12/7/2006

in

%profile\[profile\_name\]

One of 2006's key breakthrough artists, Virgin Records singer/songwriter KT TUNSTALL, is a first-time nominee in the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. Tunstall's first American single, "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree," was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.  
  
The 2006 final Grammy nominations were announced today in Los Angeles by a group of Tunstall's fellow nominees including Mary J. Blige, James Blunt, Rascal Flatts, and Justin Timberlake. Other nominees in the category include Christina Aguilera, Pink, Cheryl Crow, and Natasha Bedingfield. Awards ceremonies will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, 2007, and televised on CBS.  
  
Tunstall's Virgin Records debut album, EYE TO THE TELESCOPE, has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 1 million copies.  
  
Following the announcement of the nominations, Tunstall remains Stateside for the balance of December, kicking off a week and a half of concert dates the same night in Los Angeles. Additionally, Tunstall will be visible on the American small screen all month long: after her December 5th performance on NBC's The Tonight Show, Tunstall will also be a featured interview guest on VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2006 program on December 16th, and her pre-taped concert performance on PBS' Austin City Limits will also air on December 16th. She will ring in 2007 with a performance on Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve on ABC, the night of December 31st.  
  
EYE TO THE TELESCOPE has now been certified quintuple-platinum in Tunstall's native U.K., where it was released in 2004, and has amassed worldwide sales in excess of 3.5 million copies. In the U.S., the distinctive pop-blues "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" held the No. 1 spot at the Hot AC format through most of July and August, and, eight months after album release, it still draws recurrent spins equivalent to a new Top 20 record. The song remains Top 5 in national Adult Contemporary airplay.  
  
The follow-up smash, "Suddenly I See," hit the Top Ten in Adult Alternative airplay following its prominent placement as the opening theme of the hit film comedy The Devil Wears Prada and remains Top 10 in the format after a 14-week run. A third single, "Other Side of the World," is bulleting toward the Top 10 in the Adult Alternative Album radio format. Tracks from the album have also made regular appearances throughout the year as featured music on U.S. television.  
  
In mid-October, Virgin Records released Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza, a CD/DVD package containing new acoustic songs, "unplugged" versions of two favorite album tracks, and generous in-studio documentary video footage. The million-selling EYE TO THE TELESCOPE album has also been released in a special deluxe CD/DVD package, adding the new track "Immune" to the CD. The DVD collates every music video from the album, and adds five live performances.