Ashton Shepherd releases her new cd on March 4th. Her lead single has made the top 30, but is not advancing well. I will be interested to see how a second single does for her.
I was able to listen to a preview her album. I would have like some more up-tempo songs, but the music is good. Still I do wonder what, if any, song on the album will break her through to stardom.
I wrote here about how Star De Azlan would use social media to overcome the obstacles that faced her. Well, her lead single “She’s Pretty” is fading at radio. I also don’t see her, as I hope she would, making full use of social media to generate buzz. Lady Antebellum is a good example of how country artists should be doing things on the social media front.
I still like Star’s song, but I worry things could be slipping away.
Julianne Hough has released her debut single to country radio. Not surprisingly it is not sprinting up the charts. However, it was just release, so there is plenty of time. It helps that Julianne is a more country-pop which is what radio likes. Also her fame from “Dancing with the Stars” helps too.
Each of these women have lots of work ahead of them.
Showing posts with label Star De Azlan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Star De Azlan. Show all posts
Monday, March 3, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
New Female Artists Keep Making Country Music
For years we have heard about how tough it is for female artists in country music with most recent commentary being an article in 11/7/07 edition of the Tennessean. The article stated that only 20% of artists being played on country radio were women. Women continued to sell good, but they are not headlining tours, or getting key award nominations.
With those obstacles in their path you would assume the number of women wanting country careers would be dropping, instead it is on the raise. Here are just a few of female acts looking to break into country music in 2008:
Julianne Hough – The two-time winner of “Dancing with the Stars” proves she is more than one of the best, and best looking professional dancers, she can also sing. On her MySpace page she has a couple of songs, and in her blog she states she is already in Nashville making a country album.
The key to any country artist is good songs, good voice, stage presence and, oh yeah, good looks. Julianne has the voice, stage presence, and looks. It will be seen if she has the songs. However, her fame from “Dancing with the Stars” can only help her attract attention. If her music is good, she will be on her way.
H. Williams III (Holly Williams) – Daughter of Hank Williams Jr. and Granddaughter of Hank Williams Sr. Holly Williams is moving closer and closer to her destiny. In 2004 did a rock lending album then on March 16, 2006 Holly and her sister Hillary were in a serious car accident. Hillary got the worse of it, but both survived. Much like Hank Jr’s fall of a mountain in Montana in the 70’s, this could the decisive moment in Holly’s life. Her father decided to make his own kind of country after his accident, one gets the feeling she will make her own kind of country after her accident
Jewel, Kelly Clarkson, Michelle Branch, Jessica Simpson & Jessica Harp – Female pop singers are going country in droves. Will they be welcomed, or see as carpetbaggers? I think if Clarkson does go country, she will be welcomed. The other will have problems.
Ashton Shepherd – I have written some already about Ashton, but her talent and pure country sound need mentioning again. Ashton is the starting to get some traction on the country singles chart. Continued progress up the charts could mean big things for her, because she has talent.
Star De Azlan - I have also written about Star. I really like her debut single “She’s Pretty”. Like Shepherd, Star is moving up the charts. She could be something as well.
Heidi Newfield – The former lead of Trick Pony is recording a solo album. Her distinctive voice is already known to country radio listeners which will give her a chance to succeed.
With those obstacles in their path you would assume the number of women wanting country careers would be dropping, instead it is on the raise. Here are just a few of female acts looking to break into country music in 2008:
Julianne Hough – The two-time winner of “Dancing with the Stars” proves she is more than one of the best, and best looking professional dancers, she can also sing. On her MySpace page she has a couple of songs, and in her blog she states she is already in Nashville making a country album.
The key to any country artist is good songs, good voice, stage presence and, oh yeah, good looks. Julianne has the voice, stage presence, and looks. It will be seen if she has the songs. However, her fame from “Dancing with the Stars” can only help her attract attention. If her music is good, she will be on her way.
H. Williams III (Holly Williams) – Daughter of Hank Williams Jr. and Granddaughter of Hank Williams Sr. Holly Williams is moving closer and closer to her destiny. In 2004 did a rock lending album then on March 16, 2006 Holly and her sister Hillary were in a serious car accident. Hillary got the worse of it, but both survived. Much like Hank Jr’s fall of a mountain in Montana in the 70’s, this could the decisive moment in Holly’s life. Her father decided to make his own kind of country after his accident, one gets the feeling she will make her own kind of country after her accident
Jewel, Kelly Clarkson, Michelle Branch, Jessica Simpson & Jessica Harp – Female pop singers are going country in droves. Will they be welcomed, or see as carpetbaggers? I think if Clarkson does go country, she will be welcomed. The other will have problems.
Ashton Shepherd – I have written some already about Ashton, but her talent and pure country sound need mentioning again. Ashton is the starting to get some traction on the country singles chart. Continued progress up the charts could mean big things for her, because she has talent.
Star De Azlan - I have also written about Star. I really like her debut single “She’s Pretty”. Like Shepherd, Star is moving up the charts. She could be something as well.
Heidi Newfield – The former lead of Trick Pony is recording a solo album. Her distinctive voice is already known to country radio listeners which will give her a chance to succeed.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Star De Azlan – Using Social Media to Help Become a Country Music Star
I stated in my last post that I am doing a paper on “The Effect of MySpace and YouTube on the Marketing of Country Music”. Social media such as MySpace and YouTube offer us a chance to create a connection with others. Having connectivity with another person is a way to develop a positive relationship with that person, and quite often can lead to benefits (tangible and intangible) for both people.
Star De Azlan is a young woman from Martinsville, Texas who I discovered recently. Ms De Azlan is a new country music artist who has just released her first country single. On her MySpace page I found her amazing new song “She’s Pretty”. It is real country from a real country artist.
There is more to Ms De Azlan’s MySpace page than just her song. She has a short bio and, perhaps more importantly, a short video about herself. In the past, country radio was a new country artist’s major access to the majority of country fans. If radio program directors did not like you, your music, or feared you or your music could be cause division among their listeners, you had no chance at a successful country music career.
Ms De Azlan is now preparing to see if country radio will accept her. Unfortunately she has things working against her. She is a woman, and female artists have a tougher time getting played more than the male artists favored by country radio’s predominately female audience.
Female traditional country singers like Ms De Azlan have tougher time getting airplay than more country pop sounding females. Ashton Shepherd and Miranda Lambert are examples this. Ms De Azlan though has one other thing against her that Ashton and Miranda do not.
I have intentionally identified Ms De Azlan by her last name in this posting. De Azlan is not exactly Brooks, McEntire, Jackson, Williams, or Judd. Ms De Azlan is of Hispanic decent. Few Hispanic artists have ever been successful in country music. In fact, minorities of any kind have had difficulty in country music. Few have even bothered to try.
Star De Azlan is going to try, and in the old days I would rate her chances as not very good. Radio programmers would see her last name and think “what is she doing trying to get on my station.”
Today though, social media like MySpace and YouTube give Star a chance to get pass these uninformed stereotypes. People who visit MySpace pages are always interested in listening to and viewing things. Star has her song playing when you arrive at her page. You quickly hear her country sound, and you understand this is real country music.
More importantly there is a video on the page you can play that introduces Star De Azlan to the fans of country music. In the video you hear Star talk about her music, and where she is from. You hear her tell you in unaccented English that she loves country music greats like George Strait. You heard she got her start in Cheatham Street Warehouse bar where a young George Strait got his start.
Suddenly the connectivity between Star and the user starts to build. Star loves George Strait. Almost all country fans love George Strait. The visitor’s now starts to think, Star loves George Strait well so do I. A connection is made. As we watch the video we learn that Star’s life is like many country fans’ lives. She is one of them. More connections are made.
These connections allow Star’s brown face and Hispanic sounding name fade to the background, and her music comes forward. She is, after all, no different than any other country artist or fan. Once the connection is established, it spreads. The visitor to her page tells someone else that they have to check Star’s music out. That person is impressed, and spreads the word as well. Like a spider web, news of Star De Azlan will spread out amongst country fans.
It is those fans who will call country radio stations and request her music be played. Those calls will trigger program directors to play her music, regardless of their original thoughts of her. Once on the radio, Star’s career will grow, and stardom could be achieved.
Nothing is guaranteed of course. Still, those who can harness the power of social medium can boost their changes of success. Taylor Swift was once viewed a tall, skinny, 17 year old girl who had a song name after a country music superstar (Tim McGraw). Today, Taylor is a young country music star with over a million albums sold. Taylor used MySpace to build a connection to fans who then acted on her behalf to get country radio to play her music, and help become a country music star.
Star De Azlan must do the same. I hope she is successful. We need more traditional female country artists. However, it will be a tough fight. She will need to use all the resources at her disposable to establish a connection to country music fans. With her MySpace page she is off to a strong start.
P.S. – In case you are wondering, Star and her efforts will be featured in my actual paper.
Star De Azlan is a young woman from Martinsville, Texas who I discovered recently. Ms De Azlan is a new country music artist who has just released her first country single. On her MySpace page I found her amazing new song “She’s Pretty”. It is real country from a real country artist.
There is more to Ms De Azlan’s MySpace page than just her song. She has a short bio and, perhaps more importantly, a short video about herself. In the past, country radio was a new country artist’s major access to the majority of country fans. If radio program directors did not like you, your music, or feared you or your music could be cause division among their listeners, you had no chance at a successful country music career.
Ms De Azlan is now preparing to see if country radio will accept her. Unfortunately she has things working against her. She is a woman, and female artists have a tougher time getting played more than the male artists favored by country radio’s predominately female audience.
Female traditional country singers like Ms De Azlan have tougher time getting airplay than more country pop sounding females. Ashton Shepherd and Miranda Lambert are examples this. Ms De Azlan though has one other thing against her that Ashton and Miranda do not.
I have intentionally identified Ms De Azlan by her last name in this posting. De Azlan is not exactly Brooks, McEntire, Jackson, Williams, or Judd. Ms De Azlan is of Hispanic decent. Few Hispanic artists have ever been successful in country music. In fact, minorities of any kind have had difficulty in country music. Few have even bothered to try.
Star De Azlan is going to try, and in the old days I would rate her chances as not very good. Radio programmers would see her last name and think “what is she doing trying to get on my station.”
Today though, social media like MySpace and YouTube give Star a chance to get pass these uninformed stereotypes. People who visit MySpace pages are always interested in listening to and viewing things. Star has her song playing when you arrive at her page. You quickly hear her country sound, and you understand this is real country music.
More importantly there is a video on the page you can play that introduces Star De Azlan to the fans of country music. In the video you hear Star talk about her music, and where she is from. You hear her tell you in unaccented English that she loves country music greats like George Strait. You heard she got her start in Cheatham Street Warehouse bar where a young George Strait got his start.
Suddenly the connectivity between Star and the user starts to build. Star loves George Strait. Almost all country fans love George Strait. The visitor’s now starts to think, Star loves George Strait well so do I. A connection is made. As we watch the video we learn that Star’s life is like many country fans’ lives. She is one of them. More connections are made.
These connections allow Star’s brown face and Hispanic sounding name fade to the background, and her music comes forward. She is, after all, no different than any other country artist or fan. Once the connection is established, it spreads. The visitor to her page tells someone else that they have to check Star’s music out. That person is impressed, and spreads the word as well. Like a spider web, news of Star De Azlan will spread out amongst country fans.
It is those fans who will call country radio stations and request her music be played. Those calls will trigger program directors to play her music, regardless of their original thoughts of her. Once on the radio, Star’s career will grow, and stardom could be achieved.
Nothing is guaranteed of course. Still, those who can harness the power of social medium can boost their changes of success. Taylor Swift was once viewed a tall, skinny, 17 year old girl who had a song name after a country music superstar (Tim McGraw). Today, Taylor is a young country music star with over a million albums sold. Taylor used MySpace to build a connection to fans who then acted on her behalf to get country radio to play her music, and help become a country music star.
Star De Azlan must do the same. I hope she is successful. We need more traditional female country artists. However, it will be a tough fight. She will need to use all the resources at her disposable to establish a connection to country music fans. With her MySpace page she is off to a strong start.
P.S. – In case you are wondering, Star and her efforts will be featured in my actual paper.
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