11/30/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
WONDER WORKING ALECIA
Alecia Elliott is celebrating
the holiday season with the recent release of her Christmas single, "Have Yourself A
Merry Little Christmas." In addition to the holiday single release, Alecia has a lot
to celebrate this Christmas with an exciting year looming on the horizon. She'll star in
her own show on NBC-TV next year. The show - simply titled "Alecia" - is
currently in production, with "The Wonder Years" and "Working" star
Fred Savage directing several episodes. The show is scheduled to debut next June. (T-100)
11/30/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
KEEPING UP WITH DWIGHT YOAKAM
Dwight Yoakam has been
busy since his Tommorrow's Sounds Today album hit the streets on Halloween. Aside from
interviews and TV show appearances, Dwight has been in the studio. Dwight recently
recorded a duet with Earl Scruggs for Earl's upcoming MCA Records release that will be out
next year. For the project, Dwight and Earl performed together on the song "Down The
Road." Dwight even co-wrote a song for the new work with Earl's son Randy Scruggs
called "Borrowed Love." In other Dwight news, his web site,
www.dwightyoakam.com, reports that CMT will interview Dwight for their final episode of
the 2000-2001 season of "Hit Trip." This episode will be an hour-long show with
Dwight in Los Angeles where he'll discuss his new album, his latest music videos and film
projects that are currently in the works. The episode is expected to air sometime in the
spring. (T-100)
11/29/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
CHICKS SPECIAL KICKS NBC's RATINGS UP
The Dixie Chicks
bolstered NBC's Monday lineup, delivering the networks highest 18-49 rating on Mondays at
8pm in nearly 21 months. The Dixie Chicks in Concert: On the Fly attracted a 4.9 rating,
12 share among adults 18-49 and 7.6/11 in households, according to preliminary "fast
affiliated" Nielsens. Excluding the Olympics, it's NBC's best 18-49 average in the
hour since Feb. 22, 1999. Compared with the most recent Dateline in the hour, Dixie Chicks
was up by 53 percent among adults 18-49. Their highly successful tour wraps up with a
homecoming concert at Ft. Worth Convention Center arena. (Nashville Update)
11/27/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
IT'S A SCREAM
Mindy McCready is
back, with a new single titled Scream, and she wants you to take the title literally. She
tells Country Weekly if you sing this song
at the top of your lungs, then whatever you're upset about will go away. She says there
were times in her own life when she needed to scream. What has this pretty young blonde
had to scream about? How about label deals that died, and some relationships that ended
painfully? McCready says not holding anger or bitterness inside is good therapy. (Country
105)
11/27/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
TRAVIS TRITT'S PHILOSOPHY - "DAMN THE TORPEDOS"
According to Travis Tritt, one of
his personal attributes he's most proud of is being himself and never having to live up to
a phony image. "I found out a long time ago that instead of trying to form an image
and then trying to live up to that image when it isn't you, is a mistake that I think a
lot of people make and that I've been fortunate that I've never had to. What you see with
me has always been what you get. And I'm proud of that. It's caused me some flack but the
fact is, you always know where you stand with those people and it's the same way with me.
You don't have to worry about well, exactly what did he mean by that? I'll tell you! So,
I'm proud of that. I found out a long time ago, just say what you feel and damn the
torpedoes." (Nashville Update)
11/25/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
* Chalee Tennison tells us that when she first heard her new
single "GoBack," she felt so strongly about the song that she
dropped one of her self-penned tunes to add it to her new album. "They asked me, 'do you want to pull one
of your songs to add this one?' and I said, yes I do! Because the song to me was just so
powerful, and I said, 'let me go in and cut the song and then, if you don't think it's the
right song for me, then I'll let it go,'" Chalee explains. The song is a touching tale of a trucker who knows when
to "Go Back" for love and later to "Go Back" to the living from a near-death experience. (Nashville
Update)
11/25/00 courtesy
of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
* Sawyer Brown hits the road for their 3rd annual Christmas tour, which kicks off tonight in Wheeling,
West Virginia. The guys will be performing songs from their Hallelujah He Is Born album.
Mark Miller says, "The
first year, we did 2 or 3 Christmas songs, which has now worked its way into a 20 city
tour. Folks enjoy seeing us in a different light and it's caught on. The tour ends in Phoenix on December
22nd. Sawyer Brown also recently released their latest album, The Hits Live. According to
Mark Miller,
putting together the project was a big undertaking. "We recorded 23 different shows and then sat down and took
the best of the best. Each show had 22 songs so you had to come back and listen to over
400 songs. The tough thing was sitting down to listen and making the final selections.
11/21/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
GETTING AROUND
When Lisa Angelle made a recent in-store appearance
at a Nashville book store to celebrate the release of her self-titled debut album, she had
a little help from a celebrity friend. 70's Pop artist Andrew Gold produced her new cd,
and played back up for her acoustic set. Following a short set, Lisa signed autographs and
talked to the fans in attendance. Wonder if she
told Andrew, "Thank you for being a friend." (Country Cool)
11/21/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
PHIL VASSAR GETS HIS FIRST #1
It's a big week
for Phil Vassar. According to Arista Records, Phil's "Another Day In Paradise" nabbed the #1 slot on the Billboard's Hot
Country Singles & Tracks chart. This is Phil very first #1 song as an artist and he
now becomes the only country artist from the "Class of 2000" to achieve a #1
song in Billboard. However, this is not Phil's first #1 as a composer, Phil penned #1 hits
for Jo Dee Messina, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw and Collin Raye. As a matter of fact, Tim
McGraw's current single, "My Next Thirty Years," which Phil wrote by himself,
could very be Phil's next #1 as a writer as it just entered Billboard's Top 5.
"Carlene," was Phil's first single from his
self-titled debut album and graced the Top 5.
11/20/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
LEANN RIMES SUES
CURB RECORDS
LeAnn Rimes is waging another
legal battle. This time, LeAnn has asked a federal judge to void her deal with Curb
Records citing that her parents made the deal for her when she was only 12. According to
The Dallas Morning News, LeAnn is claiming that as an adult now, she should be free to
make her own deals, which could be worth much more money. LeAnn's lawyer told the paper
quote, "We're not saying ... (Curb was) taking advantage of her, that it was a bad
contract or good contract, but she thinks she can do a lot better. LeAnn simply wants to
be her own person, she wants to speak for herself and she wants to make her own
deals." Curb Records' lawyer told the Dallas newspaper that LeAnn quote, "has a
valid and binding agreement." (T-100)
11/17/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
RIMES SEEKS FREEDOM FROM RECORD LABEL
Now that she's 18, LeAnn
Rimes is seeking to end her recording contract with Curb Records because she is unhappy
with its terms. The singer filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Dallas asking that
Curb Records and her mother's company, LeAnn Rimes Entertainment, Inc., free her of her
1995 contract which was signed by her parents because she was only 12 at the time. Now
that she's sold more than 20 million albums, Rimes and her attorney, Tom Rhodus, have
decided that the initial contract is unfair to Rimes. John David, an attorney for Curb
Records, doubts that she will be let
out of the contract. "All I can tell you is that it would be my opinion that she has
a valid and binding agreement," David told the Dallas Morning News. "That is the
law." According to the suit, Rimes wants the label to turn over the rights to all of
her earlier recordings, music videos, and publishing in addition to destroying all current
recordings being distributed. Rhodus maintains that Rimes is simply exercising her
independence as an adult and wants to make her own career decisions. "We're not
saying. . .[the record company was] taking advantage of her, that it was a bad contract or
good contract, but she can tell you she thinks she can do a lot better," Rhodus told
the paper. "Her career has blossomed, something that couldn't be predicted when she
was 12 years old. LeAnn simply wants to be her own person. She wants to speak for herself,
and she wants to make her own deals." In a statement from Rimes' publicist, the said,
"This is a business decision that I feel must be made in order for me to take
responsibility for my career. I am truly blessed to be able to do what I love doing."
Rimes recently filed a lawsuit against her father and former manager, Wilbur Rimes, for
bilking her out of several million dollars. (Yahoo)
11/16/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
LILA SHOWS OFF NEW DIGS
Newly legal teen
singer Lila McCann shows off her first apartment on cable
channel E!'s Celebrity Homes Nov. 24 at 5:30 p.m. ET. McCann, who graduated from high
school earlier this year, recently moved from her native
Washington state to Santa Monica, Calif. The show features McCann's antique furniture,
some of it bought on her frequent trips to Nashville. The
six-hour Celebrity Homes marathon on Nov. 24 also will include an episode
with a visit to Gary Chapman's Tennessee farm, airing at 1:30 p.m. (Music
News)
11/16/00 courtesy
of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
NOT JUST ANOTHER NO. 1
Phil Vassar, who's penned
No. 1 hits for several stars, has scored his first chart-topper as a recording artist.
Phil scales the summit of Billboard's country singles chart with "Just Another Day in
Paradise." Meanwhile, Alan
Jackson's new release, When Somebody Loves You, tops the country albums chart. (Country
Now)
11/09/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
UNVEILING
Mindy McCready has unveiled her
official website, www.mindymccready.com.
Visitors to the site can hear a sample of her new single, "Scream," check the latest news and chat with other fans. You can also download a
picture of Mindy for your computer and view a streaming video of "Scream," which
is the title track from Mindy's new album, set for release in March. (T-100)
11/09/00 courtesy
of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
CHELY WRIGHT ALBUM
TALK
Chely Wright's follow up album to
her gold Single White Female is still in the works. "Three weeks ago, we thought we had it finished," says Chely. "Then we stepped back and took a look at it and realized
that we want to make even more certain that we have the album that way we want it." According to Chely, she will be heading back
into the studio in January to complete her album with two new producers. One of those new
producers will be none other than Phil Vassar, who will produce two songs for the CD. The
other recruited producer is Martina McBride's producer, Paul Worley. Chely projected that
she should have a new song to release to radio by March and her new album will be out in
the summer. (T-100)
11/07/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
WAIT UNTIL
JESSICA ANDREWS, if you like
her new single "Who I
Am," wait 'til you get a
load of the album that song is the title tune for. Byron Gallimore has impeccably picked
the right songs to seamlessly usher this ripening talent from teeny-bopperdom, to maturing
teen sensation. Big sound, cool sound, from someone who has "hit act" written
all over her. Album due out Jan. 2001. (Nashville Update)
11/01/00 courtesy of "Abbey" abluvmus@earthlink.net from countryqueens@egroups.com
SHANIA MAY RELEASE NEW ALBUM
SOONER THAN EXPECTED
In spite of Shania's strong
indication in early October that her album would likely not be out until late 2001, Twang
This' getmusic.com reports that it could appear before March, " Plans are in motion for the new
project to be released before March, 2001. However, Mercury Nashville sources say it's
perhaps best to look forward to a 2001 release." IF TRUE, GREAT NEWS: It would certainly be helpful to have such
a huge release out that early to impact country music's prospects for the year. And, since
Shania told us she'd definitely tour to support the new album, an early release and tour
would have even greater impact on a year that will not have on the road next year such
heavy-hitters as The Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, etc.
(Nashville Update)
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