February 2009 – Country Universe

I am not ashamed.

February 28, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 46

“Pride attaches undue importance to the superiority of one’s status in the eyes of others; And shame is fear of humiliation at one’s inferior status in the estimation of others. When one sets his heart

Rarities and Outtakes

February 27, 2009 Guest Contributor 15

A couple of summers ago, I picked up the 3-disc The Essential Bruce Springsteen album in an El Corte Ingles in Granada, Spain. I was road-tripping it around the country and needed some good tunes.

Katie Armiger Aims for Stardom

February 27, 2009 Guest Contributor 2

Katie Armiger served as GAC’s Artist of the Month in February, and she recently released “Trail of Lies,” the third single from her album, Believe. The Texas-born 17-year-old called Country Universe recently to discuss her burgeoning career.

Bargain Hunter: Trace Adkins, X (Today Only)

February 27, 2009 Leeann Ward 1

Trace Adkins’ new album, X, is being offered as part of Amazon’s Friday Five deal for today only. Our own Blake Boldt had this to say about Adkins’ latest album: “Although not a leading light

Into the Circle: The Country Music Hall of Fame Changes Criteria

February 26, 2009 Guest Contributor 76

The Country Music Association, mere weeks after inducting its 2009 class, has announced a change in the Hall of Fame criteria. Per the CMA website: Three inductees will continue to be announced as new members

Say What?-Kristian Bush of Sugarland

February 26, 2009 Guest Contributor 28

Entertainment Weekly writer Whitney Pastorek shares exclusive new touring information about her favorite country act, Sugarland. Kristian Bush says about the tour, “You may see Jennifer Nettles play the piano or a bass guitar. I

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