During their opening weekend of their Own the Night World Tour, Lady Antebellum invited openers Darius Rucker and Thompson Square on stage with them mid-show to sing a Doobie Brothers cover, “Black Water.” Take a look, and enjoy.
Got some country music gossip and don’t wanna be a tattle tale? Email me, Tawny Tucker, Tawny@countrymusictattletale.com
Even after 15 years, the ever-popular NOW records are still going strong, despite a decline in record sales after the emergence of iTunes. The famed NOW franchise is back with a new release, NOW That’s What I Call Country Ballads, featuring 18 monster ballads from hit-makers such as Chris Young and Kenny Chesney to Shania Twain and George Strait.
This is definitely a modern-day collection of country ballads, so if you’re expecting to find “He Stopped Loving Her Today” or “The Dance” on this record, you might be disappointed. Instead, you’ll find Sara Evans’ rendition of Edwin McCain’s “I Could Not Ask For More,” Martina McBride’s latest tear-jerker, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” Dierks Bentley’s risque “Come a Little Closer,” and Carrie Underwood’s take on the famous Randy Travis classic, “I Told You So.”
This album is definitely aimed towards a younger audience with songs from crossover artists like Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, and Lady Antebellum, all of whom have had just as much success on pop radio as they have in the country genre. The record also features former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker’s debut single as a country artist, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” which I still say is his strongest single to date.
If you’re not high-tech with all the latest MP3s and gadgets, this would be a great record to buy if you want some of the greatest country ballads released in the last 10 years or so. Or, you could just turn on your radio – I hear these songs multiple times a day, so it’s nothing new or out of the ordinary. But, like I said, it’s a good record to have on hand in the car if you want some good country slow songs. The NOW records are available wherever records are sold, including online via iTunes and Amazon.
Don’t forget to enter for your chance to win a copy of NOW That’s What I Call Country Ballads from CMTT. CLICK HERE to enter. Hurry! Contest ends Thursday , February 2nd.
Kristi Olson
CMTT Music Contributor
CLICK READ MORE to see the full track listing of NOW That’s What I Call Country Ballads.
Posted in Carrie Underwood, Chris Young, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, New Album Review, Randy Travis, Sara Evans, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift 
Tags: Carrie Underwood, Chris Young, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBrides, Now That's What I Call Country Ballads, Randy Travis, Sara Evans, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, The Band Perry 
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The world’s best-selling, multi-artist album series, NOW That’s What I Call Music!, released a special new collection of country music’s most romantic contemporary hits yesterday, just in time for Valentine’s Day. NOW That’s What I Call Country Ballads is available on CD and for digital download purchase from all major digital service providers.
NOW That’s What I Call Country Ballads features 18 major chart hits from today’s hottest Country Music artists, including Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Marina McBride, Luke Bryan, Jake Owen, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean/Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Sara Evans, Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley, Chris Young, Darius Rucker, George Strait, and Alan Jackson. NOW Country Ballads follows the first four volumes of the Country Music chart-topping NOW That’s What I Call Country series.
Thanks to our friends at EMI Country Music Tattle Tale has 3 copies to giveaway to our readers! It’s easy to win! Just click the Enter to Win button below and tell us your favorite country ballad.
3 winners will be picked at random on Thursday , February 2nd.
CLICK READ MORE to see the full track listing of NOW That’s What I Call Country Ballads.
Posted in Contests, Country Music News Tags: Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Young, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, George Strait, Jake Owen, Jason Aldean/Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Marina McBride, NOW Country Ballads, Rascal Flatts, Sara Evans, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, The Band Perry 10 Comments »
Lady Antebellum has already sold more than half a million tickets for their upcoming Own The Night World Tour, which kicks off this Friday, January 27th, in Tulsa, OK with Darius Rucker and special guest Thompson Square.
Advance sell-outs at some of the nation’s biggest arenas include the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Allstate Arena in Chicago, American Airlines Center in Dallas and the DCU Center in Worcester, MA to name a few.
“We have been really involved in the planning of our tour every step of the way…I remember drawing out an idea for our set design on a paper plate, so to now see it come to life is just crazy,” said Lady A’s Hillary Scott. “We are just so invested in every moment and making it a great experience for the fans, and we’re really excited for everything 2012 has in store.”
“It has only been four years since we were driving around in Charles’ Jeep Cherokee and sharing a hotel room,” added Dave Haywood. “This tour is what we’ve always dreamed of!”
The Own The Night World Tour is an extension of last year’s critically acclaimed Own The Night World Tour. Of the show, the Sioux City Journal said, “They had some of the best staging we’ve seen in years. Songs flowed effortlessly; visuals enhanced just about everything,” while the Arizona Republic hailed the trio’s “impressive vocals and energetic stage presence.”
Fresh off celebrating their No. one hits “We Owned The Night” and “Just A Kiss” in Nashville this week, the trio’s third single “Dancin’ Away With My Heart” off their GRAMMY nominated, PLATINUM album Own The Night has cracked the Top 20 on the country radio charts in just three weeks.
For a full list of upcoming tour dates and appearances, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.
Got some country music gossip and don’t wanna be a tattle tale? Email me, Tawny Tucker, Tawny@countrymusictattletale.com
Music icon Lionel Richie will release Tuskegee, a collection of 13 of his international hits recorded with some of the biggest names in country music, on March 27th.
His duet partners on Tuskegee include Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Darius Rucker, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington and Little Big Town. On this worldwide, multi-genre album, Richie is also joined by the likes of such superstars as Shania Twain, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Jimmy Buffett.
In addition, the Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions will tape an all-star concert special, Lionel Richie and Friends “In concert” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 2nd. The show will air at a later date on the CBS Television Network. Some of his greatest hits will be performed by Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Rogers and many more.
“Tuskegee is where it all began, the place where I felt that everything was available and possible,” he says. “It’s where I learned about life and love and the power of music, and the place I built a musical foundation that knows no genres or boundaries.
“Doing this album was coming back to the beginning, back to basics, back to home,” he says. “The part of it I love the most is that the journey has been one of discovering myself. By the time I got back to Nashville, I clearly knew that the roots of my songwriting, my storytelling, were from the South.”
It’s also been a process of rediscovering the hits that have served as the soundtrack of the lives of generations around the world.
“Every Lionel Richie song that I can think of I had a personal experience with – high school homecomings, proms, you name it,” says Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts, who duets on “Dancin’ On the Ceiling.” “Lionel was always playing in my house. His music always said what we felt and couldn’t express.”
Once again, Richie is following his songs as they take him back to country, where they have been welcomed for more than two decades. Conway Twitty recorded “Three Times a Lady,” Kenny Rogers famously sang “Lady” and Alabama recorded “Deep River Woman.” Artists such as Tim McGraw, Darius Rucker and Rascal Flatts perform his songs in their shows. He has performed on the Country Music Association Awards three times, and his 2011 performance receive two standing ovations and was recognized as the highlight of the evening.
“When I did the CMAs and the room was singing along with me, it was really more like a family reunion than it was a concert or show,” he says. “It was just great validation to know that the music was accepted like it was.”
These innovative musical interpretations have given new meaning to his songs while serving as a powerful reminder of the timelessness of his impressive body of work. He asked the other singers to select the songs and ignore his original version and instead perform the song as if it were their own. “I wanted it the way they would do it in their show, which means I captured their essence. You make the song a Willie Nelson song. You make the song a Rascal Flatts song.
“It’s special to the point where it sounds new again, so I’m excited just as the writer, as the original parent of this child. I’m excited to see another generation embrace the music.”
Richie says recording Tuskegee was perhaps the most fun he’s ever had in the studio.
“Tuskegee is going to be one of the most special albums I’ve ever done in my life. This is something that’s going to be so special forever because it’s a moment in time when these artists all got together and celebrated some music,” he says. “What started out as a collaboration of a group of very talented, very successful artists ended up growing into brand new, very good friends.”
Lionel Richie’s Tuskegee Track-Listing:
1. “You Are” with Blake Shelton
2. “Say You, Say Me” with Jason Aldean
3. “Stuck On You” with Darius Rucker
4. “Deep River Woman” with Little Big Town
5. “My Love” with Kenny Chesney
6. “Dancing On The Ceiling” with Rascal Flatts
7. “Hello” with Jennifer Nettles
8. “Sail On” with Tim McGraw
9. “Endless Love” with Shania Twain
10. “Just For You” with Billy Currington
11. “Lady” with Kenny Rogers
12. “Easy” with Willie Nelson
13. “All Night Long” with Jimmy Buffett
Got some country music gossip and don’t wanna be a tattle tale? Email me, Tawny Tucker, Tawny@countrymusictattletale.com
