TNT is going to ring in the holidays in musical style with its annual presentation of CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON, premiering Sunday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Sugarland, Rob Thomas and Usher are scheduled to join host George Lopez in TNT’s spectacular holiday celebration.

“We take pride in presenting CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON each year as we bring together musical artists from a variety of genres for a fantastic holiday concert,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president/head of programming for TNT, TBS and TCM. “This year, we’re especially thrilled to welcome a lineup of top-name performers and an equally amazing host, George Lopez. Together, they will make this a holiday celebration to remember.”

Annually attended by the President and First Lady and other Washington VIPs, CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON is a holiday musical celebration benefiting the National Children’s Medical Center. The show will be taped at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Sunday, Dec. 13. TNT’s Dec. 20 premiere telecast will be the network’s 11^th presentation of CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON, which is in its 28^th year overall. The event will be followed at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) by the network television premiere of the film The Nativity Story (2006), starring Keisha Castle-Hughes and directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

Sugarland, the country duo comprised of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, has sold more than 8 million records since exploding onto the music scene in 2004 with Twice the Speed of Life (“Baby Girl”/“Something More”). Enjoy the Ride (“Want To”/“Settlin’”/“Stay”) quickly followed in 2006, and their third studio album, Love On The Inside (“It Happens”/“Love”/“All I Want To Do”/“Already Gone”) in July 2008, which skyrocketed them to superstardom and drew fans from all genres and critics abroad. Sugarland is credited with co-writing all tracks from all three albums and co-producing the last two. In August 2009, the duo offered thanks to their loyal fans with Live On The Inside, a CD/DVD set of live tracks, covers and footage from their tour. They have performed in six European countries and toured and headlined shows tirelessly. They’ve received trophies from the Grammys, American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music, CMT Music Awards and the Country Music Association. Nettles has performed for the Obama Presidential celebration, and the duo performed on Oprah. Their latest album is Gold And Green, a 10-track holiday collection consisting of half standards and half originals, all of which Nettles and Bush co-wrote and co-produced.

Sugarland Settles on Healthy Living, New Music

By Craig Shelburne
November 13th, 2009

Sugarland captured their third consecutive CMA Award for duo of the year on Wednesday night (Nov. 11), capping a very successful 2009. Although there have been numerous highlights -- multi-platinum certifications, a network TV special, a new Christmas album -- Jennifer Nettles was forced to cancel several tour dates this year due to nagging health concerns. She fielded a question about it during a visit to the press room backstage at the CMA Awards.

"This year I started out on a limp leg because I was randomly sick several times before we went on the road. That started me out, when we were on the road, still dealing with that," she said.

"I was behind when we started, and the year doesn't get any easier. It only gets harder. You become more cumulatively tired. Consequently, I learned about limits. I learned about my own healthy boundaries -- yes, my therapist is proud. And how to say no, and that's just as important as being able to say yes. Until you can say a clear and easy ‘no', ‘yes' doesn't mean as much. ... It is a hard lesson to learn, and quite humbling when you have the desire and the love and the want and you're body says, 'Nuh-uh, not today.' You have to learn how to pace yourself in order to make it for the long run."

The duo says they'll start recording a new album in 2010. "The really great news is that so far our fans, the industry and y'all have come to expect us to change from the last record that we did, so you never really get that (sense of), 'Oh I didn't express this so I need to go over here and do it on the side," Kristian Bush said. "It always feels like wherever you are is what you're going make next. We thank you all for letting us do it, and our fans, and we'll see what happens next."

Sugarland on their next album, upcoming tour, and their pitch for the 'Twilight: Eclipse' soundtrack

By Whitney Pastorek

Their debut album, Twice the Speed of Life, was just certified triple platinum, and as of tonight’s CMA Awards — where Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush will premiere “Keep You” in a laser field — they will have performed all but two of Love on the Inside’s songs on television: only “Take Me As I Am” and “Very Last Country Song” remain unconquered. (LotI, btw, was just certified double platinum, and is also up for CMA Album of the Year.)

So it’s time for another album cycle in Sugarland, say Bush and Nettles, who are aiming for a “summerish” release date. “We’ve already been writing,” Nettles told EW before Monday’s CMA rehearsal. “We have to go in the studio at the beginning of next year, at some point.” This is no surprise to fans who caught the live show in 2009, where they were treated to new material like “So Long” and “Take Me For A Ride,” but there’s no guarantee those songs will eventually appear on the album. “We’re not afraid to put stuff out there,” said Nettles, but Bush cautioned, “Some things just show up once in our land.” Another fan favorite, the overtly non-country groove of “Blood on Snow,” appears primed and ready for an appearance on a certain vampiric movie soundtrack. So is Twilight: Eclipse in the game plan? “Call ‘em up! That’d be great!” grinned Nettles. “Just say ‘Twilight’ again!” said Bush. (Twilight.)

As they await their undead fate, the two will crank up a new tour, featuring more of their trademark theatricality. “Bigger, better, faster, more,” is how Bush described it. ”We’re working on the narrative now,” said Nettles, who will divulge only that “music is a powerful healer, and the way that translates to people… I don’t want to give it away. That’s a really beautiful sentiment. But it’s more fun than that.” When asked why they refuse to just stand there and sing the hits like everybody else, Nettles replied, “Cause we’re artists as well as entertainers. We like to create not only music, but a musical experience when we’re performing live, and we like for that to have meaning, and depth, and layers, and texture beyond the songs that are happening.” Bush continued, “It matters because we’re fans of music, and I think it would matter if I was a fan of us.”

"THE GRAMMY® NOMINATIONS CONCERT LIVE!! — COUNTDOWN TO MUSIC'S BIGGEST NIGHT®" TO FEATURE PERFORMANCES BY SUGARLAND

LL COOL J SET TO HOST ONE-HOUR LIVE EVENT ON DEC. 2

CBS Entertainment Special Will Announce Nominations for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY® Awards Live from Club NOKIA in Los Angeles

GRAMMY winner Sugarland are of the first performers announced for "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music's Biggest Night®." Two-time GRAMMY winner LL Cool J once again is set to host the one-hour special, which takes place live on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at Club NOKIA in Los Angeles. The show will be broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 Surround Sound on the CBS Television Network from 9 – 10 p.m. ET/PT. Additional performers and presenters will be announced shortly. The special also marks the second time nominations for the annual GRAMMY Awards will be announced live on primetime television. Last year's airing of the show reached more than 8 million viewers and led to double-digit percentage increases in all key demos for the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards telecast earlier this year.

The road to Music's Biggest Night begins with "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — featuring the announcement of nominations in several categories and performances by past GRAMMY winners and/or nominees — and culminates with the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, and broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT. For updates and breaking news, please visit The Recording Academy®'s social networks on Twitter and Facebook: www.twitter.com/thegrammys, www.facebook.com/thegrammys.

JENNIFER NETTLES

That figure-skimming navy strapless dress? "It's Italian!" the Sugarland singer exclaimed of her Luisa Beccaria gown. "I love it. I love the ruching, it's very forgiving – but I'm sporting the Spanx like the rest of us!"

Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush received early Christmas presents yesterday when GAC executives Ed Hardy, President; Sarah Trahern, Sr. VP, Programming and Suzanne Alexander, On-Air Host, presented them with a triple platinum plaque for their debut record Twice The Speed of Life and double platinum plaque for Love On The Inside, which vies for “Album of the Year” at tonight’s CMA Awards. Nettles and Bush taped an episode of GAC Nights in support of their newly released holiday record Gold And Green, which will air 12/9 at 7pm and 11pm and 12/10 at 11am. GAC’s Headline Country will also feature the duo in their last episode of the year, which premieres 12/10 at 8pm and will air the entire month of December. All times Central.

(photo-L to R): Alexander, Trahern, Nettles, Bush and Hardy

Pull up your britches, Mixers: The full breakdown from day two of CMA rehearsals is finally here for your enjoymentThere was a long, empty break in the middle of my day due to closed rehearsals from Taylor Swift and Brooks & Dunn, but we’ve got your Lady Antebellum, your Kenny Chesney, your Sugarland, your Jason Aldean, and your Darius Rucker. Plus, just enough preview scoop to keep you kids interested, but prevent the show’s producers from hanging me by my ankles off the Nashville Visitor Center. Yay!

5:22 p.m. Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush are in the middle of an interview when the song starts, and they turn to watch the soon-to-be-broken-up former reigning Duo of the Year. Every camera in the joint is immediately focused on them.

5:35 Ladies and Gentlemen: Sugarland, in Q&A format because there are two of them and they talk in very short sentences on top of each other, and it’s just easier.

EW: How’s the CMA experience so far? Have you done anything?

J: No.

K: There’s been a green room.

J: We met our string players.

EW: You have string players?

J: First time we’ve ever done that.

EW: You’re doing “Keep You.” And where the strings come in, in the song, that’s where they will be used?

J: Yes. We were gonna use them for some acrobatic and pyrotechnic stunts before they sat down with the instruments, but then we thought, Maybe it would be good to just let them play when the strings come in.

EW: Wouldn’t surprise anyone if you went for the acrobatics.

K: The big surprise this year? The stationary part.

J: We’re not dancing.

EW: Will you be cutting off your hair again?

J: Thought about it.

K: With lasers.

J: Very precise.

EW: Are you going to win everything you are nominated for?

J: Sure. Why not? We don’t know.

EW: Is it okay if Brooks & Dunn get a victory lap?

J: Yeah. It’s okay.

K: I hope we win Album of the Year. Cause we made a really good album.

J: And we cared about it.

K: We tried so hard.

J: We’re artists as well as entertainers. We like to create not only music, but a musical experience when we’re performing live, and we like for that to have meaning, and depth, and layers, and texture beyond the songs that are happening. Because it translates.

K: It matters because we’re fans of music, and I think it would matter if I was a fan of us.

5:40 Sugarland takes the stage with their fancy new string section and launches into “Keep You.” Nettles in fact does not start chopping off all her hair.

5:50 Stage manager over P.A.: “Everyone in the audience? We’re gonna use the lasers now. So just be careful where you’re looking. Especially up top.”

6:03 OMG LASERS!!!! MY EYES!!!!!!!!

6:04 Nobutforreal: What do lasers have to do with this song?

6:14 Stage manager over P.A.: “Okay, one more pass, with ground fog and lasers… and the water drop will be on the last chorus. We’re going to soak the two of them.” Uh. Tell me you are kidding.

6:20 They were kidding.

In spirit of the upcoming holiday season and in promotion of their newly released Christmas record Gold And Green, Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush created a comedic holiday video dramatizing their favorite seasonal traditions. CLICK HERE to view the exclusive premiere.

“Sugarland: Live On The Inside”, the one-hour network television special featuring Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush’s high-energy “Love On The Inside” tour will re-air exclusively on CMT beginning Friday, November 13 at 9pm Central Time and repeat numerous times throughout the month.

Filmed at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky by director Shaun Silva, the duo’s artistic and innovative live show comes to life with 20 cameras in a spectacular, unforgettable event featuring some of their biggest hits (“Settlin’”, “Stay”, “All I Want To Do” and “Something More”).

Executive produced by Nettles, Bush, Gail Gellman and Jason Owen, the special is a Tacklebox Films production and airs in HDTV with 5.1-channel surround sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. The special originally aired August 3^rd on the ABC Television Network.

Airdates are as follows:

November 13 at 9pm CT

November 14 at 9am CT

November 16 at 9am CT

November 18 at 7am CT

November 20 at 9am CT

"Sugarland is one of the best live acts in music today and this special captures their show in a way rarely seen on television," says John Hamlin, SVP, Production, Development & Talent, CMT. "This program is a fantastic view of Jennifer and Kristian at the top of their game. We are thrilled to have it on CMT."

The debut record that started it all, Twice The Speed Of Life (“Baby Girl”/“Something More”), is now certified 3X platinum.

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush make up country duo Sugarland who’ve sold over 8 million records since exploding onto the music scene in ‘04 with Twice The Speed Of Life. Enjoy the Ride (“Want To”/“Settlin’”/“Stay”) quickly followed in ’06 and their third studio album Love On The Inside (“It Happens”/“Love”/“All I Want To Do”/“Already Gone”) in July ’08, which skyrocketed them to superstardom, drawing fans from all genres and critics abroad. Sugarland is credited with co-writing all tracks from all three albums and co-producing the last two. In August ’09, the duo offered a thank you to their loyal fans and the result was Live On The Inside, a CD/DVD set of live tracks, covers and footage from their tour. They’ve performed in six European countries and toured and headlined shows tirelessly. They’ve received trophies from the Grammys, American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music, CMT Music Awards and the Country Music Association. Nettles has performed for the Obama Presidential celebration, and the duo for Oprah. Check out their latest album Gold And Green, a 10-track holiday collection consisting of half standards and half originals, all of which Nettles and Bush co-wrote and co-produced.

It’s hard to believe it’s time to compile a year-end list, but GAC is compiling their list of the Top 50 Videos of 2009 and once again, they are asking those in the know – their viewers – to assist. Voting for the annual fan-voted list has just begun and will run until November 30th. Fans can log on to gactv.com for a complete list of nominees and cast votes daily for up to 10 of their favorite videos. Videos that were a part of GAC’s regular playlist from November 1, 2008 through October 31, 2009 were eligible for consideration for the final ballot.

More than 140 videos from 103 unique artists have been nominated including Sugarland and their videos for "Love," "Nightswimming/Joey" and "Keep You". Thirty two artists have multiple nominated videos and those leading the pack are Keith Urban and Brooks & Dunn with 4 videos each followed by Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney and Taylor Swift each with three videos each.

A countdown of GAC’s Top 50 Videos of 2009 will premiere Monday, December 28, 8:00 pm/eastern.

For a complete list of all eligible music videos, CLICK HERE.

Sugarland
Live On The Inside
MERCURY NASHVILLE

By Bret Love

I hate country music.

OK, maybe “hate” is too strong a word, and maybe “country music” is too much of a raging generalization. But when you compare the grit, passion and soul of old school country artists like Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings with the preening polish of much of the stuff coming out of Nashville these days, the genre on the whole seems like a tamer, less distinctive beast.

I should hate Sugarland. The duo may have been born and bred on the Atlanta scene (where Kristian Bush played in Billy Pilgrim and Jennifer Nettles fronted Soul Minor’s Daughter before forming her own band), but the glossy sheen of their look and sound isn’t far removed from any number of pop country acts to emerge from Music Row in recent years. Yet the band continues to win me over, and it took seeing/hearing this live CD/DVD set for me to understand why.

As it turns out, Sugarland is not a country band. Sure it’s been embraced as such by the establishment and Nettles has that thick-as-syrup drawl to prove she’s from the South, y’all. But if you strip away the genre trappings and focus on the melodies and lyrics such as “Love” and “Baby Girl,” you’ll find songwriters rooted in pop/rock traditions whose tunes are every bit as classic as the bands they cover in this Lexington, Ky. Concert (including R.E.M. and the B-52’s).

Whether passing out glowsticks for a rave interlude or crowd surfing in giant plastic bubbles, Bush and Nettles were clearly born to entertain masses far beyond country music’s boundaries. And you need look no further than Live On The Inside to see why they’ve managed to convert even diehard country haters like me.

Sugarland’s Kristian Bush
Knoxville’s Native On Fame, Fortune and the Importance Of Philanthropy

By Janet Testerman

Having already sweetened the pot with a Grammy, five No. 1 singles and the longest charting single of all time, it doesn’t look like Kristian Bush, the guitar pickin’, mandolin playin’, country singin’ front man of duo sensation Sugarland, is going to dissolve anytime soon.

“I’ve had to rewrite my to-do list of ‘things I’d one day like to do’ two and three times,” says the Sevier Country and Knoxville native. “I used to say the pinnacle would be winning a Grammy. Now that I’ve done that, I want to win another.” Kristian describes that Grammy moment when they opened the envelope and called Sugarland’s name. “Mind-blowing,” he says. “It’s hard to get your head around the fact that Paul McCartney may have voted for you.” With front woman and female phenom Jennifer Nettles, that experience was coupled with a coup at the 2007 Country Music Association Awards when the two won Vocal Duo of the Year, ending Brooks and Dunn’s nine-year winning streak. “It was humbling. They defined and redefined who country could reach.” Sugarland won back to back honors the following year.

The Webb School of Knoxville student, who was lead singer and bass guitarist with friends and band mates Matthew Turner, Jeff Roberts and Archer Bishop in the local band Masada, had already recorded 7 or 8 albums by the time he migrated to Atlanta to attend Emory University. He formed the group Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyra, actress Meg Ryan’s brother, in the early 90s. The duo signed with the same record label that had just signed Hootie and the Blowfish, and while Billy Pilgrim was successful, Kristian admits, “We were not high art.”

At 30, Kristian saw country music stretching. “I had an affinity for country and wondered what it would be like to write a country song for radio.” When Sugarland materialized in 2003, “Baby Girl” was the second song he and Jennifer wrote together. “I thought we were dead in the water many times, but we spent 49 weeks moving up the chart and broke the record for longest charting country single of all time.”

The burning question Sugarland hears frequently these days is, “How’s it feel now that you’ve made it?” to which Kristian laughs and poses the question, “We’ve made it?” He humbly retracts with a surprising response. “Actually, the moment I felt we’d made it was when we got to walk in to the set of Sesame Street and sing with the Muppets,” explaining only five performers a year are extended an invitation to share the street corner with Big Bird, Snuffleupagus and crew. “You have to pinch yourself when you’re singing next to Oscar’s trashcan. It’s a beautiful thing, talking to a puppet. You can’t help yourself.”

But for rising stars, perception is often the reality, Kristian being no exception. Now that he has indeed “arrived,” the realization for Kristian is “some things are true and some are not true. There’s definitely a myth and mythos early on, even in the 80s when I came aware of music. There was a rich and deep myth then, but that’s what’s required to make it through the dream.” Kristian upholds the truth that no matter what, hard work pays off. He debunks the myth, however, that success for musicians happens through a series of happy accidents. “Sometimes things don’t line up, but if you’re smart, you’ll get opportunity,” he maintains, “and when you get that opportunity, you have to be smart, or you don’t succeed. You’d drop your spoon sitting at dinner with Kenny Chesney knowing how smart he is. These are kids from the gifted class.”

This kid from the gifted class of East Tennessee, who sat in Thompson Boling Arena and The Civic Coliseum far more times as a fan than as a performer, has hit his hometown stage twice in the past two years. “Sure, I have that 15-year-old moment being on stage wondering how many old girlfriends are sitting out there. Knoxville is where I learned hot to get my heart broken and learned about breaking a heart,” he laughs. “But there are lots of hopes and dreams you carry on your shoulders as you succeed. There are people who wished for me, people who put up with me, and I carry that responsibility into the same room of 18,000 people.”

Even though Atlanta is where Kristian has lived for over 20 years, he’s quick to call Knoxville and Sevier County home. After all, he is the great-grandson and grandson of Bush Beans’ founders. “I still claim it,” he says proudly, reminiscing about this time of year specifically. “There’s something that happens in that part of the country in the fall – the quiet, the leaves, a sort of distance.” He recalls when his wife, Jill, was pregnant with their first child, all he wanted to do was pack up and move back to the mountains. “It’s just where I felt like I need to be. There is so much deep tradition there,” Kristian says nostalgically. “The value system is different. It’s more about how you do it than what you do. That concept came from growing up in Knoxville.”

While reflecting, Kristian grasps to remember the title of Bill Landry’s The Heartland Series. “That show stitches together the right of being from there. The music or art or feel of that place, there’s a cultural identity in East Tennessee,” an identity that definitely came with living in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains – identity that almost mandates bluegrass be in your blood and music of a dulcimer be cultivated long before that of a bass guitar.

As a young boy classically trained on the violin, Kristian experienced a defining moment that resonates to this day during every concert – the moment when he was carrying his violin to school and the mocking had pushed him to the brink. He turned, swinging his violin case, and knocked his tormenter to the ground. Dissolved to tears, knowing he had never hurt anyone and stunned his anger, Kristian remembers, “I ran home and begged my mom to let me stop playing the violin to school and start learning the guitar.” But she wouldn’t let him quit until he played in the Knoxville Youth Symphony – a promise he followed through on, earning the right to lay down the violin for good and pick up the guitar. He was 12, and today that’s the reason during every concert he looks for an 11-to 13-year old in the audience to give a signed guitar to. “Someone once asked me if I knew whether those kids ever learned how to play the guitar,” Kristian says. “I had no idea. I didn’t know their names, who they were or anything about them.” He soon learned, however, many of those kids whose spirits and confidence he lifted up in 15 significant seconds were posting online to say they were learning to play the guitar. “That’s the real effect of giving, especially those (outcomes) you can’t see,” he says thoughtfully, “because you don’t need it to complete the sensory cycle. For me it’s a hero’s job, and I accept it.”

Kristian’s charitable heart continues to pulse. He’s a huge advocate of The Liver Foundation after losing his mother to Hepatitis C. “That was a powerful experience,” he notes. He also supports the Shalom Foundation, an organization providing food and aid to underprivileged children in Guatemala. And with Sugarland, Kristian and Jennifer have sewn charitable oats launching Common Thread in 2008 as a cross-genre concert with artists like Emily Saliers of Indigo Girls and singer-songwriter Amos Lee. “We decided to institutionalize part of the year and invite people for an interesting listening experience, donating the entire ticket price and merchandise sales to charities selected by each performer,” he describes. “It’s empowering to use your talent to raise money.”

Kristian admits the addictiveness of giving is enhanced with understanding the interpersonal connection. “Giving is a human right. Everyone can equally give. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, it creates the same feeling every time,” Kristian says. “No matter how easy or difficult it is to get up and go to work every day, it’s so easy to buy coffee for the guy behind you in line. Once you encourage others or give them the opportunity to give, it becomes an instinct” – and a lesson he’s working every day to teach his kids, Tucker and Camille. He confesses, however, while he’s improved his giving, he’s still working to improve his talent of receiving because, as he says, “you can only truly give if you learn how to receive.”

Kristian feels people who typically go to concerts to forget and escape life go see Sugarland to remember. “It’s not always warm and fuzzy,” he says. “It might be about being broken, brokenness, hope and love, but it’s always music celebrating a message. There’s a shift happening and Sugarland is part of that shift. We’re moving from a culture of acquisition to a culture of giving.”

And with the season of giving upon us, it’s only fitting Sugarland has released their first-ever Christmas album, Gold and Green. Kristian talks about one of his favorite songs off the album saying, “‘Maybe Baby’ ‘might’ take place in Knoxville, and of course the names have been changed to protect the innocent.” The release is being marketed with a promotion on Twitter at sugarland.culturejam.com through the holidays. The rules: You have to give in order to get.

With the dawn of 2010 and new tour dates already being set, Kristian will hit mile marker 4.0 in March. And with the dawn of a new decade will likely come a new rewrite of his to-do list: ‘things I’d one day like to do’ – with the exception of one thing that’s topped his list since he was 13-years-old. “I want to write a James Bond theme song. That would be fantastic,” he laughs, yet he could not be more serious. “I think I was brainwashed by TBS when I was young. It’s like Saturday Night Live”; not everybody gets to do it, but I’ve been telling everyone I know just so maybe one day I’ll be considered.” While there might be “something more,” most would agree, that would be a pretty sweet deal.

We have two awesome fans this week who have blogged, posted and emailed in earnest to be featured here at SugarlandMusic.com.  We're delighted to say that SugarlandFan3439 and breeana25 are this week's Fans of the Week! 

Want to be featured as a Fan of the Week? The only criteria is to have at least one recent blog entry, 2-3 photos in your gallery and then comment on a FOTW item or email OfficialSugarlandAdmin@gmail.com (please include your SugarlandMusic.com screen name if you send an email). The next FOTW will be posted on Monday, November 16th (as the FOTW committee is out on vacation next week).

It's Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Sugarland

By Alison Bonaguro
October 13th, 2009

The holidays are still a couple of months away, but that's not stopping Sugarland from rocking Twitter with a little listening party starting today. Their first holiday album, Gold and Green is streaming right this minute, and you can hear it as soon as you log onto Twitter and tweet that you are indeed listening to Sugarland. (If you don't do Twitter, it takes about one minute to sign up. If you never want to go back to tweet or follow or be followed after today, so be it.)

What's cool about these online streams, to me, is that it does more than just play you the music. It puts you in a mood. In this case, it's an uber-twangy holiday mood. One that seems a little more festive because of Jennifer Nettles' distinctive vocals heaped on top of that mood. And five of the songs are originals, so the album has a good mix of songs you grew up with and ones your kids will grow up with.

And as usual, there are some nice touches that really stand out. There's some very nice piano on "Winter Wonderland" and a gorgeous choir on "Coming Home." The sparse guitar picking and very orchestral fiddle on "Gold and Green" makes everything looks (and sound) better in gold and green.

Kristian Bush seems to have more time on the microphone with this batch of music, which I like, too. He shares vocals with Nettles on "Holly Jolly Christmas," "O Come O Come Emmanuel" and takes the lead on "Maybe Baby (New Years Day)," which might just be the sexiest holiday song I've ever heard.

Best, though, is "Nuttin for Christmas." It is super bluegrassy mountain music perfect for decorating cookies, trimming the tree and/or wrapping gifts. I'm all for tradition, but if I can hear a little more steel guitar in December, I'm all for it.

Sugarland came to town, apparently they were opening for Keith Urban but the crowd in Buffalo, NY at HSBC Arena didn't seemed to notice. They blasted through a high energy, well received set in front of a sold out crowd. When it comes to musicianship, Sugarland knows how to perform catering to old and new fans with a set list that flowed from start to finish.

Check out the photos from the show by clicking here or going to the photos section!

Sugarland bringing its cross-genre success to Tampa
Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland play the Forum on Friday night.

By Curtis Ross

If Sugarland doesn't sound like a typical country act, maybe it's because it doesn't have a typical country background.

"We cut our teeth on the clubs and not the honky-tonks," says Sugarland's Kristian Bush, "the clubs, the bars and even the coffeehouses and bowling alleys.

"I've played CBGB," Manhattan's late and legendary punk rock venue, Bush says. "I'm not sure Dierks Bentley did."

Sugarland — Bush and singer Jennifer Nettles — came of musical age in Atlanta, drawing inspiration from R.E.M. and The B-52's who hailed from an hour away in Athens.

Bush fondly remembers Atlanta's alternative mecca, 688, "as a kid puking in the bathroom and as a performer on stage," he says with a laugh.

Bush and Nettles have come a long way since then. After building its audience over two platinum-selling albums and plenty of opening act slots, Sugarland hit headlining status last year with the release of "Love on the Inside," which has spawned three No. 1 country singles. The album itself reached No. 1 on both Billboard's country and pop charts.

Originally a trio with Kristen Hall, Sugarland formed in the early part of the decade, each member part of Atlanta's singer-songwriter scene and each with level of previous success. Nettles was with popular local group Soul Miner's Daughter, Bush was half of duo Billy Pilgrim and Hall had released albums under her own name.

"Twice the Speed of Life" was released in 2004, containing the hits "Baby Girl" and "Something More" and the live favorite, "Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good)."

Hall left before 2006's "Enjoy the Ride," which continued the streak with two Country No. 1 singles ("Want To" and "Settlin'") and a No. 2 ("Stay").

This year, Sugarland is headlining its own shows, co-headlining with Keith Urban, and opening for Kenny Chesney in stadiums.

"It's been a wonderful thing to pair yourself with other artists," Bush says. "We're like the kid in high school who could hang with all the different cliques."

Bush and Nettles honored fellow Georgians The B-52s this year, joining the new wave group on the CMT Awards to sing "Love Shack."

But if many of their influences aren't country, the pair's backgrounds are.

"I'm from Appalachia in Eastern Tennessee, way up in the hills where there wasn't any other radio besides the AM station that plays Dolly Parton 'cause she's from there," Bush says. "Jennifer is from south Georgia, where if you can't get the radio, you get your music in church."

Sugarland's sweet is sexy

By Wade Tatangelo

Sugarland’s Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles have written most of their own country hits, but they’ve also been successful performing pop and rock songs.

Country superstar Jennifer Nettles, lead singer of Sugarland, has a killer singing voice, and on the phone, a most sexy Southern drawl. She's from Georgia. And when Nettles says "darling," you can't help but melt a little bit.

Her pipes, which have been lauded by President Barack Obama, have made Sugarland one of the most successful country acts of the past decade. The duo consists of Nettles and Kristian Bush, with whom she has penned a slew of No. 1 hits including this year's country chart-topper It Happens.

What makes Sugarland so cool, though, is their penchant for covering rock and pop songs. On the duo's new concert album, Live on the Inside, Nettles makes tunes by the likes of Kings of Leon and Beyonce her own. The Grammy-winning blond belle recently dished about recording a song with "sex" in the title, learning the Thriller dance and meeting the president.

Unlike most country stars, you and Kristian have written most of your hits. So, be honest, what was the original title of It Happens?

(Laughs) We wrote that song with Bobby Pinson. He had the idea of the funny, "shh . . . it happens" — a play on words of "s--- happens." And then we made a song to fit all those crazy "s--- happens" moments in life.

In addition to your hit originals, Live on the Inside features awesomely unlikely covers. Your version of Kings of Leon's Sex on Fire is among the standouts — and might be the first mainstream country recording to have the word "sex" in the title. Did you worry that covering a song with such a risque title would upset the record executives?

(Laughs) Wade, they are so afraid, darling. Different genres have their own traditions from which they spring and country has been kind of slow to let go of their grip. The song might be the first country song to use the word "sex" itself, but Loretta Lynn released The Pill (in 1975) — and we all know what that's about. To be able to say it, you just have to be a little rebellious.

One of the cooler collaborations of recent memory was when Sugarland launched into a cover of Beyonce's Irreplaceable at the 2007 American Music Awards and then was joined by none other than Beyonce. How did that come about?

That was so fun! We had been doing a cover of it as a kind of bluegrass number — we thought it would be pretty unique to take a hip-hop song and make it into a bluegrass-country song. Beyonce heard it and we were both under the same umbrella label and communications started back and forth about doing something together.

As a country artist, did you feel it might hurt your career when you performed at the Obama inaugural celebration?

No, not at all. I'm not out to make statements. Songs should comment on the human condition. Playing at the inauguration, I didn't feel afraid at all. We all get to vote, and it's nobody's business who we vote for. I didn't care what people might think. I have respect for the president.

Did you get to meet President Obama?

Yes, I did! . . . I met the president in this receiving line and when he got to me he said, "What pipes, girl, what pipes, girl."

So what's something about you that would totally surprise people?

I did something fun the other day. I love dancing. I'm not a dancer — but I love dancing. I got online and I learned the Thriller dance. I'm pretty proud of that. (Laughs)

Least likely to be here now

By Chris Ahrens

Country music legends are supposed to live hard, die young, and leave nice portraits, bad memories, and loyal fans who spend the majority of their adult lives watching tribute bands, attending memorial concerts, and trying to decipher every cryptic word. It’s been that way since before Hank Williams and after Townes Van Zandt. Anyone can see that it’s not that good of a life, clearing the wreckage of an Appalachian-size hangover to accommodate more ruin. Yet somehow the damage looks attractive enough for droves of teens to sign up for the ride as they line up to burn bright for thirty-some years, taking the trail all the way to the wall.

Kristian Bush is well on his way to becoming a country legend. But what can you say about a country boy weaned on Black Flag who never desired to pay the ultimate price for success? Bush just wants to play good music with people he loves, enjoy life, and hang out with friends and family. What could possibly be wrong with him?

Kristian Bush: Tell me about this magazine; I don’t know anything about it.

Risen Magazine: Essentially we interview people on their spirituality, or lack of it. We like to say that we’re more concerned with the soul than the shoe.

KB: Nicely done. I like that tag.

RM: Okay, so what do you want to talk about?

KB: [Laughs] That depends on what’s going on in your world today.

RM: I was thinking how playing authentic country music nearly requires a person to be a mess.

KB: [Laughs hard] I think it’s a popular notion that to succeed in country music, you can’t be a mess anymore. What makes you bring that up?

RM: I was wondering what keeps you personally from being a mess, and if it was ever attractive to stumble on stage and forget things, like your guitar. [Laughs] You know, the things legends are made of.

KB: [Laughs] I don’t know. I think there was a time when I kind of romanticized The Replacements. I might have been nineteen or twenty, but I learned pretty quickly that that not sucking as a singer and a songwriter is more important than being cool.

RM: Well put.

KB: As I’ve gotten older I’ve found that being cool isn’t really worth it.

RM: Alice Cooper told me that all of his friends—Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix—died trying to live their image and then he nearly died trying to be Alice Cooper.

KB: That makes sense. This is a second life for both of us [including Kristian’s musical partner Jennifer Nettles]. We have this hindsight and a strange second life to apply it. I had a record deal out of college with Atlantic Records in a band called Billy Pilgrim. We made of number of records and toured the world.

RM: Did you ever think you would do something else if music didn’t work out?

KB: Yeah, I guess everybody feels that way from time to time. It’s kind of the way you deal with failure. Dealing with success—that’s the lesson I’m now learning in Sugarland. I felt that if music didn’t work out, I’d still do it, I just wouldn’t get paid for it and have to find something else to pay me. But hanging up the guitar just wasn’t an option.

RM: So, how do you deal with failure?

KB: [Takes a deep breath] If something doesn’t work out, it just means that something else will work out. We’ve had enough successful creative decisions at this point that people keep asking us to make decisions. I’m sure as long as we don’t step off the deep end, they’ll just keep letting us go.

RM: That must feel good.

KB: Yeah, and the thing that keeps me from going off the deep end is having a creative partner. Jennifer and I work this thing together. At least one of us at all times is going, Huh, do you think that rolling around in a huge ball is a great idea? [Laughs] When there’s nobody around to tell, you know, you don’t know when you’re on the edge.

RM: There’s a Proverb that says pride comes before a fall. What keeps you from being prideful?

KB: Realizing I don’t know everything. That’s the great thing of age—the older you get, whether on an instrument or in life, I’ve always found that the more I know, the more I’m aware of how much I don’t know. As soon as that kinda clicks in, anything’s possible.

RM: Describe the emotional difference between having kids, writing a hit song, and winning a Grammy.

KB: That’s interesting. Something like a Grammy is a joy of an accomplishment where, I didn’t think this was possible and it just came true. It’s a joy that has some sort of faith in it. Being a father is a completely different type of joy. It’s like, Oh my gosh, I now understand that my purpose on this planet is to make sure this kid survives. You have a certain amount of joy in that awareness, that you’re small. You’re no longer large. You’re no longer so important. The other joy is the joy of creating, right? That’s the one that has probably the most mystery and the most payoffs. It makes me completely aware that something else is happening, and that if I just hold still long enough, it will keep happening. It’s like you’re kinda channeling a little bit, and it’s an accomplishment as a writer.

When Jennifer and I work together, we’re really trying to encapsulate something about the human condition. So, you’re really not workin’ for you, you’re workin’ for everyone else. You don’t realize it at the time; you’re not really thinkin’ like that. But it seems like magic. It’s like what happens when a golfer hits a golf ball. It’s like you swing with a certain amount of strength and speed and it goes ten times further than you should have hit it. It’s the same thing when you’re writing a song. You feel like you’re creating this thing, but it takes on a life of its own.

RM: Einstein said he felt that ideas came from outside of him. Do you think that ideas kind of float around and creative people kind of catch them? We often hear of people having the same idea, 5,000 miles apart.

KB: Yeah, I think that’s kind of the Jungian collective unconscious and a healthy dose of pop culture. In different times and places you see different movements happen. Once you train yourself to stay open to all that, then you’re gonna catch some. I think that most of it is personal experience. We’re really aware that what we say is being heard. A lot of bands are in genres where what you say is not as important as how it’s said. A lot of other genres depend more on the style and the substance. In country music you just can’t get away with any of that. You have to write a song that communicates to people across time, and a lot of times across gender, age . . . you’re really trying to tap into human condition issues, things that happen in everyone’s life, rather than things that happen at a specific time in your life. I don’t know how many teen angst songs that I love and some that I’ve written . . . but they don’t really apply. We talk more about the meaning of a song than, Wow, this sounds cool.

RM: Legendary sax player Charlie Parker apparently used to load up the jukebox to listen to country songs because he loved the stories.

KB: Yeah, there are archetypes that stretch across history and ring true as a whole. Whether you’re talking about some sort of hero’s journey like Hercules . . . You can even see the election of Barack Obama as archetypal. It means something to people. When you ring that bell, it’s impossible to stay away from it. I think if you’re Charlie Parker and kind of the father of modern bebop, there are things that remind you of what that archetype is. That’s what he’s playin’ on . . . you go where you need to.

RM: Some people seem to stick with the genre they’re designated with. Like, you’re a rocker and don’t look past that.

KB: I’m always scared to death that somebody’s gonna ask me about this or that George Jones song and I’m not gonna know it, [Laughs] and say, Oh man, he’s a fraud! [Laughs] It all depends. Jennifer and I are products of what we grew up with and I think that’s what most culture is. I don’t think people any longer identify themselves with the subculture musically anymore. I was a kid who painted my Chuck Taylor’s and went out to Black Flag concerts. I was searching for who I was. I was standing in line for Adam and the Ants shows. I was that kid . . . If you knew me then, I was probably the least likely to be here now. Had you known me ten years earlier, I grew up in Appalachia, listening to Dolly Parton, who lived down the street. But there are some things I depend on rockers to be forever. I depend on someone like Joe Perry to rip my head off. I expect that when he walks in the room.

RM: It seems that there’s a rhythm in life that changes as we get older.

KB: I think that music affects you the most between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two. At that age I was holding onto the words of whomever, because I couldn’t say them myself. When you’re a teenager you’re basically insane. You’re technically nuts. [Hard laughter]

RM: What you write and sing and say may influence people more than most politicians. Do you try to put out a right message?

KB: Absolutely. I think that’s a big part of what we do as Sugarland. It’s a part of Jennifer’s and my relationship as writers. We have messages that are sewn into our songs, maybe not with a capital M like most people think. I was always fascinated with Bob Marley. This guy was giving me a message all the time that you could sing and that you wanted to sing. A lot of times you didn’t realize what you were singin’ until you actually broke it down. Until you knew the words to “Redemption Song”, you didn’t really get it. I’ve always thought that it matters what you say, not just how you say it.

RM: Were you ever conscious of trying to make a better world for your kids through the music you play?

KB: [Long breath] I’m conscious of the parenting part. There will be a day when my daughter, who’s three now, will look...CLICK HERE to read the rest of the interview. 

Living the Sweet Life

By Joseph Hudak
July 30, 2009

For Sugarland, country music’s premier duo, 2009 is turning out to be one sweet year. They scored two Grammys and an ACM, broadened country’s appeal with sold-out shows in Europe, and received an audience with the queen—Oprah, that is. Now, the terrific twosome of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush are adding their first-ever primetime special to the successful mix. Filmed at a concert in Lexington, Kentucky, Sugarland: Live on the Inside (Aug. 3, 8/7c, ABC) captures all the energy of the group’s dynamic live show—including those infamous hamster balls. (A DVD of the special and a live CD will be released on Tuesday.) We caught up with the charming Nettles to talk about the special, meeting Oprah and…what she uses in her hair?

How do you think Sugarland’s live show translates to TV?

I was going to ask you that! [Laughs] Kristian and I had the idea that we wanted to shoot the show and didn’t know exactly where it was going to end up. We just knew that we felt strongly about the artistry of it and that we wanted to document it in some way. I think it holds up because we went into it for our own artistic enjoyment. Our intentions were in the right place.

Were there other famous TV concert specials you’ve enjoyed or were inspired by?

I think there have been moments where the television special, the live concert, has become iconic… like the Elvis [“Aloha from Hawaii”] concert, with him in his jumpsuit giving out scarves to the ladies. And I remember [watching] Garth’s in Central Park and one that Shania Twain did a few years ago in Chicago. I’m hoping that ours will rank up there!

You perform a number of unexpected covers in concert, from R.E.M.’s “The One I Love” to Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable.” Is that your way of honoring your influences?

Yes. And it’s also a way to just have fun. Quite frankly, for some of our fans, especially the younger ones, they might not have heard it! So we hope to introduce it to them. They may go home, get on the computer and say, what was that song?

In the special, it appears as if you’re crying during the other-woman ballad “Stay.” Does that song still have that much emotional pull on you?

Oh yeah. You know why? Because when I hear the whole crowd singing along, it is like an anthem. It is their anthem. As much as that song is not my personal story, in that moment, they all want it to be. They want me to be that wounded, angry, sorrowful and yet resilient character. When I am in that moment, it takes hold and is that powerful.

Have you had a Spinal Tap moment yet inside the giant hamster balls you and Kristian use to roll over the crowd?

[Laughs] Not yet. Although the first [Kenny] Chesney show this year that we [used them], the power went out when we were inside blowing up the balls. I’m sitting there screaming, freaking out. But luckily no big Spinal Tap moments outside of that. We tell the audience to raise their hands and hold us up, but still you have somebody with a camera in one hand and a beer in the other! If they all got the same idea at the same time, they could [roll] us out to the parking lot. But they don’t really know that, and we’re really fast at throwing our weight around in there.

You appeared on a country-music episode of Oprah this year. How was it meeting her?

Crazy. I had that feeling of familiarity that television can foster, that false sense of familiarity with celebrities. A lot of times people think they know you because they’ve seen you so much, and you’ve never seen them. I felt that way. I was like, “Oh, there’s Oprah!” You feel like you can chat her up the way you can chat up a friend, because she’s been on your television in your home for so many years.

Sugarland performed at Nashville’s CMA Music Festival in June, an event known for allowing the fans up-close access to the stars. Any weird encounters?

Well, not at CMA Music Fest, but at dinner the other night with one of my girlfriends, a woman came over and said, “I’m very sorry to interrupt you, but I just have to ask you some questions.” I’m thinking this is about to be questions about life. Instead, she looks at me and says—“How do you do your hair?” [Laughs] She could have asked anything, and she asked about hair!

Sugarland Makes a Summer Night Sweet on ABC

By Jay Bobbin

All Sugarland wants to do is guarantee its listeners a good time.

The award-winning country music duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush aims for that on a bigger scale as the special “Sugarland: Live on the Inside” airs Monday, Aug. 3, on ABC. Filmed at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., the hour has a healthy dose of hits including “All I Want to Do” and “Stay.” The two stars also put a unique twist on the tradition of concert audiences passing beach balls around.

One of today’s most distinctive voices in music, Nettles says she and guitarist Bush “didn’t want (the special) to be different from what our live show is. We wanted to capture what that is, entertain people in their homes and allow them to see it if they aren’t able to get out to it. Maybe they’ll want to come to one of our shows if they like what they see.

“For those who already are fans, it’s something nice to watch on a summer night,” Nettles continues. “I remember watching concerts on television when I was a kid, and some of them really turn into iconic memories … not just for the fans, but for the artists as well.”

Bush isn’t worried about offering for free some of what Sugarland devotees pay to see in arenas and stadiums.

“I think we’re moving from a culture of acquisition of things to a culture of acquisition of meaning,” he reflects. “It’s like, ‘Can we go do something that means something?’ In being entertained by us, you’re hopefully bringing a little bit more of you to be entertained. We’re talking about humanity and the celebration of life, and that has meaning when you do it en masse.”

With Nettles and Bush among its executive producers, “Sugarland: Live on the Inside” was filmed before the ABC deal was made. It first was intended for a live performance CD/DVD package that goes on sale the day after the telecast. Bush explains, “We approached a director who’s done a lot of our music videos, a guy named Shaun Silva. We paid for this, created it and edited it all by ourselves.

“I wasn’t very well-versed in how network television works, but much like the music industry turned a corner about 25 years ago, television is turning now. It’s this pay-to-play experience where you have to be your own promoter, your own sales rep, so you’re bringing your own content and hopefully bringing sponsors with you. When we finished this and looked at it, we decided it would make a good TV special. It was a real bungee jump, one show and 25 cameras; either you’re good or you’re not.”

With Grammys and awards from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association among their accolades, Sugarland has managed something few groups do: to survive – and, indeed, thrive – after losing a frontline member. Nettles and Bush originally found wide fame in a trio that also included Kristen Hall, who departed the act in 2006. The remaining partners then went on to score huge successes with the CDs “Enjoy the Ride” and “Love on the Inside.”

As Sugarland’s lead singer, Nettles always makes evident her pleasure in performing. “I do love it, I have to say. To have a moment where a group of people are all there sharing music, that’s really what we want to do as songwriters. The hope is that we write every person’s story, or at least a moment they connect to. I get joy in that communion, that sharing.”

If there’s anything Sugarland enjoys more than making its own music, it’s teaming with other talents, especially when different styles merge. Arguably the best-known example is with rock’s Bon Jovi on “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” but Beyonce, Little Big Town and Jake Owen also have been Sugarland partners – as have the B-52s, who helped refresh their “Love Shack” recently at Country Music Television’s CMT Awards.

“We are musicians, performers and songwriters who love music,” Nettles reasons. “We happen to be played on country radio because that’s where they said, ‘OK, we’ll play you here.’ We’ve been influenced by all kinds of music and musical traditions, and that shows not only in our writing but also in the way we want to pay tribute to those who have inspired us.” (The DVD version of “Live on the Inside” includes Sugarland’s cover of the R.E.M. song “The One I Love.”)

“I think this is a culture of all kinds of music,” Bush adds, “and you can’t figure out who a Sugarland fan is, normally. It’s not like a Grateful Dead fan, who you can identify at 10 paces. If you look around at our shows, you’ll see a Metallica shirt, a Beyonce shirt and so on. We’re kind of like the kid in high school who everyone agrees on.”

Also showcased recently on PBS’ “Soundstage,” Sugarland is having what Nettles terms a “mishmash” year of touring, not only headlining its own show (which it took to Europe in March) but sharing bills with Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney in other engagements. Along the way, Nettles and Bush are trying out material with a mind toward the next Sugarland album.

“We’ve been lucky,” Nettles says. “From the start, there’s been a trust in us from the artistic standpoint. Obviously, (Sugarland’s label, Mercury Nashville) has deadlines and numbers and all those things, but I think they’re also aware that if serving the art and the music doesn’t get the first and most respect, the deadlines won’t make any difference. We’ve had support from the beginning in doing this in our own way and on our own timeline.”

Sugarland's 'Inside' Goes Outside the Box

By Beville Darden
July 31, 2009

Pop, R&B, '90s grunge, '80s rock -- music genres run the gamut on Sugarland's new CD/DVD box set, 'Live on the Inside.' Chalk it up to yet another risk that will undoubtedly pay off for the superstar country duo.

Pearl Jam's 'Better Man,' the B-52s' 'Love Shack,' Beyoncé's 'Irreplaceable,' and two hits by R.E.M. are some of the songs Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush perform night after night onstage and have now recorded. But this isn't Sugarland doing their best Eddie Vedder or Michael Stipe impersonations -- they've sugar-ized these songs, if you will, to make them their own.

The Boot caught up with Kristian about his favorites on the project, which will be featured in an ABC television special this Monday, Aug. 3. He also tells us the funny story of a near-'Spinal Tap' moment and talks candidly about the decision to let him take over the mic a little more often.

The live CD has seven cover songs, while the DVD has two. How did you come up with a formula for balancing your own songs with your versions of songs by other people?

The process was a little funny -- it was going to be all covers. And then they were going to just take the audio from the DVD and put it on the CD. But that's not going to help anybody! As much as I love the Police, I'd get bored if they gave me a CD/DVD box set of the same stuff. The fans want something different, and a band is partly defined by its cover choices.

Which covers did you personally campaign for to be on the record?

I wanted 'Better Man' and [Kings of Leon's] 'Sex on Fire' on there real bad. With the Pearl Jam song, I love the idea of a woman singing about that topic. It's one thing with Eddie Vedder singing it -- it has a different connotation when a man is singing about a woman who is in a domestically abusive relationship. It's completely different when a woman sings it to you. And as for 'Sex on Fire,' I'm just a big Kings fan!

And in addition to changing the translation of some of these songs, you really change them musically to make them your own.

One of the things that we learned coming up in the Atlanta music scene is that you're encouraged to do that. Make your version of the song, but never really call it a "cover." I learned through osmosis that there are three important things about being in a band: One -- you've got to have great T-shirts [laughs]. Two -- you've got to write good songs. And three -- if you do a cover, it has to mean something.

Funny you mention T-shirts, because the last time Jennifer spoke with The Boot, she joked that you were going to have shirts made that say, "Sugarland: We Do Our Own Stunts."

[Laughs] We need to! That's great!

Speaking of stunts, will we see you and Jennifer in those giant inflatable bubbles, crowd surfing on the live DVD?

Yep! The big Flaming Lips balls. I love them! It's on the DVD and will be on the TV special, too.

How in the world did you rehearse that stunt? Since it requires so many people to pull off, did you just wing it the first time?

We did, and it was really awkward! We were playing a truckers' convention in an arena in Kentucky. Our production manager just looked at us and said, "So, do you want to blow these things up and roll with them tonight?" But we hadn't prepped security or anybody for it. So he was like, "Well, let's just try it. What's the worst that could happen? It looks like there are some really strong truckers who can help!" And it was a full house -- several thousand people -- but we decided to try it. And it was like jumping out of an airplane! But the best part was the way our band looked at us afterwards, like, "Y'all are nuts ... crazy loons."

Well, I got their perspective a couple of weeks ago when the zipper broke on mine. I thought I could duct tape it, but there were just too many 'Spinal Tap' possibilities there. So I was telling Jennifer through the bubble wall, 'You go ahead. Mine is broken!' And when I saw her leave the ground in that thing, I just about lost it. I couldn't believe what it looked like. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, we are crazy!'

We hear your voice more than ever before on this 'Live on the Inside' CD. How did you and Jennifer decide to use more of your vocals?

It was a creative step, but fans have been really supportive of it. Actually, Jennifer was the one who was really encouraging me. A lot of the downfall of bands in any genre is not knowing who you're listening to. I love Little Big Town, but sometimes I can't tell which person I'm hearing. And some of my favorite Police songs are the ones Stewart Copeland sings on. We've always had that dynamic, too. And I was a singer in my other band (Billy Pilgrim). But I don't have what's considered a traditional, rich country voice. It has much more character and scraggly edges. Jennifer was just like, 'No one sounds like you. You've got to sing!' It was like me saying, 'You ought to play lead guitar, Jennifer!' [laughs] It's an awesome thing. It makes our formula more powerful. We're recording a Christmas record now, and you'll hear me a lot on there, too.

Do you know if Michael Stipe or any of the guys in R.E.M. have heard your versions of 'Nightswimming' and 'The One I Love'?

This is the most exciting part ... I wanted to send copies of these covers to all these bands, and I don't necessarily want them to endorse us, but I just want to ask. And I knew the guys in R.E.M. had been contacted about us doing the songs. Apparently, they think it's great! And apparently the Kings [of Leon] guys got asked in an interview the other day how they felt about having a song on an upcoming country CD. Of course, there were a lot of expletives, like, 'That's the f---ing greatest thing I've f---ing ever heard!' [laughs] I'm still waiting on the Pearl Jam guys ... I don't know any of them, but I admire them so much. So I kind of don't want to know if they don't like it!

You're in elite company to have a major network television special -- Elvis, the Beatles and not many more have those bragging rights! Tell us about getting the call from ABC.

We dreamed about this, but there are so many naysayers in the industry right now. They'll say, 'You can't sell records. Country radio stations are this, and record stores are that ...' But everywhere we go, either we're the most blessed band on the planet or there really is more music around than there ever has been before. So when we made this DVD, we thought it would be great to have it on TV. We thought maybe CMT would pick it up, but we never thought network television would happen! Still, we threw it out on the table, and the label thought it was a great idea. But we thought, 'Yeah right, like y'all know anybody!' [laughs] And when they told us ABC wants to do it, our jaws hit the ground.

You've had to cancel a few shows this summer because of Jennifer's doctor-ordered vocal rest. That's got to make you just as sad as your fans!

It's so sad when someone that I love to hear talk can't talk! It's a horrible thing -- it's like playing that game with my kids where I go, 'OK, no talking for ten minutes.' And the moment you tell them that, that's the one thing they want to do!

Sugarland: Rock 'n' rollers?
The country band's rock ‘n’ roll influences are on display on their new live CD, “Live on the Inside.”

By Bo Emerson

Sugarland shows its diverse musical influences on an ABC special Monday.

The rock ‘n’ roll and pop tunes on Sugarland’s new live CD, “Live on the Inside,” won’t be a surprise to fans, who’ve heard the country duo cover all these tunes in concert.

But taken together, the chestnuts from R.E.M., the B-52s, Pearl Jam and Beyoncé demonstrate a fact that Atlantans already knew well: Sugarland came to country from rock ‘n’ roll, and to rock ‘n’ roll it will return, every now and then.

“I think the curtain is being pulled back a little bit,” laughs guitarist/mandolinist/vocalist Kristian Bush, one-half of the country duo, when questioned whether “Live” reveals the metro side of Sugarland.

Powered by the strength of charismatic vocalist Jennifer Nettles, Sugarland expanded the boundaries of country music as it arrived on an already changing country scene, a confluence of trends that made a meteoric rise possible. “We started paddling on the wave as it was rising,” Bush says, during a chat from Los Angeles.

Their background finally made them good country ambassadors to the rock generation.

“We are the doorman for an entire set of country music listeners,” says Bush, who likes to see newcomers “come in through Sugarland and end up at George Strait.”

They’re opening the door wider next week, with a new live album, a DVD and an ABC television special that will air Monday detailing their “Love on the Inside” tour. That jaunt, promoting their 2008 CD, is the latest leg in a seemingly unending tour schedule that has kept the band on the road almost continuously since the 2004 release of their monster single “Baby Girl.”

Sugarland started out as an Atlanta trio, also featuring vocalist Kristen Hall, who had writing credits on every song on the group’s multi-platinum 2004 debut “Twice the Speed of Life.”

Hall left the group in 2006 and filed a $1.5 million suit against Sugarland last year. Bush wouldn’t comment on the suit, which apparently hasn’t been resolved.

Another of the bumps on the way to success has been a recent over-use injury to Nettles’ voice, which necessitated the canceling of several shows this month. “We’re kind of playing it by ear,” said Bush, after being asked when they’ll be back in action. “The vocal mechanism takes a while to heal.”

Luckily, he added, they can come into the living rooms of America through their ABC show. “We’re nothing if not completely ambitious,” he said. “We don’t have enough days to play everywhere we want to play.”

During a recent telephone interview Bush took time to talk about Sugarland’s Atlanta roots, the perils of the road and singing with Elmo. Here’s what he had to say:

On the ecumenical Atlanta [and Georgia] music scene:
"One of the things so inspirational about the Atlanta music — and I hope we’re carrying the torch — is that music made there, especially by the bands we covered, those bands didn’t have a genre they fit into. They did their best using the one that people stuck them in. They bent genre to where they needed it. [The B-52s] started off in New Wave and ended up in Top 40. ... R.E.M. did the same thing. Outkast does this. They are unshamed by boundary. I think it’s in the water in Georgia. ... It’s okay to make the music you feel."

On what Sugarland learned from their singer-songwriter days:
"You gotta have a great T-shirt, you gotta write a great song, and when you do a cover, you better mean it."

On the Atlanta band that they should have covered on the CD, but didn’t:
"I’m shocked that there’s not a Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ song on there."

On their cover of R.E.M.’s “The One I Love”:
"We translated it through a very dark Appalachian place. I always thought that that song was a yearning song anyway. That was the definition of folk rock to me."

On singing with Elmo, Oscar the Grouch and other denizens of Sesame Street:
"Being on Sesame Street, it’s a mind-bender, man. I grew up [watching] it. When you find your own head sticking out of Oscar’s garbage can, you don’t know what to think."

Sugarland fans in for a sweet ride with TV special

By John Gerome

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sugarland's Kristian Bush knows a live CD/DVD package and a network TV special might seem quaint at a time when singles rule and fans flock to YouTube, but he thinks they are a good way to show what the duo is all about.

"I think performing live is one of the most exciting things we do," Bush said recently. "How do we spread that and share that excitement?"

The CD/DVD set, "Live on the Inside," is available exclusively through Walmart stores beginning Tuesday and includes a 10-track live CD and 16-song concert DVD.

A one-hour TV special taped in Lexington, Ky., "Sugarland: Live on the Inside," airs Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Bush said he and singer Jennifer Nettles made the deal with Walmart because the retail giant gives them the widest reach.

"When your basic tenet is to reach as many people as you can and you're only dealing with two or three record stores anymore, you have to make a decision on who's going to best support that tenet," he said. "We did research on who sells the most live DVDs in the U.S."

With the TV program, director Shaun Silva taped them performing hits such as "Stay," "All I Want to Do" and "It Happens."

"We produced and funded and directed this ourselves," Bush explained. "We didn't have a lot of money. We hired a director we love, and we all sat down and said, 'What's the best way to do this?"

Bush said it's humbling to think of Sugarland joining a tradition of musical artists who have created memorable TV moments.

"There's something sentimental about it," he said. "Not that long ago, before DVR and YouTube, we used to gather around and watch specials like this on television."

Two days after its release at Walmart, the concert DVD will premiere in 35 movie theaters across the country.

The burst of attention seems sudden for a group that had to lay low and miss a few shows recently so Nettles could rest her voice.

But Bush said Nettles' vocal problems, brought on by a grueling concert schedule, underscore the importance of the TV special, DVD and movie.

"There are only so many days in a year, and you can see that the physics of our bodies can only sustain a certain number of shows a year," he said. "You can't visit everywhere."

FIRST ROUND OF PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED FOR "THE 43rd ANNUAL CMA AWARDS"
Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban to Perform on "Country Music's Biggest Night"

NASHVILLE - The star-packed lineup for "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards" launches with the announcement today that nominees Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban will perform. "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards," hosted by Paisley and Underwood, airs live from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 11 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Brooks & Dunn are nominated this year for Vocal Duo (which they have won a record 14 times) and Musical Event with McEntire for "Cowgirls Don't Cry."

Chesney, the reigning Entertainer of the Year (with four total wins in this category), has three nominations, including Entertainer; Male Vocalist; and Musical Event with Mac McAnally for "Down the Road."

McEntire has two nominations, including Female Vocalist (which she won four consecutive years during 1984-1987) and Musical Event with Brooks & Dunn for "Cowgirls Don't Cry."

Paisley, the reigning Male Vocalist (2007 and 2008), is this year's top-nominated artist with seven nominations, including Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Album for American Saturday Night; Single and Song for "Then" (which he co-wrote with Chris DuBois and Ashley Gorley); and Musical Event and Music Video for "Start a Band" with Urban.

Rucker, who released his debut solo Country album in 2008, received his first two CMA nominations this year for New Artist and Male Vocalist.

Country Music Hall of Fame member Strait received four nominations including Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Music Video for "Troubadour" and Musical Event for "Everything But Quits" with Lee Ann Womack (a category they won in 2005 with "Good News, Bad News"). With 79 career nominations, Strait is now tied with Alan Jackson as the most nominated artist in CMA Awards history.

Sugarland, the reigning Vocal Duo (2007 and 2008), has two nominations including Vocal Duo and Album for Love on the Inside. Sugarland members Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles could each receive a second trophy for producing Love on the Inside with Byron Gallimore.

Swift, who won the Horizon Award in 2007, received four nominations this year with Entertainer; Female; Album for Fearless; and Music Video for "Love Story." She could receive a second trophy for producing Fearless with Nathan Chapman. At age 19, Swift is the youngest artist ever to be nominated for Entertainer. Prior to this nomination, Wynonna was the youngest at age 22 when The Judds were first nominated in that category in 1986. Swift is also the first solo female artist to be nominated for Entertainer since 2000 when Faith Hill was nominated. The last solo female artist to win the category was Shania Twain in 1999.

Underwood, the reigning Female Vocalist for three consecutive years (2006-2008), has two nominations including Female Vocalist and Musical Event for "I Told You So" with Randy Travis. Should Underwood win the Female Vocalist category again this year, she would tie Martina McBride and McEntire as the top winners in the category with four wins each.

Urban received five nominations this year, with Entertainer (which he won in 2005); Male Vocalist (which he won three consecutive years in 2004-2006); Album for Defying Gravity; and Musical Event and Music Video for "Start a Band" with Paisley. Urban could receive a second trophy for producing Defying Gravity with Dann Huff.

Tickets for the 2009 CMA Awards can be purchased by logging on to www.ticketmaster.com; calling (800) 745-3000; or in person at the Sommet Center box office, 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, in Nashville). Ticket prices begin at $110 for Upper Level. All ticket prices include sales tax but exclude applicable service/handling fees.

"The 43rd Annual CMA Awards" is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer, Paul Miller is the Director, and David Wild is the writer. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

Premiere Radio Networks is the official radio packager of the CMA Awards. American Airlines is the official airline of the 2009 CMA Awards. Chevy: The Official Ride of Country Music.

Sugarland: Live on the Inside
Pour Some Sugar On Us

By Joseph Hudak

This week, Sugarland releases a concert DVD and a live CD showcasing some of their surprising cover choices including songs by R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and Beyonce. “It’s a way of paying homage to our influences and also a way to just have fun,” says Nettles.

For Sugarland, country music’s premier duo, 2009 is turning out to be one sweet year. Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have scored two Grammys and an ACM, and they’re adding a prime-time special to the mix. “There have been moments where a television special has become iconic,” says Nettles, recalling Elvis’ Aloha From Hawaii and Garth Brooks’ Central Park concert. “I’m hoping ours will rank up there!” We’re betting it just might: Backed by an arena-ready band, the pair soar through their hits driven by Nettles’ impeccable voice – oh, yeah, and there are also giant hamster balls, a hallmark of their live shows. They roll over the crowd inside inflatable globes – stunt that sometimes confounds fans. Says Nettles, “We tell them to hold us up, but you still get somebody with a camera in one hand and a beer in the other.”

The country group Sugarland has released a new CD-DVD set, “Live on the Inside.”

By Jon Caramanica
August 2, 2009

The country superstar duo Sugarland (Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush) was one of the first acts to realize that Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable” was more than a vicious, tart R&B kiss-off: it was also a pop standard, begging for interpretation. A country-rock version has been a staple of Sugarland’s live sets for some time, and on “Live on the Inside” (Mercury), a CD-DVD set sold exclusively at WalMart and on walmart.com, it gets a tricky bluegrass revision. With one of the loveliest, folksiest voices in country music, Ms. Nettles isn’t nearly as tough as Beyoncé, but she devastates with a grin.

Apart from three of Sugarland’s signature hits, including a characteristically sterling read of “Stay,” this live CD consists of covers: the group taps its Georgia roots on a pair of R.E.M. numbers, “Nightswimming” and “The One I Love,” and a superfluous version of the B-52s’ “Love Shack.” And it makes up for siphoning the pathos from Pearl Jam’s “Better Man” by revealing the louche “Sex on Fire,” by Kings of Leon, to be an exultant love song: who knew? (The DVD features a more traditional Sugarland live set; a trimmed-down version will be broadcast on ABC on Monday.)

Sugarland keeps fans happy
Country duo's everyman quality hits home

By Erik Ernst
September 20, 2009

Sugarland is not the typical country music duo.

For example, Big & Rich are not likely to take the stage to an artistically choreographed flourish of glowing white umbrellas. Brooks & Dunn won't be found scurrying across the top of their audience in giant inflatable bubbles, either.

But during a 90-minute set at the Bradley Center Friday night, Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush had no problem doing both.

Beginning the opening song, "Love," in the warm glow of the stage footlights, Nettles and Bush slowly built to a blinding strobe-lighted crescendo that set the pace for the evening.

The duo's split in duties found Nettles carrying vocals while Bush offered guitar and mandolin instrumentation. While they might be songwriting and studio equals, in concert, with five other backing musicians, the attention was heavily weighted toward the affable Nettles.

With a vocal talent, at times reminiscent of Reba McEntire, powering the " and the country stomp of "It Happens," Nettles danced and upbeat "Settlin' twirled around the stage. She was a genial host, offering birthday wishes to fans as she read from their signs. Her emotive face gave equally satisfying credence to the pleading "Stay" and the playfully happy "Everyday America" - a song that featured interjections of Madonna, Nelly and Michael Jackson.

Giant bubbles aside, the Atlanta musicians are not flashy. The only glitz in their costumes came from a red hat Nettles donned for an understated cover of R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming."

That organic, everyman quality has fostered much of Sugarland's success - three platinum albums - during the past five years. So, it was easy to believe that Nettles was the poor singer-done-good character in "Baby Girl." When Bush gave a guitar to a young girl in the crowd, he seemed genuinely pleased to show her an initial chord fingering. And when images of Milwaukee landmarks appeared on the video screen during "Who Says You Can't Go Home," it hit all the right buttons.

With curly blond hair and ripped jeans, Billy Currington, appearing before Sugarland, was the country heartthrob for the evening. During a 45-minute set, his voice lent itself as easily to the twang of "I Wanna Be a Hillbilly" as it did the Southern storytelling of "People Are Crazy" and the R&B soul of "Don't."

Playing mandolin, Bush joined opener Matt Nathanson for "Come On Get Higher," the last song of his impressive 25-minute set of acoustic folk rock and witty banter.

Sugarland helps open 4 days of music in Fort Loramie, Ohio
Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland perform Thursday night.

By Brian Dugger

In March, Kristian Bush was strumming his guitar in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, bopping along beside his partner, Jennifer Nettles, wondering if the 2,000 Parisians massed before them really had any idea who Sugarland was.

Turns out they did.

"It was awe-inspiring. They were singing along and knew every word to every song. It made the hair stand up on the back of my neck," Bush said.

That wasn’t the only surreal moment on their European trip, which included dates in Italy, France, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland. Expecting to sell a couple of hundred tickets for a show in London’s Shepherd’s Bush, they sold out the venue, and the morning of the show were invited to take part in a tribute to the Beatles.

"We went to Abbey Road [studios]. Jennifer and I sat in there and re-recorded ‘Come Together’ to mark the 40th anniversary of the [Abbey Road] album. We were doing it in the same studio on the same mikes as the Beatles. I was just like, ‘Wow,’ " Bush said.

The session will appear on the British television show Live from Abbey Road later this year.

IF YOU GO

This year’s Country Concert in Fort Loramie, Ohio, is the festival’s 29th edition. As usual, it will run four days, beginning Thursday night.

Brad Paisley headlines the event on Saturday night, returning for the first time since 2005. Last year, the festival’s stage had to be expanded to accommodate Kenny Chesney. This year, the stage is even bigger in order to hold the 49-foot video screen that Paisley uses during his show.

In addition to Paisley, featured artists include Sugarland, Little Big Town, Blake Shelton, Montgomery Gentry, Dierks Bentley, Phil Vassar, Julianne Hough, and Rodney Atkins.

Because of the region’s struggling economy, organizers have kept ticket prices the same or lower compared to last year. There is a range of ticket prices, including a $221 four-day pass and daily general admission at $93 Thursday, $119 Friday, $125 Saturday, and $89 Sunday. For additional ticket options and information, go to countryconcert.com or call 937-295-3000.

It’s appropriate that the one album that established Sugarland as superstars was the duo’s second, "Enjoy the Ride," because that’s exactly what they’ve been doing. In the last year they’ve been playing before sell-out crowds and the awards have been piling up. They received two Grammys earlier this year (Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Country Song for "Stay") and won Top Vocal Duo at the Academy of Country Music’s show in the spring. In June, "All I Want to Do" earned Sugarland the Video Duo of the Year award at the CMT Music Awards.

Thursday night, they’ll be playing before thousands of fans at Country Concert in Fort Loramie, Ohio.

"We love playing. For us, it’s a shared art. The one time you record a song, it’s stamped in time forever. It’s magical to make a recording. It introduces people to us, but coming to the show is what matters the most," Bush said. "We believe when we perform that people must believe what you’re saying and that it matters what you’re saying. The fans are giving you the opportunity to say that and you have to respect that. For us, there is no such thing as phoning a show in. The fans need to feel respected."

The fans’ love affair with Sugarland has driven the group’s success. Most artists build their base with a breakout hit, then follow up with a tour to capitalize on the buzz. Sugarland has always had a buzz about their performances, even before piling up hit songs.

Ask Bush what it is about a Sugarland show that inspires and he gets philosophical: "I think people are fascinated that we’re happy. We really are choosing that. It’s a choice Jennifer and I make. I think we’re moving from a culture of materialism to a culture of meaning. People don’t necessarily want the biggest house filled with junk. They want meaning. We believe in being human. There’s energy in hope, love, and loss. We can communicate this in a place where you’re not alone."

Nettles and Bush exude energy and happiness on stage, but if you were to point to a period in the duo’s history that generated the most growth and surge in popularity, it would be some of the darkest days.

Sugarland was formed in 2003 in the Atlanta area by Bush and songwriting pal Kristen Hall. Bush had achieved commercial success as part of the duo Billy Pilgrim. Hall was a folk singer and songwriter on the Atlanta circuit. They invited Nettles, who was fronting the Jennifer Nettles Band, to take a shot at something new.

"This whole thing began as an organic process. It was pretty much, ‘Hey, you want to write a song?’ I had No. 1s, Jennifer was selling out shows, but we said there really is no place for singer/songwriters. Let’s see if there’s a place for that on country radio. Turns out there was," Bush said.

"Baby Girl" was released in 2004 and climbed to No. 2 on the charts. "Something More" reached the same level. "Just Might (Make Me Believe)" and "Down in Mississippi" made it four hits from their debut disc, "Twice the Speed of Life," propelling the album to multiplatinum status.

But by the time the group was thinking about a second album, it was obvious that Hall’s heart wasn’t in the venture, and she didn’t have the enthusiasm for life on the road. She left in early 2006, quickly turning the group into a duo. Despite the fact the three collaborated on songs, Hall had been seen as the driving force behind the group’s clever lyrics, and industry observers speculated that the magic surrounding Sugarland would be destroyed. But that’s not what happened.

"It was obvious Kristen wasn’t happy. When you remove that energy, a sense of freedom happened. What happened was we exploded as songwriters," Bush said.

"Want to," the lead-off single off "Enjoy the Ride," became Sugarland’s first No. 1. "Settlin’" followed to the top of the charts. Their current album, "Love on the Inside," has produced three straight No. 1s ("All I Want to Do," "Already Gone," and "It Happens).

On Aug. 4, Sugarland will have their own television special on ABC. It will feature footage taken during a show at Rupp Arena in Lexington. It will be broadcast the day before the release of "Live on the Inside," a combination CD/DVD that will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart.

It’d be logical to assume that success has surprised Bush, but it hasn’t.

"I don’t think we’ve exceeded expectations. I like to think we’re just getting started. I always had high expectations, but the timing has been quicker than I expected."

Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s not enjoying every minute of the ride.

"Seriously, I have to pinch myself sometimes."

Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles talks about the country duo's success

By Kevin O'Hare
September 29, 2009

Sugarland will perform at The Big E on Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets for the performance are already sold out.

They’re one of the hottest acts in the business, a country band straddling the rock ‘n’ roll world and loving every minute of it.

With a new live CD/DVD (“Live on the Inside”), a new Christmas album (“Gold and Green”) and sold-out shows filling their slate, Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have worked their way up from the nightclubs of Georgia to the forefront of the national music scene.

(Tickets to their concert on Friday at 8 p.m. at the Big E’s Comcast Arena Stage have long since sold out.)

Prior to a recent show in Oklahoma, Nettles, the duo’s primary vocalist, talked about Sugarland’s past and present, their love of rock cover songs and much, much more.

Jennifer, you had some vocal problems that forced you to cancel Sugarland’s appearance at the Eastern States Exposition last year. Are you looking forward to this show?

I am really looking forward to playing there this year. I’m glad we’re able to come back obviously so these fans can get to see this show, so we can play our music. I am very excited for that.

How are you feeling, what’s been going on with your voice?

Everything is great. It’s interesting because I can’t separate my instrument from my body, it becomes much like an athlete in that way. I live a pretty unique lifestyle considering what I do and when you add that element into it – the athleticism of it and the fact that your body is your tool or your instrument - it definitely becomes an extreme lifestyle. There’s a lot to be learned about limitations and pacing oneself and just the fact that I’m a human (laughs). Most of the things that you catch or that are going around are upper respiratory things and most people can go to their jobs and do their jobs just fine. But with me, that unfortunately really affects my instrument, not to mention the way that I use it day in day out many times a week, it’s all about the body and how to learn about how to deal with it.

You included a bunch of your cover songs on “Live on the Inside.” They’re basically all rock songs with a couple of exceptions. Do country fans ever give you grief for going too far with some of the rock stuff, like B-52’s and Kings of Leon covers?

No, we’re lucky we have fans that are very open and love what we do. From the beginning they’ve seen our diversity not only in our own writing but in the covers we choose and the different performances we like to participate in. They know we come from a background of very diverse influences. Consequently they’re open to allow us to explore. We have a diverse fan base; yes they like country and they like lots of other kinds of music as well.

Who makes the call on what covers you do? I mean sometimes, they seem like obvious choices given your backgrounds but other times – like with the Beyonce song “Irreplaceable,” for instance, they seem like they came completely out of left field.

(laughs) It’s just Kristian and myself. You can hear the propensity for songs to mold and shape. If you listen to a song like “Irreplaceable” all you have to do is listen to a different groove of it. The structure, from a songwriting standpoint and from a vocal standpoint, it’s pretty easy to cross into it. It’s really more of a matter of changing the groove and making it more bluegrass for example, which is what we did and putting harmonies on there as well. It really wasn’t that big a stretch but I think it’s fun in hearing that it inspires people who think, wow, I would have never thought that could be possible.

Speaking of that sort of thing, have you met Steve Earle since you wrote the song (“Steve Earle”) about him? Any word on what he thought about it? It’s hilarious.

No we have not met him, I wish I had. We do know from the beginning – just as an extension of courtesy, we sent it by his manager. He reminded me that Steve doesn’t read any reviews written about him, any books written about him – so why would he listen to a song that’s been written about him? But the manager said he got a chuckle out of it. So if nothing else we made Steve Earle laugh and that’s fine with me.

Sugarland is releasing a Christmas album this year. It’s got some traditional songs and five originals. Why did you decide to make a Christmas album, and what was with the idea of putting some originals into the mix?

I give Kristian the nod for his excitement over holiday songs. He was very excited over this project. We had started dabbling with the concept a few years ago when we recorded a few holiday songs for an EP. So we enjoyed that so much, and then we said “Let’s put out a holiday record.” We had a lot of fun trying to capture the emotion of the holiday spirit and trying to capture whether we could write a song or two that feels like those classics, like Bing Crosby, a new Christmas classic so to speak. I hope and like to think that we came close with a couple of the originals on there. It’s the perfect record for people to put on when they’re having a Christmas Eve dinner or if they’re opening presents that morning and they put on the CD in the background and they’re able to share a moment of family or community time together.

As far as live performers, who inspires you?

U2, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Coldplay. We’ve learned a lot from being on tour with Kenny Chesney, his playbook and how he makes energy translate to the amount of people that are in a stadium. It was really an asset to be able to see that behind the stage, up close. All of those artists inspire me.

Is Sugarland enough of a creative outlet for you? I know in the past you had released solo acoustic albums, would you do that again?

I don’t discount it. Maybe one day, and obviously there are different things I like to dabble in besides what we do on the road or in the studio. I have a lot of other interests, I enjoy collaborating with other artists, I enjoy the theater as well. As far as doing anything solo, I don’t discount it and neither does Kristian, but it takes so much time right now to do what we’re doing. But hopefully in the future we can continue to grow artistically both jointly and separately.

Sugarland to Air TV Special and Release Live Album

As the two time consecutive reigning Country Music Association Vocal Duo of the Year launches their follow-up combo CD/DVD, "Live on the Inside," to hit stores August 4, the night before Sugarland will send viewers a cinematic postcard from their tour in their first network TV special. The one hour special will capture the shimmer and shine of their live high energy performances and the intimacy and love of their songs which informs their music and their millions of fans only know too well. "Sugarland: Live on the Inside" airs Monday, August 3 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Filmed at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky by director Shaun Silva, the duo's artistic and innovative live show comes to life with 20 cameras in a spectacular, unforgettable night featuring some of their biggest hits ("Settlin,'" "Stay," "All I Want To Do" and "Something More"), as well as never before televised performance footage.

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush of Sugarland exploded onto the music scene in 2004 with "Twice The Speed Of Life" ("Baby Girl", "Something More") and haven't looked back since. They've sold close to 7 million records, received trophies from the Grammy's ("Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals" ("Stay"), "Best Country Song" ("Stay"-Nettles) and "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals" ("Who Says You Can't Go Home" with Bon Jovi-Nettles), American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music, CMT Music Awards and the Country Music Association.

"Television music specials and performances become iconic. Who hasn't seen replays of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan or Elvis Costello's TV special wearing his jump suit and giving away his scarf?" said Jennifer Nettles. "Even performances that I can remember as a child, like 'Live Aid' for example, really made such an impact. We are so excited to have our show on ABC and hope that it will be a moment that people will enjoy and remember."

"We have overheard fans for years say, 'I brought my friend to see the show, this is their first Sugarland experience' with so much pride and excitement on their faces. It's as if they can't wait to share what they have discovered," said Kristian Bush. "This special is their new ticket that they can give to a friend. That is the most exciting part of this, imagining how far it will reach."

Sugarland skyrocketed to superstardom, drawing fans from all genres and critics abroad with their albums "Enjoy the Ride" ("Want To", "Settlin'" and "Stay") and "Love On The Inside" ("It Happens", "Love", "All I Want To Do", "Already Gone"). Sugarland is credited with co-writing all tracks from all three albums and co-producing the last two. Earlier this year they performed in six European countries, and are now headlining a U.S. tour that runs through the fall. Jennifer Nettles performed for President Obama and both most recently appeared and performed on "Oprah".