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Rascal Flatts
 

Rascal Flatts

Fact Sheet

Musical genre:Country  
Country  USA
Rascal Flatts is an American country music group comprised of lead vocalist Gary Levox (born July 10, 1970 in Columbus, Ohio), bassist Jay DeMarcus (born April 27, 1971 in Columbus, Ohio) and electric guitarist Joe Don Rooney (born September 13, 1975 in Baxter Springs, Kansas). Levox and DeMarcus are second cousins. After landing a record deal with Lyric Street Records, the trio released their eponymous debut in 2000.

"I Melt" controversy

Rascal Flatts achieved notoriety in 2003 with their music video, "I Melt." Some fans objected to the video - which starred band member Rooney and model Christina Auria - because it contained brief scenes of nudity, and wanted the video banned from airplay on CMT and Great American Country (Ironically, DeMarcus was a member of the Christian pop group East to West in the mid 1990s). Eventually, Rascal Flatts released an edited version of the video, which aired during daytime hours on CMT. [1]

The song "I Melt" came from Rascal Flatts' second album, Melt, which contained the band's first No. 1 country single, "These Days" (which reached the top spot of Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart in December 2002).

On the flip side of "I Melt," the group was widely praised for a video they released for the song "Skin (Sarabeth)." The song - a hidden track from the album Feels Like Today - and video chronicle a teen-aged girl's struggles with cancer. The video, which features the Cirque du Soleil performers, has earned critical acclaim for being emotionally uplifting and heartfelt.

Other Albums

Rascal Flatt's upcoming Album, Me And My Gang, is scheduled to be released in April of 2006. This album will include the band's new single, What Hurts the Most.



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