Keepin' it Country Media & Radio » wildflower

Lauren Alaina To Release “Eighteen Inches” On July 16

Jessica Crans — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 01:58:45 +0000

Mercury Nashville/19 Recordings/Interscope and American Idol Season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina will release her new single ”Eighteen Inches,” off her debut album Wildflower, to radio on July 16. This is the third single off Wildflower, following “Georgia Peaches” and “Like My Mother Does.”

The song was co-written by fellow American Idol contestant and big-time country artist Carrie Underwood, Kelley Lovelace and Ashley Gorley.

“It’s amazing to have an artist like Carrie Underwood, whom I look up to so much write my single,” beamed Alaina. “Kelley, Ashley, and Carrie all did a wonderful job writing such an incredible song. I feel so honored to be able to bring to life the beautiful story within the song.”

“It’s so wonderful when a song you had a hand in writing finds the perfect home,” said Carrie Underwood. “Lauren’s voice tells the story of ‘Eighteen Inches’ beautifully. What an incredible talent!”

It’s great to see that Lauren and Carrie are now friends, after Lauren had the chance to sing with Carrie on the American Idol finale for season 10. We personally love “Eighteen Inches” and hope this will be a big hit for Lauren! What do you think?

CONTEST: Win An Autographed Lauren Alaina CD!

Jessica Crans — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:50:55 +0000

We’re giving away another signed Wildflower CD from Lauren Alaina!

Lauren Alaina’s Wildflower CD has spawned hits such as “Like My Mother Does” and “Georgia Peaches” and now here’s your chance to win an autographed CD directly from Lauren herself for Keepin’ It Country!

Lauren is currently on tour with Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan and their next tour stop is in Oklahoma City, OK on February 2nd.

The contest is open from January 28th until February 6th. See the details below on how to enter..good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NEW: Lauren Alaina’s “Georgia Peaches” Music Video!

Jessica Crans — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:32:10 +0000

Lauren Alaina is kicking off 2012 with a video for her latest single, “Georgia Peaches.” The clip – directed by David McClister (The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum) – stars some of Alaina’s best friends, and was filmed at the Sylvan Park Melrose restaurant in Nashville.

“Making the ‘Georgia Peaches’ video was a blast,” she said, “I got to have some of my closest friends in the video, and we were laughing and having a good time throughout the night. I love that I was able to have them there.” Lauren, who grew up in the small town of Rossville, GA, added that “I’m a proud Georgia Peach!”

“Georgia Peaches” appears on Alain’a debut album, Wildflower, available in stores and online at iTunes and Amazon. For more information, including ticket details for her upcoming My Kinda Party Tour with Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan, visit Alaina’s official website at laurenalainaofficial.com.

Check out the video and let us know what you think in the comments below!

CONTEST: Win an autographed copy of Lauren Alaina’s Wildflower CD! — Our Winner is Paul!

Jessica Crans — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:34:27 +0000

Just in time for Christmas, we’re giving away an autographed copy of American Idol Season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina’s CD, Wildflower! This is the perfect gift for any Lauren fan! All you have to do to enter to win is fill out the form below and tell us why you (or your friend/daughter/son/husband/wife, whoever!) is Lauren Alaina’s biggest fan!

Wildflower is the best selling country debut by a female since 2006, selling 69,000 copies in it’s first week. The CD features Lauren’s American Idol hit “Like My Mother Does” and recent hit “Georgia Peaches.”

Winner will be chosen at random at 7pm on Friday, December 16th. Contest is open to anyone* and only one entry per person will be valid. Thanks for entering and good luck!

*Please note: Mail delivery to countries outside of the US will take longer and will not be guaranteed by Christmas.

—this contest is now closed. Congratulations to Paul M!

Video Picks Of The Week: December 2, 2011

Jeanna D. — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:17:44 +0000

Hello fellow country music lovers!

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

Music Video

This week’s music video is Lee Brice, “Love Like Crazy.” The top ten song was the lead single off of his album of the same title. Lee has such a great voice and this is one of my favorite country songs of the past couple of years.

Lee is currently on tour, and he recently premiered his music video for his latest single, “A Woman Like You.”

Live Performance

You requested her and we love her, so here is Lauren Alaina! The live performance pick is Lauren singing her latest single, “Georgia Peaches,” at Walmart Soundcheck. This one was specially chosen by our very own, Jessica Crans.

Lauren’s album, Wildflower, is available now and it was just announced that she will be touring with Jason Aldean starting in January.

Cover Song

Our cover song pick this week is Kelly Clarkson performing Reba McEntire’s hit, “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” at the “CMT Giants: Reba” special from 2006. It is no secret that we adore Kelly. She is such an amazing vocalist, and she slays this cover.

Kelly’s new album, Stronger, is available everywhere now and you can catch her on tour starting in January.

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If you missed our previous “Video Picks of the Week” posts, check them out:

Week 1 featuring Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, and The Band Perry.

Week 2 featuring Reba McEntire, Jake Owen, and Ashley Arrison.

As always, leave us your comments and suggestions!

Review: Lauren Alaina – “Wildflower”

Jessica Crans — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:49:58 +0000

American Idol Season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina released her debut album, Wildflower, just over a week ago. Coming in at #5 on the charts, I think Lauren’s debut album shows she’s going to be a big star. Look out Carrie Underwood – Lauren Alaina is coming through.

Written by Mallary Hope, Blair Daly and Rachel Proctor, the cd starts off with a song that automatically fits Lauren just from the title – she’s from Georgia! “Georgia Peaches” is a flirty and sassy song, which I can see Lauren killing on tour. She knows how to show sass while performing, which is one reason why this makes a great second single choice for Lauren. The song also name-drops Jason Aldean and it’s a great song to blast and dance to in you car. Just try to be sneaky, so other cars on the freeway don’t point and laugh at your seated-dance skills. That can get awkward.

Any teenager can probably relate to the song “Growing Her Wings.” I’m not a teenager anymore, but I can certainly think back to my teenage days and find parts that fit me to a T. Growing Her Wings was written by Nicolle Gaylon and Nicole Witt, and is a song about a teenage girl whose parents are limiting what she can do at her age. Her dad catches her kissing the neighbor boy and grounds her from dating until she’s 18, her mom says she’s “too young to read” Cosmo magazine, but she reads it anyway behind her closed bedroom door while she’s “growing her wings.” I wasn’t allowed to read Cosmo either. Nor was I allowed to watch MTV. This is a cute and fun song with a catchy beat, which a lot of teens will relate to. We all have to grow our wings and fly away, at some point!

“Tupelo” has a summery feel to it, and is about a trip a boy and girl take together. You’ll find yourself singing this song randomly, as it has a catchy feel to it. The song was written Hillary Lindsey, Steven McEwan and Gordie Sampson. I have to say my favorite lines are “Heart beats a-beatin’ to the radio, kisses sweet as the honey, down in Tupelo, all the way down to Tupelo.” It’s another fun summery song.

“The Middle” is quite possibly one of my favorite songs on the CD. because we can all relate to this one. Time goes by so fast and we often forget to live in the moment. We’re always worrying about that one thing that’s now in the past that we regret, or anxiously awaiting time to pass for something we’re looking forward to in the future. This song says “Take each day and make it last, cause you turn around the future is the past.” Time flies and before you know it, you’ve grown up. “Here and now is all we have, the beginning and the end mean so little, what matters most is what’s in the middle.” Live for the moment and enjoy what’s happening now, because you will never get that time back. I think the message in this song is so important, especially for your people! This song was written by Zac Maloy, Rachel Proctor and David Hodges. I can definitely see the David Hodges influence in this song, as it does somewhat have that Evanescence feel to it. This song could easily cross over into the pop music category, as it’s not overly country like a lot of the other songs on this CD.

I think at this point we all know how important “Like My Mother Does” is to Lauren because her mom essentially is there for everything she does and goes through it all with her. You can definitely see the resemblance between Lauren and her mom, Kristy, not only do they look alike but they also both sing! Written by Nathan Chapman, Liz Rose and Nikki Williams, this song was the first single off Lauren’s debut CD and is still on the charts a week after the CD release.

Clearly the title of Lauren’s CD comes from the song “She’s A Wildflower,” mostly because Lauren has said it’s a song she can really relate to. We all go through those awkward pre-teen years, and this song hits just that. “She was the kind of girl that never quite fit in, holes in her shoes and freckles on her skin.” Everyone just wants to fit in. “Pretty soon her luck is gonna change, she just doesn’t know it yet.” Lauren’s luck sure changed, didn’t it?

“I’m Not One Of Them” is yet another sassy tune Lauren delivers, this time about a boy who thinks he’s all that. He’s the typical cocky boy who thinks he can get anyone he wants because every girl in school wants to date him. Well, not in this song. Sarah Johns, Tom Shapiro and Tony Martin write about a girl who is just the opposite. This girl wants nothing to do with the guy who thinks he’s all that. “You pull up in that jacked-up ride, open the door on the passenger side. There’s a lot of girls who might wanna climb inside, but i’m not one of them.” Lauren sings about the girl who wants more than just a guy who impresses every girl in the school. We all should want that, right?

While “The Locket” is the longest song on the CD, don’t let that distract you from hearing it in full. It’s by far one of the most meaningful songs on the CD, and also likely to make you shed a tear or two. The song, written by Mallary Hope, is about a young girl who is telling the story of her grandparents love for each other. The end of the song will get you, as you learn the Grandmother has Alzheimer’s by the line “And it breaks my heart to see you struggle to remember.” If that doesn’t make you shed a little tear, the very end will when the Granddaughter tells how her Grandmother states that “It’s getting time for me to head on home, She said, that brown-eyed boy is waiting and I don’t want to keep him long, Heaven is calling, and she said, my heart is longing, for the boy inside your locket.”

Eighteen Inches was written by Kelly Lovelace, Ashley Gorley and Carrie Underwood. The song definitely has a Carrie Underwood vibe, it reminds me in a way of “All American Girl” in the way that it tells the story of a young family. In this song, eighteen inches represents the “distance from your head to your heart.” The song is about a young couple in love who gets married but doesn’t have much. They are just scraping to get by and then find out they’re expecting their first child. It’s a song about how falling in love at a young age can make us not make the smartest choices but how we get by with what we have.

“One Of Those Boys” could definitely be a future single as it has a very radio-friendly melody. Lauren sings about a boy who in her eyes is perfect. He likes to fish, go to church on Sunday mornings – and most important of all, he shakes her daddy’s hand. This song has a lot of energy and was written by Anthony Smith, Marla Cannon and Ben Carver.

“Funny Thing About Love” is the only song on the CD that was co-written by Lauren herself. She wrote this one with Luke Laird and Brett James about how she finds a guy she likes, but he doesn’t show that he likes her. By the time the boy admits his feelings for her, it’s too late and she’s off and running onto someone else. I have to say I’m glad that Lauren got a co-write on this CD, as I know sometimes for a debut American Idol that is tough to accomplish.

“Dirt Road Prayer” is another favorite off the CD. It’s a ballad that is a prayer to God. A young girl is praying and asking God to watch over her mother, brother and grandmother. “It doesn’t matter how long it’s been, I can talk to God like he’s my best friend.” In the song, written by Nicolle Galyon and April Geesbreght, the young girl knows that God will always be there for her and asks for guidance with a young boy.

Overall, I think this is an excellent debut CD for Lauren Alaina. There isn’t a bad song on the CD and Lauren’s voice certainly delivers on every song. Not only does Lauren have a great voice, but she’s also got that “happy-go-lucky” personality and both of those things together I think will get her far. Lauren’s fan base is broad from her American Idol experience, but although this CD delivers mostly to the younger audience, the songs are relatable and enjoyable at any age.

DOWNLOAD: The Middle, The Locket, Dirt Road Prayer

RATING: 9 out of 10