Taylor Swift performs during her “RED Tour.” Photo Credit: Ash NewellTaylor Swift is about to break a record. The singer/songwriter will pick up the 2013 Songwriter/Artist of the Year award from the Nashville Songwriters Association International on October 13, 2013 and as the recipient of this year’s honor, she will become the artist with the most wins with six in this category. That tops five-time winners Vince Gill and Alan Jackson.
Swift also holds the record as the youngest artist ever to be named Songwriter/Artist of the Year.
According to Swift’s label, Big Machine Records, the songwriter award is given out on an annual basis to the “most prolific and productive Nashville writers who achieved Top 30 singles during the past year.” Taylor’s most recent album, Red, has sold over 6 million copies and she’s had 14 Top 30 songs between July 2012 and June 2013.
In addition to picking up her Songwriter/Artist of the Year award, this weekend Swift will also be opening the Taylor Swift Education Center at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The education center was made possible by the largest individual donation to the Hall of Fame in history: Taylor Swift gifted $4 million to the Country Music All of Fame and Museum’s educational program.
Per the official announcement: “The Taylor Swift Education Center, which will encompass parts of two floors and feature three classrooms, a learning lab and a state-of-the-art children’s exhibit gallery, will increase the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s educational capacity up to seven-fold (the museum previously had one classroom). The classroom spaces will be adjacent to a visible design studio; this space will feature thematic displays, e.g. dozens of instruments, and allow students to observe museum curators at work. The children’s gallery, situated on the second floor, will be a dedicated exhibit space for young patrons and will be filled with hands-on, interactive exhibits. The center will open officially on October 12(th) (classrooms and learning lab will open on that date; gallery space will open in March, 2014).”
Keith Urban - Photo Courtesy of Sony Music Nashville, Universal Music Group Nashville, and Capital Records NashvilleThe GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night will have LL Cool J back as host and big name acts taking the stage. The first group of performers revealed for the December 6, 2013 show are Drake, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Robin Thicke, and Keith Urban, all set to perform during the one-hour special taking place at LA’s Nokia Theatre L.A. Live.
The special Grammy nominations concert will reveal the nominees in select categories, with the 2013 show marking the sixth time the nominations have been announced live on primetime television. CBS will air the special at 10pm ET/PT.
In addition to the one-hour show, guests at the event will be treated to a concert by Thicke following the broadcast. For info on purchasing tickets, visit www.axs.com.
The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will take place at the Staples Center in LA on January 26, 2014.
Jimmy Fallon and The Roots can make any song better, can’t they? Case in point: Miley Cyrus‘ “We Can’t Stop” sung a cappella. This video is much, much better than Cyrus’ original music video for the dance song and…shocker…actually shows off her voice.
Haim’s first full-length album, Days Are Gone, debuted in the #6 spot on Billboard’s 200 album chart and in the UK it pulled off an even bigger feat: snagging the #1 spot and beating the sales of Justin Timberlake’s new album. Sales of the album were spurred by positive advance reviews, with LA Times calling it irresistible and Rolling Stone going as far as to say it’s “the kind of microtriumph you sit up and root for.”
Haim, made up of sisters Este, Danielle and Alana Haim, will be performing tracks off the album on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. The band will be wrapping up their US fall tour with a performance in Vegas on October 27th.
Miranda Lambert will perform on "The 47th Annual CMA Awards" live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 6 on the ABC Television Network. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sony Music Nashville)
Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban have officially been confirmed to perform on this year’s CMA Awards. Dubbed “Country Music’s Biggest Night,” the 47th annual awards show is set to air on November 6th on ABC. Once again, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley will be serving as hosts of the show marking their sixth time handling the hosting job.
More than 7,000 members of the Country Music Association vote on the nominees and ultimately select the winners, with this year’s voting ending on Monday, October 28th. The CMA Awards have been airing on television since 1968 and have the distinction of being the “longest-running, annual music awards program on network television.”
Details on the 2013 CMA Awards Performers [Courtesy of CMA]:
Aldean is nominated this year for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year, as well as Musical Event of the Year for “The Only Way I Know” with Bryan and Eric Church. Aldean is a two-time CMA Award winner with 13 career CMA Awards nominations.
Nominated this year for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year, and Musical Event of the Year for “The Only Way I Know” with Aldean and Church, Bryan has seven career CMA Awards nominations. He was first nominated in 2010 for New Artist of the Year and has been a presence at the CMA Awards every year since. This marks his first nomination for the night’s highest honor, CMA Entertainer of the Year.
Lambert is among this year’s top nominees, with three individual nominations (Female Vocalist of the Year, and Single and Music Video of the Year for “Mama’s Broken Heart”) and two with Pistol Annies (Music Video and Musical Event of the Year for “Boys ‘Round Here” with Shelton). Lambert is a six-time CMA winner with 25 career CMA Awards nominations.
Reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town is nominated in that category again, as well as for Album of the Year for Tornado, and Music Video of the Year for the album’s title track. In addition to their win last year for Vocal Group of the Year, their song “Pontoon” was named Single of the Year.
One of the top CMA Award winners of all time, McGraw has won 12 trophies throughout his career, including two for Male Vocalist of the Year and one for Entertainer of the Year. He is a three-time nominee this year, with nods for Single, Musical Event, and Music Video of the Year for “Highway Don’t Care” with Swift and Urban. He has 33 career CMA Awards nominations.
Shelton finds himself tied with Lambert this year with five nominations, including Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for Based On A True Story, and Musical Event and Music Video of the Year for “Boys ‘Round Here” with Pistol Annies. Shelton has taken home the Male Vocalist of the Year trophy for the past three years (2010-2012), and is a six-time CMA Award winner.
Swift, a seven-time CMA Award winner, is a top nominee this year with six nominations, including Entertainer and Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for RED, and Single, Musical Event, and Music Video of the Year for “Highway Don’t Care” with McGraw and Urban, bringing her total career CMA Awards nominations to 21.
Male Vocalist of the Year nominee Urban is also nominated for Single, Musical Event, and Music Video of the Year for “Highway Don’t Care” with McGraw and Swift. Urban has been named Male Vocalist of the Year three times (2004-2006) and is a six-time CMA Award winner with 29 career CMA Awards nominations.
Kevin Hart and Nick Cannon in 'Wild N Out' (Photo Courtesy of MTV2)
MTV2’s coming off its most-watched year to date and that’s mostly thanks to Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out and Ain’t That America with Lil Duval, so it’s not exactly a shocker that both shows have been renewed. According to MTV2, Nick Cannon’s show is the highest-rated series in the network’s history.
Lil Duval’s series was MTV2’s second highest-rated show. Both shows will return in 2014.
Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out Details:
Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out season one was a remixed version of the first incarnation featuring lightning fast comedic improv, head-to head competition and cutting edge entertainment that’s more rap battle than comedic stage, along with a new fresh and raw intensity.
Ain’t That America with Lil Duval Details:
Ain’t That America with Lil Duval features comedian Lil Duval and friends as they explore America’s biggest cultural traditions and pastimes. From birthdays and barbeques to holidays, sports, food, fitness and more, the eight episode, half-hour series will feature the most outrageous viral videos spanning every social and geographic group in the country.
Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood in 'Charlie Countryman' (Photo Courtesy of Millennium Entertainment)Millennium Entertainment has unleashed the first trailer for dramatic movie Charlie Countryman directed by Fredrik Bond. Launching in theaters on November 15, 2013, Charlie Countryman stars Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Melissa Leo and Rupert Grint.
The Plot:
When his late mother appears in a vision and tells him to go to Bucharest, Charlie immediately boards a plane across the Atlantic. But when he meets a fellow passenger, Charlie finds himself with another promise to fulfill. Charlie does so – and falls head over heels in love with Gabi, a beautiful musician. However, a vicious gangster has already laid claim to Gabi, and has no intention of letting her go. Determined to protect her, Charlie enters into the hallucinatory, Romanian underworld filled with violence and, strangely enough, love.
A scene from 'Cold Justice' (Photo Courtesy of TNT)The unscripted crime series Cold Justice has been renewed for a second season, with TNT ordering up 10 all new episodes of the show from executive producers Dick Wolf, Dan Cutforth, Tom Thayer, and Jane Lipsitz. Cold Justice has been averaging 2.5 million viewers and was one of basic cable’s top five new unscripted shows in the third quarter of 2013.
“We’re very proud to be renewing Cold Justice, which has already delivered real-world results for several of the cases featured on the show,” said David Eilenberg, SVP, Unscripted Development at TNT and TBS. “Viewers have come to see Kelly and Yolanda as a real-life counterpart to such crime-drama duos as Cagney & Lacey and even our own Rizzoli & Isles.”
Cold Justice Details [Courtesy of TNT]:
Cold Justice centers on former prosecutor Kelly Siegler and former crime-scene investigator Yolanda McClary, two women who have spent their lives putting killers behind bars. This real-life procedural drama follows them as they set out to solve small-town murder cases that have lingered for years without answers or closure.
Among the cases that have seen movement as a result of Kelly and Yolanda’s work is a Cuero, Texas, murder case from the show’s Sept. 3 series premiere. The case resulted in a guilty plea. The Morehouse Parrish, La., murder case from the Sept. 10 episode has resulted in three indictments for murder. And the Matagorda County district attorney in the Palacios, Texas, case featured on Sept. 17 is preparing to present evidence to a grand jury in hopes of obtaining an indictment.
10 aspiring creature creators will be given a chance to spotlight their work in the new unscripted series Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge (that title may change). Syfy has just greenlit an eight-episode season one in which contestants will compete for a $100,000 prize along with a job working at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
According to the announcement by Syfy President of Original Content Mark Stern, the series will feature artists creating all sorts of creatures, including mechanical characters. Jim Henson’s son, Brian – Chairman of The Jim Henson Company and an award-winning writer, director and producer – will be the series’ lead judge. Designer Peter Brooke, animatronics master John Criswell, and fabrication & artistic specialist Julie Zobel will serve as mentors.
“As Face Off does with SFX makeup application, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge showcases the incredible imagination and artistry of lifelike creature construction,” stated Stern. “We are honored to partner with The Jim Henson Company and Brian Henson on this series. The Creature Shop has set the bar for a caliber of work that is unmatched in quality, design and sheer imagination.”
The series will debut in early 2014 and is executive produced by Brian Henson, Lisa Henson, Joseph Freed, and Rob Bagshaw.
Details on Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge:
The creative challenges in the series will showcase the fascinating process behind creature building, from conceptual design to sculpting, fabricating and mechanization. Each episode will end with on-set performances involving the elaborate and life-like creations. The creature creators will be tasked to create everything from hand puppets to large-scale theatrical creatures that can master the balance between realism and fantasy.
American Horror Story: Coven is premiering on Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 10pm on FX and this new video walks viewers through New Orleans through the eyes of a witch. Creepy.
The Plot:
Coven tells the secret history of witches and witchcraft in America. Over 300 years have passed since the turbulent days of the Salem witch trials and those who managed to escape are now facing extinction. Mysterious attacks have been escalating against their kind and young girls are being sent away to a special school in New Orleans to learn how to protect themselves. Wrapped up in the turmoil is new arrival, Zoe (Farmiga), who is harboring a terrifying secret of her own. Alarmed by the recent aggression, Fiona (Lange), the long-absent Supreme, sweeps back into town, determined to protect the Coven and hell-bent on decimating anyone who gets in her way.
Stumble It! 
Haim’s first full-length album, 
