Can You Duet

The producers of American Idol are teaming up with CMT to find the next great country music duo in the most original singing competition ever, Can You Duet. In the tradition of powerhouse duos such as Big & Rich, Kenny and Dolly, Johnny and June Carter Cash, Brooks & Dunn, and even Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus, Can You Duet is the ultimate singing competition looking to launch an unknown duo into country music superstardom.

 

ROSSI MORREALE NAMED HOST OF “CAN YOU DUET”

New Music Competition Show From “American Idol” and “America’s Got Talent” Producers Premieres Monday, April 14 on CMT

 

NASHVILLE – February 28, 2008 – Television personality Rossi Morreale (“Temptation,” “TBS Weekend Extra,” “Foody Call”) has been named host of CAN YOU DUET, CMT’s new weekly music competition series produced by FremantleMedia North America (FMNA), it was jointly announced today by Eugene Young, Chief Creative Officer for FMNA, and Bob Kusbit, Head of Development for CMT. Premiering on Monday, April 14 at 10:30 p.m., ET/PT, CAN YOU DUET will seek to find the best country music duet in America.

“Rossi is the real deal,” said Young and Kusbit in a joint statement. “He’s a natural talent with a charisma that makes people stand up and take notice. Whether you’re a contestant on the show or a viewer at home, Rossi connects with what’s important.”

Voted “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine in 2003, Morreale currently hosts the nationally-syndicated game show “Temptation,” and serves as special correspondent for "TBS Weekend Extra”. Past hosting duties have included “Foody Call” on The Style Network, where he helped turn average guys into culinary Casanovas; “Riding with Rossi,” his signature show on The Travel Channel where he celebrated the country's continuing love affair with motorized vehicles; “Sweat,” a feature-oriented sports show on the G4 Network; and TLC’s “Junkyard Mega-Wars.” He also served as a correspondent for “On-Air with Ryan Seacrest” and hosted Spike TV's “Midnight Spike”.

Unlike other talent competition shows, each contestant on “Can You Duet?” will compete as part of a duo, working with different partners week after week as the competition progresses. As a result, viewers will witness first-hand all the on and off-stage drama to be had in creating a dynamic musical duo. In addition to critiquing each performance and deciding who will advance to the next round, be sent home, and ultimately be crowned the best new duet in America, the Judges (to be announced) will also serve as mentors to guide, groom and develop the duets along the way.
 

 

 

JUDGES NAMED FOR CMT’s “CAN YOU DUET”

  

Naomi Judd, Brett Manning and Aimee Mayo On Board To Judge New Music Competition Show From FremantleMedia North America  Premiering Monday, April 14

  

NASHVILLE – March 5, 2008 – Country superstar Naomi Judd, acclaimed vocal coach Brett Manning and award-winning songwriter Aimee Mayo have signed on to be the panel of judges for CAN YOU DUET http://www.cmt.com/be_on_tv/can-you-duet/, the new weekly music competition series from “American Idol” producers FremantleMedia North America that will seek to find country music’s next great duo.  Hosted by Rossi Morreale, CAN YOU DUET premieres Monday, April 14 at 10:30 p.m., ET/PT on CMT.  

 

Unlike other talent competition shows, each contestant on CAN YOU DUET will compete as part of a duo, sometimes working with different partners as the competition progresses.  As a result, viewers will witness first-hand all the on and off-stage drama to be had in creating a dynamic musical duo. In addition to critiquing each performance and deciding who will advance to the next round, be sent home, and ultimately be crowned country music’s next great duo, judges Judd, Manning and Mayo will also serve as mentors to guide, groom and develop the duets along the way.

 

First known to the world as half of the famous mother/daughter duet, The Judds, Naomi Judd is an accomplished singer/songwriter, spokesperson, entrepreneur, author and television personality.  After selling over 20 million albums, garnering numerous No. 1 singles, winning five GRAMMY® awards and a vast array of other honors, The Judds bid farewell in 1991, but Naomi did not step out of the public spotlight.  Since that time, she has remained an important advocate for women’s health issues and domestic violence, as well as an active spokesperson for anti-violence programs.  

 

 In 2004, her self-penned bestseller, “Naomi’s Breakthrough Guide, 20 Choices to Transform Your Life,” remained on The New York Times best-seller list for over eight weeks.  The following year, Naomi wrote her third children’s book, “Gertie the Goldfish,” and in 2006, “The Transparent Life” hit the shelves.  Last year, Naomi penned and released yet another best-seller entitled “Naomi’s Guide to Aging Gratefully.”  Most recently, she was the host of “Naomi’s New Morning,” a weekly talk-show on the Hallmark Channel which ran from 2005 to 2007.  Brett Manning is one of the most sought after vocal coaches in the country. With over 20 years of experience, Manning has trained some of the most recognizable music artists including Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Brian White, Hayley Williams of Paramore and members of Take 6. His client roster includes Grammy and CMA Award winners, artists on both independent and prominent record labels including Capitol Records, Columbia Records, Atlantic Records, Interscope Records, Lyric Street Records, MCA and Sony Records.

  

Manning's work with Broadway includes coaching the casts of “Les Miserables” and “Jekyll and Hyde,” as well as the Broadway tour of Elton John's “Aida.”  He is the founder of Singing Success which implements his revolutionary vocal techniques through seminars, workshops and a collection of CDs with basic to advanced exercises. Manning shares his life with his four children and his beautiful wife, Bethany. The Mannings live near Nashville, Tennessee.  An award-winning songwriter, Aimee Mayo is one of the most successful songwriters in the country music genre, penning hits for superstars such as Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride and many others.  She co-wrote her first song with her father Danny – also an accomplished songwriter who wrote hits for country greats Alabama, Tammy Wynette, George Jones and Hank Williams Jr. – at the age of eight.  Mayo wrote the cross-genre hit, “Amazed” for the group Lonestar, which won Academy of Country Music Song of the Year, BMI Song of the Year, NSAI Song of the Year and was nominated for a GRAMMY® award.  In 2001, Mayo was named BMI Songwriter of the Year.  Collectively, Mayo’s songs have spent 25 weeks in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts, and albums featuring her songs have sold over 110 million units worldwide.  “Can You Duet” is produced by FremantleMedia North America.  Jeff Boggs (Nashville Star, Spy TV) is executive producer.  Bob Kusbit and Melanie Moreau serve as executive producers for CMT.

 

CAN YOU DUET is produced by FremantleMedia North America. Jeff Boggs (“Nashville Star,” “Spy TV”) is executive producer. Bob Kusbit and Melanie Moreau serve as executive producers for CMT.

CMT has a rich history of finding and creating dynamic musical pairings with such series as CROSSROADS, which joins country music stars with artists from other genres. Upcoming CMT CROSSROADS combinations include Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and Maroon 5 and Sara Evans.

CMT, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and Heartland entertainment, reaching more than 87 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network’s digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom , is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with 137 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 200 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. production division of global media giant FremantleMedia. Based in Burbank, California, FMNA produces entertaining and innovative television programs for network, cable and syndicated platforms, including the Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon “American Idol” (FOX), "American Idol Rewind" (syndicated), "American Idol Extra" (Fox Reality Channel), “America’s Got Talent” (NBC), "Farmer Wants A Wife" (The CW), "Can You Duet" (CMT), “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency” (Oxygen), “Property Ladder” (TLC), “Family Feud” (syndicated), “Temptation” (syndicated), “Million Dollar Password” (CBS), and the longest-running game show in television history, “The Price Is Right” (CBS). For further information, visit http://www.fremantlemedia.com.