Whitney Duncan Promotion

The other day I posted an article for new 'Up and Comer" Whitney Duncan. Whitney has had a hard tie breaking into the music industry (her discography below) even after being one of only two artist to get signed to Warner Bros. Nashville from the fifth season of the USA Today talent show Nashville Star. As stated before Whitney worked on the album, titled 'Right Road Now', with producers John Shanks and Mark Bright known for there work with artist like Carrie Underwood and Michelle Branch. I believe that Ms. Duncan deserves to break through this glass wall set up by artist such as Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, and up and comer Sarah Buxton (whom I plan to post an "Up and Comer" about soon). So I've decided to set up my own personal promotion via this site. Below are links to websites related to her, videos of her music, and links to local radio stations for requesting her and her songs to help move her up on the charts.

Discography                               

Album	Song	Country	Year
Single	My World Is Over (w/ Kenny Rodgers)	60	2004
Right Road Now	When I Said I Would	48	2008
	The Bed That You Made	---
Single	All I Want For Christmas Is You	60
Right Road Now	Skinny Dippin'	48A	2009

^A= Currently Charting

Video

Skinny Dippin' (Official Video) [link]

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vyzHkv42W8&feature=channel

When I Said I Would (Official Video) [link]

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scEUZK-F15w

Links

Official Website: http://www.whitneyduncan.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Whitneyduncan

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/whitneyduncan

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/whitneyduncan

The Wolf (contact page, click the e-mail): http://www.thewolfonline.com/pages/4769987.php

KUPL(Contact Page): http://www.kupl.com/Contact-98-7-KUPL/4210209

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CMA Results

Entertainer of the Year

• Kenny Chesney
• Brad Paisley
• George Strait
• Taylor Swift
• Keith Urban

 

Male Vocalist

• Kenny Chesney
• Brad Paisley
• Darius Rucker
• George Strait
• Keith Urban

 

New Artist

• Randy Houser
• Jamey Johnson
• Jake Owens
• Darius Rucker
• Zac Brown Band

 

Female Vocalist

• Miranda Lambert
• Martina McBride
• Reba
• Taylor Swift
• Carrie Underwood

 

Vocal Group

• Eagles
• Lady Antebellum
• Little Big Town
• Rascal Flatts
• Zac Brown Band

 

 Vocal Duo

•  Big & Rich

• Brooks & Dunn
• Joey + Rory
• Montgomery Gentry
• Sugarland

 

Single

·        Chicken Fried (Zac Brown Band)

·        I Run To You (Lady Antebellum)

·        In Color (Jamey Johnson)

·        People Are Crazy (Billy Currington)

·        Then (Brad Paisley)

 

Song

• Chicken Fried
• I Told You So
• In Color
• People Are Crazy
• Then

 

Album

• American Saturday Night, Brad Paisley
• Defying Gravity, Keith Urban
• Fearless, Taylor Swift
• Love on the Inside, Sugarland
• The Lonesome Song, Jamey Johnson

 

Musical Event

• Cowgirls Don't Cry, Brooks & Dunn and Reba
• Down The Road, Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally
• Everything But Quits, Lee Ann Womack and George Strait
• I Told You So, Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis
• Old Enough, The Raconteurs, Ricky Skaggs, and Ashley Monroe
• Start A Band, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban

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Kellie Goes 'Extreme' and MUSICAL

Kellie has had quite a year from getting her first top ten country hit (Best Days of Your Life), to being part of one of the biggest groosing tours of the year (Taylor Swift's Frearless Tour),which she is rumored to be returning for its extention, but now she on 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'. Also in an interview she said she is currently writing for a new album and hopes to be back in the studio before the end of the year, hence the MUSICAL part of the title. For more of an interview go to Comcast.net and look for her picture on the right side.

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Up and Comer : Whitney Duncan

A new artist who I've had my eye on for a while is Warner Bros. Nashville artist Whitney Duncan. Whitney, who is set to walk the red carpet at the CMA awards tomorrow, is a beautiful blond haired lady from Tennessee that rights like an angel and has a very unique voice. Her third single Skinny Dippin' is currently a song being watched on my chart peak section. Whitney's debut titled 'Right Road Now' is being produced by John Shanks (known for working with Michelle Branch) and Mark Bright (known for working with Carrie Underwood) who are also writing with her. The album has produced three singles so far 'When I Said I Would' the first one peaking at 48, 'The Bed That You Made' which failed to chart, and the current single 'Skinny Dippin''. Whitney is also an accomplished song writer having written songs recorded by Kenny Rogers, Crystal Shawanda, and Le Ann Womack. More recently though she has stated that one song that failed to make her album has been recorded by country super star LeAnn Rimes. Overall she is on her way to becoming a bright new star in country music.
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Where Are They Now? : Kristy Lee Cook

Kristy Lee Cook she is the pride of Selma, the bringer of 'Shame', and Oregon's sole star on American Idol. So she had a number eight country album with her major label debut "Why Wait'' last year in September and a number twenty-eight chart hit with its sole single '15 Minutes of Shame' but before she could even get a second single out her label Arista Nashville, the same as Carrie Underwood, dropped her in December. Now the question that remains where is she now? Well she has done three major things and one good looking thing for fans. The first thing is early this year she signed with a management firm based out of Los Angeles called Morey Management, they are a talent spotting firm. She also started last winter a new charity foundation called Kristy Lee Horse Foundation a charity that raises money that is used to rescue, heal, and finding a new home for numerous horses (a link to the website for the foundation will be posted soon). She more recently has set up a deal with the Outdoor Channel to be a host on a show about hunting and the best locations. The show entitled 'Outdoors Ten Best' comes on the Outdoor Channel on Fridays at 10 pm. The final thing I'm going to tell you about is an extension to an interview I had with her earlier this year. In that interview she told me she had recently written songs with former country super group Lonestar and according to her Twitter she recorded a couple of songs in mid September which are possibly the songs she wrote with them. For those of you who are fans of her, like I am, I will try to post updates about what Ms. Cook is doing from time to time.

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Kenny Goes 3D

Kenny Chesney the four time CMA Entertainer of the Year has announced that he won't be touring next year but he will be doing a different form of concert. Instead of touring he will be releasing a 3D concert movie to be released in April of next year. The movie was filmed at four different concerts and in one separate recording time. As we get closer to the release I will remind you guys with another post.
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American Idol meets Country Superstar

It was recently reported that country-pop superstar Shania Twain will be a guess judge at the Chicago auditions for this seasons AI. Twain who is the best selling female country artist of all time, has the best selling country album of all time (Come On Over), and has had three top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and seven number 1 hits on the country charts, last year divorced from her husband of fourteen years Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Late last year at the Cma Awards she made a surprise appearnce giving away the Entertainer of the Year award. At a fan meeting in Canada a label exec. from Mercury announced that a new Shania album is nowhere in sight. So for fans of Shania looks like the earliest would be late 2010 but hey in the meantime will get to see her on Idol in January!

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Shania's Gift

Shania posted a video and blog about her life over the last year on her website (shaniatwain.com). The video ranges from pictures of her and her son Eja (Asia) to a video of her sky diving.

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Fifteen - Taylor Swift

Taylor's best single from 'Fearless' yet and the best part is it's not strictly about love or being fifteen as you might think. It is actually about how life moves on even during the harshest times and that it won't always be a smooth ride. 'Fifteen' is also one of her best vocal performances to date and is destined to continue her chart success with it already at 41 on the country charts.

Rating= A-

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Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood

Carrie is trying a new formula everyone. Her last two first singles 'Jesus Take the Wheel' and 'So Small' were both inspirational mid tempo ballads but not this time. 'Cowboy Casanova' is an edgy country-rock song that Carrie has done before with 'Before He Cheats' and 'Last Name' which between the two have spent six weeks on top of the country charts. While 'Last Name' was depicted as a prequel to 'BHC' in the music video based off the lyrics 'Casanova' is going to be the sequel.

The song which starts with the line 'you better take it from me, that boy is like a disease' has strong verses where Underwood's vocals hit all the right spots. While the Chorus well what can I say it has one great hook with lines like 'He's a good time, Cowboy Casanova', 'He looks like a cool drink of water, but he's candy coated misery', and 'He's the devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes'.

Although it is deffinently not her best song but her vocals shine tremendously on here and she has all the edge of Miranda Lambert but still has all the control she has had on songs in the past. Of the three edgy songs she has released as singles lyric wide I would put this second behind 'BHC', vocal wise I would personally put this first, and on the fun scale well I would have to say 'Last Name' is more fun but 'BHC' is not because of its semi-creepy destroying of the car hook.

So it's not a ground breaking song and it will continue her success but is it suppose to be breaking through new walls or just a have fun good time song?

Rating =B+

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Kristy Lee Cook (Yamhill Fair August 1st)

On August 1,2009 Kristy Lee Cook a former contestant on American Idol from Selma, Oregon played her first concert in her home state since last year when she was in Portland for the American Idol tour. Cook gave a solid performance in which she played for an hour. Here is a track by track review.

--- Not Tomight - A Great opening performance of a song co-written by her album producer Brett James and former labelmate Carrie Underwood.
--- Why Wait - Strong Performance of a great song to get people moving, it also proved she can sing.
--- Baby Believe - introduced as a song she fought for to get onto Why Wait written by Jamie O'Neal, delivered an elegant and strong performance.
--- I'm Outta Here -The first cover of the night was a well preformed version of Shania Twain's number one country hit and top five Australian pop hit.
--- Oh Baby - the sole new song in the setlist, it got all the girls moving. (read the news section interview for more info.)
---Plant The Seed -She sent this song out to all the teachers in the audience, gave an amazing performance of a touching song.
--- 15 Minutes of Shame - Fun performance where she confirmed the nature of "Jason" (an ex) and not only did she have a lot of fun with it but so did her band.
--- God Bless The USA - She started out by saying that both her parents are veterans, her performance got everyone up singing along.
--- Cowgirls - Kerry Harvick cover, Why Wait Itunes Bonus Track, and previous track on the AI tour, you could tell she loved this song.
--- Here For The Party - A song she's been performing since her Dallas,TX days, she gave a strong performance that got virtually everyone up.
Encore:
--- I Love Rock n' Roll - A fun performance in which she went into the crowd giving hugs and taking pictures with all.

Pictures from after the concert

Kristy Lee and I after the concert while she was signing autographs.

Kristy Preforming during the concert.

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Jessie James - Jessie James

There's good, bad, and in between but overall it is a decent album with the majority of it in the "Okay" category. With tracks like 'Wanted', 'My Cowboy' (which is this decades 'Any Man of Mine' by Shania Twain), and 'Guilty' giving off the idea of her as the female version of the outlaw by the same name. Then there are songs with great hooks like 'Inevitable', 'Bullet', 'Blue Jeans', and 'Girl Next Door'. 'I Look So Good (Without You)' and 'Burnin' Bridges' prove she can sing just about anything. Overall the album is one Shania might make except with more of a pop/R&B influences and less soft rock/adult contemporary.

+ = Choice pick -- = track to skip

1. Wanted +


2. Bullet +


3. I Look So Good (Without You) +


4. Burnin' Bridges


5. Blue Jeans


6. My Cowboy


7. Big Mouth


8. Burn It Up


9. Psycho Girlfriend --


10. Inevitable +


11. Girl Next Door


12. Guilty –
    
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Interview w/ Kristy Lee Cook

On August 1,2009 Ms. Cook played her first concert in her home state of Oregon since the American Idol tour last year at the 2009 Yamhill County Fair. Kristy delivered a solid preformance of covers, tracks from her album, and one new song. After the concert i got to ask Kristy Lee some questions very quickly while she was signing autographs.

Q- Was the new song "Oh Baby" the song you talked about in your January interview with AOL that Arista wouldn't let you put on your album?

A-Yes, that was the song I was talking about and I find it good that I'm no longer with Arista because they were trying to turn me into something I'm not.

Q-Are you talking with any labels right now?

A-I recently wrote some songs with Lonestar and I am waiting for a chance to go to Nashville to cut them then continue to shop around for labels.

Those were the only questions I could ask because of the line behind me.

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Where Are They Now? : The Wreckers

You remember the Wreckers don't you? The duo that stormed on to the scene with their a number one country hit with there debut single 'Leave The Pieces', then scored a second top ten hit with 'My Oh, My'. They also got numerous award nominations including a Grammy nomination. So they burned up the charts but where are the members Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp now?

Well Jessica is now signed to Warner Bros. Nashville and last February released her solo debut single 'Boy like Me' to country radio which peaked at # 30 on the charts. It was the first single of her major label debut (she previously released an independent album in 2002 titled "Preface") named after what is set to be the second single 'A Woman Needs' which she says was her personal choice for the first single. The album which doesn't have a set release date yet but according to Amazon.com is to be released December 31, 2009.

Title: A Woman Needs

Producer: Jerry Flowers (Bassist of Keith Urban)

Release Date: 2010

Description: Fun and Playful

Theme: Life, Love, Heartbreak

Label: Warner Bros. Nashville

Singles: Boy like Me (# 30), A Woman Needs

Recorded Tracks:

• Boy Like Me


• A Woman Needs


• Homemade Love (with Vince Gill)


• Break-Up Song


• More to This Than You

Michelle on the other hand was previously a teen pop/rock sensation is now continuing on the country route with the same label as Jessica. Michelle who has had success with every thing she tries recently released her debut country single 'Sooner or Later' and it debuted at # 59. 'Sooner' is the first single from her upcoming album "Everything Comes and Goes" which she has stated will be released in November of this year. The album will be her third solo major label (fourth overall) studio album. The sound of album is classified as country but based of the two songs from the album I've heard she is still keeping her previous sound of acoustic/alternative and her sound as a Wrecker close together.

Title: Everything Comes and Goes

Producer: John Shanks, John Levanthal

Release Date: Early 2010

Sound: Country, Acoustic, Alternative

Theme: Wanting It, Loosing It, and Getting It Back

Label: Warner Bros. Nashville

Single: Sooner or Later

Recorded Tracks:

• Sooner or Later


• Crazy Ride


• This Way


• Everything Comes and Goes


• Texas in the Mirror


• Long Goodbye (with Dwight Yoakum)
  
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Deck the Halls for a Carrie Christmas fa la la la....

.... la la la la la la. Yes, Carrie Underwood is doing something special for christmas, but its not an album. It is actually a Christmas Special to be aired on FOX on December 7. Although little is known we do know it will include preformances by Carrie, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, and fellow American Idol Winner David Cook. As info is released you will be informed.

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