''The Lia Show'', formerly known as ''Neon Nights'' and ''Cryin’, Lovin’ or Leavin’'',
[ is a nationally syndicated ]country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
and entertainment radio program hosted by Lia Knight (born in Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
). The program airs nightly from 7 pm to midnight locally across the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Based out of Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
, ''The Lia Show'' is a very artist-driven program with loads of interviews from the top names in the country music industry and many from the film and television industries. The show contributes a measure of its success to its caller hotlines. Putting on caller-intensive shows allowed for it to become more emotional and real.
''The Lia Show'' continues to grow. Whereas in its infancy, it focused primarily on country music, the show has branched out considerably and has featured several high-profile celebrity guests, such as Jenny McCarthy
Jennifer Ann McCarthy-Wahlberg (' McCarthy; born November 1, 1972) is an American actress, model, television personality, and anti-vaccine activist. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for ''Playboy'' magazine and was later named thei ...
, Bill Engvall, UFC fighters Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Matt Hughes, Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; O'Meara, born 30 March 1965) is an English journalist and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of ...
, Larry the Cable Guy
Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally as Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, actor, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a ...
, Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show '' Chelsea Lately'' on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documenta ...
, Jorge Cruz, and many more.
A self-described worrywart, Knight didn't set out for a career in radio. "I went to college to be a poet" she says. Lia has won a number of awards over the years, most recently being Best Broadcasting Personality presented at the Country Music Awards in 2008. Locally she has also been recognized for her community service with a Service Above Self Award in 2002.
The program is syndicated by Westwood One
Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...
. It had originally been carried on KRPM (now KBKS-FM) in Seattle prior to 1996, then on KXDD in Yakima
Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...
after KRPM changed formats in 1996. In 1998, Jones Radio Networks
Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio su ...
added the program to its syndicated lineup; it survived through numerous corporate changes (from Jones to Dial Global in 2009, then to the modern Westwood One in 2013) since then.[ It was added to the Nash FM network (which, like Westwood One, is a ]Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...
property) in August 2020 as the network's overnight show, branded as "Later with Lia."
Awards
In 2008, Lia won the top honors at the Country Music Awards (Personality of the Year) and the Gracies (Entertainer of the Year).
In 2007, the show was nominated for the Syndicated Personality/Show of the Year award by Radio & Records
''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
magazine. Other finalists included Delilah
Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ; ) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved by Samson, a Nazirite who possesses great strength and serves as t ...
, Blair Garner
Blair Garner is an American radio personality best known for his work in country radio. Garner spent over two decades as a nationally syndicated overnight disc jockey, first hosting ''After Midnite'' for Premiere Networks and then ''The Blair Gar ...
, Steve Harvey
Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and producer. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud'', '' ...
, Kidd Kraddick
David Peter Cradick (August 22, 1959 – July 27, 2013) was an American radio host and television personality, known as Kidd Kraddick. His nationally syndicated morning radio show, '' The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show'', is based in Irving, ...
, and John Tesh
John Frank Tesh Jr. (born July 9, 1952) is an American musician and radio and television presenter. He wrote the '' NBA on NBC'' basketball theme " Roundball Rock", and hosts the ''Intelligence for Your Life'' radio show. In addition, since 20 ...
.
See also
*Delilah Rene
Delilah Rene Luke (born February 15, 1960) is an American radio personality, author, and songwriter, best known as the host of a nationally syndicated nightly U.S. radio song request and dedication program, with an estimated eight million liste ...
, a lovesongs show that has some similarities to this program
References
External links
Lia's official Web site
American country music radio programs
{{US-radio-show-stub