2014 – Page 3 – Country Universe

CMA 2014: The Winners, and The Good, the Bad, and the Whaaaat??

November 6, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 22

The 2014 CMA Awards show had more great moments than any telecast in years, pulling off the rare feat of making the genre appear far healthier and more appealing than it actually is! Here is

CMA Awards 2014: Staff Predictions and Picks

November 2, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 29

Despite the Grammys and even the ACM’s demonstrating more consistent taste over the past few years, the CMA’s remain the most significant industry awards that honor country music. This year’s slate of nominees gives the

Single Review: Florida Georgia Line, “Sun Daze”

October 23, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 19

“Sun Daze” Florida Georgia Line Written by Cary Barlowe, Sarah Buxton, Jesse Frasure, Tyler Hubbard, and Brian Kelley Apparently, this is the real second single from Florida Georgia Line’s new album. “Anything Goes”, which we

Single Review: Keith Urban, “Somewhere in My Car”

October 23, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 10

“Somewhere in My Car” Keith Urban Written by J.T. Harding and Keith Urban First off, let’s give Keith Urban a tremendous amount of credit for his sleight of hand song craft here. The core of

Single Review: Toby Keith, “Drunk Americans”

October 22, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 7

“Drunk Americans” Toby Keith Written by Brandy Clark, Bob DiPiero and Shane McAnally The most successful records Toby Keith has had lately have been about drinking or about being American. It’s easy to see the

Single Review: Kenny Chesney, “Til it’s Gone”

October 22, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 6

“‘Til it’s Gone” Kenny Chesney Written by Rodney Clawson, David Lee Murphy, and Jimmy Yeary There were a lot of great singer-songwriters that didn’t quite make it to stardom in the nineties, especially once the

Single Review: Trisha Yearwood, “Prize Fighter” (with Kelly Clarkson)

October 12, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 21

“Prize Fighter” (with Kelly Clarkson) Trisha Yearwood Written by Jessi Alexander, Sarah Buxton, and Ross Copperman Yes, it’s been more than seven years since Trisha Yearwood has released a proper single. Yes, it was worth

Album Review: Tim McGraw, Sundown Heaven Town

October 10, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 9

Tim McGraw Sundown Heaven Town Tim McGraw returning to form is the musical equivalent of reconnecting with an old friend, where spending a little time with them suddenly reminds you why you were such good

Single Review: Josh Turner, “Lay Low”

October 5, 2014 Leeann Ward 12

“Lay Low” Josh Turner Written by Ross Copperman, Tony Martin and Mark Nesler Good for Josh Turner for sticking with his neo-traditional country sound, even though he’s in the oft talked about minority nowadays. I

Single Review: Carrie Underwood, “Something in the Water”

September 29, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 46

“Something in the Water” Carrie Underwood Written by Chris DeStefano, Brett James, and Carrie Underwood If anybody’s going to sing a song about the power of the water to cleanse your soul, it should be