TAYLOR SWIFT 'MINE' MAKES HISTORY; SUPERSTAR WINS FOUR TEEN CHOICE AWARDS: Taylor Swift’s brand-new single, “Mine,” debuted this week at #1 on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart and at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was rush-released last week to radio and iTunes after an online leak, the chart debuts came after only 4 ½ days of availability. “Mine” reached #1 on the iTunes all-genre Singles Chart and #1 on the iTunes Country Singles Chart within 6 hours of its release, and sold in excess of 297,000 downloads in just 4 days. The single also reached #1 on iTunes in Canada the day of its release. “Mine” is the lead single from Taylor’s upcoming third studio album, Speak Now, set for release on October 25th on Big Machine Records. With the historic debut of “Mine,” Taylor joins Mariah Carey as the only female artists in the history of theBillboard Hot 100 Chart to debut more than one single in the Top 5 in a calendar year. Earlier this year Taylor’s “Today Was A Fairytale” entered the chart at #2. “Mine” set a new record for first-week adds on the Country Aircheck radio chart (powered by Mediabase); the single posted 116 reporting station adds overall. Even with only a half of a week of airplay, the song debuted at #26 on the Billboard Top Country Songs Chart, making it a Hot Shot Debut, Greatest Gainer and a Breaker upon debut. In addition, “Mine” debuted at #32 on the USA Today/Country Aircheck Chart (powered by Mediabase). Also this week, Taylor took home four surfboard trophies from the Teen Choice Awards – for Choice Female Country Artist, Choice Country Album, Choice Country Song and Choice Breakout Actress. The boards will need to be shipped to her – she had to miss the show, as she was in Japan for two shows at the Summer Sonic festival.
■ RASCAL FLATTS POST BIGGEST CHART JUMP OF THE WEEK: Rascal Flatts continued their Nothing Like This Tour this week with shows in Hershey, PA, Scranton, PA, and Washington DC; the band also continued their dominance of the airwaves with "Why Wait", their innaugural Big Machine single, which posted the week's biggest chart jump on Billboard. Fans and industry executives alike have noticed a renewed energy in the track, and perhaps something a simple as a new approach to recording is what stands out to listeners. Lead singer Gary LeVox points out that he and band members Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney spent a week in Santa Barbara, CA earlier this year recording the project, with all the guys sharing a house for the week. "It wasn't a big full blown, you know, ritzy studio," notes Gary. "It was just a little hole-in-the-wall place; it was great - [we] really had a great time doing it. The three of us lived in a house together. We hadn't done that for a long time. And we got to create, you know, we got to create. We really came out [of the studio] with a great project and you know what?...we're pumped!" Rascal Flatts' new single "Why Wait" will be available at all digital retailers this Tuesday.
■ JARON DETAILS HIS LONG ROAD TO LOVE IN NEW ASSOCIATED PRESS FEATURE: Jaron of Jaron And The Long Road To Love sounds more than a little bitter in his hit single, "Pray for You," as he prays for bad things to happen to his ex. But that's only part of his complicated love story. The rest of it is laid out in his album, Getting Dressed In The Dark. "There was one relationship that really sticks with me," he said. "And that's where most of the songs come from." In fact, Jaron dedicates the album, released in June, to his unnamed ex-girlfriend in the liner notes, thanking her and saying that although she was "annoying at times," he deserves most of the blame and is sorry for hurting her. "Through help of my therapist, we worked it out," said Jaron, grinning. Lots has happened "In 2003, Evan and I decided to take a year off and do some other things. We just wanted a break from the music business, because it can be a love-hate business," said Jaron. "That year turned into six, and in 2009 I said, 'Evan, I've got stories to tell.'" Jaron was living in Los Angeles, working as a screenwriter. Evan wasn't ready to get back into music, but he encouraged his brother to go solo. "I wrote probably most of the songs on this album in a two-week period in L.A. before I left and jumped out to Nashville just to get away from the distractions of L.A.," he said. "I knew if I was going to start over and I was going to go back to square one and have to get stuff kicked in my face, I was going to have to get away from the comfortable lifestyle that I had built in L.A." Jaron ended up finding newfound creative inspiration after a move to Nashville. It was in Music City where, last year, Jaron crafted enough songs for an album, and he decided to record them under the banner of Jaron And The Long Road To Love. "The idea behind it was to let my listeners know that the songs I'm going to sing and that they're going to hear from me are all about relationships. They're all about me and my experiences, where I got it right and where I got it wrong." Jaron doesn't know why his road to love has been so long, but he can describe his ideal girl by quoting from his next single, "That's Beautiful To Me. "The second verse in the song has a line that says, 'You turn every head when you walk into a room, but your kindness and your sweetened soul lingers like perfume," he said. "That's what I'm looking for." Jaron's new single "That's Beautiful To Me" will launch to Country radio this week and he's set to film the music video in Los Angeles later in August. [This feature originally ran in full on the AP wire]
■ RANDOM NOTES: Taylor Swift is slated to perform on NBC’s NFL Kickoff Concert on September 9th from New Orleans. Dave Matthews Band is also on the bill… Field Green Apps is offering the Mix Me In2 Taylor Swift iPhone app free to the first 10,000 people who download the game, which lists for $2.99. The company also has a "Your Song" contest, which allows fans to upload their remixed Swift songs to TaylorMix.com for a chance to win an autographed guitar. Taylor will determine the winner. The program allows fans to mix themselves into "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me" by replacing existing instruments and vocals to make them new tracks. Get details here…ACM Lifting Lives has posted a new web series entitled My Cause, spotlighting artists discussing charities they believe in. Jack Ingram is one of the artists speaking out, for Grounded In Music. Click here…Add this one to the mantle: Taylor Swift won the International Bowling Museum And Hall Of Fame's 2010 celebrity inductee title after an estimated 613,000 fans voted for Swift in gobowling.com's Celebrity Bowler Contest, recognizing the celebrities who bring public awareness to bowling.
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