Cassadee Pope Takes CMT Next Women of Country Tour Overseas – For the first time ever, the CMT Next Women of Country Tour will head overseas. Cassadee Pope, the tour’s 2019 headliner, will helm the five-city UK run starting May 9 in Bristol, England. Tickets for the new international concerts go on sale Friday (March 29) at 9 a.m. GMT through Live Nation. The shows mark Pope’s UK touring debut as a headlining act, following an appearance at the C2C Festival in 2017 and two performances as part of Country Music Week in London last year. Pope is an inaugural member of the CMT Next Women of Country program and will kick off the tour on April 11 in her home state of Florida. – Read more at CMT.com
Kelly Clarkson Announces New Single From Ugly Dolls Soundtrack
American Idol alum and The Voice coach Kelly Clarkson announces new music:
Hey y’all! I’m so excited to announce my new single, Broken & Beautiful from the @uglydolls soundtrack is coming out this Wednesday! You’ll be able to pre-order the album which features several new songs from me. Can’t wait for y’all to hear all of them out April 26th!
Hey y’all! I’m so excited to announce my new single, Broken & Beautiful from the @uglydolls soundtrack is coming out this Wednesday! You’ll be able to pre-order the album which features several new songs from me. Can’t wait for y’all to hear all of them out April 26th! pic.twitter.com/zmkOPzDccZ
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) March 25, 2019
American Idol Winner Maddie Poppe Set to Release New Song Made You Miss
This is the latest in a string of singles from the singer, who is set to drop a full album in May.
This Friday I'm releasing my new single, "Made You Miss"! I'm so so excited about this song and cannot wait for you all to hear it! Click the link in my bio to pre-save the song and you'll get to hear a preview of the brand new single! Don't miss out! #MadeYouMiss ???? pic.twitter.com/wdNBtdWJiV
— Maddie Poppe (@MaddiePoppe) March 25, 2019
American Idol Season 7 Alum Kristy Lee Cook is Married
“Well I’m officially Kristy Lee Orr! It was a VERY chaotic and stressful wedding, but it was beautiful, memorable and worth it.” Kristy Lee gave birth to a son in 2018.
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‘I’m just a simple country boy.’ How a Coast native went from playing football to ‘The Voice.’ – As country star Blake Shelton said on last week’s “The Voice” episode, “Let’s talk about accents for a minute.” A contestant had just finished playing the guitar and singing “To Love Somebody” when he proudly proclaimed, “My name is Rod Stokes, I’m 34 years old and I’m from Grand Bay, Alabama.” – Read more at Sun Herald
Getting to know Voice contestant Abby Kasch – I asked Kasch what her life theme song would be, and she expressed, “I would probably say ‘Oceans’ by Hillsong,” Kasch noted lyrics from the song that stuck out to her the most were, “Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my savior.” She expressed that no matter what she is doing in her life, she is always “trying to do Gods work and just trying to influence other people in a positive way or bring a little bit of light to their life by singing on stage.” It is evident through her strong fan base that Kasch does just that. Her infectious energy also shined through during her blind audition performance on “The Voice.” – Read more at Western Courier
Fayette native Dexter Roberts competing on NBC’s ‘The Voice’ – Suffering from fevers, continual headaches, loss of appetite, shortness of breath and sapped energy, the country singer withdrew from the followup “AI” tour after just a few shows, despite how much he craved those stages, the audiences. But now, more than four years, one long-in-the-uncovering diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a stab at Nashville and a year-and-a-half-long full health recovery later, Roberts has swung back onto reality TV world, earning a relatively rare four-chair spin from the celebrity judges — Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton — on Season 16 of NBC’s “The Voice.” “I don’t get nervous when I play or sing, or anything like that,” Roberts said. “Whenever I hear the crowd, see a crowd, man, it’s like a fuel to my fire. I just love the energy.” – Read more at Tuscaloosa News
Elliott Yamin reflects on American Idol experience, journey in the music industry – Twelve years later, Elliott is still making a living in music—writing and recording in Los Angeles, where he owns a home—and performing for adoring crowds here in the U.S. and around the world. It’s a good life for a kid who went to Freeman High School, though his moneymaker was a little less polished then than it is today. – Read more at WRIC
PledgeMusic Down to a ‘Skeleton Staff,’ Although a Potential Buyer Is in the Wings – PledgeMusic, the direct-to-fan marketplace that has faced serious financial troubles in recent months, is down to a “skeleton staff” and payroll in the U.S. office ceased within the last month, sources close to the situation tell Variety, although a potential buyer is “very interested” in the company and has been in due diligence for several weeks. The identity of the buyer was unclear at press time. – Read more at Variety
Channel 4 to take on The X Factor with new music competition Songland – Songland – a format co-devised by Eurythmics member Dave Stewart – gives aspiring songwriters a chance to crack the music industry. Each episode sees five writers perform their work to a panel of three top music producers and a big-name artist. NBC is already filming a US version of Songland, co-produced by Maroon 5’s Adam Levine and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder. Although the show has yet to air Stateside, The Sun claims C4 is already working on bringing it to Britain. Auditions are due to begin as soon as next month. “Industry insiders believe this is the best show since X Factor,” a source commented. -Read more at TellyMix