Carrie Underwood receives six ACM Award nominations

Carrie Underwood is already having a great week, and it's only Tuesday. The nominees for the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards were announced this morning on CBS's The Early Show, which revealed that Carrie nabbed six noms in all, tying Miranda Lambert and just one shy of Lady Antebellum. An interesting tidbit is that Carrie is the only Idol-related artist to be nominated for any awards.

This comes one day after Carrie made her guest appearance on the "Hook" episode of CBS's sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

Below are the categories that Carrie has a chance to be victorious in (keep in mind - the "sixth" nomination is Carrie's role as a producer on "Cowboy Casanova" in addition to being the song's artist):

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Toby Keith
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Zac Brown Band

TOP FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Lee Ann Womack

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company(s)]
American Saturday Night - Brad Paisley (Arista Nashville)
Produced by: Chris DuBois, Frank Rogers
Lady Antebellum - Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville)
Produced by: Victoria Shaw, Paul Worley
Play On - Carrie Underwood (19/Arista Nashville)
Produced by: Mark Bright
"Quitter" Produced by Max Martin & Shellback for Maratone Productions and Mark Bright
Revolution - Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville)
Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke
The Foundation - Zac Brown Band (Southern Ground / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)
Produced by: Keith Stegall, Zac Brown

SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood
Composers: Mike Elizondo, Brett James, Carrie Underwood
Publishers: Brett James Cornelius Music (ASCAP), Carrie Okie Music (BMI), Rincon Ave Music
(ASCAP), Stage Three Songs (ASCAP)
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
Composers: Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott
Publishers: EMI Foray Music (BMI), Darth Buddha (ASCAP), Dwhaywood Music (BMI), Hillary Dawn Publishing (SESAC), Radiobullets Publishing (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Year Of The Dog Music (ASCAP)
People Are Crazy - Billy Currington
Composers: Bobby Braddock, Troy Jones
Publishers: Crozier Music Enterprises LLC (BMI), Mighty Nice Music (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tiltawhirl Music (BMI)
White Liar - Miranda Lambert
Composers: Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert
Publishers: Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tiltawhirl Music (BMI)
You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift
Composers: Liz Rose, Taylor Swift
Publishers: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Taylor Swift Music (BMI)

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] (Off Camera Award)
Hillbilly Bone - Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins (Reprise Records / Warner Music Nashville)
Producer: Scott Hendricks
Honky Tonk Stomp - Brooks & Dunn featuring Billy Gibbons (Arista Nashville)
Producer: Ronnie Dunn, Terry McBride
I Told You So - Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis (19/Arista Nashville)
Producer: Mark Bright
I'm Alive - Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews (Blue Chair/BNA)
Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney
Seeing Stars - Jack Ingram featuring Patty Griffin (Big Machine Records)
Produced by: Jack Ingram, Jeremy Stover

Las Vegas' MGM Grand will be the setting for the ACMs, which will be televised live on CBS on Sun., April 18 at 8 p.m.

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Out today: Danny Gokey's 'My Best Days'

The main course in the form of music released by Idol alums this week comes in the dish of Season 8's second-runner-up Danny Gokey's debut album My Best Days.

The album, which is courtesy of RCA Nashville and was produced by Carrie Underwood's producer, Mark Bright, features the first single "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me" in addition to songs like "Tiny Life" and "I Will Not Say Goodbye."

Links to purchase the aforementioned can be found below:

Albums
Danny Gokey, My Best Days

Amazon - ($8.98) - Buy
Amazon MP3 - ($9.99) - Buy
Barnes & Noble - ($9.99) - Buy
Best Buy - ($9.99) - Buy
Buy.com - ($9.99) - Buy
CDUniverse.com - ($9.58) - Buy
iTunes - ($7.99) - Buy
Sears - ($8.99) - Buy
Target - ($8.98) - Buy
Walmart - ($11.88) - Buy

Be sure to read my review of My Best Days and see my prediction of how many units the album will sell in its first week.

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Album review: Danny Gokey's 'My Best Days'

Despite finishing third on the eighth installment of ‘American Idol,’ Danny Gokey opted to take his time before releasing his debut album. Now nearly a year since being eliminated from the competition, Gokey re-enters the musical ring with the Mark Bright-produced ‘My Best Days.’

Leading off the disc’s first single, “My Best Days Are Ahead of Me,” Gokey sets the tone for a more or less traditional country collection of tunes. The up-tempo track penned by Marv Green and Kent Blazy embodies a positive message about looking forward to life’s windy road, which fits perfectly on country radio between offerings from the likes of the Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley.

On “Like That’s a Bad Thing,” Gokey does a good job throwing his hat into the country/rock arena. “Get Away” is another up-tempo track bursting with energy that benefits the most by Gokey’s powerful vocals.

“I Still Believe” is probably the best bet for single no. 2, as it features relevant lyrics (“never saw a man walk on water / never met a man who walked on water / but I still believe”) and it is very catchy. Think modern country at its finest. Another ballad, “Tiny Life,” is steel guitar-clad and builds at the bridge to an impressive finale. It is probably the album’s best track, as it carries with it a moving message and is very radio-friendly.

Like a lot of the songs found on ‘My Best Days,’ “It’s Only” has a nice message threaded into its lyrics and the gentle instrumentation is ear-pleasing, but it comes off sounding like a rip-off of something Carrie Underwood would put out.

Despite getting off to a good start on the album, there are also a few bumps. “Life On Ya” is a little corny and sounds too similar to “My Best Days,” but it sounds like something Gokey would have fun performing live. “Crazy Not to” is boringly sweet, and is really only a filler track. Nothing more, nothing less.

And the album’s weakest song comes on its ninth track, as “Be Somebody” doesn’t really make sense and is composed of various clichés. This makes it hard to figure out why it was included in the final track list.

Gokey closes out ‘My Best Days’ with the heartfelt ballad “I Will Not Say Goodbye,” a tribute of sorts to his deceased wife Sophia. It’s a little reminiscent of previous country hits like Lonestar’s “I’m Already There,” but its without a doubt the most sincere offering on the whole disc.

In summary, Danny Gokey puts up an honest effort and actually gives viewers a surprisingly strong country effort, especially for a debut. If he surrounds himself with the right people in the industry, he could be looking at a long career and may in fact be the second-biggest country act to come out of ‘Idol.’

Danny Gokey's My Best Days will be released on Tues., March 2, and is now available to pre-order at Amazon.com for $8.98 and iTunes for $7.99.

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Album review: Carrie Underwood's 'Play On'

Fresh off another multi-platinum-selling record, proven country luminary Carrie Underwood delivers her most artistically viable package in ‘Play On.’ Although it is not as commercially friendly as her two previous albums, ‘Play On’ serves as a crucial maturing point in Underwood’s career.

‘Play On’ is a more tried and true country offering than Underwood’s previous albums, and everything from the instrumentation to the lyrical material reflects this. Producer Mark Bright is responsible for a large portion of the album’s diversity, but Underwood’s unique touch plays an equal role.

Kicking the disc off with the up-tempo “Cowboy Casanova,” Underwood signals that she means business. The scorned woman-themed country rock track includes staccato phrases in the verses that show off her ability to tell a stylized story through her vocals. This is not the only track where she dabbles in this subject, however, as the Kara DioGuardi co-penned “Undo It” strikes a similar chord.

The majority of ‘Play On’ is more relaxed and “back roads country,” though, especially seen in tracks like “Someday When I Stop Loving You” and “Look At Me.” These songs are Opry-certified and definitely appeal to the country music fan of yesterday.

At the same time, there are plenty of cuts that appeal to Underwood’s younger fans like “This Time” and “Unapologize.” The former is a radio-friendly track features poppy instrumentation and a universal theme of an ode to youthfulness in its lyrics (“Life is short / love is sweet / ain’t no time like this time baby”). The latter is a mid-tempo boasting writing credits by Raine Maida and wife Chantal Kreviazuk that allows Underwood to explore a deep, tender area without coming off as another Louisville slugger-wielding maniac.

Some light-hearted fare includes the self-conscious “Quitter,” which Max Martin had a hand in writing, and “Songs Like This,” which delivers a short but salty message to guys that have made things difficult for Underwood in some way.

One of the most heartfelt tracks on the album is “Change,” which presents listeners with moral dilemmas and confronts people with the notion that anyone can make a difference in this world. The rousing bridge is one of the liveliest moments of the album and Underwood’s vocals are remarkably controlled. “Mama’s Song” is another touching lyrical offering even though the overall product is slightly boring.

But the most beautiful song on ‘Play On’ (and quite possibly Underwood’s career to date) comes eighth on the track list. “Temporary Home” is effective not only because of its simple production and tender vocals, but for its emotional lyrics as well (“This is my temporary home / it’s not where I belong / windows and rooms / that I’m passing through / this is just a stop / on the way to where I‘m going / I’m not afraid because I know / this is my temporary home”). This is the song that will win Underwood her most deserved Grammy.

On “What Can I Say,” Underwood gets a little help from Sons of Sylvia, resulting in an affectionate duet with perfectly complementary vocals. The song does a great job allowing Underwood to reach into her falsetto and display her stunning range.

To close out the album, Underwood selects its title track to tie all the diverse ends together. The message etched in the track’s lyrics is applicable to any situation in life (“Play on / when you’re losing the game / play on / cause you’re gonna make mistakes / it’s always worth a sacrifice / even when you think you’re wrong / so play on”).

Sometimes when an artist has a good thing going, it doesn’t hurt to stick on a path. Carrie Underwood demonstrates this admirably, and despite some minor imperfections, ‘Play On’ is a fusion of old time country with new styles to result in an eclectic collection for all ages.

Play On will be released on Tues., Nov. 3, and can now be pre-ordered on Amazon.com.

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Carrie Underwood's 'Play On' out Nov. 3

After months of waiting, we finally know the album title and cover art of Carrie Underwood's highly anticipated third studio album - Play On. The notification came in the form of a news item posted on Carrie's official Web site, which was accompanied by an update sent out to the country star's following on Facebook. Per the news item:

Releasing November 3, Play On draws its title from the name of a song featured on the new album, but it’s certainly appropriate for the feelings of the countless fans who’ve come to love Carrie’s music over the past four years. Since the release of her debut album in 2005, Underwood has amassed sales of more than 10 million albums with Some Hearts and 2007’s Carnival Ride.

The album is once again produced by Mark Bright (Some Hearts, Carnival Ride) and the yet-to-be identified first single will be released in mid-September and is rumored to be the uptempo "Cowboy Casanova."

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Stars come out for Carrie in Nashville

Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride tour has been generating such positive reviews that a bunch of celebs - including a few Idol family members - decided to come out and see what all the buzz was about at her Nashville stop last night at the Sommet Center.

Among the 10,000 audience members in attendance in the music city, a partial list of celebs includes Simon Cowell, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Mark Bright (produced Some Hearts and Carnival Ride), Ashley Clark and Roman White (directed all of Carrie's music videos).

Watch a clip of "Wasted" from the show below:



In addition to her long and impressive original setlist in her 100 minutes on stage, Carrie was able to throw in covers of Guns n' Roses' "Paradise City" and Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" with Little Big Town.

In addition to her tour, Carrie will take a break to tape a special at the Grand Ole Opry on Tues., Dec. 16, which will air on GAC on Sat., Dec. 20.

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