Month: December 2013

Acclaim and #1 Ratings Success Spark Saturday Re-Airing at 8 PM ET; DVD Set for Release on December 17

Nashville, TN – Following the tremendous ratings success of The Sound of Music Live! starring six-time GRAMMY® winner Carrie Underwood, NBC has announced that it will air an encore of the three-hour television production this Saturday, December 14, at 8 PM ET. Based on the original musical, the December 5 live event delivered a #1 primetime win for NBC across all half hours of the broadcast.

Attracting 21.3 million total viewers (live + three-day time-shifted viewing), The Sound of Music Live! drew widespread praise, including Newsday, which lauded it as “officially one of network TV’s glowing triumphs of the year,” while TV Guide declared, “Carrie Underwood looked the part, and sang with clarity and purpose,” and Entertainment Weekly proclaimed, “NBC’s big winter gamble paid off.”
The Sound of Music Live! ranked #1 primetime in all 56 Nielsen-metered markets, with more than 18.5 million total viewers for the live broadcast. This is all the more remarkable in the context of a traditional Broadway musical, which in an average 1800-seat theatre, with the standard eight shows a week, would require a run amounting to 25 years to reach an audience of that size, as producer Ken Davenport describes in his blog.

Also starring TV and theater star Stephen Moyer and Tony Award winners Audra McDonald, Christian Borle and Laura Benanti, The Sound of Music Live! will be released on DVD on December 17.

“The Sound of Music” — Music from the NBC Television Event is available now from Sony Masterworks, featuring studio recordings for all of the musical numbers performed by the cast in the live broadcast, including such Rodgers & Hammerstein favorites as “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and the classic title track.

The Sound of Music Live! Dominated Thursday Night Ratings, Surpassing The Big Bang Theory and
Earning NBC’s Best Non-Sports Thursday Ratings Since ER and Frasier Finales

Six-time GRAMMY® winner Carrie Underwood took on the starring role of Maria in last night’s three-hour television production, The Sound of Music Live!, based on the original musical, and fans tuned-in en masse for the special event, with 18.5 million viewers solidifying a #1 primetime win for NBC across all half hours of the broadcast.

The Sound of Music Live! dominated the night, delivering NBC’s best 18-49 non-sports Thursday ratings average since the 2009 series finale of ER, and also earning NBC its best non-sports Thursday rating in total viewers since the Frasier season finale in 2004.

The Sound of Music Live! not only ranked #1 primetime in all 56 Nielsen-metered markets, but also became the first show since May of 2012 to surpass The Big Bang Theory in P2+ ratings.

Also starring TV and theater star Stephen Moyer and Tony Award winners Audra McDonald, Christian Borle and Laura Benanti, The Sound of Music Live! will be released on DVD on December 17.

“The Sound of Music” — Music from the NBC Television Event was released earlier this week from Sony Masterworks, featuring studio recordings for all of the musical numbers performed by the cast in the live broadcast, including such Rodgers & Hammerstein favorites as “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and the classic title track. Download the Soundtrack Here.

Since releasing her debut album in 2005, Carrie has sold over 15 million albums and charted 18 #1 singles, nine of which she co-wrote. Her current album, Blown Away, made history by debuting at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart, making Carrie only the second country artist in the 47-year history of the chart to have each of their first four albums debut at #1. The now Platinum-selling Blown Away album also debuted at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, making Carrie only the second country artist in history to have three consecutive albums debut at #1. She is a six-time GRAMMY® winner, a two-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, a three-time Country Music Association and ACM Female Vocalist winner, and a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry.

NBC’s The Sound of Music Live! Airs December 5;

Cast Soundtrack Available Today

The hills are indeed alive this week as six-time GRAMMY® winner Carrie Underwood prepares for her much-anticipated performance as Maria in NBC’s three-hour television production, The Sound of Music Live!, based on the original musical. In advance of Thursday’s live broadcast, Sony Masterworks today releases the companion soundtrack, “The Sound of Music” — Music from the NBC Television Event, featuring studio recordings for all of the musical numbers performed by the cast in the live broadcast, including such Rodgers & Hammerstein favorites as “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and the classic title track.

Also starring TV and theater star Stephen Moyer and Tony Award winners Audra McDonald, Christian Borle and Laura Benanti, The Sound of Music Live! will air from 8 – 11 PM ET on December 5, on NBC, and will be released on DVD on December 17.

In addition to today’s soundtrack release, fans will have a chance to whet their appetites for the live event when on Thursday morning, NBC’s Today airs Natalie Morales’ exclusive interview with Underwood, together with a look behind the scenes on the set of The Sound of Music Live! with Stephen Moyer.

Also in the spirit of the season and one of the show’s most famous songs, “My Favorite Things,” Carrie and her fans are gathering online to share some of their own favorite things. Continuing through the last Friday of December, fans can post photos or videos on Instagram using the hashtag #FavoriteThingsFridays, and selected posts each week will be featured on Facebook.com/CarrieUnderwood. For complete details, and to view the submissions – including Carrie’s postings of her own favorite things – visit www.FavoriteThingsFridays.com.

Carrie’s “favorite things” are now in the spotlight on Gilt City, which highlights experiences inspired by Carrie in 11 major cities, together with a Gilt StyleFile interview, online here.

Fans can also look for Underwood on the cover of the December 9 issue of Country Weekly (on stands now), with an exclusive interview and feature about The Sound of Music Live!

Since releasing her debut album in 2005, Carrie has sold over 15 million albums and charted 18 #1 singles, nine of which she co-wrote. Her current album, Blown Away, made history by debuting at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart, making Carrie only the second country artist in the 47-year history of the chart to have each of their first four albums debut at #1. The now Platinum-selling Blown Away album also debuted at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, making Carrie only the second country artist in history to have three consecutive albums debut at #1. She is a six-time GRAMMY® winner, a two-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, a three-time Country Music Association and ACM Female Vocalist winner, and a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry.