Well, another year has come and gone. Personally, I think 2007 was good to Country Music fans everywhere. Sure, there was some great loss as a few of the classic country music singers of the past passed on but there was also much to celebrate. Carrie Underwood's debut CD continued to rule with some great singles. It's still selling well now, even with her new at the top of the charts. Josh Turner joined the Grand Ole Opry while Charlie Daniels was invited to join. Sugarland released one of their best song yet and managed to rule the charts with it, even though it was a very simple song. Alan Jackson, Vince Gill and other well respected performers came back with successful albums that were also well-reviewed. 2007 also brought us one of Brad Paisley's best works yet, 5th Gear and LeAnn's Family. Country artists also held the top three spots on the Billboard 200 for what was said to be the first time.

GAC continued to be my favorite way to see Country Music Videos and keep up with what's next. In a time when so many other video channels are abandoning the music for reality fare, the channel has been a good option for music lovers everywhere.

As we end one year and begin another, Country is also giving us much to look forward to. New Country Music CDs from Dolly Parton, Alan Jackson, Shania Twain and others are scheduled for early this year. I hope these releases can kick retail butt like some of the releases from late 2007, continuing to prove that if a quality CD is released, the fans will buy it. I also hope that the new singles from Lila McCann, Danielle Peck and LeAnn will be huge hits. The women need to get more radio play and these three are too talented to not be successful.

Well, that's all for this year!! I hope you all have a wonderful night and please do stay safe! Remember to make sure you've got a safe ride home if you're going out drinking. Happy '08, everyone!!

Good morning, Country Music fans!!! Remember when I mentioned borrowing Trace Adkins' new book from the library? Well, I just finished it and what a read it was! The Country Music singer pulled no punches in discussing  the environment, football, the war on terror and more. While his positions may be a bit controversial (he thinks we need to go in there and fight to win, not fight clean and that global warming is simply a thing that was bound to happen as part of a natural cycle regardless of anything we do), he is passionate about them and draws you right in. It's a must for anyone with an interest in or studying politics.

For the Trace fans out there, there's plenty more to keep you interested. The star talks about his childhood, his long struggle to make it in Country Music and even discusses some of the Country Music songs he made popular.

On a personal note, I almost felt like I was sitting and talking with my boyfriend while reading this book. From the details of growing up in a small town and playing High School to his poilitical ideals, some of it was almost word-for-word what the B/F and I have talked about over the years. On a funny note, I read some parts to him yesterday and he actually said that those spippets tempted him to buy a Trace Adkins CD even though he's not a fan of the newer Country.

Hello out there, Country Music fans!! I know I usually put positive stuff here on the blog, but it can't all be sunshine and roses. There were a few things I didn't really like this year. Here are some of them...

Martina McBride, "Anyway". Despite Martina's great vocals, I could not stand this one. The lyrics are so-so and video only makes the song worse, in my opinion. I felt like Martina was trying way too hard to have an inspirational message song and she pulled out every cliche in the book to do it. Next time, let's get a little more material from more seasoned writers. Also, it just seemed like an excuse for her to glory note through most of it. Let's remember guys... less is more (yes, I'm looking at you Faith and Carrie).

Brooks and Dunn, "God Must Be Busy". This one seems to get a lot of hate, actually. My issues with it, however, have nothing to do with what I've seen elswhere. Many people are complaining, saying how dare they imply God is too busy. I don't interpret the song that way. I think it's more about the fact that he's busy cause there is so much craziness out there. However, I still think this is a boring song full of trite pandering to the typical audience. It also manages to breeze through about any major issue you can think of, which does little to really put any insight into the issues. If you're going to be all political in a song why not have a little more focus?

Phil Vassar, "This is My Life". I like the music and vocals, but this is far from his best work. Like Brooks and Dunn, he just seemed to name drop a bunch of issues that would get people stirred up without offering real insights into anything.

Toby Keith, "High Maintinence Woman". I haven't got a whole lot to say about this one. It's hard to even articulate why I don't like it, but it just bug me for some reason. Every time I saw the video come on or heard it start on the radio, I had a gut reaction to change it.

Sara Evans, "You'll Always Be My Baby". This is another song I just found completely boring and way too preachy. I also was unhappy with her vocals here, although usually I like her recorded stuff. Let's just say this is another one I hurried to turn off any time it came on.

To end on a bit of a positive note, I loved these songs and hope the artists get more success in 08: Sara Johns, "The One in the Middle"; Danielle Peck, "Bad for Me"; Josh Turner, "Firecracker"; Gary Allan, "Watching Airplanes".

That's about all for now. Take care and see you next time Country Music fans!! :)

Well, Country Music fans... it looks like it was a pretty quiet week this week. From what I can see the top ten seems virtually unchanged so I'm not going to post the top 10 this week. I will, however, mention a few singles...

Both Brad Paisley and Gary Allen have hit the top 10 on the Country Music songs chart this week. Brad's "Lett to Me" comes in at #9, while "Watching Airplanes" is at #10. Go them! Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood's "All-American Girl" has moved up to #22 after only a few weeks out. It also earned a "Greatest Gainer" designation. Speaking of jumps... Sugarland just might begin 2008 with a #1 hit. This week, "Stay" came in second to Taylor Swift's "Our Song".

In other Taylor Swift news, the Country Music singer told GAC that she is hard at work already on her follow-up CD. Can lightening strike twice? We'll see. Afterall, it did for Carrie Underwood. Her second Country Music CD, Carnival Ride has already been certified 2X platinum.

That's all for this post. Check out some more Year-End Review coming soon. Til then, take care and "play something Country!"

Good morning, Country Music fans!! I hope everyone had a great Holiday. I spent the day just sitting around watching movies with my Boyfriend. It was the perfect remedy to the usual Holiday family drama. How did you all spend your holidays? I'd love for you to share stories here in the comments section.

Now, let's get back to the topic! Country Music. I was browsing around in the Library yesterday when I discovered they had a copy of Trace Adkins book. Naturally, I snatched it right up. So far? I'm very pleased. I'll post more complete thoughts when I've finished the book.

Guess what, Reba fans? You have something more to look forward too soon. According to CMT, she's releasing an exclusive CD at Hallmark stores. This should be enough to tide y'all over until a full new CD is released. Based on the description, I'd guess a Februsry release. Maybe late January. Meanwhile, her duets CD is still on the charts. I'll post more about that in a bit.

That's all for this post. Check out my look at the Billboard Charts and other stuff a little later. Til then, take care and "play something country!"

Good morning one and all!! There's some good news on the singles front, Country Music fans. Carrie Underwood is releasing "All American Girl", while LeAnn is releasing "Good Friend and a Glass of Wine" for their second single. I would have liked to have seen Carrie put out "Flat on the Floor" next to really mix it up, but there's plenty of time for that later. Right now, I guess "AAG" is not all that bad of a choice. It's a Carrie-written track and very catchy. LeAnn, on the other hand... I can't think of another song I think would have been better than this for a second single. It's a very catchy anthem kind of song that fans will surely love. Still waiting to see "What I Cannot Change" or "Nothing Wrong" get released eventually, though.

In other Country Music news, I got Brad Paisley's Christmas CD the other day (or, more acuarately, the B/F got it for me as an early present). It's a great listen! Brad did several holiday classics as well as writing some new tracks for it. For the classic tunes, Brad chose a very simple Country arrangement musically and sang them in a very low-key way. It's a nice change from the over-singing that often happens with Christmas songs.

Well, that's about it for now. Tomorrow starts all our Christmas festivities, so I might not get back to posting until the 26th. If I don't post until then, have a great holiday everyone!! Meanwhile, why not post a comment here letting me know what some of your favorite Chistmas songs are? I'd love to hear them! Also, what do you all think about Carrie and LeAnn's single choices? Later y'all! Take care, and "play something Country!"

The Country Music singer is diversifying. While it seems to be the trend now for singers to release perfumes or clothing lines, Miranda Lambert's branching out in a different way. By making wine. Yes, you read that right. This is a bit surprising to me, but somehow it just fits her. It should be interesting to see how the brand works out long-term.

Keeping with the spirit of "year-end review", check out some of the CMT staffs favorite Country Music CDs of the year. I agree with quite a few of their picks, and am pleased to see a mention for LeAnn's Family. Brad Paisley is also an entry on most of their lists and it's well-deserved.

In less happy news, I read on a message board that SHeDaisy will be releasing a Greatest Hits CD before long. Considering the fact they haven't been out there much lately, I can't see a release like that as a good thing, especially if there are no new tracks. I'll keep y'all posted as I find out more.  

Take care until next time, Country Music fans!! And be sure to share your thoughts here in the comments on any of the stories you've read here.

Hello, Country Music fans. I hope y'all are having a great Holiday season so far. I'm back once again to share some of my favorites of the year. This time, singles. I'm listing these is random order.

Trace Adkins, "I Wanna Feel Something". I loved this one. I'm so used to Trace doing something more quirky, so seeing him sing a serious song again was nice. Here's hoping for more in 2008.

Kellie Pickler, "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind". This is just a fun song. The lyrics are clever and very true. While I don't personally sit there wondering all the time about how my jeans make me look or whether someone's drapes and carpet match, I have thought things like that here or there and I can definitely see myself doing that before any guy would. :)

Emerson Drive, "Moments". This song is exactly why I love Country Music. While some of the lyrics can be seen as a bit cheesy, it's a true story song that managed to touch me. I came to love the song even more after seeing them perform it on the Opry birthday bash.

Taylor Swift, "Our Song"; Sugarland, "Stay" and LeAnn Rimes, "Nothing Better to Do". I'm putting these all together because I've already spoken about them on the blog, but I thought they deserved a mention on the year-end list.

That's all for now! Stay tuned, cause it's not over yet. I'll have more favorites (and not-so-favorites) coming over the next few days. Til then, stay safe and "play something country!"

Good morning, Country Music fans!! Hope everyone is doing well. It's thrusday, so you know what that means: it's time to take a look at the billboard charts. There are quite a few surprises in store here, too.

10) George Strait, 22 More Hits. Ulike some of the other Greatest collections this year, it actually saw an increase this week.

9) Keith Urban, Greatest Hits. Keith actually managed to keep his position from last week. Let's see if he and George can actually keep this up. If so, they'd be among the few to do it.

8) Reba, Duets. The legendary Country Music singer lost a little ground this week, but still- Duets has been doing great, staying near the top of the list ever since it was released.

7) Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand.  This week, they moved up three spots and I'm thrilled. Alison is one of the best vocalists out there, but she seems to have a hard time getting hits all on her own. Hopefully, the success of this project will help her out with that in the future.

6) Sugarland, Enjoy the Ride. This is the CD that just won't die.It keeps this position for yet another week.

5) Rascal Flatts, Still Feels Good. The trio brings a bit more stability to the top 10, keeping the #5 spot for another week.

4) Garth Brooks, Ultimate Hits. The country music singer who just can't stay in retirement lost a little ground this week, as he fell one spot.

3) Carrie Underwood, Carnival Ride. Carrie's lost a little ground from last week, but she's still hanging in there near the top. Who managed to take her down a notch (literally)?

2) Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift. This is slightly shocking, yet not totally unexpected. I figured she'd seel an increase after "Our Song" hit #1 on the Country Music singles charts, but I didn't expect her to outsell Carrie's CD.

1) The Eagles, Long Road Out of Eden. Are we even surprised? I know I'm not. The success of the Eagles is going to be one of the big stories on all the year end charts and I say good for them! We need more people like them to come back and do something huge like this to help revive the Industry. I think this is the whole reason that Country Music has been one of the last genres to suffer a decrease in sales, because there are genuine artists out there writing and performing their own stuff. No wonder people are moving towards that genre now.  

Just thought I'd share a few things coming on TV over the next few days Country Music fans won't want to miss.

December 19th, 8PM on GAC. Trace Adkins: American Man. It's a concert special that shows live performances mixed in with interviews and other off-stage footage of the country music singer. It's a can't miss for any Trace fans out there.

December 20th, 8PM on GAC. Best of CMAA 2007. The awards had so many great moments. If you missed any of them, make sure you catch this for the highlights. I'm guessing Sugarland's performance of "Stay", Taylor Swift's Horizon Award acceptance speech and The Eagles performance are going to be among the clips shown.

December 20th, 4:30PM on CMT. Billy Ray Cyrus: Home at Last. Two episodes of the reality show are going to air back-to-back. If you are a fan of his and you haven't seen this yet, check it out. It's a fun watch.

December 20th, 11:00 PM on CMT. Crossroads: Kelly Clarkson/Reba. Anyone who plans on going to their tour in the new year should check this out. If you're undecided about going, this great performance might just make up your mind. It's one of my favorite episodes.

Hey there, Country Music fans. It's me again, ready to offer up some more news and reviews. Once again, I'll be looking at the year in Country music today with some of my favorite album tracks of the year. Some of these were actually released this year, others I discovered this year. Here they are, in no special order.

Sugarland's "Mean Girls" from Enjoy the Ride. The first time I heard this song, I was hooked. It's a fast-paced song that talks about the sometimes catty nature of women. Jennifer's Vocals are awesome, full of attitude and they're clearly just having fun with it. I dare you to put this one on and not get up and dance (or at least sing along!)

Brad Paisley's "Hey Mr. Police Man" from 5th Gear. Again, this is a fast track that really makes you wanna move. The guitar playing in the song emphasises just how talented a musician he really is. The lyrics are not deep by any means, but they're catchy and clever. Like Sugarland, he's just trying to have a good time with this one and it works.

Kellie Pickler's "My Angel" from Small Town Girl. This is a very simple and uncomplicated track that wins my vote for personal reasons. It's about Kellie's relationship with the Grandmother who raised her. I had a very similar relationship to mine. She shaped a lot of my childhood and this one always makes me think of her.

Taylor Swift's "Picture to Burn" from her self-titled Debut Country Music CD and Carrie Underwood's "Last Name" from Carnival Ride. I put these two together because I already mentioned them in previous blog posts, but I wanted to make a brief mention of them as favorites for the year.

Chris Young's "White Lightening Hit the Family Tree" and "Flowers" from his self-titled debut. All I have to say about this one is, if you have family you are around often, you're going to relate to this. It's all about a family reunion that goes crazy and he sings it perfectly. The second song is totally different, as Chris takes on the role of a man who killed someone he loves in an accident after he'd been drinking. The first time I heard it this year, I just about fell off my seat. It's very moving.

Well, that's all for now. Join me another time when I share some more of my favorites (and not so favorites) in music this year. Til then, take care and "play something country!"

Last time, I shared some stuff I loved about 2007. I have more of those in store. This time, Country Music fans, I thought I would share a couple things that disappointed this year.

Miranda Lambert's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and LeAnn Rimes' Family. No, I'm not contridicting my good reviews of them. They're two of my favorite Country Music CDs. What I am disappointed in, however, is how they've done so far. They deserve far more attention and sales then they are getting. Hopefully Miranda's "Gunpower and Lead" and LeAnn's "Good Friend and a Glass of Wine" will help the CDs have a much better 2008.

Brad Paisley's "Ticks". That was just... strange. Normally, I love Brad's funnier stuff, but this song did nothing for me. Thankfully, he released "Online" and "Letter to Me" and redeemed himself.

CMT. I got even more into Country Music thanks to finally being able to get CMT and GAC on cable, since they are the only music stations on regular cable to actually play music videos. Sadly, CMT seems to be trying to follow in VH1 and MTV's footsteps and become yet another network to peddle reality TV shows about tricking cars and other lame stuff like that. These types of shows seem to be on CMT more often than not. The only reason I like Home At Last is because it is a show actually about a musician and showing what he deals with. The other stuff, I couldn't care less. If I did, there are plenty of other channels to choose from. Most people turn on a music channel because they want to hear music or see shows about music. And labels wonder why the industry is suffering...

Well, Country Music fans... that's all for now. I'll be posting more this weekend about some more favorites and not-so-favorites. Enjoy em!! Feel free to post your own in the comments. Til next time, take care and "play something country!"