judges and that’s a good thing. Nicki Minaj: this firecracker is a wild card. She’s all kinds of fun and crazy and she brings the youth vote. Most importantly, the girl is very honest and outspoken. She’s surely gonna read a girl if need be.
So, there are your new judges. I’m actually very excited for this panel. It’s fresh and fun and should continue Idol‘s success as the best and foremost singing competition show and the ONLY show to actually and continually produce multiple viable pop stars. (Yes, Phillip Phillips‘ is the latest and his song “Home” is an undeniable smash selling over 1.5 million copies and a hit in four different airplay formats: Pop, Hot AC, AC and AAA)…. So, what do you think of the new judges? Are you excited for the new American Idol? Let me hear it below.
Last night, Country Music Television aired their annual CMT Awardshonoring the best in country music videos and performances, and yet again, Carrie Underwood was the big winner. Having previously won 7 Golden Buckles, Underwood added two more to her collection including Video of the Year for “Good Girl”. She also performed that smash hit which is currently the # 1 country single in the nation (her 12th chart topper there), and she took home the award for Best Collaboration for “Remind Me” with Brad Paisley. Other big winners included Luke Bryan (who is seriously the hottest and most fun guy right now in country music), Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum. Take a look a the full list of winners below and for more on the performances and the show which featured a host of American Idol alumni, head here. Those Idols were everywhere on the CMT stage with Underwood, Casey James, Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery all performing and Jordin Sparks, Kellie Pickler, Skylar Laine (who is so gonna have a big country career), and Colton Dixon all presenting.
2012 CMT Music Award Winners:
Video of the Year: “Good Girl” – Carrie Underwood
Male Video: “I Don’t Want this Night to End”- Luke Bryan
Female Video: “Over You”- Miranda Lambert
Group Video: “We Owned the Night”- Lady Antebellum
Duo Video: “I Got You”- Thompson Square
Collaboration Video: “Remind Me”- Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood
USA Breakthrough Video: “The Trouble with Girls”- Scotty McCreery
CMT Performance of the Year: “Tattoos on this Town”- Jason Aldean
Grammy winner John Mayer and newly crowned American Idol winner Phillip Phillips share a lot in common. Both are attractive, guitar strumming, raspy voiced white guys, and now they’re both making waves on the Billboard Charts... Mayer lands his third # 1 album with his latest, Born and Raised, which sells 219,000 copies. Phillip’s compilation album from season 11 of American Idol debuts at # 11 while the combo-album from the season finale episode, American Idol Season 11: Top 2 Season Finale EP, featuring his competition (and the girl who should’ve won) Jessica Sanchez also debuts at # 21. Sanchez’s season competition album debuts way down at #126. Two other Idol contenders also hit the charts as season 10′s third place finisher Haley Reinhart barrels in at # 17 while season 8 champ Kris Allen disappoints with a # 27 debut for his sophomore album. He may have won that season but he has been upstaged time and again by that season’s runner-up Adam Lambert who hit # 1 with his sophomore album, Trespassing, last week…. For more on all these albums and the Billboard 200, head here and check out the new top ten below.
Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Born & Raised- John Mayer (debut)
2. 21- Adele (last week~ 2)
3. Blown Away- Carrie Underwood (lw~ 3)
4. Apocalyptic Love- Slash (debut)
5. Up All Night- One Direction (lw~ 10)
6. Tuskegee- Lionel Richie (lw~ 9)
7. The Hurt & the Healer- Mercy Me (debut)
8. Once Upon Another Time EP- Sara Bareilles (debut)
9. Now 42 Compilation- Various Artists (lw~ 6)
10. Little Broken Hearts- Norah Jones (lw~ 5)
And other American Idol contenders on the BB200 (along with Carrie Underwood above) ….
11. Journey to the Finale- Phillip Phillips (debut)
12. Trespassing- Adam Lambert (lw~ 1)
17. Listen Up! – Haley Reinhart (debut)
21. American Idol Season 11: Top 2 Season Finale EP- Phillip Phillps & Jessica Sanchez (debut)
27. Thank You Camellia- Kris Allen (debut)
33, Stronger- Kelly Clarkson * a former # 2 album that just passed 800,000 copies
73. Clear as Day- Scotty McCreery * a former # 1 album that has sold over 1 million copies
126. Journey to the Finale- Jessica Sanchez (debut)
Back on the Hot 100 SinglesChart, Philips also makes an auspicious debut as his coronation single “Home” hits the top ten debuting at # 10. This makes him the first Idol winner to hit the Hot 100 top ten with their coronation single since season 7′s David Cook. He also becomes the 13th Idol alum to hit the top ten on this chart following Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, Chris Daughtry, Jordin Sparks, David Cook,David Archuleta, and Adam Lambert…. Perhaps, I may have to eat my words about Phillips but I am still very skeptical that he will ever have any real pop hits with his upcoming debut album. That said, he’s off to a nice start. We’ll see how things turn out…. Holding onto # 1 is Gotye while Carly Rae Jepsen fights hard in the runner-up spot. For more on this chart, head to Billboard here.
Top Ten Singles on the Billboard Hot 100:
1. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/Kimbra (last week~ 1) * 7 weeks at # 1, the longest chart topper of 2012
2. “Call Me Maybe”- Carly Rae Jepsen (lw~ 2)
3. “Payphone”- Maroon 5 w/ Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 3)
4. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 4)
5. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 5)
6. “Wild Ones”- Flo Rida w/Sia (lw~ 6)
7. “What Makes You Beautiful”- One Direction (lw~ 7)
8. “Glad You Came”- The Wanted (lw~8)
9. “Boyfriend”- Justin Bieber (lw~ 9)
10. “Home”- Phillip Phillips (debut)
And here’s the lead off single from Mayer’s new album, “Shadow Days”
Some of you readers may have wondered why I didn’t post anything after last week’s American Idol finale…. Well, the reason is, which may come to you as no surprise, that I was just upset and annoyed. I needed some time away from Idol for a bit. I was incredibly frustrated, though not surprised, that the wrong person won again! This was the fourth year in a row when a lesser contestant (Phillip over Jessica, Scotty over Lauren, Lee over Crystal, Kris over Adam) won the show and the fifth year in a row that a white guy with a guitar won the show (David Cook completes the quintet). So, when Phillip Phillips was named the winner, I was honestly pissed off… Ok, I get that he has a big fan base and he’s incredibly attractive and charming. But he’s not a very good singer people! And in a singing competition, shouldn’t the best singer win? If that were the case, Jessica Sanchez would’ve easily took home the crown… Alas, we all know this is a big popularity contest along with a singing competition and you can’t deny the power of the tween girl texters who have powered all these boys to a win…. Now, despite my anger over the outcome, I wish Phillip well. His songs are selling decently on iTunes for the time being (comparable to Lee’s and Scotty’s but below Cook’s). I do wonder how he will do once his album arrives. I think it could sell well, but I highly doubt he will ever have any hit pop songs. His Dave Matthews-type music has a certain audience but it isn’t the type to get radio airplay these days… That task we will leave up to Jessica who will certainly get a record deal and if Jimmy Iovine and the people at Interscope treat her right could have a huge pop star on their hands. She’s that good. She just needs the right guidance and songs. (As we all know, and even I will admit, song choice was not her strong suit in the competition… nor was it the producers or judges…)
So, as we say goodbye to a really good season that brought us some phenomenal talent, I will say I foresee record deals for Phillip and Jessica of course, along with Joshua Ledet (who could do well in the gospel and R&B arena), Colton Dixon (who has a great contemporary Christian career ahead of him) and especially Skylar Laine who has a wonderful shot at a fantastic country career. I am also curious to see what happens to perennial underdog Hollie Cavanagh. She has an incredible voice, but needs some more guidance and experience…. We’ll see how they grow as performers and artists this summer on the American Idol tour.
Now, there are some things Idol needs to do next year to get its edge and influence back. Here are my suggestions~
1. Ban guitars and instruments… Go back to singers singing if you want to see a different type of winner…
2. Get new relevant and current themes. The producers need to wake up and do contemporary themes because those are the ones that connect with the young audience they so crave… (And hello, trotting out those old artists on the finale like Neil Diamond, John Fogerty and Chaka Kahn, who are certainly wonderful in their own right, was a big mistake. The young audience doesn’t know who they are for the most part and doesn’t relate to them. You need to keep your guests more like Rihanna if you want bigger ratings…)
3. Switch up the judging panel~ Dump Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler. Randy is useless and Steven, while entertaining, is a hot mess and only gives a real critique one out of every 15 tries. He also clearly has no idea what “Over the Top” really means cuz he used it wrong constantly…. They can keep J. Lo for star power and her sometimes useful critiques. But she needs to study up on the history of the show because she is constantly proclaiming things that are totally wrong. For example~ she stated she’d never seen anything like Phillip’s performance of “Home”. Hello, check out Lee Dewyze’s finale performance from two years earlier)… Then, they need to add Jimmy Iovine to the judging panel for some real, honest critique…. Finally they have to add a younger artist the singers might relate to better for the third choice~ perhaps a former contestant? I’m open to ideas for that third spot.
4. Get some new producers… As I said before, the producers are using the same old tricks with the themes and guests… They need to mix it up big time.
5. Put a limit on text and phone votes like Dancing with the Stars... 5 calls per house or phone or something will make it a lot fairer.
Ok, so those are my brief thoughts for the time being. I really enjoyed this season for the most part which gave us some incredible performances, fun personalities and villains (argh Heejun Hahn!), lol … Before I go, please enjoy the two best performances from the finale featuring the girl who should’ve won it all, Jessica Sanchez.
Jessica Sanchez “I Will Always Love You” (Idol finale)
And the undisputed performance of the night from Jessica and Tony and Grammy winner Jennifer Holiday on “And I Am Telling You”
Grammy nominated American Idol alum Adam Lambert blasts on to the top of the Billboard 200 Albumschart this week with his sophomore release, the awesome pop-dance record Trespassing(which I give an “A” grade to by the way). In doing so, he makes some history. Not only is this the first time an Idol alum has succeeded another Idol at the top of this chart (as Lambert replaces Carrie Underwood after two weeks in the pole position), but he also becomes the first openly gay recording artist to debut at # 1 on this chart. Sure, other gay artists have topped the Billboard 200 like Elton John and George Michael, but they weren’t out at the time. So, kudos to Adam! I’m thrilled and I hope the record continues to sell well because it’s incredibly good and a marked improvement from his quite good debut, For Your Entertainment which has sold almost 900,000 copies to date (which basically triples the amount that season’s winner, Kris Allen, sold). With his debut, Lambert becomes the 7th Idol winner to hit the summit of this chart following Underwood (who’s done it 3 times), Kelly Clarkson (who’s done it twice), Chris Daughtry of Daughtry (also twice), Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery… Other debuts this week come from the Glee cast, Tenacious D and some group I’ve never heard of called Bloom…. For more on Adam’s achievement, head to Billboard hereand take a look at the new top ten below.
Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Trespassing- Adam Lambert (debut)
2. 21- Adele (last week~ 2)
3. Blown Away- Carrie Underwood (lw~ 1)
4. Little Broken Hearts- Norah Jones (lw~ 5)
5. Rize of the Fenix- Tenacious D (debut)
6. Now 42 Compilation- Various Artists (lw~ 4)
7. Bloom- Beach House (debut)
8. Glee, the Music: Season Three – The Graduation Album- Glee Cast (debut)
9. Tuskegee- Lionel Richie (lw~ 3)
10. Up All Night- One Direction (lw~ 7)
Over on the Hot 100 Singles chart, not much is going on as Gotye’s “Somebody that I Used to Know” holds on top for a 6th week. However, next week, Canadian Idol finalist Carly Rae Jepsen may shake things up as her debut single “Call Me Maybe” comes within striking distance of the top. And she may have to fend off this year’s Idol finalists as the debut singles from Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez will also be eligible to chart and often land in the upper regions of the Hot 100 in their first week. Stay tuned!
Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/Kimbra (last week~ 1) *6 weeks on top
2. “Call Me Maybe”- Carly Rae Jepsen (lw~ 4)
3. “Payphone”- Maroon5 w/ Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 2)
4. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 3)
5. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 6)
6. “Wild Ones”- Flo Rida w/Sia (lw~ 5)
7. “What Makes You Beautiful”- One Direction (lw~ 7)
8. “Glad You Came”- The Wanted (lw~8)
9. “Boyfriend”- Justin Bieber (lw~ 9)
10. “Drive By”- Train (lw~ 10)
And before I go, enjoy Adam Lambert’s fabulous performance of his current hit single from Trespassing, “Never Close Our Eyes”, on last week’s Idol results show.
All season long on American Idol, Jessica Sanchez has been the premiere singer with pristine and perfect vocals and wonderful performances. Tonight on the finale, she did it again. With three tremendous performances, she absolutely schooled her competitor and the likely front-runner affable, southern guy Phillip Phillips. While both of these singers have good futures ahead of them, only one truly deserves to win the crown and only one is likely to become a pop superstar. That one is Jessica. The question is… can she actually win? Despite out-performing and easily out-singing Phillip throughout out the race, the white guy with a guitar has remained the fan favorite and has a huge tween girl/soccer mom (and probably some gay guys too) following because of his looks and charm. He is just the kind of guy who has won this show for the past four years (David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, Scotty McCreery) despite whether he’s worthy or not. Did he deserve to be in the finals in my opinion? No, maybe top five, but that’s it. However, we all know my opinion differs from America all the time or Carly Smithson, Adam Lambert, Crystal Bowersox and Pia Toscano would’ve been Idol winners…. So, just what is going to happen with tomorrow’s results? Let’s take a look at my rankings of the performances and my predictions below.
American Idol Season 11 Finale Performance Rankings~ 1. Jessica- “The Prayer”: with easily the best and most spine tingling vocal, Jessica blew me away with this gorgeous rendition of her song that was her “Contestant Favorite” choice. It was a simple heartfelt performance that soared into the heavens. I have no idea why the moronic judges were not on their feet… (Oh yeah, it was probably because it wasn’t in the script the producers clearly gave them for the night). 2. Jessica- “I Have Nothing”: with another powerhouse vocal, Jessica slayed the Whitney Houston classic from 1994′s The Bodyguard that was Idol creator Simon Fuller’s song choice. It was dramatic, flawless and fierce. This girl is amazing. 3. Phillip- “Home”: this was one of Phillip’s best performances of the season. Was it a get out of your seat moment, as it was for the judges? Absolutely not. The drummers and production were a rip off of winner Dewyze’s finale performance and the song was a total Mumford & Sons clone. Now, that’s actually a good thing because it sounded good on the whole. It just was no winning moment in my eyes… Oh and J.Lo, you’re a moron if you don’t know songs that sound like that. Just listen to the artists Randy mentioned right before your comments (Mumford & Sons, Fleet Foxes) or turn on the radio or watch the Grammys, hello! 4. Jessica- “Change Nothing”: with her assigned single song, Jessica gave another strong performance. She added a nice R&B swagger to this generic pop ballad that made it stand out from several other finale ballads in the past (Ahem, Jordin Sparks‘ “This is My Now” anyone?).. It was so frustrating to hear the judges rip apart Jessica for the song when it wasn’t her choice. Judge the singer not the song, especially when she wasn’t responsible for it. And she sang the song great! 5. Phillip- “Stand by Me”: Phillip’s song from Fuller was the Ben E. King classic and it was much better than I thought it was going to be. That said, it was just kinda blah. 6. Phillip- “Movin’ Out”: why on Earth did Phillip pick this Billy Joel song that he destroyed and ruined the first time for an encore? It was just as un-melodic and annoyingly- Dave Matthews-y as before. And yet, the judges praised it? Are they nuts? … Um, yes they are.
Predictions~ Will win: Phillip Should win: Jessica
So, I still think Phillip will win. I just hope I’m wrong because any rational person would agree that Jessica should and deserves to win. As my roommate Dave said, if only people voted with their ears instead of their eyes, then Jessica would be a shoo-in…. However, she may have to settle for being the better singer who ends up having the bigger career than the winner ala Adam Lambert (who just debuted at # 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart with his second release, Trespassing, by the way!) and Clay Aiken… But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. She still has a shot. I think both singers have rabid fan bases and Jessica could pull an upset. I know I’m voting for her. Are you? Let me know below and watch the results show tomorrow night on Fox.
And for further proof Jessica SHOULD win, watch her sing “The Prayer” one more time… Hello, goosies!!!!!
All the roof-raising, hootin’ and a-hollerin’, and heavenly wailing couldn’t save Joshua Ledet in a somewhat surprising elimination on last week’s American Idol. This talented singer who could burp and get a standing ovation from the judges, gave strong and often fantastic performances throughout season 11 and seemed like a shoo-in for the finale according to most prognosticators. Alas, it was not meant to be and Mantasia just missed the cut. But don’t fret Joshua fans, I’m sure Jimmy Iovine will give him a contract and he will carve out a nice little R&B and gospel career in time. I could see him have the latter-day success of both Idol winners Fantasia and Ruben Studdard who have maintained decent sales throughout their careers in the R&B field netting Grammy nominations (and 1 win for Fantasia) along the way. However, there was no way he was going to crossover and become a big pop star. Instead one of the two finalists might actually do that. One, Jessica Sanchez, clearly has giant pop star written all over her, while the other, Phillip Phillips, could whittle out a nice John Mayer-esque niche in the music world. So, just which one of these talented finalist has the big buzz going into this week’s finale? Well, just take a look at my final all new American Idol Buzz Rankings for Season 11 below.
American Idol Season 11 Top Two Buzz Rankings~
1. Phillip: while his growly singing style and his penchant for turning every song into a Dave Matthews tribute is not my cup of tea, he clearly has a giant fan base. He has never been in the bottom 2 vote-getters and he has tons of charisma. He also is a white guy with a guitar and those people (David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, Scotty McCreery) tend to win this program. He also had a standout performance last week with “We’ve Got Tonight” that pushed him outside of his boundaries and was lovely to behold. So, he may have picked up a few more fans because of that… Oh and he’s ridiculously hot. So, he has the edge going into the finale. However, will his performance be more of the same and thus cause voter inertia? … What am I thinking those tween girls and their moms will be mass texting like crazy. (last week~ 2) 2. Jessica: I was so thrilled and excited when she made the finals I let out a big yelp that scared my dog. I just couldn’t contain myself that the season’s best singer was actually going all the way to the finale. I was also thrilled that the girl many thought had the best chance for a female to win since season 6′s Jordin Sparks might break the boy curse. I still think she can do it. She has the vocal prowess and showmanship. She’s cute, likable and relatable. So, she just needs the right songs. Something current (Rihanna’s “Only Girl in the World” perhaps) to go with her favorite of the season (please do “I Will Always Love You”) and the winner’s single. I have such high hopes for her and know she will knock it out of the park. Plus, she makes history as the only person to have been “Saved” by the judges to make it this far. One other thing in her favor is that she will likely grab Joshua’s votes because I can’t see any of his fans preferring Phillip over her. (last week~ 1)
So, it’s all come down to the two singers I predicted would be in the finale back at the start of the Top 13. Jessica v. Phillip. I am pulling for Jessica as you know, but she does feel like the underdog. So, I will keep my expectations low and enjoy the show on Tuesday night… Who are you pulling for?
Before I leave, I thought I would leave Joshua a consolation prize… I have officially declared him the most talented third place finisher in the history of American Idol. Congrats Mantasia! … Herewith is my list of the third place Idol finishers according to their talent, vocal abilities, and performances.
Ranking the American Idol 3rd Place Finishers:
1. Joshua Ledet (season 11)
2. Melinda Doolittle (season 6)
3. Elliott Yamin (season 5)
4. Kimberley Locke (season 3)
5. Haley Reinhart (season 10)
~ all of the above five were fantastic… the next six… well… not so much
6. Syesha Mercado (season 7)
7. Casey James (season 9)
8. Vonzell Soloman (season 4)
9. Danny Gokey (season 8)
10. Jasmine Trias (season 3)
11. Nikki McKibbon (season 1)
And here’s Joshua’s standout vocal of the season, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”
CMA, ACM, Billboard, American Music Award and Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood could add some more metal to her trophy room as she leads this mornings Country Music Television Award nominations with 5 mentions honoring the best in country music videos and performances. Carrie (who has also won several of these in the past) is up for her latest clip “Good Girl” and her duet with Brad Paisley, “Remind Me”. She’s also one of four American Idol’s vying for awards as Kellie Pickler, Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery also grabbed a nomination. Following Carrie with the most nominations were a ton of people who grabbed 3 nods: Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Thompson Square and Blake Shelton. Take a look at all the nominees below and see who wins the 2012 CMT Music Awards June 6th on CMT. (And to vote for your favorites, head here.)
2012 CMT Award Nominations:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration) and the video director. Final nominees announced during live telecast, with final voting held online at CMT.com during the show.
Jason Aldean – “Dirt Road Anthem”
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter – “You And Tequila”
Toby Keith – “Red Solo Cup”
Lady Antebellum – “We Owned The Night”
Miranda Lambert – “Over You”
Brad Paisley with Carrie Underwood – “Remind Me”
Rascal Flatts featuring Natasha Bedingfield – “Easy”
Blake Shelton – “God Gave Me You”
Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars – “Safe & Sound”
Carrie Underwood – “Good Girl”
MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist
Jason Aldean – “Dirt Road Anthem”
Luke Bryan – “I Don’t Want This Night To End”
Eric Church – “Drink In My Hand”
Toby Keith – “Red Solo Cup”
Blake Shelton – “God Gave Me You”
Keith Urban – “Long Hot Summer”
FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist
Sara Evans – “My Heart Can’t Tell You No”
Miranda Lambert – “Over You”
Martina McBride – “I’m Gonna Love You Through It”
Kellie Pickler – “Tough”
Taylor Swift – “Ours”
Carrie Underwood – “Good Girl”
GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a group; awarded to the artists
Eli Young Band – “Crazy Girl”
Lady Antebellum – “We Owned The Night”
Pistol Annies – “Hell On Heels”
Rascal Flatts – “Banjo”
The Band Perry – “All Your Life”
Zac Brown Band – “Keep Me In Mind”
DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a duo; awarded to the artists
Love and Theft – “Angel Eyes”
Montgomery Gentry – “Where I Come From”
Sugarland – “Tonight”
The Civil Wars – “Poison & Wine”
Thompson Square – “Glass”
Thompson Square – “I Got You”
USA WEEKEND BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video from an artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist (male, female, or group/duo)
Lauren Alaina – “Georgia Peaches”
Brantley Gilbert – “Country Must Be Country Wide”
Hunter Hayes – “Storm Warning”
Scotty McCreery – “The Trouble With Girls”
Pistol Annies – “Hell On Heels”
Thompson Square – “I Got You”
COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video that featured a special collaborative appearance by artists; awarded to the artists (individual, group or duo)
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter – “You And Tequila”
Brad Paisley with Carrie Underwood – “Remind Me”
Rascal Flatts featuring Natasha Bedingfield – “Easy”
Lionel Richie with Shania Twain – “Endless Love”
Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars – “Safe & Sound”
Zac Brown Band featuring Jimmy Buffett – “Knee Deep”
CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo)
Jason Aldean – “Tattoos On This Town” from 2011 CMT ARTISTS OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum – “Dancin’ Away With My Heart” from 2011 CMT ARTISTS OF THE YEAR
Little Big Town – “Fix You” from MUSIC BUILDS: THE CMT DISASTER RELIEF CONCERT
Blake Shelton – “Footloose” from INVITATION ONLY: BLAKE SHELTON
Sting and Vince Gill – “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You” from CMT CROSSROADS: STING AND VINCE GILL
Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood – “Just A Dream/Dream On” from CMT CROSSROADS: STEVEN TYLER & CARRIE UNDERWOOD FROM THE PEPSI SUPER BOWL FAN JAM
And here’s Carrie’s big nominated video “Good Girl”. Enjoy!
Clearly American Idol viewers opened their ears for once and heard Heejun sing because he was finally booted off the program last week. Sure, he was a funny guy, with a good heart and a nice tone to his voice. However, he had no star quality, took the show for granted, mocked the program and caused the early ousting of my dear Erika! …. Alas, I need to get over that… At least he’s gone and we have a really good top 8. But just how good are they? Well, I’d say this seasons talent is up there with the best season’s like 5 (Daughtry, Katharine, Elliott), 7 (David Cook, Carly, David Archuleta) and 10 (Scotty, Pia, Haley, Lauren). But who has the current buzz to head to the front of the pack? Well, it’s time to take a look at my all new completely unscientific American Idol Buzz Rankings below….
My Season 11 Top 8 American Idol Buzz Rankings~
1. Jessica: hanging on to the top slot by the thinnest of strings, my favorite singer in the race had another great week slowing down a Beyonce jam into her own slinky groove. Jessica has the talent, ambition and is very creative with each of her song choices and performances. I’m surprised the judges aren’t pimping her more especially if we finally want a girl to win this thing! (last week~ 1) 2. Phillip: Mr. Phillips almost overtook my Jessica again this week with a really strong and totally not annoying performance of a song by Johnny Lang no one’s heard of. That takes some gumption and some great follow through. At this point, it feels like a Jessica/Phillip finale fight. We shall see… (lw~ 3) 3. Elise: holy crap, Elise is in my top three and I couldn’t be happier. She has killed it the past two weeks and finally had an Idol moment with her Led Zeppelin cover last week. Could our bluesy dark horse be a threat for the title? I hope so. (lw~ 6) 4. Colton: he went first and sang his favorite “praise” song and was super pitchy last week, yet he still was not in the bottom three. That means this pretty Idol has some serious support. I do think he needs to change things up a bit before all his songs start sounding like Daughtry clones. And PS- shut it with the god talk. You’re turning off more voters than you know with that. Trust me, Jesus doesn’t care if you win American Idol. I think he’s got more important things on his plate. (lw~ 2) 5. Skylar: yes, she was in the bottom 3 last week, but I think the fact that she went so early in the show was the real problem. She performed well and is so darn likable. I think she will bounce back this week no problem. (lw~ 4) 6. Joshua: I have no idea why America loved his wonky and pitchy performance last week. I do know that I think he’s got a great voice and is very likable, so that clearly helped. I just wonder how viable a pop artist he would be. (Hello, not much~ but he could be a great R&B and Gospel singer). This week should be interesting for him with the 80′s theme. (lw~ 7) 7. Deandre: ok, he’s a cool cat with a great falsetto and fabulous hair, but I just don’t get it. I feel like he has so much growing to do as an artist and needs to pick better songs that more people know. That said, his obscure Eric Benet pick, kept him out of danger and the judges loved it. I still feel like he’s one misstep away from getting the boot. (lw~8) 8. Hollie: oh my sweet dear little Hollie with the big voice. What are ya doin? Yes, you sing great most of the time, but you’re in a free fall. I just hope this talented girl picks a great fun upbeat song and really connects with the material so she can make a big comeback and land a place in the final five like she deserves to. (lw~ 5)
So, it seems Hollie is on a dangerous downward path, while Elise is flying high and Deandre continues to scoot by unscathed. But what will happen this week with that aforementioned 80′s theme? We’ll see. Tune in to American Idol Wednesday night on Fox and then head back here for my take.
Country superstar Jason Aldean grabs his first # 1 Album on the Billboard 200 and his 3rd Country Album chart topper as his latest, Night Train, sells a big 409,000 copies in its debut. That’s the second biggest debut week this year behind Mumford & Sons and ahead of P!nk, Madonna and Justin Bieber. Aldean should relish his success because he and everyone else is bound to be trounced by Taylor Swift‘s new one next week… In the meantime, Aldean holds off debuts from Brandy, Scotty McCreery, and Jamey Johnson. Take a look at the new top ten below and head to Billboard here for more.
