More On the Apprentice Confrontation

During Sunday night’s episode of Celebrity Apprentice, John Rich defended country music when teammates Jose Canseco and Richard Hatch demeaned the genres’ fans. It’s been months since the confrontation took place, but seeing the argument air in the episode got John all riled up again. “Well you wanna tell me how ironic it is that a tax evader who’s in prison and a roid-raging rat from baseball are going to sit back there and tell me that country music fans are dumb, backward hicks? Are you serious?” John said, “And they still called it country-western, by the way, which shows how stupid they really are. I mean, that really set me off.” John says he also stood up for Trace Adkins when Donald Trump tried to take responsibility for launching Trace’s career. “And I said, ‘Well, uh, actually he was multi-platinum before he came on your show. He goes, ‘No, no. Trace Adkins, he was basically no one.’ And I look at him and I said, ‘You know what? You’re right. He, he basically was no one before your show. Thank you so much for putting him on here cause now we all get to hear, hear his great voice.’ And I just totally played along with it, like Donald Trump really thinks Trace Adkins was nobody before that show.” As for Canseco and Hatch demeaning country music, John says there’s a lot that was cut out in editing. He says their comments continued but eventually Hatch apologized.

News From Around The Country
Craig Morgan received a plaque and a fireman’s hat over the weekend from four members of the Tennessee City Volunteer Fire Department. Last month Craig rushed into a burning house he passed while headed home from a tour stop to save two small children in Charlotte, Tennessee. …….Jimmy Wayne plans to release his first novel, Paper Angels, November 1st. The book is based on Jimmy’s real-life experience as a child benefitting from the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. Jimmy started the book last year during his walk across America, co-writing over the phone with novelist Travis Thrasher. …….. And finally, Eddie Montgomery is thanking his son after a visit to the doctor lead to his early prostate cancer diagnosis. When Eddie’s son was injured in an ATV accident late last year, Eddie mentioned his own hip pain to the bone specialist his son was seeing. Eddie says that the doctor offered to X-ray his hip and suggested that he see an urologist after discovering an unusual shadow. Eddie had the cancerous tumor removed over the holidays and his doctors have told him that he’s cancer free.

The Baby Boom Continues

After a long-term relationship, they married in 2008 and have been trying to start a family for some time. Jewel and Ty Murray have announced that they’re expecting their first child later this year. Jewel is currently working on a second children’s album and filming her new reality show, Going Platinum.

A country music dance-venue marketing company, Marco Club Connection, has released its top-10 list of the year’s most-requested country dance-club songs. Each year, the company surveys a panel of more than 240 club owners, DJs, and dance instructors from across the country to compile its top-10 rankings. And the results are:

TOP COUNTRY DANCE CLUB HITS OF 2010
1) “Stuck Like Glue” – Sugarland
2) “All About Tonight” – Blake Shelton
3) “Hillbilly Bone” – Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins
4) “Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
5) “Giddy On Up” – Laura Bell Bundy
6) “Country Done Come To Town” – John Rich
7) “Roll With It” – Easton Corbin
8) “Why Don’t We Just Dance” – Josh Turner
9) “Turn On The Radio” – Reba
10) “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer” – Billy Currington

News From Around The Country
Tickets to Alan Jackson's third show in Brisbane, Australia sold out in 23 minutes. The show had to be added to Alan's original schedule due to demand. March 4th through March 12th will be Alan’s first tour in the land down under. To open, he’s taking along Miranda Lambert and newcomer Jasmine Rae, who is from Australia but now lives in Nashville. …… Rodney Atkins has been selected as the cover person for the debut issue of Country Music Profiles magazine. For the cover story, Rodney discusses his music, family, and more. The premiere issue also includes an interview with Eddie Montgomery. Country Music Profiles will be distributed nationwide in music stores and various mass-market outlets. ……. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has asked Garth Brooks to help him promote tourism in his state. The two appear together on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol in a public service announcement where Garth comments on the state’s beautiful landscapes and people. Garth recently visited the state as a producer on the made-for-TV movie, Unanswered Prayers. …… Martina McBride is back in an Atlanta recording studio working on the follow-up to her 2009 album, Shine. The new album will be Martina’s first since joining her new label, Republic Nashville, which is part of the Big Machine Label Group. …… If your New Year’s resolution was to hit the gym a little more often, you may find some encouragement in Keith Urban’s “Put You in a Song.” The tune has been recognized as one of the best workout songs for January 2011. Keith’s hit was the only country song to make the list on a fitness website.

Relationships Come Full Circle

Shania Twain's representative has confirmed the news that she and Frederic Thiebaud are engaged. Ironically, Thiebaud is the ex-husband of Shania's former friend Marie-Ann Thiebaud. This is the woman Mutt allegedly left Shania for in May of 2008. Thiebaud and Shania reportedly became close once the double betrayal was realized and officially came clean that they were dating in August of 2009. Thiebaud is a Nestle business executive and popped the question about two months ago in Switzerland. Shania's divorce from Robert "Mutt" Lange was official in June of this year.

Former Fugees front man Wyclef Jean is said to be recording a duet with Kenny Rogers. Kenny’s hoping that the song will be heard on his upcoming duets album, Killer Combinations. Wyclef did a rap rendition of Kenny’s hit, “The Gambler,” back in 2000 and now Kenny says he wants to do something a little more “musical” with Wyclef on the new album. Both artists have a strong following in Wyclef’s home country of Haiti.

Eddie Montgomery is celebrating this holiday season after a successful surgery has left him without any need for further cancer treatment. Eddie will spend the holidays at home with his family this year, enjoying some down time, old-fashioned traditions, and maybe some funny-tasting eggnog. Eddie said, “Back when I was a kid growin’ up, we didn’t have a whole lot. Course Mom and Dad played music. It was usually, our Christmas basically ended up with all a bunch of musicians in our house and havin’ people come over and just playin’ music, and there was some real funny-tastin’ eggnog.” Montgomery Gentry will hit the road early next year for a USO Tour.

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.”

Tuesday Newsday

TV Notes
Today, Kenny Chesney will sit down for and interview and perform on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. ….. Toby Keith is gearing up to take on the small screen with upcoming appearances to promote his new album, Bullets in the Gun, which hits stores tomorrow. He will stop by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday, followed by an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Thursday. Toby will wrap the week with the premiere of his CMT Invitation Only on CMT. ….. And you can catch Trace Adkins tomorrow night on the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC.

News From Around The Country
Nashville Lifestyles magazine has released the annual list of Music City’s 25 Most Beautiful People. Billy Currington, Rodney Atkins, and Montgomery Gentry’s Troy Gentry made the list. Those who are featured in the magazine represent the best and brightest doing great things in and around Nashville. ….. And speaking of Montgomery Gentry, did you see where they turned their official website pink on Friday in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. The page will be pink for the entire month before the duo launches a brand new site on November 1st. ….. And finally, old school songwriter/producer Billy Sherrill will be presented with BMI's Icon Award during the organization's 58th annual country awards in November. Billy played a key role in expanding country music's mainstream audience in the '70s. His songwriting credits include Tammy Wynette's “Stand by Your Man,” Charlie Rich's “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" David Houston's "Almost Persuaded," and many others. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Record Setting Friday

Kenny Chesney has something else to celebrate this week besides the release of his album, Hemingway’s Whiskey. His current single “The Boys of Fall” has put Kenny in Billboard’s record books for having at least one number one single in each year, for the past 10 years. In the charts 66-year history, only six artists have had longer runs than Kenny including:
· 19 years, George Strait, 1982-2000
· 16 years, Ronnie Milsap, 1974-89
· 14 years, Alabama, 1980-93
· 12 years, Loretta Lynn, 1967-78
· 11 years, Tim McGraw, 1994-2004
· 11 years, Dolly Parton, 1977-87
· 10 years, Conway Twitty, 1968-77
· 10 years, Merle Haggard, 1967-76

Joe Nichols was a contestant last week on CMT’s Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and he walked away with $125,000 in prize money that he donated to Camp Barnabas, a Missouri Christian camp for people with special needs. Joe’s younger sister, Kelli, has attended the camp for the past several years, and according to the camp’s co-founder, the money will go towards building a new Health Care Facility to take care of the 1,300 campers.

Montgomery Gentry, who recently parted ways with their longtime label, wrote a letter to fans to clear up the duo’s future. The statement said, “Eddie and Troy here. As you may have heard, there were plans to release a ‘Greatest Hits’ yesterday but we wanted to make sure you knew that would not be happening. BUT, know that we are working on an album of brand new material. We are more motivated than ever to get the biggest and baddest Montgomery Gentry album ever out there! Hang in there and we’ll get that done as quickly as we can. In the meantime, we can’t wait to see you out on the road!”

It Sure Is Monday

Well Happy Monday! Are you ready for a shocker to start the week? It’s being reported that Montgomery Gentry has exited their longtime label, Columbia Records. No word on future recording at this point, but the duo will be on the road until October 23rd.

Big Kenny’s family just got a little bigger! The Big half of Big & Rich, and his wife Christiev, adopted a new son named Dakota Jefferson Holiday Alphin in July. Christiev said, “When they put Dakota in our arms, he has the most beautiful smile, and the moment Kenny started talking to him, Dakota lunged toward him. We both looked at each other and it was like, 'Of course he is our son.” Dakota is now 9-months-old and one person that loves the new addition is the couple’s 4-year-old son Lincoln. Christiev says, “Lincoln is in love with him – he says Dakota is going to play keyboards in his band. He's aware of a beautiful responsibility."

And finally, The Eagles member Don Henley has announced that he has been working on a solo country album which will consist of original songs and covers. Stan Lynch, former drummer for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, is co-producing the album. This isn’t Don’s first country project; you may remember that he sang harmony with Trisha Yearwood on her 1992 hit “Walkaway Joe.”

Weekend Catch Up

News From Around The Country
Laura Bell Bundy will make her sitcom debut on How I Met Your Mother this fall, playing a new co-host on the show’s television station, Metro News One. She may also being going on a date with one of the show’s main characters. This isn’t Laura Bell’s first acting gig, as she starred on Broadway’s Legally Blonde Musical as Elle Woods. ….. Montgomery Gentry will release their eighth album, Hits And More: Life Beside A Gravel Road, this fall. The album will feature some of their fans favorite hits, such as “Lucky Man,” and “Roll With Me,” as well as three new songs. Look for the newest greatest hits package on September 28th…… Toby Keith graces the cover of the current issue of People Magazine Country Special, where he discusses his life at home. On the music scene he’s known as one of the toughest guy’s in the business, but at home he’s “Dad” and also “Coach.” The past six year’s, Toby has coached his son’s football team and has found that Stelen’s team mates don’t care about Toby’s career or how many awards he’s won. Toby says, “Kids do better with that than adults do. They are just, ‘Hey, coach! Can I go in?’ Toby also plays basketball almost every night with his son and his “herd” of friends. He says, "He's 13 and has a size 13 shoe. So he's a bigger kid than I was at his age." ….. And finally, don’t miss Chris Young’s streaming acoustic performance live from Nashville tomorrow. The show starts at 4:30PM Mountain on Chris’s website.

Milestone Day

Happy Feel Good Friday. The end of the week is a real good time to go poking around for news that may have been missed. Did you hear the one about the statue of Willie Nelson? Yeah, it’s a 10% larger than life-size bronze statue in his musical home of Austin, TX. It will be placed on Second Street near the entrance of the new Austin City Limits studios downtown. And that’s just part of the honor; Mayor Lee Leffingwell is proposing renaming part of Second Street between Trinity and San Antonio as Willie Nelson Boulevard. It’s an honor usually reserved for prominent residents who have passed on, but in this case, the Austin City Council will vote on the proposal at its May 27th meeting.

Montgomery Gentry was recently given the 2010 Academy of Country Music/The Home Depot Humanitarian Award, and that means that a new KaBOOM! playground will be built in their honor. Artists get their choice of where they’d like to put the playground, so leave it up to Eddie and Troy to let their “friends” (fans) decide. By over 65% of the popular vote, the new playground will be build in Lexington, Kentucky sometime in the fall.

Sammy Kershaw is making a second run at the office of Lt. Governor in the state of Louisiana. He first ran in 2007 and collected 30 percent of the vote, even though he was a late addition to the ballot. At the time, he spent much of his two month campaign trying to convince voters that his bid for office wasn’t a joke. “I’m sick and tired of guys who just use that office as a steppin’ stone to get to the governor’s mansion,” he says. “That’s all they do. So they get in there and they waste that office is what they do, for four years — sometimes eight — waitin’ for that governor’s mansion. So what needs to happen is a guy that’s really serious about that job [gets elected], like me.” Sammy intends to promote Louisiana as an entertainment destination, to promote arts education in schools and to encourage conservative values, including pro-life, pro-gun and pro-marriage platforms.

Shakeup On Music Row

The record industry is living in a time of transition as it struggles to find a relevant business model for music distribution in the 21st century. Like with most companies, personnel changes and reorganization strategies are nearly a daily occurrence on Music Row, and we generally leave the scorekeeping to other blogs.

But wham! Bam! Thank You , M’am! When Joe Galante quits and Lyric Street closes all in the same day, we can’t help but notice. Joe Galante is chairman and chief brain trust of Sony Music Nashville labels RCA, BNA, Columbia, and Arista Nashville, whose rosters include Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, Martina McBride, Kellie Pickler, Miranda Lambert and Sara Evans, among others. A replacement is pending.

Even more shocking is the news that Disney speared a nail into the tire of Lyric Street Records and will let it deflate. According to yesterday’s press release, banner act Rascal Flatts will transfer to another record label within the Disney Music Group in order to maintain a strong position for the anticipated fall album release. The fate of the rest of the artists on the label, including Bucky Covington, Love and Theft, Sarah Buxton, and Tyler Dickerson is unannounced. Although sources have said that teenage-act Tyler Dickerson will more than likely move to another label within the Disney family of younglings. Sources have also confirmed that a core promotions team will continue market and promote the label's current singles, leaving those artists to be phased out after their natural demise on the charts. That sounds entirely too pretty for the record industry. What typically happens in these cases, despite the label’s cheery intentions, when an artist is dropped by a label, radio nearly immediately drops the song. It’s an internal game in the industry, but it happens. The artists on Lyric Street are just the latest victims to the age-old game of musical record labels.

News From Around The Country
Miranda Lambert pulled a Tim McGraw move and stopped a fight which occurred in her audience during a concert in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Miranda was in the middle of a song, when she told her band mates to stop the music. “Hey girls. Girls! Hey! Are you all here to listen to music or get in each others' faces? Don't make me come down there now!" Miranda said. She watched as one of the women decided to leave. "She's still mad. Well, we came here to have fun," Miranda told the crowd. ….. Montgomery Gentry have been named recipients of the 2010 ACM Home Depot Humanitarian Award. A playground will be built in the duo’s honor, and fans have until April 30th to log on and vote for the city most deserving of having the playground built. So far, Lexington, Kentucky is the runaway winner. ….. And finally, hope you still have room on your DVR. A documentary on Toby Keith will air on the Biography channel tonight. The hour long episode explores Toby’s work in the oil-industry, playing semi-pro football, and how his career soared to the top of the country charts.

The Wake of the ACM Nominations

Ever seen a 3-foot pizza? Short of the book of world’s records, “The Big One” is likely the largest single pizza you’ll ever see. You can get one at Fox’s Pizza Den. If get one of today’s Half Off Wednesday certificates, you can get one for half price. Check it out on the main website because there’s nothing better than impressing your kids at their next birthday party with a pizza that’s likely bigger than they are!

If you're in El Paso tonight, you're welcome to join the Eli Young Band for a great show at Whiskey Dicks. Tickets are $15 at Horse N Hound or ticketbully.com. The last time EYB was in El Paso, the show was a sell-out, so door tickets may be scarce. Advance tickets are always the safest bet.

Tomorrow night, Zac Brown Band will be bringing the Breaking Southern Ground Tour to the Pan Am Center. Yesterday, 500 more tickets were opened up. Grab yours so you don't miss the chance to see the ACM-nominated and Grammy-winning band.

News From Around The Country
While reactions to yesterday’s ACM Award Nominations are settling down, one winner has already been named. Montgomery Gentry will receive the 2010 ACM and Home Depot Humanitarian Award. Troy and Eddie will be honored during the April 18th award show for their ongoing community service and charitable giving, especially to the U.S. military. Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride, and Brooks & Dunn, among others, have all been recipients of the Award.

If you’ve been waiting for the CMT Crossroads episode with Jimmy Buffett and Zac Brown Band, set your DVRs for March 19th. Taped before an invitation-only audience in Nashville last December, the two acts will perform each other's hit songs. It should be great to hear ZBB on "Margaritaville" and "Son of a Sailor" and Jimmy on "Chicken Fried" and "Toes."

Carrie Underwood has been working with the Pedigree dog food company to assist with animal shelters and find homes for abandoned animals. For every person requesting to be the company’s friend on Facebook, Pedigree will donate eight ounces of dog food to animal shelters. Last week, Pedigree made a 50-thousand dollars donation to Carrie’s foundation to help build an animal shelter in her hometown of Checotah, OK.

The Tradition Continues...

The first time Eddie and Troy played the on the hallowed stage was October 3,2000. Last night, they became members, as Marty Stuart and Little Jimmy Dickens inducted Montgomery Gentry into the Grand Ole Opry. Troy Gentry was nearly speechless when he said“All day I’ve been trying to conjure up the words to say what this means, but there aren’t enough words to describe what this night means to us. Thank you all so much.” Eddie Mongomery choked up when it was his turn to speak, “I remember sittin’ in an old junky station wagon listening to the Grand Ole Opry with my dad. He’d say, ‘It don’t matter what you do in country music; if you don’t become a member of the Grand Ole Opry, you ain’t got there yet,’” he finished by lifting his statuette toward the sky saying, “Dad, we made it!”

News From Aroun The Country
It’s finally been decided. Julianne Hough will star with Chace Crawford in the upcoming remake of Footloose. Even though she has experience playing “Arial”, she says she will be playing a character named “Sarah.” The movie should be out in ’10. Willie Nelson has been honored at the 2009 Maui Film Festival with the Maverick Award for being a constitutional supporter and for being politically outspoken. Toby Keith will be joining the ranks of those touring Europe this fall. Most of his November schedule has dates in Scotland, Ireland, England, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway. Garth Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, made a surprise appearance in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Bowl last Friday. They were there to help Star Wars conductor John Williams open the summer season. And finally, Taylor Swift has announced the official charitable partner of her Fearless Tour as Best Buy’s @15 organization.

The Countdown Continues

Tuesday greetings. Just 4 days until The Country Station gives away the Harley Davidson! Also, check out the sidebar for your chance to get a free download of James Otto’s new single, “Since You Brought It Up.”

News From Around The Country
Tonight is the big night for Montgomery Gentry. Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry will be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Set your DVRs for August 3rd. Sugarland: Live on the Inside will air on ABC. It's the duo's first network TV special. The special will feature many of their hits and never-before-televised performance footage. A CD/DVD package, also titled Live on the Inside, will be available on August 4th. Forbes magazine has named Dierks Bentley as one of their "Ten Next Breakout Stars." The list is made up of celebrities that the publishers believe have the potential to become household names. Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly lists seeing a Brad Paisley concert on their list of "115 Things You Can’t Miss This Summer." Brad is recognized as the “Most Country Crooner,” of the summer.

Tuesday Newsday

This November in Washington, D.C., Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will perform during Country United: Advancing Medicine from the Frontlines to the Homefront, an event to support the nation's wounded warriors. The symposium and gala are supported by the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine and the Tug McGraw Foundation. Tim and Faith are co-chairing the event that will raise money to help advance medical care and improve quality of life for service members and civilians. Faith is also scheduled to provide the keynote address.

News From Around The Country
Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry is rocking a new look at concerts. At a performance in Louisville, Kentucky over the weekend, Troy appeared with his hair was spiked into a funky do and his eyes were rimmed with guy-liner. When asked about his new look, he said that his stylist is a big fan of American Idol and apparently of Idol runner up Adam Lambert. Kellie Pickler has another pet. Her boyfriend Kyle surprised her with a blue-eyed puppy. The new dog’s name hasn’t been announced yet, but does join Kellie’s cat, Moo-Moo the Chihuahua and Boots the snake. Miranda Lambert raised $120,000 for the Humane Society of East Texas during her 2nd Annual “Cause for the Paws” concert. Carrie Underwood is going to have her own exhibit at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Included in the exhibit is the merlot silk taffeta gown that Carrie wore at the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards, where she became both Female Vocalist Of The Year and Entertainer Of The Year. The exhibit will be open the rest of 2009.

Sweet Wednesday

During last nights performance on the Grand Ole Opry, Montgomery Gentry was asked to become members. Opry member Charlie Daniels surprised Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry by approaching them from the audience and making his way on stage. “I have been chosen to do something very special,” Charlie said. “I have known you guys for a long time, and I am very proud of all your accomplishments. If you agree to it, on June 23rd you’re gonna be made members of the Grand Ole Opry!” The guys were both surprised and Troy Gentry was speechless while Eddie borrowed a handkerchief from Charlie to wipe his eyes. After composing themselves, the two kicked off their current hit, “One In Every Crowd”.

News From Around The Country
Taylor Swift had a special guest join her onstage during her Los Angeles performance this past weekend. John Mayer jumped up for an impromptu “Crossroads” and the two sang his hit "Your Body Is A Wonderland" and her hit "White Horse." Gary Allan will face a stalker of four years in a Nashville area court today. The female was arrested outside his home earlier this month and the investigation is ongoing. And finally, it’s been announced that Bill Engvall will host the 2009 CMT Music Awards live from Nashville Tuesday, June 16th. It's country music's only fan-voted award show, so get your votes in at CMT.com between now and June 14th. The link’s at the top of the page.

Bucking The Ex-Idol Stereotype

Final sales figures from 2007 have been tabulated, and Bucky Covington wins the year with the best-selling debut CD. Released in April 2007, Bucky Covington debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Album chart with the biggest first week sales for any debut country artist that year. Since then, consistent sales and near non-stop touring have helped Bucky amass three consecutive Top 10 hits and album sales totals over 400,000.
Bucky remains one of only three male country artists since 2005 to have three consecutive Top 10 singles – “It’s Good To Be Us” breaking into single digits, “A Different World” and “I’ll Walk” reaching charted positions in the Top 5. Bucky is currently in the studio with producers Mark Miller and Dale Oliver working on the second collection of hits; the first single is expected to arrive at The Country Station in coming weeks. Meanwhile, Bucky will be undertaking his first USO tour next month, and will make an appearance in Hannah Montana: The Movie, which opens April 10th.

+ 14,000 more = 2. Plus 62,000 more, still equals number one, times eight! This is the 8th week in a row that Taylor Swift has kept Fearless at the top of the current album charts, and her self-titled debut CD is still selling well enough to grab second place.

Dierks Bentley is going to try to give Taylor a run for her money when his 4th studio album, Feel That Fire, comes out on Tuesday. The media gamut includes tonight’s hour-long GAC special on Dierks’ life on and off the road; the Dierks Bentley CMT Supercharged Weekend on 1/30 – 2/1; the NBC Today show on Tuesday for the big release; next Thursday (2/5) it’s Live with Regis and Kelly on ABC; a pre-race concert on FOX at NASCAR's Bud Shoot Out at the Daytona International Speedway on Saturday (2/7); and finally, Dierks hits the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on February 11th.

More Appearances
February 3rd: The Zac Brown Band sings “Chickenfried” on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
February 8th: Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Kid Rock at the 2009 Musicares Person of the Year Tribute to Neil Diamond.

News From Around The Country
Billy Powell, keyboard player for the legendary Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died at his home in Jacksonville, Florida at the age of 56. The cause of death has not been announced. Troy Gentry went solo to Montgomery Gentry’s number one party for “Roll With Me” because Eddie Montgomery was stuck at home in Kentucky without power and bad road conditions. He is one of 35-thousand people in Kentucky that hasn’t had power for over a day in a half. And John Rich has revealed scant details about his recent wedding to long-time girlfriend, Joan. His wedding band has a large diamond in the middle surrounded by a row of diamonds on either side. He said he had to get the large ring to “set off” the diamond studded Muzik Mafia ring he wears on his right hand. As for his wife’s ring, it’s eight carats - one carat for each year they dated.

DVR's Do Not Get Holiday Vacations

Just 15 shopping days until Christmas! If Half Off Wednesday certificates for Savino’s Ristorante Italiano sound like just the ticket, get ‘em while supplies last.

News From Around The Country
Several TV appearances to program into the DVR: Montgomery Gentry will sing their 5th Number One hit “Roll With Me” and a special rendition of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” on CBS’ The Early Show on Thursday this week. Julianne Hough will make several stops in front of the TV cameras before Christmas to promote her holiday CD. She performs on the Dr. Phil Show Holiday Special December 16th. She’ll play host on ABC & InStyle magazine’s The List the following day. And she’ll stop by and chat on the Rachael Ray Show on Christmas Eve. And don’t forget that the next round of Celebrity Apprentice with Clint Black begins March 1.

Tour Notes:
Kenny Chesney is following up his 2008 Poets & Pirates tour with his 2009 Sun City Carnival tour. Kenny started working on next year’s tour a little over halfway through Poets & Pirates and promises things will be even bigger and better this time around. Details on the upcoming tour will be announced soon. Vince Gill has been named 2009 Artist-In-Residence for the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. He'll be performing three February shows at the Hall's Ford Theater. Previous honorees include Cowboy Jack Clement, Earl Scruggs, Tom T. Hall and Kris Kristofferson.

Holiday Preparations

One week until it's time to give thanks for the year's blessings. Don't forget Trace Adkins and Darius Rucker are among those scheduled to be a part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.


Just short of the holiday, Trace Adkins will release his tenth studio album, appropriately titled X on Tuesday. The same day, Trace Adkins: X (ten) Days will air on GAC, documenting Trace's ten-day USO trip to the middle east to entertain the troops. Trace spent time with troops in some of the most isolated areas of Iraq and Afghanistan, performing 11 shows at forward operating bases. The special includes concert footage, one-on-one conversations with the soldiers at the front and a personal reunion between J.W. Williams, of Trace’s management team, and son Trey Williams, currently serving in the sand. How cool is that? Parents everywhere pray for letters from the front lines, it's not often that a parent gets to personally visit their child in that setting.


Released recently, here's a holiday gift idea for the horse lovers on your list - Horse Country: A Celebration of Country Music and the Love of Horses by Lisa Wysocky. This 224-page hardcover book tells the private stories of country music stars and their horses. Included in the read: George Jones, Charlie Daniels, Lynn Anderson, Tanya Tucker, Brad Paisley, Willie Nelson, Hal Ketchum, Chris Cagle, Eddie Montgomery, Tracy Byrd, and Todd Fritsch.

Time to stock up on Risotto's....

Smell that? That's the succulent aroma of Risotto's Med Rim Bistro, on sale today at 6am for half price during Half Off Wednesday. Hurry, while supplies last.

News from Around The Country:
Taylor Swift’s “Change,” which was used during the Olympics by NBC, is now being used by ABC to promote its new Thursday night lineup of programming. Montgomery Gentry is teaming up with the USO and an energy drink in a campaign to send handwritten postcards to U-S troops to boost morale. Their goal is to send one-million greetings this holiday season. Brooks & Dunn have announced their rescheduled shows to make up for the few canceled while Ronnie Dunn had a respiratory infection. Dolly Parton finally picked up her National Medal of Arts award she won three years ago. Because of her schedule, she hadn’t been able to get the award until now. Wynonna will tape a special October 6th in Nashville for the American Forces Radio and Television Service. The special is called Holiday Notes From Home: A Christmas Tribute for the Troops. Toby Keith and Willie Nelson will be part of Stephen Colbert's Christmas special, A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! The one-hour original musical holiday special premieres Sunday, November 23rd on Comedy Central.