Dierks Wins Triple Play Award From CMA

(Pictured (L-R): Steve Moore (CMA CEO), Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Brad Paisley, Victoria Shaw (songwriter and Chair of CMA’s Community Outreach & Education Committee), Taylor Swift, Alan Jackson, and Gary Overton (CMA Board President).)

It was three cheers for three No. 1s at the annual CMA Songwriters Luncheon with the presentation of the CMA Triple Play Awards, which honor songwriters who pen three chart-topping hits in a 12 month period.

“This is an amazing accomplishment and we are very pleased to honor these talented songwriters, and songwriting artists, for their valued contribution to the format,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “These songwriters captivate fans with stories that sum up the heart and humor of everyday life. They give voice and context to the challenges and triumphs we all face. They each have a rare talent that is a gift for all of us to enjoy.”

The Triple Play Awards were presented at the Second Annual CMA Songwriters Luncheon, which was held at the Pinnacle at Symphony Place in Nashville and attended by several artist/songwriters including Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban in addition to hit tunesmiths from ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, as well as songwriter members of CMA, NSAI, and representatives of some of the most successful publishers in Music City.

“The first day I moved to this town, I was 19 years old. I had no problem finding where the bars were but I had no idea how to get a boot into this community or how to get started, or anything. I got a job interning at CMA to try to figure out how to even begin to get moving. So this is really cool. I don’t take for granted anything that involves CMA.” -Dierks Bentley.

Dierks was one of many recipients of CMA’s Triple Play Award. He won for “Feel That Fire,” “Sideways,” and “I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes.”

WANT DIERKS TO SING TO YOU ON V-DAY?

Help Dierks get the most votes! Go to http://www.opry.com/and vote for "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" (although they spelled it "want to."

This Valentine’s Day, which love song would you like to have sung to you?

"Then"
"I Want To Make You Close Your Eyes"
"Only You Can Love Me This Way"
"Love Story"
"Valentine"

Dierks is in the lead right now with 29%! Let's keep it that way!

TODAY IS DIERKS' LAST DAY!

Hey DB Congress! Today is the last day to help Dierks Bentley get to #1 this week. We need to pull out all the stops on this campaign to get "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" to #1. If it doesn't happen this week and Tim or Jason take over and get to #1 before DB, it may never go #1. So it's gonna take an act of congress!

Call, email, tweet, text, post on yes.com...whatever you gotta do, but please let your DJs --all throughout the day--know how much Dierks and Eyes means to you and get them to play it again and again today! We have until midnight!

Go, Go, Go! We can do this!

Still need convincing? Watch the video again for motivation!



Thanks!

Ronna Clark
DB Congress Chair

KEEPING OUR "EYES" ON THE PRIZE

First of all, I want to apologize for my absence last week. I didn't have nearly as much available internet time while I was in Hawaii, which I suppose is the sign of a great vacation. But now that I'm back on the mainland and COLD reality, I will give you all the latest Billboard chart info that will publish on Thursday!

Dierks Bentley's "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" moves up to #2 this week, inching to be within just one position of that wonderful #1 spot! It's a mere 1.34 million audience impressions behind Reba's "Consider me Gone," and still gaining ever-so-surely, but Tim McGraw's "Southern Voice" is packing a slightly mightier punch which could blind-side Dierks's endeavor for 3 straight #1s. Basically, it is likely to catch "Consider me Gone" this week (the chart week ends Sunday), but there is a very real possibility that "Southern Voice" could leapfrog it to take the top spot. But, if it can hang on for 6 more days, and edge out Tim, it will snag #1 next week! (For what it's worth, IWMYCYE was the most-played song last week -- 1 spin higher than Reba!)

Congress, if there were ever a time to get on the phone, email, tweet, text, heck -- DRIVE to your local stations, this is the week to do it! Request it on your morning drive. Request it on your evening commute. The higher the audience, the better we'll be. We've got 6 days to get this song to #1. Hopefully I will be back in one week with excellent news!

As an aside, I tweeted while I was in Hawaii that after being on Kauai for just 24 hours, we'd heard Dierks 5 times. This is particularly interesting because just 1.5 years ago when we were last on Kauai, they didn't even have a Country radio station! The Dierks love wasn't confined to Kauai, though, because as our vacation went on and took us to 2 more of the Islands, Dierks continued to be the artist we heard the most (yes, I kept track). We heard all but 3 of his singles, and many of his songs were heard more than once (everything off FTF, for instance). The two artists played just as much as Dierks? Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks. Unfortunately for us Dierks fans, the Hawaii stations don't report to Billboard or Mediabase -- if they did, I'm fairly certain we'd have the audience boost we need to get to #1!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

#4 ANOTHER WEEK

This week, "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" by Dierks Bentley is holding steady at #4 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart. Unfortunately, it ended the week about 1.7 million audience impressions behind Luke Bryan's "Do I," but that gap should close over the course of the next couple of days, and Dierks will move to #3 next week.

Over on Mediabase, IWMYCYE moved to #3 this week, based on their points system. After feeling some pressure from Tim McGraws' "Southern Voice" on both the Billboard and Mediabase charts, it's started to once again pull away from the competition.

Last week, there was roughly a 7 million gap between Dierks in 4th and Reba in 1st. This week, it's down to about 5.5 million impressions. Slowly but surely, IWMYCYE is closing the gap, merrily taking the audience from songs 1-3 that are losing it fairly rapidly.

While I do foresee it moving to at least #3 next week on Billboard, it will be an interesting week. Many radio stations are going to all-Christmas for at least part of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. After that, there are year-end countdowns to consider. The next two weeks have the possibility of being rather stagnant on the charts. The best thing we can do is keep calling, texting and emailing our radio stations and letting them know we aren't tired of IWMYCYE and are ready for another #1!

I will do my best to do updates the next two weeks, but they might be at odd times: I will need to update from sunny, warm Hawaii!

Merry Christmas, Congress! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend!

#4 AND YEAR-END CHARTS

In its 21st chart week, Dierks Bentley's "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" moves up another spot to #4 this week! Capitol Nashville and Country Radio appear to be giving it a rather healthy push again, as well, because it's spin increase numbers are among the top in the genre, and they haven't been that high since October! Yesterday, in fact, it had higher increased spins than Carrie Underwood's brand-new single, "Temporary Home." As long as the increased plays continue, it's audience impressions will continue to grow as well. There are roughly 6 million impressions separating IWMYCYE and #3 "Do I," so it's difficult to say if there will be much chart movement next week. However, I believe IWMYCYE will move to #2 in two weeks ... SO CLOSE!

This week, Billboard also posted their year-end charts. Here is where our Prez stacked up!

Year-End 2009 Singles:
#6 "Sideways"
#31 "Feel That Fire"
#69 "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes"
*(Note: Billboard compiles the year-end singles chart based on total audience impressions over the course of the song's chart run.)

Top 50 Country Artists:
#6 Dierks Bentley

Top 50 Country Albums:
#26 "Feel That Fire"

Top Songwriters:
#10 Dierks Bentley

And people associated with Dierks include:

Top Label & Top Imprint:
#1 Capitol Nashville

Top Producers:
#10 Brett Beavers

So there you have it, folks -- 2009 wrapped up in a neat little bow! I am confident that Capitol Nashville will seek to continue it's chart-dominating ways by getting a quick #1 hit in 2010, so I think we'll be able to see our Prez get his 8th #1 and 3rd in a row!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

TOP 5 AND ALIVE!

Dierks Bentley's "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" moves up one more spot this week on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, to crack the Top 5! It is also #5 on Mediabase, and #3 on Billboard's Country Indicator chart.

It's continuing to gain on the #4 spot, slowly but surely. It perhaps won't make #4 this next week, but Craig Morgan's "Bonfire" is starting to slip, and Dierks is there to take over. It *could* happen, but it's going to take a bit of a plummet on "Bonfire's" part over the course of the next couple of days for that to happen.

After it hits #4, it's going to mostly be a matter of growing or at least remaining steady as it waits for "Do I," "Need You Now," and "Consider me Gone" to fall. "Need You Now" has experienced some slowing, and is starting to make it's way down the charts. Once "Do I" hits #1, it is likely to fall fairly quickly. That song has been on the charts for 33 weeks! "Consider me Gone" will take a bit longer to fall.

So this is where you can help, Congress! Continue to call, email, text or tweet your local stations and DJs -- let them know you're not tired of IWMYCYE. Join Rate the Music and do the surveys, and make sure you say you're not tired of it there, too! Get on Yes.com and thank the stations for playing it. It has plenty of room for growth. Let's kick of 2010 with a #1 hit and make it 3 in a row!

Next week's Country Update on Billboard will include the year-end chart, so I'll tell you how "Feel That Fire" and "Sideways" fared among all songs released this year, as well as the IWMYCYE update!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

#6: THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG

This week on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart, Dierks Bentley's "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" moved one spot closer to the top 5, coming in at #6! The song is up to #4 on the Billboard Country Indicator Chart, and will be #5 on Mediabase based on audience tomorrow (likely).

Next week, #5 is almost an inevitability. Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova" is basically plummeting upon the release of her newest single, and IWMYCYE is still experiencing fairly healthy growth which will definitely keep it moving into the top 5, and hopefully toward #1!

Last week, The Boot spoke to Brett Beavers, who co-wrote IWMYCYE. Brett had the following to say about the "story behind the song:"

"When Dierks and I were in the middle of his last album, 'Feel That Fire,' Dierks mentioned to me one day that he thought he might be missing a simple, tender love song. We bounce ideas off each other all the time, whether we are actually in a writing room together or not, so I made a mental note of his suggestion.

The idea of a woman closing her eyes was interesting to us, and the times she might do that ... well, what can I say? It's a pretty sensual visual. We followed that idea in the direction of a love song, and just kind of chased what that moment is like. We talked about the scenario where a man is really needing to be with his woman at the end of the day, after he'd been thinking about her.

We began with trying to keep the music fairly simple, to stay out of the way of the lyric, and found a groove we really liked, and a nice swimming melody for the chorus. Since we are just a couple of country boys, writing a song like this was a bit different than writing about a crazy adventure or life in the country, or whatever. We tried to key in on the things we thought a woman would like to hear.

This song is all about, "I wanna be with you," and finding an interesting and unique way of saying that. I remember in the second verse, we wanted to add a few more visuals so the song could play in the listener's mind, so that's how we approached it.

That was pretty much it ... trying to stay focused on the simplicity of an emotion and keep it tender. We carried this approach forward when recording it for the album, both of us knowing that melody, lyric, groove and production, when all pointed in the same direction, can make a song ring more honest and true. I'm very happy with the outcome of the song."

So are we, Brett! Here's hoping we can get another #1 for a member of the Beavers family - and Dierks, too, of course!

Talk to you next week when it's an official top-5 song, Congress!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

AOL LISTENERS VOTE DIERKS TWICE AS NICE

Rated by AOL Radio listeners, Dierks Bentley makes the list twice for the Top Ten Country Songs of 2009.

By Sara D. Anderson...

10) Justin Moore: 'Small Town USA'

9) Dierks Bently: 'Sideways'
Backed with electric guitar and banjo, this playful tune about about picking up a girl at a bar reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

8) Keith Urban: 'Only You Can Love Me This Way'
7) George Strait: 'Living for the Night'
6) Kenny Chesney: 'Out Last Night'

5) Dierks Bentley: 'I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes'The second Bentley song on this top country songs list, this sexy yet romantic ballad is about commitment and a sense of home. Bentley says of the tune: "One of the best compliments I can get is when a guy comes up to me and says that one of my songs helped him out at home...maybe helped him smooth something over with his girlfriend or wife. That's the goal with this one."

4) Luke Bryan: 'Do I'
3) Lady Antebellum: 'Need You Now'
2) Jason Aldean: 'Big Green Tractor'
1) Brad Paisley: 'Then'

DON'T "CLOSE YOUR EYES" FOR #7!

This week on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, Dierks Bentley's latest single, "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" took an unexpected leap over Taylor Swift's "Fifteen" to land at #7, inching ever-so-closer to the Top 5! It beat out "Fifteen" by a mere 16,000 audience impressions!

On Billboard's Indicator Chart (which, you'll remember, is the smaller-market's chart) it's already up to #5 ... I wonder if that chart will continue to be a sign of things to come?

Next week, I expect IWMYCYE to stay at #7. It's growing at roughly the same pace as the songs in front of it, and it's going to be at least 2-3 weeks before "Cowboy Casanova" and "Need You Now" fall enough in audience for it to surpass them. That, coupled with the Holiday weekend and a propensity for radio to start playing Holiday music, will likely be enough to hold things as they are currently for probably the next week.

I'm sorry I don't have more information to share with you this week, but I hope each and every one of you who is celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday has a wonderful and safe holiday. Please know that I am thankful to be part of such an amazing and awesome community -- I'm blessed to know each of you and thankful that our Prez brought us all together!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

KEEPING OUR "EYES" ON THE PRIZE

This week, Dierks Bentley's "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" crashes the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart's top 10, coming in at #9 (Zac Brown's "Toes" didn't go recurrent, which is the only reason it isn't #8). It is at #8 on Mediabase.

It had the 4th highest audience gain this week, behind the brand-new songs from Brad Paisley and Toby Keith, and Craig Morgan's current single. Mr. Carrie has created a spreadsheet which allows him to track audience and spin gains by day based on Mediabase's information, and he tells me that IWMYCYE is on track this week to have an even higher audience gain than last week! (He's doing it for fun, and tracking all songs. It's pretty fascinating stuff.)

Next week, I'm expecting that it will get the #8 spot due to "Toes" going to recurrent status, but I'm not sure if it's going to catch Taylor Swift's "Fifteen" to go any higher than that. But, the large jump in audience shows that the song is healthy and still growing fairly well. I think it will be in the Top 5 within 3 weeks.

And no, the cheesy pun titles won't be stopping soon. ;)

Everybody have a great week! Our Prez is in the Top 10 again! Let's get him on top where he belongs!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

STILL "EYE"-ING THE TOP 10

In its 16th chart week, Dierks Bentley's "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" lands at #11 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. However, if you want, you can celebrate that it is #10 on the Mediabase Country Chart. Unfortunately ... that chart doesn't quite "count." Sure, a record label will boast that a song went to #1 on Mediabase (ie. Brad Paisley's "Welcome to the Future"), but many outlets regard the Billboard charts to be the be-all and end-all of chart reporting (so, realistically, "Welcome to the Future" ended Brad's streak of #1s at 10).

The main difference between the charts is that Mediabase assigns each song "points," which is a combination of spins which are weighted based on market size and it's rather convoluted and hard to decipher. Billboard's chart is based on audience impressions, which is a fancy way of saying the larger your audience, the higher you are. It's easy to track and fairly easy to predict, though the panels (stations reported) differ in market size, and number of stations that make up the panel (124 at Mediabase vs. 126 at Billboard).

Billboard and Mediabase also have charts whose panels are made up of stations in smaller markets. For Billboard it's the Indicator chart, and Mediabase has its Activator chart. These charts show what's being played in smaller markets, and can occasionally indicate how a song is going to go (ie. Toby Keith's "American Ride" hit #1 on the Indicator chart weeks before it hit #1 on the Billboard chart). IWMYCYE is #8 on this week's Indicator chart, and was in the top 10 for Most Increased Audience and Most Increased Plays. It was also in the top 10 for Most Increased Plays on the Billboard chart.

It's going to crack the top 10 this week on the Billboard chart, finally, and looks to make a fairly sizable jump from #11 to likely #8. With Lady A's big wins last night on the CMAs, it's likely that Capitol Nashville will set its sights on Luke Bryan's "Do I" for a #1 push, and then once it's peaked, IWMYCYE should see a sizable push from the promotions department. And, of course, with the efforts of the Congress behind it, we know this song is headed to #1!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

VOTING 4 DIERKS 4 BEST 50 VIDEOS ENDS NOV. 30TH

Our DB Congress president, Dierks Bentley, has three music videos nominated for GAC's Best 50 Music Videos of 2009! You can vote through November 30 for you favorite. Dierks is counting on his DBC to vote "Feel That Fire," "Sideways," and "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" all the way to the top!

Vote once per day by clicking HERE.

*(HINT: Only vote for the three Dierks videos to help increase their chances of making the Top 50!)

Dierks Bentley's latest single "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" moves up 2 spots this week to #12 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

You might remember last week I mentioned that it's audience growth and spin increases had somewhat petered off, and I am happy to report that it's experiencing a fairly healthy bounce-back, which I expect to continue as it moves up the chart. This week, it's audience grew by 1.9 million listeners, which is in the top 10 for song growth. It's currently #5 in spin increases as well.

If you take audience completely out of the equation, IWMYCYE can do no worse than #8. Obviously, we know it's going to do much better than that, but that is based on attrition of the songs above it alone.

Can it crack the top 10 next week? We shall see! Everybody have a great week! Don't forget to vote for the IWMYCYE video, too!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter - NC)

NEW DBC CAMPAIGN COMMENCES MONDAY

Thanks to all the dedicated Dierks fans for voting for our president on a daily basis! Through your efforts, DB's I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes is making headway--here's this week's results:

CMT Top 20 - #17 (LW #16)

CMT Pure 12-Pack - NA

GAC Top 20 - NA (LW#16)

Rate The Music #6

BillBoard - #14 (Call, email, or click on radio station websites!)

There's a new campaign to add to our daily DB list. Country Music Gone Wild hosts a Top 20 fan voted list every week and Dierks is at #6 this week! According to CountryMusicGW on Twitter, "Voting always starts on Monday and ends at 5:00pm EST on Friday. Thanks for your hard work in promoting Dierks and the Top 20 Gone Wild."

I am confident DB Congress reps will dedicate an extra 10 seconds every day to vote for I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes on CountryMusicGoneWild, in addition to the campaigns above! We need all the exposure we can get for Dierks--gotta move the song to the top 10 on the BillBoard charts!

Got a lotta votin' left to do! Git 'er done, congress!

"EYES": SLOW AND STEADY

Hello, Congress!

Dierks Bentley's "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" reclaimed the #14 spot this week on Billboard's Hot 100, since Toby Keith's "American Ride" for some reason didn't go recurrent. Hm. At any rate, it will this week. Mr. Carrie, who has gotten really into the chart tracking/predictions, thinks that IWMYCYE will pick up 4 spots in the next 2 chart weeks, and will likely only face competition from Tim McGraw's latest single, "Southern Voice."

IWMYCYE is doing really well on RateTheMusic.com. It's in the top 5 for most of the top demographics (except for Men 25-34 ... don't they realize what liking that song can do for them? lol), and the burnout rate is low for how long the song has been out (for instance, Chris Young's "Gettin' You Home" has a burnout rate of 26% to Dierks's 9-11%). That should help the song stay afloat until it can get into the top 10.

Once it does get into the top 10, I'm very hopeful that Capitol Nashville will start to throw some weight behind it. Right now, all of their weight is being thrown at Lady Antebellum and Luke Bryan's current songs, which are both in the Top 8 -- slightly frustrating because Lady A, at least, does not need the promotion department's help any more for "Need You Now." But, that's just my opinion, and they get paid to do what they do. Hehe.

Look for #13 next week, and (hopefully) #10 the week after that!

Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

"EYES" FACE MINOR SETBACK

Unfortunately, in it's 13th week, "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" slipped back one spot to #15 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. With fierce competition from both Reba and David Nail, it lost the audience battle this week (though the audience did still grow), but, as of today, has reclaimed the #14 spot, and will likely move to #13 for next week's chart.

The next few weeks are likely to be fairly frustrating for those of us waiting for IWMYCYE to break the top 10. Though it is definitely going to happen, there are 5 songs currently being "pushed" for #1, and until those songs reach their pinnacle and start to drop, the top 15 is going to remain somewhat stagnant. Movement will take place in the form of songs moving to recurrent status, rather than actual audience growth for the most part.

The best thing we can possibly do right now is just to keep requesting IWMYCYE by any and every possible means, and giving positive feedback whenever possible. It's burnout rate on RateTheMusic is very low, so that's good -- not many people are quickly tiring of the song, which should help sustain its chart run.

Keep up the great work, Congress! Top 10 is still tantalizingly close... and I know we're gonna get there someday.

~ Carrie (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

EYE-ING THE TOP 10?

This week, "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" cracks the top-15 and lands at #14! That is up 4 spots from last week! Awesome!

However, before we start celebrating its imminent entrance into the top-10, we need to take a look at everything that's in front of it. The top 10 is currently comprised of fairly new songs, which is generally unhelpful at the moment, because many of those songs (minus "American Ride," which is falling) are still gaining both spins and audience at a similar rate to Dierks.

A song moves to "recurrent" status when it is a "descending non-bulleted song" below #10 in either audience or spins, after 20 weeks. Also, any song that has not shown an increase in audience or spins for more than 2 weeks is moved to recurrent status. Why is this important? Because a number of the songs in the current top 10 have been on the chart for less than 20 weeks -- 7, to be exact -- which means they are less likely to fall into recurrent status within two weeks of their peak. This, in turn, slows down the potential movement for the songs just outside the top 10.

That being said, however, "American Ride" is falling, and "I'm Alive" by Kenny Chesney appears to be reaching its peak. Let's assume those two songs move to recurrent status in 2 weeks. I am guessing that IWMYCYE will move up 1 to #13 next week, just because there isn't a lot of room for it to go, and to #12 the week after. Based on songs moving to recurrent status, it would naturally move up to #10 the week after that. So it's close! It's very, very close. And my assumptions could very well be false (won't be the first time, won't be the last).

Let's turn up the heat at radio, Congress! We don't want to have to wait for those songs to fall off the charts, right? Remind your DJs that it's in the top 15 now and to give it some love! Remind them that it's up to #4 on RateTheMusic.com and is well-received by the public! Tell them we aren't stopping until we hit #1!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

#18 -- AND A LULLABY?

To celebrate the entrance of "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" into the Top 20 this week, Ronna and I are excited to share a story and different perspective of the song with our fellow Congress members.

Most who read this are familiar with the story of honorary Congress member Bud, and familiar with his love of our President, Mr. Dierks Bentley. Recently, his mom (MOM-NOS) wrote a blog about "Close Your Eyes" and Bud's interesting take on it. As she writes:

Bud actually has a different vision for "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes." Last week as he was getting ready for bed, we were talking about songs and the emotions they convey. (I've found that this is an especially useful tool to help my little music fan try to adopt another person's perspective to sort out how that person feels and why s/he might feel that way.) We were making our way through Feel That Fire tracks ("Life on the Run" is angry and maybe afraid... "Sideways" is happy, but the "HEY! now" in the lyric might be a little surprised...) when Bud asked "And what kind of song is 'I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes?'"

"Well," I said, "It's a love song."

"No," Bud replied. "It's a lullaby."

"A lullaby?"

"Yes," he said. "Dierks sings it to Evie when she needs to go to sleep."

I reviewed the lyrics in my head - the ones that, up until that moment, could only be about one thing - and suddenly I could see how, when taken from Bud's perspective, they could also be describing a daddy getting his baby ready for bed:

Girl I've been waiting on this long hard day to get over
So I can rest my head right here on your shoulder
I just wanna lay here and feel you breathe
Listen to the rhythm of your heartbeat ...
We're wide awake but, girl, I wanna make you close your eyes

What a fabulous, refreshing, and heartwarming take on the song! I should mention that Bud is, so far, 2-for-2 on "his" songs from "Feel That Fire" going to #1 on the charts, and 3-for-3 for choosing the singles from "Feel That Fire." It's a good thing he likes "Close Your Eyes" so much, because he's sure to hear a lot of it in the near future.

IWMYCYE is currently 4th in increased spins, both for the published (charting) stations, and all country stations. It's just about doubled it's spins from where it was just one week ago, up nearly 800 new plays! It is 4th on RateTheMusic.com in the "People 25-54" demographic (the largest demographic). It is 7th in overall audience gain (which you'll remember is what the charts are based on). With the amount of plays it's picking up, that audience number is sure to follow soon.

Based on that information, as well as at least one song moving to recurrent status next week, it appears IWMYCYE will move to #16. That's a conservative estimate ~ it's highly possible that it could be as high as #14, though quite a lot of things would need to fall into place for that to happen. Regardless, our Prez has a bona-fide hit on his hands -- not that we're surprised!

For those of you heading to Nashville this weekend for Miles and Music, I hope your travels are safe and your times are good!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

I DIDN'T CLOSE MY EYES FOR DIERKS

Although he can say my name like only he can say it, I didn't close my eyes for Dierks Bentley. I can't believe I was able to stay awake until 12:30 Monday night/Tuesday morning, but it was worth every second of trying to stay awake at work the next day to see the 4 minutes and 39 seconds of Dierks Bentley on The Tonight Show.

No talk time with Conan O'Brien, but singing late at night is defintely DB's specialty, especially "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes." Watch the whole thing to see Ellen Page and Kevin Nealon, or skip to Dierks at the 38 minute mark. Notice after the song Conan comes over and shakes Dierk's hand--it's rather obvious how tall Conan is--and I thought Dierks was fairly tall at nearly 6 foot--at least compared to me at 5'3. While credits are rolling you can see the two talking about the pinky hole in Dierks' guitar, and the guys in the band are all nodding their heads. YES! You did good, guys! Congrats!


Alison Bonaguro also blogged about it on CMT.com.

Enjoy!