Thursday Briefing

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.