We're happy to report that Tift will appear on the CW Network's "Hart of Dixie" early next year.

Our favorite singer-songwriter reports that filming went well, and she expects the episode to air "around Valentine's Day." Expect to see a musical performance.

Woo-hoo!

Tift confirms that Jay Brown and Eric Heywood took part in the performance with her.

The News & Observer's "Happiness Is A Warm TV" blog previews Tift's upcoming appearance:

Raleigh native Tift Merritt will get some primetime network television exposure Monday on the CW drama "Hart of Dixie."

Merritt, a Grammy nominated singer-songwriter, will premiere her new song "Sweet Spot" on the show's Valentine's Day episode. "Hart of Dixie" is set in the fictional small town of Blue Bell, Alabama. The show's pilot was shot in Wilmington but subsequent filming moved to Los Angeles.

In the January 30 episode, Merritt plays herself, performing "Sweet Spot" with two of her band members at the town's annual Valentine's dance.

Last episode of Hart of Dixie drew 1.23 MILLION viewers.   (Apparently lost several hundred thousand due to being preempted in some markets by a basketball game.)

That's some pretty good exposure.  Beats the crowd of six at the Sixstring Cafe way back when.

In case you missed it in the tm.net news feed or on Facebook and Twitter, the "Hart Of Dixie" episode featuring Tift has been bumped a week.

Tift will appear one week from tonight: Monday, Feb. 6.

The Durham News Service missed the news about the one-week delay in Tift's primetime TV debut, but nonetheless offered a nice account of the local recording of "Sweet Spot."

Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Tift Merritt's roots are planted firmly in the Triangle. While she now calls New York City home, Tift frequently returns to her native North Carolina on tour. Durham, however, is where she comes to record. Her last two studio albums, 2008's Another Country and 2010's See You On the Moon, were recorded at Durham's Overdub Lane Studios. Merritt recorded her newest single "Sweet Spot" in the days following her October 2011 show with alt-country band The Jayhawks at Durham's Carolina Theatre.

I think Tift actually recorded Another Country in L.A. (after writing most of it in France), but that's another story.

Just saw and heard T on heart of Dixie.  But it was WAY to short. She should have been given at least a half an hour exposure time.

For those who haven't seen it yet, one scene of the "Hart of Dixie" Valentine's Day episode includes parts of three Tift songs. "Broken" and "Good Hearted Man" serve as background music for the episode's action, while "Sweet Spot" stands out a bit more. You hear a short segment of the new song by itself, then it plays in the background as the show's dialogue resumes.