AOL THE BOOT’s TOP COUNTRY ALBUMS of 2011
THE HUFFINGTON POST & BILLBOARD’s 615 COUNTRY
Features the Making-Of, NAUGHTY OR NICE, Music VideoFriday, December 16th at 9 pm ET/ 8 pm CT
(NASHVILLE, TN) — Film, TV, Broadway and recording star Sherrie Austin returned to Country music in a big way this year with her independently-released album, CIRCUS GIRL, which has been named one of AOL The Boot’s
“Top 11 Country Albums of 2011.”
AOL The Boot — which ranks CIRCUS GIRL alongside albums by Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley and The Civil Wars – heralds Austin as “a terrific vocalist and a top-notch songwriter and ‘Circus Girl’ is her best work yet.”
Austin was recently lauded by fans as the “Taylor Swift of the Sex & The City generation,” and lived up to the unofficial title when AOL The Boot deemed CIRCUS GIRL, “rife with humor, sensuality and a whole lot of heart.”
Austin is profiled today in a thought-provoking career feature in The Huffington Post. In the article, Austin candidly discusses the liberation of releasing a DIY project as well as the rollercoaster of a life-long career in the entertainment industry: http://huff.to/vxhbKP
Austin’s first new album in 8 years, was also recently spotlighted as part of Billboard’s 615 Country. Austin discusses her new music with Billboard and how it speaks directly to the 30-40 year old female audience – something that not many are doing on today’s Country radio. http://www.billboard.com/column/the-615/sherrie-austin-goes-diy-for-first-album-1005616812.story#/column/the-615/sherrie-austin-goes-diy-for-first-album-1005616812.story
Austin has also garnered attention recently for her role in the Sundance Channel reality documentary series, “Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys.” Austin stars with her real-life best friend, songwriter/ artist Shane Stevens (co-writer of Lady Antebellum’s “American Honey”) on the show’s 2nd season that documents the lives of straight women and their friendships with their gay male best friends.
This Friday, fans of both Austin’s music and “Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys,” can tune in to the show to see the making of the music video for Austin’s fun, infectious holiday single, “Naughty or Nice,” a duet with Shane Stevens. The holiday hit can be seen nationwide on CMT, GAC and The Country Network as well as on CMC in Australia. The making-of “Naughty or Nice” episode airs this Friday, Dec. 16th on the Sundance Channel at 9 pm ET/ 8 pm CT.
Austin will be featured on the CW’s Inside Music Row the very next evening as she invites fans into her Nashville home for an inside look on the making of CIRCUS GIRL. Inside Music Row airs on the CW network on Saturday, Dec. 17th at 9:30 pm CT and is syndicated nationwide. For local listings visit: http://www.insidemusicrow.com
ABOUT SHERRIE AUSTIN & CIRCUS GIRL:
The Australian-born ACM nominee and Golden Guitar Award winner previously enjoyed success on the Country charts with her hits, “Streets of Heaven,” “Never Been Kissed,” and “Lucky in Love,” during her days on Arista Nashville and Broken Bow Records. Most recently, Austin earned rave reviews for her starring roles on another type of stage – the New York Musical Theatre Festival’s production of Bonnie & Clyde and the Broadway productions of Ring Of Fire- The Johnny Cash Musical Show and Warrior. Returning to Nashville in 2006, Austin made a name for herself as an in-demand songwriter, penning songs for Trace Adkins, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw and George Strait.
It is, in fact, Austin’s stint as a career songwriter helped inspire many of the songs on CIRCUS GIRL. The collection is a female-empowerment record, from “Friday Night Girls,” the anthem for the brokenhearted single gals cutting loose and letting their hair down, to the raw, spunky, honest sensuality of “Just Wanna Love You Tonite,” to the feisty, matter-of-fact kiss-off track, “Get Your Leaving Done.” The album is a series of stories interpreted by a strong woman, about women, and for women, and Austin feels it’s something her female fans have been clamoring for, for quite some time.
At the urging of her fans, Austin decided to enter the recording “big top” once again. This time she found that a process that once had frustrated her is now exciting her again. “It stopped being fun for me, making records and touring, which is why I focused on writing, but this is fun again. I have freedom now that I never had before. I’m making music for my fans, my music,” she says.
For more information about Sherrie Austin, please visit: www.sherrieaustinmusic.com
CIRCUS GIRL on iTUNES: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/circus-girl/id470125973
CIRCUS GIRL on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Circus-Girl-Sherrie-Austin/dp/B0061SV5RM