CMT Most Wanted Live
Encyclopedia
CMT Most Wanted Live, or MWL, is a country music
video
countdown show which aired on CMT
from 2001 to 2004.
of sister network
MTV
's Total Request Live
, which features mostly pop, rap, and R&B videos. The original format of MWL was nearly identical to TRL, but it was altered several times and encountered two host changes throughout its relatively short run. Much like TRL, viewers cast their votes online at CMT's website or via a toll-free telephone number
. A total of ten videos were counted down daily, but not all ten would be aired in their entirety due to time constraints.
MWL debuted May 28, 2001, broadcasting live from the lobby of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
in downtown Nashville
, Tennessee
. The show initially aired in afternoons Tuesday through Friday. Co-hosting the show were Lance Smith
and Amber Mogg, both in their early twenties at the time. During this era, the show was targeted at the youth demographic, featuring many baby blue and pink colors on-screen and a logo scheme modeled after the periodic table
of elements. Insets of studio audience members commenting on the current video as well as internet messages from across the country were included into the show, much like TRL. Often, country music stars would appear for live, acoustic performances.
On January 5, 2002, after a holiday hiatus, the show's broadcast location was moved across town to the Gibson
Bluegrass Showcase at Opry Mills
mall. Though the format remained mostly the same, the show was retooled aiming for a more mature audience. The periodic table scheme remained, but the show was given a darker, more rustic color scheme. The number of videos shown was reduced from ten to eight. The audience insets were also eliminated, but the internet messages remained. It was at this time, also, that MWL experienced its first host change. Amber Mogg left CMT and Lance Smith was moved to the network's Top Twenty Countdown
show. Katie Cook
and Greg Martin
replaced Smith and Mogg. As part of the move to Opry Mills, the show added a Saturday airing, to act as a lead-in to Opry Backstage, which itself was a lead-in to CMT's live coverage of the Grand Ole Opry
. Another host change occurred with less fanfare in October 2002, when Greg Martin was released. He was quickly replaced by Cledus T. Judd
, a face with which many country music fans were already familiar.
Most Wanted Live was reduced to a once-weekly Saturday airing in 2003 and again moved its broadcast location, this time to the Wildhorse Saloon
in downtown Nashville. The periodic table scheme was lost in the move, as was the basic format of the show. The move to Saturday would often result in the show being taped in advance (against its own name), and the show would sometimes feature an on-stage performance from the Wildhorse.
CMT's final airing of MWL was April 3, 2004.
On January 13, 2003, CMT launched MWL Star, an interview series focusing on one artist per episode. The series was hosted by Katie Cook. MWL Star ended its run on June 3, 2003 and its replacement, MWL Stacked, debuted the same day. Stacked is a thirty-minute show featuring wall-to-wall videos from a single artist or group. When MWL was canceled, MWL Stacked became known as CMT Stacked, and it remains on the air .
and Rascal Flatts
respectively.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
countdown show which aired on CMT
Country Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
from 2001 to 2004.
History
Most Wanted Live was a country music spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of sister network
Sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....
MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Total Request Live
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
, which features mostly pop, rap, and R&B videos. The original format of MWL was nearly identical to TRL, but it was altered several times and encountered two host changes throughout its relatively short run. Much like TRL, viewers cast their votes online at CMT's website or via a toll-free telephone number
Toll-free telephone number
A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, 800, 0800 or 1-800 number is a special telephone number which is free to the calling party, and instead the telephone carrier charges the called party the cost of the call...
. A total of ten videos were counted down daily, but not all ten would be aired in their entirety due to time constraints.
MWL debuted May 28, 2001, broadcasting live from the lobby of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum identifies and preserves the evolving history and traditions of country music and educates its audiences...
in downtown Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The show initially aired in afternoons Tuesday through Friday. Co-hosting the show were Lance Smith
Lance Smith
Lance Smith is an American actor and media personality, who, for eight years, was the host of CMT's Top Twenty Countdown. He is also the author of the children's book, The Old Man and the Cat."...
and Amber Mogg, both in their early twenties at the time. During this era, the show was targeted at the youth demographic, featuring many baby blue and pink colors on-screen and a logo scheme modeled after the periodic table
Periodic table
The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular display of the 118 known chemical elements organized by selected properties of their atomic structures. Elements are presented by increasing atomic number, the number of protons in an atom's atomic nucleus...
of elements. Insets of studio audience members commenting on the current video as well as internet messages from across the country were included into the show, much like TRL. Often, country music stars would appear for live, acoustic performances.
On January 5, 2002, after a holiday hiatus, the show's broadcast location was moved across town to the Gibson
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
Bluegrass Showcase at Opry Mills
Opry Mills
Opry Mills is a super-regional shopping mall owned by Simon Property Group, formerly by its initial owners Mills Corporation and Gaylord Entertainment...
mall. Though the format remained mostly the same, the show was retooled aiming for a more mature audience. The periodic table scheme remained, but the show was given a darker, more rustic color scheme. The number of videos shown was reduced from ten to eight. The audience insets were also eliminated, but the internet messages remained. It was at this time, also, that MWL experienced its first host change. Amber Mogg left CMT and Lance Smith was moved to the network's Top Twenty Countdown
Top Twenty Countdown
Top 20 Countdown is a show on CMT.The show counts down the biggest videos in country music and was originally hosted by Lance Smith. Top Twenty Countdown airs every Friday at 11:00 a.m. and reruns on Saturday at 11 a.m. and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Besides showing the biggest videos, Lance also shows...
show. Katie Cook
Katie Cook
Katie Cook is an American actress, host and correspondent with the Country Music Television network in the United States. She has been with the network since 2001. She currently hosts CMT Insider. Cook often appears as the host of CMT's live or recorded segments from red carpet events and has...
and Greg Martin
Greg Martin
Greg J Martin is an Australian rugby union player. He played as a fullback. He earned 9 Wallaby caps in 1989 and 1990, and 65 caps for the Queensland Reds. He played club rugby for the Brisbane club University for 18 years....
replaced Smith and Mogg. As part of the move to Opry Mills, the show added a Saturday airing, to act as a lead-in to Opry Backstage, which itself was a lead-in to CMT's live coverage of the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
. Another host change occurred with less fanfare in October 2002, when Greg Martin was released. He was quickly replaced by Cledus T. Judd
Cledus T. Judd
Barry Poole is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country music songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and his albums are usually an equal mix of original comedy songs and parodies...
, a face with which many country music fans were already familiar.
Most Wanted Live was reduced to a once-weekly Saturday airing in 2003 and again moved its broadcast location, this time to the Wildhorse Saloon
Wildhorse Saloon
The Wildhorse Saloon is a country/western-themed restaurant, live music venue, and dance club located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Gaylord Entertainment Company. Originally opened on June 1, 1994 in a converted warehouse, the Wildhorse initially capitalized on the line dancing...
in downtown Nashville. The periodic table scheme was lost in the move, as was the basic format of the show. The move to Saturday would often result in the show being taped in advance (against its own name), and the show would sometimes feature an on-stage performance from the Wildhorse.
CMT's final airing of MWL was April 3, 2004.
MWL Hall of Fame
Songs which appeared on the Great Eight for 65 days, or spent 50 days at #1, were retired from the countdown and inducted into the MWL Hall of Fame. In summer 2002, when the show began airing special episodes such as MWL Summer Request or MWL Mystery, the number of days necessary for retirement was reduced to 50. The following videos were inducted into the MWL Hall of Fame:- "Laredo," Chris CagleChris CagleChris Cagle is an American country music artist. Signed with Virgin Records Nashville in 2000, Cagle made his debut on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts with the single "My Love Goes On and On", the first single from his debut album Play It Loud...
(August 24, 2001) - "There You'll BeThere You'll Be"There You'll Be" is a song by Faith Hill, which became a hit single in 2001. Written by Diane Warren and Alan Menken, known for his Disney film scores such as "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "Pocahontas" and "Tangled", it was featured on the Pearl Harbor soundtrack...
," Faith HillFaith HillFaith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
(August 24, 2001) - "I'm Just Talkin' About TonightI'm Just Talkin' About Tonight"I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight" is a song performed by American country music artist Toby Keith. Released in May 2001, it was the first single from Keith's Pull My Chain album. The song reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...
," Toby KeithToby KeithToby Keith Covel , best known as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin, plus a Greatest Hits package for various divisions of...
(August 31, 2001) - "Never Love You Enough," Chely WrightChely WrightRichell Rene "Chely" Wright is an American country music artist and, starting in 2010, gay rights activist. On the strength of her debut album in 1994, the Academy of Country Music named her Top New Female Vocalist in 1995. Wright's first Top 40 country hit came in 1997 with "Shut Up and Drive"...
(September 18, 2001) - "AustinAustin (song)"Austin" is the debut single of American country music artist Blake Shelton.The single was released in April 2001 on the Giant Records label; however, that label closed its doors as the single was climbing the charts, with Shelton and his single being transferred to the Warner Bros. Records label....
," Blake SheltonBlake SheltonBlake Tollison Shelton is an American country music artist. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts...
(November 8, 2001) - "I Wanna Talk About MeI Wanna Talk About Me"I Wanna Talk About Me" is the title of a song written by Bobby Braddock and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in August 2001 as the second single from Keith's album Pull My Chain...
," Toby Keith (December 12, 2001) - "The Cowboy in MeThe Cowboy in Me"The Cowboy in Me" is a song performed by American country music artist Tim McGraw. Released in December 2001, it was the third single from McGraw's Set This Circus Down album. The song reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...
," Tim McGrawTim McGrawSamuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
(April 19, 2002) - "YoungYoung (Kenny Chesney song)"Young" is the title of a song recorded by American country music singer Kenny Chesney. It was released in December 2001 as the lead single from his 2002 album "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems". It peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and at number 35 on the...
," Kenny ChesneyKenny ChesneyKenneth "Kenny" Arnold Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S...
(April 19, 2002) - "I Don't Want You to GoI Don't Want You to Go"I Don't Want You to Go" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by Canadian country music singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson. It is the third single from her 2001 debut album Room with a View. The song was also her third entry on two U.S...
," Carolyn Dawn JohnsonCarolyn Dawn JohnsonCarolyn Dawn Johnson is a Canadian Juno Award winning country music singer-songwriter. Johnson first rose to fame by co-writing Chely Wright's 1999 Number One single, "Single White Female," which reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in September 1999...
(August 8, 2002) - "The Good StuffThe Good Stuff"The Good Stuff" is a single, released in May 2002, by American country music artist Kenny Chesney. It was the second single from his 2002 album No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems....
," Kenny Chesney (September 6, 2002) - "My ListMy List (song)"My List" is the title of a song written by Tim James and Rand Bishop, and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in January 2002 as the third and final single from his 2001 album, Pull My Chain. It became a number one hit on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs...
," Toby Keith (September 6, 2002) - "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)"I'm Gonna Miss Her " is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Brad Paisley. It was released in February 2002 as the third single from his second studio album Part II, the song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart that year, becoming the third...
," Brad PaisleyBrad PaisleyBrad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....
(September 12, 2002) - "Who's Your Daddy?Who's Your Daddy? (Toby Keith song)"Who's Your Daddy?" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in August 2002 as the second single from Keith's Unleashed album. The song reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and peaked at number 22 on...
," Toby Keith (December 18, 2002) - "These DaysThese Days (Rascal Flatts song)"These Days" is the title of a song written by Jeffrey Steele, Steve Robson, and Danny Wells, and recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts on their 2002 album Melt...
," Rascal FlattsRascal FlattsRascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
(December 20, 2002) - "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" is a song by Canadian singer Shania Twain. It was the first single released from her 2002 album Up!. The song was written by Mutt Lange and Shania Twain. "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" was originally released to American radio on September 23, 2002...
," Shania TwainShania TwainShania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
(February 8, 2003)
Spin-offs
Most Wanted Live, itself a spin-off, spawned two of its own.On January 13, 2003, CMT launched MWL Star, an interview series focusing on one artist per episode. The series was hosted by Katie Cook. MWL Star ended its run on June 3, 2003 and its replacement, MWL Stacked, debuted the same day. Stacked is a thirty-minute show featuring wall-to-wall videos from a single artist or group. When MWL was canceled, MWL Stacked became known as CMT Stacked, and it remains on the air .
Tour
Two concert tours also carried the show's name. The "CMT Most Wanted Live Tour" traversed North America in 2002 and 2003, headlined by Brad PaisleyBrad Paisley
Brad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....
and Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
respectively.
See also
- Country Music TelevisionCountry Music TelevisionCountry Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
- List of television spin-offs
- Total Request LiveTotal Request LiveTotal Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...