Last week's No. 1 album, "Clear As Day" from 2011 "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery, falls to No. 4 with 88,000 (down 55%). Adele's "21" holds at No. 2 with 111,000 (down 1%).
A second 2011 "Idol" alum joins McCreery in the top five, as the woman he beat, runner-up Lauren Alaina, debuts at No. 5 with "Wildflower." She sold 69,000 her first week.
This is the first time since 2008 where both the winner and second-place finisher of "Idol" posted top five-charting albums (or top 10, for that matter). The last Nos. 1 and 2 placers to do so were '08 victor David Cook and runner-up David Archuleta. Their debut albums respectively bowed and peaked at Nos. 3 and 2, respectively.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Scotty McCreery Hopes to Follow in Carrie Underwood's Footsteps
Life after the post-show American Idol Tour has continued to be a whirlwind for American Idol season 10 winner Scotty McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina.
The talented teens have each been promoting their debut albums, which release a week apart. Scotty’s Clear As Day bowed October 4 and Lauren’s Wildflower hit stores October 11.
Produced by former head of Christian label Word Records, Mark Bright (Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts), the impressive collection suits Scotty’s values and showcases his considerable vocal gift.
Songs like “That Old King James” about a grandfather’s Bible handed down from generation to generation and “Water Tower Town,” a reflection of Scotty’s small-town roots growing up in Garner, NC, an ode to the water tower across from where Scotty played baseball in his youth.
When he heard the song “Dirty Dishes,” he kicked another song off the album to make room for it. “Mama heard it and she sat down crying,” he shares. Scotty says the song about a mother’s prayer as her family sits down to dinner “struck a nerve... It brought back a lot of good memories.”
Scotty says Bright was a perfect choice as producer.
“It was a really cool thing that Mark and I got together because he’d worked with Carrie Underwood and had been through my exact situation,” Scotty says of Bright working with Underwood after her American Idol win. “Also he’s had a background in Christian music, so he knew exactly where I was coming from in the country format as well as my background in church and the Christian aspect in my life.”
The talented teens have each been promoting their debut albums, which release a week apart. Scotty’s Clear As Day bowed October 4 and Lauren’s Wildflower hit stores October 11.
Produced by former head of Christian label Word Records, Mark Bright (Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts), the impressive collection suits Scotty’s values and showcases his considerable vocal gift.
Songs like “That Old King James” about a grandfather’s Bible handed down from generation to generation and “Water Tower Town,” a reflection of Scotty’s small-town roots growing up in Garner, NC, an ode to the water tower across from where Scotty played baseball in his youth.
When he heard the song “Dirty Dishes,” he kicked another song off the album to make room for it. “Mama heard it and she sat down crying,” he shares. Scotty says the song about a mother’s prayer as her family sits down to dinner “struck a nerve... It brought back a lot of good memories.”
Scotty says Bright was a perfect choice as producer.
“It was a really cool thing that Mark and I got together because he’d worked with Carrie Underwood and had been through my exact situation,” Scotty says of Bright working with Underwood after her American Idol win. “Also he’s had a background in Christian music, so he knew exactly where I was coming from in the country format as well as my background in church and the Christian aspect in my life.”
Full article at GMC.
American Idol Runner-Up Is Aware She Is a Role Model
Season 10 American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina is cognizant of her status as a role model for young people and wanted the songs on her debut album to reflect her values.
“I represent all the young girls. My mom and my managers have made that very clear to me,” the 16-year-old Georgia native says. “I can’t sing songs that are inappropriate for young girls to listen to. I have adult fans too, but I feel like the adults would respect me more singing songs that are appropriate for my age than singing grown-up songs. I wouldn’t want to do that anyway because I’m a Christian and I feel I represent a different lifestyle. That was the biggest thing I was worried about – finding songs that were appropriate for me – but my label is awesome and they did a really good job helping me out with that.”
Lauren’s debut single, “Like My Mother Does,” showcases her impressive voice and the emotion she brings to a well-crafted lyric. “It’s a beautiful song. As soon as I heard it, I fell in love with it because my mom and I are best friends,” she says. “We do pretty much everything together, especially over the past year because we packed up and moved to California. I tell her everything and we talk about everything, but being on American Idol, I feel like it brought us even closer.”
Lauren began writing songs at age nine. “One of my aunts had a car wreck and I wrote a song for her called ‘Miracle’ that made my whole family cry. When that happened, it made me realize that was something I needed to be doing. I became addicted to it,” she says. Her debut album includes “Funny Thing About Love,” which she co-wrote with Brett James (“Jesus Take the Wheel”) and Luke Laird (“Mama’s Song”).
Lauren recorded the album during downtime on the American Idol tour, working with veteran producer Byron Gallimore (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill). One of her favorite songs on the album, “Eighteen Inches,” was written by one of her heroes.
“When they were sending me songs, someone gave me a heads up that one of them was written by Carrie Underwood and I got really excited,” Lauren says of the tune. “I liked the song before I even heard it because I knew she wrote it and I’m such a huge fan of hers. Then I heard it and it has such a beautiful message. I have a friend that that entire story happened to her. It reminds me of her so much.”
The title track, “Wildflower,” hits even closer to home. “In elementary school I was a tomboy,” she reveals. “I know that’s hard to believe ’cause I’m not a big tomboy now. I played softball. I didn’t ever fix my hair and I didn’t care about matching my clothes. I was like that until my grandmother passed away. She wasn’t like that at all and when she passed away, I wanted to be like her so I started fixing my hair and wearing nice clothes, which my mom was really thankful for. The song talks about young girl like that. I can relate to that ’cause that was me before.”
Lauren hopes her music will speak to other young girls and help build their self-esteem.
“When you talk to me, you wouldn’t know I’m insecure ’cause I hide it very well, but I really am,” she admits. “I get insecure and the people closest to me know that. I tried not to show that on [American Idol], but it showed a little bit. It’s normal for a teenage girl. I learned a lot over the past year being on American Idol. I am who I am. People voted me as runner-up. I’m not perfect. No one is, but people still love me the way I am. If other people can love me, if strangers can love me, I need to know to love myself. I feel like that song represents that completely and that’s the biggest thing I want to share with young girls.”
“I represent all the young girls. My mom and my managers have made that very clear to me,” the 16-year-old Georgia native says. “I can’t sing songs that are inappropriate for young girls to listen to. I have adult fans too, but I feel like the adults would respect me more singing songs that are appropriate for my age than singing grown-up songs. I wouldn’t want to do that anyway because I’m a Christian and I feel I represent a different lifestyle. That was the biggest thing I was worried about – finding songs that were appropriate for me – but my label is awesome and they did a really good job helping me out with that.”
Lauren’s debut single, “Like My Mother Does,” showcases her impressive voice and the emotion she brings to a well-crafted lyric. “It’s a beautiful song. As soon as I heard it, I fell in love with it because my mom and I are best friends,” she says. “We do pretty much everything together, especially over the past year because we packed up and moved to California. I tell her everything and we talk about everything, but being on American Idol, I feel like it brought us even closer.”
Lauren began writing songs at age nine. “One of my aunts had a car wreck and I wrote a song for her called ‘Miracle’ that made my whole family cry. When that happened, it made me realize that was something I needed to be doing. I became addicted to it,” she says. Her debut album includes “Funny Thing About Love,” which she co-wrote with Brett James (“Jesus Take the Wheel”) and Luke Laird (“Mama’s Song”).
Lauren recorded the album during downtime on the American Idol tour, working with veteran producer Byron Gallimore (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill). One of her favorite songs on the album, “Eighteen Inches,” was written by one of her heroes.
“When they were sending me songs, someone gave me a heads up that one of them was written by Carrie Underwood and I got really excited,” Lauren says of the tune. “I liked the song before I even heard it because I knew she wrote it and I’m such a huge fan of hers. Then I heard it and it has such a beautiful message. I have a friend that that entire story happened to her. It reminds me of her so much.”
The title track, “Wildflower,” hits even closer to home. “In elementary school I was a tomboy,” she reveals. “I know that’s hard to believe ’cause I’m not a big tomboy now. I played softball. I didn’t ever fix my hair and I didn’t care about matching my clothes. I was like that until my grandmother passed away. She wasn’t like that at all and when she passed away, I wanted to be like her so I started fixing my hair and wearing nice clothes, which my mom was really thankful for. The song talks about young girl like that. I can relate to that ’cause that was me before.”
Lauren hopes her music will speak to other young girls and help build their self-esteem.
“When you talk to me, you wouldn’t know I’m insecure ’cause I hide it very well, but I really am,” she admits. “I get insecure and the people closest to me know that. I tried not to show that on [American Idol], but it showed a little bit. It’s normal for a teenage girl. I learned a lot over the past year being on American Idol. I am who I am. People voted me as runner-up. I’m not perfect. No one is, but people still love me the way I am. If other people can love me, if strangers can love me, I need to know to love myself. I feel like that song represents that completely and that’s the biggest thing I want to share with young girls.”
full article here
Barnes Tops the Country Charts
Dave Barnes celebrates a career first with his song “God Gave Me You” performed by country superstar Blake Shelton as it jumps to the #1 spot on the Billboard Country Singles chart. Barnes wrote the song for his last studio album, "What We Want, What We Get" released in 2010. “God Gave Me You” is on Blake Shelton’s eighth studio album, "Red River Blue," and is his fastest rising single to date.
Barnes’ version of “God Gave Me You” had a great run at Adult Contemporary radio in 2010, peaking at #21. The song also peaked at #3 at Christian CHR. Barnes’ and Shelton’s versions of “God Gave Me You” have sold close to 600,000 individual tracks combined. Dave Barnes' “God Gave Me You” video here: http://bit.ly/cFA8Hb
Blake Shelton selected the song after hearing it one day on the radio, he tells AOL’s The Boot: "It's no secret, Miranda and I have had our ups and downs over the years and this was definitely at a low point at our relationship. I was flipping through stations and landed on a contemporary Christian station, and that song came on and I almost had to pull the truck over. I felt like I was hearing that song at that moment for a reason."
Dave told AOL’s The Boot: “When I heard that it was making [Blake's] record, I was so excited! Especially in how it got there: it wasn't pitched, it was found. That's the best because the artist has such a different attachment that way. The fact that he heard it on the radio and wanted to record it because it meant something to him and Miranda blows my mind. It's still hard to believe it's on the radio. Writing so much on Music Row and knowing the process of how songs get cut and picked for radio, it's amazing to me that “God Gave Me You” made it through the whole process.”
Barnes is no stranger to having his music plucked by country singers as Billy Currington re-recorded Barnes’ radio hit “Until You” for Currington’s 2010 release. Barnes has been recognized by the industry as a rising songwriter. Billboard Magazine touted “Many of the best pop songwriters come out of Nashville, and Dave Barnes is one such singer/scribe now building momentum."
Barnes adds, “I have been writing a lot on Music Row in the last couple of years. I'm trying to get more songs recorded by country artists, both songs from my previous albums and songs that I'm writing with other Nashville writers. It's a really fun challenge and new discipline.”
Dave Barnes last album "What We Want, What We Get" debuted at #59 on the Billboard top 200 album chart in 2010 and #15 on the digital albums chart. Barnes has sold over 150,000 albums to date and over 510,000 individual song downloads. He is currently on tour and will tour in 2012 as well. Barnes has previously toured with notable acts including John Mayer, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Bonnie Raitt, and One Republic.
Barnes’ version of “God Gave Me You” had a great run at Adult Contemporary radio in 2010, peaking at #21. The song also peaked at #3 at Christian CHR. Barnes’ and Shelton’s versions of “God Gave Me You” have sold close to 600,000 individual tracks combined. Dave Barnes' “God Gave Me You” video here: http://bit.ly/cFA8Hb
Blake Shelton selected the song after hearing it one day on the radio, he tells AOL’s The Boot: "It's no secret, Miranda and I have had our ups and downs over the years and this was definitely at a low point at our relationship. I was flipping through stations and landed on a contemporary Christian station, and that song came on and I almost had to pull the truck over. I felt like I was hearing that song at that moment for a reason."
Dave told AOL’s The Boot: “When I heard that it was making [Blake's] record, I was so excited! Especially in how it got there: it wasn't pitched, it was found. That's the best because the artist has such a different attachment that way. The fact that he heard it on the radio and wanted to record it because it meant something to him and Miranda blows my mind. It's still hard to believe it's on the radio. Writing so much on Music Row and knowing the process of how songs get cut and picked for radio, it's amazing to me that “God Gave Me You” made it through the whole process.”
Barnes is no stranger to having his music plucked by country singers as Billy Currington re-recorded Barnes’ radio hit “Until You” for Currington’s 2010 release. Barnes has been recognized by the industry as a rising songwriter. Billboard Magazine touted “Many of the best pop songwriters come out of Nashville, and Dave Barnes is one such singer/scribe now building momentum."
Barnes adds, “I have been writing a lot on Music Row in the last couple of years. I'm trying to get more songs recorded by country artists, both songs from my previous albums and songs that I'm writing with other Nashville writers. It's a really fun challenge and new discipline.”
Dave Barnes last album "What We Want, What We Get" debuted at #59 on the Billboard top 200 album chart in 2010 and #15 on the digital albums chart. Barnes has sold over 150,000 albums to date and over 510,000 individual song downloads. He is currently on tour and will tour in 2012 as well. Barnes has previously toured with notable acts including John Mayer, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Bonnie Raitt, and One Republic.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Two Tales of Courage Remain in Top 10
Dolphin Tale came in 5th at the box office this week taking in $6.2M bringing its total to $58.6M. And the film it's been running neck and neck with since their openings last month came in close behind in sixth as Moneyball took in $5.5M.
Two tales of courage took seventh and eighth this weekend. The cancer dramedy 50/50 came in at 7th while Courageous held on well in its third weekend, falling 32% to $3.3M, bringing its total to $21.3M.
Two tales of courage took seventh and eighth this weekend. The cancer dramedy 50/50 came in at 7th while Courageous held on well in its third weekend, falling 32% to $3.3M, bringing its total to $21.3M.
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