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CMT is back for season two of Can You Duet to find the hottest new and upcoming country duo. The audience will be taken on a tour of the on-stage and off-stage action of the life and competition of each country duo group. The audience will get to follow the contestants as the perform and compete weekly to battle for the 2009 win. The contestants will be judged as a team, not individually, and this is exactly what makes the show unique to Nashville and the Country Music World. Husband and Wife, Jay and MarkO’SHEA, are finalist in this years competition along with Abby and Holly, Memarie and Kassie, Ryan and Avalon, Chelsee and Rob, Harmon Creek, Steel Magnolia, The Stellas, JB Rocket, and Matt and Keeira. 

Individually Jay and Mark have a string of writing and artists credits that span the globe. It is only since relocating to Nashville, from their Australian home in 2007, that this husband and wife team decided to join forces and wow- what a duo. O'Shea performs weekly at Nashville's local Blue Bar. It is rare, indeed, to find an unsigned act in Music City that can fill a venue but that's exactly what O'Shea has managed to do for over a year.Now here they are, finalists, on CMT's second season of Can You Duet. 

The show is hosted by Lance Smith and is a music competition series created by “American Idol” producers FremeantleMeadia North America. The show features celebrity judges, Scott Borchetta, Big Kenny, and Naomi Judd.The winners will receive a record deal from Nashville's Big Machine Records. The competition will come together when the show kicks off on June 20th at 8p.m. The Can You Duet Show will air on CMT on June 20th, 2009.

O’SHEA was recently named one of the Top Three bands in WKDF’s Battle Of The Bands, winning a coveted performance slot on the Hard Rock Café stage at the annual CMA Music Festival on Saturday, June 13 at 11:30am.  This show tops off an already exciting week filled with performances and appearances for this talented husband and wife duo Mark and Jay O’Shea.  To fire off the week, Mark will appear at the NRA Sports Sporting Clay Shoots Showcase on Wednesday, June 10 and then join up with Jay O’Shea to play the Wednesday Night Wags event featuring Hank Williams III and Joey & Rory at the Factory in Franklin to benefit the Happy Tales Humane Society of Middle Tennessee.  O’SHEA performs at 3pm.  Later that evening O’SHEA will take the stage at the Blue Bar, the local venue that they have played and packed out every Wednesday night for over a year.  Their shows are legendary among Nashville locals, not only for the killer songs and vocals but also for their complete spontaneity and unpredictability.

On Friday, June 12 the festivities continue with O’SHEA signing autographs in the Waggin’ Train (dog food treats) booth at the Convention Center from 10:30-11:30am.  Following the signing session, both Mark and Jay will try to hang on as they participate in the Mahindra Tractors Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge in the CMA Sports Zone from 3:30-4:30pm.

O’Shea will turn up the heat this Saturday, June 13 with three shows in a row.  Kicking off with the concert at the Hard Rock Stage at 11:30am, these Australian natives will then perform an acoustic set in the first ever Music City Zone at 2:00pm located in the Nashville Visitor Center located on the ground level of the Sommet Center arena tower (corner of 5th Avenue & Broadway).  To close out the week, O’SHEA will play the famed Wildhorse Saloon at 5:30pm.

Post CMA Music Festival, O’SHEA will be making their reality TV debut as one of the Top Ten duo’s on this year’s season of CMT’s break out hit, “Can You Duet.”  The show premiers June 20 and features celebrity judges, Naomi Judd, Big Kenny and Scott Borchetta.  

After the success of last years 2008 season of “Can You Duet”, the producers (Fremantle Media who are the same ones who do American Idol) have decided to do it all again in 2009.

Overall wearing Joey and Rory, winners Caitlin and Will and twin sisters, The Coppollas all landed record deals off the back of last season. with Joey and Rory even receiving a nomination in the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Auditions were held on March 7^th at Nashville’s WildHorse Saloon and were attended by close to 5000 contestants. The judges have been announced and are not entirely the same team as last year.

Last year’s judges were Naomi Judd, hit Music Row songwriter Aimee Mayo and vocal coach Brett Manning. This year, Naomi Judd returns and is joined by Big Kenny (from platinum selling duo, Big and Rich) and Scott Borchetta (CEO of Big Machine and Valory Music Group). The series airs in June, 2009.

Contestants could have submitted a video audition or simply shown up on the Can You Duet open casting call day. Industry insiders, producers and employees of the show culled the over 5000 contestants to a more manageable number, at which point the actual judges became involved.

The talent level was significantly higher this year. Some got through to the final 10 couples and some didn’t. The styles of the competitors was also quite varied. Everything from husband’s and wives, mums and daughters, twin sisters, twin brothers, best friends, fathers and sons and total strangers who just met in the line outside.

The show is already in the can and hence the punters lucky enough to be in the audience, are privy to the results of the show.

The taping dates were April 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 24 and 30 and the show began around 8pm.

Tune in to catch all the Can You Duet excitement in June, 2009