Hot Stuff!

Ladies, it’s that time of year again. Limber up your voting fingers because Country Weekly Magazine wants to know who you think are the Hottest Hunks of the Year. Country’s Hottest Bachelors are on display on this survey page. Choose your passion. Just click on the steamiest picture, enter an email address, and submit your choice. Voting continues until March 8th, and the results will be in an upcoming issue of the magazine which is now available only on newsstands.

If you’d like to get Taylor Swift at your high school, you’d better start texting. Taylor is the prize in a new contest sponsored by a cell phone service provider. Entrants are asked to text, or enter online, and the school that submits the most entries will win a private concert from Taylor. There are rules and regulations (and a lot of high schools across the country), but if you play right, it’s possible that Taylor may end up onstage at Las Cruces, Mayfield, or Onate High School. Wouldn't that be fun? Like they say, you can’t win anything if you don’t enter. All the details and high school flyers are here.

Martina McBride will be in Washington DC tomorrow to help honor Stevie Wonder at the White House. Stevie will be receiving the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song award, presented by President Barack Obama. The event will be televised on PBS on Friday. Martina will be performing the Stevie Wonder song “You and I” at the event.

Rissi Palmer has her own TV show coming to The Travel Channel. Debuting at midnight (MST) this Saturday night the 28th, Rissi Palmer’s Country will take viewers on a tour of the Chicago Blues scene. Filmed while she was in the Windy City for the Chicago Country Music Festival, Rissi will visit blues clubs like Rosa's Lounge and Buddy Guy's Legends.

The Last Word of '8

If you’re sweet tooth didn’t get enough satisfying treats during the holidays, you can save half on the delectable goodness of Si Italian Bistro when you shop Half Off Wednesday, while supplies last. There’s plenty of real food, too, but at half price, why not treat yourself to what you really want … the dessert!

If you’re staying in tonight, there are plenty of country stars to find on TV. Taylor Swift and Kellie Pickler will be in New York to make appearances on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. Julianne Hough will be in Atlanta to entertain at the 20th Annual Peach Drop New year’s Eve Celebration. Rissi Palmer will co-host the event televised in Atlanta, syndicated in markets across the country. And separated for New Year’s, there’ll be no kiss for Chuck and Julianne, since she’s in Atlanta and Chuck Wicks will be with the LoCash Cowboys performing on Fox News Channel’s U-Party New Years Eve Special. And tomorrow morning, don’t forget to check out the Hee Haw float going by during the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.

If you’ve never tried Kenny Roger’s Roasters, just ask the people of Bahrain how it tastes. Considered the newest fine dining restaurant in the Kingdom, the rotisserie chicken franchise now has two locations in the Gulf region. Six more locations are planned. The chain was started by its musical namesake in Florida in 1991, and it is now franchised to 120 locations worldwide. None of which are in the southwest. We’ll just have to take Bahrain’s word for it that it’s tasty.

Now go make something great happen in 2009.

Monday Musings

Bon Anniversaire! That’s a French Happy Birthday to Brad Mates. The lead singer of Emerson Drive is 30 today.

Looking at the week ahead of us, Jerry Hardin announces the winner of the 8-track collection today, the Dallas Season 9 DVD giveaway begins today, and Dierks Bentley will be overseas.

Dierks Bentley is playing sold out concerts in England, Ireland, Norway, and France this week. "We've always tried to focus on playing new places or spots you maybe wouldn't expect to see a country singer," said Bentley. "Whether it is a gig in France or a rock festival like Lollapalooza, the goal is always the same: to bring some new fans back to Nashville with us." When Dierks gets home next week, he’ll do a show at the annual Lollapalooza in Chicago, and then finish up the summer with fairs and festivals. This fall, Dierks will be working on his fourth studio album. "This is definitely the most time I've ever spent making an album," said Dierks. "I started writing for it in December 2006, and I have put these songs through four different studios, countless sound checks and dressing room strummings, and a couple have even made it into the live show at some point or another. I've really enjoyed having the time to let the album and the songs develop fully." To keep you entertained while Dierks is out of the country, here’s a bit of his last show in New Mexico.



News of Note:
Rissi Palmer has a new video coming out this week for “No Air” (the video was shot on the Caribbean island of Providenciales), and Tim McGraw will star in the 2009 film Get Low with Robert Duvall. Julianne Hough will be back on Dancing with the Stars this fall. No cast announcements of partnerships yet, but she is under contract for two more seasons before she can focus on music full time. And if this were smell-a-blogger, you could check out Jessica Simpson’s new fragrance, Fancy. Guess you’ll just have to wait until August 15th. And no, Reba McEntire’s hit was not the inspiration for the product.

And finally, it’s not exactly country news, but it’s still pretty cool. Comedian Billy Crystal has joined Robert DeNiro and other prominent figures on the board of directors for the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. This isn’t Crystal’s first attempt to aid New York City. The 60-year old funnyman performed at a benefit concert just a month after the tragedy, and co-hosted eight Comic Relief telethons that were broadcast on HBO. The National September 11th Memorial and Museum has so far raised more than 350-million dollars in hopes of building a memorial to represent the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Feel Good Friday 6/27

Happy Feel Good Friday! And Happy Birthday to Lorrie Morgan. 49 today.

Here's something to look forward to. Randy Owen's autobiography is coming out this fall on the same day as his new CD. Look for the book Born Country and the CD One on One on November 11th.

Around the web:
Willie Nelson's theatre is going to open next week in Texas. Willie's Place Theater will feature his BioWillie premium biodiesel fuel and other amenities for truckers and travelers. Rissi Palmer has signed with IMG Models for global endorsement opportunities. And John Rich is producing the next Kenny Rogers album.

And finally, a follow up to the story about the fan ejected from the Tim McGraw concert. A man claiming to be the manhandled fan, Marcus Nirschl, called his local radio station yesterday to explain his side of the story. Basically, he doesn't know why he was pulled on stage and roughed up. But he's still a fan of Tim's music. The fan claims that he was being jostled around while trying to get to his third row seat. His hat fell off in the process, and when he bent down to pick it up, he heard Tim say to "get rid of this guy." When Tim began reaching for his hand, the fan thought that Tim recognized him from the many previous concerts he had attended and was going to pull him up on stage for some dancing. The fan claims to have jumped up onto a chair to make it easier to get onstage, but soon enough Tim was dragging him up by his belt and throwing him across the stage, at which point he still thought that he was picked as the dancing fan. That idea changed when he alleges to have seen Tim pull back his fist right before he was escorted off the stage. The fan claims to have been questioned by police and refused re-entry into the concert. No charges have been filed in connection with the incident.