If it’s close to fall, then the heavyweights of the industry must be jockeying for position on the shelves of CDs for Christmas purchases. From a country standpoint, two of the more high profile releases in the next few months are Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood. Carrie’s release Play On (due November 3rd) just got a nice PR bump due to a leak on the Internet, originally from a radio recording, but followed shortly after by a clean version. “Cowboy Casanova” has some similarities to “Before He Cheats”, but this recipe is 1/3 “Cheats”, spiced up with 1/3 “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” remixed, and blended in a 1/3 Shania Twain sassiness. At first listen, I was taken aback, but damn, if that’s not a catchy tune, I don’t know what is. Watch for this one on the Pop charts in the near future, as there’s got to be a non-country mix of this. (h/t Bill’s Top 40/Pop Blog)
Tim, on the other hand, is doing what he does best, with a clever set of lyrics talking about how much “pain” his relationship inflicts on him. The full-length disc out on October 20th is called Southern Voice, and it’s already up to preview on iTunes. You might recall the drama a year ago surrounding the release of this CD getting pushed back by Curb to make way for a miserably-selling Greatest Hits 3. We’ll have to wait and see what Tim’s next move is, now that his contract is fulfilled with Curb, but I can’t imagine he’s going to hang around. Originally I thought there might be a Live Nation deal in Tim’s future. Wouldn’t it be interesting if they set up a deal with Tim AND his wife, Faith Hill? Just food for thought.
Here’s the first single from Southern Voice entitled “It’s a Business Doing Pleasure With You”.
– First off, if you haven’t already done so, head on over 
As I was coming up with Idol artists to write about 
One of the more fascinating elements of the American Idol phenomenon for me is watching the chart success (or failure, in most cases) once they leave the show. This becomes even more interesting for me because I have rarely picked the winner early on, because I’m going off of who fits my taste, rather than America’s as a whole. While there have been some no-brainers (Carrie Underwood, anyone?), who would have picked Jordin or Kris to win it all back in the audition process?
Next stop on the Sophomore Express is Leave This Town, the second release for fourth-place Chris Daughtry and his eponymous band. Billboard declared his debut CD the fastest-selling debut rock record of the Soundscan era, and the numbers bear that out. #1 for two weeks, over 4 million sold and counting, and five Top 25 hits, including two Top fives (“It’s Not Over” and “Home”). It would be an understatement to say that RCA is banking on a huge opening week for this when it hits shelves on July 14th, but I honestly can’t think of a clearer sure-shot hit for the month of July than this one. First single “No Surprise” doesn’t stray far from the first record’s formula, and has already conquered multiple formats. Chris would have to go on a killing spree in a Baptist church in order to kill the momentum he’s currently got.
For every sure-fire Idol hit, there are going to be multiple non-starters, and Elliott Yamin’s 2nd CD falls into that category. Coming off of a surprise hit debut, which sold close to 100,000 units in its first week, Fight for Love hasn’t even come close. The record debuted mid-May at 26, but the sales were only a fraction of the first record, and the first single (also called 
Based on the horrible quality of last night’s contestants, Nick Mitchell, aka Norman Gentle, will get through to the Final 12 tonight. And yes, I voted for him. He was far and away the best part of last night’s show. Stay tuned…
– How about America’s Next Top Drama Queen, Tatiana! If VH1 can hand out the title of Best Week Ever, then maybe we should award the Worst Week Ever to Ms. Del Toro. Despite the fact that she had moments of brilliance on Tuesday night (mixed in with moments of mediocrity), the judges who supposedly put her through to this round were completely SHOCKED that she could sing. She’s delusional enough to work around that, though. Tonight, on the other hand, was just downright cruel. American Idol truly slipped to a new low, as the producers held Tatiana out for the final judgment against Danny Gokey, who most have already pegged to make it to the top 2. The news had to be broken to her at some point, but the true cruelty was in following her emotional breakdown all through Danny’s repeat performance of “Hero”. It was just downright evil. Speaking of evil…
– America gets the whole picture. While there was talk that Anoop Desai was destined for Top 12 greatness, a buzz was also building for Michael (formerly Jeremy) Sarver. The fact that the vote was so close between the two of them shows that folks took into account the full history of their performances, because if the viewers hadn’t taken that into account, Ricky Braddy should have easily had Michael’s spot in the top 3. Chances are good that both Desai and Braddy will be back for the Wildcard round.
– You only get one shot. Jackie Tohn, Anne Marie Boskovich, and Brian Keith…it’s been nice knowing you. Anne Marie might make it back to the Wildcard round, but all three took major falls from contenders to also-rans based on one performance. And let’s not even get into the rest of the ladies. The guys really do have the upper hand this year, with the exception of Alexis Grace, who was miles away from her female counterparts.
So Hollywood Week, with all of its drama, wrapped up this week on American Idol, and it’s hard to know where we stand, since it’s been a bit of a cluster this season so far. However, I do think we have some clear answers on certain aspects:
– Talent can shine through – I will, begrudgingly, use Von Smith as an example. Up until Wednesday night, I was extremely opposed to Von going on to the Top 36, based on some of the most bombastic performances ever seen on Idol. Problem was, boy actually can sing, and he apparently took Simon’s criticism to heart the final day of Hollywood Week, performing a much more subdued song in his final audition. Well played, Von…well played.
One whole hour of auditions, and I wrote down six names of folks I was impressed by. Not a good start, but definitely better than an audition show. First off, Lil Rounds (left) sang the Whitney version of “I Will Always Love You”, and as much as I hate to admit it, she tore it up. Still should be a song never attempted in that form, but she did alright. Jasmine Murray lost some of that nasally sound, and really did a great job with “The Trouble With Love”. I really enjoyed Stephen Fowler’s take on Stevie Wonder, and Jeremy Michael Sarver (I think there’s another Michael Sarver out there, hence the Jeremy addition) also gave a pretty soulful performance. Danny Gokey’s take on Seal was alright, although I wasn’t in love with it like Paula, but the highlight for me only lasted 10 seconds. Matt Giraud, dueling piano player from Kalamazoo, showed he not only has the vocals, but he also has the image and presence to truly challenge for the title of American Idol.
Group Day is the stuff of legends. Throw three or four strangers together, and you might get instant chemistry. As in EXPLOSIVE chemistry! So let’s talk about the inspirational performances. “White Chocolate” contained two potential stars in Matt Giraud (right) and India Morrison. While Matt played the Justin Timberlake role well, India blew everyone away with her rap in the mix. It seems like she’s being positioned for the Blake Lewis role in this season, but I hope she’s treated legitimately, instead of as just a novelty.
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