The new single from Jordan Smith, "All Is Well," features Michael W. Smith.New music, a headlining tour and a chance to pick up a big-time award await a trio of talented singers with Chattanooga ties. Here's the latest on the busy professional lives of Jordan Smith, Kane Brown and Lauren Alaina.
JORDAN SMITH
Look for new holiday music from Smith, the vocal powerhouse and former Lee University student who won Season 9 of NBC talent show "The Voice."
Smith has released the single "All Is Well" for Republic Records with contemporary Christian artist Michael W. Smith, who originally recorded the song for his first holiday album, 1989's "Christmas" (he traded vocals with soloist Nathan Wadley on that effort). Michael W. Smith remade the song for his 2014 holiday album, "The Spirit of Christmas," this time with country artist Carrie Underwood.
"There is no denying Jordan's voice. It's unlike anything I've ever heard," says Michael W. Smith. "He sang 'All Is Well' when he was on tour with Amy [Grant] and me on two of our Christmas tours, and without exception, people were on their feet before he even ended the song. I'll have to say, 'All Is Well' is probably my favorite song that Wayne Kirkpatrick and I ever wrote together. And I can't imagine anything better than hearing Jordan deliver this very special musical message."
Jordan Smith says he's "so pleased to share this song with the world."
"It was a dream come true to get in the studio with my idol-turned-friend Michael W. Smith and make not just a song but a moment that I'm thrilled for everyone to experience."
Jordan Smith released his third full-length album, "Only Love," earlier this year, co-writing six of the 12 tracks and co-producing. The title track received a rave review from Elton John on Beats1 Radio and was the No. 1 Most Added at AC Radio the week of its release, according to publicists. Smith also performed "Only Love" on "Good Morning America," and another track from the album, "Feel Good," is the theme song for the new ABC series "GMA Day."
"Only Love" follows Smith's full-length debut album, "Something Beautiful," and his first Christmas album, "'Tis the Season." Earlier this year, he co-wrote Celine Dion's "Ashes" for "Deadpool 2."
Smith turned 25 last Sunday, posting to Twitter that reaching the quarter-century mark "was an opportunity to reflect on all the amazing things that have happened over the last year, but also a reminder that the best is yet to come! Also it means that I can rent a car without paying a young driver fee now!"
KANE BROWN
The cover of Kane Brown's new album, "Experiment."Professionally, the big news for the former Chattanooga-North Georgia resident is his first headlining tour, "The Kane Brown: Live Forever Tour," which kicks off in January.
But November has plenty of pluses as well for the 25-year-old. His sophomore album, "Experiment," was released Friday. The project includes the Top 5 hit (and latest gold record) "Lose It" and current single, "Weekend." A film about the making of "Experiment" is available from Apple Music.
In addition to "Lose It's" gold status, Brown announced last week that two more hits had reached sales milestones: "What Ifs," his duet with former Lakeview Middle School choir mate Lauren Alaina, is four times platinum, and "Heaven" is three times platinum.
Later the month, he'll be among the stars performing at the 92nd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
October was eventful as well. Brown emerged as country music's biggest winner at the American Music Awards, winning trophies for Best Country Album, Top Male Country Artist and Best Country Song for "Heaven."
In a recent profile, Rolling Stone dubbed Brown "country music's new outcast king," a label Brown says he has come to accept. He doesn't look like most of country music's youngest stars - he's biracial with prominent tattoos and an eyebrow piercing. Nor does he sound like anyone else. Rolling Stone writer Joe Levy compares his low register to "a twanged-out Eddie Vedder."
And Brown took a different route to stardom.
Unlike most country artists, Levy explains, "Brown mastered social media before guitar, shooting country covers on his phone, posting them on Facebook and YouTube and racking up big numbers. Going from social-media sensation to major-label artist has been commonplace in pop for more than a decade, but skipping Nashville's boot camp [nights spent at open mics and days spent peddling songs to publishers] got Brown tagged as country's Justin Bieber."
But Nashville has had to take notice. Brown is the first artist to top five U.S. country charts simultaneously, putting him in the Guinness World Records book. His self-titled debut, released in December 2016, remains the country's best-selling new-artist album debut since 2014.
"If you come to my shows, there's all kinds of different races, all kinds of different people," he says in Rolling Stone. "Now, I feel accepted. I still feel like an outcast on the inside, but it doesn't bother me anymore, at all. It kind of feels cool to be the outsider."
On a personal note, he wed fiancee Katelyn Jae in October. "Shot my whole wedding for a music video," he tweeted. NashCountryDaily.com reported the couple honeymooned at Dollywood.
LAUREN ALAINA
Lauren AlainaThe Rossville native has a chance to pick up a trophy at Wednesday's CMA Awards. This is the second year she has been nominated for New Artist of the Year by the Country Music Association - she lost to Jon Pardi last year. Amber N. Williams, CMA vice president for communications and talent relations, says an artist cannot win New Artist two years in a row, but there's no rule against being twice nominated.
"The 52nd Annual CMA Awards" will air live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
Last week, she previewed the awards show with an appearance on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." The themed "Country Night" also featured Chris Janson, Lanco, Carly Pearce and Cole Swindell. Alaina performed her new song, "Ladies in the '90s," as contestants Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten danced the samba.
"Ladies in the '90s," which she co-wrote with Amy Victoria Wadge and Jesse Frasure, name-checks a bevy of idols from Alaina's formative years, from Deana Carter to Britney Spears to TLC. For Halloween, she and some friends mimicked the clothes and hair of '90s icons the Spice Girls, with Alaina as Scary Spice and fiance Alex Hopkins "the Posh of my dreams," she tweeted.
She's also helping the Coca-Cola Co. market its drinks, including Diet Coke and Dasani water, through short posts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, based on research that suggests a country music fan is 125 percent more likely to visit a Walmart store compared to the rest of the general population.
"For the Diet Coke relaunch, because the sleek new packaging is so important to see and because our Millennial target is so active on social media, the approach was to create short, snackable pieces of content with Lauren being herself, goofing off with the new cans, trying all the flavors and having fun," said Coca-Cola's Amanda Whitaker, director of shopper marketing for the Walmart team, in a statement.
Up next for Alaina, who turned 24 on Nov. 8, is Blake Shelton's Friends and Heroes Tour, along with The Bellamy Brothers and Trace Adkins. The 18-city tour starts in February.
However, recent successes have been tempered by the death of her stepfather in October. "He was the purest example of how to love and live life fully," she tweeted.
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.