KGRT - Great Country Blog

2nd Baby Girl For Justin Moore

2011-11-22T08:26:00.002-07:00

Justin Moore and his wife, Kate, welcomed their second daughter, Kennedy Faye Moore, to the world yesterday. Kennedy was born in her father’s home state of Arkansas at 7:59AM. The seven pound, 18-and-a-half inches long beauty joins 21-month-old sister Ella Kole. Baby Kennedy will have the honor of receiving big-sister Ella’s hand-me-downs, which Justin is pretty excited about, “Now having a girl, and having another little girl, I’m like, ‘Yes! No new clothes for a while! We can make these last a while now’.” Justin just wrapped up touring with Miranda Lambert and was home for the birth. He’ll take the next few weeks off to spend time with his family. He'll tour next year with Blake Shelton. Oh, and if you're wondering about the name, Justin said, “Faye was my grandmother’s name, who passed away a couple of years ago, so we thought it would be a great way to remember her. And, we both just liked Kennedy.”

Dierks Bentley had a “surreal” moment, performing in Washington, D.C. on Monday as part of the one-hour TV special, Country Music: In Performance at the White House . Catch Dierks sing “Home” in what he calls “our nation’s ‘Home’,” when the show airs on PBS tomorrow. Dierks has also released a customizable version of the “Home” music video for fans to personalize with their own photos.

Re-Cap of the AMA

2011-11-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

Taylor Swift won Artist of the Year at the 2011 American Music Awards last night. This is Taylor’s 10th career AMA and the second time she has won the Artist of the Year trophy. Taylor also won Favorite Country Album for Speak Now and Favorite Female Country Artist. Blake Shelton picked up the Favorite Male Country Artist award at the AMAs. Lady Antebellum won Favorite Country Band, Duo or Group. The Band Perry performed “If I Die Young,” and was nominated for the Sprint New Artist of the Year, but did not win.

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton have been pretty open when it comes to their relationship, however, the couple has stayed pretty quiet about how Blake popped the question. Miranda did divulge a few details last week on Chelsea Lately, though, revealing that it took place at their ranch and that she was wearing a camo jacket, which she joked, “tells you everything you need to know.” Also during the interview Miranda admitted she was so nervous about the release of her album, Four the Record, that she had fever blisters the week before it came out. Granted, she had nothing to worry about, because it – like her previous three albums – debuted at #1.

Alabama will reunite for more than a dozen concerts in 2012, band members Jeff Cook and Teddy Gentry confirmed. The first scheduled date takes place February 28th at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. "Alabama's agreed to do 15-20 shows next year, and possibly if that works out, we will do an overseas tour in 2013," Cook said. The three founding members are also planning to record a new album.

Got 60 Minutes This Weekend?

2011-11-18T01:20:00.000-07:00

Taylor Swift is profiled on CBS’ 60 Minutes this Sunday. The singer speaks candidly about her fame, admitting that she thinks of a “million people” as she gets dressed in the morning. In terms of being a role model, Taylor says that it would be “really easy” for her to say, “I’m 21 now, I do what I want. You raise your kids.” However, she realizes that isn’t “the truth of it” and warns, “Every singer out there with songs on the radio is raising the next generation. So make your words count.”

Artists who perform or are featured on the CMA Awards each year usually see a boost in sales the week after the show, and this year was no different. The Band Perry, who picked up the Single, Song and New Artist trophies, saw their album sales jump 112-percent from the week before. Other artists that saw a sales increase post-CMA Awards include Thompson Square (+96%), Eric Church (+61%), Jason Aldean (+53%), Blake Shelton (+52%) and Sara Evans (+52%).

Glen Campbell’s 1975 album, Live in Japan, will be released worldwide for the first time on January 24th. Since its original release, the package has only been available overseas. It includes Glen’s own material along with select covers, including Conway Twitty’s “It’s Only Make Believe” and Paul Anka’s “My Way.”

Who Are Country's Sexiest Men?

2011-11-17T05:11:00.001-07:00

If you can't get enough of Lady Antebellum after the great El Paso performance, catch the trio performing on next week’s Dancing With the Stars finale. Monday, the remaining three finalists and their partners will perform with the winner to be announced on Tuesday. The remaining three finalists on this season of Dancing With the Stars are talk show host Ricki Lake, reality TV personality Rob Kardashian and actor J.R. Martinez.

Bradley Cooper may have been named People’s 2011 Sexiest Man Alive, but Tim McGraw wasn’t far behind. The actor-singer is credited as one of the mag’s Sexiest Men Alive and tells the publication that he keeps fit by doing two-hundred push-ups and crunches a day. Also featured in the issue – which hits newsstands Friday – is LeAnn Rimes’ husband, actor Eddie Cibrian, who is in the section "25 Sexy Chests to Be Thankful For."

Trace Adkins has been voted as “Country’s Sexiest Man” by readers of Country Weekly magazine. Trace will appear on the cover of the magazine set to hit newsstands on Friday. To thank his fans for the honor, the country star has made a live version of his next single, “Million Dollar View,” available for download on his website TraceAdkins.com through November. “Million Dollar View” is the follow-up to his Top-10 hit, “Just Fishin’,” from his album, Proud to Be Here. Trace will perform on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on December 7th.

What? No Video?

2011-11-16T13:47:00.001-07:00

MIRANDA LAMBERT explains why fans everywhere are asking, “Will there be a music video for Miranda Lambert’s ‘Baggage Claim?’” Miranda says they’re skipping it and explains why, “We didn’t do a video for ‘Baggage Claim,’ umm, because the song is actually, was going so fast. It’s rising so fast, we really didn’t have time, by the time we got the video out the song would’ve been already in the Top 5. So, we just opted to skip it and do a video for the next single.” However, Miranda is coming to a television near you today as she performs “Baggage Claim” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live!

THE BAND PERRY, Justin Bieber, Cee Lo Green, Jennifer Hudson and more are set to come together in the nation’s capital for TNT’s annual Christmas in Washington special. The show will be hosted by Conan O’Brien and airs on Friday, December 16th at 8PM Eastern on TNT. Christmas in Washington is a holiday tradition benefiting the Children’s National Medical Center. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the event, which is attended each year by the President and First Lady and other Washington VIPs. The show will be taped at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, December 11th.

Kenny and Tim To Tour Together

2011-11-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw will reunite for a 19-date stadium tour in 2012. Kenny took a small break at the end of his Goin’ Coastal tour and is ready to get back out on stage and in front of his fans. Kenny said, “I’m gonna be out there singing my heart out and trying to just do what I do. I’m working on music right now and I’m working on putting all the pieces together. I’ve had a little time off, so it’s starting to get exciting again and we know that we’re gonna go out and do what we love to do.” The Brothers of the Sun tour will be the first time in 10 years that the two country superstars have hit the road together. The tour will also feature Jake Owen and Kenny’s “You and Tequila” partner Grace Potter and her band, The Nocturnals. Brothers of the Sun kicks off June 2nd in Tampa, Florida.

David Nail is back and better than ever with his second album, The Sound of a Million Dreams, which is out today. The album takes its name from a song on the project that struck a particular chord with David. David said, “’Cause I think in, in essence, you know, it is the sound of a million dreams. There’s so many different moments that I’ve, imagining myself doing what I’m doing now and, and a lot of the song, you know, referencing songs from the past. You know, there’s so many different moments of my life. I kinda look back to questioning whether or not I would have this opportunity, and some song or some moment in my life caused me to suddenly believe that maybe there was a chance.” The record includes David’s current single, “Let it Rain” as well as the Keith Urban co-penned tune “Desiree,” which appeared on The Ranch album.

Miranda On TV Tonight

2011-11-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

Last week may have been monumental for Miranda Lambert, who not only celebrated her 28th birthday, but she was also crowned the CMA Female Vocalist of the Year. How do you top that? Why make the TV rounds, of course. Miranda will perform “Baggage Claim” on NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno this evening. The tune appears on her Four the Record album, which also made history last week when it debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Miranda said, “It’s kinda crazy, you know, you, you hope when you get into this business that you can make history, and to actually see it happening is, it’s a dream come true. And, I’m, I’ve worked my butt off and it’s like, ‘Thank you, God. It’s payin’ off.’” Wednesday, Miranda will perform on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, before heading to Hollywood for ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! that night.

Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and Taylor Swift were among the winners at the Billboard Touring Awards in New York City on Thursday night. Kenny was honored for top touring package for his Goin’ Coastal Tour with the Zac Brown Band, Uncle Kracker and Billy Currington, which sold 1.3-million-tickets this year. Jason claimed the Breakthrough category, and Taylor’s Speak Now World Tour earned the award for Concert Marketing and Promotion.

Veteran's Day In The Country

2011-11-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

The 45th Annual CMA Awards gave ABC its highest-rated Wednesday in two years. The CMAs were also ABC’s “best performance” of any night this season and lead the network to win the most viewers during its time slot over the other major networks. An estimated 35-million viewers tuned in to at least some portion of the CMA Awards on Wednesday night.

Fresh off another CMA win for Vocal Duo of the Year, Sugarland says it’s time to take some time off! After a whirlwind ride on the Incredible Machine Tour, and a tumultuous 2011, the duo’s Jennifer Nettles says it’s time to settle down and regroup before making any further career decisions. Jennifer said, "Actually, we’re in the resting process, let me just be real frank. We just got off tour two weeks ago after two years of being on the Incredible Machine Tour and, obviously, after quite a tumultuous year to say the least. And we are taking a few months just to chill and relax, and sleep in our own beds, and contemplate how we want to approach what’s next.” Jennifer will have one more professional duty to fulfill before she can truly take a vacation. She’ll be hosting and performing on the CMA Country Christmas special, which is set to air December 1st on ABC.

Some of the biggest stars in country music came together to celebrate the holidays for Thursday night’s taping of the CMA Country Christmas special in Nashville. The evening was hosted by Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, and included performances from Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Lauren Alaina, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Keith Urban and more. Vince Gill was even joined by Muppets star Miss Piggy for a special song. The special is scheduled to air Thursday, December 1st on ABC.

Seen And Heard At The CMA Awards

2011-11-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

Joshua Scott Jones of Steel Magnolia made his first public appearance since announcing his entrance to rehab.

Miranda Lambert’s fourth studio album, Four the Record, debuted at #1 on the country charts. Miranda said, “I actually found out yesterday that I made history having all four albums go #1.”

Lionel Richie told CMT’s Evan Farmer that the CMAs are the country Oscars, and that he would “maybe” consider getting The Commodores back together.

The Band Perry said the CMAs are “the equivalent of making it to the Super Bowl.”

Lionel Richie gave Lady A’s Hillary Scott wedding advice, urging her, “It’s your day, that’s all you’ve got to remember.” Miranda Lambert added, “I’d say eat! I forgot to eat, I was starving.”
In regards to children, Miranda Lambert said that she and husband Blake Shelton don’t want to raise a baby on the bus, so kids aren’t in the plans for a few more years.

Miranda Lambert celebrates her 28th birthday today and said that Blake Shelton got her diamond earrings, which she asked for.

Thompson Square’s Shawna told CMT’s Katie Cook, “This is our first real CMA experience.” Kiefer followed up by saying, “We’re on cloud nine right now.”

Jason Aldean admitted to CMT’s Evan Farmer, “Being nominated and performing is a completely different experience for me, all the awards are great but Entertainer is the big daddy.”

Chris Young said, “It feels good to be nominated for New Artist,” this was also Chris’ first time performing at the awards.

Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott told CMT’s Katie Cook that she found her wedding dress while she was in New York City for Saturday Night Live.

Reba McEntire revealed that she and her tour-mates – The Band Perry, Edens Edge, Steel Magnolia, James Otto – have a party every Friday night on the All the Women I Am Tour.

CMA Award Winners

2011-11-09T23:45:00.002-07:00

Entertainer of the Year
Taylor Swift

Female Vocalist of the Year
Miranda Lambert

Male Vocalist of the Year
Blake Shelton

Vocal Group of the Year
Lady Antebellum

Vocal Duo of the Year
Sugarland

New Artist of the Year
The Band Perry

Single of the Year
“If I Die Young” – The Band Perry / Produced by Paul Worley

Album of the Year
My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean / Produced by Michael Knox

Song of the Year
“If I Die Young” – Kimberly Perry

Musical Event of the Year
“Don’t You Wanna Stay” - Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson

Music Video of the Year
“You and Tequila” – Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter / Director: Shaun Silva

Musician of the Year
Mac McAnally – Guitar

Almost Time To Own The Night

2011-11-08T14:06:00.002-07:00

Lady Antebellum will kick off the 2011 leg of their Own the Night Tour this Friday night in Knoxville, Tennessee. The trio are looking forward to the run, especially since they’ll be joined by member Charles Kelley’s brother Josh Kelley as an opener. Charles said, “He’s just a great energy. He’s such a positive person to have around, so everybody loves him, everybody knows him, ya know, on our crew, very well. It will be a fun, fun tour. We’re looking forward to it.” The trek also includes Randy Montana and Edens Edge, who will switch off dates. The El Paso show will feature Randy Montana, next Wednesday, November 16th.

Ever wonder what a day in the life of Luke Bryan is like? Luke shares his life on and off the road in the November 21st issue of Country Weekly. Luke practices his bow hunting skills, and gives a sneak peek into family time with his wife, Caroline, and their sons Bo and Tate. Luke is currently on the CMT on Tour: Luke Bryan Tailgates and Tanlines. Also look for Luke serving as the CMA Awards red carpet correspondent for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, interviewing Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Lionel Richie, Darius Rucker and Reba McEntie.

Is It Monday Already?

2011-08-29T07:26:00.005-06:00

Tonight on NBC's Dateline, watch for a two-part interview featuring Miranda Lambert. TV host Hoda Kotb sits down with Miranda, her husband Blake Shelton and the members of Miranda’s all-girl trio, Pistol Annies for the episode.

Carrie Underwood has a date with Tony Bennett. And no, Mike does not have to be jealous. Because Carrie can be heard singing “It Had to Be You,” with Tony on his new album, Duets II, as well as on the season two premiere of CBS’ Blue Bloods, she has been invited to join Tony live in concert on September 24th in Los Angeles. The performance will double as Tony’s 85th birthday celebration.

And finally, did you know that Jamaicans love country music? Get this. John Rich has co-produced an album that blends reggae music with country. The album, Reggae’s Gone Country, features reggae artists performing country music classics by artists such as Patsy Cline, George Strait, Kenny Rogers, George Jones and others. Look for the album beginning August 30th.

Grandpa Strait

2011-08-26T07:41:00.004-06:00

George Strait and Billy Ray Cyrus have something to share cigars over. Yesterday we heard the happy news from Billy Ray; today we hear the same news that George Strait will be a grandfather. George's son, Bubba, and his wife Tamara, who were married last December, are expecting their first child in February. George and his wife, Norma, are thrilled. By the way, Bubba helped co-write seven of the new songs on George's upcoming album.

The pair of shoes Shania Twain was wearing when she tripped and fell at this year’s CMT Music Awards went up for auction on eBay recently. The auction ended this week and the final bid was $9,000! Shania autographed the shoes, which are size 6, black satin BCBG Max Azria heels. The money will benefit Shania’s charity, Kids Can.

Taylor Swift has been rocking the crowds in Los Angeles this week as part of her Speak Now Tour. On Tuesday night, Taylor shocked fans by bringing Justin Bieber on stage. Then on Wednesday night, Jason Mraz came out on stage and sang “I’m Yours.” After the show, Taylor tweeted, “I couldn't love LA crowds more. I can't believe how awesome tonight was. And thank you [Jason Mraz] for singing "I'm Yours" with me!!” Makes you wonder who she's going to surprise the crowd with during this weekend's shows. Are Lady Gaga and Katie Perry busy?

Probably. The MTV VMA's are this weekend. Taylor Swift’s “Mean” is nominated for Best Video with a Message. The VMA's will air live from Los Angeles on MTV on Sunday. Taylor’s video will compete against “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem featuring Rihanna, “Firework” by Katy Perry, “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga, "F****** Perfect" by Pink and “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” by Rise Against.

And speaking of awards, The Band Perry and Jake Owen will reveal the CMA Awards finalists in five categories on Good Morning America on September 6th. Jake will also perform “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” on the show. Later in the morning, Jerrod Niemann and Thompson Square will announce the remaining finalists during a press conference at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

His Achey Heart Didn't Break Before 50

2011-08-25T07:28:00.005-06:00

Billy Ray Cyrus turns 50 today with the news that he will soon be a grandfather. Billy's 22-year-old son, Trace, and his girlfriend, Brenda Song, are expecting their first child together. Brenda is an actress. You may have seen her on the Disney Channel’s Suite Life of Zack and Cody or in the moive, The Social Network. Trace is a member of the pop-rock band Metro Station.

Dierks Bentley is taking his Miles & Music charity motorcycle ride to Chicago October 9th. The ride will be followed by a concert featuring Dierks, the Eli Young Band, Jerrod Niemann and more. With these rides, Dierks has helped to raise millions of dollars for Children’s Hospitals across the country. The event is in its sixth year, but this is its first stop in the Windy City. Proceeds from the ride will be donated to Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital.

At her Speak Now tour stop in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, Taylor Swift surprised fans by bringing out teen sensation Justin Bieber to sing his hit, “Baby.” Taylor tweeted after the show, “You think you’ve heard LOUD screaming in your life.. Then [Justin Bieber] comes out and does a surprise song during your show. Woah. Unreal.”

And finally, Brad Paisley has joined the Cell Phones for Soldiers campaign which sends 60-minute calling cards to U.S. troops around the world so that they can call home. When fans donate a used cell phone to the program, a calling card is distributed to a soldier in need. Collection boxes can be found at Brad’s H20 II tour stops or you can visit bradpaisley.com for information on how to mail one in.

Album News

2011-08-24T07:16:00.001-06:00

Martina McBride shares three new songs from her October 11th album, Eleven, on the latest installment of Unplugged. The show debuts tonight on CMT.com.

Lady Antebellum is teasing fans with a sneak peek of the songs on their upcoming new album. The 30-second snippets of all 12 tracks are available now on the Amazon music site. Own the Night will be officially released on September 13th.

Music fans and movie buffs will want to be looking for a deluxe, 10th anniversary re-release of the ‘O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack to hit stores this week. The expanded edition includes the original music plus 14 new tracks on an additional disc.

And finally, in addition to his new album, Here for a Good Time, George Strait has a greatest hits album coming out in September. The CD, which is part of the Icon series of releases, will include 11 of his hits. Here for a Good Time comes out September 6th. The Icon Hits CD is scheduled for release on September 13th.

Busy Tuesday; Lots Coming Up On TV

2011-08-23T00:04:00.000-06:00

Sad to start the day with more tragic updates from the Indiana State Fair stage collapse, but it looks like the death toll is up to 7. Meagan Toothman, the 24-year-old Cincinnati cheerleading coach, showed signs to her family that she was no longer with them by Sunday night. She was put on life-support Monday morning, and was expected to undergo surgery in order to fulfill her wish of being an organ donor. Sugarland is planning a memorial for the victims at a point in the future after the families have had time to grieve.

News From Around The Country
Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks are going to be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame this fall. Alan, who has written or co-written 24 of his 35 #1 singles, says song ideas can come to him from anywhere! Alan said, “I’ve heard ‘em in dialogue in movies or in a magazine ad or billboard, and then, some of them just come clean out of thin air. Just, all the sudden you’re hummin’ this melody and this hook just pops up there. It’s pretty strange.” Alan and Garth join hit songwriters John Bettis ("Heartland" and the theme to the TV show Growing Pains), Thom Schuyler (hits for Randy Travis, Clint Black, and LeAnn Rimes), and Allen Shamblin ("Don't Laugh At Me," "The House That Built Me") as this year’s inductees.

Also in Alan's fall future, he will perform at a commemoration event for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. On September 11th, Alan will perform at the Washington National Cathedral as part of A Concert for Hope. Portions of the weekend commemoration will be broadcast to military men and women worldwide on the Pentagon Channel and on numerous ABC affiliates around the country. Events will also be streamed live at calltocompassion.com.

Wouldn't you say that Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are a doll of a couple? Well beginning September 1st, you can own your very own Tim and Faith dolls. With Tim and Faith's help, “The Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Doll Gift Set” was created by Barbie Collector to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary this October. The set is available online at BarbieCollector.com.

The cast for the upcoming season of Survivor has been announced, and this year an already-famous face will be on the island. Whitney Duncan ("Skinny Dippin'") will appear to pursue the $1,000,000 prize and the title of Sole Survivor. This is Whitney's second run at reality television; although pursuing her musical aspirations by singing on Nashville Star is a lot different than this social game. Survivor: South Pacific begins September 14th on CBS.

And finally, on October 28th, Lady Antebellum will return to Charles' and Dave's hometown of Augusta, Georgia for the dedication of Columbia County’s new Evans Town Center Park. According to the Augusta Chronicle, the facility’s 5,000 seat amphitheater is being named for the trio, while the stage is taking its name from Charles’ brother pop-turned-country-singer Josh Kelley. Josh isn’t expected to be in attendance, but tickets to see the trio go on sale October 1st.

Follow Up On The Indiana Stage Collapse

2011-08-22T07:15:00.004-06:00

A little over a week after the tragic stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair, further details are emerging. First, the fairly good news. There's a touching story of heroism surrounding Maggie, a 3-year-old little girl who was in the “Sugarpit” section of the audience at the time the stage fell. Her mother was knocked unconscious and left unable to stand due to a leg injury. According to the Indianapolis Star, at least seven strangers pitched in to help bring Maggie to safety as the little girl had sustained a life-threatening injury to her arm. An assembly-line style system of police officers, doctors and fans helped move people out of the area. The mother and her little girl have been reunited but both have a long recovery ahead of them. Maggie was wearing a tutu at the concert which had to be cut off due to her injuries. But, according to reports the little girl received two new tutus from friends over the past week. The Star also reports that she received a balloon bouquet to her hospital room from Sugarland.

Next is the sad news. A sixth person, Jennifer Haskell, a 22-year old student of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana is the latest victim to have died of injuries suffered during the horrific stage collapse. She was studying to become an athletic trainer. At least 40 people were hurt in the tragedy and several of them still remain in the hospital.

The succession of events leads next to the first wrongful death lawsuits being filed. According to Reuters, the suits were filed on behalf of one of the victims and her family member, who was among the injured. The suit names Mid-America Sound Corp, Live Nation Worldwide and Lucas Entertainment Group. The Indiana State Fair Commission has hired a New York engineering company to coordinate and conduct a structural investigation into the collapse, while a Washington, D.C. based firm will analyze the fair’s preparedness and response to the tragedy.

In today's lighter news, Martina McBride, Darius Rucker and Lady Antebellum have been added to the entertainment lineup for the MDA Labor Day Telethon. Their performances were taped at the Opry earlier this year and will be played during the annual program. The telethon airs on Sunday, September 4th. And finally, look for the new video from Sara Evans for “My Heart Can’t Tell You No” to world premiere today on CMT.

Sugarland Sweetens Up New Mexico

2011-08-19T00:43:00.000-06:00

Sugarland was back on stage last in Albuquerque for their first show since the horrific stage collapse that happened just before their concert at the Indiana State Fair last weekend. The accident killed five people and injured many others. In a message posted on their website, the duo shared that the incident helped bring their touring family closer together and that they believe music can be used as a “healer.” Before their show in Albuquerque, fans were asked to make a donation to the relief fund in Indiana. It was also reported that stagehands wore t-shirts honoring their colleague, Nathan Bird, who lost his life in the collapse. Jennifer led a moment of silence before the concert began. Sugarland plans to hold a private memorial for the victims in Indiana at a later date.

Brad Paisley rocked London’s O2 Arena this past week for a full house of British fans. The show’s encore brought the audience a huge surprise as Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood joined Brad to perform “Let the Good Times Roll” and “Alcohol” with Darius Rucker. Brad’s European tour continues this weekend with three shows in Ireland and four shows in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark next week.

Dierks Turns Down Trump

2011-08-18T00:32:00.000-06:00

After winning this past season of Celebrity Apprentice, John Rich suggested that armchair apprentice Dierks Bentley would be a good candidate for the next season. But, with a new tour and kids at home, Dierks admits that he had to send his regrets to The Donald, “I did get the call, which I was totally flattered to get. It’s just for me, at this time, where I am, I’m really happy. I have the road and the show and the fans and the music and the songwriting and the making records. That stuff brings you so much joy and happiness…a family and everything that comes with that. I’m good. I don’t need anything more right now.” Dierks will head out on the Country & Cold Cans tour, beginning October 6th in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Luke Bryan’s new CD, Tailgates & Tanlines, soared to the top of the Billboard Country Albums chart this week and landed at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The album sold over 145,000 copies in its first week, edging out Eric Church’s Chief to become the second highest debut for a country album this year behind Brad Paisley’s This Is Country Music.

Kenny Chesney set a new record for country music concerts in the NY-NJ area this past Saturday. With an estimated attendance of 55,000 fans at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the concert broke the former record, set by a 1983 festival featuring Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Linda Ronstadt at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

Next February 26th would have been Johnny Cash’s 80th birthday and to mark the occasion, Legacy Recordings has been releasing a ton of material from the Man in Black. The latest set will be called Johnny Cash: Bootleg Vol. 3 – Live Around the World. It features 50 of Johnny’s live performances from 1956 to 1979 – 39 of which have never been released. Among them are concert stops at the White House, in Vietnam and elsewhere. Get them all by picking up the double-disc album when it hits shelves on October 11th. The release coincides with the October 18th publication of John Carter Cash’s book, House of Cash: The Life, Legacy and Archives of The Man in Black.

Alan Pays Tribute In Norway

2011-08-17T00:01:00.000-06:00

Alan Jackson just returned from a Scandinavian tour which included three shows in Sweden and Norway. During the run, Alan played to more than 30-thousand enthusiastic fans. Songs like "Good Time" and "Remember When" were crowd favorites, as was his current hit "Long Way to Go”. In Norway, crowds were especially moved as Jackson paid tribute to victims of recent bombing and shooting tragedies in the country, during his performance of “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)”. At both shows, the names of those who lost their lives were shown on the video screens against a backdrop of roses and the Norwegian flag.

A two-hour DVD featuring behind-the-scenes footage of Taylor Swift’s first headlining tour will be released this fall. Taylor Swift’s Journey to Fearless also features 13 performances, including “Love Story,” “You Belong With Me,” “Today Was a Fairytale” and “Our Song." Taylor narrates the DVD and provided home movies and personal photos that chronicle her life and career leading up to the release of her multiplatinum Fearless album. The DVD is scheduled for release on October 11th.

You can learn the dances to all your favorite country tunes when Country Dance 2 for Wii hits stores this holiday season. Shake your ‘thang’ to everything from Carrie Underwood’s “All American Girl” and Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” to Billy Currington’s “People Are Crazy” and Ashton Shepherd’s “Look it Up.” The game includes options for players to line dance, duel or play with up to three other people at once.

A few Americans have made the list of nominees for the British Country Music Awards. Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, the Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley and the Secret Sisters are up for International Act of the Year. The winners will be announced October 23rd in England.

From Their Side of the Stage Collapse

2011-08-16T10:23:00.000-06:00

The Associated Press reports that Sugarland was preparing to walk onstage Saturday night at the Indiana State Fair, before tour manager Hellen Rollens told them to wait a bit longer. A minute later, the stage and light rigging came crashing down.

“There was no running out anywhere,” band manager Gail Gellman told the Associated Press on Monday. “No one knew what happened. It was just the moment when your eyes get big.” Gellman was in Las Vegas at the time of the storm, but was able to share details of the story after speaking with the band and crew. “Everybody was standing in a prayer circle getting ready to go onstage, and Hellen, as she was walking down the ramp, the stage fell. So her decision to hold them for literally a minute saved every band member and crew’s life.”

As they heard and felt the stage toppling over, the band and crew hit the ground or took cover against a wall. Then everyone made their way to the tour bus. In a statement, Jennifer Nettles said that she was moved by the heroism shown by fans who rushed to help after things had settled.

A memorial service was held yesterday for the five people who lost their lives in the collapse. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels praised the “Hoosier” spirit of fans that pitched in to help the rescue efforts, saying that there was “a hero every 10 feet on Saturday night.” The Indiana Occupational Health and Safety Administration and state fire marshal’s office are investigating the incident which, according to fair officials could take months.

Sugarland plans a public memorial for the victims after the families have had their private time. The band will begin to heal with their first live performance following the horrific crash on Thursday in Albuquerque.

In other concert news, Merle Haggard was forced to cancel a performance at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth over the weekend. According to the Associated Press, Merle went to a North Texas hospital Saturday for some tests, and didn’t leave the facility until Sunday. He’s now on his bus going back home to Redding, California, where he’ll be checked by his own doctors. The illness results in the postponment of his show that would have taken place in Ruidoso on Sunday.

Party At The Opry

2011-08-15T10:38:00.003-06:00

It was a star-studded salute to Vince Gill at the Grand Ole Opry over the weekend. The celebration was in honor of Vince's 20th anniversary as an Opry member. Opry legends Little Jimmy Dickens, “Whisperin’ Bill” Anderson and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Jean Shepard all stepped out to honor Vince. Emmylou Harris took the stage with Vince to sing her hit “Two More Bottles of Wine” and “If I Needed You.” The night also included a special video montage of Vince’s great moments with his Opry family and a special performance by his daughter, Jenny Gill, who made her dad proud and earned a standing ovation with his song “If You Ever Have Forever In Mind.” Vince said, “Having my daughter Jenny here is perfect, because the first time I was ever invited to play here—I’d waited my whole life to get that invitation—I turned down because she had a talent show that Saturday night, and I promised I’d play guitar for her. I said, ‘I can’t believe I’m saying no, but I promised my kid I’d do that. I’m gonna do that.’” Vince’s wife, Amy Grant sang “Better Than A Hallelujah” and “True Love,” which she wrote for her hubby. A touched Vince closed out the show with his hits, “Look At Us” and the song he says landed him his first appearance on the Opry, “When I Call Your Name.”

When George Strait’s 39th studio album, Here for a Good Time, drops on September 6th, look for Faith Hill to join George on “A Showman’s Life,” which laments the not-so-publicized side of a musician’s life. The song also appeared on Gary Allan’s 2003 record See if I Care, as a duet with Willie Nelson.

Six Nashville Metro Police officers were suspended after taking an off-duty job escorting Taylor Swift and her security team around Music City. The Tennessean reports that the officers had received approval from their superiors to take the job, which paid more than $30 an hour, but then top brass rejected it. It was then that the officers decided to go ahead and do it anyway, hoping that their superiors wouldn’t find out. According to the article, Taylor was “unaware” of the approval problems, as was Firefly Entertainment, the company that hired them for her. “As soon as Firefly was made aware that there was a problem, they stopped using these officers immediately,” Taylor’s spokeswoman assured.

Kellie Pickler will make her TV acting debut on the CW’s show, 90210, this fall. Kellie will play “Sally,” the country-singing cousin of “Austin” in one episode of the upcoming season, as well as sing her latest single, “Tough.” 90210’s 4th season begins September 13th on the CW.

More On The Indiana Stage Collapse

2011-08-14T14:55:00.000-06:00

Five people have died and at least 45 others were hospitalized with injuries after a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday night where Sugarland was about to play a concert. Wind gusts brought down a canopy, scaffolding and other stage rigging in just seconds. The horrific event happened after opening act Sara Bareilles finished her set and before Sugarland took the stage.

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush posted to the Sugarland website, “We are all right…Many of our fans and friends in Indianapolis may not be. Please keep them in your thoughts, prayers, or whatever form of strength you are able to send.”

Just before the stage fell to the ground, an announcement was made that high winds were moving into the area and the show’s 15-thousand attendees were reportedly told to be ready to seek shelter. Fair activities were closed today but will reopen tomorrow with plans for a memorial service to remember those killed and injured. Sugarland also canceled their concert in Iowa tonight, but will resume their tour on Thursday in Albuquerque.

Concert Stage Collapses

2011-08-13T22:50:00.002-06:00

Tragedy struck the Indiana State Fair tonight. A freak wind gust is blamed for knocking down the concert stage, killing 4 and injuring many more, prior to a scheduled Sugarland performance.

Video of the heart-stopping event was captured by fans in the grandstands. Here's the link if you desire to watch.

CMA Music Fest On TV This Weekend

2011-08-12T11:07:00.005-06:00

Lady Antebellum will star as a musical guest on the upcoming season of Saturday Night Live! The trio will perform on the second episode of the show’s 37th season, which begins September 24th. Actress Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Mike & Molly) will be the host on Lady A’s episode. Don't miss Lady A this weekend, as they answer fan questions on CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock, airing Sunday on ABC.

Taylor Swift has announced she will extend her Speak Now World Tour into Australia and New Zealand in March 2012. Currently, Taylor is headlining sold-out stadiums and arenas across North America. The music video for her latest single, “Sparks Fly” was just released this week and features footage from the tour.

Luke Bryan had to get stitches in his forehead after falling off a skateboard he had just purchased in New York City. Luke bought the skateboard a few hours after appearing on NBC’s Today show. He posted a photo of his stitches on Twitter, calling the accident his “latest screw up.” Luke wraps up his journey on Tim McGraw’s Emotional Traffic tour this weekend. He'll headline this year's CMT on Tour with guests Lee Brice, Josh Thompson and CMT's Next Superstar winner Matt Mason.

Brad Paisley Gets Revenge

2011-08-11T11:22:00.001-06:00

Watch what happened when Brad Paisley took prank revenge on Eden's Edge after they replaced his West Virginia bus doormat with one from their native Arkansas.

Also fun, watch Lady Antebellum "Lady Haze" Jason Aldean's song, "Dirt Road Anthem," into "Country Club Anthem."

MidWeek Notes

2011-08-10T11:29:00.000-06:00

Taylor Swift is one of Hollywood’s Most Eligible Singles, according to US Magazine. Taylor’s relationships have been known to be inspiration for her songs, and therefore the magazine states: “dating Swift can be a risky move.” Also on the list are Joe Jonas, actresses Mila Kunis and Emma Watson, actor Gerard Butler and more.

The Dirt Drifters are celebrating the release of their debut album, This is My Blood, by giving away 30-thousand copies of the new CD. Fans who come to their concerts throughout the summer will receive two copies of the album, one for themselves and one to give away to a friend. This is My Blood features their singles, “Always a Reason” and “Something Better,” available at iTunes now.

Blake Shelton Cuts Footloose

2011-08-09T11:36:00.005-06:00

Blake Shelton is just one of the country stars featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming movie remake of the 1984 classic, Footloose. The flick features Julianne Hough as “Ariel” and Dennis Quaid as the town minister. On the soundtrack, Blake sings the title track, originally done by Kenny Loggins. Zac Brown, Big & Rich, and Gretchen Wilson are a few of the other artists featured.

And speaking of Blake, in a recent interview with Parade magazine, the 35-year-old newlywed talks about everything from politics to divorce. Here are some highlights:
· His stance on same-sex marriage: “I have a life and I want everyone else to have one, too.”
· His divorce to his first wife, Kaynette: “It was the worst experience of my life. Nothing was worth risking that again. I wanted to be really sure this time, and I wanted Miranda [Lambert] to be really sure.”
· How The Voice’s swivel chairs made him decide to do the show: “They’re goofy, but I thought that would be fun, sitting in those big red chairs like you’re the king of the mountain.”
· Why moving back to Oklahoma has helped him as a musician: “I ask myself, ‘Can I picture anybody I know back home sitting in their truck cranking this up?’

This past weekend, Craig Morgan had his head shaved for a good cause. The haircut took place during his 5th Annual Charity Motorcross Ride, Concert and Sporting Clay Shoot. Former NFL player Robb Nelson bid $1,200 as part of the event’s live auction to give Craig a high and tight cut. Another high priced item was a custom dirt bike that brought in $12,500. Proceeds from the event’s activities benefit Billy’s Place, a home for temporarily displaced children in Dickson, Tennessee.

Alan Jackson is headed across the pond this week to play shows in Sweden and Norway. Alan will play three shows, with the first in Stockholm, Sweden. This is his second international tour this year, following his six sold-out shows in Australia earlier in the year.

Tracy Lawrence was in a hurry to leave the Smokin’ Country concert in Ohio this weekend. Tracy allegedly got into a fight with the concert’s promoter, Elmer Cole, Jr., when the concert staff didn’t extract the singer’s bus from the muddy parking lot in a timely manner. According to the Advertiser-Tribune, both were charged with disorderly conduct, a minor misdemeanor, and sent to a local hospital. The Seneca County Sheriff revealed that Tracy did suffered facial injuries, while Cole appeared to be fine. No word yet on whether either party will press charges.

The Oaks Are Finally Members of the Opry

2011-08-08T11:43:00.005-06:00

The Oak Ridge Boys were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry Saturday night by Opry member Jimmy Dickens. The legendary country music group made up of William Lee Golden, Joe Bonsall, Richard Sterban and Duane Allen was invited to join the Opry last month. The group was surprised on stage by a video greeting from former President George Bush who explained that he has been a fan since they performed “Elvira” on the White House lawn.

Taylor Swift won Teen Choice Awards in five of the six categories she was nominated in during last night's awards show. Taylor won Choice Music: Female Artist, Female Country Artist, Country Single for “Mean,” Choice Break Up Song for “Back to December,” Choice Red Carpet Fashion Icon and she was honored with the Ultimate Choice award. Actress Emma Stone presented Taylor with the awards. In other country categories, Jason Aldean won the Choice Music: Male Country Artist award and Lady Antebellum picked up the Choice Music: Country Group surfboard. Taylor was the only country artist to show up in person.

Ronnie Dunn has officially joined a new kind of “million-air’s club.” The legendary singer-songwriter has garnered more than 60-million performances of his extensive music catalog and was recently honored with several MillionAir awards. Though Ronnie names “Neon Moon” as his favorite work, he admits that it was “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” that let him know that he was onto something special as a songwriter.

Keith Urban’s first fragrance has been in the works for some time now. Finally, the cologne has a name, Phoenix. Keith said that he didn’t name it after himself because the last thing he wants to “make a man do” is have to say, “I’m wearing Keith Urban” when asked about his cologne. This is Keith’s first fragrance but he knows a thing or two about them, admitting that he has been a Brut man in the past and more recently he’s worn Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana and Doir for men. Phoenix is available for pre-order now.

Local and National Music News

2011-04-08T08:08:00.001-06:00

Last night, The Bellamy Brothers were in town to sing their hits to the crowd at Hurricane Alley. Howard and David Bellamy have toured extensively around the world, and have made stops in the southwest region in the recent past. This was their first stop in Las Cruces proper in many years. The mostly middle-aged crowd seemed to enjoy the hits and a night out for dancing. Tonight, EMI recording artist Troy Olsen takes that same stage at Hurricane Alley. Tickets are $15 and best purchased in advance to assure entry. The merchandise table will be selling copies of the special CD that contains Troy’s hits, “Summer Thing,” “Good Hands,” and the local smash, “Truth or Consequences.” This exclusive CD is available at Troy’s tour stops only.

Meanwhile, on TV tonight, Las Cruces native Bri Bagwell make her television debut on CMT’s Next Superstar. The show comes on at 10pm on CMT, so set your DVRs if you’re going to be at the Troy Olsen concert. On the premiere episode, all the contestants will be moving in the house together, and then they will have to perform musical tasks to avoid being eliminated. The whittling down of contestants is supposed to ultimately result in a viewer vote for the winner. Go Bri!

Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” has now surpassed Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” to become the most downloaded country song in history. Meanwhile, the trio is on their way to Australia to do a few tour dates with Keith Urban.

Carrie Underwood appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday to dish to Ellen about married life. Carrie said that she and NHL star Mike Fisher are “great” but marriage “comes with its own wonderfulness and challenges.” Now that he has been traded to the Nashville Predators, Mike recently moved into Carrie’s home, and she says that he “brought all his crap with him”. “He’s not a hoarder,” she said, “but he’s close, maybe.” Carrie complains that Mike has too many shirts and admits he would say she “nags” at him to clean up his stuff. Carrie makes her big-screen acting debut as a youth counselor in the movie Soul Surfer, in theaters today.

And finally, here's a bit of fun for a Feel Good Friday. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jerry Lee Lewis is scheduled to record a live album in Nashville at Third Man Records, an independent record store owned by rock musician Jack White from the White Stripes. The April 16th concert coincides with “Record Store Day,” an event celebrating the more than 700 independently-owned record stores that still exist in the U.S. The album will feature Lewis performing with a band of legendary studio musicians. The show will be recorded direct to analog tape, pressed in vinyl at the nearby United Record Pressing Plant and available for sale within weeks.

Country Expands Its Influence On TV

2011-04-06T08:41:00.003-06:00

Miranda Lambert is reported to be serving as executive producer of a TV show based largely on her childhood in East Texas. The scripted drama will tell the story of a family whose parents are private investigators and the children assist in solving crimes. Miranda was raised in Lindale, Texas, where her parents, Rick and Beverly Lambert, operated a detective agency. Miranda’s mother will also be an executive producer of the program. It is said to be a production of the ABC Family network.

A new memoir by Ashley Judd will reveal the details of growing up in the Judd house. Excerpts from All That Is Bitter and Sweet are showing up online and are said to include horrific stories about her childhood. "I loved my mother," Ashley writes about Naomi Judd, “But at the same time I dreaded the mayhem and uncertainty that followed her everywhere.” You may also want to catch Ashley’s search into her family history when she is featured on the TV series Who Do You Think You Are? this Friday on NBC. Ashley’s not the only one giving a behind-the-scenes look at the family. A new reality series follows Naomi and Wynonna Judd as they tour for the last time. The Judds premieres this Sunday on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network. The Judds have released a new album, I Will Stand By You: The Essential Collection. It features 12 Judds hits and two new songs.

Also premiering on Friday is the new reality series CMT’s Next Superstar. The first episode showcases move-in day as the 10 contestants take up home in the Music Mansion. For their first task, they’re responsible for turning a smash hit in another genre outside of country into a country song. At the end of the episode, one will be eliminated. Las Cruces’ favorite contestant, Bri Bagwell, is on the show because she heard about the auditions from Miranda Lambert’s mom. Bri said, “Well it was really weird because I’m the biggest Miranda Lambert fan there is and um, her mom called me. She said that they’re having auditions in Texas at their winery. And the next thing I knew I was on the show!”

Legenday Mel McDaniel Passes Away

2011-04-01T08:11:00.001-06:00

Sad news to post on April Fool’s Day. No joke. Grand Ole Opry star Mel McDaniel passed away Thursday evening at age 68. He had been battling lung cancer for several years.

Mel’s beloved hits include “Louisiana Saturday Night” (1981), “Big Ole Brew” (1982), “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On” (1984), “Let it Roll” (1985), “Stand Up” (1985). Additionally, Mel had success with “Gentle to Your Senses” (1977), “God Made Love” (1978), “Right in the Palm of Your Hand” (1981), “Take Me To the Country” (1982) and “I Call it Love” (1983), “Real Good Feel Good Song” (1988) and his cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Stand on It” (1986). His No. 1 hit “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On” was nominated for both a Grammy and a CMA Award.

Mel also had a fair share of success as a songwriter. He co-penned “God Made Love,” and Conway Twitty’s 1978 hit “The Grandest Lady of Them All.” The song “Goodbye Marie,” was also from Mel’s library; it was recorded by Bobby Goldsboro in 1981 and by Kenny Rogers in 1986. Hoyt Axton, Doug Kershaw, Livewire and other artists have also recorded Mel McDaniel writings.

Mel McDaniel was born Sept, 6, 1942 in Checotah, OK. Yes, the same Checotah where Carrie Underwood was born. Mel cut his musical teeth in the honky-tonks of Tulsa, and later in the nightclubs of Anchorage, Alaska before moving to Nashville in 1974. In Music City, Mel sang at local Holiday Inn lounges and recorded song demos before signing with Capitol Records in 1976. He remained with the label until 1990. Mel joined the Grand Ol Opry cast on January 11, 1986.

In recent history, Mel made news in 1996 when he was badly hurt after a fall from a stage in Louisiana. His injuries were nearly fatal, and he never fully recovered. Regardless, he continued to perform on his beloved Opry and record; his most recent album being the 2006 release of Reloaded: Tried True and New on Aspirion Records.

Mel once said, “I wanted to be a singer because I wanted to make people feel good with my music.” Night after night, year after year, he achieved that goal on stages and radio dials across America. Mel McDaniel’s music is bound to make people feel good for years to come.

Country Stars on TV

2011-03-31T08:35:00.003-06:00

Several projects are in the works to bring country artists to television in non-traditional capacities. Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band is producing a program for the Outdoor Channel that will combine three of his favorite things: hunting, cooking, and music. Fear No Evil is said to be primarily a hunting show, but while he's outdoors, Zac will find a way to introduce some cooking in places where you may not have seen it before. No word on an air date for the new show, but watch for ZBB performing with James Taylor on Sunday’s ACM Awards.

Lee Brice appears on a special ACM Award episode of The Price is Right today. Instead of competing on the game show, Lee actually helps host Drew Carey announce prices. “I thought when they first asked me to do it, I was like, ‘First of all, are you kidding me?” Lee said, “This is the show I grew up, since I was a kid, watching.’ Then I thought maybe I was going to get to be a contestant but this was actually cooler. Being the person on the stage, back-stage, running around. This was awesome.”

Wynonna and Naomi Judd are getting ready to launch their new show, The Judds, on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network on April 10th. Naomi says the show is “real” and unscripted, but it’s not “reality.” It’s more like a documentary series following the process of touring the country for the first time in years and healing their relationship that has been strained by the ups and downs of their career.

Meanwhile, Shania Twain’s new show for the Oprah Network, Why Not? premieres on May 8th. She also has a new autobiography coming out on May 3rd.

And finally, Jewel is going to be a part of this summer’s reality competition, Going Platinum. Interestinly, she's not the only one in her family to do TV. Her dad, Atz Kilcher, has joined the cast of Discovery’s Mountain Men of Alaska. His official website lists him as “Alaska’s foremost singer, song writer, yodeling, story-telling recording artist.” Now, he’ll be filmed as he uses his hunting and fishing skills to live off the land.

The Peculiarities of Country

2011-03-30T08:57:00.001-06:00

The Academy of Country Music has announced the winners of the awards which are no longer televised. Reba received the Career Achievement Award, which goes to an artist who promotes country music in multiple areas of the entertainment world. Taylor Swift was recognized with the Jim Reeves International Award for her contributions to the acceptance of country music around the world. The movie Country Stong received the Tex Ritter Award, given in appropriate years to a film that features country music. Garth Brooks and Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers received The Cliffe Stone Pioneer Award. Tom T. Hall and Hank Cochran were honored with the Poet’s Award. Joe’s Bar in Chicago was named Nightclub of the Year, the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville was named Venue of the Year, and several musicians honored for their respective instruments. Granted, the show would take all night if they put every award on TV. But don’t you miss the presentations to honor the forefathers of the format when they used to do the Pioneer Award on TV?

Good news if you missed Kenny Chesney’s movie in the theatres last summer. The DVD of Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D is now available in stores.

And just when you thought Alan Jackson was so big that he can justify a tour to Australia, he’s reverting back to the smallest of venues – a middle school – at least for a special occasion. On April 14th, Alan will take the stage for a sold-out show at the Rogersville Middle School in Rogersville, Tennessee. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the area’s Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. Tickets for the event sold out immediately after going on sale as fans jumped at the opportunity to see Alan in the rare, intimate setting. No doubt the wheels of imagination are turning for other Relay For Life teams eager to raise cash for the cause. Makes you wonder who else would be available to book?

And finally, it appears that Willie Nelson might be getting a break in his pot possession case. Even though the U-S Border Patrol in Texas found weed on the singer’s tour bus, according to TMZ.com, the prosecutor is allegedly willing to let Willie off with a one-hundred dollar fine if he sings “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” inside the courtroom. The prosecutor will count the performance as community service. A judge has to approve it and Willie has to agree to do it, but if he’s convicted, Nelson could face 180 days in jail and a two-thousand dollar fine. “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” can be found on Willie’s 1975 album, Red Headed Stranger. It is his first number one hit and was the third-biggest song of 1975 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Prepping For The ACM Awards

2011-03-29T07:21:00.003-06:00

Not that CBS executives are nervous about Blake Shelton’s mouth or anything, or they wouldn’t have asked him to co-host the ACM Awards with Reba. But in making the media rounds to promote this Sunday’s show, a network executive let Blake know that they’re not taking any chances. Blake said, “He called and I said, ‘I take this serious. It’s a big deal to me and, and I definitely wouldn’t bring Reba down with me you know, but…makin’ fun of…you know, Craig Morgan’s toupee or whatever.’ He goes, ‘Well the reason I was calling you was to tell you that they’re goin’ to implement a 5-second delay for the ACM’s.’ This is a true story!” While on the West Coast, Blake has shot the music video for his next single which he will premiere on the ACM’s. He’s also dropping by E!’s Chelsea Lately today, CBS’s The Talk on Thursday and The Early Show on Friday. The ACM Awards airs live from Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3rd. Also on the show, look for Darius Rucker and 25 participants from last year's ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp program performing a special song. The music camp is one of the ACM's charitable endeavors for young people with developmental disabilities. The campers wrote "Music From the Heart" last summer with songwriters Brett James and Chris Young. ….. Julianne Hough will introduce the segment supporting Nashville's Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and its efforts to help make positive differences in the lives of families dealing with developmental disabilities. The segment will provide phone and text numbers to make donations to the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. Prior to the show, Miranda Lambert is giving away a free download of “Dead Flowers,” first heard on her award-winning album, Revolution. The freebie is a special live version of the song that was recorded at the historic Ryman Auditorium. ….. And if you watch the red carpet show, keep your eyes open for John Rich’s date. John says he wants to bring Celebrity Apprentice teammate Gary Busey along with him. “I did invite him,” John said. “I don’t know if he’s gonna be able to make it but I know he wants to make it. I can’t imagine a bigger spectacle than Gary Busey walking down the red carpet at the ACM’s. Gary’s one of a kind, man. I think I’ll put him in a country music video one of these days.” If you still can’t get enough of the ACM Awards, The Academy has joined forces with ‘ZinePak to create a magazine and music combo to celebrate this year’s awards. The package features 24 songs on two CD’s from all six Entertainer of the Year nominees and tracks from some of country’s hottest up-and-coming artists. A 100-page magazine of artist profiles and interviews is also included. The ‘ZinePak is available exclusively at the biggest box retailer. News From Around The Country Taylor Swift has partnered with the cosmetic experts at Elizabeth Arden to launch her own line of perfume. Taylor has her hands in almost every aspect of the project, from the smells to the packaging. The new fragrance will be available this fall. …… Keep your eyes open for Reba Barbie dolls that are now being sold at big box retailers. She’s a red-headed doll wearing a long sparkling gown. You can’t miss her. And finally, look for Dierks Bentley to sing his new song, “Am I The Only One,” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight and tomorrow on CBS’ The Talk. He’ll also sing it Sunday on the ACM Awards.

Backside of the Weekend

2011-03-28T06:41:00.001-06:00

Canada’s Juno Awards took place last night, and while several Canadian artists were handed awards, Shania Twain received an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The Ontario native accepted her honor from Bryan Adams. Adams called Shania, “a Canadian treasure.” Shania has several projects in the works including an autobiography to be released May 3rd and a reality series,Why Not? on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network.

Meanwhile, on television last night, John Rich continued to represent for country music, albeit rather quietly this week. On Celebrity Apprentice, Teams Backbone and A.S.A.P. were tasked with producing a TV commercial for a video phone. Rapper Lil Jon lead the men’s team on an out-of-the-box concept that some, including John Rich, thought would be too risqué. Their commercial featured grandparents who call their son in Argentina and are introduced via the video phone to their grandson’s fiancé, another man, played by José Canseco. The women’s spot had a young girl studying abroad, calling home to her parents in the U.S. and introducing her deaf mother to her “host mother” played by Dionne Warwick. After the commercials were presented to over 400 company representatives, the audience picked the men’s commercial as their favorite in a 47 – 53% vote. In the board room, when Donald Trump asked Dionne Warwick who should be fired, she said, “fire me.” Trump obliged. With the men winning a third week in a row, Lil Jon picked up 40-thousand dollars for his charity, the United Methodist Children’s Home. Next week, John Rich plays project manager. He says that he’s been holding out for the big money, “I didn’t go on there ‘cause I’m sellin’ a book or anything else. I’m on there to wait for my chance to raise a ton of money for St. Jude. Matter of fact my goal is to raise a million dollars for St. Jude. When my time comes, I’m gonna call everybody I know and try to hit that mark.” Next week’s promos teased that more money will be raised in one episode than in an entire season of Apprentice.

And finally, artists from several genres have united to raise money for disaster relief efforts in Japan. Some of the biggest names in music have made their songs available on Songs for Japan, a 38-track download available on iTunes for $9.99. Proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross. The track-listing includes Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum alongside other superstars such as John Lennon, Justin Timberlake, Elton John, and Cee Lo Green.

It's George and Reba Day in NM

2011-03-25T07:16:00.001-06:00

Today is “George Strait and Reba McEntire Day” in the State of New Mexico. Along with Lee Ann Womack, they perform tonight at the Pan Am Center. Here is the complete text of the proclamation made by Governor Susana Martinez.

In appreciation of their frequent and record-breaking appearances throughout the State of New Mexico, as well as all of their combined personal achievements in the music industry, Governor Susana Martinez has proclaimed March 25, 2011 to be George Strait and Reba McEntire Day in the State of New Mexico.

PROCLAMATION

Whereas: George Strait has the most number one singles of any artist in history with his first performance at New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center in 1985; and,

Whereas: George Strait has sold nearly 69 million records and with 33 different platinum or multi-platinum albums has sold the most RIAA platinum certificates in country music and the third in all music genres; and,

Whereas: George Strait has received more than 60 major entertainment industry awards and countless nominations, has been a nominee for the CMA Entertainer of the Year 17 times and a nominee for the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year 24 times, He was named the Academy of Country Music’s Artist of the Decade in 2010, nominated for 2011 ACM Entertainer of the Year for the 12th time, bringing his all-time record to 81 ACM nominations; and,

Whereas: He has performed over 20 times in the State Of New Mexico, 13 times at New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center alone; and,

Whereas: Reba McEntire is one of the most successful female recording artists in history having sold over 55 million albums worldwide, earned 33 #1 singles, the winner
of 15 American Music Awards, 12 Academy of Country Awards, 9 People Choice Awards, 7 Country Music Awards and 2 Grammy Awards; and,

Whereas: She will be honored at the ACM’s Superstar Women of Country in April of 2011; and,

Whereas: She has performed since 1983 multiple times in the State of New Mexico, 6 times at New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center alone; and,

Whereas: George Strait and Reba McEntire have supported with their appearances the American Collegiate Talent Showcase (ACTS) scholarship program thereby enabling college students within the State of New Mexico the opportunity to pursue degrees in higher education.

Now, therefore I, Susana Martinez, Governor of The State of New Mexico, recognize George Strait and Reba McEntire for their incredible success and support of the music industry and their history of performing for thousands of New Mexicans throughout the years, and do hereby proclaim the 25th day of March, 2011 as “George Strait and Reba McEntire Day” throughout the State of New Mexico!

Alan Jackson Moves To Capitol Records

2011-03-24T06:54:00.001-06:00

After a long relationship with Arista Nashville, Alan Jackson is moving to Capitol Records. New music will be released as as a joint venture between his label, ACR (Alan's Country Records), and Capitol/EMI Records Nashville. Alan recently exited his old label after completing his contract. Capitol and EMI's country roster includes Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker and Keith Urban, along with several new artists.

Kellie Pickler, Gary Allan, Kix Brooks, and Big Kenny will all don a kilt as part of the Dressed To The Kilt fashion show in New York City on April 5th. Kellie has Scottish in her heritage so the event has always been for her. This year’s theme is Country Chic – where Scottish couture meets country cool. Proceeds from will benefit Paralyzed Veterans Of America and the Wounded Warrior Project through Sir Sean Connery’s Friends Of Scotland non-profit. Connery and Lady Connery will host the event.

Watch for Sugarland on American Idol tonight. And finally, congratulations to Patty Loveless, John Michael Montgomery, Steve Wariner, Keith Whitley, The Goins Brothers, Molly O’Day and Larnelle Harris who are being inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame this year.

Friday Is George/Reba Day in NM

2011-03-23T08:49:00.002-06:00

This just in ....

Governor Susana Martinez has declared Friday, March 25, 2011, "George Strait and Reba McEntire Day" in New Mexico. The Governor signed a proclamation to make the formal acknowledgement.

Among the career achievements, citations on the proclamation include:

- George Strait has the most number one singles of any artist in history with his first performance at New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center in 1985.

- George has performed over 20 times in the State Of New Mexico, 13 times at New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center alone.

- Reba has performed since 1983 multiple times in the State of New Mexico, 6 times at New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center alone.

- George Strait and Reba McEntire have supported with their appearances the American Collegiate Talent Showcase (ACTS) scholarship program thereby enabling college students within the State of New Mexico the opportunity to pursue degrees in higher education.

Now, therefore I, Susana Martinez, Governor of The State of New Mexico, recognize George Strait and Reba McEntire for their incredible success and support of the music industry and their history of performing for thousands of New Mexicans throughout the years, and do hereby proclaim the 25th day of March, 2011 as “George Strait and Reba McEntire Day” throughout the State of New Mexico!

Word From The Wednesday Wires

2011-03-23T08:38:00.002-06:00

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are getting ready to release four different DVD/fragrance sets next month. Faith’s two fragrances will be packaged for an exclusive retailer with a live performance of “Stronger.” Tim’s bonus will be a performance of “Southern Voice.” The DVD features new concert footage of the couple performing together as well as a behind-the-scenes look into their lives. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee for ongoing flood relieve in Nashville.

Brad Paisley has set an attendance record for country performers at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. At his concert there on Saturday night, Brad drew a paid attendance of 73,825, placing him third in the event’s history (behind Go Tejano Day concerts in 2010 and 2009 with 74,222 and 74,147 respectively). In addition, Brad broke his own attendance record, set last year with 72,977 people attending. Meanwhile, Miranda Lambert’s March 16th concert puts her in second place for country music performers and fourth in the event’s overall history with paid attendance of 73,811.

Willie Nelson and his children Paula, Lukas, Amy, Micah and Susie Nelson, along with several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, have recorded a version of the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses,” with proceeds designated to protecting wild and domestic horses. The track is available on the Animal Welfare Institute website, as well as iTunes.

And finally, the Kennedy Center was star-studded on Monday night as three living Presidents and numerous celebrities came together to honor President George H.W. Bush for his role in promoting volunteerism. Speeches were curtailed by a superstar lineup of performances by Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, Darius Rucker, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, and Kid Rock among others. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush were all in attendance. President Barrack Obama sent a video tribute from Chile. The gala will be broadcast next Monday on NBC.

More On the Apprentice Confrontation

2011-03-22T08:06:00.000-06:00

During Sunday night’s episode of Celebrity Apprentice, John Rich defended country music when teammates Jose Canseco and Richard Hatch demeaned the genres’ fans. It’s been months since the confrontation took place, but seeing the argument air in the episode got John all riled up again. “Well you wanna tell me how ironic it is that a tax evader who’s in prison and a roid-raging rat from baseball are going to sit back there and tell me that country music fans are dumb, backward hicks? Are you serious?” John said, “And they still called it country-western, by the way, which shows how stupid they really are. I mean, that really set me off.” John says he also stood up for Trace Adkins when Donald Trump tried to take responsibility for launching Trace’s career. “And I said, ‘Well, uh, actually he was multi-platinum before he came on your show. He goes, ‘No, no. Trace Adkins, he was basically no one.’ And I look at him and I said, ‘You know what? You’re right. He, he basically was no one before your show. Thank you so much for putting him on here cause now we all get to hear, hear his great voice.’ And I just totally played along with it, like Donald Trump really thinks Trace Adkins was nobody before that show.” As for Canseco and Hatch demeaning country music, John says there’s a lot that was cut out in editing. He says their comments continued but eventually Hatch apologized.

News From Around The Country
Craig Morgan received a plaque and a fireman’s hat over the weekend from four members of the Tennessee City Volunteer Fire Department. Last month Craig rushed into a burning house he passed while headed home from a tour stop to save two small children in Charlotte, Tennessee. …….Jimmy Wayne plans to release his first novel, Paper Angels, November 1st. The book is based on Jimmy’s real-life experience as a child benefitting from the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. Jimmy started the book last year during his walk across America, co-writing over the phone with novelist Travis Thrasher. …….. And finally, Eddie Montgomery is thanking his son after a visit to the doctor lead to his early prostate cancer diagnosis. When Eddie’s son was injured in an ATV accident late last year, Eddie mentioned his own hip pain to the bone specialist his son was seeing. Eddie says that the doctor offered to X-ray his hip and suggested that he see an urologist after discovering an unusual shadow. Eddie had the cancerous tumor removed over the holidays and his doctors have told him that he’s cancer free.

Weekend Entertainment

2011-03-21T00:03:00.000-06:00

Weekend entertainment saw Trace Adkins on the big screen, and John Rich survive another episode of Celebrity Apprentice. On the little screen, it was all about camping, a subject that none of the city-slicker celebrities on either team seemed to know anything about, short of supermodel Niki Taylor. She volunteered to lead the women; the men appointed Gary Busey. Both teams were equally as lost and disorganized. The women were more interested in decorating and making things pretty than concerning themselves with the functionality of the RVs. Then men appeared scattered and lost under the nonsensical direction of Busey and the less than ambitious efforts of teammates. For the first time, John Rich stepped up from under the radar to contribute a jingle to the project, which Jose Conseco and Richard Hatch felt was too hokey. The conversation escalated and John Rich flat out defended country music fans after Richard Hatch questioned their intelligence. In the end, the camping company loved the jingle, and the hastily thrown together camping experience depicted on the men’s side. Whereas the women made a great sales pitch of the RVs, they fell short of promoting the brand, so chock up another loss for Team ASAP. Niki Taylor took the firing without a fight. Trump called her a class act for accepting the blame for her team’s loss.

On the big screen, The Lincoln Lawyer made its box office debut this weekend at number four with $13.4 million. The film stars Matthew McConaughey as a lawyer who conducts business out of the back of his Lincoln town car. Trace Adkins plays the leader of a biker gang in the movie and shared a few scenes with McConaughey. During the filming, Trace discovered he had something in common with Matthew, “You know, we come from the same part of the country, same oil patch. His father worked in the same oil field I worked in. You know, we just sat around and talked about a bunch of the old bars we used to go to around there. It was weird that we’d been to the same places but never run into each other.”

Feel Good Friday

2011-03-18T00:59:00.000-06:00

Taylor Swift has signed on to join the cast of voices appearing in the movie adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. Zac Efron voices the character “Ted”, a boy who tries to win the affection of “Audrey”, the character that will be voiced by Taylor. Danny DeVito is slated to be the voice of the “Lorax”. The movie is scheduled for release in March 2012.

Rascal Flatts has officially announced that Flatts Fest will launch June 18th in Bristow, Virginia with opening acts Sara Evans, Easton Corbin and Justin Moore. The tour is currently slated to run through September with approximately 24 shows. The tour will also include an interactive pre-show festival atmosphere and tailgating experience, with activities spread throughout the plaza and parking areas for all fans who want to make a whole afternoon/evening of the show. Plans include a mobile karaoke vehicle, carnival games, photo booths, putt putt golf, food vendors, and plenty of exciting contests. More detailed information will be provided closer to the start of the tour.

Also back on the road, look for Big & Rich to roll out their 2011 Xtreme Muzik tour with buddies Cowboy Troy, Gretchen Wilson, and Two Foot Fred. Since their hiatus in 2008, Big Kenny has been doing charity work, and John Rich has released a solo album and joined the cast of this season’s Celebrity Apprentice. He hosts a weekly viewing party for the series at his Nashville home dubbed “Mount Richmore.” The 2011 Xtreme Muzik tour will kickoff June 25th in Walker, Minnesota. Celebrity Apprentice airs Sunday nights on NBC.

Oprah Winfrey is searching out the world’s “Ultimate Shania Fans” for an upcoming show featuring Shania Twain. A page on Oprah’s website invites fans to submit for their chance to be part of the audience when Shania appears on a future taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Shania plans to release her autobiography on May 3rd, and she also plans to star in the upcoming reality series on Oprah’s OWN Network, Why Not? With Shania Twain.

Kenny Is Goin' Coastal

2011-03-17T00:46:00.000-06:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Kenny Chesney kicks off his highly-anticipated Goin’ Coastal Tour tonight in West Palm Beach, Florida. Kenny will take the stage after the Zac Brown Band, and special guests Billy Currington and Uncle Kracker. After taking a year off from the road, Kenny is excited to be back with a show that is bigger and better than ever. “It’s gettin’ really exciting for me and the band,” Kenny said. “And Zac’s guys are so great. I mean, they are really a great band, and to be able to collaborate like this together that way…we’ve never done this in our show in 17 years I’ve been on the road. And to be able to do this for the fans and to be able to have them experience it, you know, it’s just gonna be—I think I speak for everybody that I think it’s gonna be a really special night of music, you know, especially with what they’re doin’, too.” Kenny’s Goin’ Coastal Tour will play 52 dates in the U-S and Canada this year.

Blake Shelton joined Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green earlier this week to face the press for questions about NBC’s new singing competition, The Voice. Blake said it was a “no brainer” for him to get involved in the show, citing the credibility of the others involved as his reason for joining the coaching team. He said their job would be to “make the best of the best even better”. The Voice starts airing April 26th on NBC. Shortly thereafter, Blake will be marrying Miranda Lambert. Blake clears the air about the anticipated bachelor party. "The last ten years of my life has been a bachelor party,” Blake said. “So I don’t need an extra one night to add to my life.” Instead, he plans to take some of his buddies out on a camping trip and maybe do a little hunting or “something country,” he says. The wedding will be May 14th.

And finally, be looking for Country Dance, the first dancing video game designed with country fans in mind. It’s for Nintendo's Wii console. The game features 27 songs from top artists such as Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland and Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Laura Bell Bundy, Easton Corbin, Jerrod Niemann, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Johnny Cash and Randy Travis. Up to four players at a time can choose between multiple game modes, including competitive and cooperative styles, as they use the Wii remote to mimic the dancer on their screen. Games purchased at an exclusive retailer will include a bonus track, Alan Jackson's "Good Time."

Upcoming Movies

2011-03-16T00:29:00.001-06:00

CMT has announced that LeAnn Rimes, Ricky Shroeder, and Laura Bell Bundy will star in two upcoming original films slated for this summer. Ricky Shroeder and Laura Bell Bundy will star in To The Mat, which tells the story of a laid-back ex-wrestler (Schroder) who’s trying to keep his family’s down-and-out southern wrestling school above water. When his mother hires an uptight Wall Street consultant from New York (Bell Bundy) to help get the books in order, these two opposites must find a way to get along and save the family business. The film is currently in production and set to premiere in August. Reel Love stars LeAnn as a successful, big city girl who returns to her small town roots after a family emergency. Her character then embarks on a soulful, comedic journey to reconnect with family and friends and find meaningful romance along the way. Filming will begin in late April with a premiere set for September.

Loretta Lynn has had to postpone a few shows on her current tour to make way for a much-needed knee surgery to correct some pain she’s been feeling while on stage. She did take time to sit down with Philly.com and talk about her music saying that it’s changed quite a bit since her younger years, but says fans will have to either “accept it or forget it.” She also says she’s working on several new projects and plans to work with rocker Jack White again soon. Loretta is scheduled to perform at the Inn of the Mountain Gods on May 12th.

And finally, don’t forget that Trace Adkins’ latest film The Lincoln Lawyer hits theatres on Friday. He’s had parts in several sitcoms, T-V movies as well as three big screen films, but Lincoln Lawyer is by far the biggest film he’s earned a role in. He says one way he could tell this film was a bigger deal than ones he’d worked on in the past was by the amount of yelling on the set. Trace said, “A lot more producers on this movie. There were like five or six producers on this movie and they were always yelling at the director at the same time usually. I guess the more dollars at stake, the more yelling there is.” Trace stars alongside Matthew McConaughey who plays a lawyer that’s on retainer with Trace’s biker gang.

Tuesday Newsday

2011-03-15T00:19:00.000-06:00

Fan voting for two categories of the ACM Awards is now open. By visiting voteacm.com, you can pick who you’d like to take home awards in the Entertainer of the Year and New Artist categories. Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban are the nominees in the Entertainer of the Year category. The Band Perry and Eric Church are the finalists for the New Artist award. The ACM Awards take place April 3rd in Las Vegas live on CBS.

For the first time ever, Kenny Chesney will have his own line of signature shades. Kenny has partnered with Costa Sunglasses to design the five limited edition pairs of sunglasses, which will feature Kenny’s signature. You can pick up a pair at Kenny’s 2011 Goin’ Coastal tourstops or from Costa’s website. Proceeds from the new line will go toward the Coastal Conservation Association.

American Idol is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a special Greatest Hits album that hits shelves today. The project features 12 songs from some of the best contestants from the show:

1. Kelly Clarkson – “Since U Been Gone”
2. Ruben Studdard - "Superstar"
3. Clay Aiken - "Invisible"
4. Fantasia Barrino - "When I See U"
5. Carrie Underwood – “Before He Cheats”
6. Taylor Hicks - "Takin' It to the Streets"
7. Chris Daughtry – “Home”
8. Jordin Sparks (duet with Chris Brown) - "No Air"
9. David Cook - "Light On"
10. Kris Allen - "Live Like We're Dying"
11. Adam Lambert - "Whataya Want From Me"
12. Lee DeWyze - "Sweet Serendipity"

Country Stays In NY A Little Longer

2011-03-14T00:01:00.001-06:00

On TV last night, John Rich and the men of Team Backbone stayed alive on Celebrity Apprentice when they were judged to have written a better children’s book than the women. Meatloaf played project manager for the men’s team, and they put together a book about acceptance, using Lil Jon as their primary character. The women’s team, led by Lisa Rinna, wrote their book about finding the roar of your inner lion. Tasked with performing their story in front of a group of pre-schoolers, the men’s team dressed as young students and ended up singing part of the book to the youngsters. Their fault lay in not presenting the book to the audience as it was being read and performed. The women’s team dressed as animals for a very childlike skit; their fault was ultimately the size of the font in the printed book. For something that The Donald offered to publish for children across the country to have and hold, the font and presentation of the book counted for more than the skit. The women lost, and after a heated boardroom discussion, Lisa was fired for not working hard enough to defend herself. Donald Trump announced that proceeds from the sale of Backbone’s book will also go to Meatloaf’s charity.

And here's a heartwarming story to start the week. Jared LaDuke, a 23-year old from Wisconsin serving in Iraq, had his life flipped upside down when he was injured in a blast during his tour of duty. It was months before he was finally able to return to the States and begin rehabilitation at a Texas hospital, meaning his family would have to move to the Lone Star state as well. After months of living in housing provided by Operation Homefront, Jared, his wife and 2-year old son moved out on their own with some help Tim McGraw. Tim surprised the LaDukes at their new apartment, which he and Operation Homefront with the help of Outback Steakhouse had completely furnished. Jared told his hometown newspaper that life has been much better since their surprise visit from Tim.

LC Native Bri Bagwell To Appear on CMT

2011-03-10T17:30:00.001-07:00

Congratulations, Bri Bagwell! Originally from Las Cruces, Bri will be a live-in contestant on the new reality series, CMT’S NEXT SUPERSTAR. Five men and five women will fight for the title in CMT’s latest competition series premiering Friday, April 8. Hosted by Thea Andrews (“Top Chef Canada,” ESPN, “Entertainment Tonight”), in each episode of the ten episode series, CMT will search to find America's next great country star and will open the door for undiscovered singer/songwriters who think they have what it takes to make it in the country music industry.

The show will allow the world to see every triumph and every set-back unfold weekly as each contestant will compete while living together in a house in Nashville, providing a rare and revealing inside look at the all ensuing drama that can take place when musical adversaries live and compete together.

Contestant auditions were held around the country. The cast finalists are:
- Bri Bagwell, 23, Las Cruces, N.M.
- Adrienne Beasley, 22, Wickliffe, Ky.
- Courtney Cole, 24, Mandeville, La.
- Danielle Lauderdale, 23, Orange Park, Fla.
- Andrea Person, 29, Kelowna, British Columbia
- Steven Clawson, 29, Thomasville, Ga.
- Matt Dame, 37, Batesville, Ark.
- Matt Mason, 25, Fairland, Ind.
- Ben Smith, 29, Gainesville, Texas
- Wynn Varble, 50, Hampshire, Tenn.

The contestants will try to impress celebrity guests each week through a series of music business related ‘challenges’ and grueling performance rounds. Each week, one finalist will be eliminated and America will have the final vote to determine who will be crowned CMT’S NEXT SUPERSTAR. Hang on, Bri! Cruces will be here to vote for you!

Mid-week. Ready For Vacation?

2011-03-09T08:49:00.001-07:00

Is it time to start planning for the Annual CMA Music Fest already? How time flies. The yearly country music love fest will take place June 9 – 12 in Nashville, and plans for entertainment are emerging. Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, Brad Paisley, and New Artist of the Year, Zac Brown Band, will join Easton Corbin, Sara Evans, Ashton Shepherd, the JaneDear girls, Josh Turner, Little Big Town, and Chris Young for the nightly concerts at LP Field. More details will be released in coming weeks.

Trace Adkins is going to make a side-kick out of that puppet, yet! Look for Trace tonight on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He’s bringing along the puppets that costar with him in his “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” video. There’s a video on Trace’s website that has Trace and his puppet counterpart reminding people to tune in. Trace promises to be funny while on the show and the puppet – well he admitted to sleep during their appearance.

And finally, Billy Ray Cyrus and Patty Loveless are judging a songwriting competition to help raise awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Songwriters are challenged to write a motivational song to encourage people to take control of their health. The winner has a chance to perform their song at the CMA Music Festival. You can log on to the host website to vote for your favorite song and support the cause.

Tuesday Newsday

2011-03-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when Blake Shelton coached a choir on reality-competition television a couple of years ago? Now he’s back, putting his musical expertise to work as a musician coach for NBC’s new competition, The Voice. Blake joins previously announced coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine on the show. The coaches will select singers to mentor into artists during the “blind auditions”. Once teams are formed, coaches bring in their personal songwriters, producers, and high-powered friends to help grow the team. Ultimately, America decides which singer is worthy to be named “The Voice” and receive a recording contract and the $100,000 prize that goes with it. The Voice premieres Tuesday, April 26th on NBC.

The two worlds of Garth Brooks and Billy Joel collide on Billy’s new project, Live at Shea Stadium. The CD/DVD set is a recording of Billy’s two shows at the ballpark in July 2008, in front of 110-thousand fans. Garth joins the “Piano Man” on the number one cover song “Shameless.” The new double-CD set and DVD/Blu-Ray is available now. Next up, Billy Joel has reportedly signed a deal to write an autobiography, The Book of Joel, to be released sometime in June.

Tim McGraw may be on the forefront of new mobile technology. A new type of barcode called a “QR code” is popping up on advertisements and products everywhere. The codes are meant to be scanned by a smart phone, such as an iPhone, for access to exclusive mobile content on your phone. Tim has added these special bar codes to his Facebook and fan materials, giving fans access to a mobile fan club and the ability to download a free music video. Hmmm? Will you take the time to scan special bar codes in order to get free additional content from your favorite artists?

Let the CRS Festivities Begin

2011-03-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday opened the annual mash-up of the country music industry with country radio programmers known as CRS - Country Radio Seminar. Play nice, boys and girls. The yearly affair in Nashville gives insiders on both sides musical fence a chance to meet, discuss, and debate. The days are filled with industry workshops, and the nights are filled with music. Traditionally, noteworthy news is revealed during the week. So let’s run down the highlights – like Carrie Underwood singing the National Anthem. Trace Adkins handed off the torch for the 2011 Artist Humanitarian Award to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Ashton Shepard announced that she is expecting her second child. Her first son, James, is five years old.

Universal Music Group held its 2nd Annual Luncheon at the Ryman Auditorium. Following the tradition that began in 2010, nearly the entire roster of the label groups artists came out to perform a song – or two – each. Seen at this year’s event, Sugarland, Randy Montana, Josh Kelley, Ashton Shepard, Easton Corbin, Billy Currington, Gary Allan, David Nail, Laura Bell Bundy, Lee Ann Womack, Josh Turner, Randy Rogers Band, and Jamey Johnson. Newcomers Canaan Smith, Dani Flowers, Kip Moore, Coldwater Jane, and Mallory Hope were introduced. Legendary Vince Gill, who has had a 30-year relationship with MCA Records performed two songs, and the show was closed with a surprise visit by Lionel Richie, dueting with Darius Rucker. No doubt a live preview of his upcoming country duets album.

Blake Shelton hosted the 2011 Music City Jam. Blake noted that it used to be called the Super Faces Show, “until they asked me to do it.” Through the night, Blake performed his hits as well as a few covers for the unscripted show. Those in attendance were treated to Blake’s versions of “My Baby’s Got Good Timing,” “East Bound and Down,” and “Escape (The Pina Colada Song).” Blake’s guests for the night included, Luke Bryan, Chris Young, The Band Perry, Frankie Ballard, Brett Eldredge, and Laura Bell Bundy.

Hall of Fame Inductees

2011-03-02T07:50:00.000-07:00

The Country Music Hall of Fame inductees for 2011 were announced yesterday. In the Veterans Era Artist category, Jean Shepard was selected. In the non-performer / Songwriter category, Bobby Braddock gets the honors. And in the Modern Era Artist Category, Reba McEntire made the cut. Reba was unable to attend the press conference announcement held at the Country Music Hall of Fame. She’s in Oklahoma with her father who is in a coma after suffering a stroke. However, she was able to tell him the news two days before he went into a coma. Kix Brooks was on hand to announce Reba as one of the newest inductees and had a message from Reba. “She did send a uh…a note that she asked me to read today,” Kix said, “It says, ‘I’m so appreciative of being selected as one of the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Thank you so much. This is a wonderful honor during a very emotional time in my life. I really need to be with my mama and daddy right now. And I know that’s where I should be.’” The honorees will be celebrated later this year and recognized during the CMA Awards.

News From Around The Country
The annual gathering of country music artists, promoters, and radio programmers opens today in Nashville. Stay tuned for more information as it historically emerges from CRS – Country Radio Seminar. ….. Set your DVR’s, Rascal Flatts' ABC-TV special, Rascal Flatts: Nothing Like This Presented by JCPenney, airs on Saturday, March 12th.

Tuesday Newsday

2011-03-01T07:32:00.000-07:00

March is Women's History Month. And what a way to open things on the first of the month than with a young lady who has been making history her whole career. Taylor Swift has yet another number one smash on her hands as her song “Back To December” sits at the top of the country charts this week. This is the second consecutive number one single released from her multi-platinum album, Speak Now. Taylor will continue her highly-successful Speak Now World Tour in Europe this month, playing Belgium this weekend before traveling to Norway, Germany, Spain, Italy, Paris, and London.

Miranda Lambert was looking forward to traveling to Australia this week to open for Alan Jackson. Now we’ve learned that she has had to cancel those six shows due to illness with a respiratory infection. The tour was to start in Melbourne this Friday and run through the following weekend. Well known Australian artists, Jasmine Rae and McAlister Kemp, will fill those opening slots. Look for more from them. Jasmine will release her latest album, Listen Here, on March 4th. Joe Nichols is featured on the song, “I’ll Try Anything.” The two toured Australia together in 2009. McAlister Kemp is the duo of Drew McAlister and Troy Kemp. Both are from Australia and released their first album, All Kinds of Tough, in January 2010.

And finally, if you’ve ever wanted to direct your own music video, Rascal Flatts could be making your dreams come true. The guys have just released a new Facebook application that will let fans design their own video for the song, “I Won’t Let Go”. By uploading your own photos and videos, you can create your own mash-up that you can share with friends and post to the Rascal Flatts page. The best submission will even have a chance to win a trip to the set of Rascal Flatts’ next music video shoot.

The Morning After More Awards

2011-02-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

Last night a plethora of celebrities walked the red carpet for the Academy Awards. The only representation from country music was Keith Urban on Nicole Kidman’s arm to support her nomination for Best Actress in Rabbit Hole, and Gwyneth Paltrow singing a portion of “Coming Home” from the movie Country Strong. “Coming Home” was nominated for Best Original Song along with its’ writers Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey and Troy Verges, but did not win. Nicole lost her award to Black Swan’s Natalie Portman.

Preparing for the upcoming country music awards, the ACM New Artist Award winners have been announced. Voting closed for the categories last Thursday and Eric Church has been named the Top New Solo Vocalist while The Band Perry has been named the winner of Top New Vocal Duo or Group. Eric and The Band Perry will now battle it out for the coveted ACM New Artist Award which will be handed out at the ACM Awards April 3rd live from Las Vegas. Click Here to vote in the next round.

News From Around The Country
Thanks to a victorious poker game, Darius Rucker has tweeted for the first time. Darius has always had a Twitter account, but it’s been mostly used by his team. Darius was so excited about beating Brad Paisley at poker; he had to tweet about it, saying, “Just want everyone to know I DOMINATED Paisley’s camp at poker tonight…DOMINATED.” ….. A wedding took place in Sugarland recently. Congratulations to bass player Annie Clements and guitar player Thad Beaty, who wed earlier this month at a private ceremony. No word if Jennifer Nettles or Kristian Bush was invited. ….. And finally, Country Strong is set to release on DVD/Blu-Ray April 12th and will include extras such as music videos of songs from the soundtrack.

It's A Feel Good Friday!

2011-02-25T08:21:00.001-07:00

Carrie Underwood presented a big check to Save the Children, an organization that responds to children in communities that have been hit by natural disaster, poverty, disease, and civil conflict. During the fall leg of her Play On tour, Carrie saved 36 cents from every ticket sold to donate over 140-thousand dollars to the charity. The amount donated was inspired by the lyric, “36 cents,” from her song, “Change”.

Toby Keith’s fascination with Mexico and the drink, Mezcal, has inspired him to create his own version of the alcoholic beverage. Toby’s Wild Shot brand of Mezcal is to be consumed like tequila; although, according to him, it “goes down a lot smoother.” Every true bottle of Toby’s Mezcal includes an agave worm, which he says is “not there for the look,” but to be eaten. Toby’s other business venture, his I Love This Bar & Grill, just opened its’ newest location in Denver, Colorado.

And finally, one more cute Brad-and-Huck story for the week. It seems Brad Paisley’s four-year-old son, Huck, has a crush on Carrie Underwood. Brad told People magazine that Huck insisted on getting Carrie flowers before she came over to their house around Valentine’s Day. Huck also dictated a letter to his mother for Carrie that said, “I hope you have an incredible day and night. Love Huck.” Huck then decided to show off in front of Carrie while they were all hanging out in Brad’s studio. Once Carrie was looking, Huck pushed all of the pillows off of a couch, held the pillows above his head, and then said “Look how strong I am!” If you ask Huck if he likes girls though, he will tell you no. His reasoning for liking Carrie is her music. Although Brad says that Huck’s musical taste is directly his fault. Brad only allows Huck to listen to the music that he likes until he’s old enough to realize there are other genres as well. “He likes everything that I sort of play him. So he’s kind of mostly been I guess exposed to guitar music and country music. And he likes bluegrass and Eric Clapton. And he likes things I like for now,” Brad said. “And then pretty soon he’ll find his own way and he’ll say, ‘you know, my dad’s an idiot.’”

Pickler and Paisley

2011-02-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

More details about Kellie Pickler’s January 1st wedding to Kyle Jacobs have come out. Kellie visited with Ellen DeGeneres on her show this week, and she said that her Caribbean wedding became small because she had originally planned a much larger affair. Kellie told Ellen, “Every time [I looked at] the guest list, it was like, ‘Oh my God, I hate half these people!” This convinced her to scrap plans for the larger wedding and simply elope on New Year’s Day. She said there were no plans except to pack a dress and a suit. “We didn’t know what kind of cake we were going to get. We didn’t know what food we were going to have…it was the most incredible day of my life,” she said. Ellen wrapped up the interview by throwing Kellie a surprise bachelorette party.

Brad Paisley’s had a busy week. On Tuesday, his son Huck turned four-year-old. Huck asked to celebrate his birthday at the Nashville Zoo. Brad’s wife, Kimberly, is a huge supporter of the Zoo, and Brad was impressed that the animals are brought out for the kids to pet at birthday parties. Meanwhile, some of Brad’s most creative fans created a bobblehead version of him and sent it on a cross-country adventure to help bring attention to an important cause. Late last year, the Bobblehead Brad was featured in an online music video spoof of Brad’s hit, “Water”. Now the doll has made a trek across America to 15 cities, documented by fans with pictures. Click here for more information about the Water=Hope Campaign. And finally, check out this picture of the custom Brad Paisley Corvette that was sold at auction this past weekend to a man in Washington. Proceeds went to the Kids Wish Network’s Hero program.

The Voice? Or The Barber?

2011-02-23T09:04:00.005-07:00

Rascal Flatts had Justin Bieber on set in Los Angeles on Monday for the new music video for the song “That Should Be Me.” Bieber even tweeted about it saying, “up early doing a video shoot for That Should Be Me with Rascal Flatts!!” While he was there, the teenage sensation changed his signature hairstyle. TMZ got the exclusive photo to share. According to his Twitter, Justin is donated his shorn locks to raise money for charity. The duet, “That Should Be Me,” was released on Valentine’s Day on Justin’s Never Say Never (The Remixes) EP.

News From Around The Country
The Deluxe Edition of Keith Urban’s Get Closer album is now available on iTunes. In addition to the CD’s eight original tracks, the deluxe version of the album features three new studio tracks and four live recordings from his Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing World Tour. The track “Georgia Woods” from Get Closer is featured as the iTunes’ free download of the week. ….. Garth Brooks will be among this year's inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His songwriting credits include his No. 1 hits “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “The Thunder Rolls” and “Unanswered Prayers,” along with “We Shall Be Free.” The 42nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards dinner is scheduled for June 16th in New York City. ….. You can finally add Buck Owens’ music to your iPod as his catalog has officially become available for digital retailers. You can download 25 original Buck Owens albums starting March 8th. …. Believe it or not, the Doobie Brothers will make their Opry debut this Saturday. With two original members left, the band starts a 40th anniversary tour later this year. ….. And finally, remember when Rodney Atkins was looking for military heroes to honor with “Your Name Here” on a NASCAR? He has announced Staff Sergeant Matthew Hansen as the grand-prize winner. The April 30th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will also honor Matthew’s brother, Daniel, who was killed in action in 2009.

Tuesday Newsday

2011-02-22T08:46:00.002-07:00

Taylor Swift has just completed the Asian leg of her 2011 Speak Now World Tour. Before her show at Hong Kong’s Asia World Expo on Monday night, she was presented with a few plaques that revealed she had sold more than 400-thousand copies of her latest album Speak Now. She has been certified platinum in Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines. Taylor’s tour will head to Europe in March, followed by the North American leg in May.

If you love to read, there are several books aimed at country music fans coming out later this year. Some of the titles include: a Shania Twain memoir, From This Moment On (May 2011); Family Tradition – Three Generations of Hank Williams, by Susan Masino (May 2011); Making the Scene – Nashville: How to Live, Network and Succeed in Music City, by Liam Sullivan (May 2011); and The Three of Us: Growing Up With Tammy and George, by Georgette Jones & Patsi Bale Cox (July 2011).

Kenny Chesney was spotted in Palm Beach, Florida over the weekend performing at the Everglades Foundation Benefit. Apparently feeling better after his recent fall, Jimmy Buffet even jumped on stage to join Kenny for a couple of songs. Mac McAnally was also there to sing “Down the Road” with Kenny. Jimmy invited Kenny to the event which raised money and awareness for work being done to protect and restore the Everglades.

And finally, word to NMSU Security that when the George Strait / Reba McEntire tour comes to the Pan Am on March 25th, the lady walking her dogs is Lee Ann Womack, not Rimes; so please let her pass. This plea stems from a recent prank played on Lee Ann by her own crew during their recent tour stop in Cleveland, Ohio. As Lee Ann walked off stage, she was met by a man with handcuffs and a badge, dressed in the British bobby outfit. Apparently the prank was all in good fun after Lee Ann had a real run-in with arena security earlier in the day for walking her dogs in areas that were off limits. She wasn’t sure how to get back to her bus and she was mistaken for LeAnn Rimes several times throughout the ordeal. “They got me good,” Lee Ann said about the prank.

It Sure Is Monday

2011-02-21T08:05:00.002-07:00

So Trevor Bayne became the youngest driver to ever win the Daytona 500 yesterday, and country stars entertained. Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley each performed prior to the start of the race, and Martina McBride covered the National Anthem. Brad also drove the pace car at the race, commenting on Twitter that it was the most “ridiculously exciting thing” he’s ever done. Other celebrities participating in the events of the day included movie director Michael Bay, and actors Josh Duhamel and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who gave the command to drivers to start their engines. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Glenn Beck were also spotted in attendance.

You may be hearing more and more about the Boot Campaign from some of your favorite country artists. Organizers have asked celebrities to be photographed in a pair of military boots as a way to show support by walking in their shoes. Joe Nichols is just one star participating, and he said that it is a very cool way to tribute the military. Joe found another way to pay tribute to the military by featuring a couple of American heroes in his video for “The Shape I’m In.”

And finally, if your anxious to get an inside peek at The Judds, the new series will premiere on April 10th on the Oprah Winfrey Network. For the first time on television, you’ll see the private and public lives of Naomi and Wynonna Judd. The six-episode show follows the mother-daughter duo as they hit the road for their first and final concert tour in ten years. Cameras capture their emotional journey as they work to heal their relationship, reconnect with their fans, and share the spotlight once again.

Knock! Knock! We've Got Visitors!

2011-02-18T08:37:00.002-07:00

New trio, Lucy Angel, visited The Country Station's studios this week to introduce themselves and bring their new music. Mom, Kate, and daughters Lindsey and Emily, treated us to a live in-studio performance and did something that no other visiting artist has ever done. As part of their visit, Lucy Angel wanted to deliver a donation check to a local charity in our town. That check was presented to Becky Horner, local director of the March of Dimes to kick off the upcoming March For Babies campaign. If you missed the conversation and music on the air, here's a scene from their visit. Thank you, ladies.

For more information about Lucy Angel, visit their website. Also, don't miss the "Lucy Angel on Safari" videos that we were talking about on the air, and you'll see the ladies hiking in heels through the snow in pursuit of the Lucy Angel cemetary outside Hazard, Kentucky.

The Morning After The Grammys

2011-02-14T08:42:00.002-07:00

Lady Antebellum was the big winner last night at the Grammy Awards. Five out of six isn’t bad; after all, they were the most awarded act of any genre last night. Hillary Scott hopes their wins remind people of the power of country music. She also hopes the trio is making country music proud. “I think it just shows that country music is relevant and it’s relatable,” Hillary said. “And I just hope that they think we’re flying the flag right.” Lady Antebellum took the stage for a short tribute to Teddy Pendergrass, singing one of his hits, “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” followed by their own hits, “American Honey,” and “Need You Now”. It was their second time to perform during the Grammys. “To be able to perform and to be given that opportunity for your music to reach all of these people – and a lot of people too who have never heard our music or anything like that – it’s huge exposure for a newer act,” said Charles Kelly. “We hope to be doing this a long time and hopefully this isn’t our last.”

2011 GRAMMY Award WINNERS

Record of the Year
"Need You Now," Lady Antebellum
Song of the Year
"Need You Now," Lady Antebellum
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
"As She's Walking Away," Zac Brown Band and Alan Jackson
Best Country Song
"Need You Now," Lady Antebellum
Best Country Album
Need You Now, Lady Antebellum
Best Female Country Vocal Performance
"The House That Built Me," Miranda Lambert
Best Male Country Vocal Performance
"'Til Summer Comes Around," Keith Urban
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
"Need You Now," Lady Antebellum

What else happened on the Grammys? Not long after a Martina McBride was part of a powerful tribute to Aretha Franklin, country’s hottest couple made their appearance. Blake Shelton introduced fiancé Miranda Lambert’s performance of “The House That Built Me”. Also, in a Top 10 list of GRAMMY surprises, David Letterman appeared to suggest Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum team up to form “Lady Antegagum” and that Willie Nelson provided “snacks” for the show. Country Strong star Gwyneth Paltrow did a duet with Cee Lo Green backed by Muppets for his hit, “(The Song Otherwise Known As) Forget You”. Keith Urban’s wife, Nicole Kidman, was spotted on camera dancing and singing along to Katy Perry’s performance of “Teenage Dream”. Keith later joins John Mayer and Norah Jones on a version of “Jolene” as a tribute to Dolly Parton who picked up a Lifetime Achievement Grammy. They also presented Song of the Year to Lady Antebellum. The dancing continued as Martina McBride and Dierks Bentley were seen grooving to Mick Jagger’s tribute to late soul-legend Solomon Burke.

And finally, fresh off their Grammy wins, Lady Antebellum is nominated again. Nickelodeon’s 24th annual Kids Choice Awards are just around the corner, and Lady A and Taylor Swift are tagged for a chance to take home that signature orange blimp trophy. Lady Antebellum is nominated for Favorite Music Group; Taylor Swift has two nominations this year, one for Favorite Female Singer and another for Favorite Song. The Kids Choice Awards, hosted by Jack Black, will air live on Saturday, April 2nd on Nick.

First of the Week News

2011-02-07T08:34:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday, Garth Brooks … 49 years old today! Garth kicked off the week by playing host to around 200 campers at a “Super Camp” near Dallas, where under-privileged kids were given the opportunity to learn football and cheerleading skills from the pros. Garth says encouraging those that are hurting is something he lives for. “If there’s any way through the gift that I get to do of playing music that can make that a little bit better then that makes me feel proud," Garth said. "You know, Ricky Skaggs has my two favorite sayings in life, ‘life’s too short to live like this,’ and his other saying is, ‘life’s too long to live like this’.”

Chris Young is almost at the point that he could join Randy Travis as the second artist in Billboard country chart history to release the same single twice and see it go to the top of the chart! Randy did it with his classic “On the Other Hand,” and Chris is about to see his latest hit, “Voices” repeat the feat. Randy’s song stalled on the chart after its original release in 1985, only to hit #1 the next year. Chris’s song was first released as his third single in 2008 and only reached number 37 on the chart. The historical connection to Randy Travis is pretty interesting considering that one of the first country songs Chris knew start-to-finish was Randy Travis‘ second chart-topper, ”Diggin’ Up Bones.” He would reportedly drive his parents crazy singing it in the car.

Husband-and-wife duo Thompson Square will release their debut album this week. The self-titled debut includes their hit, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not.” According to the duo’s Keifer Thompson, the album’s theme might make their new CD a perfect Valentine’s Day gift. “Honest to goodness we tried to put 12 songs on there that we just love, you know. We tried to put 12 hits on there,” Keifer said. “Yeah, I mean, there’s songs about…breakin’ up and makin’ up, and I guess the overall theme would be love you know…it’s outside the box a little bit and it was really fun to make” Keifer and his wife Shawna picked up a huge following of fans while touring with Jason Aldean.

And finally, Dierks Bentley is set to record a special version of his #1-hit, “Sideways,” for NASCAR coverage on FOX Sports in 2011. Commissioned by the racing organization, the song will be used throughout the season. Dierks will debut the song live from the Daytona 500 on February 20th.

Prepping for The Super Bowl

2011-02-01T07:15:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow, The Country Station will be annoucing the winner of "The Big Game" prize package so you can throw the ultimate party for 20 of your friends this Sunday. Today is your last day to send entries through the main website.

If you can’t watch Super Bowl XLV on TV this Sunday, your next option is to listen to it on the radio. Our sister station, AM 570, will be airing the game; therefore, you’ll hear Lady Antebellum’s “Stars Tonight” remixed just for the pre-game radio coverage. The new version, which includes highlights from the Packers’ and Steelers’ winning seasons, will air on more than 640 stations in the Westwood One network, including KSNM.

Elsewhere in Super Bowl entertainment, the cast of Glee will perform Lady Antebellum's “Need You Now” in a new episode premiering on Fox immediately after the football game. ..... Dierks Bentley and Jack Ingram will be in Dallas, Texas during the Super Bowl this weekend to join a host of other performers for what’s being called “Texas’ Largest Tailgate.” The concert will be streamed live online at the sponsor’s website. ….. CMT Crossroads will go live with Faith Hill and The Pretenders during The Super Bowl Fan Jam on Saturday on CMT. … And look for Keith Urban to be a part of a Super Bowl pre-game concert broadcast on FOX.

Sugarland's latest album, The Incredible Machine, has been certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of more than one-million units. It's the fourth album from Sugarland to be certified platinum or better, bringing their career album sales to 9 million. ….. Brad Paisley’s been calling on several stars of country and Hollywood for his upcoming album, This Is Country Music. It was recently revealed that Alabama was in the studio with Brad recording tracks for the new album. Now, Clint Eastwood is offering up his talents on an instrumental track titled, “Eastwood”. Referring to Clint’s whistling, Brad tweeted, “Seriously. I think he has potential, this kid. Or should I say punk.” Other stars slated to be included on the CD are Sheryl Crow, Marty Stuart, and Don Henley of the Eagles.

End of The Month

2011-01-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

Faith Hill is getting ready for the first ever live CMT Crossroads with The Prentenders, airing this weekend during the Super Bowl Fan Jam. Despite her busy schedule, Faith still found time to indulge her feminine side and release True, the second fragrance in her collection. Faith admits that though she knows how to pick the right notes for her music, picking the right notes for her new scent was not as simple and required a little gut instinct. “I’m pretty sensitive in that regard,” said Faith, “So I’m able to pick up on things that I like or dislike pretty quickly easily. It is a process, and it’s tedious, and it’s not that glamorous of a process!”

Last Friday night, Taylor Swift gathered with family, friends, bandmates and music industry executives to celebrate her career successes before she launches her 90-date world tour next month in Singapore. The party was held at the Hard Rock Café in downtown Nashville. Several awards presented were for the No. 1 success of her "Mine" single and video, and a plaque from the Recording Industry Association of America commemorating total shipments of more than 13 million records. The party was billed as "Heavy Metal at the Hard Rock."

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman were recently surprised by Nicole’s adopted children with gifts to celebrate their new baby, Faith Margaret. Nic’s elder children, 18 year-old Isabella and 16 year-old Connor, live with ex-husband Tom Cruise, but sent their mom a hamper filled with designer gifts, including gourmet cupcakes, a mobile from Pottery Barn, and a certificate for American Girl Place made out to the couple’s first child, Sunday Rose. Faith was born on this past December 28th through a surrogate.

Former American Idol finalist Danny Gokey is stepping out to defend one of this season’s contestants. You may remember Danny’s story: his wife passed away due to complications during heart surgery just weeks before his Idol audition. This season, a similar story emerged as Chris Medina auditioned and shared that his fiancée had been in an accident that left her with brain damage. After seeing that people were already bashing Chris on the internet, Danny took to Twitter saying, “People hated me 4 sharing my story on idol & now Im already seeing their starting 2 bash Chris Medina for his. His story will help many!!” Danny added that you should never be ashamed to share your story, that it “makes you who you are”. Chris is one of the many who made it to Hollywood and will move on to the next round on the show.

Feel Good Friday

2011-01-28T08:27:00.000-07:00

The ACM has revealed the lineup for the Girls Night Out taping. Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood will be honored when Girls Night Out: Superstars of Country Music tapes in Las Vegas on April 4th. The taping will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena the day after the ACM Awards and will air on CBS at a later date. A list of performers will be announced in the coming weeks. All five women have won multiple ACM Awards.

Ronnie Dunn has announced that his first solo single, “Bleed Red,” will be released soon. There is a preview on his website, but as soon as the entire song reaches The Country Station, you’ll hear it. Ronnie said that the song came to him by way of a friend. To be nice, Ronnie listened to the song that was attached in an email and was simply "blown away" by what he heard. “It wasn’t necessarily the suit that I was planning on wearing to the dance, so to speak, but it was a big song, and I said, ‘I’m gonna have to beat Bono to the punch,’” Ronnie said, “It sounded like U2, and I’m going, ‘Okay, so what if Conway Twitty were to come in and put a vocal on this anyway and cut the song?’ So that’s what we did.” Look for a complete album from Ronnie later this year.

And finally, get ready to hear Keith Urban with the Australian-based kid-friendly group The Wiggles. The track is a happy-sounding version of Roger Miller’s “England Swings”. Keith hopes this will score some “cool dad” points with his two-and-a-half-year old daughter Sunday Rose. “She’s not hip to The Wiggles yet,” Keith said, “ But I did do a song with them recently. So, um…hopefully when she’s, when she’s into them she’ll think dad’s cool cause he sang with The Wiggles.” The song will be included on The Wiggles next album, Let’s Eat, which will be released on February 1st.

Thursday Briefing

2011-01-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Buffett will be released today from the hospitalized after falling from a stage during his show in Sydney, Australia Tuesday night. Reports allege that Jimmy crashed into a large gap in the front of the stage during the finale. Fans were then urged to leave as Jimmy lay on the floor in the first row of seats waiting for paramedics. Various reports have surfaced alleging that Jimmy was unconscious for up to ten minutes; flashing lights may have affected his vision and caused the fall; full reports of the incident should surface with the details of the accident as Jimmy recovers.

It seems pretty noteworthy to mention that Charlie Louvin, a Country Music Hall of Fame member as one-half of the Louvin Brothers, died early Wednesday morning after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 83. He received the cancer diagnosis in July.

On the lighter side of things today, Grammy-nominated artist Chris Young has been talking about what it has been like out on tour with Rascal Flatts. After getting used to outdoor shows in the summer, moving inside for the winter months made for an embarrassing moment on stage one night for Chris. “I wasn’t used to how dark it was on stage and where Joe Don left his pedal board,” Chris said, “So I’m walkin’ across the stage and, uh … I stepped right on his gain pedal and so all the sudden it was just like ridiculously loud and he’s starin’ at me goin’, ‘Smooth…that was good man.’” Chris continues touring with Rascal Flatts through March and then will join Blake Shelton for a few stops on the 2011 All About Tonight tour.

Nominees for the 31st Annual Razzie Awards were announced earlier this week and included stars such as Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Aniston, Robert Pattinson, Miley Cyrus, and her father Billy Ray Cyrus. Billy Ray’s nomination is in the Worst Supporting Actor category for his role in the movie, The Spy Next Door, with George Lopez. Taylor Swift’s 2010 movie Valentine’s Day appeared in a few categories but Taylor herself was not nominated.

The Allure of Taylor Swift

2011-01-24T03:35:00.003-07:00

Last Friday, Taylor Swift performed an unprecendented concert onboard the largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. Taylor's concert happened while the ship was docked in Cozumel, Mexico. The only people in attendance at the limited-capacity AquaTheatre were those who had been on the cruise all week and won tickets to the show by participating in a variety of Taylor-themed activities. Taylor and her band came aboard for the concert, after which they departed to prepare for the upcoming Speak Now World Tour and the ship sailed on. Now that the passengers are home, videos of the event are hitting the web. Check out this rare live performance of Taylor singing "Better Than Revenge" posted by one of the front and center concert-goers. Audio is low due to the outdoor amphitheatre. Depending on how the success of this event is judged by the cruiseline, could we be seeing this kind of port-side entertainment more often on cruise ships?

Ten of Toby Keith’s most prominent music videos will be compiled on an upcoming DVD, 10, a name derived from the number of awards Toby has won for videos throughout his career and the number of videos on the DVD. Look for it March 8th. Here are the videos you’ll see:
1. “Should’ve Been A Cowboy”
2. “How Do You Like Me Now?”
3. “Courtesy Of The Red, White, And Blue (The Angry American)”
4. “Beer For My Horses” feat. Willie Nelson
5. “I Love This Bar”
6. “American Soldier”
7. “As Good As I Once Was”
8. “American Ride”
9. “Bullets In The Gun”
10. “God Love Her”

And if you want a really good sports superstition story, you’ll be happy to know that The Pittsburgh Steelers’ lucky streak with Martina McBride continues. Martina is now 3-0 when it comes to singing the National Anthem at a Steelers playoff game that ended in the team headed to the Super Bowl. The Steelers will face the Green Bay Packers February 6th in Dallas. (Don’t forget to visit the contest page back on the main website to enter to win The Big Game Party for 20 people!)

Feel Good Friday Findings

2011-01-21T03:27:00.001-07:00

News From Around The Country
Sony Music Nashville has confirmed that the label and their long-time artist Alan Jackson have parted ways. Sony called it an “amicable parting” and wished him well in the statement released on Thursday. …… Lady Antebellum joins the line-up of Grammy performers, including previously-announced Miranda Lambert. Lady A is up for six awards, including Top Album, Top Record, and Top Song. …… Shooter Jennings and fiancée, actress Drea de Matteo, are expecting their second child in the spring and they’ve already picked out a name. Shooter’s mother, Jessi Colter, explained the baby’s name, “It’s gonna be a boy, and it’s gonna be called Waylon Albert. And Waylon’s father was Albert and Drea’s father’s name is Albert. And it’s customary that the eldest son preferably be called W.A., the initial it’s just something that’s come down Waylon’s family. They’re expecting in April, God willing.” Drea most recently made a guest appearance on Law & Order: SVU. The couple’s first child, Alabama Gypsyrose, is three-years old. The first in a three-volume Waylon Jennings tribute project, The Music Inside, will be released on February 8th.

One Hot Grammy Party

2011-01-20T03:24:00.002-07:00

Nashville’s hottest artists got together on Tuesday night to celebrate the country music Grammy nominations. Those spotted at the party included Dierks Bentley, Gretchen Wilson, Kings of Leon, Paramore, Marty Stuart, The Band Perry, and Lady Antebellum, who are nominated in six categories, more than any other country artist. The 53rd Grammy Awards will air live on CBS on February 13th. ..... As an unfortunate sidenote to the party, Dierks Bentley lost his new, classic car to a fire. Dierks had only driven his ’67 Camaro three times before it burst into flames while sitting in a parking lot just outside a bar. Dierks tweeted (sic), “met my friend charles kelley at a bar. he wanted to see my new ’67 camaro. we walked back outside. it was on fire. not cool.”

In celebration of their 10th season, American Idol is launching a mobile museum tour of 16 cities across the U.S. You’ll be able to experience Idol stardom through singing and posing for photos with life-size cardboard stand-ups of host Ryan Seacrest and the new judges. Visitors will also have a chance to check out memorabilia like Carrie Underwood’s finale dress, David Cook’s guitar, and a suit worn by Ryan.

News From Around The Country
An upcoming album of Lionel Richie country duets is almost finished. Producer Tony Brown is just working on getting Sugarland and Zac Brown Band into the studio. Already finished are “Stuck on You” (with Darius Rucker), “Sail On” (Tim McGraw), “Lady” (Kenny Rogers), “Easy” (Willie Nelson), “Deep River Woman” (Little Big Town), “You Are” (Blake Shelton) and “All Night Long” (Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band). …. Ricky Skaggs is writing his autobiography with Eddie Dean, the author who co-penned the prize-winning Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times with bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley. Look for the memoir to be published this fall. Ricky is also working on a project for Time-Life’s record division. ….. Charley Pride will release his first studio album since 2006. Choices will feature 13 original tracks and a couple of classic spiritual songs. Charley has sold over 70-million records throughout his career as country music’s first African-American superstar. His newest album will be released on his 73rd birthday, March 18th.

2011-01-19T05:08:00.000-07:00

Faith Hill is teaming up with The Pretenders for a special live edition of CMT Crossroads from the NFL’s Super Bowl Fan Jam. This is Faith’s first CMT Crossroads appearance and her second link to football. Faith is the current voice of the NFL’s Sunday Night Football. The special episode of CMT Crossroads will air February 5th.

Meanwhile, Faith’s other half has a few business ventures of his own. Tim McGraw's third fragrance, McGraw Silver, and a Tim-inspired limited edition belt buckle. The buckle features a black guitar pick set in a silver buckle that features clear stones and a rope-pattern along the edge. Tim is running an online contest to win the buckle and a bottle of his newest cologne. For every entry on the site, one dollar will be donated to Neighbor’s Keeper, a charity started by Tim and wife, Faith Hill.

News From Around The Country
Rascal Flatts will tape their concert this Friday in Minnesota for an upcoming special, Rascal Flatts: Nothing Like This Presented by JCPenney. The special is scheduled to air Saturday, March 12th on ABC. ….. Taylor Swift’s appearance in the comic book series, Fame, will take a life of its own this spring as a graphic novel. The books will be based on the original comic with some new content and artwork added in. Fame: Taylor Swift will be available in May. ….. Craig Morgan is preparing to make his ninth visit to entertain U.S. troops stationed overseas with the Stars For Stripes organization. From January 27th through February 3rd, he'll perform for service members stationed in Iraq and Kuwait, as well as special acoustic sets at remote Forward Operating Bases for troops who seldom receive celebrity entertainment. As an Army veteran, Craig is very passionate about giving his time to the military and is always thankful for all the work they do. ….. And finally, it’s Dolly Parton’s 65th birthday today. What’s she up to these days? Well, she’s writing music for a new children’s musical about her Tennessee upbringing, and she’s still talking about doing a country version of Hello, Dolly!

2011-01-18T04:52:00.000-07:00

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman’s publicists have dropped a bomb. We are just learning that Keith and Nicole are the proud parents of Faith Margaret Kidman Urban, a biological daughter born December 28th in Nashville by a gestational carrier. The couple issued a statement saying, "Our family is truly blessed, and just so thankful, to have been given the gift of baby Faith Margaret. No words can adequately convey the incredible gratitude that we feel for everyone who was so supportive throughout this process, in particular our gestational carrier." Faith Margaret joins two-and-a-half year old sister Sunday Rose. The young sisters also have a stepbrother and stepsister: Connor and Isabella who were adopted by Nicole and Tom Cruise.

News From Around The Country
From the gossip department, it looks like an on-screen romance is spilling over into the real world. Country Strong co-stars Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund were seen partying together after the Golden Globes on Sunday night at HBO‘s bash at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. One anonymous partygoer is spreading word that the two were “inseparable the entire night.” …… Kid Rock just celebrated his 40th birthday with a star-studded bash in Detroit on Saturday night. A-list friends like Martina McBride, Sheryl Crow, Uncle Kracker, and Cindy Crawford were among the more than 60,000 fans who attended a three-hour concert spectacular. For his birthday, Kid got an award from the City of Detroit and a customized 2011 Camaro SS from Chevrolet. Kid was also giving back on his night of gift getting, donating $25-thousand each to four Detroit-area charities. ….. And finally, the new season of American Idol premieres tomorrow night on FOX. The new season brings the much-hyped new judges, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. Host Ryan Seacrest is back again. Time will tell if the new format is acceptable, or if Idol has seen its better days.

Celebrity Apprentice Cast

2011-01-17T12:02:00.002-07:00

A cowboy hat will be back in the boardroom! Donald Trump has made the announcement of the next Celebrity Apprentice cast and it is a good mix of models, athletes, actors, and John Rich representing country music! The 11th season of the Apprentice franchise begins March 6th on NBC. With this cast, it should be a great season:

John Rich, country artist
Lil Jon, rapper
Mark McGrath, Sugar Ray singer
Meat Loaf, classic rocker
LaToya Jackson, singer
Dionne Warwick, R&B legend
Richard Hatch, Survivor winner
Niki Taylor, model
Jose Canseco, former baseball star
Gary Busey, comedian
David Cassidy, Partridge Family star
Lisa Rinna, actress
Marlee Matlin, actor
NeNe Leakes, Real Housewives of Atlanta
Star Jones, former The View host
Hope Dworaczyk, Playboy playmate

Sara Evans is once again joining the online movement, TwitChange, a celebrity charity-auction site that benefits the U.S. military’s "Operation Once in a Lifetime." Fans and followers can bid on the chance to be "followed," mentioned” or "re-tweeted" by their favorite celebrities. Reba, LeAnn Rimes, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Vince Gill are also a part of the online movement, which is geared toward providing free financial help to every member of the U.S. military.

After releasing a statement aimed at Britney Spears, regarding her new song “Hold It Against Me,” the Bellamy Brothers have the media buzzing worldwide. Howard and David are claiming Britney “ripped off” their 1979 hit, “If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me,” with her new single. Friday, the Bellamy's publicist confirmed the group has decided to "weigh their legal options." Since the story broke, media outlets world-wide have been covering the claims made by the Bellamy Brothers.

The Outdoor Channel has released its nominees for the 11th Annual Golden Moose Awards, the longest-running outdoor TV awards ceremony in the country. Craig Morgan’s show, Craig Morgan All Access Outdoors, is nominated in three categories: Best Fishing, Best Sound Design, and Best Commercial for Millennium Treestands. The awards will be handed out January 20th in Las Vegas.

And finally, Gloriana’s Tom Gossin is recovering after his recent knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Tom went through most of the touring season with the injury, but finally decided it was time to take care of it. “I made it,” he tweeted after the operation. “All is well…The doctor said that my meniscus was more torn than Natalie Imbruglia,” he joked. Tom’s using the recovery time to write songs and prepare for Gloriana’s next album.

Feel Good Friday

2011-01-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

Rascal Flatts and George Strait kick off their 2011 tours today, in Sioux Falls and Austin respectively. With $41.6 million cited in Pollstar, George had the highest-grossing concert tour in 2010. This year, George has teamed up with RedShirtFridays.org to show support for US military servicemen and women. He personally began participating in Red Shirt Friday during the holidays and will continue that tradition tonight, wearing a red shirt for opening night. He's encouraging fans to wear red shirts to all of his Friday shows and says, "I want to see a building full of red shirts if possible."

Billboard has released its list of the hottest TV theme songs, selected from the Hot 100 charts of the last 30 years and ranked according to where each song peaked on the chart between 1980 and 2011. Waylon Jennings put the only country song on the list.

BILLBOARD’S TOP 10 TV THEME SONGS 1980-2011

1) “How Do You Talk To An Angel”, The Heights – The Heights
2) “Miami Vice Theme”, Jan Hammer – Miami Vice
3) “Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe It Or Not)”, Joey Scarbury – Greatest American Hero
4) “The Theme From Hill Street Blues”, Mike Post feat. Larry Carlton – Hill Street Blues
5) “I’ll Be There For You”, The Rembrants – Friends
6) “Theme From The Dukes Of Hazzard (Good ‘Ol Boys)”, Waylon Jennings – The Dukes of Hazzard
7) “Moonlighting (Theme)”, Al Jarreau – Moonlighting
8) “Theme From Magnum P.I.”, Mike Post – Magnum P.I.
9) “Theme From Dynasty”, Bill Conti – Dynasty
10) “WKRP In Cincinnati”, Steve Carlisle – WKRP In Cincinnati

News From Around The Country
The first group of performers for the 53rd Grammy Awards has been announced, and the Miranda Lambert will represent country music. This will be her first time performing at the Grammys, which will take place live on CBS from Los Angeles on February 13th. ….. Jerrod Neimann will have his day in his hometown of Liberal, Kansas. Mayor Tim Long has declared tomorrow, January 15th as “Jerrod Niemann Day”. Jerrod graduated from Liberal High School in 1997, attended college in Texas, and eventually moved to Nashville. The proclamation made by the mayor mentions Jerrod’s success with his first single, “Lover, Lover,” and his album Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury. …… Reba McEntire has revealed her new Spring collection of clothes for Dillard's. Check here to see it. ……. And finally, Johnny Cash will be inducted in to the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame on January 24th in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Busy Thursday

2011-01-13T01:05:00.003-07:00

Kellie Pickler and her husband, Kyle Jacobs, have shared their wedding photo from the beach. The two called-off the large Nashville affair they were planning when they realized that the point of a wedding - the bride and groom and God - were getting lost among the details.

News From Around The Country
Blake Shelton will be co-hosting the ACM Awards alongside Reba McEntire and co-parenting new pups with Miranda Lambert. The 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards broadcasts live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3rd on CBS. The two new puppies were rescued from the side of the road. They've named them Virginia Bluebell and Black Betty. According to Miranda, Black Betty is a spaz and Virginia is sweet and shy. The couple now has a total of seven dogs.….. Alan Jackson’s song “Good Time” is featured in a new ad for GE and its ecomagination technology initiative. In the ad, people of various professions are seen participating in a massive around-the-world line dance which begins as the song is heard on a radio. ….. Gwyneth Paltrow is adding to her resume with a new cookbook, My Father’s Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family and Togetherness, dedicated to her late father, producer Bruce Paltrow. The book includes 150 recipes and pictures of Gwyneth at home with her family and friends. ….. Shania Twain will be honored by her home country when she’s inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame during the 2011 Juno Awards on March 27th. Shania has won 12 Juno Awards throughout her career in addition to 5 Grammys, 4 ACM Awards, and 2 CMA Awards. …… Sara Evans has released a newnovel, Softly & Tenderly. This is the second of a three-part series, Sweet By and By. The third part promises a lot more drama; Sara has been working on it since September.

And finally, be looking for the new game Country Dance for Wii to be released sometime in the spring. In the game, players use the Wii remote to dance along to more than 25 hit country songs and earn points based on how well you’ve danced. Some of the songs included are:
Carrie Underwood, “Cowboy Casanova”
Brad Paisley, “Water”
Sugarland, “Stuck Like Glue”
Trace Akins, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”
Tim McGraw, “Just to See You Smile”
Zac Brown Band, “Chicken Fried”
Rascal Flatts, “Life is A Highway”
Blake Shelton, “All About Tonight”
Miranda Lambert, “White Liar”
Johnny Cash, “Ring of Fire”

The Baby Boom Continues

2011-01-12T11:42:00.003-07:00

After a long-term relationship, they married in 2008 and have been trying to start a family for some time. Jewel and Ty Murray have announced that they’re expecting their first child later this year. Jewel is currently working on a second children’s album and filming her new reality show, Going Platinum.

A country music dance-venue marketing company, Marco Club Connection, has released its top-10 list of the year’s most-requested country dance-club songs. Each year, the company surveys a panel of more than 240 club owners, DJs, and dance instructors from across the country to compile its top-10 rankings. And the results are:

TOP COUNTRY DANCE CLUB HITS OF 2010
1) “Stuck Like Glue” – Sugarland
2) “All About Tonight” – Blake Shelton
3) “Hillbilly Bone” – Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins
4) “Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
5) “Giddy On Up” – Laura Bell Bundy
6) “Country Done Come To Town” – John Rich
7) “Roll With It” – Easton Corbin
8) “Why Don’t We Just Dance” – Josh Turner
9) “Turn On The Radio” – Reba
10) “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer” – Billy Currington

News From Around The Country
Tickets to Alan Jackson's third show in Brisbane, Australia sold out in 23 minutes. The show had to be added to Alan's original schedule due to demand. March 4th through March 12th will be Alan’s first tour in the land down under. To open, he’s taking along Miranda Lambert and newcomer Jasmine Rae, who is from Australia but now lives in Nashville. …… Rodney Atkins has been selected as the cover person for the debut issue of Country Music Profiles magazine. For the cover story, Rodney discusses his music, family, and more. The premiere issue also includes an interview with Eddie Montgomery. Country Music Profiles will be distributed nationwide in music stores and various mass-market outlets. ……. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has asked Garth Brooks to help him promote tourism in his state. The two appear together on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol in a public service announcement where Garth comments on the state’s beautiful landscapes and people. Garth recently visited the state as a producer on the made-for-TV movie, Unanswered Prayers. …… Martina McBride is back in an Atlanta recording studio working on the follow-up to her 2009 album, Shine. The new album will be Martina’s first since joining her new label, Republic Nashville, which is part of the Big Machine Label Group. …… If your New Year’s resolution was to hit the gym a little more often, you may find some encouragement in Keith Urban’s “Put You in a Song.” The tune has been recognized as one of the best workout songs for January 2011. Keith’s hit was the only country song to make the list on a fitness website.

Country Strong In The Top 10

2011-01-11T12:11:00.003-07:00

The weekend movie money numbers are in. Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow’s movie, Country Strong, opened in sixth place. Here’s a look at the Top 10 box office rankings (title, last weekend $; overall $):

1. True Grit, $15 million; $110.4 million
2. Little Fockers, $13.8 million; $124 million
3. Season of the Witch, $10.7 million; $10.7 million
4. Tron: Legacy, $9.8 million; $147.9 million
5. Black Swan, $8.4 million; $61.5 million
6. Country Strong, $7.3 million; $7.4 million
7. The Fighter, $7 million; $57.8 million
8. The King's Speech, $6.8 million; $33.3 million
9. Yogi Bear, $6.8 million; $75.6 million
10. Tangled, $5.2 million; $175.9 million

News From Around The Country
Kenny Chesney will be producing another football special for ESPN’s Year of The Quarterback promotion, The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story. Kenny actually wore Holloway’s jersey number when he played high school football, idolized the University of Tennessee quarterback, and was thrilled when he was asked to produce the documentary which is set to air February 20th on ESPN. ….. Faith Hill has partnered with the flower delivery company Teleflora to create ‘The Collection by Faith Hill.” A commercial revealing some of the designs will debut during Super Bowl XLV February 6th. ….. Tickets for Garth Brooks' next round of Las Vegas concerts will go on sale this Saturday. The shows, which Garth has been performing since December 2009, feature Garth performing solo, accompanying himself on guitar. Tickets are $225 plus service charge and tax. Tickets are available exclusively at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-877-65-GARTH.

Carrie And Mike Expand The Family

2011-01-10T00:23:00.000-07:00

Carrie Underwood and her husband, Mike Fisher, have announced an expansion to the family. She’s copper in color, part dachshund, and Carrie named her Penny. Carrie said, “That’s the only expanding we’ll be doing anytime soon.” she added. The new pup joins Carrie’s famed companion, Ace, in the family.

PBR fans will be hearing a lot more of Gary Allan’s music. Gary, who has provided his talents to the organization before, will now have his hit song, “Get Off on the Pain,” used as the theme song for PBR’s 2011 broadcasts. The 2011 PBR season opened last weekend in New York at Madison Square Garden and includes over 220 events happening throughout the year.

News From Around The Country
Chris Cagle will be lending his voice to a great cause in a few weeks when he takes the stage in Nashville to help raise money for the organization, Saddle Up! The group is one of Tennessee’s oldest and largest recreational therapeutic horseback riding programs, serving kids with disabilities. Proceeds from Chris’s show will be used to help kids grow and build up muscles through horse riding and other related activities. ….. A barn on Charlie Daniels’ farm, just outside of Nashville, burned down last Friday night. A spokesperson said that the main barn on the property burned to the ground, but there was no damage to Charlie’s house and no one was injured. Charlie and his wife, Hazel, were on a ski trip to Colorado when the fire occurred. The blaze destroyed farm equipment and a kitchen stove that was a gift from the late Roy Acuff. The stove was previously on display at Acuff's museum. This is the same property where portions of the movie Pure Country 2 were filmed. …… Actor and musician Steve Martin is working on another banjo album with his touring band, The Steep Canyon Rangers. Some of Steve’s friends will make special appearances on the album, including The Dixie Chicks and Paul McCartney. Steve is also an author and his new book, An Object of Beauty, is at #21 on the New York Times Best Sellers List. The new album, Rare Bird Alert will be released on March 15th.

Tim McGraw On The Big Screen

2011-01-07T00:38:00.001-07:00

Country Strong opens today at Allen Theatres’ Telshor 12. Tim McGraw plays “James Canter,” the music manager-husband of Gwyneth Paltrow’s character, “Kelly Canter.” Tim revealed that it was Reba McEntire’s manager-husband, and his good friend, Narvel Blackstock who was a small inspiration for his character. Tim said, “I did sort of start my look out for this character on Narvel Blackstock a little bit. Of course, the character is nothing like Narvel, but just sort of to get the ball rolling, I sort of had this image of Narvel when I was creating this character.” Gwyneth Paltrow talked about starring alongside Tim McGraw, “To be totally honest when they said 'What do you think about Tim for this part?' I had seen him in Friday Night Lights where he was brilliant. But then I thought, because you know we can all kind of do one thing and pull it off but then I thought does he really know what he's doing? And, he blew me away. I remember emailing Faith like 'You're husband is like seriously good. Like this is no joke. This man really knows what he's doing." From the gossip department, it’s interesting to compare the men that Gwyneth Paltrow has had a chance to kiss during her film career, including Jude Law, Brad Pitt, and most recently Tim McGraw and Garrett Hedlund in Country Strong. But, when Rachael Ray asked Gwyneth who her favorite was, she said it had to be Tom Cruise. “He was an amazing kisser,” she said on the Rachael Ray Show. Gwyneth had no comment on how her Country Strong co-stars matched up to Tom’s kissing style.

The 2011 Grammy Nominees album will be out on January 25th. It's a collection of artists and songs nominated for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, which air live on February 13th on CBS. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the album will benefit the MusiCares Foundation and the GRAMMY Foundation.

2011 GRAMMY NOMINEES ALBUM TRACK LIST
1) Cee Lo Green – “Forget You”
2) B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars – “Nothin’ On You”
3) Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg – “California Gurls”
4) Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce – “Telephone”
5) Eminem feat. Rihanna – “Love the Way You Lie”
6) Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”
7) Arcade Fire – “Ready to Start”
8) Adam Lambert – “Whataya Want From Me”
9) John Mayer – “Half of My Heart” (with Taylor Swift)
10) Michael Buble – “Haven’t Met You Yet”
11) Bruno Mars – “Just The Way You Are”
12) Michael Jackson – “This Is It”
13) Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs – “Beg Steal or Borrow”
14) Miranda Lambert – “House That Built Me”
15) Sade – “Babyfather”
16) Paramore – “The Only Exception”
17) Train – “Hey, Soul Sister”
18) Maroon 5 – “Misery”
19) Glee Cast – “Don’t Stop Believin’”

And finally, a cute story regarding Josh Turner, his wife, Jennifer, and their third son, Crawford Marion Turner. Josh says he and Jennifer have elected to call their newborn by his middle name, Marion. Why? "Marion came from one of my heroes, the Revolutionary War general Francis Marion," Josh said. "They called him the Swamp Fox, out of South Carolina. Our sense of this child was that he was going to be a warrior and a fighter and somebody that was able to overcome challenges. He looks like he's got that look in his eye.” Josh added that Marion is ironically the “calmest” of their three kids.

Taylor Is People's Choice for Country

2011-01-06T11:30:00.002-07:00

Taylor Swift took home Favorite Country Artist last night during the People's Choice Awards. Elton John presented her with the award and Taylor congratulated him on becoming a father once taking the microphone. Taylor brought her brother and his girlfriend as her guests. Later in the show Taylor presented Johnny Depp with the Favorite Male Actor award. Depp took the microphone for his acceptance speech and immediately turned to Taylor and said, "My daughter said if I didn't say hi to you I'd be in trouble, so hi from my daughter." Depp's daughter, Lily-Rose, is 11.

Country trio Lady Antebellum celebrate another milestone in their career as their album Need You Now is confirmed as the #2 best-selling album of 2010, across all genres. The title track to Lady A’s album also ranked #10 in Billboard’s Top 10-Selling Digital Songs of 2010. With regards to the third position, Taylor has had an album place in the Top-10 selling albums list every year since 2007.

2010’S TOP 10-SELLING ALBUMS (IN MILLIONS) 1/4/10-1/2/11
1) Eminem, Recovery – 3.42 mil.
2) Lady Antebellum, Need You Now – 3.09 mil.
3) Taylor Swift, Speak Now – 2.96 mil.
4) Justin Bieber, My World – 2.32 mil.
5) Susan Boyle, The Gift – 1.85 mil.
6) Lady Gaga, The Fame – 1.59 mil.
7) Sade, Soldier of Love – 1.30 mil.
8) Drake, Thank Me Later – 1.27 mil.
9) Usher, Raymond v. Raymond – 1.18 mil.
10) Ke$ha, Animal – 1.14 mil.

"Country Strong" Ticket Giveaway

2011-01-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

Coming up on Friday, Country Strong opens in theatres nationwide, including our own Allen Theatres. We’ll get the chance to see Tim McGraw play opposite Gwyneth Paltrow, as the husband and manager of a down-and-out country star trying to make a comeback. Stay tuned for the chance to call in and win a pair of tickets to the movie. Otherwise, stop by the new Steel Magnolia Boutique in Mesilla on Friday for a chance to pick up a pair of tickets. Tim McGraw will make several TV appearances this week in support of the movie. Check out Good Morning America on ABC and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC on Wednesday; Thursday, see Tim on Chelsea Lately (E!); and Friday on The Martha Stewart Show. Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow will host NBC’s Saturday Night Live next Saturday, January 15th. This will be her third time hosting the show.

Wedding bells were ringing loudly in the Caribbean on New Year’s Day. Media was quick with the news of Shania Twain’s second marriage, but also tying the knot in an intimate ceremony on a private island in the Caribbean was Kellie Pickler and Kyle Jacobs. It's not surprising that Kellie chose to say her vows on the beach, considering that’s where they got engaged and she's a big fan of the ocean. Kellie posted tweets yesterday afternoon that read – "Private Island. Caribbean. Cigar in one hand, Rum in the other. Someone just called me "Mrs. Jacobs."....sounds nice :)" "Yes, it's true, @kylecjacobs and I said "I Do!" Thank you Jesus!" Kyle also posted a tweet that read, "It's official...I'm Mr. Pickler..." With a new husband and home in Nashville, Kelly admits she’s grown up quite a bit since her early days on the scene, and feels more confident than ever. Kellie said, “I know who I am better now, than I what I did when I was, you know, just turned nineteen and moved to Nashville, so I have a better sense of who I am, and everyday I’m learning more and more about what I like and what I don’t like…I’ve learned a lot.” Kellie kicks-off a series of spring performances January 29th.

The People's Choice Awards air tonight on CBS. Kid Rock is set to perform during the night and Taylor Swift has been confirmed as attending. Country artists are represented in several categories including:

Favorite MALE ARTIST
Eminem
Enrique Iglesias
Michael Bublé
Tim McGraw
Usher

Favorite FEMALE ARTIST
Carrie Underwood
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Pink
Taylor Swift

Favorite COUNTRY ARTIST
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts
Taylor Swift

Favorite TV GUEST STAR
Betty White - Community
Britney Spears - Glee
Carrie Underwood - How I Met Your Mother
Demi Lovato - Grey's Anatomy
Neil Patrick Harris – Glee

And finally, The Man in Black, Johnny Cash, makes his long-anticipated debut on Rock Band this week. Eight of Johnny’s most-loved songs are available for download and play in Rock Band 3 as of Tuesday. Classics such as “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk The Line,” and “Cry, Cry, Cry,” are just some of the tunes you will enjoy. The entire pack costs $13.49 on the Xbox 360, Wii, and Playstation consoles.

Ice Toes

2011-01-04T05:27:00.001-07:00

If Dierks Bentley is freezing his shorts, it must be New Year’s Day. On schedule, Dierks took his annual dip in the frigid water's of Nashville's Percy Priest lake last Saturday. It's a ritual he started several years ago and began filming two years ago. Dierks says, "When it reaches and starts crawling up your board shorts and hits the mid section, it's definitely game on. There's no backing down now. The coldest spot for me actually was my feet. I went in there barefoot, and I was in my truck with the heater on high with like the air coming out of the bottom for like ten minutes trying to get movement back in my toes." Dierks' band mates chickened out of the winter swim, but he says that they will have to make up for it this spring while they're on tour.

Forbes magazine has released their list of the Top 20 highest earners in Hollywood for 2010. The only country star on the list is Taylor Swift at #19. Here’s the complete list:

1) Oprah Winfrey - $315 million
2) James Cameron - $210 million
3) Tyler Perry - $125 million
4) Michael Bay - $120 million
5) Tiger Woods - $105 million
6) Jerry Bruckheimer - $100 million
7) Steven Spielberg - $100 million
8) George Lucas - $95 million
9) Beyonce Knowles - $87 million
10) Dr. Phil - $80 million
11) Simon Cowell - $80 million
12) Jerry Seinfeld - $75 million
13) Britney Spears - $64 million
14) Lady Gaga - $62 million
15) Madonna - $58 million
16) Sandra Bullock - $56 million
17) Ellen Degeneres - $55 million
18) Miley Cyrus - $48 million
19) Taylor Swift - $45 million
20) Judge Judy Sheindlin - $45 million

For the third year, you will have the chance to vote in two categories of the Academy of Country Music Awards. The nominees for Top New Solo Vocalist are Eric Church, Easton Corbin, and Randy Houser. In the category of Top New Vocal Duo or Group, nods were given to The Band Perry, The JaneDear Girls, and Steel Magnolia. Fan voting will be open between January 27th and February 24th. The winners in each category will go on to compete for the title of Top New Artist. The 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast on CBS, April 3rd.

Here’s some good news to start the year. Just days before attending the Kennedy Center Honors early last month, Merle Haggard received the news that he’s cancer-free. “I think I'm all right now,” Merle said, “I went down and had a checkup just prior to going back for this little gig and I was clear. I didn't have anything, and that's an awful good sign." In 2008, Merle underwent surgery to have a cancerous part of his lung removed. Merle also said a once-talked-about album with Willie Nelson may now involve close friend Kris Kristofferson. “I'm sure if we're healthy and live to do it, we'll do it,” he said. “We thought about the title: The Musketeers. You know, because there's the three of us.”

And finally, Craig Morgan can now add top-rated TV host to his resume. In its first season on The Outdoor Channel, Craig Morgan: All Access Outdoors has risen to become the network’s #1 rated hunting show on Saturday mornings. The show chronicles Craig’s life both on stage and out in the field as an avid outdoorsman. He also welcomes professional athletes and fellow country artists on as guests each week.

First of the Year Wedding Bells

2011-01-03T05:16:00.000-07:00

1-1-11. A popular anniversary date. If you used it, you share the date with Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud. The couple, who announced their engagement only a short time ago, exchanged vows on New Years Day. Shania's manager, Jason Owen, told People magazine exclusively that the two were married at sunset in Puerto Rico in front of 40 of their closest friends and family. The couple has been romantically involved since 2009, after their respective divorces.

One of the first things on Toby Keith’s list of things to do in 2011 will be to keep a promise made to his daughter, Krystal. When she was younger, Toby told her that he would help produce and release her first album if she graduated college. She kept her end of the bargain in 2009, it’s time for Toby to do his part. You may remember that Krystal released a duet with her father, “Mockingbird,” for his Greatest Hits 2 album back in 2004. Also on tap for Toby in 2011, the opening of his 11th I Love This Bar & Grill restaurant, and a potential Grammy win. Toby is up this year in the Best Male Country Vocal Performance category for his song, “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)”. The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast February 13th on CBS.

And finally, a collection of rare recordings from Johnny Cash’s early career, From Memphis to Hollywood, will be released as a double album on February 22nd. The first album covers Johnny’s career in Memphis from late 1954 to late 1957, beginning with a Memphis radio broadcast, including eleven previously unreleased demos, and ending with seven outtakes from Sun Records. The second disc gathers Johnny’s non-album singles, outtakes and B-sides he recorded for Columbia from 1958 to 1969, following his move to L.A. to pursue TV and film work as a songwriter and actor.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2011-01-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

2010 was a great year in music on The Country Station. Looking back, we've compiled the list of the Top 40 Most Played Songs on K-Great 104. Song rankings based on total airplay from January - December 2010. Seasonal songs may not have had as lengthy of a chart run. However, honarable mention goes out to Troy Olsen, who had two of the most-requested songs of the year with "Truth Or Consequences," and "Summer Thing."

40. I'm In Keith Urban
39. Our Kind of Love Lady Antebellum
38. Heart of My Heart Bellamy Brothers
37. This Ain't Nothin' Craig Morgan
36. The Shape I'm In Joe Nichols
35. I Keep On Loving You Reba McEntire
34. Pound Sign (#?*!) Kevin Fowler
33. Every Dog Has Its Day Toby Keith
32. Real James Wesley
31. Get Off On The Pain Gary Allan
30. From A Table Away Sunny Sweeney
29. Only Prettier Miranda Lambert
28. I Gotta Get To You George Strait
27. Water Brad Paisley
26. Why Wait Rascal Flatts
25. Smoke A Little Smoke Eric Church
24. Wrong Baby Wrong Martina McBride
23. Tell Me You Get Lonely Frankie Ballard
22. Groovy Little Summer Song James Otto
21. A Father's Love Bucky Covington
20. If I Die Young The Band Perry
19. Hard Hat and a Hammer Alan Jackson
18. Farmer's Daughter Rodney Atkins
17. I Pray For You Jaron & The LRTL
16. Fearless Taylor Swift
15. Crazy Town Jason Aldean
14. Turn On The Radio Reba McEntire
13. Roll With It Easton Corbin
12. Ain't Back Yet Kenny Chesney
11. Someone Else Calling You Baby Luke Bryan
10. Dirt Road D ancing Matt Stillwell
9. All Over Me Josh Turner
8. Lover, Lover Jerrod Neimann
7. This Ain't No Love Song Trace Adkins
6. All About Tonight Blake Shelton
5. Unstoppable Rascal Flatts
4. How I Got To Be This Way Justin Moore
3. Little White Church Little Big Town
2. Rain Is a Good Thing Luke Bryan
1. Way Out Here Josh Thompson

More End of the Year Numbers

2010-12-30T00:03:00.001-07:00

Country made its mark on the 2010 year-end Mediabase charts with some of the most-heard artists and songs around the country. In the Top 15 Overall Artists chart, Taylor Swift ranked at #5, while Lady Antebellum marked in at #9. Lady A also topped the list of Country’s Most Played Artists with hits like, “I Need You Now,” and “American Honey”. The most played song on country radio for 2010 was Josh Turner’s “Why Don’t We Just Dance,” followed by Joe Nichols’ “Gimme That Girl”.

COUNTRY’S MOST PLAYED ARTISTS (2010)
1) Lady Antebellum
2) Carrie Underwood
3) Brad Paisley
4) Miranda Lambert
5) Jason Aldean
6) Zac Brown Band
7) Luke Bryan
8) Josh Turner
9) Blake Shelton
10) Easton Corbin

Looking ahead to next year, The 46th annual Academy of Country Music Awards are set to take place on April 3rd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The awards will be followed by a special television taping of Girls’ Night Out: Superstar Women of Country. The special will spotlight the talented women in the country music world with a line-up of the biggest acts in country, which will be announced soon. Tickets will benefit the ACM Lifting Lives foundation, and will go on sale January 19th.

The End of The Year Is Near

2010-12-29T00:58:00.000-07:00

Gwyneth Paltrow isn’t the only one spending a lot of time with her Country Strong co-star Tim McGraw and wife, Faith Hill. Her 4-year old son, Moses, and Tim and Faith’s 9-year old daughter, Audrey, seem to have taken to each other pretty well. “Moses…we might really become family when he marries Audrey,” Gwyneth said to Faith in an interview she did with her for InStyle Magazine. “My son is in love with your daughter!” Later, Tim was asked by People about Gwyneth’s hopes for his daughter and her son. He repiled, “Well, he better make a lot of money!" Tim and Faith were both on hand for Gwyneth’s recent Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony. Country Strong will be released on January 7th.

The 100 Biggest Americana Albums of 2010 have been announced by the Americana Music Association, putting the spotlight on some of the greatest Americana songs and artists of the year. The soundtrack to Crazy Heart tops the list, an album that features the Academy-Award winning song, “The Weary Kind,” by Ryan Bingham. Rosanne Cash’s The List came in at #2.

End of the Year Numbers Roll In

2010-12-28T00:53:00.000-07:00

Billboard has announced the Top 25 Tours of 2010. For country music, Tim McGraw comes in at #13, grossing $44.7-million in sales this year. Taylor Swift made the list at #15, grossing over $40-million and selling out 45 of her 47 shows in 2010. Here's the complete list:

Billboard’s Top 25 Tours of 2010 (in millions)
1) Bon Jovi - $146.5
2) U2 - $131.5
3) AC/DC - $122.6
4) Lady Gaga - $116.2
5) Black Eyed Peas - $81.6
6) James Taylor & Carole King - $62.3
7) Eagles - $62.2
8) Metallica - $61.9
9) Dave Matthews Band - $61.2
10) Paul McCartney - $55.8
11) Michael Buble - $52.9
12) Trans-Siberian Orchestra - $47.4
13) Tim McGraw - $44.8
14) Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - $44.7
15) Taylor Swift - $40.3
16) Andre Rieu - $40
17) Brad Paisley - $38.6
18) George Strait & Reba McEntire - $36.7
19) Justin Bieber - $35.6
20) Nickelback - $35
21) Phish - $33.2
22) Miley Cyrus - $33.1
23) Rascal Flatts - $31.5
24) Carrie Underwood - $29.7
25) Tiesto - $28.6

One Week Since Men's Hearts Broke Around The Globe

2010-12-27T00:11:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, it was announced that Shania Twain had become engaged to long-time boyfriend Frédéric Thiébaud. Have you seen the personal letter that Shania posted on her website regarding her new love? Shania writes that she’s optimistic about her future, "I'm looking forward to what the New Year has in store and to sharing it with you. So, I'll be in touch with more news and details soon.” She also shared that romance had been a blossoming situation between herself and her new fiancée. "Talking about love,” she posted. “I am excited to share some personal news with you; I'm in love! Frederic Nicolas Thiebaud has been a true gift to me as a compassionate, understanding friend and over time, an amazing love has blossomed from this precious friendship. Fred and I are happy to announce, our ENGAGEMENT!" Shania and Frédéric have been close since his wife allegedly left him to be with Shania’s ex-husband and music-producer Robert “Mutt” Lange.

Merry Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

As the days of 2010 dwindle, the New York Times has compiled a list of the Top 10 Albums and Top 10 Songs of the year from all genres. The order of those who made the cut and those who did not will certainly make for some interesting holiday conversations:

Top 10 Albums of 2010

1) Rick Ross – Teflon Don
2) Taylor Swift – Speak Now
3) Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
4) Drake – Thank Me Later
5) Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
6) Gary Allan – Get Off On the Pain
7) DJ Drama & Fabolous – There Is No Competition 2: The Funeral Service
8) Justin Bieber – My World 2.0
9) R. Kelly – Love Letter
10) Jerrod Niemann – Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury

Top 10 Songs of 2010

1) Waka Flocka Flame featuring Diddy, Rick Ross, & Gucci Mane – “O Let’s Do It (Remix)”
2) Rick Ross featuring Gucci Mane – “MC Hammer”
3) Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”
4) Chris Brown featuring Drake, T.I., Kanye West, Fabolous, Rick Ross, & André 3000 – “Deuces (Remix)”
5) Miguel featuring J. Cole – “All I Want Is You”
6) Kanye West feat. Pusha T – “Runaway”
7) Cults – “Go Outside”
8) Earl Sweatshirt – “Earl”
9) Ellie Goulding – “Starry Eyed”
10) Lloyd Banks featuring Juelz Santana – “Beamer, Benz, or Bentley”

Country Artists Get Charitable For The Holidays

2010-12-23T00:23:00.000-07:00

Jake Owen has presented a $30,000 check to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as well as a $33,000 check to the Mardy Fish Foundation after his fifth annual Mardy’s Tennis and Jake’s Music Fest concert in his hometown of Vero Beach, Florida. The event also featured a performance by special guests Little Big Town, who also advocate children’s charities and youth organizations. For Jake, asking the group to join the festivities was an easy decision. “That’s what we’re here for, you know? That’s what I love about them. They’re just good people,” Jake said, “We’re here to do more than music. We’re here to help, and it’s just an awesome thing that I have friends like Little Big Town, and have a community full of people that embrace our ideas and what we’re trying to do. It’s about kids. I love kids, and I want to do all I can to help.”

So how are country artists feeling about the holidays? Musically speaking, Carrie Underwood loves the holidays; she said, “‘O Holy Night’ — it’s my favorite Christmas song. I mean, it just talks about the grandness of that night, and it’s just, it’s very powerful. And it’s powerful singing it, and to me, it’s always been very powerful listening to it.” Other songs included on the 2008 special Holiday edition of Carnival Ride are "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing," "The First Noel," "What Child is This," and "Do You Hear What I Hear."

Meanwhile, Rascal Flatts splits up to spend time at home with their respective families. But even if they're far apart, Joe Don says they try to do a little holiday giving as well, “You know every once in a while Jay, Gary, and myself by gifts for each other, but now it’s more like Tiff and I will buy gifts for Gary and Tara, we’ll send a gift to Jay and Allison, just a gift of something for Xmas.” Joe Don joked, “They’ll never buy stuff for Tiff and I but that’s alright.” Rascal Flatts have teamed up with an electronics retailer and the Grammy Foundation this holiday season to encourage the purchase of certain products which will lead to a donation of up to $825,000 to the Grammy Foundation's music education programs for high school students. Joe Don himself went to a small high school that didn't have a lot of money for their music programs. He was able to be in the marching band and knows firsthand what kind of an impact music can have in a teenager's life. Joe Don said, “I got to play trumpet, from sixth grade all the way up through until I graduated. But also along the way when we did concert band I was able to play French horn, baritone for a couple different songs. I also played percussion too, so I got to experience a lot.” Rascal Flatt's Nothin' Like This album is one of the featured items going towards the charitable donation.

News From Around The Country

2010-12-22T08:06:00.001-07:00

Jimmy Wayne will perform tonight on the CBS special Home For The Holidays, a holiday special featuring celebrity testimonials on adoption. This year, Jimmy completed an inspiring walk from Nashville to Phoenix to bring awareness to homeless teens, but now that he is back home for the holidays, he said, “Whenever I get a chance to get off of the road and go home, I go home. It’s a lot of work to get in a car and go somewhere. It’s like I travel constantly, that’s all I do. So when I’m at home, I stay home.” The holiday special will also feature performances by Melissa Etheridge, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Ricky Martin and rapper Nelly, and airs tonight on CBS.

Here’s something different to do for next year’s roster of birthdays in your circle. Have Reba McEntire wish them a happy birthday! Reba is teaming up with the website, StarGreetz, to give fans the chance to send out personalized greetings. The recipients will get a customized video message with pre-programmed names and words. The messages cost $2.99 each.

Carrie Underwood’s upcoming movie, Soul Surfer, won’t be in theaters until April 15th. But, some church leaders around the country will have a chance to see the movie first, for free. The film tells the story of Bethany Hamilton, a teen surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack. Carrie plays a youth counselor in the movie. Movie promoters hope the pre-screenings will send some good word-of-mouth publicity their way before the movie hits the big screen.

Relationships Come Full Circle

2010-12-21T08:48:00.001-07:00

Shania Twain's representative has confirmed the news that she and Frederic Thiebaud are engaged. Ironically, Thiebaud is the ex-husband of Shania's former friend Marie-Ann Thiebaud. This is the woman Mutt allegedly left Shania for in May of 2008. Thiebaud and Shania reportedly became close once the double betrayal was realized and officially came clean that they were dating in August of 2009. Thiebaud is a Nestle business executive and popped the question about two months ago in Switzerland. Shania's divorce from Robert "Mutt" Lange was official in June of this year.

Former Fugees front man Wyclef Jean is said to be recording a duet with Kenny Rogers. Kenny’s hoping that the song will be heard on his upcoming duets album, Killer Combinations. Wyclef did a rap rendition of Kenny’s hit, “The Gambler,” back in 2000 and now Kenny says he wants to do something a little more “musical” with Wyclef on the new album. Both artists have a strong following in Wyclef’s home country of Haiti.

Eddie Montgomery is celebrating this holiday season after a successful surgery has left him without any need for further cancer treatment. Eddie will spend the holidays at home with his family this year, enjoying some down time, old-fashioned traditions, and maybe some funny-tasting eggnog. Eddie said, “Back when I was a kid growin’ up, we didn’t have a whole lot. Course Mom and Dad played music. It was usually, our Christmas basically ended up with all a bunch of musicians in our house and havin’ people come over and just playin’ music, and there was some real funny-tastin’ eggnog.” Montgomery Gentry will hit the road early next year for a USO Tour.

The Stork Has Come Calling

2010-12-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts and his wife, Allison, welcomed their first child last Friday in Nashville. Madeline Leigh weighed six pounds nine ounces. The couple plan to call her Maddie. Jay and Allison married six years ago and met when Allison appeared in Rascal Flatts "These Days" video. After Rascal Flatts wrap up the final leg of their Nothing Like This Tour in March of next year, they plan to hit the road in early July with an event they are calling Flatts Fest. Joe Don Rooney says the tour will be filled with plenty of music to enjoy, “It’s definitely gonna be a multiple artist bill for sure. There’s gonna be some big names, a lot of fun. It’s gonna be a big party.”

Josh Turner also received an early Christmas gift with the arrival of a new, bouncing baby boy! Josh and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed Crawford Marion to the family. The new baby joins older brothers, Colby Lynch and Hampton Otis. Just like his brothers, Marion, as he will be called, arrived early weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces and measuring 19 inches long.

And finally, country music’s biggest stars are supporting the Red Cross during the holiday season. Reba, Rascal Flatts, Pat Green, Wynonna, and Sara Evans, all members of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet, are encouraging fans to check out the Red Cross holiday online catalog, Gifts that Save the Day. The catalog gifts are contributions toward a Red Cross program area including, military and disaster relief. In a video message for the campaign Reba said, “This holiday season, I’m giving the gift of hope by supporting my local American Red Cross, Instead of sweaters and ties I’m giving gifts from the Red Cross Holiday Giving Catalog.”

Thursday Update

2010-12-16T08:25:00.001-07:00

Have you seen the NBC series Who Do You Think You Are? It will be returning for its second season on January 21st, and Tim McGraw will be just one of the celebrities trying to dig up a long-lost family history on the program. Cameras follow the stars around the globe as they explore their family trees with the help of several historians and genealogists. Other celebrities participating in the new season are Steve Buscemi, Ashley Judd, Vanessa Williams, Rosie O’Donnell, and Kim Cattrall.

More country stars will be brushing up on their history in order to take part in the upcoming HBO Civil War mini-series, The Appomattox. Rascal Flatts announced their participation earlier this week. Now, Kix Brooks, Laura Bell Bundy, and Dwight Yoakam are on board with the 8-hour long mini-series where they’ll play real Americans who were part of the Civil War. Rascal Flatts will also produce the soundtrack for the series which will feature original material and new versions of Civil War era music.

News From Around The Country
USO Tour veteran, Keni Thomas, along with fellow artists Emily West, Buddy Jewell and Alana Grace, will join Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth Preston as part of the annual 2010 Hope and Freedom USO Tour. Designed as a variety show, the 11-day tour will launch this week and deliver a much-needed break to troops during the holiday season. …… Jamey Johnson's 25-song double album, The Guitar Song, has been certified Gold. The project also received two Grammy nominations including one in the Country Album of the Year category. ….. The Band Perry has officially gone platinum. Siblings Kimberly, Reid, and Neil Perry received official RIAA Platinum status for selling over one-million copies of their #1 single, "If I Die Young." …… And finally, Lee Ann Womack is hoping to draw attention to the plight of women and girls in Malawi, Africa by teaming up with the charity, Join My Village. Fans can visit the groups website and click on links to support the cause. Lee Ann will also appear in PSAs in hopes of getting 100,000 of her fans to join the effort.

Wednesday's Word From The Wire

2010-12-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Garth Brooks will take over Nashville with his nine sold-out shows to benefit flood relief. He is making this concert experience one to remember for the less fortunate, as he has teamed up with the Toys for Tots program, sponsored by the Marine Corps Reserve. Garth is asking fans to bring new, unwrapped toys that will be distributed to kids who could use them throughout Middle Tennessee. His wife Trisha Yearwood will serve as a guest performer during the shows, along with songwriter Karyn Rochelle who has written songs such as, “Georgia Rain,” “This Is Me You’re Talking To,” and “Red High Heels.”

The Golden Globe nominations have been announced and there are some country music names in the mix. The Best Original Song in a Motion Picture category has two familiar faces, as the song “Coming Home” performed by Gwyneth Paltrow in the upcoming film Country Strong was nominated alongside Carrie Underwood’s song “There’s A Place For Us” from Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Carrie not only sings the song, but she co-wrote the track as well. The two songs are up against one from the animated movie Tangled and two from Burlesque. Keith Urban’s wife Nicole Kidman was also nominated for best dramatic actress in the film Rabbit Hole. The show will air live on January 16th.

And finally, here’s a fun note. Reader’s Digest and Harris Interactive surveyed mayors of cities with a population of 30-thousand or more to find which popular song best described their state of mind during the on-going recession. With 47% of the vote, the top song was Easton Corbin’s “Roll With It,” followed close behind by Eminem’s hit “Not Afraid” with 41% of the votes.

Tuesday Newsday

2010-12-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

News From Around The Country
Lee Greenwood will headline the Hyundai Halftime Show at the Sun Bowl. The game will be broadcast from Sun Bowl Stadium at noon on December 31st on CBS. ….. Kenny Rogers has been presented with the key to Atlantic City for his efforts to perform in and promote the city. After accepting, Kenny said, “I have a key to the city of Florence, Idaho, and this is so much better.” This is Kenny’s 12th key-to-a-city recognition. ….. People Magazine is offering free downloads of Christmas music performed by several country artists. Some of the freebies on their website include Brad Paisley’s “Away in a Manger,” Joe Nichols’ “O Holy Night,” and Rascal Flatts’ “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

2010-12-13T08:47:00.001-07:00

In honor of Taylor Swift’s 21st birthday today, here is everything you've ever wanted to know about Taylor!

TAYLOR SWIFT'S 21ST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. Taylor’s 21st birthday has finally arrived, and the one thing on everyone’s mind is, will she drink an alcoholic beverage? Don’t expect to see Taylor stumbling out of a club tonight. She told Ladies Home Journal, “Maybe I’ll have a glass of wine – but nothing too hardcore for me. I need to be in control of what I say, and if I drank, I’d stress out about saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.” Taylor will stick with a Christmas-themed party this year, but one significant man will be missing, and it’s not John Mayer. Santa Claus will not be making an appearance to take her pals’ wishes for Christmas. She said, "I'm not gonna do that, but there'll definitely be lots of Christmas-themed things."

TAYLOR’S 20TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. Instead of receiving gifts on her 20th birthday, Taylor decided to help her community instead. She donated 250-thousand dollars to schools around the country she attended. That money was used to pay teachers’ salaries and fund educational programs. Taylor held a Christmas-themed birthday party at her home in Tennessee for her friends, family, band, and tour crew. She spent the night before at home, baking butter cookies and gingerbread cookies with cream-cheese icing for her guests. She described the celebration as, “more like an end-of-year Christmas party that happens to be on my birthday.” Taylor was also dating her Valentine’s Day co-star Taylor Lautner, who at the time that was on hand to celebrate her big day. Rumors circulated he spent 50-thousand dollars on her gift.

TAYLOR’S 19TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. Taylor enjoyed her last year as a teenager with a low-key night spent with her family, friends, and band mates at her home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. She shared a homemade video she had created and dedicated it to her 40 guests. Taylor also treated her pals to a buffet which included sushi and bacon-wrapped scallops, followed by two ice cream cakes – chocolate peppermint and cookie-dough. Before the party was over, her guests competed in a ping-pong tournament, which was won by her manager. For her 19th birthday, Taylor only wanted a stationary set and new glasses, since her others broke.

TAYLOR’S 18TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. Taylor celebrated her 18th birthday with a pink-themed celebration at Lot 7 in Nashville, surrounded by her family and many famous friends. The room was decorated with dozens of pink paper lanterns and throw pillows. Taylor’s record label gave her a brand-new pink Chevy truck which she donated to charity. During the party, a slideshow was played with pictures from Taylor’s childhood. Kellie Pickler helped her blow out the candles on her birthday cake. Lady Antebellum, John Rich, and Taylor’s best friend Abigail were also on hand. Instead of running out to get a tattoo, she registered to vote online.

FUN TAYLOR FACTS

-Her maternal grandmother, Majorie Finlay, was an opera singer, which inspired Taylor to pursue a singing career.
-When she was 12, she spent an entire summer penning a 350-page novel which fans have asked her to publish.
-“Monster in My Closet” was the name of the poem that helped Taylor win a national poetry contest in elementary school.
-The first song Taylor ever wrote was titled, “Lucky You.”
-Taylor says she has said she has a secret crush on Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl.
-She failed her driver's permit test 3 times.
-Music is her number one passion, but if she had to choose another career, she would be a forensic scientist.
-She has used two One Tree Hill stars in her music videos - "Teardrops On My Guitar" featured Tyler Hilton and Stephen Colletti made an appearance in "White Horse."

FACTS ABOUT TAYLOR’S SONGS

-Taylor’s first single in 2006 was “Tim McGraw,” which reached the #6 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
-Her second single, "Teardrops on My Guitar,” was released February 24th, 2007. In mid-2007, the song peaked at #2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and #33 on the Billboard Hot 100.
-"Our Song"spent 6 weeks at #1 on the country charts and peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
-"Should've Said No" became Taylor's second #1 single.
-The lead single from Fearless, "Love Story" sold more than 129-thousand digital copies. This gave Taylor the best online start for any country album in history. It had the 4th biggest week for a digital album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking them in 2004.
-"White Horse," was released on December 8th, 2008. The music video for the song premiered on CMT on February 7th, 2009.
-"Change", was selected as part of a soundtrack supporting Team USA in the 2008 Summer Olympics. The song was also featured as part of the soundtrack of NBC's broadcast package of the Olympics.
-When "Fifteen" reached the #38 spot on the Billboard chart the week of November 21st, 2009, Taylor became the female artist with the most Top 40 singles this decade, surpassing Beyonce.
-Taylor claimed both the #1 and #2 positions on Nielsen's Top 10 Most Played Songs chart (all genres), with "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story."
-Taylor released the track "Today Was a Fairytale," from the Valentine’s Day soundtrack, as a digital download on iTunes on January 19th, 2010. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at the #2 spot which was recognized as Taylor’s sixth Top 10 and 23rd Top 40 single on that chart.
-Taylor first performed "Jump Then Fall," June 5th, 2010 at Gillette Stadium.
-“Mine” was leaked 12 days before Big Machine Records planned to release the single. So, they decided to rush the song to radio to counteract the leak. The song shot to the top of the iTunes charts while Taylor was on a plane to Japan.

FACTS ABOUT TAYLOR’S ALBUMS

-Her self-titled debut album was released on October 24th 2006. Debuting high on the Billboard 200, the album sold 39,000 copies during its first week. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and #5 on the Billboard 200.
-Her debut album spent 8 consecutive weeks at the top of the Top Country Albums charts and remained at the top for 24 out of 91 weeks.
-On November 11th 2008, Taylor released her second album, Fearless. The album debuted at #1 on the Top Country Albums and the Billboard 200 Album Chart. The album sold 592,304 copies in the first week making the highest debut of any country artist in 2008.
-It was also the largest opening U.S. sales week in 2008 by a female artist in all genres of music, and the 4th biggest overall behind Lil Wayne, AC/DC and Coldplay.
-Fearless topped the Billboard 200 chart for 11 non-consecutive weeks. No album has spent more time at #1 since 2000.
-In its debut week, 7 songs from Fearless were charted on Billboard Hot 100, tying Taylor with Miley Cyrus for the most by a female artist in a single week.
-Of the 13 tracks on Fearless, 11 spent time on the Hot 100.
-Fearless was the best-selling album of 2009 in the US with more than 3.2 millions copies sold in that year.
-Taylor’s third album, Speak Now, sold 1,047,000 copies in its first week.
Speak Now received Triple-Platinum certification by the RIAA after selling 3-million copies since its release on October 25th.
-Speak Now came in at #13 on Rolling Stone’s Top Albums of 2010. According to the RIAA, Taylor has also scored the most single digital downloads of any artist this decade.
-All three of Taylor’s albums are now certified multi-Platinum:
Taylor Swift (2006) – 4x multi-Platinum
Fearless (2008) – 6x multi-Platinum
Speak Now (2010) – 3x multi-Platinum

TAYLOR’S AWARDS

Throughout the past couple of years, Taylor has won over 70 awards including:

CMT Music Awards
2007 – Breakthrough Video of The Year for “Tim McGraw”

2008 – Female Video of the Year & Video of the Year for “Our Song”

2009 – Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for “Love Story”

Grammy Awards
2010 - Fearless – Album of the Year, Best Country Album, “White Horse” Best Female Country Vocal Performance, & Best Country Song

CMA Awards
2007 – Horizon Award

2009 – Music Video of the Year for “Love Story,” Album of the Year for Fearless, Female Entertainer of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year.

Taylor became the youngest artist ever to win the CMA Award for Entertainer of the Year, and is one of only six women to win the highest honor.

ACM Awards
2008 – Top New Female Vocalist

2009 – Album of the Year for Fearless, Crystal Milestone Award

Taylor is the youngest artist in history to win the ACM Album of the Year award.

Billboard Music Awards
2009 – Artist of the Year, The Billboard 200 Artists of the Year, The Billboard 200 Album of the Year, Hot Radio Songs of the Year, Top Country Album Artist of the Year, Top Country Album of the Year & Hot Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year.

Other Recgonitions…
-Taylor was country music's best-selling artist of 2008.
-In 2008, Taylor was ranked the 38th Best Artist of the 2000–2010 Decade by Billboard.
-In mid-January 2009, Taylor became the first country artist to top the 2-million mark in paid downloads with three different songs.
-In 2009, Forbes ranked Taylor the 69th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $18 million and in 2010 as the 12th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $45 million.
-In January 2010 Nielsen SoundScan listed Taylor as the most commercially successful country (or country/pop crossover) artist in music history with over 28-million digital tracks sold.
-Taylor was the first celebrity to appear on the cover of 2004-founded teen magazine Justine.

TAYLOR’S MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES

-Taylor made a cameo in Brad Paisley's 2007 music video for "Online".
-In October 2008, Taylor performed a duet with rock band Def Leppard for CMT Crossroads. Their collaboration was up for both Performance of the Year and Wide Open Country Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards in 2009.
-Taylor sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” at game 3 of the World Series in Philadelphia on October 25th, 2008.
-On February 8, 2009, Taylor performed her song, "Fifteen," with Miley Cyrus at the 51st Grammy Awards.
-Taylor made her first musical guest appearance on Saturday Night Live in April 2009 – the same month she kicked off her first headlining tour. She was the show’s youngest performer ever.
-On September 15, 2009, Taylor gave her first interview about the infamous MTV VMA Music Awards incident to The View.
-In November 2009, Taylor served as the youngest host on Saturday Night Live, and even wrote her own monologue which addressed Kanye West, her ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas, and her rumored boyfriend at the time Taylor Lautner. This was her second time as host.
-Taylor performed “Rhiannon” and “You Belong With Me” at the 2010 Grammy Awards with rock legend Stevie Nicks.
-June 13th, 2010, Taylor held a 15-hour meet and greet during the CMA Music Festival in Nashville. She greeted more than two-thousand fans, who were also entertained by costumes and other memorabilia from the Fearless world tour.
-Taylor had a memorable performance at this year’s 2010 MTV Video Music Awards when she performed “Innocent” in response to last year’s Kanye West incident.
-After releasing her new album Speak Now, Taylor performed at the JetBlue terminal in the Kennedy International Airport and later took 30 contest winners on a flight from New York to Los Angeles where they had the chance to conduct an interview.

TAYLOR’S TOUR FACTS

-Taylor was an opening act for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on their Soul2Soul 2007 tour. She has also opened for Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, and Rascal Flatts.
-In January 2009, Taylor announced the first leg of her North American Fearless Tour, which took place in 56 cities over the span of 6 months. The tour kicked off April 23rd in Evansville, Indiana – all shows sold out within minutes.
-On the Fearless tour, she was joined by opening-acts Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. Justin Bieber joined her for the tour when she went to the UK. During the tour, Taylor also performed with guests such as John Mayer, Faith Hill, and Katy Perry. She also opened a select few dates for Keith Urban on his Escape Together World Tour 2009.
-Pop-group Needtobreathe will serve as the opening-act for the North American leg of Taylor’s Speak Now 2011 World Tour. She will perform at 87 stadiums and arena shows in 19 countries on four continents.
-Taylor managed to sell out the Staples Center in Los Angeles in two minutes and filled the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in five minutes. Tickets for the Speak Now 2011 tour continue to go on sale and so far Taylor has sold out seven arenas. Several venues have even added additional shows, including a pair at the Staples Center.

Whew! What will this blog's most-talked-about artist do by the time she's 22?

Tuesday Newsday

2010-12-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

Merle Haggard, Jerry Herman, Bill T. Jones, Paul McCartney, and Oprah Winfrey were all honored at the 33rd Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night in Washington, D.C. A-list celebrities such as Julia Roberts, John Travolta, Barbara Walters, and President Barack Obama were all in attendance to support the honorees. Merle had a strong support system from country music as well, as Miranda Lambert, Kris Kristofferson, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock and Jamey Johnson all took the stage to pay tribute to the Okie from Muskogee. The gala will broadcast on CBS on December 28th.

In other TV Notes, Garth Brooks will be spending some time with Larry King this Friday as part of his final week of shows on CNN. For one hour, Garth will sit down with Larry to talk about his upcoming string of benefit concerts for Nashville flood relief, family, his Vegas show, and why he’s not in iTunes. And if you missed the CMA Country Christmas show the first time, it will re-air on December 22nd on ABC. Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles hosts the special that features country artists sharing Christmas stories and family traditions. Guests include Sheryl Crow, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, Reba, LeAnn Rimes, Darius Rucker, and Sugarland.

And finally, if you’ve got fifty-grand lying around, you could have been the owner of the blue denim jumpsuit worn by Johnny Cash during a rehearsal at the San Quentin prison. It was sold by an entertainment auction house last Sunday for $50,000. The infamous outfit is featured in the Jim Marshall photograph with Johnny wagging his middle finger into the camera lens. The expected sales estimate was only $5,000. Bidders made offers over the phone and at the gallery on not only the outfit but, a Martin acoustic guitar which Johnny signed and used to write the first four lines of his hit "I Walk the Line." It also went for $50,000, topping its estimates of $20,000.

2010-11-23T07:19:00.000-07:00

Tracy Lawrence will hold his annual Mission Possible Turkey Fry in Nashville today. The event continues to grow as it benefits the Nashville Rescue Mission each year. Tracy said, “We may try and get in the Guinness Book of World Records with the largest turkey fry in the history of the world. If we’ve got several turkeys that are on board that are connected with this thing to see how many turkeys we can fry in one day. Wouldn’t that be awesome?” Friends such as Brad Arnold from Three Doors Down, Burns & Poe, LoCash Cowboys, Danielle Peck, Lorrie Morgan, The Roys, and Jett Williams will be on hand to help Tracy with the event.

Kix Brooks is ready to begin his new career as an actor. Half of the former duo Brooks & Dunn has been filming the movie “Thrift Store Cowboy” in Phoenix, Arizona. He plays the role of a bad guy, Wade Lockin. Kix says he’s reluctant, but ready, “It’s actually a real part, so, I’m a little nervous about it. I’ve been trying to learn lines, uh, for the last couple of weeks. And, I’m about halfway there and I’ve only got a week to go. So, I’m startin’ to get nervous. But, uh, they claim they’ll make it easy on me. So, it should be interesting.” The movie is an independent film, which also stars one of Kix’s favorite western actors – Barry Corbin. He has passed up on many acting roles throughout the years because of scheduling, but now that his Brooks & Dunn days are over he can film as many movies as he wants.

George Strait earned his 83rd Top 10 hit last week with his current single, “The Breath You Take.” The song was written by the father-daughter duo Dean Dillon and Jessie Jo Dillon. George is one hit closer to breaking Eddy Arnold’s record that has 92 Top 10 hits. George made his first debut on the charts with the 1981 song, “Unwound.” The top of the Top 10 list includes:

92, Eddy Arnold
83, George Strait
78, George Jones
75, Conway Twitty
71, Merle Haggard
59, Reba McEntire
57, Ernest Tubb
56, Red Foley
55, Dolly Parton
54, Waylon Jennings
54, Webb Pierce

Free DVDs for the First 10,000

2010-11-18T00:05:00.000-07:00

Kenny Chesney will be giving away 10,000 DVD copies of his documentary, Boys of Fall, to high schools and high school football coaches across the country. Kenny hopes the gift will inspire young athletes both on and off the field and teach positive lessons about hard work, humility and trust that can be carried over into everyday life. Kenny traveled the country to interview football players and coaches for the documentary, which first aired on ESPN. Click here to find out how to get a copy.

Reba McEntire may not have taken home a CMA Award last week, but it was definitely a night she'll never forget. You see, Reba has a connection to Blake Shelton and seeing him take home the Male Vocalist of the Year award had her in tears. Reba has been a friend of Blake’s for many years. He’s a fellow Okie, and she’s watched his career blossom. Seeing him win the Male Vocalist of the Year Award, Reba felt like a proud mama. Beyond that, Blake’s management, i.e. Reba's husband, Narvel Blackstock, and stepson, Brandon Blackstock, were also proud. Brandon has been Blake's managers for almost five years. Reba will perform on the CMA Country Christmas special airing November 29th on ABC.

Social Networking Anthem

2010-11-17T21:58:00.002-07:00

Watch as Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker pay homage to all the friends they've un'd: