<p>Press Release Courtesy of <a href="www.pop2life.com" title="Pop2life PR and Marketing">Pop2Life</a></p>
<h3>CMT&#8217;s Online Talent Competition Searches for America’s Best Unsigned Country Music Acts</h3>
<p>CMT.com and Comcast have partnered to bring live local auditions throughout the month August to the cities of Knoxville, Nashville , Pittsburgh and Atlanta as the network searches for the next breakout country music act in the third annual <strong>MUSIC CITY MADNESS</strong>. Undiscovered singer/songwriters will have a chance to video tape an original song and submit it to CMT.com’s national on-line competition. The local auditions will be held in August, and grand prize winner from each city will be guaranteed a spot in the top 64 finalists and receive a Comcast/CMT-sponsored showcase in their hometown, along with $5,000 in prizes. In addition, the auditions will be taped and packaged for Comcast’s local video on demand channels.<br />
<center><a href="http://www.cmt.com/interact/music_city_madness/"><img src="http://webtools.cmt.com/image/cmt-music-city-madness-3-contest_423x100.jpg" alt="Click for Music City Madness at CMT.com." border="0" height="100" width="423" /></a></center><br />
Country music’s first user-generated talent search, MUSIC CITY MADNESS offers undiscovered singer/songwriters a chance to showcase their talent and let fans decide who takes home the prize in the online battle of the bands. The grand prize winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Nashville to record an episode of the CMT online series<strong> UNPLUGGED AT STUDIO 330</strong>, a private audition with Warner Bros. Records A&;R department and a mentoring session with country superstar <strong>Randy Travis</strong>. The online contest will again be featured in a half-hour CMT special, <strong>MUSIC CITY MADNESS – THE ROAD TO CMT</strong>, a round-by-round recap that reveals the top two finalists and highlights the best, craziest and most unique submissions.<br />
CMT will accept submissions for MUSIC CITY MADNESS through October 6. Entrants can submit their original video performance entry online or via mail to compete against the nation’s best undiscovered talent. All styles of country music are welcome including bluegrass, folk, southern rock and Americana, among others. The top 64 finalists will be chosen by CMT and revealed on October 21 where they will compete in single-elimination, tournament-style fan voting over a period of eight weeks. CMT.com visitors narrow the field week by week by voting for their favorite act, and the grand prize winner will be revealed December 16.<br />
Last year, more than four million votes were cast at CMT.com to name 13-year-old Utah native <strong>Katelynn Jolley</strong> the winner.<br />
Local auditions are scheduled as follows:</p>
<p><strong>KNOXVILLE</strong><strong> MUSIC CITY MADNESS AUDITIONS</strong><br />
Saturday, August 16 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.<br />
Fountainhead College of Technology<br />
3203 Tazewell Pike, Knoxville, TN</p>
<p><strong>PITTSBURGH</strong><strong> MUSIC CITY MADNESS AUDITIONS</strong><br />
Saturday, August 23 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.<br />
Westin Pittsburgh<br />
1000 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA</p>
<p><strong>ATLANTA</strong><strong> MUSIC CITY MADNESS AUDITIONS</strong><br />
Saturday, August 23 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.<br />
Cobb Centre Galleria<br />
Two Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, GA</p>
<p><strong>NASHVILLE</strong><strong> MUSIC CITY MADNESS AUDITIONS</strong><br />
Wednesday, August 27 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.<br />
Oceanway Studios<br />
1200 17th Avenue South, Nashville, TNCountry Music Photo Gallery</p>