After the excitement of the Country Music Awards(tm) last week, we've been thumbing through our catalog for the absolute best current artists. Check out our picks for the best songs by Contemporary and emerging Countryartists:
The best names in music are hitting the stage this holiday season. A few of our favorites are just winding down their world tours, such as the lovely Beyonce, and legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen. But don’t fret – several of the hottest acts are just kicking off their tours.
Take your favorite music on the road! Do you have a Blackberry or Android phone? If yes, then you will LOVE the new Thumbplay Music app download, where you will find a fabulous selection of your favorite MP3s, available to download on-the-go, directly to your phone. Rock on!
The finest artists in Country Music were celebrated last night at the annual Country Music Awards (tm).The big winner of the night was Taylor Swift, who performed “Forever & Always” and “Fifteen.” The Country starlet took home awards for Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year and Music Video of the Year for “Love Story.” Former Hootie & The Blowfish singer Darius Rucker proved himself a valid cross-over star when he received a standing ovation after performing his hit single “Alright.” Rucker won Best New Artist of the Year. Brad Paisley, who garnered the honor of Male Vocalist of the Year, took to the stage with his hit “Welcome To The Future.”
Carrie Underwood, one of the top-selling artists in the history of the Country genre, releases her eagerly anticipated new album today, entitled Play On. The album's first single, "Cowboy Casanova," is currently at #3 on the Country charts, marking yet another top-charting single for Underwood. Other winning tracks on the new record include “Change” and “Quitter.”
Do you have a Blackberry or Android phone? If yes, then you will LOVE the Thumbplay Music Store, where you will a fabulous selection of your favorite MP3s, available to download on-the-go, directly to your phone. Every week the Thumbplay Music Store offers a FREE MP3. This week’s free track is “If You Would Come Back Home” by the talented William Fitzsimmons. Check back often to find out what’s new!
The Kanye West buzz is still burning up the internet. Since his shocking disruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at Sunday's awards show, West has made several apologies to Ms. Swift, apparently not satiating the public’s interest in the story. Kanye first apologized via his Twitter account, followed by a televised apology on the new Jay Leno Show, plus a personal phone call made to Taylor Swift. You know you’re hot when the President weighs-in on the controversy!
For those of you catching-up on the brouhaha, Kanye West stormed the stage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night. The reason for the disruption? Kanye wanted to proclaim his preference for Beyonce’s video, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).” Always the lady, Swift politely stepped aside while Kanye West was heckled by the crowd. In a display of her trademark class, Beyonce took the opportunity, when she won Video Of The Year for “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” to invite Taylor Swift on-stage to finish her speech.
After days of apologies, and Presidential off-the-cuff remarks, interest has piqued in the news of an upcoming Kanye West and Lady GaGa tour. Lady GaGa was responsible for some controversy of her own at Sunday’s wild show: during an elaborate dance sequence for the hit “Paparazzi,” Lady GaGa startled the crowd as her performance morphed into a horror movie-esque gore fest. The singer’s artistic production was interpreted by some as an homage to Michael Jackson’s "Thriller," and Madonna’s famous 1980’s MTV VMA performance of “Like A Virgin.”
From Kanye West's disruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech, to Lady GaGa's shocking, horror-themed performance, the MTV Video Music Awards fulfilled its promise to be the most buzz-worthy awards show of the year. The night’s excitement, MC'd by Wale, was topped off with tons of memorable live performances from Beyonce, Pink, Pitbull, Muse, 3OH!3, The All-American Rejects, and an encore by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.
More excitement ensued when Lady GaGa appeared to be injured during her elaborate dance sequence for her hit “Paparazzi.” In fact, it was all part of the dramatic, gory performance which morphed into horror movie madness, interpreted by some as an homage to Michael Jackson’s "Thriller" and Madonna’s famous 1980’s MTV VMA performance of “Like A Virgin.”
The Summer of 2009 is officially be the best summer for must-see concerts! A staggering list of the coolest artists are on the road, including top Rap and Hip-Hop acts Lil Wayne, Asher Roth, and Pop phenoms Madonna, Lady Gaga, Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears and Pink. It’s good to be an American right about now, as U2, AC/DC, Taylor Swift, Coldplay and Jason Mraz all have sold-out dates around the country. Don’t miss your favorite artists LIVE, and be sure to catch their awesome catalogs here at Thumbplay, your home for mobile music!
Thumbplay's amazing selection of MP3's includes everything from classic rock to today's hottest hip-hop. Rock your playlist on almost ANY mobile phone with this week's favorite tracks:
A woman whose popularity continues to grow, the reigning queen of Country and Bluegrass, Ms. Dolly Parton, is still making waves with her current album Backwoods Barbie. Could she be the perfect woman? Dolly celebrates her Irish heritage with songs like “We Irish,” stays proud of her backwoods upbringing on “My Tennessee Mountain Home,”, and gets nominated for Academy Awards® for songs like the classic “9 to 5.” Heart-wrenching songs like “Jolene” and “Little Sparrow” continue to inspire artists such as The White Stripes.
Last night's show was hotter than it has been all season, with the final three guys performing two songs each. The first round songs were "Judges Choice," kicking off with Danny Gokey singing Paula's pick, a rambunctious version of Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Dance Little Sister,” to mixed praise by the judges. Next up was a surprising and original performance by Kris Allen, of OneRepublic’s “Apologize,” chosen by Kara and Randy. Simon stuck with the classics, hand-picking U2’s “One” for Adam, whose arrangement of the song rubbed Randy the wrong way.
The half-way mark brought in old favorite, season four winner Carrie Underwood, showing her charitable side in the annual “Idol Gives Back®” segment, to the tune of Karl Wolf’s “Africa,” a cover of the 1983 Toto hit. Round two started with Danny’s "You Are So Beautiful" made famous by Joe Cocker. Was it enough to keep Danny alive? He has some stiff competition from Kris, whose unique cover of Kanye West’s “Heartless” brought the house down. Simon pleaded with viewers to vote for Adam, who chose "Cryin’" by Aerosmith as his final song.
Find past Idol® winners on the “America’s Favorites” page, and make sure to check out the great original versions of last night’s performances here at Thumbplay.
Idol®, American Idol® and Idol Gives Back® are registered trademarks of FremantleMedia North America, Inc. FremantleMedia North America, Inc. is not a partner or sponsor of Thumbplay.
The list of artists who are performing at Bonnaroo this year have just been announced. Looking through the list of confirmed performers, it seems that the annual Music & Arts festival is going to host a good mix of Indie Rock, Country, Electronica and Hip Hop. It's all going down on June 11 - 14 in Manchester, TN.
I think it's worth mentioning that Faith's husband Tim McGraw also has an album out titled Greatest Hits 3. It includes a number of his hits, along with the new single "Let It Go".
Yesterday country star Gretchen Wilson came out to perform at a McCain and Palin rally in Ohio. She joined Sarah Palin on stage and performed for fans. Wilson also has some personal success to get excited for as she recently got her G.E.D.
It seems that Brad Paisley's "party" tour has caused quite a comotion in the news today. Paisley found himself punk'd by fellow Country stars and tour-mates Jewel and Chuck Wicks.
When his plane landed in Nashville, two men dressed as police officers cuffed Paisley and made a faux arrest due to 'excessive noodling' on his guitar, which the singer and guitarist plead guilty to, after laughing at the charges.
This could be in retaliation for Brad sending a few men dressed as Cinderella on stage as Chuck Wicks played his hit "Stealing Cinderella". Wicks' girlfriend Julianna Hough also took part in that scam, appearing on video during the show, telling him that their relationship was over.
It seems that there's no end when it comes to Country stars having fun. We'll report more as we hear it. In the meantime, to check out the hottest Country Artists, click here.
There's not many country music duos in the top 40 these days, but Sugarland's single "All I Want to Do" has really taken off. Sugarland was founded in 2003 by Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles, along with original member Kristen Hall, who left in 2005 for a solo career. Looks like these two are doing awfully well on their own!
Jessica released her first single from her country album "Come On Over," which aired on Jacksonville, Fla. radio station WQIK.
"She's a singer from top to bottom," her manager/father Joe Simpson said. "And everything in the music business, especially pop music, has moved away from singers. And I think country is the the only pure, storytelling kind of genre left."
Last night was rewarding for many of Thumbplay's top country artists. Kenny Chesney took home the Entertainer of the Year Award at this year's Country Music Awards. Brad Paisley was awarded with Top Male Vocalist Honors, while Carrie Underwood won Top Female Vocalist. The energetic Rascal Flatts won top vocal group, and the Brooks & Dunn won top vocal duo. Miranda Lambert took home album of the year, and Sugarland took home best song with their single, Stay.
Kellie Pickler won three awards Monday night at the 2008 CMT Music Awards in Nashville: Tearjerker Video of the Year, Breakthrough of the Year for "I Wonder," and the Performance of the Year award for her live performance of that song on the CMA Awards broadcast on ABC.
One of the most fascinating things about American Idol's 2006 season, wasn't necessarily the winner Taylor Hicks or runner-up Katharine McPhee. For many people, it was the number of successful solo careers that were launched by numerous Top 12 Contestants.
Elliott Yamin, the underdog of the season, released an album laced with great songs. It included the radio-friendly singles Wait For You and One Word.
The father/daughter team of Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus have accomplished a great deal together in recent months. Billy has appeared on Miley's Hannah Montana show, they've recorded a song titled "Ready, Set, Don't Go" and have performed on stage together.
Their next venture will be appearing as co-hosts on the CMT Music Awards on April 14th. This seems like the perfect venue for them, as Miley's dad is no stranger to Country music. He has been a recording artist for decades now, and has been known until recent times for his smash-hit "Achy Breaky Heart".
Be sure to keep your eyes on this talented family, as their popularity and list of accomplishments grow.
When it comes to Country music, there are certain tones I need to have with me all day long. If you ask me what my latest favorite is, I'm going to have to say it’s between Rascal Flatts' "Take Me There" which is just a great ‘feel-good’ tone and Trace Adkins' hit “I Got My Game On”, which I’m sure many guys out there already have on their phones.
Today, Country Music is better than ever. The past few years have brought us some of the best male artists this side of the Grand Ole Opry. For all the female artists out there like LeAnn Rimes and Trisha Yearwood, we’ve got plenty of men that can hold their own.
Country greats like Conway Twitty, Willie Nelson and Bocephus himself, set the standard long ago. With timeless songs and the ability to knock out vocals in a down home Country style, they were tough acts to follow.
The new generation of solo artists like Toby Keith, Gary Allan and Josh Turner have carried on the tradition of a solid Country Music sound. While icons Keith Urban and Billy Ray Cyrus have gained popularity with more of a cross-over audience.
In today's declining market, it's no surprise that Country album sales still see huge numbers. With new artists rising out from all parts of America and beyond, there's no limit to who will be next to lead the way.