A prime-time hit parade

Glenn Gamboa | DROPS

October 8, 2006

It seems like Mat Kearney's music is everywhere these days - everywhere except, well, you know, the radio.

The Nashville-based singer-songwriter saw his song "All I Need" close out the season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" (so prominently, in fact, that the show's producers took the unusual step of identifying Kearney and his album in the credits) and his song "Crashing Down" made it into the show's second episode. Kearney's John Mayeresque "Undeniable" is in the commercials for NBC's "Friday Night Lights" and the title track from his album "Nothing Left to Lose" (Aware/Columbia) has been in the promos for TNT and MTV's "Laguna Beach."

Sure, Kearney's dramatic, Coldplay-with-a-twang guitar ballads work well behind shots of mourning doctors or rich Cali kids, but they're pretty decent songs on their own. Like David Ford and David Gray (shouldn't he be a shoo-in for "Grey's Anatomy"?), Kearney cuts the melodrama with a touch of humor and unusual touches like the rap-singing through "Undeniable," keeping a nice, laid-back vibe intact throughout the album.

The buzz from "Grey's Anatomy" has generated new interest in "Nothing Left to Lose," which was released in April. Who knows? It may even get him played on the radio.

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HOT COLE. Natalie Cole will turn a lot of heads with her new album, "Leavin'" (Verve), which features her versions of Fiona Apple's "Criminal," Kate Bush's "The Man With the Child in His Eyes," Neil Young's "Old Man" and the first single, Aretha Franklin's "Day Dreaming." But it's her cover of the Tom Jans hit "Lovin' Arms," usually associated with Elvis Presley and Etta James, that shows how Cole has recaptured an artistic spark and R&B edginess that suggests she isn't ready to trot off into the smooth-jazz sunset just yet. Built over a single acoustic guitar line and sweet backing vocals with a hint of Bob Marley and the Wailers, "Lovin' Arms" gives Cole a chance to show off her raucous, soulful side, sounding more like Macy Gray than Miss "Miss You Like Crazy." Who knew she still had surprises up her sleeves?

NAMES TO KNOW (PRODUCT PLACEMENT EDITION). The Pack (shoe-loving rappers with the hit "Vans"); Webstar (the "Chicken Noodle Soup" guy, with a soda on the side); and "Peanut Butter & Jelly" rapper Cadillac Don.

Contact Glenn Gamboa at 631-843-3434 or glenn.gamboa@newsday.com.