Country Universe

Perfect Producer/Artist Pairs

February 25, 2009 Leeann Ward 17

Last week, I berated producers that I could count on to produce bland, generic albums that I inevitably would not enjoy. As promised, I’ll be more positive this week. As previously noted, producers play a

"Say What?" Classic – Harlan Howard

February 24, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 4

Harlan Howard is in country music history. When interviewed about his #1 hit for the Judds (“Why Not Me”), he made an interesting statement about the need for repeating certain titles throughout a song: “Why

That’s on My iPod?!?

February 23, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 19

Maybe it’s just because I have so many songs on my iPod to begin with, but I’m often surprised when I put my iPod on shuffle. Songs pop up that I didn’t know I owned,

An Evening with Carrie Underwood

February 22, 2009 Guest Contributor 19

The following is a guest post by longtime reader Vanessa Prince. She shares a story about Carrie Underwood that has also been featured in Country Weekly. When fate called, I was napping. The phone would

David Nail, “Red Light”

February 22, 2009 Dan Milliken 39

There’s a potentially interesting song underneath all the lyrical unfocus and musical melodrama that couch David Nail’s third bid to country radio. The story is this: a girl breaks up with a guy while the

Jessica Simpson, “Pray Out Loud”

February 22, 2009 Guest Contributor 4

One probably thought they knew what to expect from Jessica Simpson on her latest single, “Pray Out Loud,” simply by reading the title: The big-voiced former Christian pop singer was going to put forth her

Shania Twain, “What a Way to Wanna Be!”

February 22, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 1

I was inspired to recommend Shania Twain’s “What a Way to Wanna Be!” after seeing this new Dove commercial: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U The track comes from her excellent fourth album Up!, which was released in three different

Gloriana, “Wild at Heart”

February 21, 2009 Dan Milliken 32

Do I need to point out the obvious? A two-guy, two-girl harmony group who play rustically instrumented music that sounds heavily influenced by late 70’s/early 80’s pop-rock? I mean, I’m sorry, but is it this

Jessica Harp, “Boy Like Me”

February 21, 2009 Dan Milliken 8

Well, color me surprised. I wasn’t expecting much in the way of personality from That Other Girl From The Wreckers, but Jessica Harp’s debut single as a solo artist is a silly little sugar-pop of

LeAnn Rimes Takes “What I Cannot Change” to No. 1

February 21, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 19

You read that right. This week, the highly praised and Grammy-nominated LeAnn Rimes single “What I Cannot Change” finally reached #1 – on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reQpz4JtjQw While the song’s admirers most