Tag: Kelly Clarkson (11-20 of 80)

Dec 19 2012 09:51 AM ET

Best and Worst 2012: The year in country music

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Ah, what a year in music it’s been! Here at EW, we’ve been in retrospective overdrive, looking back at the best and worst albums, singles, lyrics, and soundtracks that 2012 had to offer.

But since I’m already primed to hop onto a plane and head home down South for the holidays, I thought it might be fun to take let my music tastes do the same and take a deep-dive into the country music world. Here’s my take on the year that was — country music style:

BEST: Little Big Town The hard-working quartet has always had the respect of Nashville for their on-point harmonies and sumptuous live performances, so it was nice to see them find true mainstream success in 2012. “Pontoon” was a fresh, tongue-in-cheek summer smash that motorboated all the way to No. 1.

BEST: Eric Church With a sand-papery voice, a trademark baseball cap (which have now officially replaced cowboy hats), a drink in his hand, and some genuinely great melodies, Eric Church joined country’s A-list this year. “Springsteen” was a wide-open crossover hit that gave his confidently country disc Chief the mainstream appeal it deserved. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Chief won the CMA Award for Album of the Year, either. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 5 2012 11:05 PM ET

Grammy nominations announced: Frank Ocean, fun., and the Black Keys dominate

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Taylor Swift wasn’t the only one with surprise face at Wednesday night’s Grammy nomination concert.

A partial list of the nods for the 55th Annual Grammy Awards were revealed in a live televised concert event tonight, and it produced a fair share of bookie-flouting snubs and nods.

The show, which took place in Nashville under the watch of awkward-slash-charming cohosts Swift and LL Cool J, handed out a slew of golden-ticket invites to the February ceremony: First-timers Frank Ocean and fun. nabbed multiple (and fairly anticipated) nominations — including Best New Artist and Record of the Year — as did fellow rookies Gotye, Hunter Hayes, the Lumineers, Ed Sheeran, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Alabama Shakes.

A partial sampling of the nominees (for the full list, click here): READ FULL STORY »

Nov 12 2012 11:07 AM ET

Kelly Clarkson walks on water for 'Catch My Breath' video: Watch it here

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Kelly Clarkson’s voice is so commanding that she’s never really needed much in the way of visual flair to help carry her songs (save for the occasional wacky Halloween costume, of course).

True to form, the clip for Clarkson’s new single “Catch My Breath” — one of two new songs that appears on her forthcoming compilation Greatest Hits — Chapter One – is relatively basic: it’s little more than a series of shots of Clarkson looking glamorous while seemingly hovering above a pool of water.

There are some other cool H20 effects, but this is mostly about the performance. Check it out below: READ FULL STORY »

Nov 2 2012 12:06 PM ET

CMA Awards: Best and worst of the broadcast

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The real winners were announced last night at the 46th Annual Country Music Association Awards. But here are a few more honors from the telecast you should feel free to weigh in on:

Best Hosts: There really aren’t enough superlatives to describe the effervescent duo of Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood — they’re simply the best. If you were to look through the last five years of Oscar/Grammy/Tony/Emmy telecasts, you’d be hard pressed to find one joke that could compete with Paisleywood’s opening monologue. Their goofy (and increasingly saucy) hosting style always brings the laughs, and they keep the show moving briskly. On top of that, they both performed their own singles, delivered heartfelt tributes to Andy Griffith and Connie Smith, and demonstrated impressive “Gangnam Style” technique. Do better than that, Seth MacFarlane.

Best performance: I’m a sucker for the CMA Awards’ tribute performances (I still get a little teary thinking about last year’s Glen Campbell effort), and this year’s Willie Nelson-centered medley was no exception. Charles Kelly and Hillary Scott (of Lady Antebellum) sounded terrific on “Always on My Mind,” as did Blake Shelton and Keith Urban on “Whiskey River” and Faith Hill and Tim McGraw on “Good Hearted Woman.” The whole thing felt so warm that when Nelson himself took the stage and sang ”The life I love is making music with my friends,” (from “On the Road Again”), you really believed it was happening in that moment. Watch below. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 1 2012 12:42 PM ET

Who should win at the CMA Awards? -- POLLS

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Tonight is country music’s biggest night. The 46th annual Country Music Association Awards will air at 8:00 p.m. on ABC, and it’s already shaping up to be a great show.

Why? Well, because the CMA Awards are always a great show. In an overcrowded field of country awards (ACAs, I still haven’t warmed up to you), the CMA Awards remain the most prestigious — and most entertaining — of the bunch.

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, who have become quite the formidable comic duo, are returning for a fifth year as hosts (check out their interview about the show here), and performances from stars like Kelly Clarkson and The Band Perry, both of whom will perform new singles, as well as Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean will keep the night rocking.

But at the center of the awards are still, believe it or not, the actual awards! We’ve already given you our thoughts on all the nominations (as well as all the snubs and surprises), but now let’s handicap who might win in the major categories. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 29 2012 06:59 PM ET

Kelly Clarkson releases new single with Vince Gill -- Listen here

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Kelly Clarkson is adding to her country music resume.

The former American Idol winner, who has multiple CMA nominations and a duet with Jason Aldean under her belt, released a new duet with country legend Vince Gill on Monday titled “Don’t Rush.” Listen below!

READ FULL STORY »

Oct 17 2012 01:00 PM ET

How Mumford & Sons and Taylor Swift are causing a seismic shift in the music industry

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The biggest debut of 2012 doesn’t belong to a glossy pop act like One Direction or Justin Bieber.

Sure, those boys have hordes of teenage girls ready to download their music at the drop of a tweet, but they’ve got nothing on the scruffy gents of Mumford & Sons, whose new disc, Babel sold 600,000 copies in its first seven days. (The next-best opening? Bieber’s Believe, with 374,000 in week 1.)

Babel‘s success (it has now led the chart for three weeks and sold 865,000 copies total) is indicative of a larger shift within the music industry. As pop music morphs into a glow-stick dance party, country acts have adopted the traditional pop sound. That leaves Mumford and the burgeoning Americana and folk genres (think acoustic guitars, banjos, and innumerable fitted tweed vests) to fill the country void. Did you get all that? Allow us to break it down. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 10 2012 12:05 PM ET

Kelly Clarkson releases new single 'Catch My Breath': Hear it here

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Don’t worry, Kelly Clarkson fans: the premier American Idol winner has resolved her respiratory issues.

After getting her breath taken from her via the music of Berlin, Clarkson has regained said breath, as evidenced by “Catch My Breath,” the new song she debuted to Ryan Seacrest this morning. Breath.

As Clarkson wrote on her site last week, “This song represents who I’ve been, what I’ve felt, and where I’m headed as not only an artist but as a 30-year-old that is now smart enough to know that it’s time to stop, catch my breath, and be proud of not only what has been accomplished but of all the people that have helped me become the woman I am today.”

The track, which she co-wrote with longtime friend Jason Halbert and Eric Olson, serves as the first single from her upcoming Greatest Hits — Chapter 1 compilation, which hits streets Nov. 16.

Give it a listen below and let us know what you think:

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 26 2012 11:35 AM ET

Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson and more to perform at CMA Awards

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ABC has announced the first crop of performers for the 46th Annual CMA Awards and it’s shaping up to be a powerhouse show.

Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Kelly Clarkson, and Little Big Town will all take the stage on Nov. 1. Aldean currently holds the title for CMA Album of the Year and shared the prize for Musical Event of the Year with Clarkson for their duet “Don’t You Want to Stay.” Meanwhile, Clarkson has received a nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year, though she faces some tough competition from Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Taylor Swift, and Carrie Underwood. Bentley is up for three awards — Album of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year — while Little Big Town has also received a trio of nods for Single of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Music Video of the Year.

Tickets for the CMA Awards will go on sale on Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. CT. You can purchase them here.

Read more:
Jason Aldean debuts title track of new album ‘Night Train’ live (and it’s awesome) — VIDEO
CMA Awards 2012: Snubs and surprises
CMA Awards: Eric Church leads noms (and Snoop Dogg’s in the house!)

Sep 22 2012 04:11 PM ET

'American Idol' roundup: Kelly Clarkson's latest goes platinum, Kris Allen splits with RCA

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Over the past 11 years American Idol has played host to 133 different finalists vying for a shot at belting out a coronation anthem at the Nokia.

As such, keeping track of all the goings-on of American Idol alumni can be a daunting task — but hey, it’s a whole lot more fun than speculating about the judging panel lineup.

Here’s what’s going on with your favorite American Idol stars:

KELLY CLARKSON: The best news of the week is for the original Idol, whose fifth album Stronger was certified platinum for shipments of 1 million copies. Driven by the success of “Mr. Know It All” and the album’s smash hit title track — not to mention Clarkson’s always-viral concert covers (Watch some HERE and HERE) — Stronger reached a sales level that Clarkson couldn’t achieve with her 2009 disc All I Ever Wanted, which included the hit “My Life Would Suck Without You” and sold just under 950,000 copies total.

While Stronger has, at this point, sold less than that (929,000 copies), it’s tally will overtake All I Ever‘s sales total in a few weeks. Not many artists can say they’re selling better in 2012 than they were in 2009, so it’s a testament to Clarkson’s widespread appeal and true talent that she’s remained a viable pop (and increasingly country) commodity. READ FULL STORY »

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