Shania Twain is going to Vegas

Shania Twain took part in a live press conference with her fans this afternoon, at which she made the announcement that she’ll be doing a 2 year stint at the Caesar's Palace in Los Vegas.
Starting in December 2012, she’ll be doing a series of 60 shows per year over the following 2 years at the Colosseum. The name of the show series is to be called “Still the One”, after Shania’s juggernaut hit “You’re Still the One”.
Tickets will be going on sale soon!

Top 25 Country Artists since 1985

Billboard has updated it's "Top 25 Country Artists" list to include data from 2011. This list basically ranks the 25 country artists who have had the biggest careers in and biggest influence on the country genre. The largest change since last years list is Taylor Swift's entry into the list at #24 - her addition was credited to her phenominal sale numbers, with her album "Fearless" being the top sold album (in any genre) over the past 5 years. Swift's entry pushed LeAnn Rimes (who was at 25 last year) off the list.

The top 5 artists are:

5. Tim McGraw - Since his career entry in 1994, McGraw has released 24 #1 Hit Singles, and his tours with his wife Faith Hill (#18 on the Top 25 list) were some of the highest grossing tours in Country Music history.

4. Alan Jackson - Jackson has taken 50 of his charted titles on Country Songs into the top 10, and 26 of those have spent time at No. 1.

3. Reba Mcentire - The best selling female country artist of the '80s and '90s, McEntire has sold over 50 Million Albums and is the 2nd highest selling female country artist of all time, 2nd only to Shania Twain. She also had a successful run in the early 2000s as Annie Oakley in a remake of the play "Annie Get Your Gun", and went on to play the lead character "Reba Hart" in the hit SitCom "Reba". She recently was added to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

2. Garth Brooks - After succesfully entering the country music business in the 90's, Garth Brooks became a music phenominon - rivaling Elvis Presley in album sales (for a time, he was RIAA's Top Selling Solo Artist Ever).

1. George Strait - Country Music Hall of Famer Strait, who holds several all-time Billboard records, tops the list this year. His 44 No. 1s on Country Songs is the most by any artist in the chart's 64-year history.

To see the rest of the list of the Top 25 Country Artists, click here!

Ronnie Dunn - Ronnie Dunn

Ronnie Dunn has been known for the past years as half of the successful duo "Brooks & Dunn", and now he's released his first ever Solo Album - the self-titled album, "Ronnie Dunn". The 12 track album hits right on the mark, with very few "below average" tracks.

The album begins with the up-tempo country rock song "Singer In A Cowboy Band", and there's not much to say - good song, great beat.

It moves on with the slow ballad "I Don't Dance", which is one of the best pieces on this record. The words are very well written, with a tune that matches well. This track would do well if released as a single.

"Your Kind of Love" is another slow ballad about the strength of his partner's love. The lyrics show some weakness in the chorus, but never falls too far; and the tune and chords make the song a great track to listen too.

"Once" is the next highlight on the album - a great track in every way. The lyrics are written with incredible skill, and the music rises and falls (dynamically) in all the right places, and the song as a whole matches Dunn's voice perfectly. "Once" is another song that would do very well on the radio if released as a single (which I believe it will be).

"Cost of Living" leaves me with mixed feelings. The lyrics tell of a man interviewing for a job in a troubled economy with a high cost of living. The lyrics and tune are uneventful, and never seem to go anywhere.

Then there's Dunn's debut single "Bleed Red". A great track that is doing fairly well on the charts. For the full review on this track, click here.

"Last Love I'm Tryin'" is another slow ballad about a man who's had his heart broken many times before, that he's decided that this is the "Last Love [he's] Trying". A beautiful piece, and performed well by Dunn.

"I Can't Help Myself" has a great chorus, and the lyrics are mostly very well done. The verse has some shaky points in the songwriting, but Dunn makes up for any shortcomings in the chorus - making this a song I thing most fans will enjoy.

The album ends off with "Love Owes Me One", a slow sad track accompanied only by Piano and some light Organ, highlighting only Dunn's singing. A great ending to a great album.

"Ronnie Dunn" is a great entry record for Dunn's debut in his solo career. Filled with almost all great tracks that range on all sides of the country music spectrum, this album is a must-have for any country music fan, and is sure to do well commercially.

Shania Twain - From this Moment On, Her Autobiography

Shania Twain is one of the best selling female artists of all time, and the best selling female country artist ever. Her album "Come On Over" is the best selling country album ever, and most of her releases have been certified Diamond (10 Million Copies Sold). After having marital troubles with her Husband/Producer Mutt Lange, Shania hasn't released any new songs since 2004. But this year, she has begun making her comeback to showbiz with a Book and a TV show on OWN (oprah winfrey network).

Her book, "From This Moment On", tells the story of Shania's life from her poverty stricken childhood all the way through her rise to fame, break from the music business, and now her return. The tell-all book keeps no secrets from the reader, giving details about growing up in a home plagued with domestic abuse, escaping to a battered women and children shelter with her mother, living through the tragic death of both her parents in a car accident, taking care of her siblings while she worked as a singer, being discovered and making it to the top, and her painful break-up with her husband.

"From This Moment On" gives us an amazing glimpse into Shania's mind, and tells the story in a way only she could. This book is a must-read for any fans, and marks the music legends entry back into the business.

Shania currently is starring in her own reality show, "Why Not? with Shania Twain", on the Oprah Winfrey Network, and will be debuting her first single in over 6 years on the finale episode. She will also be making an appearance at the CMT Music Awards on June 8th, presenting an award.

CMT Music Awards 2011

In just a few short days, CMT will be presenting it’s awards for the best Country Music Videos over the past year. In preparation for the rewards show, let’s take a look at some of the nominees…

Video Director of the Year

Nominees:

Deaton Flanigen, Trey Fanjoy, Chris Hickey, David McClister, Roman White

Who should win:

Roman White, for his work on Lady Antebellum’s spine-tingling video for “Hello World”. Roman White has worked with lots of different artists including Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Reba McEntire, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lonestar, etc, etc.

Duo Video of the Year

Nominees:

Steel Magnolia, Sugarland, The Civil Wars, The JaneDear Girls, Thompson Square

Who Should Win:

Sugarland, for the duo’s video for their hit, “Stuck Like Glue”.

Group Video of the Year

Nominees:

Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Zac Brown Band

Who Should Win:

Lady Antebellum, for the chilling video for their hit “Hello World”.

Female Video of the Year

Nominees:

Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood

Who Should Win:

Taylor Swift or Miranda Lambert. Taylor Swift for her video for “Mine”, or Miranda Lambert for her warm video for “The House that Build Me”.

Male Video of the Year

Nominees:

Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban

Who Should Win:

Keith Urban, for both the song and accompanying video, “Without You”.

Video of the Year

Nominees:

The award show is on Wednesday, June 8 – so tune in to see who wins the awards!

Brad Paisley - This is Country Music

In May, 2011, Brad Paisley released his 9th studio ablum, "This is Country Music". Filled with light, upbeat tracks "This is Country Music" has already gone #1 on the Country Albums chart and #2 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The album begins with the mid-tempo title track hit "This is Country Music", which tells a little bit about what country music is about. A fairly uneventful verse leads into a well-done in every way chorus, which shows off Brad's voice and it's abilities.

It's followed by Paisley's #1 hit "Old Alabama", the upbeat track that's been playing all over the radio over the past weeks. This track describes the singers girlfriend, a southern girl who likes listening to "Old Alabama". In the middle of the track, the band "Alabama" makes a cameo and sings along for the rest of the song. Overall a good track, as the charts have already proved.

"A Man Don't Have To Die" is about a man describing his living hell life, and how "A Man Don't Have to Die to go to Hell". The words of this track are average, with nothing wrong but nothing amazing. The tune and harmonies are very good in this track. "Camoflauge" is upbeat and fun, with a cool tune all the way through. The lyrics are below average, and have no substance in them - completely about a vehicle being painted "Camoflauge".

"Working on a Tan", like "Camoflauge", lacks any substance in the lyrics - all about a girl Working on a Tan, and not "giv[ing] a damn" anything else. But if there's one thing Paisley always gets right, it's chord progressions and tunes - both are great in this track, and his voice shines on the chorus of this track.

"One of those Lives" is an obvious highlight of this album. A great beat starts the song off, with a equally great chord progression entering to accompany Paisley's voice. The lyrics tell of a guy who thinks his day has gone badly, but then finds that a child of a family friend has cancer.

The rest of the album (15 tracks in all) has some good tracks and several collab's with other country artists like Black Shelton and Sheryl Crow. This album shows off Brad's voice and skills when it comes to tune writing and chord progressions - but leave something to be desired with some of the lyris. Overall a great album - and worth any country fan's time!

Colbie Caillat - I Do & Brighter Than the Sun

Colbie Caillat may not actually be a country singer, but much of her music is listened to by many country fans - so we decided to review her latest tracks. Caillat's next album "All of You" is to be released in early July, and she has already released 2 tracks from it, "I Do" and "Brighter Than the Sun".

"I Do" is a light and upbeat track, with a fun beats and cute chord progressions - but the Lyrics and Tune are a real let down. The lyrics are shallow, unoriginal, and repetitive, with the chorus being just "I do, I do, I do do do do do do do do. Yeah, I do I do I do do do do do do do do..."

The tune during the verse sounds promising, but disappoints the listener at the beginning of the chorus. Compared to Colbie's other hit tracks like "Bubbly", "I think I'm falling for you" and "I never told you", I do falls flat.

"Brighter than the Sun" is another light and upbeat track, and I listened to this track hoping that it would be an improvement over "I Do". It was, but it was still a disappointment. The lyrics are happy and bright, but at some phrases sound like they were written by an inexperienced writer. They are often disconnected and they leave the listener what just happened. At the chorus, the words  often sound like they were picked only because they rhymed, and not because they added anything at all to the song.

The tune during the verse leaves us doubtful, but when the song reaches the chorus it improves greatly. At the chorus, the tune almost reaches the level of Colbie's previous tracks - and it is complemented by an excellent chord progression.

In both tracks, Caillat's vocal performance is very well done - and her smooth voice is shown off.

Both tracks are sure to do well on the radio charts, but leaves us wondering if her new album will compare at all to her previous albums.