CMT Announces the Main Winner of the City Madness Competition
For the past three seasons, Country Music Television, an MTV Networks production, has conducted nationwide competitions in its bid to discover the “next best thing” in country music through its Music City Madness Video Contest. Its goal is to serve as a venue in which competitors—country singers and/or songwriters—can showcase their talent to the rest of the country by submitting their self-produced music videos featuring their original musical compositions. The winning contestant will then be flown to Nashville to record a live performance-show, his very own CMT Studio 330 Session.
This year, after launching the “CMT 2009 Music City Madness Video Contest Video Contest,” CMT has announced the winner— Chance McKinney, native of Missoula county, MT and a state school teacher from Washington. With his video for the song “Be Real,” McKinney bested hundreds of other hopefuls in a rigid online selection process consisting of six rounds of competition and millions of fan votes. Other finalists included Danny Hamilton of Torrance, California (”Bury the Devil”), Mumblefinger of Red Bluff, California (”Exactly Like You”), and Angela Ragsdale of Los Angeles, California (”I Turn U Turn”).
As part of his prize, McKinney—who is a trigonometry and statistics teacher at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, Seattle—will fly out to Nashville to complete a series of activities that begins with a recording of his own “CMT Studio 330 Sessions” television show and a private showcase with A&R executives at the Valory Music Co. label which handles popular country singers such as Reba McEntire, Jewel and Jack Ingram. The whirlwind visit will culminate in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a backstage visit with country superstar McEntire.
In a celebratory email he sent out to his fans, McKinney said, “Thanks to the efforts of the Trib and other media outlets, we did it.” He then added, “I’m so lookin’ forward to gettin’ back down to Sandy for the holidays and spendin’ time with the family.” Sandy is, of course, McKinney’s adopted hometown where his wife Lisa Lisa B. Herron-McKinney—whom he recently married—resides. McKinney also thanked his students who played a major role in his win. “My best friend and next-door teacher at the school, he talked to his students and encouraged them to spread the word,” according to McKinney. “So I had this huge student network working for me and voting on the site, and I didn’t even know it until I got into the final 16.”
Prior to being named the winner of the contest, McKinney said in an interview, “I’ve been at this for a long time now, doing all the non-glorious work that goes into being a successful musician.” When asked if he had what it takes to win the contest, he answered, “I think if I can win this competition, it’ll be a result of all that work, and it could really lead to the next step for me.”
McKinney—who has already opened concerts for established artists such as Montgomery Gentry, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, and Gary Allan—has mentioned that he considers Alan Jackson as a “major influence.”
For more of the McKinney madness, you may check out his website at http://www.chancemckinney.com/.
