Christine Marie: My Blog!

Hi everyone!

Wow, the last time I blogged was after I met the Ghost Adventures guys in JULY... it is now November and I have been living in Nashville for three months. THREE MONTHS! Those three months just FLEW by, I'll tell ya. While I've been here, I've been experiencing some pretty exciting stuff - from a free Eric Church/Alan Jackson concert on one of the biggest streets in Nashville to my very first CMA Awards Week experience, I have been in country music industry heaven. Last time I sent out an update was through email, where I talked about seeing Charlie Worsham for the first time (and since then, I've seen him twice more... that should tell you how long it has been!) and going through the first month of so of classes. As I sit here, I have a week and a half left of classes before finals and Christmas break... I honestly cannot believe my first semester is almost over already. That blows my mind.

Since that September email, amazing, amazing things have been happening. This is going to be a long and informative blog post, but I promise I will keep it flowing and keep it interesting. :)

On September 15, I went to the Grammy U Fall Kick-Off Party at The Recording Academy, where I got to hear Dave Barnes sing and speak for a little while. If you don't know who Dave Barnes is, well... you should, but if you love country music, you know one of his songs! He wrote "God Gave Me You", the song Blake Shelton had a hit with this season. It was amazing to hear him sing that song in person... there's something so special about hearing a writer play a song they've written that someone else has taken to the top. More on that later...

On the 22nd of September, my best friend Jenna and I went down to Demonbreun St. to the Capitol Street Party - a huge, FREE concert featuring Eric Church (my FAVORITE), Alan Jackson, and newcomer Eric Paslay (who wrote Barefoot Blue Jean Night - Jake Owen's big hit!). It was my first time ever seeing Eric Church live, which was absolutely incredible, and I still can't believe that the whole experience was absolutely free... and we were almost in the front row! Eric Paslay recently released a video for his single 'Never Really Wanted', and Jenna and I are featured in it quite a bit from 2:33 to the end of the video... so, here, watch it!

I was able to see Eric Paslay perform again at a Writer's Night a few weeks later and I got to talk with him for a bit. He's amazing (and really tall!) and gave me some great career advice.

A few days after the concert, I accepted a bid from Kappa Alpha Theta, the newest sorority on campus at Belmont University! Since bid day, I have gone through the new member program with Theta, learning about what it means to be a Theta - from our history to our philanthropy and our values... it has been an incredible experience. I was initiated a couple of weeks ago and have been having the time of my life as an active member. I would not trade this experience for anything and I highly recommend Greek life to anyone starting college... My sisters are 124 of the most beautiful women I have ever met and have provided nothing but support and encouragement for me since day one of this experience. I wear my letters with such pride and I feel extremely blessed to be a part of such an amazing family. Here are some pictures of us!

On October 6, I had what might be the greatest experience of my entire life so far. My friends and I went to the taping of "Holiday Notes from Home" - a country Christmas special at the Grand Ole Opry featuring Clay Walker, Little Big Town, and LeeAnn Womack. The show was amazing (watch for us on TV!), but after the show was what was really special. My friends and I rushed to the stage to be able to meet the stars who had just performed. When Clay Walker came over, I introduced myself and told him that it was my dream to sing on the Opry stage. Without hesitation, he invited me up on stage with him and told me to sing. So... naturally, I did. I sang Independence Day on the Opry stage, with Clay Walker, while Little Big Town and LeeAnn Womack (as well as Nan Kelly from CMT!) watched. I may not have technically "played the Opry", but I did get to live out one of my biggest dreams thanks to Clay. I will NEVER forget that feeling. Hopefully this video works! Clay was SO sweet to me and said such kind things to me after I sang... he kept coming back over to talk to me too. I loved that entire experience. Thank you SO much, Clay!

Fast forward to November 2 - I finally got to see one of my favorites, Hunter Hayes, live at 12th and Porter! My friends and I were front and center for the show, which made for some incredible videos, and we made a lot of new friends (Hi Emily!). Hunter put on an amazing show - that guy has SERIOUS talent, both with his vocals and his instruments (apparently he plays over 30 of them...). Check out this picture to see how close we were!

On November 6, Belmont got a real treat when they put on a panel/acoustic performance session featuring Jake Owen, Clint Higham (his manager!) and Gary Overton, CEO of Sony! It was really amazing to hear such influential members of the industry speak on such a personal basis and I felt that I learned a lot about my own career and what paths I want to take from hearing their words of wisdom. Jake performed three songs acoustically (including Barefoot Blue Jean Night, at the request of my friends and I!) and afterwards, we were lucky enough to be able to meet him and talk to him for a bit! Yes, he's just as good looking in person... and he's completely sweet too! We were even able to "kite" him, which is a Theta tradition... check it out!

Then... then came the madness that was CMA Awards week. On the 8th, my friends and I went to downtown Nashville to take part in an Ellen Degeneres taping (yes, we saw ourselves on TV!!). What went from a contest to win CMA Awards tickets turned into an incredible surprise appearance by Lady Antebellum! So, even though I didn't technically "meet" them, I got to shake their hands and tell them that I loved them... they were SO sweet... and it was one of the highlights of my time here. It was totally a surprise - no one was expecting it at all.

The next day, my friend Maura and I got to attend the CMA Pre-Party at Warner Music Nashville (yes, INSIDE the record label!! I was more excited about that than anything else...). We got to meet some amazing people, INCLUDING one of my favorite YouTube friends, Taylor Edwards! I know I have talked about her before, but you HAVE to go check her music out. CLICK HERE to listen to her music! She was so sweet and I can't wait to see her again. Love you, girl! We also got to meet some pretty amazing people including the darling Hunter Hayes! Funny enough - Hunter and I talked about how we both have performed at The Merc back home in Temecula... small world! He was so precious. I loved meeting him!

Finally, we concluded CMA Awards Week by attending the taping of the CMA Country Christmas special, which really brought the Christmas season in (a little too early, but oh well... who doesn't love Christmas music?!). A lot of amazing artists were there, including my HERO, Amy Grant! I have been listening to Amy's Christmas music since I was a baby in the car rides up to Oakland to visit family... she's one of the biggest influences on my music and it was incredible to see her live. :)

Finally, just a couple of days ago, I got to see my dear Charlie Worsham live again. He was amazing and I was so proud of him... you know I love you, Charlie! I'm excited to be working with Charlie on some awesome things, so stay tuned!  Everyone should go check him out. Go. Do it. Right now. GO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? :)

In other news - Belmont's basketball season is HERE! We played Duke and lost by only ONE point... amazing, amazing game - I was SO PROUD of our team. My Alabama football team has been doing well too (just don't bring up the LSU game... sore subject!). I love Belmont with all of my heart and I have never once doubted that this move to Nashville was the right thing to do. I love this city and I am incredibly blessed to be here.

Thanks for reading this monster of a blog, by the way... I know it was long... but I love you and I have missed you more than words can say. I have some big things coming up in regards to music...

So. That's all for today. :)

xo CM