Tuesday Newsday

So how are Ryan and Michael doing in their quest for a hug from Taylor Swift? Very well. Yesterday, Taylor surprised the creators of AHugFromTaylorSwift.com and the entire campus of Auburn University with a spontaneous appearance. Taylor and her band boarded a plane and headed to Auburn University Hotel & Dixon Conference Center to perform a free concert for fans while wearing a homemade shirt reading, “A Hug for Ryan and Michael,”- the creators of the website. At first she greeted fans via video, and then surprisingly made her way through a back door. She belted out an acoustic version of her songs including, “Love Story,” and “You Belong With Me.” At the end of the performance she joined the crowd with the Auburn chant, “War Eagle!”

Lady Antebellum’s second album, Need You Now, has been certified double platinum by the RIAA for shipments of two-million copies, and the title track is now certified triple platinum for retail sales of 3 million copies. The album is spending its 12th week atop the Billboard country albums chart. Don’t forget, Lady A will be a part of Country Week on American Idol to perform the song tomorrow night. The appearance was taped prior to the recent Academy of Country Music Awards show. Also, Never Alone, a special CD/DVD package containing Lady Antebellum's 2008 collaboration with composer-pianist Jim Brickman, will be released today. Lady Antebellum's performance with Brickman on the title track marked the group's first commercial CD release and music video.

CMT Crossroads: John Mayer and Keith Urban is set to premiere June 18th on CMT. Taped recently near Nashville before an invitation-only audience, Keith and John are the first artists to ever perform on two episodes of the concert series. The Brad Paisley / John Mayer episode aired in May 2004, and Keith Urban / John Fogerty episode aired in February 2005. The latest taping includes collaborations on Keith's "'Til Summer Comes Around" and "Sweet Thing" and Mayer's "Perfectly Lonely" and "Gravity." Their performance concludes with a cover of George Michael's 1987 pop hit, "Faith." And finally, speaking of Keith Urban, he and his lovely wife, Nicole Kidman, are said to have taken over the microphone at a local hangout in Indio, California while Keith was in town to perform at Stagecoach this past weekend. Keith performed a few karaoke songs for the small audience including, “Amie” by Pure Prairie League, “Jack Daniels, If You Please” by David Allan Coe, and Journey’s classic “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The crowd let the couple hang-out without interrupting.