NASHVILLE – On the heels of its worldwide debut on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” Tuesday evening, “Forever Country,” CMA’s history-making single and music video, has spread across the globe. Over the weekend the audio single skyrocketed onto digital sales charts in Australia, Canada, the Philippines, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
“Global expansion of Country Music is part of the mission of CMA that we work towards year round, and this project is a great piece to showcase our genre worldwide,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “’Forever Country’ has been embraced by CMA’s international members who are supporting this historic project in their individual territories. We are thrilled that this has become a true international celebration for the 50th Anniversary of the CMA Awards.”
As Country radio stations across the U.S. participated in a nationwide roadblock the morning of Sept. 16, listeners in the U.K. simultaneously experienced “Forever Country” for the first time exclusively during “Jeremy Vine” on BBC Radio 2. Monday evening, BBC’s Bob Shennan and The O2’s Milly Olykan, who also serve on the CMA Board of Directors, hosted a special reception and “Forever Country” screening in London for industry guests and tastemakers.
It was announced Wednesday morning on “The Chris Evans Breakfast Show” that BBC iPlayer will have a special feature titled “CMA Awards 50 Presents: The Making of Forever Country” that includes the full music video, a making-of special, artist interviews, and more. Users can search “Forever Country” to access content, which is available now.
SkyTV in the U.K. will also be producing a behind-the-scenes documentary of the making of the music video.
Major Canadian media networks including Corus and Rogers have broadcast the “Forever Country” music video across their various networks such as CMT Canada, CTV, and City TV. Country radio across Canada embraced the audio single and also spread the word to tune in to the national music video debut, which was shown across CMT Canada, “Entertainment Tonight Canada,” and “Global Morning Show.” “Breakfast Television” viewers in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary were also treated to a look at the music video Wednesday morning.
Canadian Country Music artists including Lindsay Ell, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Brett Kissel, and Johnny Reid will celebrate 50 years of CMA Awards by recording special covers of former CMA Songs of the Year that will be posted on their individual social channels.
“Forever Country” will air on CMC Australia at the top of every hour until 7:00 PM local time on Sept. 23.
In other celebrations across the globe, Ireland got its first listen of “Forever Country” exclusively on Sunshine Radio. Brazilian superstar Paula Fernandes will be included in a special version of the “Forever Country” single and music video that is exclusive to the South American country. Swedish Country Music star Jill Johnson shared the audio single to her strong Facebook following; and Country4you.com, the No. 1 Country site in the Nordic territory, also posted the audio single upon its debut. Radio Sweden P4, the nation’s top station, added “Forever Country” into rotation.
MTV International will premiere the video on their Facebook page today, while French video sharing site Dailymotion will also host the “Forever Country” music video for global viewers.
The international rollout of “Forever Country” will continue in the months leading into “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” as expansion efforts continue around the world.
Universal Music Group Nashville exclusively partnered with CMA to market and distribute “Forever Country” worldwide. The song is available at all digital retail and streaming outlet partners. CMA profits from the sales and streaming of “Forever Country” will benefit music education causes through the CMA Foundation.
“We’re extremely proud to be global partners supporting this monumental project,” said Brad Turcotte, UMGN Vice President of Marketing. “Our foreign media and label partners treat this project with equal high levels of respect and, consequently, we’re witnessing never before seen top-tier placements around the world.”
“Forever Country,” the single, was produced by CMA Award winner and CMA Board member Shane McAnally and the video was directed by Grammy Award-winning director Joseph Kahn.
“The 50th Annual CMA Awards” will be hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 2 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.
For more information on “Forever Country” visit ForeverCountry50.com.
For more information on “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” and to sign up for CMA emails and exclusives, visit CMAawards50.com.
