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Review: Underwood charms, sparkles at Fair

By Victoria Welch
Free Press Staff Writer

ESSEX -- Carrie Underwood is a puzzlement.

The 22-year-old singer has only one album of material to her name, but she headlines a national tour. She can play guitar, but tends to keep the instrument packed away backstage. Her merchandise items include a $20 stuffed animal wearing a Carrie Underwood T-shirt. She's a hybrid country star -- a poppy, tune-croonin', blue-jeans gal who channels Faith Hill, but covers Guns 'N Roses. Mainstream enough for the youngters, country enough for the older crowd.

Most of all, she's an American Idol that shies away from referencing the show -- and is actually pretty gosh darn good.

Underwood swung by the Champlain Valley Fair on Sunday night, joined by brand new tourmate Andy Griggs. Equipped with a seven-piece band and rock-star stage show, Underwood's plucky charm worked its magic on the enthusiastic crowd. Banter about fair food and fried candy bars peppered the space between songs about Jesus and two-timing; Underwood informed the crowd that they had managed to catch her at her goofiest as she laughed and tried to keep warm in the slight August chill.

"It's cold and the best way to beat the cold is to dance," she said. "The only problem is that I'm not very good at it. But I'll do it anyway." More...

REVIEW: Detroit

Chesney, friends pull off stadium show

The Flint Journal First Edition

By Doug Pullen

DETROIT - "We love playing here," Kenny Chesney said near the end of his revved-up Ford Field show Saturday night. I don't think he was just saying that.

The two-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year has been selling out arena dates in Detroit for the last few years, but he'd never attempted anything here as big as a stadium show before. Like everything else tried by the 38-year-old Tennesseean, it paid off with a sellout crowd of nearly 45,000 and a six-act, 61/2-hour spectacle. The event deftly showcased country's heir apparent to Garth Brooks and an emerging new guard, including Gretchen Wilson, the night's most pleasant surprise, and last year's "American Idol" winner, Carrie Underwood, the genre's most scrutinized new face.

The awesome scale of the show - at the level to which rock fans are accustomed - was not lost on the artists.

Opener Jake Owen said it was his first time performing in a stadium, and Underwood had a little difficulty working the 60-foot wide span. "We've got a big stage here; kinda gets me out of breath here trying to run across it," said the rail-thin singer.

"This has got to be the biggest building I've played in my life," marveled Dierks Bentley, who added later, "This isn't a concert. This is an event."

That summed it up. With tickets selling for $65 and $81, Chesney and his handlers seemed intent on giving a lot of bang for the buck.

Owen set the tone with a short but spirited performance that got a big cheer for the Saginaw reference in his debut hit, "Yee Haw." Blaine Larsen followed, his tradition-drenched country going over better than the jersey of new Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna he donned late in his set.

Underwood had the richest voice of the night...

More...

Up In Spins

Rank		Mediabase Sortable Stats™ - Click any Blue Header			Spins			Aud. /mill
lw	TW		Artist	Title	TW	lw	Move
1	1		WRECKERS	Leave The Pieces	4872	4791	81	41.889
3	2		STEVE HOLY	Brand New Girlfriend	4520	4348	172	37.960
2	3		RODNEY ATKINS	If You're Going Thro...	4353	4523	-170	38.769
5	4		GEORGE STRAIT	Give It Away	4287	3783	504	36.622
4	5		LITTLE BIG TOWN	Bring It On Home	4267	4233	34	34.890
6	6		FAITH HILL	Sunshine & Summertim...	3810	3421	389	32.306
7	7		BROOKS & DUNN	Building Bridges	3766	3446	320	31.446
8	8		JOSH TURNER	Would You Go With Me	3599	3395	204	30.040
10	9		PAT GREEN	Feels Just Like It S...	2686	2573	113	23.106
12	10		DIERKS BENTLEY	Every Mile A Memory	2866	2681	185	23.096
14	11		HEARTLAND	I Loved Her First	2563	2104	459	22.682
11	12		BILLY CURRINGTON	Why, Why, Why	2779	2776	3	22.270
22	13		KEITH URBAN	Once In A Lifetime	2198	1486	712	20.932
17	14		DANIELLE PECK	Findin' A Good Man	2317	2266	51	16.912
16	15		BIG & RICH	8th Of November	2079	2092	-13	16.665
19	16		ALAN JACKSON	Like Red On A Rose	2172	1966	206	16.597
21	17		SUGARLAND	Want To	2047	1623	424	16.941
18	18		TRACE ADKINS	Swing	2114	2215	-101	15.665
27	19		KENNY CHESNEY	You Save Me	1940	1353	587	16.658
20	20		LONESTAR	Mountains	1867	1768	99	14.124
23	21		BLAINE LARSEN	I Don't Know What Sh...	1742	1691	51	13.215
24	22		MONTGOMERY GENTRY	Some People Change	1602	1522	80	12.020
26	23		JACK INGRAM	Love You	1493	1422	71	11.791
29	24		CARRIE UNDERWOOD	Before He Cheats	1560	958	602	13.053
28	25		RASCAL FLATTS	Life Is A Highway	1536	1411	125	14.214

Source: Mediabase

Survey Says: Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb' Is Greatest Guitar Riff

Here are pics and some commentary from our Carrie-palooza 3-
concert road trip from earlier this month.

Excerpt from my review of Carrie-palooza road trip: Day Two...

Our first mission was to find the KJUG radio booth near Jimmy's Watering Hole.
They were giving away tickets and meet and greet passes.  A KJUG temp
tattoo on the cheek made for 2 entries for the contest and I couldn't resist. I
also wanted to make it a point to say hi to DJ Pepper Daniels because he gave
me such wonderful info to share with everyone about the contest. Everyone
was very nice. 

Then, lo and behold, some of Carrie's band walks by. We were able to say
hello, take some cool pics with everyone and I got to meet Ed for the first
time. He is one cool dude!

Ashley Clark, Mark Childers, cu1fan, Rich (me), Ed Eason, Amy (Queen of Carrie merchandise).

I told Ed how I love all of Carrie's music, but how Sweet Child O' Mine always is
a crowd pleaser and really just blows people's minds. He agreed and said he
likes the reviews they get. Who knows, maybe he'll read this review. Well, that
would be fun if he did. "Hi, Ed!" lol.

Ashley, Mark C., Me, Ed, Amy, and Sharkbait.

Cherie Bebout (Carrie's backup singer) and some guy named Rich (inexplicably doing an impression of Quasimodo).

We went to get our goodies from the car and rushed back to make sure we
didn't miss the ticket giveaway. Winning was not in the cards today, but it
sure was fun to play along. Time seemed to have slipped away as it was now
getting closer to showtime. We made our way into the grandstand area and
the place was huge! We passed out some glow sticks and I went up to the
front of the venue to hand out the "Carrie, We Love You" hand fans we had
assembled the night before. Opening the night's musical event was Phil Vassar.

Let me tell you, this guy is goooood! So much personality and he just connects
with the audience. I was very impressed. Since I'm writing this almost 4 weeks
after the fact, I won't even attempt to remember what songs he performed,
but it was very enjoyable.

He brought some girls on stage and they finished the set with him at the piano. I'm sure
sharkie would've liked to be up there, too. She met Phil a few months ago, so she was
well aware of his skills. And then…the moment we had all waited so patiently for…

Well, not just yet. Hold your horses! There was a break while everyone set up for Carrie.
I meandered around looking for trouble. Um, I mean saying hello to people. About 30
minutes later and (yes, now you can cheer!) Miss Carrie Marie Underwood entered the
picture with those familiar drum beats of We're Young And Beautiful.

I've gotta tell you, the excitement was overflowing as Carrie seemed to be even more of an
entertainer to go along with her now world-famous vocals. Carrie brought the house down with
Sweet Child O' Mine. We held up some signs we had made, about a dozen or so.

Praise for Carrie, for the band, for, well, just about everyone. Jesus, Take The Wheel is a huge
crowd pleaser as we all waved our glow sticks for Carrie and the band.

One thing that stands out in my mind is how appreciative Carrie was of her fans, as she thanked
everyone repeatedly for putting her where she is. You could tell how much these sentiments
were heartfelt from Carrie. After the encore of I Ain't In Checotah Anymore, we were
left wanting more. But, no problem! There were two more Carrie concerts coming up!

A security guard confirmed that Carrie would be signing at the merchandise booth. So, we made
our way to the line and there must've been only about 50 people in front of us. It seemed like
we were closer to the front than when we were in San Diego. But, who really knows. I was in a
semi-euphoric state (yes, y'all know how excited I get when it seems like we're gonna meet Carrie). 
And then, the moment we've all been waiting for, yes, THAT MOMENT! I walked up to what I'll call
the "on-deck circle" and asked Keith if he wanted to take the now-infamous bag of goodies for Carrie.
He said I should just give it to her myself. No problem! So, up I strolled (or something
approximating a stroll) and handed the bag in Carrie's direction. I say "in Carrie's direction"
because, as is typical with my overtaxed brain cells, when I'm in Carrie's presence, everything
above the neck seems to shut down. Well, fortunately not everything.

Carrie with that guy named Rich who keeps getting in these pictures.

I told Carrie that CarrieNEWS had held a contest and quite a few members wrote some essays
about how her music gives everyone so much happiness. I also mentioned that the book of
essays may be something her and her mom may enjoy reading together. Again, I don't
recall her exact response because, as I mentioned, all of my brain cells are focused on
outbound verbiage and nothing is left for retaining any input. There was heart and lung activity
(at least I'm assuming), but I can't tell you what she said. She seemed to be pleased,
let's put it that way.

Carrie and Sharkbait.

After I scampered away, in the most dignified of ways, I began to regain my presence of mind
enough to be able to discreetly celebrate another wonderful Carrie encounter. I was so happy
to be able to finally give Carrie the essay book that so many of you contributed to. There
were also pictures of our contest winners. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed
your essays to this project. I'm sure Carrie and her family will love them! Could I feel any more
spoiled with 2 more nights of Carrie awaiting? What will happen next? Well, we'll have to wait
and see. To be continued….

Read my full review at CarrieFORUMS.

Pics from Thursday's Carrie concert in Cleveland...

Photos: Rockmysox124

For those who'd like to learn more about country music and the radio market in Southern California, tune in to KCAA AM 1050 at 11am PT today. Former assistant PD Tonya Campos is the guest at 11 and in the 12 o'clock hour, join host Vince Daniels discussion with former KZLA on-air personalities Whitney Allen and Shawn Parr. Listen Live.

From 3C...

Voted #1 for country worldwide for four years running at the New York International Radio Festival

NEW MUSIC ON 3C! Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats"- A completely different direction for Carrie, no more ballads for this girl! Her voice has grit and a blues style edge that makes her sound like she really means the destructive things she is talking about. After hearing this song, the furthest thing from your mind would be cheating on her! That's why it's this week's 3C Hitbound Sound!

AUDIO: Listen to continuous cool country on the live stream from The U.K.

Tonight is the 40th week of Listening Parties here at CarrieNEWS and you're
invited! I thought it would be nice to celebrate, but with a twist. Tonight's party leads
off with the live stream from 3C of The U.K. More details at CarrieFORUMS.Tell a friend!
It all starts at 6pm PT/9pm ET. You won't want to miss this special Carrie-lovin' event!

AUDIO: WGAR's Chuck Collier interviewed Carrie last Friday, Aug. 18th - Listen here 

Send your friends a limited edition Decades Rock Live eCard.
It features Carrie and it's free!

Here's the link for the eCard

Free video hosting, video codes at www.vidiLife.com

 ENCORE VIDEO: Carrie talks about performing "Alone" on DRL

For those in the L.A. area, tune in to this morning's broadcast of the KTLA Morning Show on channel 5.
Ex-KZLA Morning Show personality, Peter Tilden will be the guest in the 9am block. For those who missed the interview, Kevin at CountryBoards.com has posted the transcript here.

More pics of Carrie's 8/11 performance on Good Morning America...

If you missed the concert broadcast the first time around, be sure to check out these
links for streaming video of Carrie on GMA...

Watch Carrie rock New York's Bryant Park.

 VIDEO: Don't Forget To Remember Me

 VIDEO: Before He Cheats

 VIDEO: We're Young And Beautiful

Konami Signs Simon Cowell And Randy Jackson For 'Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol'

The last banner at Country 93.9 KZLA.com, before the format flip

On August 1st, Katie, Jen, Sharkie, and I were fortunate to be able to visit the studios of KZLA, in Burbank, and meet Vicki Pepper (for the first time), Shawn Parr, and Whitney Allen. Here are some cool pics of our visit which was a wonderful way to start off our 3-concert Carrie-palooza road trip.

KZLA Bumpersticker

Excerpts from my Carrie-palooza review, day 1...

After making our way past NBC Burbank, where we had seen Carrie on The Tonight Show, 9 months earlier, we arrived at the KZLA studios. We said hello to the receptionist and after a short wait, we were greeted by the effervescent and very pretty, Vicki Pepper. She's the Programming Assistant and is someone I've been in contact with for several months, but had not yet met. What a delight! After our introductions, she escorted us into the non-public areas and we saw a lot of cool studios where a couple of producers were working on mixing stuff, and then out pops Shawn Parr! He's the mid-day personality and also hosts the 8 o'clock block and is host of the Top 20 Countdown on Sunday mornings. We all took pictures, but I'll leave the pictures of Sharkie and Katie to tell the story better than my little camera can.

Katie, Shawn, Jen, Me, Vicki

We bid farewell to Shawn and got to take a peek into the office of Peter Tilden, the host of the morning show, which Ashley Paige co-hosts with him.

 Peter and Ashley

We got to take a peek into the back-up studio which we heard was used recently. There's always a little something like a snafu when you least expect it, huh? We passed by many, many records and awards on the walls. Very impressive! We happened to get there just when Whitney Allen was starting her show and, tada, this was the place. The main studio and Whitney was standing and doing her announcing. I was surprised that many DJs stand while broadcasting. Hmmm. Something about energy and projecting the voice. Very interesting! For those of you who don't know who Whitney is, she's just the evening drive DJ for "America's Most Listened To Country Station." Plus she hosts a couple of syndicated shows: The Big Time Saturday Night and America's Hot List. Plus, she's just a darn nice person. 

Vicki, Jen, Me, Whitney, Katie

Whitney came out from the studio to say hello and we got to take some pictures with her. We spoke with Vicki some more while Whitney went back in the studio and then Whitney came out to show us her tattoo. 

Whit and Sharkie

Whit had to get back to work so Vicki took us in search of more tour goodies. I asked Vicki about syndication and we spoke ever-so-briefly about companies such as Westwood One.

One of many awards lining the halls of KZLA, this one from SHeDaisy

Everyone was so nice and Vicki even gave us all KZLA caps and cup cozies. We said our goodbyes and I know I'm not the only one who felt very fortunate to be able to see the inner workings of our favorite radio station. It looks like a really fun place to work. We decided to act like tourists in our own backyard as we all mugged for the camera in front of the KZLA logo in front of the building. What a wonderful day to start off our Carrie-palooza road trip!

As we now know, a mere 16 days later, Emmis Communications would flip the format from country music (KZLA's format for 26 years) to "Rhythmic AC" and would go by the name of "Movin' 93.9." This would turn out to be our first and last visit to our friends at Country 93.9 KZLA. So, it is somewhat bittersweet for me to present this here. But, it was a wonderful year for me. If I had not tuned in to American Idol for the first time last year, I would have never met Carrie. If I had never met Carrie, I would, most likely, never have become a huge fan of country music. So, to have been able to meet such wonderful people at KZLA is really something for which I'm truly blessed. They were and are the nicest people. Vicki and Kevin (the station's webmaster) appear to be the only employees who have been retained for the new operation.

Many of us listeners in Los Angeles are deeply saddened for this loss to our airwaves and are working hard via a petition and letter-writing campaign to help shed light on the urgent need for country radio in our major cities, in this case Los Angeles. Artists, fans, record labels, and radio all benefit from this wonderful art form: country music. Sure, there are some reasonable alternatives if one is only looking for the music itself. But, what KZLA and it's on-air personalities brought to all of us is a local community and a family through which we shared our love of country music. This is something we want to recapture and country radio is a wonderful addition to our lives. I understand the ACM and the CMA are working diligently through their board members to find a solution to this void, so this is also something that is a positive note.

To Peter Tilden, Ashley Paige, Shawn Parr, Whitney Allen, Brian Douglas, Blair Garner, Buzz Brainard, Paul Freeman, Larry Santiago, Justin Michaels, Vicki Pepper, Tonya Campos, RJ Curtis, and anyone at Country KZLA who I may have left out, a huge thank you so much for giving all of us so much listening pleasure. We miss you!

Whitney Allen can still be heard on numerous stations on her awesome show The Big Time Saturday Night and America's Hot List. Blair Garner is also going strong with his After Midnite show, now in it's 13th year. I understand Peter Tilden is looking into syndicating his show called "Hollyville." We're still looking forward to many years of listening to these fantastic on-air personalities. This isn't the end, it's just the beginning! Feel free to sign our petition here and visit Country Boards.com and Country Fanlink.org to stay up-to-date on our blossoming projects to help bring back Country in the City. To our friends at KZLA, we'll be right here ready to celebrate the return of country radio in L.A! More pics at CarrieFORUMS.

This is the first of many stories on people who are connected to Carrieworld in some way.

Heeere's Amy...

Some of us have been very fortunate to make the acquaintance of Amy, the lovely
merchandiser, who will be at most of the Carrie concerts this year. Here are a couple of
pics to help introduce Amy to everyone who hasn't met her yet.

That's Amy above on the right. This picture was taken at the Ironstone Vineyards concert.

Carrie's band and others at the Mid State Fair concert. Ashley Clark, Mark Childers, Me,
Ed Eason, Amy, Sharkie.

So, this is Amy! If you see her selling all those t-shirts and other fun Carrie stuff, buy tons
of stuff! There's the black Carrie shirt, the white Carrie shirt, the pink hat, the celphone
strap, the plush doggie, the keychain, the Carrie pic, and the concert photobook, which I
think is a work of art! Amy is usually pretty busy with her Carrie goodie sales, but be sure
and give her a big hello from CarrieNEWS!

- Rich

WGAR Cleveland

Beginning Monday August 21st, countdown to the front row with Mantel and Michelle!

Listen at 7:10a for the time you’ll hear the Carrie Underwood Double Play of the Day and you could be at the show courtesy of Arista Nashville and part of a private sound check party where you’ll meet Carrie on Thursday!  

Mon 8/21-3p
Tue 8/22-11a
Wed 8/23-4p
Thur 8/24-8a

Profile of Gordie Sampson Hits/Cuts/Chart Action: "Jesus, Take The Wheel," Carrie Underwood; "My Name," George Canyon; "Paris," Faith Hill; "The Hard Way," Keith Urban; "This Life," LeAnn Rimes The following is an excerpt of an interview from Music Row Magazine

Gordie recalls his first trip to Nashville: "I want to say I was 26, something like that. I hooked up with some Canadians in town—Ralph Murphy and Tinti Moffatt were two important ones. I slept on their floors and they introduced me to people and guided me through the choices that you make when you're eager and starving. I'm forever indebted to them for that. The more time I spent in Nashville the easier it got, the more doors became unlocked. It just really feels like home there now."

His first Universal Canada album was released at about the time of that first Nashville visit. "I had singles in Canada that were doing really well and was getting video play on MuchMoreMusic up here, our version of MTV2. Sort of a triple-A video station."

But two albums' worth of respected material, despite generous Canadian airplay, hardly prepared Gordie for what would happen when "Jesus, Take The Wheel" became hitched to the meteoric rise of a certain American Idol winner. "I got way more press out of writing a song for Carrie Underwood than I ever did for anything I did as an artist," he's quick to admit. "The cool thing is that I'll do a show as an artist and draw some people as a result of riding on Carrie's wave. It's very strange 'cause people will ask me to sing the song and I can't sing it! There's a bit of sorting out involved in maintaining the two paths."

From his earliest Nashville days Gordie has enjoyed the benefits of co-writing. "I confess to being a born co-writer. I really enjoy the process. One of the coolest things I learned in Nashville was being able to surrender your trust to the other person. When you're trying to hack out a line you learn a lot by saying to yourself, 'OK, even though I don't agree with him I'm gonna trust my co-writer on this.' That's happened for me a couple of times on songs that got cut, where I look back and go, 'Oh my God, If I'd have gone with my own feeling it wouldn't have been as good!'

Read more about Gordie Sampson at Musicrow.com

Just released today...

BELIEVE Songs of Faith From Today's Top Country & Christian Artists

Click here to buy.

More pics from last weekend's Carrie concert in Louisville...

Photos: Carrie Underwood Fanspace

CHART DATE: 08/21/2006 LAST UPDATE: 08/22/2006 14:06:32 NOW IN: FINAL

LW TW artist / album label power index % change -- 1 CHRISTINA AGUILERA RCA/RMG 355,598 -- BACK TO BASICS -- 2 LYFE JENNINGS SONY URBAN/COLUMBIA/CRG 136,520 -- THE PHOENIX -- 3 TRACE ADKINS CAPITOL NASHVILLE 106,957 -- DANGEROUS MAN -- 4 CHERISH SHO'NUFF/CAPITOL 91,051 -- UNAPPRECIATED -- 5 CHEETAH GIRLS 2 WALT DISNEY RECORDS 80,044 -- SOUNDTRACK 3 6 NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC V22 SONY MUSIC GROUP 79,016 -23% VARIOUS -- 7 OBIE TRICE SHADY/INTERSCOPE 76,679 -- SECOND ROUND'S ON ME 1 8 RICK ROSS DEF JAM/IDJMG 75,881 -61% PORT OF MIAMI 5 9 STEP UP LAFACE/ZLG 70,470 +12% SOUNDTRACK 9 10 NICKELBACK ROADRUNNER/IDJMG 52,469 +15% ALL THE RIGHT REASONS 7 11 GNARLS BARKLEY DOWNTOWN/ATLANTIC ATL G 50,282 -8% ST. ELSEWHERE 2 12 BREAKING BENJAMIN HOLLYWOOD 50,208 -62% PHOBIA 11 13 RASCAL FLATTS LYRIC STREET 39,513 -5% ME AND MY GANG 4 14 CASSIE BAD BOY/ATLANTIC/ATL G 38,618 -62% CASSIE 15 15 PUSSYCAT DOLLS A&M/INTERSCOPE 38,569 0% PCD 12 16 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL WALT DISNEY RECORDS 38,155 -4% SOUNDTRACK 26 17 JOSH TURNER MCA NASHVILLE 37,430 +30% YOUR MAN 6 18 KIDZ BOP KIDS 10 RAZOR & TIE 36,722 -34% VARIOUS 22 19 HINDER UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC 35,452 +14% EXTREME BEHAVIOR 17 20 YUNG JOC BAD BOY/ATLANTIC/ATL G 34,945 -7% NEW JOC CITY 20 21 RIHANNA DEF JAM/IDJMG 34,332 0% A GIRL LIKE ME 13 22 LETOYA CAPITOL 32,015 -19% LETOYA 21 23 PANIC! AT THE DISCO FUELD BY RAMEN/WMG 31,091 -6% A FEVER YOU CAN'T SWEAT OUT 18 24 TOM PETTY AMERICAN/WARNER BROS. 30,727 -15% HIGHWAY COMPANION 10 25 DMX SONY URBAN/COLUMBIA/CRG 30,626 -30% YEAR OF THE DOG...AGAIN 24 26 PHARRELL STAR TRAK/INTERSCOPE 28,903 -5% IN MY MIND 25 27 RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS WARNER BROS. 28,841 -4% STADIUM ARCADIUM 16 28 STONE SOUR ROADRUNNER/IDJ 28,124 -26% COME WHAT(EVER) MAY 23 29 NELLY FURTADO GEFFEN 27,287 -12% LOOSE 27 30 THE FRAY EPIC 26,836 0% HOW TO SAVE A LIFE 34 31 CORINNE BAILEY RAE CAPITOL 26,599 +18% CORINNE BAILEY RAE 28 32 NE-YO DEF JAM/IDJMG 25,813 -2% IN MY OWN WORDS 31 33 CARRIE UNDERWOOD ARISTA/RMG 24,684 -1% SOME HEARTS 30 34 DIXIE CHICKS OPEN WIDE/MONUMENT/COL 23,028 -8% TAKING THE LONG WAY 33 35 TIM MCGRAW CURB 22,438 -3% GREATEST HITS VOL.2 36 36 RODNEY ATKINS CURB 21,168 -3% IF YOU'RE GOING THROUGH HELL 29 37 INDIA.ARIE UNIVERSAL MOTOWN 21,099 -18% TESTIMONY: VOL.1, LIFE & REL... 37 38 AFI INTERSCOPE 21,049 -2% DECEMBERUNDERGROUND 32 39 FIVE FOR FIGHTING AWARE/COLUMBIA/CRG 20,073 -19% TWO LIGHTS 39 40 WRECKERS MAVERICK/WARNER BROS. 20,027 +5% STAND STILL, LOOK PRETTY 38 41 BLUE OCTOBER UNIVERSAL MOTOWN 19,893 +4% FOILED 19 42 STEVE HOLY CURB 18,856 -47% BRAND NEW GIRLFRIEND -- 43 SNAKES ON A PLANE NEW LINE 18,442 -- SOUNDTRACK 8 44 SLAYER WARNER BROS. 17,702 -66% CHRIST ILLUSION -- 45 K.T. TUNSTALL VIRGIN 17,451 -- EYE TO THE TELESCOPE 46 46 TOBY KEITH SHOW DOG NASH/UNIVERSAL 16,256 -6% WHITE TRASH WITH MONEY 48 47 BUSTA RHYMES AFTERMATH/INTERSCOPE 16,183 +3% THE BIG BANG -- 48 JAMES BLUNT CUSTARD/ATLANTIC/ATL G 16,135 -- BACK TO BEDLAM 42 49 BUCKCHERRY ELEVEN SEVEN MUSIC 15,899 -12% 15 -- 50 SNOW PATROL A&M/INTERSCOPE 15,728 -- EYES OPEN

Source: Hits Daily Double

Carrie Underwood Before He Cheats Arista When "Jesus Take The Wheel" was making it's momentous run up the charts, my pastor mentioned Carrie Underwood in one of his sermons, saying that he loved the song. However in his view, the good lord would rather that we take the wheel, in fact he said God gives us the keys and we take charge. I'm pleased that Carrie got the memo. In fact, she not only has the keys, she rips them into her cheating boyfriend's 'suped-up four-wheel drive' with a vengeance. And so is the story of, "Before He Cheats," the new single from our new superstar. Underwood displays a whole new side here, with enough soul, swagger and spit-fire to make Aretha proud. The pretty school marm from the church choir just changed into her leather skirt and boots and like a true chameleon, she looks great in both. In my opinion this is the best single so far this year, okay maybe the last two years. Impacting everywhere now.

Source: AllAccess

CHART DATE: 08/21/2006 LAST UPDATE: 08/21/2006 18:03:16 NOW IN: 40.37%

LW TW artist / album label power index -- 1 CHRISTINA AGUILERA RCA/RMG 110,412 BACK TO BASICS -- 2 TRACE ADKINS CAPITOL NASHVILLE 72,207 DANGEROUS MAN 3 3 NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC V22 SONY MUSIC GROUP 51,367 VARIOUS -- 4 CHEETAH GIRLS 2 WALT DISNEY RECORDS 42,386 SOUNDTRACK -- 5 CHERISH SHO'NUFF/CAPITOL 34,258 UNAPPRECIATED -- 6 LYFE JENNINGS SONY URBAN/COLUMBIA/CRG 30,759 THE PHOENIX 26 7 JOSH TURNER MCA NASHVILLE 27,225 YOUR MAN 9 8 NICKELBACK ROADRUNNER/IDJMG 23,713 ALL THE RIGHT REASONS 11 9 RASCAL FLATTS LYRIC STREET 21,710 ME AND MY GANG 6 10 KIDZ BOP KIDS 10 RAZOR & TIE 21,443 VARIOUS 15 11 PUSSYCAT DOLLS A&M/INTERSCOPE 17,596 PCD 12 12 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL WALT DISNEY RECORDS 17,545 SOUNDTRACK 5 13 STEP UP LAFACE/ZLG 15,979 SOUNDTRACK 19 14 STEVE HOLY CURB 15,812 BRAND NEW GIRLFRIEND 31 15 CARRIE UNDERWOOD ARISTA/RMG 15,443 SOME HEARTS 20 16 RIHANNA DEF JAM/IDJMG 14,927 A GIRL LIKE ME 4 17 CASSIE BAD BOY/ATLANTIC/ATL G 14,741 CASSIE 7 18 GNARLS BARKLEY DOWNTOWN/ATLANTIC ATL G 14,269 ST. ELSEWHERE 33 19 TIM MCGRAW CURB 13,882 GREATEST HITS VOL.2 36 20 RODNEY ATKINS CURB 13,420 IF YOU'RE GOING THROUGH HELL 1 21 RICK ROSS DEF JAM/IDJMG 11,877 PORT OF MIAMI 13 22 LETOYA CAPITOL 11,787 LETOYA 2 23 BREAKING BENJAMIN HOLLYWOOD 11,550 PHOBIA 18 24 TOM PETTY AMERICAN/WARNER BROS. 11,239 HIGHWAY COMPANION 22 25 HINDER UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC 11,204 EXTREME BEHAVIOR

Source: Hits Daily Double

WAMZ On-Air Personality Gator Glass was very nice to provide CarrieNEWS these
great pictures of last night's concert at the Kentucky State Fair. He had a
personalized Louisville Slugger bat made up to give to Carrie Saturday night, with
her name, the song title, and the station's logo on it. That is way too cool!

 

I was listening to WAMZ quite a bit last night. But, unfortunately, I missed our
shoutout. But, it's all good. A big thank you to Gator Glass for helping all of us get
more of a sense as to what went on yesterday at this special show right there in the
heart of Louisville Slugger country. It looks like everyone had a wonderful time.

Photos: Gator Glass
Evening On-Air Personality 97.5 WAMZ

VIDEO: Carrie talks about her favorite actors, actresses, and her favorite music

Tune in tonight to see if Carrie wins her two nominations!

Choice Music - Female Artist

Choice - Breakout Female

2006 Teen Choice Awards airs LIVE August 20th 8PM ET/PT on Fox.

Recommended KZLA alternatives for syndicated programs:

The Big Time Saturday Night w/ Whitney Allen: Saturday 4pm - WGAR Listen Live

After Midnite with Blair Garner (Larry Morgan Sa-Su): Daily 12 midnight - KUSS Listen Live

Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40: Sunday 6pm - KXY Listen Live

 Country radio Taku 105 in Juneau, Alaska, is giving away tickets to
Carrie in concert at the Puyallup Fair on September 18th. Included in the prize
package are roundtrip tickets for 2 on Alaska Airlines and $105 in spending money!
Click here for details.

Welcome to Louisville Slugger Day at CarrieNEWS!

In honor of Carrie's performance at the Kentucky State Fair this evening, CarrieNEWS is naming this day Louisville Slugger Day!

As most of you know, the lyrics of Carrie's new single "Before He Cheats" includes references to Louisville Slugger. A representative of Louisville Slugger tells CarrieNEWS that the company has teamed up with WAMZ-FM to produce and present a bat for Carrie. How cool is that?!

More pics of Carrie from her performance on CBS' The Early Show...

Neighbors raise money to help fire victims

Kjerstin Ramsing/News4 Reporter

LOON LAKE -- A mulit-faceted fundraiser was held on Saturday for the victims of the August 9th Valley Mill Fire. The fire destroyed 10 homes near the town of Valley, Washington.

Neighbors in the Loon Lake community held car washes, yard sales and a spaghetti feed and silent auction to raise money for the uninsured families that lost their homes.

The spaghetti feed at Loon Lake Saloon and Grill drew support from local supporters and national celebrities alike. County Music stars Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood each donated autographed guitars to be auctioned off.

Patricia Sponsel of Loon Lake told News4 that "big names aside, it is a small close knit community that usually helps out the most in times of need".

The Valley Mill fire scorched 300 acres.

Source: KXLY.com News

From a Q and A with Anthony Federov....

Do you still keep in touch with past Idols? If so, who?
*Andrea*

"I keep in touch pretty much with everybody. I talk to Carrie most of the time. We talk quite a bit."

I know you're both huge animal lovers. Did that bring you together?
*Mrs. Jones*

"Actually, no. Carrie and I first bonded because our personalities connected. Carrie – she's a great girl and we started hanging out. The less people that were on the show, the more we just bonded and hung out."

More Q and A at Mrs Jones on Idol