Is It Monday Already?

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.

Tuesday Newsday

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"

It's A Feel Good Friday!

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.’”

Carrie And Mike Expand The Family

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.

Country Artists Get Charitable For The Holidays

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

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.

Wednesday's Word From The Wire

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.

What Was Up Over The Weekend?

News From Around The Country
Brad Paisley is known as an entertainer, singer, and humanitarian, and now he’s adding one more title to that list - author. Brad is getting ready to release his first book, The Diary of a Player, which will pay tribute to the guitar gods of country, blues, and rock n’ roll. …. Dierks Bentley raised over $250,000 for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital yesterday at his 5th annual Miles and Music for Kids motorcycle ride and concert in Nashville. Dierks wrapped up his afternoon with a star studded concert featuring Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Jerrod Niemann, Laura Bell Bundy, and more. Highlights included Dierks and Luke collaborating on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin In The Dark” and Miranda, Jerrod and Dierks performing “Bad Angel” from Dierks’ latest album, Up on The Ridge. ….. Miranda Lambert’s Revolution album has been certified Platinum, which means the 2010 ACM Album of the Year has sold over one-million copies. Revolution features Miranda’s two back-to-back number one singles “White Liar,” and “The House That Built Me.” …… Montgomery Gentry will join volunteers to build a playground at Booker T. Washington Academy in Lexington, Kentucky this Wednesday. This is the park that is part of the honors that come with the Academy of Country Music/The Home Depot Humanitarian Award that the duo won in April. The site was chosen by an online fan poll and Eddie Montgomery is happy fans chose his home state. ….. The 16th annual Inspirational Country Music Awards took place last week in Nashville, and Carrie Underwood’s music video for “Temporary Home” received praise for Inspirational Video of the Year. Craig Morgan was also honored by the ICM’s as Mainstream Country Artist of the Year, and Mainstream Inspirational Song for “This Ain’t Nothin.”

And finally, Taylor Swift graces the October 24th issue of Parade Magazine, and inside she reveals how she stalked a fan in Nashville. Taylor was driving near her local mall one day when she spotted an 11-year-old girl wearing her Fearless tour T-shirt. She made a quick u-turn, followed her to a video-game store, and walked up and said, “Oh, hi. I wanted to meet you.” Apparently the fan didn’t know what to say for three minutes. Taylor said, “Then her mom walked over, burst into tears, and proceeded to tell me that they’d driven all the way from Austin, Texas, just to see where I was discovered.”

Big Day Around The Country

Last night, Keith Urban and friends held the second annual We’re All for the Hall concert in Nashville. Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Billy Currington, Miranda Lambert, Charlie Pride, Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, John Mayer, and Dolly Parton took the stage. Each artists sang two songs, one of their own and one made famous by one of their heroes. We’re All For the Hall raises money for the Country Music Hall of Fame.

After being invited by his 6th-grade nephew, Jace Jewell, Tim McGraw made a surprise visit to Grassland Middle School in Tennessee to speak out against bullying. Tim admitted the subject was not really his forte, but after a long conversation with Jace, he had his talking points together. Tim told a significant story about a 13-year-old in Texas who committed suicide last month after being bullied. Tim closed with a statement saying, “Speak up if they see bullying behavior, walk away from bad situations and, above all, not to fall into the trap of becoming a bully.”

Taylor Swift made an appearance on the MTV show The Buried Life on Monday night. If you missed it, we’ll recap. The show centers around a list of 100 things four guys want to do before they die. Ben, Jonnie, and Dave supported their friend Duncan who tried to cross out #59 on the list – ask out the girl of your dreams (Taylor Swift). Their first attempt to meet Taylor failed after they disguised themselves as a country act to get on the red carpet at the 2010 CMT Music Awards. Later, Duncan and his crew scored passes to the show where they posed as production guys. Duncan maneuvered his was to Taylor’s seat, explains his story, and gave her a note with his number attached. Two days later, Duncan received a text from Taylor saying, “Yes, and you’re pretty hardcore for doing that.” The episode ended without revealing if Taylor and Duncan have yet to go on a date.

News From Around The Country
Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and the Zac Brown Band will be honored as the first CMT Artists of the Year. They were chosen based on music sales, country radio airplay, concert grosses as a headliner or co-headliner and video streams, searches and page views on CMT.com. The special will air in December. ….. The three major music channels, CMT, MTV, and BET, will air a one-hour, commercial-free town hall event, A Conversation With President Obama, on October 14th at 2PM Mountain. The President will answer questions on a wide range of topics from the studio audience, as well as from viewers who submit questions via Twitter. ….. Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Sugarland, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban have been added to the list of performers at the 44th Annual CMA Awards show happening November 10th in Nashville. ….. Carrie Underwood: A Biography has been released. The book follows Carrie from her hometown in Oklahoma to competing on American Idol. It will also cover Carrie’s charity work and will highlight her successful career. The book is available at your favorite bookseller. …. And finally, if you want to catch up with Taylor Swift and get some inside scoop on her upcoming CD, check out the November issue of Glamour magazine. Inside, Taylor talks about her relationship with Taylor Lautner. She said, “He’s one of my best friends. He’s wonderful, and we’ll always be close. I’m so thankful for that.”

Fresh From The Horse's Mouth

You may recall, (or can scroll down to see) that on Wednesday reported rumors were flying around the internet that Bucky Covington was engaged. This news has now been confirmed, as Midday personality, Sheila, had the chance to talk to Bucky prior to his show at the New Mexico State Fair, Expo NM, in Albuquerque. Congratulations are in order for Bucky and his fiance, Katherine Cook.

Thursday night crowds were light at the self-proclaimed “Biggest Show in New Mexico.” No radio presence was apparent in the local market; but The Country Station had a representative in attendance to share the story of the evening with the Southern New Mexico radio audience! Bucky Covington rocked the house! The only time the show slowed was for his charted #1 hit, “I’ll Walk,” and a new song, “Hold A Woman,” that will be on the upcoming album, and that Bucky proclaims as his “sexy song.” He’s not too far off. Standing above the stage’s cooling fan to let his long, wavy locks blow in the breeze proved to be too much to handle for one young lady who jumped on stage to be the woman he held. She was quickly escorted off. After the catch-your-breath moments, the show picked back up to rock-star speed and never slowed down, despite the lessening crowd. Throughout the show, several new songs were featured along with format favorites, “A Different World,” “It’s Good To Be Us,” and the most recent chart-climber, “A Father’s Love.” The closure of Lyric Street records earlier in the year has forced Bucky to be looking at new labels, but deals are reportedly close, which could see the release of the highly-anticipated second album, I’m Alright, in coming months. Bucky and the band played several of the new songs for the State Fair audience. It’s debatable, but live performances are not always a fair platform to judge reactions to unfamiliar songs. Judging by Bucky’s energetic vocals and the upbeat melodies that the band was rockin’, new songs such as “Lamppost,” “Giants,” “Mexicoma” and “Mama Must Be Prayin’” are sure to delight with a studio recording. Your humble scribe has already had the chance to preview several new studio recordings, and one song in particular, “Evil Knievel,” lives up to the standard heard recently in other ‘country-folk-rockin’-a-good-time-in-a-small-town’ hits from artists like Jason Aldean, Justin Moore, and Josh Thompson. It’s just a matter of time until the new project is released from the high-energy country boy that the droves of country fans residing in Albuquerque should be disappointed that they didn’t bother to come see.

News From Around The Country
Taylor Swift’s former high school, Henderson High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee, will name its auditorium in her honor. Taylor studied at the school during her freshman and sophomore years. She donated 75-thousand dollars to the school in 2009 to update the sound and lighting systems in the auditorium. School board chairman Don Long said Taylor did not request changing the auditorium's name. In other Taylor news, she will be part of Scholastic’s Global Literacy Campaign with a live webcast on October 27th. Designed exclusively for schools, Taylor will take questions from students in an online-chat format. ….. And finally, the RIAA has issued Digital Triple-Platinum (download) status to Carrie Underwood for her hit, “Before He Cheats.” Carrie also received a Gold award for “Undo It” which has sold more than 500-thousand downloads. Joe Nichols and Miranda Lambert also received Gold download recognition for “Gimmie That Girl” and “The House That Built Me,” respectively.

ABC Is Like The New Country Channel

ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has gone country! The show visited Nashville this week to rebuild the Lighthouse Christian School which was destroyed by the flood that hit the town in May. Carrie Underwood and LeAnn Rimes were on site to lend a hand to the reconstruction of Music City. Another caring face was also seen at the shoot, Leanne Touhy – the real-life mother whose story was told in the film, The Blindside. The crew from the TV show also stopped by the Grand Ole Opry to film Carrie’s performance. The episode will air on ABC during CMA Awards week on November 7th.

And speaking of the devastation from the flood, Brad Paisley was one of many musicians who lost some of his most valuable instruments, but he has recovered with some new instruments. Before joining Little Jimmy Dickens on stage to reset the oak center piece on the Grand Ole Opry stage, Brad purchased a 1938 Herringbone Martin D28 guitar. Little did he know, the guitar was a piece of sentimental history. Brad said, “This is something that I’ve bought since the flood that has a really unique story. I didn't know it before I bought it, but this guitar was purchased from an old man from Colfax, West Virginia, whose father worked on the B&O Railroad right alongside my grandfather.” Brad believes the guitar was brought to him by fate, which is why he used it during his first performance on the new Opry stage.

Darius Rucker and the band Hootie & The Blowfish are going to be honored with their own monument in South Carolina next month. The group was formed in 1986 after they met as freshman at the University of South Carolina Columbia. The monument will be a 20-foot tall, steel and black granite piece, placed near their alma mater on October 10th. The tribute comes just months before the group’s 25th anniversary next year.

For The Monday Night Football Obsessed

Darius Rucker is a huge football fan! So how does a country artist combine his love of football and entertain his fan? He launches his End Zone Obsession Football Challenge. The competition allows fans to compete with one-another, or Darius, for a chance to win prizes by choosing real-time team statistics and competitor picks. At the end of each round, the ten highest point earners will receive prizes. The three fans with the end-of-season highest cumulative point totals will also receive awards, with the top point earner winning a grand prize trip for two to Hawaii for one of football's biggest weekends. Check it out on Darius' website.

Carrie Underwood graces the October cover of Women’s Health magazine where she discusses her marriage with Mike Fisher, her routine when she’s off the road, and what she thinks is her best physical feature - her legs. When Carrie is able to catch her NHL husband’s hockey games, she says, “I love cheering for my man. When I come home, I’m accused of picking up the Canadian accent.” Carrie is currently on the second leg of her Play On tour, and when she’s not on the road, she likes to keep her plans low-key. She says, “I’d sleep in a little, work out, do laundry, run errands, buy presents for people with birthdays coming up.”

And finally, Big Kenny is partnering with the video game Rock Band to bring donations to Nashville’s flood victims. The organization Rock Band Relief helps artists convert their music into playable songs for the video game series. Big Kenny contributed his songs, “One More Time” and “Happy People.” The songs are currently in the play-testing period and will go through the reviewing process before they will be available for download.

News Like Crazy

How’s this for crazy. Lee Brice’s song “Love Like Crazy,” has set the new record for a song with the most weeks spent on Billboard’s Country Songs chart, with 55 weeks. That’s an insanely long period of time for a record company to keep a song going these days. “Love Like Crazy” has now surpassed Eddy Arnold’s “Bouquet Of Roses” which began it’s 54-week run in 1948, largely in part to its 19-week stint at number one. Lee has yet to get to the top spot, as a majority of his song’s run was spent in the lower echelons of the chart. It has been a painfully slow crawl to the current number three slot on the country singles chart.

Carrie Underwood has been named the first North American ambassador for a legenday women’s skincare line. Olay is currently sponsoring Carrie’s Play On tour, and she will debut in the beauty product’s new campaign in early 2011. In other Carrie news, she recently had a chance to screen her debut film, Soul Rider. The movie is based on the story of Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack. Carrie plays a youth counselor, and she said, “I really liked how everything turned out, including myself. I was really expecting the worst from myself, and I really surprised myself.” Carrie describes the film as an uplifting story, and those who go to see it will come out feeling better about the small things in life.

News From Around The Country
The Judds will return to the Oprah Winfrey Show on September 14th to discuss plans for their upcoming farewell tour, give a private tour of their 1,000-acre Tennessee farm, and perform a special duet for Oprah. ….. Kris Kristofferson will join Lady Antebellum and Martina McBride for Friday night’s Stand Up To Cancer event which will air on 17 various channels. ….. And finally, here’s a surprise for you. Trailer Choir lead vocalist Marc "Butter" Fortney married Emily Robertson, a member of the Carter's Chord, during a surprise ceremony Monday night at 12th & Porter, a club in downtown Nashville. Friends and family were told the event was a birthday party for Butter. Trailer Choir and Carter's Chord were among Toby Keith's first signings when he launched his record label, Show Dog Nashville.

Tuesday Newsday

The new CD from Trace Adkins, Cowboy’s Back In Town, comes out today. Trace has numerous TV appearances planned to promote his new album. He will appear on the Today show and The O'Reilly Factor on Thursday, followed by Fox & Friends on Friday. In addition, Trace is scheduled for The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on September 14th, Jimmy Kimmel Live on September 15th, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on October 5th, The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on October 13th and Chelsea Lately on October 19th.

The deluxe version of Toby Keith's upcoming album, Bullets in the Gun, will include his versions of several country classics recorded during a performance at a one-thousand-seat concert venue in New York City last June. The bonus tracks are Johnny Paycheck's "11 Months and 29 Days," Waylon Jennings' "I've Been a Long Time Leaving (But I'll Be a Long Time Gone)" and Roger Miller's "Chug-a-Lug," along with Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown." Toby wrote or co-wrote all 10 new songs for the album which is scheduled for release on October 5th.

Word is out that Carrie Underwood has made the legal name change to Carrie Fisher. Of course, Underwood will still be her stage name. Also, she and Mike Fisher are said to be building a new home in Ottawa, Canada, so Carrie can spend as much time with Mike as possible during his hockey season. According to reports, Mike is helping quite a bit with the interior design, so the house should be ready to move into by September.

And finally, Dierks Bentley tweeted a great story about his adventure to a Billy Idol show over the weekend. Unfortunately, it was sold out, so Dierks took pictures outside of the venue saying, “So this is what it’s like to be on the outside. Not cool.” He tried sweet talking his way in by asking Billy’s crew if they liked country music, but that didn’t work. As it turned out, a fan of Dierk’s got him into the show, and he tweeted a picture of the two hanging out by the stage. His final tweet said, “Success @Billyidol. Makes me appreciate all our fans go through to come to our shows. Thanks!”

Feel Good Friday

During a press conference yesterday morning, Rascal Flatts announced they have signed with Big Machine Records. The news came after the group’s previous label, Lyric Street Records, announced they will be closing. Gary Levox can’t wait for what the future holds with Big Machine. “I don’t think you could pick up the excitement on the microphones to be real honest about where we are today,” said Gary. “The future is going to be incredible. And like Joe Don said earlier, it feels like ten months, not ten years. And we’re really just getting going. I mean, we’re so pumped it’s unbelievable. I mean really, it’s great!” During the press conference Jay De Marcus also announced he and his wife Allison, will welcome a baby girl to their family, “Just what I need, another girl in the house.” Jay’s bandmates joke that the baby should be named Garietta Don. Keep listening for Rascal Flatts’ first song with Big Machine Records, "Why Wait."

Mike Fisher had his say, now Carrie Underwood is gushing over married life. Carrie blogged on her fansite, "I'm a married lady now! Married life is pretty much like dating life. My husband is back in Canada...story of my life!" After a wedding at the Ritz Carlton Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia, and an eight day honeymoon in Bora Bora, followed by three days in Napa Valley, Carrie believes her life can’t get any better. “I know how blessed I am. I know how special these things are. There is nothing in the world that I could possibly ask for because you can't add to perfection!”

Birthdays, Scoop, and Storms

James Otto is celebrating his 37th birthday today, and has much more to celebrate as his new album is getting ready to hit stores on September 14th. “Groovy Little Summer Song,” will be featured on the album, and the song also describes what you can expect from his new music. “With the soulful kind of thing that I do, the word ‘groovy’ kind of fit perfectly,” James said. “It’s one of those things that when I describe my music, I talk about groove … it makes you want to dance, and when something is danceable, it usually has a groove. And ‘groovy’ goes right along with that.” James wrote eleven out of the twelve songs on the album Shake What God Gave Ya.

Mike Fisher revealed exclusive wedding details to his hometown newspaper in Ottawa. Before the wedding to Carrie Underwood, Mike hosted a golf tournament with his close friends and family, but he didn’t complete the course. “I didn’t play 18 holes because I knew I’d be too tired. It was a long day. I needed to go relax a bit,” Mike said. When the wedding ceremony began, Mike confessed he didn’t have pre-wedding jitters, “I wasn’t really nervous, to be honest. I was excited to be married. I think more people were definitely watching her.” As far as their honeymoon, the couple relaxed in Bora Bora for eight days, followed by three days spent in Napa Valley. After his hockey career is over, the couple plans to settle in Nashville. Until then, the two will enjoy being happily married. Mike said, “I’m with my best friend and I love her to death. There’s nothing better, for sure.”

Reba McEntire and her team braved some intense weather while shooting the music video for her new single, “Turn on the Radio.” The heat index in Nashville reportedly reached 108 degrees while Reba and her crew struggled to keep from overheating. That evening, an electrical storm blew in with lightning so intense the shoot’s generator was shut off. Reba and her crew were rushed down into the basement of the warehouse while a tornado touched down only a few miles from the shoot location. Reba said, “This is only the second time one of my video shoots as been shut down because of a storm. The last time something like this happened was on the set of the “Does He Love You” video in Long Island. I hope that’s a good omen because “Does He Love You” ended up being a Grammy winning-song and a great music video!” “Turn on the Radio” is the lead single from Reba’s upcoming album which will be in stores on November 9th.

Catching Up With The Country

Dierks Bentley has joined the expectant father club – again. It’s been announced that Dierks and his wife, Cassidy, are expecting their second child in December. Dierks’ first child, Evie, is almost two and seems to be the most excited for the addition. Dierks said, “She's pretty obsessed with a baby doll she carries around now ...We'll see how she does with the real thing!" Does it seem that this baby thing is a trend lately? It’s kind of reminiscent of the early to mid-90’s when the big country stars like Garth, Alan, Martina, Tim & Faith, and others were having babies every time we turned around. Most of those kids are teenagers now, and a new crop of infants is coming along to the current generation of hit makers. If Carrie comes back from her honeymoon pregnant, point proven!

Speaking of Carrie Underwood, she is the first American Idol winner to ever go seven-times platinum. Her first album, Some Hearts, which includes “Jesus Take the Wheel,” Before He Cheats,” and “Don’t Forget to Remember Me,” received the certification for seven-million sales while she was away on her honeymoon. That’s good news to come home to.

Kenny Chesney has broken a different record. His new single “Boys of Fall” has made one of the highest debuts in history, landing at number 17 on Billboard’s Country Song chart this week. The new single gives Kenny two of the four highest debut singles in the charts history. Kenny’s song “Don’t Blink” debuted at number sixteen in September of 2007. “Boys of Fall” is the highest debut of a song since Garth Brooks hit “More Than A Memory” in 2007. Kenny’s upcoming album, Hemingway’s Whiskey will be released on September 28th.

And finally, your next chance to see Tim McGraw on the big screen will be December 22nd. That’s when the new film Country Strong will be released. This is the film that Tim made with Gwyneth Paltrow, Leighton Meester, and Garrett Hedlund, starring as the husband and career manager of a country singer played by Gwyneth. You surely remember hearing about Tim starring in this movie when it had the working title Love Don’t Let Me Down.

Feel Good Friday Features

Can’t wait to get your hands on the People Magazine coverage of Carrie Underwood’s wedding? Photos are in the current issue that officially hits newsstands today, but sneak peeks reveal these details:
- Carrie hired Nashville vendors, including wedding planner, Jayne Bubis, who said , “Carrie wanted it sparkly, pretty and pink!”
- At the end of the ceremony, Carrie was anxious for the vows to be complete, and couldn’t wait to be pronounced husband and wife. “I was like just, say it. Just say it!” Carrie says.
- Carrie will be legally known as Carrie Fisher, but will still use her maiden name professionally.
- Carrie wore a Cathedral length veil held up with a 40-karat tiara that was a wedding gift from Mike. Her bouquet was complete with pink, white, and yellow peonies.
- Carrie enjoyed a glass of white wine with her mother and two sisters before the ceremony.
- Carries mother says, “I was sad because she was my baby, but I always said a prayer she’d find the right person, and I know she did.”
- Mike wore a black tux and black tie and white boutonniere.
- Mike and Carrie stood on a white platform while guests were seated in a circular formation around them. An arbor of four birch trees covered in pink flowers arched above them.
- Only the Maid of Honor and Best Man stood next to the couple during the ceremony.
- The bridesmaids wore pale pink/cream dresses in different styles. The color matched the sash worn around Carrie’s waist.
- Mike’s cousin served as the flower girl and Carrie’s nephew was the ring bearer.
- Carrie’s entrance song was “Bridal Chorus” played by a string quartet.
- When Carrie and Mike has their first kiss as a married couple Carrie’s dog Ace began barking which had everyone laughing.
- The reception took place in the hotel ballroom, which was covered in shades of pink.
- Guests snacked on hors d’oeuvres of sushi and crispy risotto lollipops. The meal was a four-course dinner.
- Carrie’s “wedding cake” included tiers of cupcakes with a traditional cake as the top and bottom tier.
- Guests found their table assignments by reading painted hockey pucks.
- The couple had their first dance to the Christian song “Love Never Fails.” As a surprise, Carrie had Christian artist Brandon Heath perform the song.

News From Around The Country
Taylor Swift will host a live webcast next Tuesday to discuss with her fans around the world details on her highly-anticipated third album. The chat begins at 4PM Central time on taylorswift.com or Ustream.tv/taylorswift. ….. Rodney Atkins recently filmed the video for his latest single, “Farmer’s Daughter.” His wife, Tammy Jo, stars as the farmer’s daughter who falls in love with Rodney and ends up marrying him. The video was directed by Chris Hicky. ….. Little Big Town raised over $55,000 for the T.J Martell Foundation at their 4th annual Ride For A Cure event held last Sunday. The event consisted of a motorcycle ride from Nashville to Columbia, Tennessee. Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Randy Houser, Josh Thompson, and The Band Perry performed a post-ride concert for those who participated.

Carrie Underwood Wedding Pics

People Magazine has released its exclusive coverage of Carrie Underwood’s wedding to Mike Fisher. People reports that for her July 10 wedding Carrie wore a Chantilly lace and silk organza Monique Lhuillier gown. But after the ceremony, she promptly changed into a strapless Lhuillier cocktail dress. "The wedding dress was huge," Carrie told People, "I wanted to get my boogie on, so I had to change." To answer the question of what role Carrie’s dog, Ace, played in the wedding, People reports that Ace came down the aisle in a Swarovski crystal-encrusted pink tuxedo. Carrie said, "Mike was like, 'He's in pink! What are you doing?' But he looked so handsome." For more details and the exclusive pictures, look for this week’s issue of People Magazine.

Just in case you ever thought that Taylor Swift’s career is struggling, she has been nominated for one more award – induction into the International Bowling Museum Hall of Fame. This is a non-profit organization that promotes bowling. The nominees include other celebs who have been spotted bowling, thus promoting the sport. Taylor is up against Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Bill Murray, among others. Check out this website to cast your vote before August 7th. Once you vote, you will get a free game of bowling on August 7th, the day that three-thousand bowling centers across the U.S. will join forces to set a new world record for the most bowling games played in a 24-hour period. It works at our bowling center in Las Cruces, so why not?

And finally, this is a cute example of how you get famous. A 4-year old in Murfeesboro, TN, was filmed while performing to Brad Paisley’s “Water.” The video was brought to Brad’s attention, and after watching it, he tweeted, “A perfect performance. Complete control of the room, commands our attention. Excellent. I gotta meet him!” His praise didn’t end there as he shared the link again to his Twitter followers and said, “Oh and that’s a fantastic tie, too.” Let’s hope the meeting works out for little Victor. Here’s his clip.

The Underwood-Fisher Wedding a Success

Carrie’s married. That’s the weekend headline in country music. So what else is going on?

Kidding, kidding. We need some details on the nuptials. Carrie Underwood married Mike Fisher, hockey player for the Ottowa Senators. The pictures are said to be seen in the next issue of People magazine. That is reported to be the only source of media that was allowed access to the wedding, a privilege paid dearly for. The paparazzi did catch the newlyweds at LAX yesterday afternoon, departing on a flight to the South Pacific for their honeymoon. But from what has been reported from the site of Saturday’s wedding at the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, GA, Carrie wore a Chantilly lace Monique Lhuillier gown to say her vows under a lakeside tent. The ceremony with nearly 250 guests was estimated to cost $500,000. In planning the affair, Carrie leaked an idea to have cupcakes rather than traditional wedding cake. Reports say that buttermilk pie from a local café may have been the order of the day. Security was tight, so the guestlist remains private until the People magazine exclusive, but their wedding planner did describe the ceremony as “a spiritual expression of their love” for a “very special couple.” It involved classical music and the couple’s favorite Bible readings. No word on the role that Carrie’s other man, her dog, Ace, played. A statement from the newlyweds has been released, “We could not feel more blessed to have found each other and to have shared this day with our friends and family that mean so much to us!” signed Mike and Carrie Fisher.

In case you’re wondering, how long have some other country couples been together?

Dolly Parton & Carl Dean: 44 years
George Strait & Norma: 39 years
Reba McEntire & Narvel Blackstock: 21 years
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill: 14 years
Darius Rucker & Beth Leonard: 10 years
Brad Paisley & Kimberly Williams: 7 years
Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood: 5 years
Keith Urban & Nicole Kidman: 4 years
Jewel & Ty Murray: 2 years