Hunter Hayes: 5 Things to Know About the CMAs' Best New Artist

Hunter Hayes, 21, nabbed Best New Artist of the year at the 46 Country Music Association Awards, or CMA Awards, which aired Thursday night from Music City, Nashville, Tenn. It was a busy night for Hayes, as the young country crooner also performed,

This year's CMA performances were largely dominated by big acts on the main stage, but sometimes a solo performance is just as commanding as a full band. When Hunter Hayes took the seat at his piano in the middle of a crowd at the CMA Awards, he had

Hunter Hayes shows off his award in the press room at the 2012 CMA Awards held at the Bridgestone Arena

A much-deserving Hunter Hayes took home the honors for New Artist of the Year at the 2012 CMA Awards, beating odds-on favorites Lee Brice and Brantley Gilbert to win the coveted award, just as we predicted. The 21-year-old musician, who plays multiple

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Mitch Lucker, frontman of Suicide Silence, dies in motorcycle crash

Mitch Lucker, the tattooed frontman for the American metal band Suicide Silence, has died after being involved in a motorcycle crash in California on Wednesday evening, according to reports.

The band released the following statement regarding Lucker's death:

"There's no easy way to say this. Mitch passed away earlier this morning from injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident. This is completely devastating to all of us and we offer our deepest condolences to his family. He will be forever in our hearts. R.I.P. Mitchell Adam Lucker. We love you, brother."

Suicide Silence's record label also released the following statement regarding Lucker's death:

"Nuclear Blast would like to offer our condolences to his family, friends, band members and fans worldwide who are affected by this loss. He left us doing what he loved to do most. He was 28 years old and will be sorely missed."

The motorcycle accident that claimed the young singer occurred in Huntington Beach, Calif. only hours after Lucker reportedly tweeted a photo of himself on this Twitter account (@MitchLuckerSS) in his Halloween costume with the message, "The dead are living..."

Memorial messages for the 28-year-old vocalist appeared on various websites and RIP Mitch Lucker was trending on Twitter for much of the afternoon on Thursday.

Lucker was the frontman for Suicide Silence since the band began in 2002. He is survived by his young daughter Kenadee.



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CMA Awards 2012 winners

Winning the Country Music Association Awards' entertainer of the year is a top honor and always counted as a career high point. But for Blake Shelton it wasn't even the most memorable moment of an amazing Thursday night.

"The Voice" star took home three trophies, including his third straight male vocalist victory, but nothing compared to sharing song of the year with wife Miranda Lambert. The pair wrote "Over You," about the death of Shelton's brother Richie in a car wreck 15 years ago. He said that trophy will always have a special place in their Oklahoma home.

"For me as a songwriter that is as personal as I can get," Shelton said. "So that songwriter award, song of the year award, it will have its own shelf. It will have spotlights on it and an alarm and everything. Trip wires and there will be a land mine if you walk towards it. It is a real big deal to Miranda and I."

Shelton's entertainer win was the biggest surprise of a night full of them. Even he couldn't believe he'd won the award in a field that included Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley.

"I didn't think about that tonight. I was thinking there's Taylor Swift right there," he said of the two-time entertainer of the year. "Really, this is pretty dumb that there's anyone else even nominated."

The reality, though, is Shelton capped one of the most impressive career reboots in country music history with the win. About three years ago, he was searching for a hit or a gimmick that might return him to the top of the charts, without much luck. He scored a novelty hit with Trace Adkins called "Hillbilly Bone," began a run of hits and then joined "The Voice" in a move that made him an instant celebrity outside the country world.

He hasn't sold as many records as Swift, whose "Red" just moved 1.2 million copies in its first week, or as many concert tickets as Chesney or Aldean. But his leading-man looks, wicked sense of humor, Twitter presence and mellow baritone have made him one of country's top stars.

While Shelton didn't give himself much of a shot, Lambert — who also won her third straight female vocalist of the year award — thought he fit the definition of entertainer of the year after doing a little research.

"I realized that it just meant not only touring numbers, not only ticket sales or how much production you have, but the way that you represent country music within a year," Lambert said. "The media that you do and the work that you do and the TV shows that you are on and how you represent yourself and how you speak out about country music. When you think about it that way, Blake Shelton deserved to win that trophy tonight."


This image released by American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. shows hosts Brad Paisley, left, and Carrie Underwood as they mimic the Gangnam-style dance by South Korean rapper PSY, at the 46th Annual Country Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn.
ABC, Katherine Bomboy-Thornton / AP Photo
Shelton's victory was just one of many surprises during the awards. Quartet Little Big Town joined Lambert with two wins apiece, taking home vocal group and single of the year for "Pontoon." And Thompson Square's Shawna and Keifer Thompson won vocal duo of the year, ending Sugarland's five-year run in that category.

"Y'all, this has been a 13-year journey," Karen Fairchild said as members of the group fist-pumped, jumped up and down and shouted on stage. "We're living proof that if you work really hard and chase your dream, all the good stuff happens and it follows you. Nashville, you made us your band. Thank you for letting us do this."

Like fellow outsiders LBT, Eric Church felt the love from the CMA's voters for the first time. He won the prestigious album of the year for his breakthrough record "Chief," signaling the North Carolina native's complete acceptance by the country music community.

"I spent a lot of my career wondering where I fit in — too country, too rock," Church told the crowd. "I want to thank you guys for giving me somewhere to hang my hat tonight."

The awards went off-script early, and not just for Little Big Town. Thompson Square won in a category that's been locked up by either Sugarland or Brooks & Dunn 19 of the last 20 years.

"Ever since I was 5 years old, I used to practice in the kitchen with one of my Meemaw's Mason jars for this moment here," Shawna Thompson said.

Hunter Hayes won new artist of the year, while Chesney and Tim McGraw won musical event of the year for "Party Like a Rock Star" and Toby Keith won video of the year for "Red Solo Cup."

Church helped kick off the show by combining forces with Aldean and Luke Bryan. Playing with a large American flag behind them, the trio of performers teamed up on Aldean's new single "The Only Way I Know" from his new album "Night Train" and earned a standing ovation. Each returned later to play singles, showing how large a market share they now own in country music.


Taylor Swift arrives at the 46th Annual Country Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Most of country's top stars were on hand at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena for the celebration, with many slated to perform. Swift performed her somber new single "Begin Again" on a set with a picture of the Eiffel Tower and falling leaves in the background. She received an ovation of her own.

Shelton, McGraw and wife Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum and Keith Urban joined together to salute lifetime achievement winner Willie Nelson, ending with a group sing-along of his iconic "On the Road Again."

Little Big Town performed their winner "Pontoon," a song that was something of a departure for Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet. Produced by Jay Joyce, the song has a sharper groove than LBT's previous efforts.

In a coincidence, Joyce also produced Church's "Chief." The hard edge he brought to both paid off all around.

Church said album of the year, arguably the CMA's second most prestigious award, was a win that fit right in with his and Joyce's philosophy.

"I still think in this day and time the only way to really get a fan base is you've got to give them more than one chapter of a book," Church said. "They've got to read the whole book."

Complete list of 2012 Country Music Award winners:

Entertainer of the Year: Blake Shelton.

Album of the Year: "Chief," Eric Church.

Song of the Year: "Over You," Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert.

Single of the Year: "Pontoon," Little Big Town.

Male Vocalist of the Year: Blake Shelton.

Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert.

New Artist of the Year: Hunter Hayes.

Vocal Duo of the Year: Thompson Square.

Vocal Group of the Year: Little Big Town.

Musician of the Year: Mac McAnally.

Music Video of the Year: "Red Solo Cup," Toby Keith.

Musical Event: "Feel like a Rock Star," Kenny Chesney duet with Tim McGraw.

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Video: Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel Get Married

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel were recently married, spending over $6 million on their wedding that was attended by one hundred guests, including Jimmy Fallon, Andy Samberg and Timbaland.

While it's great to be able to afford a $6 million wedding, it's apparently even better to make fun of all those poor people who could never pay for something like that or even be good enough to attend.

During the wedding, an 8 minute video was played, which is called "Greetings from Your Hollywood Friends Who Just Couldn't Make It." What followed was a series of greetings from homeless people living in the Los Angeles area. One toothless man was recorded saying: "Justin and Jessica, I haven't seen you for a long time. I hope the wedding goes fine for you. My gift is in the mail."

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Taylor Swift’s quirks removed by the hit machine on Red: Album review

At 22, Taylor Swift has already launched a whopping 50 songs into the Billboard Hot 100. One might rightfully expect such wild success to grant Swift licence to cut loose from the machine and do whatever the hell she wants on her fourth album, then, but it’s actually quite the opposite is true of Red.

Wild success appears only to have inspired the perpetually lovelorn Nashville-pop sweetheart and her handlers to consolidate her hold on that success by playing it as safe as they ever have and further erasing the few quirks of character that separate Swift from her female peers on the charts.

Red is as chockablock with winning tunes and relatably girlish kiss-offs to the boys who got away as Swift’s previous recordings. It’s the first Swift record, however, to bring in a bunch of high-priced hired guns — ubiquitous behind-the-scenesters Jacknife Lee, Butch Walker, Jeff Bhasker, Dan Wilson and Max Martin and Shellback all turn up in the songwriting and production credits — above and beyond her longtime producer/collaborator Nathan Chapman, however. It sounds much less like the work of Taylor Swift and more like the work of everyone else who can afford to hire the same people to make sure their records don’t rattle the masses with any surprises.

So while much of the advance press for Red might bill it as Swift’s most “adventurous” album, it’s only really an adventure in the most conservative sense. Sending an utterly unnecessary jolt of dubstep bass through “I Knew You Were Trouble,” or shamelessly knocking off U2 for a shot at rock-radio play on “State of Grace” are moves that hardly count as “risk taking” in late 2012.

Both decisions fall into the “just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should” category, and that gets in the way of the “aw shucks” country-pop charms that made Swift’s earlier albums stand out slightly from the rest of the plastic pack.

Most of Red’s remaining ties to country music are as cosmetic as the banjo ticking away quietly in the background to the processed arrangements of the title track and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” since even the ballads tend to get steamrollered by a heap of MOR soft-rock production clichés by the time their choruses roll around.

At a wearisome 66 minutes long, too, Red really gives you time for the general facelessness of its program to sink in. Swift is still as likeable as pop stars get, but she’s losing definition.

Top track: “All Too Well.” Taylor rises above the memory of a picture-perfect Thanksgiving weekend with her ex, who still keeps a scarf that “smells like me” in his drawer.



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Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake Are Married

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are husband and wife!

E! News has confirmed that the longtime couple kept us guessing for years, but said arrivederci to singledom today by tying the knot in front of family and close friends at the Borgo Egnazia resort in the southern Italian city of Fasano.

"It's great to be married, the ceremony was beautiful and it was so special to be surrounded by our family and friends," the newlyweds said in a statement to People.

Justin and Jessica aren't alone: More big celebrity Italian weddings

Jimmy Fallon and his wife, Nancy Juvonen, Andy Samberg, Timbaland, 'N Sync alum Chris Kirkpatrick, Biel's 7th Heaven sister Beverley Mitchell, and Timberlake music manager Johnny Wright and his wife, Erika, were among the VIPs in attendance.

The festivities kicked off a few days before the I-dos, with those who had already arrived in Italy gathering for a casual beach party on Wednesday night and then piling into a caravan of cars the following day for dinner and drinks in Trappeto.

Timeline: Mr. & Mrs. Justin Timberlake's road to the altar

How Heidi Montag Blew a Million DollarsInside Mr. and Mrs. Timberlake’s Wedding Katy Perry’s Touching Duet

Private security was tight everywhere the wedding party went, while a source told E! News that the guests were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements to ensure that the details of the TimberBiel nuptials stayed private for as long as possible.

We knew this day was coming, though. Wedding preparations were underway and Timberlake, 31, had jetted off to Las Vegas and Cabo San Lucas with a bunch of buddies—who kindly provided the striptease—to celebrate his final days of bachelorhood last month.

Did this wedding possibly cost $6.5 million?

Asked how the wedding planning was going, the 30-year-old bride-to-be told E! News earlier this month that she was keeping it together.

"I'm just pretty much cool as a cucumber in general in my life, so...I'm cool."

And we imagine that's just the way Timberlake likes her—although he probably appreciates how hot she is, too.

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Ultra Music Festival Ticket Failure

Just in case everyone didn’t already know, the ugly truth these days is that it’s NOT really all about the music. More than ever we’re noticing a pervasive trend in electronic music culture where money, power and status mutate and corrupt the events we once cherished. As a diehard UMF attendee since 2009, I’m sorry to say that UMF Miami almost seems like it’s going the way of Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas this past June.

The focus is so obviously on quantity over quality, and despite constant expansion in production standards and stellar lineups over nearly fifteen years running, the impeccable and coveted reputation UMF once held in the eyes of the fans and industry competitors was put into serious question after the ticket stunt they pulled this week.

Basically, communications to subscribers were purposely misleading. They sent an email to their list on September 11th with the subject line: “Ultra Music Festival 2013 Early Bird Tickets Coming Very Soon”, telling people to “sign up now to the Ultra online community and be the first to know when they go on sale.” The click through on that email brought you to the site – so, assuming you had already gotten that email in the first place, wouldn’t you think you were already “signed up” and in communication? That’s what I thought anyway, so maybe I didn’t get the hint…it seems as though you had to just be lucky enough to get on that super exclusive early bird ticket notification list somehow, whether if by resubscribing or what is still unclear.

The next email I got as a “subscriber” was a month later on October 11th telling me that tickets would go on sale Wednesday, October 17th. The subject line read: “Ultra Music Festival 2013 Early Bird Ticket Information.” And then within the email it said, “Make sure to check your email frequently because only our subscribers will be receiving exclusive early bird ticket information. Stay connected…” I guess I didn’t read between the lines enough. Maybe they were spelling it out in not so many words: we’re creating a new, exclusive early bird ticket list, so sign up and you might be lucky enough to check your email at the right moment, and then if you do, you might even be lucky enough to get through the purchase process and buy a ticket for $150.

Well, even if you were on the mysterious special list that received the email on Tuesday, October 16th announcing that early bird tickets would go on sale in a few minutes, you experienced the recurring nightmare where their server crashed horribly at launch time for a whole hour. When the site finally became operable again, the early bird price was gone in a mere 10minutes. Just like last year.

So what’s the big deal? Some people who were lucky got the low price at $150, while others were burdened (I know…boohoo brats!) with the price of the advanced tier at $229 (plus $55 in “service” fees of course). Well, the big deal is that this constant price inflation in festivals, (especially annual massives like Ultra that gain more popularity and word-of-mouth momentum every year), is the foundation of the bigger problem that’s going on in the electronic music scene. Corporate takeover. Ticket sellouts have become a given. So why not sell more tickets? Why not make the lowest price tier nearly impossible for people to purchase, because it’s not like we won’t buy them at the higher price if we’re forced to.

To put it in perspective, the first year that UMF Miami sold out was in 2010 with over 100,000 in attendance. In 2011 there was a third day added and the numbers rose to 150,000, and then in 2012, 165,000. In 2010, early bird tickets were $99. In 2011, advanced tickets were $179. But don’t worry, the VIP tickets aren’t set on a timer – you can get your 6-day combo pass for just $1,449.90, and don’t forget the $289.04 service fee!

Of course Adam Russakoff (UMF Executive Producer, Director of Business Affairs and talent buyer) is playing up what a boon the event is for Miami’s local economy, much the same way EDC portrayed itself, as a noble benefactor giving $75K in donation checks to Vegas charities. Russakoff spins the enlargement of the festival from 1 to 2 weekends to sound like UMF is giving everyone MORE, but plays down the bottom line, which is just that this is a trickle down system, and when UMF maxes out on profits, so will everyone:

“Being the first ever EDM leaning festival to go two weekends just supports our position as being the preeminent forward thinking brand in electronica. Although we are already known as having the best and most relevant talent at our events, two weekends allows us to present even more and create two separate and distinct highly unique experiences for our attendees, let alone the impact this will have on the economy in terms of jobs and other ancillary industries like hotels and transportation.”

I guess all I’m trying to say is…UM…WTF. Why does raving have to be so damn expensive? And well, the answer is simple: because it’s the SHIT. We all know this. And I’m sure I’ll enjoy Ultra just as much this year as I have for the past four years, but at the same time, it would be nice NOT to get wanked around by the powers that be who are clearly banking on our passion for music.

Not to mention that this neverending requirement for festivals to outdo themselves year after year, sell out faster and faster, gain thousands and thousands more attendees with each edition, is a bit daunting. It’s ominous in fact, because it points to that ever-present thought in the back of our minds that this kind of growth can only lead to one thing: CULTURAL SELLOUT. It’s the whole mentality of “Let’s Buy Happiness” (to use one of Boys Noize’s track titles) driven by mindless, superfluous extravagance.

Ultra’s saving grace, however, will always be that it works in conjunction with Winter Music Conference, which maintains it’s integrity through 28 years running as one of the premier gatherings promoting the evolution of electronic music as a global artform. Attracting artists and industry delegates from 70 different countries, there’s over 500 events, parties, seminars and workshops over the course of the week. WMC’s focus is not purely on consumption in other words; it’s about growth, spreading awareness and musical knowledge, and appreciation for those who paved the way in the industry as well as emerging artists and ideas. Ultra is really just a small part of the overarching Miami Music Week. Rant over.

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