Darius Rucker turned a lot of heads when he made the transition last year from pop/rock frontman to country solo singer, but he’s hardly alone in his shift of genres. In fact, he’s not even the only person who got an initial break on the same label.

Hootie and The Blowfish’s pop success came with the Atlantic Records label. The band was signed by the company the very same year as a couple of other artists who are now in country music: Jewel and Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, who was with Billy Pilgrim when he joined the Atlantic roster in the ‘90s.

Darius’ sound is different from what he’s done with Hootie, but it’s not a drastic change of pace. There’s simply not much room anymore in pop radio for bands with a melodic mentality.

"There's U2, there's Nickelback, and a couple other bands when you look in the top 10 records of the week," he said. "The only place in music for the singer-songwriter right now is country music. That sounds rude, because, you know, you can't say that Kanye West is not a singer-songwriter. But if you're the guy who wants to stand up and play the guitar, you gotta be a country singer."

Darius is doing that in a big way. His first two singles hit No. 1, and now he’s ready to tour with Rascal Flatts beginning June 5 in St. Louis. He’ll also be at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville June 11, and he’s set to play the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., June 8 in a benefit concert for wounded veterans. Also on the bill that night: Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Alison Krauss, Mac McAnally and Michael McDonald.

Rain, Rain Go Away.

So let's look at last week compared to this weekend.. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were all perfectly sunny and gorgeous outside then we got to the weekend and it got all rainy and freezing. What is up with that? I would rather it be the other way around!! Friday I was getting really excited for the weekend, because I was thinking about how I had to be outside all day Saturday and I was gonna get a tan, but no. Instead the day I was outside all day, it was rainy and really cold. I pretty much froze out on the soccer field on saturday. There were two soccer games and two baseball games that I went to watch and it was cold. The good news is that the boy's soccer team won both games :). Both games were really exciting. The first game was against Cedar Falls and they beat them 3-2 in over time. The second was against Xavier. That game went into sudden death PK shootout. The boys definitely pulled through and beat the Saints, so in a small way it was worth it to be out in the cold. 

This week it looks like it is gonna be raining some more, unfortunately, but this weekend is suppose to be sunny and beautiful out. Let's just hope the weather people don't get it wrong. We need a sunny, warm weekend!!

Females Are Taking Over :)

At the ACM Awards, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift took home the most honorable awards of the night. Carrie Underwood walked away with Entertainer of the Year. She is the first female to take home this award since 2000, when the Dixie Chicks won it. Taylor Swift took home Album of the Year for her newest album "Fearless". This album was the highest selling album in February and March of this year. This was a fan-voted event and Carrie Underwood was speechless when it came to her acceptance speech. She literally didn't know what to say. 

Taylor was shocked as well when she won, as were many others. Taylor went up against fan favorites such as George Strait, Carrie Underwood, and everyone's love, Keith Urban. Taylor has sold more albums this year than any artists. Many have noticed that Taylor is bringing so much more to country music and she is starting to attract a younger audience to country music. That is really good to hear for me, because I think everyone should listen to country. It is fascinating.

Trace Atkins, Julianne Hough, Jamey Johnson, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, and Brad Paisley also won awards during the ACM Awards. Trace won a top single award for "You're Gonna Miss This" and Julianne won an award for top new artist. Julianne was discovered as a pro dancer on Dancing with the Stars and then decided to start a singing career. Rascal Flatts and Sugarland both won awards for top vocals. Brad Paisley won top male vocalist and was also recognized for his music video of the year honors for "Waitin' On a Woman" and also his song "Start a Band", a duet done with his good friend Keith Urban.

I think this year's ACM Awards went really well and I'm really glad Carrie Underwood won an award and Brad Paisley. They both have worked real hard this past year. I am excited to see the new artists coming into play and can't wait to see where they stand next year. It is going to be an interesting competition next year with all the great new artists coming up.

What's Hot on the Charts

Rodney Atkins' "It's America" has finally reached it's deserved spot of #1 on the Billboard Country Singles Chart. I am so happy for this, because this is seriously an amazing song. For the second week in a row, Rascal Flatts' "Unstoppable" has been #1 for Top Country Albums Chart. Rascal Flatts has really stepped up their sound and come out with something great, and as the results show, everyone else agrees with me. 

New songs that are making their appearance on the charts are Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me, Miranda Lambert's "Dead Flowers", and Joe Nichols' "Believers". These are all real good songs. What makes me laugh about the Taylor Swift song coming to the charts is that this song has been out for a while. It was on her "Fearless" album that came out back in February. I think it is showing that people are finally getting passed listening to her top songs ("Love Story" and "White Horse") over and over, and finally listening to the rest of the CD. 

Jason Aldean's new album, "Wide Open", is finally making it's way to it's well earned spot of #2 on the Top Country Albums Chart. Followed by Taylor Swift's "Fearless", Keith Urban's "Defying Gravity", and Carrie Underwood's "Carnival Ride". All these albums are really great and what is really cool about all of them is it is showing a new side to all of these artists. This is Aldean's first full album and he is really starting to make some real progress. This is Swift's second album and her sound is really starting to mature and starting to sound a lot better. Keith Urban has always been absolutely amazing and so has Carrie Underwood, but their new albums are even better and shows that they are true country legends.

Darius Rucker is the new guy in town and, boy, is he sure coming in with a bang. Already out with two major hot singles, he is just making his way. He's almost making it look easy. His soothing voice is winning the heart's of the ladies and he is said to be working on an album. If you haven't heard any of his work yet, I suggest you get on that :)

New Favorite Songs

I'm Still A Guy by Brad Paisley

This is an awesome song. It's one of Brad Paisley's new songs and it is pretty funny. It's about guys being guys and how there's nothing girls can do about it, no matter how much they wish. It is really good and there are some really funny parts. He talks about how now days there are guys that go tanning, or get botox, or something feminine like that and how he is still a guy and doesn't do that. 

It Won't Be Like This For Long by Darius Rucker

This song is so cute. It's about how parents need to appreciate time with their kids, because time will fly by really fast. It feels like it goes right by, so appreciate every moment with them. The beginning starts out with a guy that can't sleep because he has a new born baby that is crying, but the song is saying that he needs to appreciate it because the time will pass him by and he'll actually miss it when it's gone. Darius Rucker is kind of a new singer, but he is doing very well. He has come out with a couple top songs and they are all on my list of good songs. He really has a great voice and write about some interesting things. The way he views situations is really neat.

It's America by Rodney Atkins

If you want a good look at what America is all about, this is the song to listen to. It is really cute and a cool look at America.

"It's a high school prom

It's a Springstein song

It's a ride in a Chevrolet

It's a man on the moon

And fireflies in June

Kids sellin' lemonade

It's cities and farms

And open arms

One nation under God

It's America"

To me, I think that is a good understanding of what America is. It's a fun song to listen to and the words send out a good meaning. It creates a good picture in my mind. I love songs about America and this song definitely shows what goes on.

Why does everyone hate on country?

I love country music. I was raise in a country family, so I was always listening to country music. In the car, my parents would only ever turn the radio to 98.1 (the country station). I've been to a lot of country concerts and I have actually had the opportunity of meeting Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, and Faith Hill. My extended family mainly lives in the south, so growing up I gained the southern manners and got most of my life values from them. I love country music, because it tells a story. It actually has meaning to the singer and most country singers (the true country singers) write their own music. If you look at today's rap and pop music, it's all about drugs, sex, and violence. It doesn't have any meaning to the singer and the singer was most likely given a sheet of music and told to sing it. They took no part in the writing process and don't even really know what they are singing about. Every country song you listen to has a story behind it that the artist can relate to. Right now I'm listening to How Can I Help You Say Goodbye by Patty Loveless. This song is about a girl's journey through life, learning how to say goodbye. You say goodbye a lot through out your life and it never gets easier, but you learn how to deal with it. This song is about Patty Loveless' life. She wrote it and it has sentimental meaning to her. This is what I love about country. You learn about the artist when you hear their songs, not just that they are singing about sex or something pointless like that.

Many kids that say they don't like country are only saying it because they think it is "uncool" to like it. Some people say it is depressing, because country singers only sing about the depressing part of life. Well, this is incorrect. They sing about life in general and if you haven't figured it out yet.. Life isn't perfect! There's depressing things that everyone goes through. Rap is all about sex, drugs, and violence. I don't know about you, but that sounds kind of depressing to me. Country singers sing about real things and real stories that are beneficial to their listeners, not about pointless stuff just to have a good up-beat song. They write and sing music, because it is their passion and they want their stories to be heard, not just to make millions of dollars and be able to call themselves "celebrities".

Show Choir Tryouts

Last week were the voice auditions for next years' show choir groups. It is so extremely nerve racking to go in, knowing that is your formal audition for making a group next year, and sing your best in front of the two directors. You walk in to the tiny practice room in the choir hallway and the directors are just there staring at you, ready to judge you. It's hard to sing and concentrate on that when they are sitting there writing stuff down while you are singing your song. You don't know whether it is good stuff or bad stuff, but you do know that it is all about you and whether you are going to be in the group you want to be in or not. We lined up in the hall outside the tryout room, and one by one you saw people go in and do their tryout. Some came out really happy and proud of how their tryout had just gone, but on the other hand, some come out saying how they were so nervous that they definitely did not sing their best. All you are thinking about is how your turn is creeping closer and closer. Also, you are thinking about how this is your only chance to prove yourself and how it's now or never. It is so stressful. Even though show choir is so rewarding to be in, the process to get into it is really scary. It is a way to kind of live up to your fears of going for something you want and only having that one opportunity and it takes guts. 

Next week are the dance tryouts and I'm pretty nervous for that. Dancing is definitely not my strong point and it's even worse that instead of auditioning in front of two people, you are in front of four. The Happiness choreographer is one of those four. Scaaarrrry! The dances are always super fast and it's hard to get it all down before your group is called and you have to go perform it. There is so much to think about when you are performing it for them, because they want you to do the dance and have your facials turned on. It's so much to concentrate on! It's insane and extremely stressful.