CBS using Daughtry's "Ghost of Me" in 'CSI: Miami' promos

Chris Daughtry is no stranger to the CSI franchise, as he has guest starred fulfilling the role of one "Mac Taylor" on the 100th episode of CSI: NY, last year. Now his band's music is being used to promote the eighth season of CSI: Miami. Watch the TV spot featuring "Ghost of Me" below:

This is not the first time Daughtry's music has been featured in promo spots, as five different songs including "Home" and "No Surprise" were used to promote various ESPN programs beginning in July. CSI: Miami kicks off the new season on Mon., Sept. 21.

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Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova" single cover revealed

Apparently the unveiling of Carrie Underwood's latest single, "Cowboy Casanova," came a little earlier than expected thanks to the song leaking last night. Carrie blogged on her official fan club today saying that the song was scheduled to be released next week, but the leak forced her label to get it out there in order to squash any unwanted ramifications.

Speaking of ramifications, last night's "world premiere" of "Cowboy Casanova" on 100.7 The Wolf, a country radio station in Seattle, Wash., was in fact an unofficial version of the song. It featured a more pop feel complete with synths and absent of any true country style, which confused fans for a short period of time before it was confirmed that the version was not the correct one. It was interesting, however, that there was no denying that the more pop-ified version was perhaps a version tweaked for a Top 40 release a la Taylor Swift, so that option still hangs in the balance. Talk about a headache for camp Carrie.

A new item of note regarding the single today comes in the form of its cover art, which will accompany the song's release at digital music retailers next Tuesday. Carrie definitely looks more dolled up here than she does on her album cover for Play On, but it fits the song's edginess and rock feel.

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Lyrics: Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova"

So it may be hard to get Carrie Underwood's new hit-in-the-making single "Cowboy Casanova" out of your head tomorrow, whether you're in the workplace, the classroom or elsewhere, so in order to do Carrie and the song's writers justice, you should at least get the lyrics right if you find yourself singing along.

[VERSE 1]
You better take it from me
That boy is like a disease
You're running
You're trying
You're trying to hide
And you're wondering why you can't get free

He's like a curse
He's like a drug
You get addicted to his love
You wanna get out
But he's holding you down
'Cause you can't live without one more touch

[CHORUS]
He's a good time cowboy casanova
Leaning up against the record machine
Looks like a cool drink of water
But he's candy coated misery

He's the devil in disguise
A snake with blue eyes
And he only comes out at night
Gives you feelings that you don't want to fight
You better run for your life

[VERSE 2]
I see that look on your face
You ain't hearing what I say
So I'll say it again
'Cause a know where you been
And I know how it ends
You can't get away

Don't even look in his eyes
He'll tell you nothin' but lies
And you wanna believe
But you won't be deceived
If you listen to me
And take my advice

[CHORUS]
He's a good time cowboy casanova
Leaning up against the record machine
Looks like a cool drink of water
But he's candy coated misery

He's the devil in disguise
A snake with blue eyes
And he only comes out at night
Gives you feelings that you don't want to fight
You better run for your life

[BRIDGE]
Run, run away
Don't let him mess with your mind
He'll tell you anything you want to hear
He'll break your heart
It's just a matter of time
But just remember

[CHORUS]
He's a good time cowboy casanova
Leaning up against the record machine
Looks like a cool drink of water
But he's candy coated misery

He's the devil in disguise
A snake with blue eyes
And he only comes out at night
Gives you feelings that you don't want to fight
You better run for your life

Oh you better run for your life
Oh you better run for your life

If there is something about this song you cannot deny, it is its catchiness.

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Listen to Carrie Underwood's new single "Cowboy Casanova"

In a somewhat surprising move, Carrie Underwood's label Arista Nashville has added the country superstar's first single off her forthcoming third studio album, Play On, titled "Cowboy Casanova," onto her official YouTube channel. Listen to the song below:

The song is definitely single-worthy and sounds like a rockier mix between "Before He Cheats" and "Last Name." If the chart performances of those two uptempo efforts from Carrie (both went to No. 1 on the U.S. Country chart) are any indication, the outlook appears to be extremely positive for "Casanova."

As for when the single will officially get off the ground, it was rumored that mid-September would be the launching date, but it is now possible we could see a digital release as early as this coming Tuesday, with the adds date at radio being closer to the end of the month.

What does everyone think of this new approach Carrie is taking to launching her new album with an edgier track?

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Poll of the week: Kelly Clarkson is favorite guest judge

It comes as no surprise that of the host of guest judges readers had to choose from in the most recent edition of IDOL LIVE's poll of the week, one was far and away the favorite to permanently replace Paula Abdul as a judge in time for Idol's ninth season.

That was, of course, Kelly Clarkson, who was previously announced as one of the many guest judges to fill Paula's seat during these current audition sessions. Kelly was able to rake in 40 votes, or 44% of all votes cast in the poll. It is interesting to note that most voters in this poll would opt for a career path that would limit the amount of time Kelly could spend touring, writing and recording music in order to fulfill the potential duties of a judge.

Following Kelly was a more likely choice to replace Paula, as Canadian country/pop artist Shania Twain took in 24 votes (26%). No other guest judges were real hits with readers, as the oddest choice for a judge, Neil Patrick Harris, placed third with nine votes (10%), while other more likely choices pulled in even less, like Mary J. Blige's six votes (6%).

In this week's edition of the poll of the week, readers are asked what Paula Abdul should do next in terms of furthering her career. You will have exactly one week to vote.

Victoria Beckham 4 (4%)
Shania Twain 24 (26%)
Mary J. Blige 6 (6%)
Joe Jonas 2 (2%)
Neil Patrick Harris 9 (10%)
Kelly Clarkson 40 (44%)
Katy Perry 5 (5%)

Total votes: 90

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'Idol' Hot 100: "Battlefield" #14 (9/12/09)

All Idol-related tracks on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Sept. 12 saw positive gains, albeit minimal increases.

Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" was up two spots to #14, showing its continued strength as this placement is its third-highest on the chart to date. Also inching back up was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which arrived at its second-highest position on the chart, #22, up one spot from the previous week. It is an understatement to say this single has had a "see-saw" journey on the chart.

And Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" jumped ahead eight spots to #57 this week, marking its best placement on the Hot 100 to date.

Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:

14 16 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield"
22 23 Daughtry, "No Surprise"
57 65 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone"

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Digital sales roundup: "Battlefield" #21 (8/28/09)

Two Idol-related tracks continued to slide on the most recent issue of Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, while one track continued to see steady positive movement.

Kicking things off as usual was Jordin Sparks, whose durable single "Battlefield" fell five spots to #21 thanks to a sales decline of 14%. The track moved another 48k for a total of 850k and looks within reach of platinum status by October.

Next up was Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone," which continued to prove its worth by rising 8% in sales to 34.1k downloads sold for the week. It was up #40-36 and has sold 217.4k to date.

Pulling up the rear was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which held steady at #38 despite slipping in sales by 4% to 33.5k downloads. It has now sold a total of 714k to date.

Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:

21 16 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 48,032 -14% 55,796 850,022
36 40 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone" 34,124 8% 31,543 217,416
38 38 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 33,539 -4% 34,815 713,971

Total sales are in bold.

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Danny Gokey finally gets a record deal

Although it took until September, Danny Gokey has finally revealed to the public that he will in fact be recording an album - a country one at that - thanks to his signing with 19/RCA Nashville.

In a story by Brian Mansfield that appeared earlier today on USAToday.com, the exciting news was reported in a manner that raised some points that are worth reiterating. Firstly, Mansfield said this the first time labels under the Sony-BMG umbrella have signed all Top 4 finalists. This is technically not true, considering the Top 4 from Idol's first season all had deals with labels within the Sony-BMG family, with Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini and Nikki McKibbin being signed with RCA and Tamyra Gray signed with Simon Fuller's 19 Records. Putting this aside, it is amazing to think that Idol's fifth season, which is often used as the gold standard, had only three of the Top 4 finalists signed to an Idol-related label (Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee), so this is a big feat for Danny, Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert.

Secondly, the fact that Danny performed songs of the country genre only three times over the course of his run on Idol is enough to raise a few eyebrows. He always seemed more like an Elliott Yamin-like R&B crooner, but he has been getting good feedback for his Rascal Flatts tunes on the tour, so maybe things won't be too weird. Plus it does not hurt that fans of country music are loyal album purchasers, just ask Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler and Bucky Covington.

As for the release date, that should not be of too much concern. It would be ridiculous if Danny were to record an album - a country album mind you - in about a week in order to have it out in time for the holiday shopping season, but it has been done before (just ask Kristy Lee Cook).

Regardless of how each of the eighth season's Top 4 members' albums fare, it is a healthy signal that the four of them have been snagged by labels under jurisdiction of Sony-BMG. Hopefully they're high on quality and short on gimmicks.

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Kellie Pickler scoops ice cream at CMA Fest

Kellie Pickler was the only Idol alum to be represented on the telecast of the 2009 CMA Music Festival (i.e. Carrie Underwood did not perform). On the show, which was comprised of footage from the event that took place over the course of a few days in Nashville, Tenn., earlier this summer, Kellie was shown scooping her famous "Kellie Pickler" ice cream and portions of the footage below were also shown:

As for the three-hour telecast itself, ABC had a big win thanks to the program, as it hooked in 7.8 million viewers (5.0 rating/8 share), which was up by 2.5 million viewers from last year's special. Maybe Carrie should stay away from next year's show, too?

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