Beatles, Robots, Weddings and More.... Oh My!

Steve Graham wrote that headline, not me, as he noted that Kacey Musgraves did very well at The Grammy's with two wins, while Taylor Swift walked away empty handed:  "It was an interesting night at the Grammy's.  Some are calling it the best in years while others are talking about the performance of Willie Nelson, Kris Kristoferson, Merle Haggard and Blake Shelton as the highlight of the night."

It was so good to see Paul McCartney and Ringo together too and it was a mix of new and old for sure.

It's hard to question, with 29 million folks watching, Darius Rucker as Best Country Solo Performance with "Wagon Wheel" and while fans of country music on the radio might have expected different "Best Country Song" winners than Musgraves' "Merry Go Round," Kacey's "Same Trailer Different Park" was certainly deserving of "Best Country Album" and is just the bill of fare those normally-eclectic-when-it-comes-to-country music Grammy voters usually choose over "hits." 

It's rewarding to see Kacey and her label get a nice spike in sales today after the TV appearance.

More of a head-scratcher for me was "From This Valley" by The Civil Wars for Best Country Duo/Group Performance in the wake of the year Florida Georgia Line just had.

Macklemore &  Ryan Lewis had to wait for Grammy to give them their due too and I join Duane Doobie in being amazed that they got the Grammy award for best new artist – "as if they just suddenly appeared magically overnight."

Perhaps FGL needs another year of multiple #1's before those strange Grammy voters - who always seem to dislike awarding commercial successes - take note?

How Much Influence Should You Tube Play In Music Decisions?

Jay Bedford, Program Director|Music Director|Morning Host at 1035 The Eagle/Sydney shared this fascinating factoid:

"So here are our five Power Currents for this week ... 5 of them ... and the corresponding number of views on YouTube ... plus one more song!

3.9 million views ... Blake Shelton ... Mine Would Be You
3.5 million views ... Chris Young ... Aw Naw
2.9 million views ... Tim McGraw ... Southern Girl
2.4 million views ... Robby Johnson ... South of Me1.2 million views ... Miranda Lambert ... All Kinds Of Kinds
1.1 million views ... Zac Brown Band ... Sweet Annie"

He asks:  "Should these figures have an influence? Those are amazing stats for an unknown guy from Quebec that is not play listed on any major radio stations. (Song is not Canadian content even though the artist is Canadian.)"

My reaction, after being intrigued, impressed and watching the video, is that streaming and downloads are a lot like sales figures.

I want to know more before deciding it's right for my radio station.  It would be interesting to see the location of the hits and views/listens to see how many are from your local area compared to the others.

Callout and online testing are still my major criteria for this reason, even over mScore tracking.

You know they are your heavy users, and even their age and gender cell, so you can target what we choose to play, but goodness knows this is certainly a great sign, among the many emerging stats that radio needs to stay aware of as listeners find new ways to discover new favorites.

46 Hats Off, ACM

Winners:

• ACM
• Country Music (sold-out two of the largest arenas in Las Vegas, the MGM
• Grand Garden Arena and the Mandalay Bay Events Center)
• CBS
• Las Vegas
• Country RADIO (thanks, performers, for all the mentions!)
• 600,000 fans who cast votes for Entertainer of the Year (the largest vote ever for this category!!)
• Blake Shelton
• Reba
• Taylor Swift (the eighth and youngest female to take the award in the 40 year history of the category!!!)
• Miranda Lambert
• Brad Paisley
• Sugarland
• Lady Antebellum
• The Band Perry (nearly 155,000 fans cast online and text votes for the New Artist of the Year category, the largest fan vote for this category!!!!)

George, Reba, Blake And Julianne To Open Jimmy's New Place In Dallas

George Strait and Reba McEntire will team up June 6 to perform at the first major event at the Dallas Cowboys' new $1.1 billion stadium, team owner Jerry Jones announced Tuesday.

"One of the greatest entertainers of all time is going to be opening this stadium," Jones said, standing next to a Strait poster advertising the show.

The inaugural concert will also include singers Blake Shelton and Julianne Hough, a former "Dancing with the Stars" champion, to represent the newer generation of country stars.

If You Get To The Point That You Understand Harold & Percy

...You have been listening to Jeff Stone on 97.7 Big Dawg for too long! (gee, at least one of those voices sure sounds familiar...)

Country Weekly Dishes On Blake And Amanda

Blake Shelton opens up about family, hard times, his new hit, life on his Oklahoma ranch . . . and girlfriend Miranda Lambert:

“I just love how my life is at the moment,” Blake sums up, and it’s not difficult to see why. His current single “Home” is among his fastest-rising ever and he’s also settled into a sprawling ranch he bought last year in Oklahoma. Plus, Miranda lives on her own farm about six miles away. As for their relationship, Blake admits that they’re taking it slowly. “I’m not in any hurry to get married again,” he tells Country Weekly. “She says she’s not in a hurry to get married. For once, I just want to enjoy bein’ comfortable with where things are in my life and how they’re flowin’ along right now.”