THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT GREAT COUNTRY MUSIC DUO BEGINS MONDAY, APRIL 14 AND FRIDAY, APRIL 18 WHENCMT PREMIERES THEIR NEW MUSIC COMPETITION SERIES “CAN YOU DUET”
04/01/08
CMT and “American Idol” Producers FremantleMedia North America Will Award Winning Duo Recording Contract with Sony BMG Nashville
NASHVILLE – April 1, 2008 – Thousands of country star hopefuls auditioned, but only two performers will make the final cut to become country’s next great duo when CMT premieres CAN YOU DUET, a new 11-episode music competition series from “American Idol” producers FremantleMedia North America. CAN YOU DUET premieres immediately following the 2008 CMT MUSIC AWARDS on Monday, April 14 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. New one-hour episodes will then air in its regular timeslot every Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CMT.
Host Rossi Morreale will lead a panel of celebrity and expert judge/mentors, including country superstar Naomi Judd, acclaimed vocal coach Brett Manning and award-winning songwriter Aimee Mayo, in the weekly series that will seek to find country music’s next great duo – with the winner walking away with a recording contract with Sony BMG Nashville.
Unlike other talent competition shows, each contestant on CAN YOU DUET will compete as part of a duo. Contestants who survive a rigorous audition process will eventually make it to the famed Nashville Wildhorse Saloon stage to perform in front of a ‘live’ audience and the discerning panel of expert judges. Viewers will witness first-hand all the on and off-stage drama to be had in creating a dynamic musical duo. In addition to critiquing each performance and deciding who will advance to the next round, be sent home, and ultimately be crowned country music’s next great duo. Judges Judd, Manning and Mayo will also serve as mentors to guide, groom and develop the duos along the way.
CAN YOU DUET is produced by FremantleMedia North America. Jeff Boggs is executive producer. Bob Kusbit and Melanie Moreau serve as executive producers for CMT.
Visit CMT's press-only Web site www.cmtpress.com for more information and downloadable photos on all of CMT's programming.
More information also available at http://www.cmt.com/shows/series/can_you_duet/series.jhtml.
CMT, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 87 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network’s digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD. CMT has a rich history of finding and creating dynamic musical pairings with such series as CROSSROADS, which joins country music stars with artists from other genres. Recent CMT CROSSROADS combinations include Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, as well as Maroon 5 and Sara Evans.
FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. production division of global media giant FremantleMedia. Based in Burbank, California, FMNA produces entertaining and innovative television programs for network, cable and syndicated platforms, including the Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon “American Idol” (FOX), "American Idol Rewind" (syndicated), "American Idol Extra" (Fox Reality Channel), “America’s Got Talent” (NBC), "Farmer Wants A Wife" (The CW), "Can You Duet" (CMT), “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency” (Oxygen), “Property Ladder” (TLC), “Family Feud” (syndicated), “Temptation” (syndicated), “Million Dollar Password” (CBS), and the longest-running game show in television history, “The Price Is Right” (CBS). For further information, visit http://www.fremantlemedia.com.
Sony BMG Nashville includes its four country label operations – RCA, Columbia, BNA and Arista Nashville – and Provident Music Group, one of the world’s leading Christian music companies. Sony BMG Nashville is a division of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.
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PRESS CONTACTS:
Cindy McLean 615-335-8404 cindy.mclean@cmt.com
Manfred Westphal 818-748-1148 manfred.westphal@fremantlemedia.com
