Thursday, June 9, 2011

Today's Country Tidbits

The CMT Music Awards were last night, and the night was filled with great performances, surprising artist combinations (Kid Rock & Wynonna???) and one big embarrassing moment when Shania Twain fell down while taking the stage to present the Male Video of the Year award to Blake Shelton. She got right back up, flashed her beautiful smile and went on as if nothing happened. She later explained that she didn't need a stunt double, because she can do all of her own stunts, and she's going to auction the shoes off for charity. And in typical Blake fashion, he had to have a smart remark about the event. Scroll down to the tweet of the day to see what he said.

Video of the Year - Taylor Swift "Mine"

Male Video of the Year - Blake Shelton "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking"

Female Video of the Year - Miranda Lambert "The House that Built Me"

Group Video of the Year - Lady Antebellum "Hello World"

Duo Video of the Year - Sugarland "Stuck Like Glue"

Breakthrough Video of the Year - The Band Perry "If I Die Young"

Collaborative Video of the Year - Rascal Flatts with Justin Bieber "That Should be Me"


Just off the red carpet, Martina McBride and her youngest daughter Ava ran into Justin Bieber. Justin was gracious, but Martina's daughter was awestruck and ended up in tears over the whole thing.

The 40th annual CMA Music Festival, the event formerly known as Fan Fest, is officially underway. The parade was yesterday, with more than 30 major artists caravaning through Nashville in souped-up Chevrolets. Grand Marshals Bill Anderson and the Oak Ride Boys joined Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon and tons of Nashville's finest for the fun. The music shifts into high gear today with the first LP Field show, which is totally sold-out. By the time this hits the internet, Friday, Saturday and Sunday will probably be sold out, too.

In case you missed it yesterday, Shania Twain will grace the stage at Caesars Palace in Las vegas starting in December of 2012. She's got a two-year deal with the venue which includes 60 shows a year and a deal that lets American Express card-holders get in first. Ticket prices will range from $80 to $750. There'll be a new album out soon, maybe before the end of this year.

Willie Nelson walks away with just a slap on the wrist and a fine after his marijuana bust last fall. Originally, authorities said it was a felony bust, but it turned out to be just a misdemeanor after all. He'll pay a $500 fine, court costs and has to keep his nose clean for a month.

Darius Rucker will headline Nashville's 4th of July Celebration at Riverfront Park.

Congratulations to Brad Paisley, who has the #1 album in America again this week with "This is Country Music."

On this day in history, the man who invented the technology that Brad Paisley uses so well was born. Les Paul would have been 96 today. He passed away in August of 2009.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Whoa!!! Not only did I win but Shania Twain is falling for me!!!!"