Country Music Tattle Tale has had our CMTT Music Contributors working hard over the last few weeks listening to brand new music for YOU!  Every weekend we will be bringing you new music reviews and opinions for your country music listening pleasure.

“A Little Bit of Love” by Misty Lee Olsen
http://www.myspace.com/mistyleeolsen

Canadian Misty Lee Olsen should get some attention south of the Great White North with her new single “A Little Bit of Love,” but probably not for the reason she hopes. I’m afraid people will assume it’s a track off the new Carrie Underwood album promised this fall. Yes, she sounds that much like country’s favorite American Idol.

The vocals in the song’s opening are so similar to an up-tempo “Jesus Take the Wheel” I had to stop and listen to it again to make sure I had the right song. It’s hard to get past that. But if you can, “A Little Bit of Love” is a sweet but not particularly memorable take on life being better because there’s someone at home who loves you. It’s not bad, but you’ve heard this one before.

Two other songs available on Olsen’s site are another Carrie-sounding “Stay Away”; and “The Story of a Girl,” which some might mistake for a Miranda Lambert song if Miranda had a little less Texas twang and a lot less pain and attitude. It sounds a bit like something a teen Miranda could have written and recorded, before all the mean boys turns into bad, bad men.

None of the songs really give Olsen her own identity or a signature sound.  Misty Lee Olsen’s debut album is “The Story of a Girl’ and is due out in March 2010.

Marcel Chagnon – Believin’
http://www.youtube.com/marcelchagnon

Wow—was this a pleasant surprise! A haunting yet hopeful song for our hard economic times, “Believin’” is a showcase for the talented singer-songwriter Marcel Chagnon. He even made the video himself – what an all-around talented performer.

The song really strikes a chord and tells a story that anyone struggling through the current recession can identify with. “I don’t have two pennies to rub but my card still slides, what good is life if you’re not living?” he asks, seeming to find hope even in desperate times.

Marcel’s songwriting gave Josh Gracin a No. 1 hit with “Nothin’ To Lose” and he’s also penned songs for Jessica Andrews.

His singing reminds me of Bob Dylan — if Bob Dylan has a beautiful voice. You really have to hear him to understand. Give him a listen at http://www.youtube.com/marcelchagnon . I know you’ll like what you hear.

So why hasn’t country radio discovered this talented singer? Maybe they can’t pronounce his name? Who knows? It’s a shame this song never got the attention it deserved.

“Livin’ in Paradise” by Jonathan Singleton

A catchy tune about love and faith, singer/ songwriter Jonathan Singleton’s “Livin’ in Paradise ” is a good showcase for his unusual voice and the up tempo yet bluesy music is a fun listen. Lyrically, however, the song sounds way too much like Phil Vassar’s “Just Another Day in Paradise” to really achieve its own identity. Too bad, too, because I would definitely enjoy catching this song on the radio.

Singleton is certainly a gifted songwriter. Co-author of David Nail’s amazing “Red Light,” he also has two #1 songs under his belt: Billy Currington’s “Don’t” and Gary Allan’s “Watching Airplanes.”

I hope he writes or finds the right song to help him make the transition from songwriter to chart-topping singer. Unfortunately, “Livin’ in Paradise ” just isn’t that song. Neither are the other songs available on his website, “Look Who’s Back in Love” or “Probably Just Time” (a sad ballad, it’s the best of the three songs). All are worth a listen and showcase his rough, bluesy vocals, but none scream breakout country radio hit.

Listen online at www.myspace.com/jonathansingletonandthegrove

Vicky Dobbin is a country music lover in Falls Church, VA. Read her blog at www.lovemycountrymusic.com