Today's Country Tidbits

Lady Antebellum beat a record held by Kenny Chesney at the arena in Bloomington, Illinois this past weekend. They kicked off their tour by breaking the attendence record at US Cellular Coliseum, packing more than 32,000 fans into three shows. Charles Kelley says the trio are always looking for ways to get better: “It will be interesting, I think we’re gonna try to evolve now, after a third record. We really want to free ourselves up a little bit more and see where we can kind of go with the music and not get in too much of a stride, so to speak, where you just keep regurgitating the same type of music, so we want to try and push ourselves.”

Darius Rucker is touring with Lady Antebellum and has booked studio time to record in his down time. He's written most of the songs for his third country studio album, and says about his crazy schedule, “For me, it’s all really all about fun right now, so I’m just doing the best I can with that. And it’s really getting better and better every time I play, so I can’t...you know, I can’t complain about it.”

Reba is not just alive, she's poking fun at the rumors of her untimely demise. As reported here Tuesday, the top Google search Monday was "reba dead" as people sought details of her tragic fall from an Austrian mountain while filming a movie. She posted this on her WhoSay website yesterday:

Toby Keith and his family won, then lost, and now have won again a $2.8 million settlement in the 2001 death of his dad, H.K. Covel. Toby's dad was killed in a traffic accident, and the original trial found a bus company negligent in the wreck. The settlement was overturned when the bus company appealed, and now the Oklahoma Supreme Court has upheld the original verdict.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. When you're Taylor Swift, most of the time, you win, but not this time. She was up for a role in Les Miserables but lost it to a virtual unknown, Samantha Barks, a former contestant on "I'd Do Anything."

Congrats to Tim McGraw - "Emotional Traffic," the album he went to court to have released, debuts at #1 on the Billboard Country Chart and #2 on the Billboard 100 this week. It's his 13th #1 debut album, and his last project on his old record label, Curb Records. To what does he owe all those #1's? “Sometimes I know if I’m gonna go sing a song, I can spend all day in there and sing and at the end of the day, listen back to and not like anything I’ve done and have to start over the next day. But I’ve got to go do the best I can that day and wrap my mind around it in that way. If I’m successful most of the days, then the end result is gonna be success at the end of all of those things put together.”

The Grammy Awards get a little more country this year, as Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert have been added to the presenters. Previously announced Nashville denizens Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, The Band Perry and Blake Shelton will be performing on the show, which airs live on Sunday, February 12 on CBS

Blake Shelton and the other judges from "The Voice" grace the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine this week. The second season premiers right after the Super Bowl Sunday night.

Tonight, Blake Shelton is on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno.

The tweet of the day is from Reba: "Well, it's a great week when you find out you're NOT dead and everyone at ABC LOVES the pilot script, "Malibu Country""

Today's Country Tidbits

Lady Antebellum beat a record held by Kenny Chesney at the arena in Bloomington, Illinois this past weekend. They kicked off their tour by breaking the attendence record at US Cellular Coliseum, packing more than 32,000 fans into three shows. Charles Kelley says the trio are always looking for ways to get better: “It will be interesting, I think we’re gonna try to evolve now, after a third record. We really want to free ourselves up a little bit more and see where we can kind of go with the music and not get in too much of a stride, so to speak, where you just keep regurgitating the same type of music, so we want to try and push ourselves.”

Darius Rucker is touring with Lady Antebellum and has booked studio time to record in his down time. He's written most of the songs for his third country studio album, and says about his crazy schedule, “For me, it’s all really all about fun right now, so I’m just doing the best I can with that. And it’s really getting better and better every time I play, so I can’t...you know, I can’t complain about it.”

Reba is not just alive, she's poking fun at the rumors of her untimely demise. As reported here Tuesday, the top Google search Monday was "reba dead" as people sought details of her tragic fall from an Austrian mountain while filming a movie. She posted this on her WhoSay website yesterday:

Toby Keith and his family won, then lost, and now have won again a $2.8 million settlement in the 2001 death of his dad, H.K. Covel. Toby's dad was killed in a traffic accident, and the original trial found a bus company negligent in the wreck. The settlement was overturned when the bus company appealed, and now the Oklahoma Supreme Court has upheld the original verdict.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. When you're Taylor Swift, most of the time, you win, but not this time. She was up for a role in Les Miserables but lost it to a virtual unknown, Samantha Barks, a former contestant on "I'd Do Anything."

Congrats to Tim McGraw - "Emotional Traffic," the album he went to court to have released, debuts at #1 on the Billboard Country Chart and #2 on the Billboard 100 this week. It's his 13th #1 debut album, and his last project on his old record label, Curb Records. To what does he owe all those #1's? “Sometimes I know if I’m gonna go sing a song, I can spend all day in there and sing and at the end of the day, listen back to and not like anything I’ve done and have to start over the next day. But I’ve got to go do the best I can that day and wrap my mind around it in that way. If I’m successful most of the days, then the end result is gonna be success at the end of all of those things put together.”

The Grammy Awards get a little more country this year, as Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert have been added to the presenters. Previously announced Nashville denizens Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, The Band Perry and Blake Shelton will be performing on the show, which airs live on Sunday, February 12 on CBS

Blake Shelton and the other judges from "The Voice" grace the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine this week. The second season premiers right after the Super Bowl Sunday night.

Tonight, Blake Shelton is on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno.

The tweet of the day is from Reba: "Well, it's a great week when you find out you're NOT dead and everyone at ABC LOVES the pilot script, "Malibu Country""

Today's Country Tidbits

Last night in Nashville, CMA's 3rd Annual Keep the Music Playing benefit was held, and Chris Young hosted it. The evening honors area schools that benefit from the program, and Chris is proud to be part of it, remembering, “My choir teacher Brenda Gregory...ah, definitely somebody that pushed me a lot. And you know there’s so many people that touched what I did from school. That’s why this is big. That’s why this is something that I’m proud to be a part of.” Nearly a million and a half dollars were donated to school music programs last night. The money comes from the CMA Music Festival concerts, where artists play for free so the ticket money can help kids.

One of Brad Paisley's most beloved songs is "She's Everything." It's been the first dance at countless weddings, children have been conceived to it, and at Mandalay Bay this week, a couple got engaged to it. Brad was on stage singing the love song when a guy near the front held up a sign, asking if he could propose to his girlfriend. Brad handed the guy the mic, took some cell phone photos of the moment...and, well watch what happens...

Some good news for Blake Shelton - his song, "God Gave Me You" has been certified platinum, and two albums, "Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton" and "Red River Blue" have gone gold. He got the awards while on stage in suburban Atlanta, GA.

In other Blake news, he and Miranda Lambert will duet on "America the Beautiful" just before the Super Bowl Sunday night. It's their first time performing together on tv since they got married last May. A version of the song is already available on iTunes.

The American Idol season is underway again, and Rascal Flatts' Gary LeVox and his family are fans. “We watch it every year. It’s just kind of crazy when you make music for a living and you see a show as big as American Idol and people take your music and are singing it. You know it’s just great to see the impact that your music has on people.” A contestant has already auditioned with "I Won't Let Go." The show moves to Portland, Oregon tonight.

Kellie Pickler is on The View today and Jewel is on The Revolution.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "People hurt you and so does life. But somehow through everything...love prevails. How could one thing be so huge?"

Today's Country Tidbits

Yesterday, news of Reba's death spread like wildfire on the internet, even becoming the top searched topic on Google. Supposedly she died while filming a movie in Austria from a fall down the Hahnenkamm mountains. Reba herself is very much alive, in spite of the rumors, and is gearing up to host the ACM Awards on April Fools Day. Early hoax? Seems so - the web site that first reported her death has a mice-type disclaimer under the story, saying that it's for entertainment purposes only and is 100% false.

In the wake of losing two people close to her in the span of a week, yesterday Miranda Lambert shot the video for "Over You," a song Blake Shelton wrote about the loss of his brother. To say the set was emotional is an understatement - Miranda says that the video is extremely passionate and the tissue count while filming was high. It should be out by the middle of February.

Just before Keith Urban had surgery to remove polyps from his vocal folds, he was asked to write and produce a song for the upcoming movie, "Act of Valor." He was hesitant, but wife Nicole Kidman worked her magic: “I have to thank Nic for really saying to me, ‘you should do this, you really should. I think you’ll really be able to do this if you just commit to it. And she really kind of gently suggested that I do it. And I’m glad I did.” The soundtrack comes out February 21st and the movie hits theatres the following weekend.

Dierks Bentley is celebrating the release of his cd, "Home," with a concert at the Ryman Auditorium on Thursday. The show will be extra-special, since the revered stage will be torn out two days later. “It’s my most favorite place to play. It’s the place I have the most respect for. I didn’t need any added pressure, and then you find out that they’re ripping up the stage that’s been on there for the last 60 years to put in a stronger stage to support more of the rock bands that come through and play it now. Hopefully, we leave a great last final mark on that stage.”

Trisha Yearwood is cooking up some tv fun with the Food Network. She's filming six episodes of a so-far-unnamed show that will feature family recipes, Sunday dinners and a peek at the kitchen she and Garth Brooks share in Oklahoma. The series will have a name by the time it airs in April.

Happy days for Chris Young, who's just scored his 5th #1 single in a row with "You." That song tops one of the two major country charts - Luke Bryan is at #1 on the other one with "I Don't Want This Night to End." About the song, Luke confesses, “It’s probably the furthest I’ve went from a country-sounding track ever. It’s really not a country track, but then you’ve got my ‘ol country voice on it. That’ll simmer down the most craziest of tracks.”

Jennifer Nettles will be part of the Super Bowl fun - she's the soundtrack for one of the Pepsi Max commercials. She sings the Hank Williams chestnut, "You're Cheatin' Heart." Check it out...

The tweet of the day is actually a series of tweets from Brad Paisley, who was busy correcting pop songs via Twitter last night.

"This land is your land? Sorry. My bad."

"I'm not walking on sunshine. I cast a shadow. It's impossible to walk on sunshine"

"Birds don't actually fly over most rainbows. And I can't fly at all.Therefore I can't fly over the rainbow. Duh."

"You're so vain. You probably think this song isn't about you."

"Billie Jean? Yes, she's my lover...the kid is mine."

"I did not shoot the sherriff. Sorry. But I did shoot the deputy."

"I actually do not have wings, nor are you the wind beneath them."

Today's Country Tidbits

Sunday night is the Super Bowl, and also the premier of The Voice right after the big game. Blake Shelton says that the judges have discussed country collaborations, and Christina Aguilera wants to duet with Miranda Lambert. Meanwhile, Blake has a favorite judge - Cee Lo Green. “Cee Lo is the sweetest guy ever, I mean and he’s the coolest...he is...Cee Lo is the coolest human being I have ever been around in my entire life. I’ve never been around anybody that when they come into the room, I mean, you knock stuff over to go stand by him because he’s gonna say something that...is just...you’re gonna go, ‘Ah! Why didn’t I think of that?’”

Miranda Lambert has rescheduled her show this Friday night so she can attend the funeral of Mark "Tex" Adams. The two had been friends since third grade, and Mark was killed on a Florida highway when he stopped to help a stranded motorist. The show in Tallahassee will now happen May 17th.

Chris Young is on tour with Miranda Lambert, and is up for two ACM Awards - Male Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year for his song, "Tomorrow." When he plays it live, he sees the power of that song: “It really has lived up to all the expectations I’ve had for it, and I think that is because it’s such a powerful song. There’s a lot of emotion in it, and I think a lot of people can relate to it.”

Keith Urban added two awards to his collection this weekend, but wasn't able to collect them. The Country Music Association of Australia named Keith the male Artist of the Year and he also took the award for Top Selling Album of the Year. He tweeted that he was thrilled and plans to head Down Under soon.

Rascal Flatts started filming a movie yesterday. Describing it as a "performance/documentary style" with more of their individual stories, Jay DeMarcus is pretty sure Flatt-heads are going to love it. No word on a release date yet.

Every year, Billboard Magazine comes out with a Power 100 list - a list of the most influential people in the music business. It's a list heavy on behind-the-scenes movers and shakers, but one country artist made this year's list. Taylor Swift lands at #78, just above Lady Gaga.

Danny Gokey is married. He and Leyicet Peralta were engaged last month, and said it would be a short engagement. It was - and at the reception after yesterday's service, the couple, their families and close friends dined on a cake that Danny described as "three tiers of chocolaty heaven."

The famous boards of the Ryman Auditorium stage will host their last country music show this week. The stage will be taken up and replaced with one that will carry three times the load, ensuring that the historic church-turned-concert-hall can continue as a venue for all kinds of music. The final show for the current stage is Friday and features Keith Urban, the Oak Ridge Boys and Charley Pride. Saturday morning, the old stage will be ripped out and it will be two weeks before the new stage is in place. But it won't be entirely new wood - the front 18 inches will be made of wood from the current stage, so artists can still kiss the revered stage. Yep, happens all the time!

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: "Home sweet home. Gorgeous sunny day. Just Dance 3 playing in the other room. Coffee in hand. Kisses from all my girls. #lifeisgood"

Today's Country Tidbits

The nominees for the 47th Academy of Country Music Awards were announced yesterday, and Kenny Chesney is the leading solo nominee with 9 nods. Taylor Swift is the leading solo female nominee with recognition in 3 categories and Lady Antebellum is the leading group nominee with 5 nods. Jason Aldean has 6 nominations, Brad Paisley got 4, and Eli Young Band, Toby Keith and Grace Potter and The Nocturnals each received 3 nominations. Kenny Chesney is proud to have helped Grace get those nominations: “To me, that just shows you how powerful music can be. You can meet a girl like Grace Potter—never met her before—she grew up in Vermont, I grew up in Tennessee. And I never met her until she walked in the studio, but it was as if—when we started singing together—it was as if we’d known each other our whole lives and it just worked.” The show will air Sunday April first on CBS and will be hosted by Reba McEntire & Blake Shelton. Here are the major category nominees - the entire list is on the ACM website.

Entertainer of the Year

Jason Aldean

Kenny Chesney

Brad Paisley

Blake Shelton

Taylor Swift

Female Vocalist of the Year

Sara Evans

Miranda Lambert

Martina McBride

Taylor Swift

Carrie Underwood

Male Vocalist of the Year

Jason Aldean

Kenny Chesney

Brad Paisley

Blake Shelton

Chris Young

Vocal Duo of the Year

Love and Theft

Montgomery Gentry

Steel Magnolia

Sugarland

Thompson Square

Vocal Group of the Year

The Band Perry

Eli Young Band

Lady Antebellum

Rascal Flatts

Zac Brown Band

Album of the Year

Chief – Eric Church

Four the Record – Miranda Lambert

Hemingway’s Whiskey – Kenny Chesney

My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean

Own the Night – Lady Antebellum

Song of the Year

“Crazy Girl” – Eli Young Band (Lee Brice, Liz Rose)

“Home” – Dierks Bentley (Brett Beavers, Dierks Bentley, Dan Wilson)

“Just a Kiss” – Lady Antebellum (Dallas Davidson, Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott)

“Threaten Me With Heaven” – Vince Gill (Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Dillon O'Brian, Will Owsley)

“You and Tequila” – Kenny Chesney feat. Grace Potter (Matraca Berg, Deana Carter)

Single Record of the Year

“Crazy Girl” – Eli Young Band

“Don’t You Wanna Stay” – Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson

“Red Solo Cup” – Toby Keith

“Tomorrow” – Chris Young

“You and Tequila” – Kenny Chesney feat. Grace Potter

Video of the Year

“Tattoos on This Town” – Jason Aldean

“Homeboy” – Eric Church

“Red Solo Cup” – Toby Keith

“Just a Kiss” – Lady Antebellum

“Mean” – Taylor Swift

Vocal Event of the Year

“Country Boy” – Aaron Lewis feat. George Jones & Charlie Daniels

“Don’t You Wanna Stay” – Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson

“Old Alabama” – Brad Paisley feat. Alabama

“Remind Me” – Brad Paisley duet with Carrie Underwood

“You and Tequila” – Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter

Songwriter of the Year

Rhett Akins

Dallas Davidson

Ben Hayslip

Luke Laird

David Lee Murphy

Keith Urban and Richard Marx celebrated their #1 collaboration, "Long Hot Summer," yesterday in Nashville. The two have written together before, but there was some friction, according to Keith. “We’d had an issue with each other. That’s all I’m gonna say. I learned a lot about the importance of friendship, and this guy was so incredibly gracious and good. And I wanted to really make it up to Richard. So, I said, ‘Please, I want to write together again. We should really do that.’ It wasn’t born of a quota to write a song, it was born of a want for us to reconnect.” Keith performs publicly for the first time since vocal fold surgery a week from tonight at the Grand Ole Opry.

It could be called the "Bluest Eyes" tour, but no one asked me! George Strait and Martina McBride hit the road for a winter tour tonight in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Martina is chomping at the bit to get out there - “We’re just so excited to be going out on the road again, ‘cause we’ve had some time off and really haven’t done a show in several weeks. I’m so excited about playing some new material, and it’s gonna be a lot of fun to be back out on stage.”

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are both taking their Moms on the road with them as they resume touring after the death of Blake's Dad. Wednesday night, Miranda got choked up trying to sing "The House That Built Me" on her first night back out and a fan captured the moment.

And on the heels of the loss of her Dad-in-law, Miranda Lambert has lost a friend she's known since childhood. Overnight, she tweeted, "I have lost a friend I've had since 3rd grade today in a tragic accident. When will this pain end. Please pray for peace."

Second time's a charm - Merle Haggard is home in California after leaving a Macon, Georgia hospital a second time this week. He's expected to take at least a month off from touring as he recovers from pneumonia, stomach ulcers and diverticulitis of the esophagus.

Glen Campbell will perform with Blake Shelton and The Band Perry on the Grammy Awards on February 12th. He's a 5-time Grammy winner and Blake and TBP are nominees this year. Other country artists scheduled to perform are Jason Aldean and Taylor Swift.

Dolly Parton is on the David Letterman Show tonight.

Happy birthday to Tracy Lawrence, who turns 44 today.

The tweet of the day is from Zac Brown Band: "Sometimes you dunk the ball. Sometimes the ball dunks you."

Today's Country Tidbits

Congrats to Jay and Allison DeMarcus, who are expecting their second child. Daughter Madeline Leigh was born in December of 2010, and according to Jay, this new little bundle of joy was a huge surprise. Jay feels more prepared this time around, remembering, “There was one little piece of advice that was great. It was like, ‘you’re not gonna break ‘em.’ And you know, they're so little and fragile, you’re afraid you’re gonna hurt ‘em anytime you touch them. And you know, you gotta get in there and grab ‘em up—you can’t be scared of them is what I’m saying, and I’ve seen a lot of people that are scared!”

Charles Kelley is sporting a new appendage - a cast on his left hand. The Lady Antebellum singer broke a finger on vacation. How? “[Charles] This is actually...the Bahamas...I was just horsing around and I hit it on the side of a table. I’m an idiot. [Hillary] And, of course, the cast is like way bigger than the actual...it’s like a hairline fracture. [Charles] Yeah...yeah...I’m a baby. [laughs] I’m a dainty musician.” The trio's "Own the Night 2012 Tour" kicks off tomorrow night, so it's a good thing Dave Haywood is the piano player for the group!

Blake Shelton will play the pre-race concert for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 19th at Charlotte Motor Speedway. According to Blake, “I cannot wait to help kick-off one of the biggest all-star events in pro sports, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. We’re going to party!”

Miranda Lambert cites some interesting musical influences, including Faith Hill, especially when she stepped out and did something different: “I was lovin’ people that had something different, you know, that did something a little bit different. And, like, when Faith did the pop album...the Cry record...I just thought it was great. Her singing was cool and it was something different I’d never heard from little ‘ol country Faith Hill, you know?”

The Zebra Pen took a survey of 2,500 Americans, asking which celebrity they'd most like to receive a love note from. 45% of women said Keith Urban, putting him at the top of their list. 34% of men said pop singer Katy Perry, and in second place with 29% of the vote was Taylor Swift. Hope those people aren't holding their breath...

Carrie Underwood has a new single coming out in a few weeks. "Good Girl" is a song she co-wrote with Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley, and is the first single off her 4th album. Carrie calls it "pretty rockin'." Tomorrow night, catch her on the PBS special, Tony Bennett Duets II, featuring his duet with Carrie on "It Had to Be You."

The tweet of the day is from Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus: "We should build a monument to SEAL team 6 right now!!! God bless you all...."