Sheila E. named winner of "Gone Country"

Host John Rich tapped Sheila E.as the winner of the third season of CMT's hit series, GONE COUNTRY, in tonight's season finale. Sheila won with "Glorious Train ," the song she penned with Nashville songwriters Angie Aparo and James Slater while taping the series. The single is produced by John Rich and will go out via the CMT Radio Network on Monday, March 9.

The accompanying video, directed by Sean Weber-Small, debuted after the finale and is currently in rotation on CMT and CMT Pure as well as via CMT.com <http://www.cmt.com/> .

Sheila, who edged out tough competition from fellow GONE COUNTRY contestants George Clinton, Tara Conner, Taylor Dayne, Micky Dolenz, Richard Grieco and Justin Guarini, performed her song before a live audience at Nashville's Wildhorse Saloon in the show's finale. In the end, Rich dubbed Sheila the winner because of her ability to connect to the audience through her gospel-infused, spiritual single, "Glorious Train."

"Sheila E. is perhaps one of the most talented musicians on our planet. What really took me over the top with her was witnessing the sheer passion she displayed for country music and our audience," says Rich. "As they say in sports, she left it all on the field when it came to her commitment to GONE COUNTRY 3. Her song 'Glorious Train' really does speak to her life story and how she has been challenged in life and triumphed over those challenges, which I think many country music fans will identify with. I also love the way she wrote a gospel-infused country song! Faith has always been a big part of country music and is a very important aspect of our music to our fans. At the end of the day, it was a hard decision, but Sheila E. took it to another level. I'm proud to have named her the winner of GONE COUNTRY 3."

Sheila E., perhaps best known for her recording, writing and touring with Prince, is a musician/entertainer and philanthropist. Sheila also worked with names such as Ringo Starr, Beyonce', Gloria Estefan, Brooks & Dunn, Herbie Hancock and Marvin Gaye and is a member of the band C.O.E.D. (Chronicles of Every Diva), who have recently toured overseas.