Darius Rucker

Katy Perry & Darius Rucker Perform “Only Love” At AMAs

Mike Wass | November 24, 2020 4:15 pm
Mike Wass | November 24, 2020 4:15 pm

Stripped-back. More »


Diane Warren Introduces Debut LP With Darius Rucker-Voiced “Times Like This”

Mike Wass | November 10, 2020 3:16 pm
Mike Wass | November 10, 2020 3:16 pm

A distinctly 2020 anthem. More »


‘American Idol’ Finale: Jennifer Lopez & Demi Lovato Perform, Caleb Johnson Beats Jena Irene

Lisa Timmons | May 22, 2014 5:41 am
Lisa Timmons | May 22, 2014 5:41 am


Adele And Maroon 5 Add A Pop Twist To CMT Artist Of The Year Performances

Idolator Staff | December 5, 2010 12:26 pm
Idolator Staff | December 5, 2010 12:26 pm

Lil Wayne Jumps To #1 With ‘I Am Not A Human Being’

Robbie Daw | October 20, 2010 9:51 am
Robbie Daw | October 20, 2010 9:51 am

The CMA Awards Still Love Kenny Chesney

noah | September 9, 2009 9:30 am
noah | September 9, 2009 9:30 am

chesneyBeach-loving troubadour Kenny Chesney, American Idol winner Carrie Underwood, and pop darling Taylor Swift have already nabbed multiple nominations for this year’s CMA Awards, despite the Country Music Association only announcing five categories as they trickle out the nominees over two time slots on two networks. (Five categories were announced by nominees Darius Rucker and Lee Ann Womack on Good Morning America; the remainder of the categories will be announced on CMT in the 10 a.m. ET hour. Hey, something has to make news on International Beatles Day, right?) The biggest prize of the night—Entertainer Of The Year—will be a contest between Swift, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, George Strait, and Chesney, who’s nabbed the trophy four times already. Also, Jack White is probably verystoked, since the Raconteurs’ collaboration with Ricky Skaggs and Austin Monroe, “Old Enough,” got a Music Event Of The Year nod. The full list of nominees so far after the jump. More »



What About Their Friends: Top 10 Debutantes Have Famous Pals to Thank

Chris Molanphy | August 7, 2009 3:00 pm
Chris Molanphy | August 7, 2009 3:00 pm

keriThe charts are in a bit of a Dog Days slumber, so let’s try a little trivia: What’s the most oft-recurring word on Billboard‘s Hot 100 over the last decade? I’m thinking of a word that appeared virtually never prior to, say, 1990 and eventually became ubiquitous. “Remix”? “Tha”/“Da”? “Dre”? “T-Pain”?

No, the most common word on the chart, pretty much every week, is “Featuring.”

This week, for example, 16 songs with “featuring” credits are on the Hot 100—17 if you count a “duet with” credit on Keyshia Cole’s latest single with Monica. (But then it goes back down to 16 if you exclude the craven Pussycat Dolls single “featuring” existing lead singer Nicole Scherzinger, a la Diana Ross in ’67 or George Michael in ’85.)

A dozen of these tracks, unsurprisingly, come from the worlds of R&B and hip-hop – genres where the team-up is standard operating procedure for both emerging acts (Drake, Kid Cudi) and veterans (T.I., Mary J. Blige). On this week’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, “featuring” appears no less than 37 times.

Back on the Hot 100, three of this week’s “featurers” are in the Top 10, and two are brand-new to the winners’ circle. Examining just these three tracks, you get a sense of the power of the featured-artist credit. Simply put, in pop music, there are friends, and there are friends. All three of these singles benefit to some degree from the name(s) to the right of the magic word. More »


Hootie & The Blowfish And The Ballet: Coming From Different Worlds, Colliding On Stage

noah | April 1, 2009 3:00 am
noah | April 1, 2009 3:00 am

Darius Rucker is apparently out to prove that there is life after being a soft-rock staple/punchline: His country crossover is continuing apace, and he recently notched a second chart-topper on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs. And this weekend, the works of his pre-Nashville band, Hootie and the Blowfish, will serve as the inspiration for a jukebox ballet going up in Columbia, S.C. “I wanted to celebrate one of the positive success stories that has come out of South Carolina,” Columbia City Ballet artistic director William Starrett said of The Hootie & The Blowfish Ballet. And I wanted a story that read like an April Fool’s Day joke but was actually real! Everybody wins!

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Two-Hit Wonder Flo Rida Owns Charts, Reminds Us He Exists

Chris Molanphy | February 20, 2009 2:00 am
Chris Molanphy | February 20, 2009 2:00 am

Obviously, we need to talk about the new song that takes over the top of Billboard‘s Hot 100, and the mind-blowing record it sets.

But before we do that, let’s talk about Hilary Swank.

I find Swank’s movie career totally incomprehensible: She either wins Oscars, or she tanks. Not even Meryl Streep has won two Best Actress statues, yet in under a decade Swank has gone to that podium twice, like some kind of modern-day Katharine Hepburn. You’d think that would make her one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, or at least its most respected. Sure, she wins roles in some blockbuster-type stuff (The Core) or prestige-like stuff (The Black Dahlia), but these movies are invariably flops. Swank’s successes seem to have had no impact on her career, or the way she’s regarded by the general public. She’s some kind of metaphor for the in-and-out nature of post-millennial fame.

All this leaps to my mind when I consider Flo Rida, the rapper who reaches No. 1 on the Hot 100 for the second time, with the kind of sales total that you’d think would make Lil Wayne, Kanye West or Jay-Z bow respectfully.

But if I were them, I wouldn’t. Because after all, who is this clown? How did Flo Rida become the Hilary Swank of pop music?

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Darius Rucker Leaves Hootie Behind, Shows Kanye The Way To Cross Over

Chris Molanphy | September 26, 2008 3:00 am
Chris Molanphy | September 26, 2008 3:00 am

When this column launched one year ago this week, Kanye West was locked in a mortal struggle for the top of Billboard‘s Hot 100, first defeating and then retreating from a smash by Soulja Boy.

Twelve months later, the smash holding down the No. 1 spot has changed—this time, it’s from a more seasoned hip-hop figure, T.I.—but the challenger is the same. West storms the ramparts again, this time with his all-singing hit “Love Lockdown.” An eye-popping iTunes debut gives West a No. 3 entrance on the big chart, the best start for a single in his career. It also gives him a clear shot at scoring his fourth career No. 1 single next week.

And while Kanye’s reveling in the reception his first straight-R&B joint is receiving, he can glance over to the new No. 1 single on Hot Country Songs. There, a guy 11 years his senior is showing chart historians how this whole crossover thing is done.

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