Carrie Underwood – Page 17 – Country Universe

Album Review: Katie Armiger, Fall Into Me

January 17, 2013 Ben Foster 4

Katie Armiger
Fall Into Me

By now, Katie Armiger’s country music career comprises six years, four studio albums, and still zero bona fide radio hits. Her label Cold River Records has nonetheless stuck with her since 2007, with her previous outing, 2010’s Confessions of a Nice Girl, producing her first chart singles in the #55 “Kiss Me Now” and the #42 “Best Song Ever.” Her new album Fall Into Me has yet to reverse her fortunes at radio – Lead single “Better In a Black Dress” topped out at #42 on Billboard Country Airplay – but it no doubt contains more than enough tasteful, likeable pop-country material to keep current fans interested.

CU's Top Albums of 2012

January 2, 2013 Ben Foster 39

As reflected by the title of our web site, our choices for Top 40 Albums of 2012 span the farthest reaches of the country music universe. In previous years, the Country Universe staff has counted down twenty albums and forty singles, but this year our album picks included such a wide variety that we were able to stretch our Top Albums countdown to a full forty slots. What did we miss? That’s where you, our readers, come in. Please join in the discussion, and share which albums you had in heavy rotation over the past year.

#40
The Garden of Love – Songs of William Blake
Martha Redbone Roots Project

CU's Top Singles of 2012

December 29, 2012 Ben Foster 47

2012 Something you probably already know about us here at Country Universe: We love country music. A lot. While truly great country music has become scarce on country radio, we are fortunate to live in an age in which modern technology has made great music more accessible than ever, regardless of whether Top 40 radio dares touch it.

At the close of each year we separate the grain from the chaff, and share the music we discovered over the past year that made us glad that we stuck with our genre of choice. We at Country Universe have put our heads together to create the following lists of favorite singles and albums of 2012.

Single Review: Miranda Lambert, "Mama's Broken Heart"

December 19, 2012 Ben Foster 7

After three weak singles from Four the Record, ranging from mediocre to flat-out dud, the Miranda we know and love is back.

Concert Review: Carrie Underwood with Hunter Hayes

December 3, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 9

Carrie Underwood with Hunter Hayes
The Blown Away Tour
Prudential Center
Newark, NJ
December 1, 2012

There’s a desirable sweet spot in every big performer’s career where they finally have a large number of hits to fill out a two-hour show, a compelling enough current album to sustain audience interest between the hits, and the appropriate level of earned confidence to take some bold risks in staging and presentation.

Carrie Underwood just hit that sweet spot.

100 Greatest Men: #31. Randy Travis

November 23, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 12

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

He’s widely hailed as the leader of the new traditionalist movement of the mid-eighties, but his impressive sales numbers made him something the genre had never seen before: a traditionalist superstar.

Single Review: Carrie Underwood, "Two Black Cadillacs"

November 18, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 35

Thankfully, this should be the last single this year from Carrie Underwood.

2012 CMA Awards: Staff Picks & Predictions

October 28, 2012 Tara Seetharam 38

While the rest of the country fixates on “Nashville,” the 46th annual Country Music Association Awards air live from Music City with equal drama and ridiculousness November 1 at 7 p.m. CST. The CU staff picked and predicted the awards below. Chime in with your thoughts, and check back for our live blog on Thursday night!

Entertainer of the Year

Should Win:

Jason Aldean – Dan, Ben, Kevin
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift – Jonathan, Tara, Leeann

Will Win:

Jason Aldean – Dan, Ben, Jonathan, Kevin
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift – Tara, Leeann

Single Review: Little Big Town, "Tornado"

October 16, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 18

Even by Little Big Town standards, “Tornado” has a unique and cool sound. I can only guess that they were especially inspired by the song’s concept.

The Day the Music (Chart) Died

October 11, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 127

So, Billboard decided to completely change its chart methodology today:

Billboard unveils new methodology today for the long-standing Hot Country Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Latin Songs charts. Each receive a major consumer-influenced face-lift, as digital download sales (tracked by Nielsen SoundScan) and streaming data (tracked by Nielsen BDS from such services as Spotify, Muve, Slacker, Rhapsody, Rdio and Xbox Music, among others) will now be factored into the 50-position rankings, along with existing radio airplay data monitored by Nielsen BDS. The makeovers will enable these charts to match the methodology applied to Billboard’s signature all-genre songs ranking, the Billboard Hot 100.

On the surface, this seems like a good idea. After all, the country singles chart included both sales and airplay data for decades, until switching to airplay-only in 1989. Declining availability of retail singles made this change necessary.