[294] MTSU contingent represents university with Grammy-nominated projects Sunday night

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A pair of former MTSU students and a recent graduate are among the nominees for this Sunday night's 59th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, along with an alumnus who executive-produced a special film about the Grand Ole Opry.

Chris Young’s No. 1 single, “Think of You,” which he co-wrote and which features singer Casadee Pope, is a nominee in the best country duo/group performance category. It was released in January 2016; you can watch the video at http://youtu.be/9YyGCwvFm-U.

Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum, who recently branched out into contemporary Christian music with her group The Scott Family, was nominated for a pair of Grammys in her new field: best contemporary Christian album for “Love Remains,” which was released in July, and best contemporary Christian music performance/song for “Thy Will,” which she co-wrote, off that album.

The Scott Family includes Scott’s parents, country singer Linda Davis and songwriter-musician Lang Scott, and her younger sister, Rylee. You can see the video for “Thy Will” at http://youtu.be/Dp4WC_YZAuw.

Brad King, a 2015 MTSU recording industry graduate specializing in audio production, is competing with Scott in the best contemporary Christian album category for his engineering work on the team that recorded “Poets & Saints” by the group All Sons & Daughters, which was released in September.

Pete Fisher, the Opry's former longtime vice president and chief executive officer, is part of a team that created "American Saturday Night: Live from the Grand Ole Opry," a concert film released in theaters in December 2015 and a nominee in the best music film category.

It features behind-the-scenes interviews and performances by 2008 MTSU university studies alumnus Brett Eldredge, The Band Perry, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker and Blake Shelton. The film’s trailer is available at http://youtu.be/YZ3rwDDsVi4.

The Grammy ceremony will be held Sunday, Feb. 12, at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. These awards recognize music released between Oct. 1, 2015, and Sept. 30, 2016.

MTSU also will be represented at several pre-Grammy events this weekend, including:

• a gathering for Southern California MTSU alumni Friday night, Feb. 10, followed by a special concert at the L.A. music venue The Hotel Café, presented by MTSU's Americana public radio station, WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5, and The Bluegrass Situation in a first-time partnership. The Bluegrass Situation, which began as a music festival, is now a news website focusing on bluegrass music.
• a reception honoring Scott on Saturday, Feb. 11, at L.A.'s Standard Rooftop Lounge, followed by a return to the historic Troubadour club in West Hollywood for an evening concert co-sponsored by the Franklin, Tennessee-based Americana Music Association.

Both Young and Scott, who attended MTSU in the 2000s, have established scholarships in the university’s Department of Recording Industry to help students working toward careers in the music industry.

Young announced his scholarship for MTSU junior and senior students last Thanksgiving weekend, while Scott established her scholarship for female recording industry students in September 2015.

“Think of You” also was a contender for a 2016 Country Music Association award for “Musical Event of the Year.” Young also was nominated for a Grammy in 2010 for best male country vocal performance for "Gettin' You Home."

Scott and Lady Antebellum have been nominated for more than two dozen CMA and Grammy Awards. They won the 2010 Grammy for best country performance by a duo or group for “I Run to You” and swept the 2011 Grammys with awards for record of the year, song of the year, best country album, best country song and best country group performance for “Need You Now."

King, a multiple Dean's List honoree while at MTSU, already operates his own recording studio as well as working at local studios with a production team. His website, http://bradkingaudio.com, lists several albums he's engineered for Christian artists that include Brady Toops, Seth Talley & Natalie Schlab and the group NewSong.

Fisher, who recently took the CEO's post at the California-based Academy of Country Music after 17 years at the Opry's helm, earned a bachelor’s degree in recording industry management from MTSU in 1987 and was recognized as a distinguished alumnus in 2004. He also serves on the Board of Trust for the College of Media and Entertainment.

The complete list of this year’s Grammy nominees is available at http://www.grammy.com/nominees.

MTSU's Department of Recording Industry, for the third straight year, is part of an international list of acclaimed music schools praised by The Hollywood Reporter that includes Juilliard, Berklee and London's Royal College of Music. The department is No. 18 on the magazine's "Top 25 Music Schools 2016," which was part of the Dec. 2 edition of the publication.

You can learn more about MTSU’s recording industry program, part of the College of Media and Entertainment, at http://www.mtsu.edu/recording-industry.