Reviews

You may know him as a finalist on Season 10 of the US version of “The Voice” where he finished in second place as a member of Blake Shelton’s team. Despite not winning, Adam Wakefield’s raspy voice will be one that we have not heard the last of.

Competing on a national singing show can be the make or break of an artist, some capitalize on the exposure and some seem to disappear into the abyss but luckily for us Wakefield is working on his first EP and in the meantime has released his new single “Blame It on Me” to give fans a taste of what they can expect.

Upon first listen it is difficult to not make the comparison between Wakefield and Chris Stapleton, but that’s not a bad thing. Both artists have very distinctive voices and have bluegrass roots but Wakefield has more of a rockier edge to his sound which will set him apart.

“Blame It on Me” is a song that can be interpreted in different ways and the view point in which the story is told will change with each listen, going from a guy who is willing to accept responsibility for wrongdoings that he maybe didn’t do at all to appease his ex who he wants back or him accepting blame for what he did do that he wants to make right.

Everything comes together to create a great track to introduce himself as an artist, from the lyrics, the production to his soulful vocals which really shine and pack a punch during the chorus’. As a first single, Wakefield has done a brilliant job and I’m already waiting as patiently as I can to hear more.

You can hear the single yourself on Spotify, where it is featured on our “Completely Country Loves” Playlist or by downloading from iTunes.

To keep up to date with Adam Wakefield, you can follow him on social media;

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

When Lauren Alaina first auditioned for Season 10 of American Idol back in 2011, the then 15-year-old Georgia native made such an impression Aerosmith legend Steven Tyler told her she would make 40 million people cry. Later coming second place, Alaina went on to release her debut album “Wildflower” in October of that year.

That was 5 years ago, with Bro Country seemingly out of the window and the ladies gaining more radio airplay and recognition, now is the perfect time to reintroduce 22-year-old Lauren Alaina.

With such a long time between albums it would be easy for an artist to be forgotten or maybe not even release material at all, but for Lauren Alaina that is not the case. Despite going through a lot personally with her parents’ divorce, a struggle with bulimia and vocal cord surgery, Lauren has not let that break her but instead has used these experiences and taken the time to grow as an artist which has resulted in her sophomore album “Road Less Traveled”.

Over the years’ live performances of new material has been posted online which only built my excitement even more, and one of those songs was the opening track “Doin’ Fine”. A deeply personal track about her parents’ divorce and her father overcoming his issues with alcohol.

What Lauren does very well is being able to make you think a song is about something happy with a positive sounding melody, but can kick you in the gut lyrically, which is evident with “Doin Fine”. Jumping right in with the opening lyrics ‘Daddy got sober, Mama got his best friend, I’ve cut down crying to every other weekend’ it delves into real life issues and in some ways, is a way of coming to terms with the fact not everything is perfect, some things are out of our control and we all have our issues and ways of dealing with them to overcome and grow.

I think the general perception of a signed artist is they live a glamorous life and that once they’re famous they are instantly rich. “Three” debunks that and shows the unglamorous side of show business and the sacrifices artists make in their personal lives to chase their dreams, which essentially is made by getting your song on the radio. “Three” is encouraging for anyone who has a dream they want to follow in the sense that it won’t always be easy. There will be sacrifices but when you get an ounce of achievement for it, all the sacrifices and hard times along the way seem worth it. I really hope this will be a single and that it’s one that country radio embraces.

Title track “Road Less Traveled” is one of the more anthemic tracks on the album and is Lauren’s highest charting track to date, currently sitting at number 3 on the Country charts and deservedly so. It’s a crowd pleaser during live shows but again has a very positive message for listeners with lyrics like “You won’t make a name if you follow the rules, history is made when you’re acting a fool” and “Don’t follow anyone, march to the rhythm of a different drum.”

“Same Day Different Bottle” is a track I have personally been hoping Lauren would release since the day I saw a live performance video surface back in 2014. For me, it set the tone of the new music that fans and critics had been waiting for and showed a very vulnerable side to the singer that we hadn’t seen before. It is her and her family’s story about a deeply personal issue with her father’s struggle with alcohol and to even write this song, let alone record it and put on an album was incredibly brave. This is the kind of track that will turn Lauren Alaina from a good singer to a superstar.

Overall: “Road Less Traveled” is like reading a diary, you can feel the struggles, perseverance, and growth both personally and professionally. In the time between albums, Lauren has really honed her craft and grown as a songwriter as well as a vocalist. I have said for a long time that one of the best voices in Country music belongs to Lauren Alaina but she just hasn’t had that ‘career song’ yet, however, I feel that could change as there are some very strong contenders on “Road Less Traveled” – namely “Same Day Different Bottle” and “Three”.

It’s a well-known fact I am a sucker for a good ballad, add some powerful vocals in there and I’m sold! Lauren does that exceptionally well, with a good mix of sassy and fun up-tempo tunes in between. After such a long wait between albums, I was worried it wouldn’t meet my expectations but it did and more.

Lauren Alaina has been very underestimated over the years which has been both a blessing and a curse at times, but 2017 is her year and it’s great to see the masses finally catch on to what a talent she is. I hope award nominations reflect that over the next year.

Track Listing;

1. Doin’ Fine
2. My Kind of People
3. Three
4. Road Less Traveled
5. Queen of Hearts
6. Think Outside the Boy
7. Painting Pillows
8. Next Boyfriend
9. Crashin’ the Boys Club
10. Same Day Different Bottle
11. Holding the Other
12. Pretty

You can buy “Road Less Traveled” here and make sure you check out our interview with her here.

When Yorkshire based singer and songwriter Carolynne auditioned for X Factor back in 2012, the Country Music scene here in the UK was full of excitement at the prospect of a Country artist being on such a big show and that the genre might grab the attention of an audience of millions. Carolynne made it as a finalist on the show, however was eliminated on the first live show but not without a stellar performance of Faith Hill’s “There You’ll Be”.

Fast forward to 2017 and Carolynne is set to release her long-awaited EP “Coming Back to You”, which will be available to buy or download April 7^th 2017.

“Coming Back to Me” starts with a tribute to her Grandmother who introduced Carolynne to country music, in the form of a haunting version of The Supremes classic “Stop in the Name of Love”. It’s a step away from the original while managing to keep the soul aspect, but a great version of a classic

Diving into the first up tempo number, the title alone is fun and grabs my attention “Cupid Must Have Been High”. It’s a song that I can imagine TV show character Juliette Barnes singing on CMT’s “Nashville”.

“Real Man” is a sassy number about wanting to find the right guy instead of attracting the wrong ones. Lyrically it’s quite clever, includes references to all the modern dating mishaps in a humorous way and is a track I’m sure it’ll make listeners smile in agreement – particularly fans of “50 Shades of Grey”.

At times there can be a divide with UK country fans on homegrown acts, are they country or not? Much like the genre as a whole I suppose. However, if you were to make a compilation of tracks that best represent UK Country acts, “Let Me Unlove You” should be on it. It’s a beautiful ballad that shows breaking up with someone isn’t always that simple and love doesn’t go straight away even if you’ve been done wrong. Amongst the fun and upbeat tracks on the ep, this shows a more vulnerable side of Carolynne and allows her to really shine as a serious songwriter, highlights what a strong vocalist she is and is exactly the kind of track I wanted from her.

Finishing with “Coming Back to Me” the title track is about Carolynne coming back to music, with her saying “I’ve lost my way with music at points in my life, I’ve fallen in and out of love with it but it always finds its way back to me”.

Track Listing;

1. Stop in the Name of Love
2. Cupid Must Have Been High
3. Real Man
4. Let Me Unlove You
5. Coming Back to Me

Having seen Carolynne perform live on a couple of occasions and hearing the “Coming Back to Me”, it’s clear that she can mix up fun and tongue in cheek numbers with more serious ballads well and I have to say it’s ballads where she excels and where her vocal talent really shines through. “Let Me Unlove You” is the highlight of the ep for me and I’m sure it will be for many others, as is “Stop in the Name of Love.” It’s nice to see an artist be able to switch from fun and sassy to serious and with an element of drama quite easily, as it shows different sides to her personality and as a performer.

“Coming Back to Me” is a solid effort for a debut ep that is a perfect blend of ballads and up tempo songs and hopefully will be the catalyst to more music. With UK artists beginning to get more exposure, now is the perfect time for Carolynne to strike while the iron is hot and she can certainly do that with this material. If you get the opportunity to see Carolynne perform live, I definitely recommend that you do.