Martina On Hallmark Mother's Day Cd

Hallmark Cards is offering a 2007 Mother's Day CD entitled "A Mother's Love." Martina sings "In My Daughter's Eyes" as one of the eight tracks.

For details, see:

http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/...CSP_CD%7Cstores

Waking Up Laughing Drops To #23 On United World Chart

"Waking Up Laughing" dropped from #7 last week to #23 this week on the United World Chart at http://www.mediatraffic.de/albums.htm Worldwide sales were 53,000 this past week.

Additional Seats To Be Released For Pensacola Concert

According to the Pensacola News Journal at http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/p...NEWS01/70419042
additional seats for Martina's May 6 concert will be released at 10 a.m. Friday, April 20.

Additional seats released for Martina McBride show

Julio Diaz

The Pensacola Civic Center has announced that additional seats will be released at 10 a.m. Friday for the May 6 concert by country music superstar Martina McBride, including a limited number of floor seats close to the stage.

McBride, who appeared as a mentor on "American Idol" this week, is touring behind her latest hit album, "Waking Up Laughing." The album debuted at No. 3 last week on the Billboard album chart. McBride will be joined by opening acts Rodney Atkins and Little Big Town.

Tickets are on sale now, but the new seats will not be released unil 10 a.m. Friday. Tickets are $59.75, $54.75 and $44.75, and are available at the Pensacola Civic Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 434-7444. Additional fees may apply.

Details: 432-0800, or visit http://www.pensacolaciviccenter.com

Time Magazine Coverage Of Martina On American Idol

Here is the link to a great article in TIME magazine that summarizes Martina's mentoring of the American Idol contestants:

http://www.time.com/time/2007/american_idol/week_six/1.html

The article begins as follows:

"Martina McBride, whose latest album was plugged by Don Imus in his last week on air, may have lost one publicity platform, but she's gained another as mentor on AI's Country Night. She advises a stiff Phil to make his performance more soulful, which he interprets as meaning he should do a little sideways nod at the end of each line..."

April 22 - Martina At Albany Times Union Center

Martina's forthcoming April 22 performance at the Albany Times Union Center is given great publicity in this article on the Times Union website:

http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story...mp;LinkFrom=RSS

Timeless
Martina McBride expands her skill set into songwriting

By JOE EDWARDS, Associated Press
First published: Thursday, April 19, 2007

Martina McBride has a new album, "Waking Up Laughing," and it's a good bet to sell a million copies or more -- just like her last six.

Country music's queen of consistency, who plays Sunday at Times Union Center, has built a solid career singing inspirational, life-affirming songs that tell stories about women and their lives, songs made believable because of her own values and personal life.

"I'm grateful to have lasted a relatively long time," says McBride, who has sold 12 million records over her 15-year career. "I hope to sing songs that still matter."

"Waking Up Laughing," her 10th album and the second one she has produced by herself, also marks the introduction of McBride as a songwriter. She co-wrote three songs on the album, although she insists songwriting isn't her first calling.

"I'm not going to be writing 100 songs a year," she said.

She shares songwriting credit on the gospel-influenced hit single "Anyway." Like other McBride songs, it's about perseverance and finding a sense of peace in the middle of life's disappointments. "When I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should," she sings. "But I do it anyway."

She also co-wrote "Beautiful Again," about a young girl abandoned by her father and sexually abused by her uncle. It's dark material, but the chorus holds out the hope of healing and redemption: "The past gets washed again, and then ... the world gets beautiful, beautiful again."

"Waking Up Laughing," which was released earlier this month, is in some ways a return to form for McBride, who built a successful career as a stylish, contemporary pop hit-maker with a powerhouse voice. Her previous album, 2005's "Timeless," was a collection of country standards. (McBride showed off her knowledge of the genre as a guest judge on "American Idol" earlier this week.)

Throughout her career, McBride has been attracted to songs about women's lives -- inspirational stories about hope, independence and persistence -- and these themes have resonated with her largely female audience.

"They identify with me in some way," she said. "I sing songs that are uplifting and hopeful. My music helps them feel better." But she quickly adds that men are her target fans as well. "My hope is to appeal to everyone."

Jon Elliott, vice president of marketing and artist development for RCA Nashville, her label home, estimates up to 70 percent of McBride's record buyers are women -- one of the highest percentages in country music.

"It's the nature of the songs she sings and their contents and who she is and what she represents," Elliott said.

McBride, 40, is a wife and mother who still shops at the mall with her family. The Kansas native says she does her own laundry, dishes and grocery shopping. She has no nanny, no maid. The greatest day of her life? "When the kids were born," she says.

Her family is a constant part of her life and career. She and husband John married in 1988. He mixes the sound at her concerts, and their daughters are usually with them on tour. And toddler Ava says a tender "bye bye" at the end of the new album, joining her siblings who've had minor spots in their mother's previous albums.

"It was her turn," McBride said.

Martina McBride

When: 7 p.m. Sunday

Where: Times Union Center, 51 S. Pearl St., Albany

Tickets: $44.75-$55.75

Info: (800) 303-8368