Lady Antebellum are practically built for Christmas albums. There’s a Captain and Tennille quality to their partnership that’s made hip by youth and intriguing subject matter. The trio’s take on standards like ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’ and ‘Silent Night’ are timeless, in that they could really be transported to any decade of country music. For them, covering yuletide hits is as easy as looking good.

‘On This Winter’s Night’ is the group’s Target-exclusive 2010 EP ‘A Merry Little Christmas’ plus six new traditional holiday hits. It’s like a BOGO EP, really — something that could be a little disappointing for fans who bought the first, but were unaware of the setup of this new “full-length” Christmas album.

Lady A take few risks on any of the 12 songs on ‘On This Winter’s Night.’ Only ‘Blue Christmas’ is a marked deviation from the original — fans of Elvis Presley will not approve of this spicy rendition– while others, like ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),’ are so predictable one can sing along effortlessly on first listen.

Vocally, Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood are as strong as ever. Their natural chemistry stoke coals in the fireplace, and they fit into one’s Christmas conversation as easily as a cup of hot chocolate or some spiced eggnog. The holidays are no time for grit, and these three are as smooth as Michael Buble or Burl Ives.

Musically, they fail to add the modern touches that mark the three studio albums they’ve released since 2008. There’s a Casio quality to songs like ‘This Christmas’ and ‘Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.’ One begs for more fiddle.

‘On This Winter’s Night’ is the lone original cut, one co-written by the trio. A more cynical critic would wonder if the album isn’t just a way to make money from this cut, but that would ignore a beautiful collaboration between the band and a children’s choir. The title track is truly the album’s highlight — the star at the top of a tree filled with familiar ornaments.

KÄLLA

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Lady Antebellum
Zac Brown Band
Luke Bryan
Taylor Swift

MALE ARTIST
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Eric Church
Toby Keith

FEMALE ARTIST
Sara Evans
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

GROUP
Lady Antebellum
Zac Brown Band
Rascal Flatts
The Band Perry
Eli Young Band

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Lee Brice
Colt Ford
Glorianna
Justin Moore
Jake Owen

NEW ARTIST
Lauren Alaina
Pistol Annies
Hunter Hayes
Jana Kramer
Kip Moore

ALBUM
Lady Antebellum – “Own The Night”
Dierks Bentley – “Home”
Luke Bryan – “Tailgates and Tanlines”
Eric Church – “Chief”
Blake Shelton – “Red River Blue”

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean – “Tattoos On This Town”
Zac Brown Band – “Keep Me In Mind”
Luke Bryan – “I Dont Want This Night To End”
Eric Church – “Drink In My Hand”
Chris Young – “You”

SINGLE OF THE YEAR: MALE
Jason Aldean – “Tattoos On This Town”
Luke Bryan – “I Dont Want This Night To End”
Kenny Chesney – “Reality”
Eric Church – “Drink In My Hand”
Chris Young – “You”

SINGLE OF THE YEAR: FEMALE
Sara Evans – “My Heart Can’t Tell You No”
Miranda Lambert – “Over You”
Martina McBride – “I’m Gonna Love You Through It”
Taylor Swift – “Ours”
Carrie Underwood – “Good Girl”

SINGLE OF THE YEAR: GROUP
Lady Antebellum – “We Owned The Night”
Zac Brown Band – “Keep Me In Mind”
Rascal Flatts – “Banjo”
The Band Perry – “All Your Life”
Eli Young Band – “Even If It Breaks Your Heart”

SINGLE OF THE YEAR: NEW ARTIST
The Farm – “Home Sweet Home”
Hunter Hayes – “Wanted”
Jana Kramer – “Why Ya Wanna”
Dustin Lynch – “Cowboys And Angels”
Kip Moore – “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck”

SINGLE OF THE YEAR: BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Lee Brice – “A Woman Like You”
Brantley Gilbert – “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do”
Glorianna – “(Kissed You) Good Night”
David Nai – “Let It Rain”
Jake Owen – “Alone With You”

SINGLE OF THE YEAR: VOCAL COLLABORATION
Kix Brooks (Feat. Joe Walsh) – “New To This Town”
Zac Brown Band (Feat. Jimmy Buffet) – “Knee Deep”
Kenny Chesney (Duet with Tim McGraw) – “Feel Like A Rock Star”
Rascal Flatts & Natasha Bedingfield – “Easy”
Brad Paisley (Duet with Carrie Underwood) – “Remind Me”

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Luke Bryan – “I Don’t Want This Night To End”
Jake Owen – “Alone With You”
Blake Shelton – “God Gave Me You”
Keith Urban – “For You”
Chris Young – “You”

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR: MALE
Luke Bryan – “I Don’t Want This Night To End”
Jake Owen – “Alone With You”
Blake Shelton – “God Gave Me You”
Keith Urban – “For You”
Chris Young – “You”

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR: FEMALE
Sara Evans – “My Heart Can’t Tell You No”
Miranda Lambert – “Over You”
Martina McBride – “I’m Gonna Love You Through It”
Taylor Swift – “Ours”
Carrie Underwood – “Good Girl”

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR: GROUP OR COLLABORATION
Lady Antebellum – “Dancin’ Away With My Heart”
The Band Perry – “All Your Life”
Glorianna – “(Kissed You) Good Night”
Little Big Town – “Pontoon”
Love And Theft – “Angel Eyes”

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR: NEW ARTIST
Hunter Hayes – “Wanted”
Casey James – “Let’s Don’t Call It A Night”
Jana Kramer – “Why You Wanna”
Dustin Lynch – “Cowboys And Angels”
Kip Moore – “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck”

SONG OF THE YEAR
Trace Adkins – “Just Fishin” – Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell & Ed Hill
Jason Aldean – “Fly Over States” – Michael Dulaney& Neil Thrasher
Jason Aldean – “Tattoos On This Town” – Michael Dulaney, Wendell Mobley &Neil Thrasher
Lee Brice – “A Woman Like You” – Phil Barton, Johnny Bulford & Jon Stone
Kenny Chesney w/Grace Potter – “You And Tequila” – Matraca Berg &Deana Carter
Eric Church – “Springsteen” – Eric Church, Jeff Hyde & Ryan Tyndell
Ronnie Dunn – “Cost Of Livin” – Phillip Coleman& Ronnie Dunn
Toby Keith – “Red Solo Cup” – Will Hoge & Eric Paslay
Tim McGraw – “Better Than I Used To Be” – Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers, Brad Warren & Brett Warren
Eli Young Band – “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” – Ashley Gorley & Bryan Simpson

TOURING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Lady Antebellum
Zac Brown Band
Kenny Chesney / Tim McGraw
Eric Church
Rascal Flatts
Toby Keith
Miranda Lambert
Brad Paisley
Taylor Swift

Källa

MR: Are you excited about Australia?
Hillary: We went for the first time last year with Keith Urban. He took us to open for him, which was such an amazing way to see the country. It was awesome to be able to be there with him and meet his fans, and now we’re going back headlining.

MR: Who are you taking with you?
Charles: It’s actually going to be local acts. Our manager had a really cool idea of picking a couple local acts there, so we’re excited about that. We didn’t know what to expect as far as ticket sales. We opened up first nights and they all sold out so we’re doing multiple nights in each place. We’re doing three nights at Sydney Opera House so that’s going to be a big moment for us.

MR: You had to open up extra dates in Europe as well, right?
Charles: It was pretty wild. Again, we didn’t know what to expect going over and doing a full-fledged tour and the response was amazing. There were definitely certain pockets where it was really strong. I didn’t realize Ireland was going to be that great. We did two nights in Dublin; I can’t wait to go back there. Can’t wait to get back to Scotland.
Dave: The London show we had to actually get a bigger place. We’ve been surprised by how many people have been reached by our music around the world. Keith was great in introducing us to Canada and Australia. We opened for him in both countries and are lucky now to be able to go back on our own.

MR: How did the European tour stack up against your expectations?
Hillary: The fact that our music has traveled so far is the most humbling feeling. Our show is going to be a little different from the standpoint of production because getting everything we had here in the States and Canada all the way over to Australia and Europe [wasn’t feasible].

MR: Were there any standout moments from the last few months of touring?
Dave: For Europe, the meet and greets. A lot of the fans were literally crying to meet us. They were so appreciative of us coming that far. We had one girl at one of our shows come from Brazil…
Hillary: That was in Germany…
Dave: …because that was the easiest way for her to see us. When you’re talking to someone and they’re in tears, thanking you for your music and for traveling, it makes you want to keep playing these places. That was a standout for me.
Hillary: Everyone shared a personal story as to why our music had impacted them. That’s the ultimate compliment; that’s way bigger than us.
Dave: Also from London, I can’t leave out our show where we got to open up for Bruce Springsteen in Hyde Park.

MR: I have that next on my list of things to ask about…
Hillary: We got to meet him!
Dave: He talked to us for 15 minutes. A lot of times you meet other artists or people you look up to and shake their hand, say ‘hi’ and, ‘cool, nice to meet you.’ But he just started talking and dove into the first time he was playing and touring internationally back in the 70s. He was trying to encourage us to keep touring internationally, which is something I’ll never forget. I mean, I never would have forgotten what he said anyway. But he blew us away.
Charles: I was too busy looking at his sunglasses and how cool he is…
Hillary: [He was] the epitome of a class act. You have the opportunity to meet people you look up to and have really admired, and sometimes it’s a little disappointing. With him it was not. It was everything you could ever dream of wanting to have in the experience of meeting one of your heroes. He’s just the real deal. I was a huge fan before, but now, Bruce all the way.

MR: Springsteen has become this important touchstone for country songwriters. Do you guys find yourselves drawing on him for inspiration?
Charles: He was very descriptive in his writing. It was like, how do you take a simple subject and have a way that we all can put ourselves in that moment? When he’s talking about those moments of childhood and high school and racing down the road, and you put yourself in that spot. Writers like him and Kristofferson, they just have a way of saying something very simply, very poetically. I’ve heard Bruce is a fan of a lot of Country music because Country is great about telling a story. It’s not just about the melody, it’s about the lyrics. His music is, the core of it is the lyrics…
Hillary: I wonder if he likes “Springsteen”
Charles: The Eric Church song?
Dave: I think he heard it.

MR: I think he gave it his stamp of approval.
Hillary: You think about for our parents, and us who have grown to love Bruce—I wasn’t born when became the star that he is. That’s the soundtrack to a lot of our lives. It’s ingrained in who you are and in your character because you grew up with it.

MR: Do you have any rituals to prepare you for a show?
Charles: Woodford Reserve [laughs]. Actually, we played a lot of ping pong this year. This was the tour of ping pong.
Dave: “The year of the pong.”
Charles: Dave and I called ourselves ‘The Dynasty.’ We were on a doubles team together and it got really intense.

MR: Who were you playing?
Charles: The band and crew.
Hillary: It was no girls allowed…
Charles: Everybody had their own teams. Dave and I were a team, we recognized each others’ strengths and weaknesses and it worked really well. I have to say, we had the best record out on the tour so that’s something to be proud of.
Hillary: No one’s here to counter that.

MR: So if your crew and band members beat you in a game, do they get in trouble?
Dave: We threaten them with flights home, docked pay…
Charles: A couple times it did look like they were throwing some games…
Hillary: They just want you to feel good about yourself.

MR: What’s the dynamic like for when you’re on the road? Do you each fall into a role?
Dave: We always travel on the same tour bus and have different things we allow each other to take the reins on. It’s a laundry list of stuff.
Charles: Dave–the instrumentation side of it. I’ll maybe plan on how we should pace it out and what songs should go where and talk where. Hillary was really big from a production standpoint on what was visually going to be coming out, the lights, where we were going to walk. Everybody took their leads and it worked out great that way.
Hillary: On the road here in the States we got into a routine where Charles would go play golf and Dave would be in the studio working on a demo of a song and I would be out with the dog or something. We got into our own little routines. In Europe, we were thrown out of what we were used to and gravitated toward each other. We had so much fun. We went out to the bar together after a show and had a Guinness. We were close before, but Europe was such a sweet time because we really talked and reconnected.

MR: Did getting out of that routine inspire some ideas for the new album?
Hillary: We dreamed and brainstormed, that’s what we talked about.
Charles: For me, it was noticing what songs were globally the songs people could relate to, the kind of universal truths. ‘I Run To You’ was one of those songs wherever we went—like opening for Bruce Springsteen, people were ready for him and that was obvious…
Hillary: They kept screaming [his name] and I thought we were getting booed.
Dave: [laughing] Rookies!
Charles: [The fans] were great, but one of the songs I could tell everyone was really grooving on was ‘I Run To You.’ I love the combination of that driving beat and universal lyric so we focused on a lot of that. This new record, I keep calling it our ‘roll down the windows’ record because it’s definitely more tempo-driven and organic. I think it is one of those records, when people get it, [that] will hopefully be a little bit of a surprise if they’ve heard our last two records. Our last two records were pretty intense and this one will be a little more…
Hillary: Lighthearted.
Charles: Lighthearted… It will still have some intense and lyrically-driven songs but is definitely more live show-oriented.
Hillary: Depth to the lyrics but not as dramatic.
Charles: Less drama.
Dave: Drama-free.

MR: No more drama?
Charles: [laughing] Don’t worry, there’s still going to be a couple of drama songs.
Hillary: There always are, but definitely fewer.

MR: What else can you tell me about the project?
Charles: The last record we used a lot of loops, a lot of big string instrumentation. Most of the stuff we’re using was just the instruments that were just tracked, less overdubs. Just let the songs speak for themselves. We spent more time picking songs.
Hillary: …and we don’t know where it will end up but we’ve cut more outside songs already for this record than we ever have. It’s not that we haven’t written a lot, because we have, but we’re searching and we’re going to find the right songs.
Charles: Trying to find songs that are a bit of a departure. Still familiar, but maybe a road we haven’t been down. A little more tempo-driven. That’s the main thing.

MR: Have you chosen all the songs?
Dave: About halfway. This is the one time where we truly don’t have a deadline.
Charles: And it won’t go out until it’s ready.
Dave: We’re going to wait—spend the rest of the year, go in next year, spend the right amount of time it takes to get the right songs.

MR: What’s the process like for you finding and writing songs? How do you know you’ve found the right one?
Charles: All different ways. We’re in constant contact with our producer and manager, playing for our wives and band. When you start noticing the same thing, it’s like ‘That’s a special song.’ You start hearing it over and over again and honing in on that and going ‘Okay, now that’s the one.’ That kind of what happened with ‘Need You Now.’ We trust the team around us and believe in ourselves and want to make a well-rounded record. It’s creating a well-balanced piece of art.

MR: As you are recording this album and adding to your body of work, do you feel pressured to compete with your past success or can you shake it off and start fresh?
Hillary: I think we’d be lying if we said there wasn’t some on [2011's Own The Night], comparing to [2010's Need You Now]. You can only naturally do that, when the second record was the career-changer for us. Being one more record removed from it and having more experience onstage, we’re a lot more assured of who we are as artists and and as a band. We’re just going in with this pure excitement and joy because we have time to soak it all up. The last record happened so fast. We started recording, went out to the Grammys, had that crazy night [six wins, including Album of the Year] and then came home and said, ‘We’ve gotta get going.’ It was a lot of pressure and as much as we tried to not acknowledge, it was still looming. It was that big elephant in the room. With this record, we have time. We can push ourselves and continue to cultivate what we’re doing for as long as we want until it’s ready. There’s a lot of freedom in that and it’s exciting.