One of our favorite groups in country here at FOCUS is Gloriana. Please check out their newest video right here! We think it’s a good one!
Archive | December, 2012
Kelly Clarkson Spreads Holiday Cheer With Musicians On Call
The Christmas spirit was alive and well when the multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson stopped by Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt yesterday afternoon to sing and celebrate the season with patients, staff and families through Musicians On Call (MOC) Nashville.
Clarkson, who recently released her Greatest Hits – Chapter One album, visited with the children and performed an acoustic set in the Children’s Hospital Theatre. The songstress led the packed room in a sing-along of her favorite holiday carols including “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,” “White Christmas,” and “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Clarkson encouraged singing and dancing, and the children were happy to oblige. Following the show, the kind-hearted entertainer generously offered to visit the rooms of patients unable to attend.
Kellie Pickler Completes 6th USO Tour
On Wednesday, Dec. 19, country star Kellie Pickler returned to the states from what was her sixth USO tour overseas to perform for U.S. troops as part of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey’s annual USO holiday tour.
Other celebrities that joined her on the seven-day, four-country tour throughout the Middle East include Ross Detwiler and Craig Stammen of the Washington Nationals, Matt Hendricks of the Washington Capitals and comedian Iliza Shlesinger. All participated in an array of hospital visits and USO meet and greets, each tailored to bring a touch of home to the servicemen and women making the biggest sacrifice. Stops included: Bagram Air Base and Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart in Germany; and a visit with Sailors stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, among other locations.
“It’s always different coming here this time of year,” Pickler said, prior to her performance at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan on Dec. 16.
Craig Campbell To Sing National Anthem At Packers Lambeau Field
Watching football is definitely a holiday tradition, but this Sunday Dec 23rd, Craig Campbell has a front row seat as he will be singing the National Anthem as the Green Bay Packers take on the Tennessee Titans. CBS will air the game from Lambeau Field at 12:00pm CST.
Craig recently released his Outta My Head EP which includes brand new songs from his upcoming sophomore album plus his newest hit single “Outta My Head.” The Outta My Head EP is available everywhere digital music is sold and an exclusive version of the EP is available for fans to purchase at Walmart stores nationwide.
Ram Jam Concert To Be Broadcast December 29th On Ram Country On Yahoo! Music
Top Performers Include Zac Brown Band, Kellie Pickler, Easton Corbin, Brantley Gilbert And Billy Currington
On December 29th, Ram Country on Yahoo! Music will broadcast RAM JAM, An exclusive concert at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, TN, featuring live performances from some of country music’s hottest talent including Zac Brown Band, Kellie Pickler, Easton Corbin, Brantley Gilbert, and Billy Currington.
The web broadcast can be accessed here: http://music.yahoo.com/video/
Show Review: UNWRAP THE SONGS OF CHRISTMAS At Fontanel
Thank you to the management of Fontanel who was kind enough to invite FOCUS to enjoy their Christmas dinner show called UNWRAP THE SONGS OF CHRISTMAS. This showstars hit songwriters,Will Robinson and James Dean Hicks, which is running up until December 23rd.
We really enjoyed the delicious meal and the setting was really nice inside their Studio Gallery with a stage set up festively for the holiday show. Continue Reading →
Bo Bice Is Back – And Headed To Broadway!
Bice to make Broadway debut in ‘Pump Boys & Dinettes’ March 2013
Bo Bice, Sugar Money Records artist, signs with newly-formed Altar Agency and announces the upcoming lead role in the revival of the 1980’s Broadway musical ‘Pump Boys and Dinettes’. The production will be held at the Circle in the Square Theater with preview performances to commence March 19, 2013 with an official open April 8th.
The original production opened off-Broadway in 1981 and moved to Broadway in February 1982, completing 573 performances over 16 months. The musical is a tribute to rural American life centered around a roadside restaurant and filling station on Highway 57 in North Carolina. Tony winner John Doyle (for “Sweeny Todd”, Director) is also set to direct the ‘Pump Boys’ revival, where the cast ensemble doubles as the show’s band. It received both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for Best Musical.
Bice, a runner-up finalist to Carrie Underwood on American Idol’s fourth season, has released three studio albums. He has also recorded and performed with Carlos Santana, Ritchie Sambora, Willie Nelson, Chad Kroeger and Lynyrd Skynyrd, amongst others, and is now expanding his already eclectic repertoire to include Broadway.
Warner Music Nashville/Word Entertainment Christmas Memories
Blake Shelton
Christmas at the Shelton/Lambert Household:
Christmas in the Shelton/Lambert household is probably like a lot of y’all’s Christmases out there. It’s chaos and we don’t have any kids, so we’re the ones that travel to everyone else’s houses. So we start down in Lindale, TX on Christmas Eve with Miranda’s family, and we always wake up there on Christmas morning and open presents – that’s where Santa comes – then we put everything in the car and drive all the way back to Oklahoma. Then we have Christmas day with my family. Normally on either side of that Miranda and I will try to have our Christmas just she and I together. It’s normally a wrapping night where we wrap everybody’s presents… or actually I stand there and mix her drinks and watch her wrap everybody’s presents, cuz I can’t warp worth crap. But I like it; I like how we do our thing and I think she does too.
Special Christmas Drink:
I don’t think I really have a special Christmas drink. I mean we always – all of us, Miranda’s family, my family – we always have a few drinks during Christmas. While we were making the album, though, I was actually drinking a little bit of wine, believe it or not, just to kinda kick back and try to get in that laid back state of mind that you’d picture Dean Martin or one of those guys doing when they get in the studio.
Favorite Christmas Memory:
My favorite Christmas memory probably just happened last year. You always have all the different things that happen, whether it’s a gift or whatever, but the last Christmas I spent with my dad was actually in a hospital room. Everybody had all their Christmases going on and for whatever reason everybody had been in the hospital room with my dad all day; then people went on to go do their Christmases at their homes and I decided, ‘I’m just gonna stay here with my dad.’ And me and my dad sat in that hospital room together and laughed all night. We watched a marathon of Dumbest Stuff on Wheels together on Christmas Eve and man, I wouldn’t trade that time with him for anything. That’s something I’ll never forget.
http://www.blakeshelton.com
More below from Faith Hill, Hunter Hayes, Jana Kramer, Brett Eldredge, Big & Rich, The Farm, and others! Continue Reading →
VIDDY Makes Official Debut On Android Handheld Devices
Billboard Reports: Viddy Comes to 757 Android-Based Smartphones and Tablets, 16 Languages via Google Play
Connecting people through mobile video sharing, VIDDY today announced availability of its native Android mobile video app.
Using Viddy, consumers can use their iPhones, iPads, iPods or Android-based phones and tablets such as LG’s Nexus 4, Samsung’s Nexus 10 and the Samsung Galaxy S3 to easily create, beautify and share mobile videos.
“It’s still early days for mobile video,” said Viddy CEO Brett O’Brien in an interview with Billboard.biz. “The technology is just now making it possible for us to reach a mainstream audience, and Android will help us continue to grow.”
Lee Brice Celebrates Fastest Rising Single Of His Career With “I Drive Your Truck”
“Hard 2 Love” Makes “Best Of 2012” New York Times And Itunes Lists
Award-winning singer/songwriter Lee Brice celebrates the fastest rising single of his career this week as “I Drive Your Truck” continues to be the most added country single over the past three weeks, barreling into Billboard’s Top 30 after only two weeks of airplay. The new single follows Brice’s No. one hit “Hard To Love,” which receives platinum certification today by the RIAA for one million single sales.
“I can’t think of a better way to end the year than this,” said Brice. “I’m floored by the support of my friends at country radio and my fans who continue to believe in me…can’t wait for 2013!”
Brice’s moving new single follows two consecutive PLATINUM certified No. one hits off his sophomore release HARD 2 LOVE on Curb Records, which was named one of The New York Time’s Top 10 Albums of 2012 alongside artists including Frank Ocean, Kesha and Taylor Swift. iTunes also handpicked the album as part of their Best of 2012 feature as the Top Breakthrough Country Album of the Year.
The former college football player will wrap 2012 as the halftime entertainment at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX on New Year’s Eve. For a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit www.leebrice.com.
