Underwood to lead country charts again
Wednesday, June 6, 2012 – Carrie Underwood will stay atop of the Billboard Country Albums chart with "Blown Away" when charts are officially out on Thursday. Underwood enjoyed the sixth best selling disc in the U.S. with 32,000 units sold, down 30 percent.
John Mayer has the top album with "Born and Raised" at 65,000 units, the least since February 2001 when Nicki Minaj sold 45,000 units of "Pink Friday."
Luke Bryan was ninth on the overall chart with "tailgates and tanlines" at 24,000 units, up 18 percent. Lionel Richie rounded out the top 10 with "Tuskegee." Richie sold 22,000 units, down 35 percent.
More news for Carrie Underwood
CD reviews for Carrie Underwood
Blown Away
Carrie Underwood's calling card remains intact - her ultra strong set of pipes. "Blown Away" is almost a tale of two CDs. The first half or so tends to be far more pop oriented and at times rocks, while the other half veers far more towards country and even gets traditional on a song or two.
The lead-off hit first single, Good Girl, rocks far more than anything else. It sounds good, catchy, but with Underwood singing hard, the song is geared for arena rock, not anything remotely »»» |
Play On
Through three releases, the one constant about Carrie Underwood is her big voice. It's an instrument in and of itself no matter whether going for somewhat of a country sound, a pure pop bent or a tougher, rocking edge. She can add the right touch to sad songs such as Temporary Home in part about a young boy who has to shuffle from home to home or the tough sounding Quitter.
Underwood would not be accused of being heavy-duty country. She actually displayed more signs of that on her last CD, »»» |
Carnival Ride
Carrie Underwood's "Some Hearts" debut sold 6 million, yielded 5 smash singles and was the fastest-selling debut by any country artist ever. If that weren't enough, she even passed Kelly Clarkson to be the lead-selling engine on the American Idol gravy train. So, who in their right mind would tamper with the soup?
Underwood's handlers, not about to let their franchise suffer a sophomore jinx, have assembled an airtight collection of pure country-pop from elite »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: Music City goes (Boston) Pop(s) –
On the face of it, the idea of top shelf country songwriters coming up from Nashville to play with the Boston Pops may seem incongruous. The idea of the venerable Boston institution and fixture on the July 4 scene, playing patriotic songs doesn't have all that much to do with country.
The idea isn't without precedent, of course.... »»»
Concert Review: O'Donovan goes home –
Aiofe O'Donovan had plenty of reason to be filled with good cheer. This was a hometown gig, after all, and only three days before the release of her first full-length solo debut, "Fossils."
Joking that the audience was filled with people she knew from high school and her parents' friends, O'Donovan made it clear that Boston... »»»
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Still Fighting the War
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