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Joey + Rory is an American country music duo composed of Rory Lee Feek and Joey Martin Feek, who are husband and wife. Joey is the duo's lead vocalist, while Rory sings background vocals and plays guitar. The duo was the third-place finalist on CMT's competition Can You Duet in 2008. That same year, Joey + Rory signed to Vanguard Records, releasing their debut album The Life of a Song in late October. This album's lead-off single, "Cheater, Cheater", was a Top 40 hit on the Billboard country charts.
Joey + Rory |
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History
Before the duo's foundation, Rory Lee Feek worked as a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, and he has continued to work as a songwriter even as a member of Joey + Rory. Songs that he wrote for other artists include Clay Walker's Top Five hit "The Chain of Love", Blake Shelton's Number One hit "Some Beach", and Jimmy Wayne's 2008 single "I Will". Rory also founded the independent label Giantslayer Records in 2004, on which Joey had recorded a solo album entitled Strong Enough to Cry in 2005. This album was released in CD format in 2008, as well as a digital download.[1] Rory also recorded a solo album on Giantslayer Records, titled My Ol' Man, which he also made available only as a download.
Joey + Rory performed on the CMT competition Can You Duet in 2008, in which they were the third-place finalists. Shortly after the competition, they were signed to the independent label Sugar Hill Records. They returned to the Can You Duet stage to perform "Cheater, Cheater" on "Original Song Night" for the series' second season, which aired on July 25, 2009.[2]
The Life of a Song
The duo's debut album, The Life of a Song, was released on October 28, 2008 on Sugar Hill Records.[3] The album debuted at #10 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and #61 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Its lead-off single, "Cheater, Cheater", was originally recorded by the duo Bomshel. Kristy Osmonson, formerly one-half of that duo, co-wrote the song with the Feeks and Wynn Varble. Bomshel's version was released as a single in early 2008 shortly before Osmonson's departure, although it did not chart. Joey + Rory's version was released in September 2008, featuring a music video that has a cameo from Naomi Judd, who had been a judge on Can You Duet.[4] Joey + Rory's version peaked at #30 on the country music charts in early 2009. The duo has also appeared in television commercials for the online retailer Overstock.com.[5] In February 2009, the duo were nominated for the Academy of Country Music Awards Top Vocal Duo.[6] Although a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" was originally to have been released as the second single, it was withdrawn after two weeks, and replaced in March 2009 with "Play the Song", which failed to chart. The albums third single, "To Say Goodbye", was released to radio on July 27, 2009, and also failed to chart.
Recording their second album
Joey + Rory released their first holiday single, "It's Christmas Time," on November 16, 2009 to country radio and November 24, 2009 to digital retailers.[7] It was done in partnership with CMT One Country, who will donate a portion of proceeds from the single to various charities (including the The Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee).[7] Additionally, Rory Feek along with Tim Johnson, created the Song Trust; under this an album of holiday songs performed by children, titled Merry Kidsmas, will be released.[8]
Joey + Rory announced on October 15, 2009, that they were in the studio working on the follow-up album to The Life of a Song.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | ||
| 2008 | The Life of a Song
|
10 | 61 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | |||
| 2008 | "Cheater, Cheater" | 30 | 122 | The Life of a Song |
| 2009 | "Play the Song" | — | — | |
| "To Say Goodbye" | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Other charted songs
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | |||
| 2009 | "It's Christmas Time"A | Non-album song |
- A Current single.
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Cheater, Cheater" | Peter Zavadil |
| 2009 | "Play the Song" | |
| "It's Christmas Time" | Rory Feek |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Kategorie | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Vocal Duo | Nominated |
| CMT Music Awards | Duo Video of the Year — "Cheater, Cheater" | Nominated | |
| USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year — "Cheater, Cheater" | Nominated | ||
| Country Music Association Awards | Vocal Duo of the Year | Nominated |
Can You Duet performances
Semi-Finals (Season 2)
- Original Song Night - "Cheater, Cheater"
- Returned as a guest performer on the series' second season, and gave advice to the remaining competitors.
Finals (Season 1)
- And the Winner Is... - "I Want to Be Loved Like That", Shenandoah
- The judges cited the performance as being weaker than previous ones, and they were eliminated (receiving third place).
Semifinals (Season 1)
- The Final Three - "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind", Kellie Pickler
- The judges were pleased to see Rory sing a verse by himself for the first time.
- Five Duets Down to Four - "Young Love", The Judds
- Naomi felt that they had likability and marketability, Brett declared that "America needs this", and Aimee compared it to a "sweet dream."
- Six Duets Cut to Five - "Cheater, Cheater", Joey + Rory (original song)
- The judges loved the performance and felt they showed real star quality and great interaction between the two while on stage.
- Seven Duets Down to Six - "Lord I Hope This Day Is Good", Lee Ann Womack
- Joey played an acoustic guitar in this performance, when previously only Rory had played the guitar.
- Eight Duets Perform - "455 Rocket", Kathy Mattea
- The first performance on the big stage before a live studio audience.
Pre-Semifinals (Season 1)
- 12 Duets Become Eight - "Free Bird", Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Final performance performance before they perform on the live stage in the semifinals.
- Workshop Week - "How's the World Treating You", Alison Krauss
- Workshop week; second performance before they perform on the live stage.
- Audition - "Play the Song", Joey + Rory (original song)
- The judges thought they were the real deal, and they were chosen to continue.
References
- ^ Strong Enough to Cry
- ^ Can You Duet 206 "Original Song Night" - 3
- ^ Joey & Rory at CMT.com
- ^ "Cheater, Cheater" (Music Video at CMT.com)
- ^ Parton, Chris (2008-09-15). "Joey & Rory Will Be Back on TV". CMT. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ Gilbert, Calvin (2009-02-11). "Brad Paisley, Heidi Newfield Top List of ACM Nominees". Retrieved 2009-02-11.
{{cite web}}: Text "CMT" ignored (help); Text "work" ignored (help) - ^ a b Rodeo Attitude News: IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME” FOR CMA VOCAL DUO HOPEFUL JOEY+RORY
- ^ Joey + Rory put focus on the song with the Song Trust