Grammys Go Strait Country

George Strait has won a Grammy. He can retire now. Kidding, George, just kidding. Grammy voters stayed to the middle of the stream this year giving The King of Country his first award, Jennifer Nettles and Brad Paisley two awards each, and followed suit to fill Carrie Underwood’s mantle up with more honorary hardware. The winners in the country categories were:

Best Female Country Vocal Performance
Carrie Underwood - "Last Name"

Best Male Country Vocal Performance
Brad Paisley - "Letter To Me"

Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
Sugarland - "Stay"

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - "Killing The Blues"

Best Country Instrumental Performance
Brad Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, John Jorgenson, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert & Steve Wariner - "Cluster Pluck"

Best Country Song (songwriter's award)
"Stay" - Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland)

Best Country Album
George Strait - Troubadour

A husband and wife compete. A boyfriend and girlfriend dance closer. And the youngest dancer ever – again! 13 new stars go dancing on the premiere of Dancing With The Stars, Monday, March 9. The cast includes Jewel and her husband, Ty Murray, competing against each other. Ty will be the first rodeo athlete to clean up in a tux. Country music is well represented again this year by Chuck Wicks. Logic would suggest that he’d be teamed with champion dancer and real-life girlfriend, Julianne Hough, lest he be accused of extracurricular coaching if he were to have a different partner. Rumors say it’s a match. But previous statements said Julianne was sitting out the season. ABC has not announced professional dance partners for new new cast. Other dancers include the youngest competitor ever – again! Curfew is extended for 17-year old Shawn Johnson, Olympic gymnast. Ice-skating translated to dance well for Kristi Yamaguchi, it will be interesting to see how gymnastics translates into a floor routine in a gown. Lawrence Taylor is in as the pre-requisite NFL player. And Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computers, will fill the role of the everyday guy stepping out of his comfort zone. The rest of the cast is filled up with actors, actresses, and MTV Reality TV star, Steve-O! Take a look at the lucky 13:
Lil Kim, rapper, singer, actress
Steve-O, MTV reality star
Jewel, country and pop singer
Nancy O’Dell, Access Hollywood anchor
Lawrence Taylor, NFL Player
Shawn Johnson, Olympic gymnast, youngest ever - again
Chuck Wicks, country singer
Gilles Marini, actor
Denise Richards, actress
Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple
Belinda Carlisle, pop singer
David Alan Grier, actor
Ty Murray, pro rodeo athlete

Looks like the rumor mills were wrong about Donny Osmond, among others. Perhaps it best to wait for official word on the pairing of Chuck and Julianne. Otherwise, it looks like a fun season.

And finally, the submissions are in, the choices have been made, and now it’s up to our vote to decide which artwork becomes the cover of the new Rascal Flatts CD. The choices were the winners from among the People’s Choice Awards contest asking fans to submit designs. Vote for Rascal’s new album cover. The winning artwork will be revealed next Thursday, during a live Rascal Flatts concert in Madison Square Garden. Then it's off to the printers to get ready for the April 7th release.