This was posted Thursday, April 13, 2017 by Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Georgia's own Lauren Alaina landed her first ever No. 1 single with "Road Less Traveled" on the Billboard country airplay chart this week, supplanting fellow Georgian Luke Bryan's "Fast." (He's the first artist to land six No. 1 singles off a single album.)
She has had five previous singles, all of which made the country top 60 but not the top 20.
“I cannot believe I have the number one song in the country,” Alaina said in a press release. “I have dreamed of this day my entire life. The five singles, the ups and downs, the tears, the smiles, and the six years of hard work have made this moment so much sweeter. I am so thankful to everyone who helped me get to this point. Regardless of my future, I get to live the rest of my life saying I have written a number one song. Life made."
Watch her tearful reaction on Facebook Live:
The song about self acceptance was written by Jesse Frasure and Meghan Trainor.
The season 10 "Idol" runner up is the first female solo artist to hit No. 1 in more than six months since Kelsea Ballerini.
Billboard magazine opined about the lack of female representation on country radio, a persistent problem. But it did note: "If you look at Billboard's Top Country Albums thus far this year, women have dominated by nearly half (exactly half, if you count Little Big Town). Miranda Lambert, Alison Krauss, RaeLynn and Reba McEntire all had Number One LPs without Number One songs."
The writer gave Alaina her kudos: "her album is brave and personal, addressing her battle with bulimia, and includes songs like the devastating "Same Day Different Bottle" and "Three," an aching ballad that literally describes the sacrifices an artist has to make to get on radio – it's slow and gorgeous and showcases her vocals, not an FM dial-friendly cadence."
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Justin Guarini plays a gay man in Broadway musical "In Transit," which is shuttering April 16. He has been a Broadway regular over the years, appearing in "Wicked," "American Idiot," "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" and a recent revival of "Romeo and Juliet."
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Kelly Clarkson celebrated her son Remington's first-year birthday:
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David Archuleta has new music:
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J.D. Scott, the brother of the "Property Brothers" that is not famous, once performed in Las Vegas as Adam Lambert. Read more on EW.com.
https://www.facebook.com/MRJDSCOTT/posts/669463779800964
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Brandon Cox, who appeared briefly on season 11 of "American Idol," was found guilty in January of seven counts of possessing obscene material featuring children under the age of 17. A judge has sentenced Cox to 70 years in jail after 157 images and videos of child sex abuse were found on his computer. In 2012, Brandon auditioned for Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler on American Idol, singing slowed-down versions of Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" and Lady Gaga's "Edge Of Glory". He was awarded a Golden Ticket to advance to the next stages in Hollywood, but was eliminated in the group round.
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