Countdown To Country's Biggest Night

One week to go until the CMA Awards. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood host, a legion of stars appear, a Nashville high school marching band will welcome celebrities to the red carpet, and a few stars will pick up new hardware for their mantles during what has been dubbed “country’s biggest night.”

Reviewing a couple of the nomination categories:

Musical Event
"Another Try"
Josh Turner featuring Trisha Yearwood /MCA Nashville

"Every Other Weekend"
Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney /MCA Nashville

"Gone, Gone, Gone"
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss /Rounder Records

"Life in a Northern Town"
Sugarland featuring Little Big Town and Jake Owen /Mercury Nashville

"Shiftwork"
Kenny Chesney (duet with George Strait) /BNA Records

Music Video
"Don't Blink"
Kenny Chesney
Director: Shaun Silva

"Good Time"
Alan Jackson
Director: Trey Fanjoy

"Stay"
Sugarland
Director: Shaun Silva

"Waitin' on a Woman"
Brad Paisley
Director: Jim Shea

"You're Gonna Miss This"
Trace Adkins
Director: Peter Zavadil

News From Around The Country
Keith Urban and Gretchen Wilson are recording some special tracks for a new CD aimed at U.S. military personnel. The album will be available to anyone with a military ID as a free download at the Air Force Exchange Service Web Site. 200,000 hard copies of the disc are being sent to military bases all over the country. Carrie Underwood's next magazine cover and in-depth interview is the December Elle Magazine. Jake Owen has written nine songs for his new album. The project is expected to be finished by the end of the year and ready for release in February. Merle Haggard is recovering from surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his lung. Friends said Monday's surgery at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital was a success and that the 71-year-old country legend was in stable condition. Apparently, doctors discovered the spot on his lung in May. He told a Bakersfield newspaper in August that he wasn't going to seek treatment, but friends and family members convinced him otherwise. This on the heels of the news that Merle will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Country Radio Broadcasters during the annual Country Music DJ and Radio Hall of Fame Awards. Julianne Hough is still recovering from surgery to remove her appendix, so her scheduled performance of “My Hallelujah Song” on Dancing With The Stars has been moved back one week. Julianne’s brother, and fellow Dancer, Derek Hough, hints that it is still up in the air as to whether or not Julianne will return to the hit TV show as a dancer this season. And finally, get a load of Taylor Swift and her milk moustache. Taylor is the latest celebrity to join the ranks in the famous “Got Milk” campaign.