Home Sweet Home

Another country week is in the American Idol stat books. Grand Ole Opry week concluded last night with Alexis Grace sent packing. Brad Paisley performed “Then,” the first televised performance of the first single from this summer’s American Saturday Night CD. Brad was hoping to be judged on his performance; the producer’s vaguely humored him when Ryan Seacrest was sent out to greet Brad with a ‘results card’ and make a quip about Randy Jackson thinking the song was dope. Well, Brad was just the musical guest and professional courtesy doesn’t allow for judges ripping an established artist. But you know Simon Cowell, who has no love lost for country music, had to have had an opinion on a slow country love song played in the middle of a flashy show like Idol. Now imagine what he must have thought about Randy Travis, the torch bearer of the 80’s traditionalism movement, singing with Idol’s big-voiced sweetheart, Carrie Underwood. Randy did a fine job accompanying on the guitar, but he sang so little of the duet that Carrie just took the song away from him and owned it as her own. Next week on Idol: Motown.

US Weekly is featuring a cover story about LeAnn Rimes. To read more of the gossip about the alleged affair, check the magazine’s report. In response to the allegations, LeAnn posted a statement on her website: This is a difficult time for me and my loved ones, but I appreciate all your continued support. I would like to assure all of you that this is a place for you to hear things directly from me and as you all know, not everything in our lives is always black and white. Leann's cable movie, Northern Lights, debuts on Lifetime TV this Saturday.

Wanna play with naked Willie? In conjunction with Willie Nelson’s new CD, Naked Willie, goanimate.com has launched a platform where fans can play with customized Willie Nelson animations and create your own Willie adventures. On the website, you can animate your choice of characters, including Willie, Naked Willie, Super Willie, Mickey Raphael and a Talking Horse. With just a few clicks, these characters can be made to talk, sing, play the guitar or harmonica, dance, shoot pool, drink beer and much, much more. You can then pair these animations with your choice of classic or Naked Willie songs, which are songs that Willie and his longtime sidekick, harmonica player Mickey Raphael, “un-produced.” The songs on the new CD were recorded with a raw unmasked essence, allowing fans to hear them naked, as Willie originally wrote them. In addition to the animated adventures set to music, the playful website also allows fans to create unique slideshows of your own pictures and send e-messages.