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Take 5: Hailey Steele
We all love to know what inspires our favorite stars and we want to know what – or who– is behind our favorite lyrics. But why so serious all the time? Take 5 was a regular feature on my music blog Tragic Kingdom that shed some light on the questions that you really want to know, but might never ask. To kickstart the feature on Listen! It’s Vetrano, Nashville’s new darling Hailey Steele. In November, Chris sat down with the singer on the release of her debut EP to talk life in Nashville, her time on ‘The Voice’ and getting drunk with Christina Aguilera. As if that wasn’t fun enough, let’s Take 5 with Hailey Steele.…
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For The Taking: Elenowen
It was a first on NBC’s smash competition series The Voice. Four celebrity coaches sat with their backs turned to hopefuls, listening to and hand-picking voices they thought could take their teams to the end of the season. But when Nashville’s husband and wife duo, Josh and Nicole Johnson, took the stage the judges were shocked to hear two voices expertly harmonizing their selected song. It was Blake Shelton who added the duo, known as Elenowen, to his inaugural team in the show’s first season. Since then, Elenowen have released their debut full length album Pulling Back the Veil, toured the country, signed two record deals, had a baby and then considered trading their perfectly matched…
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Kelly Clarkson Shares Her Heartbeat
One day you’re hot and the next your not. That’s the story so often with musicians in today’s industry, who constantly have to fight to find relevance on radio’s fickle playlists. Though nothing has been farther from reality for Kelly Clarkson, who began delivering her anthemic pop hits over a decade ago after winning the first season of American Idol. Following her wildly successful Stronger record in 2011, the singer took some well-deserved time off to marry Brandon Blackstock, son of her manager Narvel and manager to Blake Shelton, and give birth to her daughter River Rose. During the time off though, Kelly released a Greatest Hits compilation which included new singles…
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Best & Worst of 2014
Another great year has come and gone. I don’t know about you, but 2014 was a great year for V for Vetrano. I spent most of it working in the music industry, managing artist’s unrealistic expectations, enjoying Nashville’s growing city and fighting to find the balance between professional and personal. Both done quite successfully, in my opinion. I learned a lot about myself this year, which led to the rebranding of my music blog Tragic Kingdom to Listen! It’s Vetrano, officially launching in the new year. But before I take you too far forward, I have to look back at the year of 2014. I’ve compiled my picks for the best & worst…
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Taylor Swift Pops on ‘1989’
When Taylor Swift hinted at a departure from her country beginnings earlier this year, it was no real surprise to most of her die hard fans or critics. Especially following the wide reaching ‘Red‘ album, which premiered on Tragic Kingdom two years ago and featured a wider range of musical influences than her previous sugar coated country chart-toppers. In true Swift form though, she took her 80’s dance pop inspiration to the limits – and perhaps even beyond – on her fifth and most recent effort ‘1989‘. The synth driven beats and pounding drums provided by pop-music masters like Max Martin and Ryan Tedder mixed with Swift’s new take on vocal production make for the singer’s most mature…
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Five Knives’ Sugary New Sound
In 2012, the Nashville based electronic punk rockers Five Knives won me over with their unique and fresh sound in a blossoming EDM (electronic dance music) market. It wasn’t long after their Nashville debut that the band, led by fiery frontwoman Anna M’Queen and includes Nathan Barlowe, Zach Hall and Shane Wise, landed a deal with Red Bull Records and hit the road with their debut EP ‘The Rising‘. After a slew of catchy singles, video premieres and a stint on the Vans Warped Tour, the band got started on their highly anticipated debut full length record, due in February. On Tuesday, M’Queen and her male bandmates released the new single “Sugar,”…
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Take 5: Cassadee Pope
As part of the newly launched YouTube channel, some of my favorite features from my music blog Tragic Kingdom are coming to life. Take 5 has been one of the most shared and commented on posts from Tragic Kingdom, so when I launched ‘Listen! It’s Vetrano’, I knew it had to carry over. And with the addition of the new channel, I decided to put your favorite stars in the Take 5 hot seat. Up first? Pop-rocker turned country sweetheart turned V for Vetrano BFF, Cassadee Pope. Cassadee is widely known for her time in the punk-rock band Hey Monday and the hit NBC series The Voice, in which Pope took first place. Since the show, her album…
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Episode 2: Amanda Valentine
It’s here! The second episode of Listen! It’s Vetrano has arrived and it’s all about Project Runway designer and Nashville celebrity stylist Amanda Valentine. Amanda is the creator and designer of Valentine Valentine, a Nashville based fashion brand that is about to get a global launch with the exposure from the Lifetime series. She is one of the most beautiful, talented and raddest chicks I’ve ever known. Oh, and she looks like a way cooler (yes, it’s possible) version of a 90’s Cindy Crawford. In the episode, Amanda and I dish on behind-the-scenes dirt from the hit fashion series, talk about growing up with her famous brother (Maroon 5‘s James Valentine) and pick Celebrity…
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Episode 1: Cassadee Pope
Today is a big day for the Tragic Kingdom brand. Not only am I launching the new site design (how does it look? does it make my ass look fat?), but today officially marks the launch of my new YouTube channel. As a music lover since I was just a little baby fetus, I sometimes cannot believe that I’m living my dreams in Music City. Many of you now know – from my parade of Instagram photos and/or Twitter feed – that I do a lot of different things in Nashville and have a lot of really cool friends. I often get requests to ask my friends and colleagues questions…
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Josiah Leming Stages Big Announcement
Indie artist Josiah Leming – who many remember from his short but effective stint on American Idol – is preparing a big announcement for his fans. The singer teased the news on his Twitter profile last week and announced that he’d be making the announcement and performing for fans on the online platform StageIt. Off the heels of his 70-date North American Listen Close tour, his fans have been chattering all over the interwebs with predictions of the singer’s announcement. You can catch Josiah perform and reveal his news via StageIt on Thursday evening, when Leming will take the “stage” at StageIt‘s headquarters in Los Angeles. Tickets to the online event are only $2.50…
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Elise Davis Makes The Kill With New Video
It was clear when I first heard Elise Davis play her undeniable single “Make The Kill” in a Nashville venue that this girl was destined for bigger things. Her talent for songwriting landed her the title in American Songwriter‘s “The Pub Contest” earlier this year. While the standout track “Make The Kill” paints a picture of Davis “high on the living room floor of this old party,” the song was always missing one thing: a video. Watch the premiere of Elise Davis’ “Make The Kill” below and find out more about the Nashville based singer-songwriter here.
