Tag Archives: Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood Fans Should Vote For Brad Paisley For Entertainer Of The Year

Starting March 11th, voting will open for this year’s ACM Entertainer Of The Year category. It seems as if our attempt to get our disdain across has gone unnoticed – as expected.

Regardless of Carrie’s clear snub (check here and here), we, as one of country’s biggest fanbases, need to  support one of the nominees and cast our votes in his or her favor. While we all won’t have the same enthusiasm in voting for that nominee as we have for Carrie (new emails, many computers, emailing people who might be interested), we should at least cast one ballot for one of the nominees to get him or her on top and let him win.

Who that nominee should be is Brad Paisley, for a multitude of reasons.

First, Brad is probably Carrie’s closest friend on the nominee list. She was his opening act for one of his tours and he was so impressed by her that he asked her to sing an awesome duet with him: Oh Love. I’m sure as well that Carrie wants Brad to win over the other five nominees, even though she won’t publicly admit it. Just look at how happy she was for him when he won this year’s Entertainer Of The Year at the CMAs, even though she should have been nominated and win.

Second, Brad is country’s leading male vocalist. He has the longest standing number one streak among all country artists and his songs always resonate with the public. Always. His latest single “This Is Country Music” is racing up to the top of the charts in country music.

Third, Brad has confirmed that he has went to the studio with Carrie to record a song that he felt was unfinished prior to her touch. This is how much Brad Paisley thinks of Carrie. Also, this duet might be his next single: check here.

Fourth, while the other nominees are also deserving, none of them has worked as hard as Brad Paisley to get this award. We, Carrie’s fans, have known firsthand how horrible it is when Carrie works really hard for something and gets snubbed. Brad has been shut out from winning the Entertainer Of The Year category too many times. This is his best chance to win. Why not help him out?

Fifth, Brad’s four year old son has a crush on Carrie. Enough said, right?

Also, in case Brad releases the duet as his upcoming single, a win would boost the hype for this single even higher – if that is possible – benefiting both Brad and Carrie for their upcoming albums.

So for all these reasons, we need to cast our votes on March 11th for Brad Paisley, hopefully next year will be Carrie’s year again.

The link to vote is here.

Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley Duet: His New Single?

Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley are best buddies in the country music scene.

She was his opening act while promoting her debut album “Some Hearts” and they ended up recording a duet “Oh Love”, an awesome song that was never released. A huge missed opportunity, may I add.

Now, it looks like they have recorded another duet together. And I believe it will be the upcoming single of Brad Paisley’s upcoming album “This Is Country Music”.

First, Carrie’s latest single, Mama’s Song has peaked about a month ago at #2 and it has been rumored that she will not be releasing anymore singles from Play On. The rumor was questioned at first, but the longer we go without a single on the radio, the lesser the chance of continuing the Play On era.

Second, if no Carrie single is released from now till August or September, assuming a predicted November release date for her fourth album, it will be the longest period that Carrie has gone through without an active single on the radio. Far too long if you ask me.

Third, Brad Paisley’s current single “This is Country Music” is racing up the country charts and looks poised to peak at #1 in the coming two or three weeks. It currently sits at #3 on the charts, with a remarkably fast 13-week run, one of the fastest Brad Paisley singles to do so.

Fourth, Brad Paisley’s album is to be released late May, which means that if the current single peaks around early March, it would leave a two month period of no single on the radio to promote his album. A second single being issued is a certainty.

Fifth, Brad Paisley will be competing with Lady Gaga on his first week of release and while he will not beat her, releasing a second single that sparks wide interest among country listeners is sure to provide him with high sales numbers.

Sixth, with the huge success duets and group singles are seeing on country radio (Need You Now, Don’t You Wanna Stay, If I Die Young), it looks like the trend of having more than one singer on a track is paying off. Now get together the genre’s leading vocalists and put them on the same track and you have the recipe for a smash hit on country radio, one that will sustain Carrie through the wait for her fourth album and one that will provide Brad with the needed buzz for his album release.

Also, another thing to note is that with Carrie not having any single on the radio, she will not be able to sing anything at the ACMs and I doubt Brad would want to sing “This Is Country Music” there after debuting it at the CMAs and after it would undoubtedly have peaked.

So it looks like Carrie’s team has prepared a bombshell for us with an awesome single that will undoubtedly take the Country Music scene by storm. One can only hope the song is as awesome as we all think it will be.

Open Letter to the ACMs

Dear ACMs,

(and other Country Award shows)

According to Country Aircheck, the ACMs have opted out of the eight nominees for the category “Entertainer Of The Year” because they “felt that, on TV, it got to be too cumbersome. It took a long time in the monologue to address eight artists and required more time when the category was mentioned during the show.”

I understand that your show has time constraints. After all, it’s admittedly difficult to run a three hour long broadcast and not exceed times, especially when you cannot account for the emotional reactions that could be exhibited on stage. But do time constraints mean that you do not honor one of your most deserving artists?

I understand that this particular artist, Carrie Underwood, does not really feel the need for all the awards she’s been getting. She’s been having consistent sales, chart topping singles and, the least you could say, a devoted fan-base that will never accept see injustice happen to her. And this is precisely what this post is about.

As a follow-up to my heavily viewed previous post about a possible reason for the snub, which can be viewed here, I have been asked by many people to provide links and proof to my claims. And here it goes.

For those who doubted the critical-acclaim Carrie Underwood’s Play On Tour has gotten, these are a few excerpts from the many glowing reviews that her sold-out shows have received.

The Oakland Tribune:

More musical mediocrity has been spawned by TV’s “American Idol” than from any other single entity in history.
The biggest exception continues to be Carrie Underwood, the 2005 “A.I.” champ that has totaled 10 No. 1 country singles, three platinum-plus-selling albums and numerous music awards during her relatively short career.
Her one weakness has traditionally been her live show, but now that has become a strength as well.

The Orange County Register:

It usually takes a mighty big voice to fill a big place like the Hollywood Bowl, but Carrie Underwood was definitely up to the task: the third American Idol champ and her band, accompanied by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, made a highly satisfying debut at the famous venue Saturday night.

AZ Central:

The sounds of fireworks that kicked off Carrie Underwood’s Play On Tour at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale Sunday, Oct. 3, held the promise of a night filled with interesting sets, sparkling costumes and larger-than-life vocal acrobatics. And the show delivered all

Kansas City:

With no apologies to Taylor Swift, we can now crown Carrie Underwood the reigning queen of country music.
She can also claim the title of the most successful “American Idol” contestant ever.
Saturday night, Underwood headlines a sold-out show at the Sprint Center. Yes, she is sold-out-arena caliber these days, and not just in places close to her Oklahoma hometown, like Kansas City. Earlier this month, she sold out the Hollywood Bowl, where more than 17,000 fans came to see her.

CMT:

Without a hitch — or a drop of sweat or a hair out of place — Underwood brought Music City two hours of dynamic set and wardrobe changes to her performance. Throughout the entire evening, she managed to tastefully and effectively intertwine love, lust, nostalgia and vengeance along with a passionate dose of spirituality.

This is only but a fragment of the accolades Carrie has gotten for her Play On Tour. And as this fragment clearly illustrates, the tour was a resounding success. She goes over the crowds on a blue truck… if that’s not enough for an award, what is?

Now I won’t compare these reviews with those of other nominated Country starts, but I will ask this: how could a tour of this magnitude, having played for over 1 million fans across the United States and Canada not have the artist responsible nominated for it?

After all, isn’t the award “Entertainer Of The Year” supposed to be given those who have showed excellence in the field of entertainment?

And if concerts aren’t enough for the ACMs (and other Country Award shows for that matter), Carrie has even tried her hand at some acting.

Her debut movie, Soul Surfer, comes out this April. It’s a movie about the power of faith and love. This artist decides to break into Hollywood and the first movie she decides to undertake is not one of those commercial blockbuster flicks that are sure to bring her buzz, but a subtle role in a movie about the healing power of faith… isn’t that what country music preaches? Belief in God, in yourself and in others?

Moreover, Carrie’s “Play On” album has been recently certified 2x Platinum. Out of all the current Entertainer Of The Year nominees, only Taylor Swift has surpassed Carrie’s sales. But Taylor isn’t even a cornerstone for comparison: she has outsold everyone in the music industry today, which makes Carrie’s total even more remarkable.

In addition, Carrie has shown remarkable faithfulness to the country genre, having refused to remix all of her songs to cater to other radio formats. Even her smash hit “Before He Cheats” was not remixed, which goes to show how much this artist really cares about the overall improvement of her genre, not some passing moment of multi-platform success. Of course, we, the fans, want to see another Carrie single crossover, and we feel that some of her songs are able to do just that if only the label were to help.

I’ve also come across people saying that Carrie not winning or being nominated is only natural as other female artists have had this happen to them when Carrie came to the country scene. My only reply to them is: those female country artists were not having a fragment of the success Carrie has been having since the moment she set foot in the country music industry. How many of those female artists can boast that they have had a 12 #1 streak on country radio, including an astonishing 6-week run with their debut single? How many of them can boast of having sold over 7 million copies of their debut album and how many of them can say that they are the only female country artists that have won Entertainer of the year twice?

So for all matters and purposes, Carrie was deserving of every award she got. Sure, her label might have helped her a little bit here and there but can you imagine the response had Carrie not won those awards?

Dear ACMs, you shunning out Carrie Underwood is a disgrace. Not only is she the most deserving artist of the bunch, but to give her only one nomination that she will most probably not win is really shameful…

To other Carrie Fans I say, Carrie will always be a winner in our hearts. We might have thought a win this year is a lock, but the politics of country music have proven even more barbaric than allow the most deserving to be recognized. We cannot do anything regarding that except make our voices heard. And this is me making my voice heard. Now it’s time to make yours.

Sincerely,

A disgruntled Country Music fan.

Carrie Underwood’s Label Screws Her Over

Entertainment reporter, Jimmy Carter, tells U.S. Country Radio WKKT that the apparent snub the ACMs inflicted upon Carrie Underwood with only one nomination was nothing more than a political play by her label.

Apparently, the label decided to campaign for Miranda Lambert since they thought she “needed it more”.

Carrie Underwood only got a nomination for “Female Vocalist Of The Year”, and being country music’s most played female artist for the past five years, getting nominated for this is a lock. She doesn’t even need a label’s support to land this nomination.

Many country music analysts were shocked about the lack of an “Entertainer Of The Year” nod – the highest honor that could be bestowed upon a country artist – after the year Carrie has had:

– 3 #1 singles and 1 #2 single.

– 2 million albums sold.

– Over 2,000,000 digital downloads.

– Over 1,000,000 fans attended her sold-out “Play On” Tour.

– Critical acclaim for the “Play On” Tour.

On the other hand, Miranda Lambert got 7 ACM nominations, including one for “Entertainer Of The Year”. This is Miranda’s year:

– 2 #1 singles, including the smash “The House That Built Me”

– Less than 1,000,000 albums sold.

– She just started her first headlining tour.

 

See what’s wrong with this picture? I understand both of them had a great year. And I understand that Miranda needs a push to improve, especially commercially. Her latest single, Only Prettier, barely made the top 10, even after riding the massive 5 week #1 streak that “The House That Built Me” gave her. But for the label to do this to their greatest asset, Carrie Underwood? This, I cannot fathom.

Honestly, Carrie’s label has missed on a lot of opportunities when it comes to marketing her music. She may not want to crossover to other radio formats, but some of her songs were just wanting to smash on different formats: Cowboy Casanova and Undo It, anyone?

Maybe the label’s decision to support Miranda is true in certain categories – but definitely not in the “Entertainer of the Year” one. Carrie has won that award twice at the ACMs so far and many expected to win it this year as well.

It is a sad day for country music when the most deserving gets snubbed.

Soul Surfer – Movie Trailer

This is the trailer of an upcoming movie titled Soul Surfer. It’s based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton, a champion surfer, who loses her arm because of a shark attack, fighting through her tragedy and getting back on her feet.

The movie stars Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt as Bethany Hamilton’s parents. Bethany is played by newcomer AnnaSophia Robb.

And, my favorite artist, Carrie Underwood makes her acting debut as Sarah Hill, the youth counselor who helps Bethany get by.

The movie is released on April 8th, very close to Easter. Screening has already begun for select Church leaders across the United States, seeing as it looks to be a deep movie about Christian values.

Check it out!