Backstage Pass

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.

Listen to "Nothing Left to Lose" here