THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT GREAT COUNTRY MUSIC DUO CONTINUES AS THE FINAL EIGHT DUOS ARE REVEALED AND MOVE ON TO COMPETE FOR A RECORDING CONTRACT WITH SONY BMG NASHVILLE
05/09/08
NASHVILLE – May 10, 2008 – Thousands of country star hopefuls auditioned, but only two performers will make the final cut to become country’s next great duo on the new CMT music competition series CAN YOU DUET, from “American Idol” producers FremantleMedia North America. After five weeks of rigorous auditions and performer boot camp, the pool of talent has been narrowed to the final eight duos that will perform weekly at the famed Nashville Wildhorse Saloon to stay in the competition. CAN YOU DUET had the network’s highest rated original series debut and new one-hour episodes air every Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CMT.
Hosted by Rossi Morreale CAN YOU DUET’s panel of celebrity and expert judge/mentors, including country superstar Naomi Judd, acclaimed vocal coach Brett Manning and award-winning songwriter Aimee Mayo, have the challenge of finding country music’s next great duo – with the winner walking away with a recording contract with Sony BMG Nashville.
The Final Eight Duos:
• BROWNELL & RICHEY
Nick Brownell, 23, Sandusky, Ohio
Jeremiah Richey, 27, Waxahachie, Texas
• CAITLIN & WILL
Caitlin Lynn, 22, Glen Burnie, Maryland
Will Snyder, 22, London, Kentucky
• THE COPPOLAS
Kate Coppola, 25, Denver, Colorado
Kacey Coppola, 25, Denver, Colorado
• CHRIS & NATHAN
Chris Cline, 24, Bloomington, North Carolina
Nathan Herron, 24, Murray, Kentucky
• GABE & LB
Lewis Brice, 25, Nashville, Tennessee
Gabe Jordan, 26, Cottonville, Tennessee
• JOEY & RORY
Joey Martin (Feek), 32, Columbia, Tennessee
Rory Feek, 42, Coumbia, Tennessee
• JOHNSON & OAKLEAF
Jared Johnson, 29, Belton, Texas
David Oakleaf, 28, Nashville, Tennessee
• WILD HONEY
Victoria Gibson, 20, Cumming, Georgia
Ruth Collins, 24, Fredonia, New York
* For contestant bio information and downloadable photos,
visit www.cmtpress.com. More information also available at http://www.cmt.com/shows/series/can_you_duet/series.jhtml.
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.
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.
# # #
PRESS CONTACTS:
Cindy McLean 615-335-8404 cindy.mclean@cmt.com
Manfred Westphal 818-748-1148 manfred.westphal@fremantlemedia.com
