CountryHound Presents Our Artists of the Year

Posted by amyclark on 08/20/2008
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12/23/2007 Melissa Coker It was a great year for country music, and in looking back at 2007, we decided to choose the five artists who we feel made the greatest impact overall. Taylor Swift Her debut album is double-platinum; "Teardrops on My Guitar" is the top-selling country track of the year in the iTunes music store. And her current single, “Our Song” closed out the year perched atop the country chart.  Want more? Taylor walked (well, maybe happily hopped or skipped) away from the 2007 CMA's with the Horizon award in hand; iTunes named her their Best New Artist of 2007; she's clicked up more than 31 million downloads on her MySpace page; And she’s the youngest person to write and sing a chart-topping country single on her own! All of this and she just celebrated her 18th birthday. Although it seems like she’s taken home every award imaginable at this point, Taylor faces some of her stiffest competition ever at the upcoming Grammy Awards, where she’s a nominee for Best New Artist. No matter what the outcome, we’re sure the sparkling teenager will continue to be the one to watch in 2008. Sugarland We have to say it: Sugarland’s ’07 was pretty sweet. And the powerhouse duo appears to have true staying power, too. They may be everyday American artists, but they're ringing in 2008 in style, with the video for “Stay” taking the honor as No. 1 most streamed clip at CMT.com and CMT Mobile. Although “Stay” is an emotional story, Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles had little to cry about when they won the coveted Vocal Duo award at this year's CMA's, grabbing the crown from perennial winners Brooks & Dunn. There’s undeniable chemistry between Jennifer and Kristian on stage, and their double-platinum album Enjoy the Ride has certainly helped fuel the trips they’re taking fans on in their first-ever headlining gig (CMT on Tour) this year. There’s gotta be something more, and so Jennifer has been all smiles as a model for Listerine, and she and Kristian have taken it to the Streets – Sesame style, and cavorted with a wacky assortment of characters on the kiddie program Yo Gabba Gabba! Sure, they drew some un-“settlin’” comments for their American Music Awards performance of “Irreplaceable” with R&B singer Beyoncé, but, it’s their party, and they’ll do what they “want to.” Carrie Underwood Seems everyone went along for the Carnival Ride that was Carrie Underwood’s year this year. As the reigning CMA and ACM Female Vocalist, the blonde bottle rocket proves that big hits come in "So Small" packages. Co-written by Carrie, the carpe diem-ish number’s big-time achievements include becoming the highest-charting debut by any female country artist in history, a first-day streaming record on CMT.com, and the highest debut position and greatest first-week sales of any country airplay single in the history of Billboard’s Hot Digital songs chart! She topped her own record there, by the way; with “I’ll Stand By You,” a recording done for charity. Carrie stopped the ride long enough to get off at Saturday Night Live for a musical-guest spot. And not one for “Wasted” talent, she showed off her sense of humor as the face of CMT, affectionately re-christened “Carrie Music Television” as the network debuted the highly-anticipated first video from her sophomore album. Her previous disc, Some Hearts, had some legs, selling over six million copies (so far), and becoming Billboard’s Top Country Album for two consecutive years - making her the first female artist in chart history to earn back-to-back honors for No. 1 Country Album of the Year. Carnival Ride is already double-platinum and by all accounts just getting rolling, coming in at No. 21 on the iTunes country album charts for the year. In addition to strong Hearts and a wild Ride, Carrie’s among some good People, earning a spot as one of the magazine’s “100 Most Beautiful People.” Over one million of the magazine’s readers also named her cautionary tale, “Before He Cheats,” their song of the year. And the “World’s Sexiest Vegetarian of 2007” kicks off the new year on  the Love, Pain and the whole crazy Carnival Ride tour with another (erstwhile) blonde bombshell – Keith Urban.  Rascal Flatts Like Old Faithful and the Energizer bunny, Rascal Flatts just keeps going and going, and it still feels good, thank you. The reliable, road-worthy trio joined Carrie and Taylor in the iT parade this year, with iTunes crowning their album Still Feels Good as the top-selling country collection of the year (it landed at No. 19 overall). They’ve been voted Vocal Group of the Year (yes, again) by the CMA and ACM, and, in case you haven’t heard, they also like to take their show on the road. Recently, Nashville’s Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital received over $829,000 from Gary, Joe Don, and Jay, as a result of one concert. With 547,000 copies snapped up in its first week, Still Feels Good debuted as top-selling CD across all musical genres. And, by the way, it was their third to open at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Helping them to go all the way was actor Jamie Foxx, who joined them for a memorable performance on the CMA Awards, and then made Oprah Winfrey swoon when he joined them as a “surprise” guest on her show. Kenny Chesney was a co-writer on the group’s “Take Me There,” and that’s just what he did, helping them notch their ninth No. 1 single. And group member Joe Don Rooney is likely to be taken places he’s never been in the new year - he and wife Tiffany Fallon (who’ll also be seen on the new season of Celebrity Apprentice) are expecting their first child in May.   Garth Brooks OK, so you’re thinking that’s got to be it - who could have generated more buzz than those acts in 2007? We’ll we’d be some pretty lowly friends if we forgot to place the never-to-be-counted-out Garth Brooks in the pantheon of prestigious performers for the year. The great one proved, with one (monster) single, a handful of (record-setting) concerts, and the release of a hefty CD/DVD package that he’s more than a memory. Though impossible to cover it all, here are a few highlights from Garth’s latest “comeback”: Fourteen concerts to sold-out crowds … in just two different cities; Five sold-out shows at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles (with all tickets gone in just in 59 minutes time) – by the way, although it should hardly seem surprising, that’s the first time any performer has sold out that many shows in the Los Angeles arena in one day. More significant that rewriting history, though, the concerts aided fire victims and helped raise funds for the future of fire fighting in the state of California. Then there’s Kansas City, where Garth sold out nine concert dates (after adding more shows to meet the overwhelming demand). A total of 159,779 concert tickets were snatchedup in one hour and 58 minutes. Joined by Mrs. Garth Brooks (a/k/a Trisha Yearwood), the final concert in the series was seen live in over 300 movie theaters nationwide. Next, Garth conquered Great American Country (GAC), transforming it into Garth American Country, where the cable network has and will continue to exclusively debut new videos and air other special Garth-centric content. With a music business that’s described as anything but stable these days, naysayers were ready to dismiss the on-again-off-again Garth when rumors circulated of a new single and album. That sound you heard after the hotly-anticipated “More than a Memory” hit radio was a collective sigh of relief as the single became the first in Billboard history to debut at No. 1 on the country chart. The project it introduced, The Ultimate Hits, came in at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. And the always socially-conscious Garth even introduced a special “pink” edition of Ultimate, featuring a bonus disc and vital health tips, to benefit The Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer awareness. And in November, the Recording Industry Association of America recognized Garth as the best selling solo recording artist of all time, with more than 123 millon records sold. With such astounding achievements, it’s no wonder he just keeps workin’ for a livin’. Who's your artist of the year? Write to us at news@countryhound.com