Haiti Tops the Charts

As expected, the digital download album of music from the Hope for Haiti Now all-star benefit for Haitian earthquake victims has debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 all-genre albums chart. This is the first time an all-digital album has achieved that feat. It features performances by Taylor Swift and Keith Urban. To date, the telethon has raised over $66 million.

In the wake of the disaster, other celebrities are joining relief efforts. Martina McBride and Tim McGraw are working with the Red Cross. Martina blogged on her website, “Donating to the Red Cross couldn't be easier. Just text the word 'Haiti' to 90999 and a ten dollar donation will be added to your cell phone bill.” Tim set aside his work on the film, Love Don’t Let Me Down, to create public service announcements encouraging donations for relief efforts. Meanwhile, Julianne Hough is helping victims via Plane to Haiti, an organization preparing to send a airplane full of medical supplies and staff to the island nation.

One more relief effort is coming in the way of a re-recording of "We Are The World." The cast is still being assembled for a recording session next week. We can be pretty sure that big-name crossover country artists will be invited. Producer Quincy Jones says that on the 25th anniversary year of the song, the timing is right to help Haiti. The original 1985 single raised money for famine relief in Africa.

ACM Nominations are starting to roll in. Luke Bryan, Jamey Johnson and Chris Young received early nominations from the Academy of Country Music yesterday. The three are nominated as the Top New Solo Vocalist, a category that replaced the separate male and female vocalist categories of previous years. In addition, the Top New Vocal Duo nominees are Bomshel, Joey & Rory and Steel Magnolia. The Top New Vocal Group nominees are Eli Young Band, Gloriana and The Lost Trailers. Interactive fan voting begins on February 26th to determine the winners. The winners in each category will compete for the Top New Artist honor, which will be decided by online voting starting April 1st and awarded in Las Vegas on April 18th.