Guest Contributor

Jessica Simpson, “Pray Out Loud”

February 22, 2009 Guest Contributor 4

One probably thought they knew what to expect from Jessica Simpson on her latest single, “Pray Out Loud,” simply by reading the title: The big-voiced former Christian pop singer was going to put forth her

Country Role Models

February 20, 2009 Guest Contributor 18

The most recent edition of Rolling Stone features precocious teenage country superstar Taylor Swift on its cover, and also contains a eight-page spread covering her “very pink, very perfect life.” As we have come to expect

Blake Shelton, “I’ll Just Hold On”

February 20, 2009 Guest Contributor 23

Blake Shelton has the kind of natural talent and charisma that most performers in Nashville can only dream of. His voice is smooth and strong, sexy yet comforting. It is neither too feminine nor too

Discussion: Greatest Country Songs

February 19, 2009 Guest Contributor 30

Boys like me and Nick Hornby love lists. (I mean, Nick Hornby and I. Whatever.) Hornby, the author of A Long Way Down, How to Be Good and, most famously, High Fidelity, is known for

Six Pack: K.T. Oslin, Part One

February 15, 2009 Guest Contributor 14

The following is a guest contribution from Country Universe reader Cory DeStein. An additional Six Pack written by Kevin J. Coyne will follow later this week. K.T. Oslin appears to most often enter a conversation

Themed Albums

February 13, 2009 Guest Contributor 7

Kathy Mattea’s brilliant album released last year, Coal, reminded me of how much I love themed albums. There is something unique and special about an album that addresses a single topic from varied angles or

Sugarland, “It Happens”

February 13, 2009 Guest Contributor 17

Jennifer Nettles sums up the latest Sugarland single better than I ever could. “Ain’t no rhyme or reason, no complicated meaning. Ain’t no need to over-think it,” she says, echoing my impression of “It Happens,”

Favorite Songs by Favorite Artists: Linda Ronstadt

February 13, 2009 Guest Contributor 33

The following is a guest contribution from Country Universe reader Erik North. Sometimes you first find out about your favorite artists not necessarily from your peers but, strangely enough, from either your parents or your

ACM Album of the Year Criteria Amended

February 12, 2009 Guest Contributor 9

A Peter Cooper article in today’s edition of the Tennessean: The album of the year nominees are … as yet unannounced. That’s because the Academy re-thought its prerequisite that album contenders sell at least 300,000

Collin Raye, “Mid-Life Chrysler”

February 12, 2009 Guest Contributor 4

With his new single, “Mid-Life Chrysler,” Collin Raye claims marriage and a motor vehicle as the ideal tonic for a middle-aged man. Raye’s new album, Never Going Back, is due in late spring, and its first track