Keepin' it Country Media & Radio » The Wreckers

Kelly Clarkson Brings Out Surprise Guests at Show in LA

Jessica Crans — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:04:37 +0000

Last night was a pretty big night at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Kelly Clarkson was in town to perform to a sold out crowd for her Stronger Tour, and as a surprise she brought along some of her celebrity pals to sing with her.

Blake Shelton happened to be in town last night to film last night’s live episode of The Voice, so making an appearance at Kelly’s show worked out perfectly. Kelly and Blake have been good friends for a while now, as they are both managed by Starstruck Entertainment in Nashville, TN.

Kelly brought Blake Shelton out on stage to perform with her for “Don’t You Wanna Stay”, the smash hit she sings with Jason Aldean. She introduced Blake with ”I LOVE him! He is so freakin’ awesome. I love his music, I love him as a person, I love how he messes with people all the time….He is a phenomenal country singer.” You can tell they have a real genuine friendship just by watching them perform together on stage.

At this point in the show, Kelly had brought out two special guests before Blake, Tamyra Gray (who was on American Idol Season One with Kelly) in which they sang the Whitney Houston song “When You Believe,” and pop singer Michelle Branch, who in addition to having her own pop solo career, was in the country duo “The Wreckers” with Jessica Harp. Back in February of 2008, The Wreckers announced they were splitting up the group to focus on their solo careers.

This isn’t the first time Kelly has sung with Michelle, as she made an appearance at The Wreckers’s show at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, TX back in 2007 to perform “Leave The Pieces” with them. This time her and Michelle performed “Leave The Pieces” again.

Last but certainly not least, as if the audience even thought the show could get any better, Kelly brings out Reba to sing “Because of You” with her, which was the fourth single off of Kelly’s “Breakaway” album in 2005. The song was later released in 2007 as a duet with Reba McEntire and featured on her CD “Reba: Duets.” Kelly wrote the song when she was 16 about her parent’s divorce, which happened when she was only 6.

Kelly just last weekend won two ACM awards with Jason Aldean for “Don’t You Wanna Stay” and in her acceptance speech, she thanked country music for accepting her in from the pop world. Country loves Kelly, and we’d certainly love to see her do a lot more in the country world in the future. What do you think?

Video Picks Of The Week: February 5, 2012

Jeanna D. — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:58:34 +0000

Hello friends…

We give you our latest “Video Picks of the Week!”

Music Video

This week’s music video is The Wreckers‘ number one hit single, “Leave The Pieces.” I have always been a big Michelle Branch fan so when she formed The Wreckers with Jessica Harp back in 2005, I was excited to check out their music. Their album Stand Still, Look Pretty is still one of my favorite country albums, and is comprised of some really great music. The girls returned to their solo careers after just one record, but the duo is still one of my favorite country groups and I hope to hear more country music from Branch and Harp in the future. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for Branch’s new mainstream album that is slated to drop this year.

Continue reading to check out our live performance and cover song video picks…

Live Performance

This week’s live pick is Chuck Wicks‘ beautiful acoustic performance of his song, “All I Ever Wanted” on Music Business Radio with Monty Powell. The track was the second single off of Wicks’ debut album, Starting Now. I have always liked this song, but I really enjoyed this stripped down version. I love music at its bare bones and that is what Wicks did here. As a side note, Wicks has been working on new music and I can’t wait for another album from him!

Cover Song

Bob Dylan’s “To You Feel My Love” has been covered by several artists and many have had success with it. The biggest success, however, comes from Garth Brooks. His version of the song was part of the Hope Floats soundtrack in 1998, and reached number one on the country charts. It also garnered Brooks and Dylan nods for the 41st Grammy Awards.

The other most noteworthy version of the song probably comes from vocal sensation, Adele. It is included on her debut album 19, and served as the album’s fifth single. It is a fantastic cover, but with Adele’s beautiful voice, who would expect anything less?

With that said, this week’s cover video is Adele performing the hit song on The Late Show With David Letterman.

We hope you are enjoying the videos! As always, leave us some video suggestions and feedback.

Until next time…

Jessica Harp Now A Free Agent

Lydia Picknell — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:57:25 +0000

Jessica Harp, formerly one half of my favorite country music duo The Wreckers, has officially been released from Warner Brothers as a recording artist. After the duo announced their split in 2007, both Jessica and Michelle Branch went to work on solo albums for the label. She married the fiddle player from the Wreckers in 2008. Jessica was finally able to release her “A Woman Needs” in March 2010 after struggling to get it out. When it was released digitally, she announced she was going to pursue being a songwriter instead of an artist from that day forward. The last recording she made was with Blake Shelton on an iTunes bonus track on his “Red River Blue” album called “Addicted,” a cover of a Dan Seals track.

She announced on Twitter earlier this week that she was no longer signed with the label and is now “free.” She will be making music again, even if she isn’t signed to a label.

@jessicaharp: It’s official. After years of my love of my job being strangled out of me, I’m moving on. Adios Warner Music Nash, thanks for freeing me!

@jessicaharp: I can tell you that whether I’m signed somewhere new or ride indie style, I WILL make music again! Thanks guys for your continued love!

@jessicaharp: Lastly, for the project I poured my heart into…R.I.P. A Woman Needs! http://pic.twitter.com/XnUdZdBG

Jessica was nominated for a Grammy award as a duo for “Best Country Performance By A Group Or Duo With Vocal” as The Wreckers for “Leave The Pieces.” She was the highest charting female country artist in 2009. Her debut single from her solo album, “Boy Like Me,” had sold over 100,000 digital copies before her album was pushed back. As The Wreckers, her and Michelle were nominated for a 2007 Country Music Association Award for vocal duo of the year. They were the 2007 Music Row Award winner for Major Label Breakout Artist Of The Year, and the 2007 R&R Readers’ Poll winners for the Best New Performer.

I hope she finds a new home soon. She’s way too talented of an artist to go unsigned. Her album “A Woman Needs” is still available on Amazon, and even features Vince Gill on backing vocals on “Homemade Love.” It’s a great purchase and a solid country album by the singer-songwriter. Good luck, Jessica!

Whatever Happened To…. The Wreckers

Lydia Picknell — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:21:19 +0000

In 2004, pop singer-songwriter Michelle Branch put her solo career on hold to form a country duo with then-backup-singer-and-best-friend Jessica Harp. The pair began to write music together and made their debut performance as The Wreckers on One Tree Hill. They joined the month-long One Tree Hill tour before their first album together was even released. In 2006, they exploded on to the country scene with their gold album “Stand Still, Look Pretty.” The two singers with perfect harmony and pretty lyrics quickly found their way up the charts with a song they didn’t even write: “Leave The Pieces.” Still one of my favorite songs, the first single introduced Jessica Harp to the music world, and Michelle Branch to country.

The girls were one of my favorite duos. I quickly went out and bought their CD, and played it to death in 2006. I was sure that they were going to have a good career in country music as a duo, and I still feel they were at their creative best with each other instead of their later solo efforts. The best friends merged Branch’s pop-rock background with Harp’s country background to create “Stand Still, Look Pretty”. Their name came from Branch’s husband, Teddy Landau, who nicknamed the girls the “Cass County Homewreckers.” They were signed to Maverick Records, and were on their way to take over the industry.

In 2005, the girls recorded a duet with Santana. “I’m Feeling You” was credited as Santana with Michelle Branch and the Wreckers, however, it was both of the girls in the video and performances.

“The Good Kind” was the first song as a duo to be released to the public. The song, originally done solo by the girls, was performed on the tv series “One Tree Hill” in February 2005. Against the band’s wishes, they promoted themselves without a record out on a cross-country tour with The One Tree Hill tour. While it got the girls exposure, it was hard to really break out without something to sell to the crowds.

Their debut single to country radio, “Leave The Pieces” stayed at number one for two weeks on the country singles chart when they finally released “Stand Still, Look Pretty” in May 2006. While the song had some minor cross-over success thanks to Branch’s name, the girls had said that they had planned to stay country. Branch’s songwriting was already close to the country music style, and she seemed to feel like she was right at home beside Harp. The girls were quickly thrown into a heavy promotional circuit, and their album debuted at number five on the United States country albums chart, number one on the United Kingdom Country chart, and the top twenty on the Billboard 200.

The girls went on to support Rascal Flatts, The Dixie Chicks and even Dierks Bentley. They quickly made the talk show circuit, getting spots on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno, ABC’s The View, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and CBS’ The Early Show while on tour. They started to headline in small venues, which is where the songwriters shined. The girls quickly started gaining celebrity fans, as Kelly Clarkson even surprised fans when she joined them on-stage in 2007 for “Cigarettes.” Keith Urban called himself a “fan, professionally and personally” of The Wreckers and chose them to open for his “Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing” tour in 2007.

“I love their record. There’s a spirit there that just appeals to me. I met Jessica and Michelle a while back, and I just like their attitude. I like their vivaciousness and the fact that when they get up and perform they’re very focused on giving the audience a great show and playing with the audience, not playing at them.”

The “home wrecker” and “heart wrecker” as they nicknamed each other, released a follow-up single in September 2006, this time with writing credit to the duo. “My Oh My” was a mid-tempo song about how things have changed so fast over the years, and had the pair reminiscing about what they used to have and what used to be where new stores and parking lots are. It was the only song on the album that had the duo performing the entire song as a duet, instead of having them break off the song in parts or singing backing vocals to each other. The music video was a fun, Wild West theme which had the girls involved in a bank robbery and how they escaped in the end. It was, unfortunately, the last Wreckers-backed music video released for Branch and Harp. “My Oh My” didn’t have as strong of a performance as their lead-off single, however, it made it to #9 on the U.S. Billboard Country singles chart, and even charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #87.

In December 2006, the Wreckers were nominated for a Grammy for “Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals” for “Leave The Pieces.” This was the only Grammy they were nominated for as a duo, as they announced they were putting the project on hold a few months later to follow their solo career dreams. Branch had been nominated before for her solo work before the partnership. The girls were also nominated for a Country Music Association (CMA) award for “Vocal Duo of the Year” but lost to Brooks & Dunn.

In 2007, The Wreckers released a live DVD which included two brand new songs that were at the time promised to appear on their sophomore album as a duo. Filmed in New York City, “The Wreckers: Way Back Home Live From New York City” was a CD/DVD set that was, unfortunately, their last release as the group. The DVD included thirteen tracks, eleven from “Stand Still, Look Pretty,” and two brand new yet-to-be-recorded tracks: “Different Truck, Same Loser” and “Damn That Radio.” Filmed in 2007, the pair also announced Harp’s engagement to one of their band members.

The beautiful, and heartbreaking “Tennessee” was the third single released by the duo. The song, where Harp sings lead, is still one of my favorite country ballads to date. It showcased the writing of Harp, and how country her voice really was. Unfortunately, this is where things started to unravel for the group. They had filmed a music video for the single, but it was later released against their consent with a message that they weren’t comfortable with. Branch and Harp had the music video immediately taken down from iTunes, where the two girls were singing to an empty crowd with yellow ribbons taped to each chair. They released a contest for fans to get themselves in the music video instead, but it never surfaced. The single unfortunately only made it to #33 on the US country singles chart before it quickly died off.

Harp then later told fans that “Cigarettes” would be the next single released from the album, but it was going to renamed to “Old Dirt Road” for airplay sakes. The use of “cigarettes” with female singers was seen as controversial, but the single never made it to radio. There was never an explanation given why, but it was another beautiful Harp write.

The girls announced that the project was taking a break in 2007 but would reunite someday for a second album. They both went on to focus on their solo careers, with Harp releasing “A Woman Needs” on Warner Brothers. The lead single, “Boy Like Me,” wasn’t a song written by Harp but debuted in 2009, even though she had begun recording for her album in 2008. It was a top 30 hit for the Kansas City native, who had fought behind the scenes to get her album released. “A Woman Needs” didn’t get out until a year later, in 2010. Her follow up single, which was the title track of the album, was released in January 2010 but the music video was filmed way back in November 2009. The single didn’t do well on the charts, as the album it was from never had a solid release date scheduled, and, unfortunately Harp was forgotten by the radio which was hard enough to break as a new artist as it was. In March 2010, she announced that she was retiring as a musician and would concentrate on writing songs for other artists. Warner Brothers finally sold her album, in digital format only, on March 16th, 2010. “A Woman Needs” had guest appearances by Vince Gill and Keith Urban.

Branch released a 6-song EP titled “Everything Comes and Goes” in July 2010. She had written a few songs for soundtracks since the split of the group, including a track for the “Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants 2.” Her sister, Nicole, started singing backing vocals for Branch in 2008 at her shows instead of Harp who had done so for years. “Sooner or Later,” the first single from the 6-song extended play, was released on June 28th, 2009. The single still had a country feel to it, and could have very well been something off of the Wreckers album. Just like Harp, Branch had struggled to get the album release time close enough to the single. She also released “This Way” on her official YouTube channel, but the song never charted. She also ended up collaborating with Timbaland on “Getaway” which had a music video released.

Last December Branch announced that she was returning to her pop-rock roots with a brand new album again on Warner Brothers Records, but on her own vanity label “Sticks n’ Stones Recordings Ltd.” Her new album, titled “West Coast Time,” is expected to be released later this year. Throughout the beginning of 2011, Branch had given out free downloads of unreleased tracks from her EP, including a track with Dwight Yoakam. The first single from her return to pop, “Loud Music,” went to iTunes in June.