In a surprise announcement last night at the Broken Bow Records/Stoney Creek Records PRE-CMA Awards party, Randy Houser has been added to the strong independent label's roster, joining some of the current big names of the country music scene...

Five months into 2011 and Jason Aldean has the distinction of being the best-selling country artist of the year and after two weeks sitting in the #2 position on the charts behind Alison Krauss & Union Station's latest Paper Airplane, Jason regains the pole position this week.

Once again Jason Aledean finds himself with the best-selling country recording in the United States thanks to a lull in high-impact new releases.  With the ACM Awards impacting next week's chart, we get to see where everyone fell pre-big sales increases.

Take a listen to the new single from Stoney Creek Records artist Ash Bowers.  It's the third single he's released since late 2009.  Ash co-wrote the tune with songwriters Anthony Smith and Frank Myers.

With "Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not" now in the Top 7 at country radio, Stoney Creek Records newcomers Thompson Square have burst on the scene in a big way with their self-titled debut album and have been rewarded with a performance on the Jay Leno-hosted show.

With a strong single on its way to a Gold certification, Thompson Square makes waves this week as they debut high on the Country Album Sales chart compiled by SoundScan.  Would they sell enough to bypass label mate Jason Aldean and Big Machine's Taylor Swift?

It seems that now, perhaps more than ever, there are many new duos coming into the mainstream of country music.  So with many new duos, how do Thompson Square stand out from the pack?  Does this single make them worthy contenders for radio airplay?

After a disappointing sound-alike single in "Stuck," Ash Bowers returns with a second single that he hopes will become his breakout hit.  Does the song have enough going for it to become that elusive hit for the Stoney Creek Records' singer/songwriter?

Take a listen to a sample of Ash Bowers' great new single.

All new artists need the right single to strike out from the pack and make an impact on not only fans but the radio and video stations that help the artist become stars; This is particularly true for "Indie" labels and artists.  Does Ash Bowers have himself such a song here?