How can you top a huge album and Grammy awards?

This past year – 2010 – was huge for Lady Antebellum. In January 2010 the young country group released their sophomore album. Just two short years before the group first appeared on the country charts. Back in 2008 the group was unique. They had a unique pop-country sound along with the dynamic of a male and female lead vocal collaboration.

In 2010, the band’s album Need You Now took them to superstar status. The first three singles from the album have all gone to the top spot on the country charts with the fourth still climbing toward the peak. The title track from the record also peaked at #2 on the pop charts while charting on numerous genre charts all over the world.

With a huge album leading to big tours and bigger appearances 2011 was looking good for Lady A.

Lady Antebellum 2011

This year – 2011 – got off to a great start for Lady Antebellum. The trio headed to the Grammy Awards with humble expectations. The group was nominated for numerous awards including the country awards, but also the overall awards. There was a good chance the popular band would win the country awards, but little thought was given to them receiving the overall awards.

People were a bit surprised, but pleasantly surprised when Lady A brought home the overall awards for Album, Record, and Song of the year in the overall categories. They also took home the major awards for the country genre. The wins led to huge album sales of all their records including Need You Now.

Not a bad start to 2011 for Lady A.

What else could the year hold for these young country superstars?

Need You Now

The album has been huge thus far for the country trio. The first three singles have all reached the top spot on the charts. The title track has been a huge hit still on the pop and Adult Contemporary charts. The fourth single Hello World is climbing the charts and will probably hit the top spot in just a few weeks or so.

There is a good chance the band could be releasing more tracks from the album. The sales are already over 3 million in the US alone. The record company may want to ensure this is a huge album forever with a fifth big single. A song like Perfect Day would be a good choice for a summer single. I was a little surprised with the Hello World choice, but that’s been a huge hit. A fun, upbeat track could be just the trick to get people singing along again with the mega group.

Touring

Beyond their charting hits the band is busy on the road in 2011. They have shows schedule in Australia and even New Zealand. For a band on the fast track to superstardom it’s important to hit the road and cash in while the fire is hot. It was only three years ago when Lady A was relatively unknown to most people. I remember seeing them during the summer at a local festival. They performed early in the afternoon, but the crowd loved them.

Now Lady A is looking to sell out bigger shows as the headliner act. I’m sure they’ll have a few big dates in the US this summer. I’m sure they’re the headliners at those festivals this summer as opposed to the early act a few years ago.

New Song

Lady Antebellum surprised fans at one of their shows the other night. Lady A debuted a new song Just A Kiss in Houston. The song was apparently intimate. It sounds like maybe a slow song that could be in the mix in the future from the country supergroup.

Artists frequently debut songs out on the road to test the waters before releasing it to radio. It doesn’t always mean the song will be a future single though. I’ve been to a few concerts where artists have played never before heard songs and the songs were never heard on radio. In fact, I don’t even know if this is relevant or not, but I was at a Jason Aldean concert this summer. He mentioned a new single and record at that time, but didn’t play the new song, which turned out to be My Kinda Party. The track was released only a month later and was a huge hit. Perhaps some artists just know they have a bit hit on their hands.

Even if Just A Kiss isn’t the next single there will surely either be another track from Need You Now or a track from a new album that could be released this fall.

New Album

It took two years between first and second albums for Lady A. The typical cycle for country artists is one to two years with an average of about one and a half years between albums. That’s just my own observation. It can vary greatly and has for a lot of artists.

With a hunch I’d say Lady A is probably planning a fall release for their 3rd studio album. The CMT article above says they’re working on the album already. the safe bet is there will be a new single out around August with the album due out in November. This will give the band the big sales time around the holiday shopping season.

There might be time to squeeze in one more track from Need You Now before a fresh single is released followed by the next big hit album from Lady A.

Summary

Lady Antebellum is at the top of the world right now.

They just came off a huge night at the Grammy’s. They’re last album has been on a tear for just over a year selling millions of copies. The band is headlining shows and festivals across the world and in the US this summer. They’re recording new music.

Lady A is even finding time for other activities like recording with Jennette McCurdy. Lady A lead singer Charles Kelley is also seeing his older brother Josh Kelley have success of his own in the country world.

The year is already off to a good start for Lady.

It’ll be interesting to see this band continue on their path to superstardom through the rest of 2011.

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