Today's Country Tidbits

Trace Adkins spent some time under anesthesia yesterday, having kidney stones pulverized. According to an afternoon tweet, Trace said "In recovery. They said that I required an unusually large stint and that it is freakishly long. Thank you Lord!"

Alan Jackson broke the all-time attendance record at the San Antonio Rodeo last week, playing to 17,000 fans. Alan understands that his fans are extra-special: “You just can’t say enough about country music fans. At least mine, for anyway I’ve had fans who have to have a walker to get to the show and some who have to have their momma carry them there. I’ve got this wide range of fans and they’ll be doctors and farmers, you know, it’s just amazing.”

Oh, to be in Texas when the stars go black. In Austin on April 20th, Nashville stars converge for "We Walk the Line: A Celebration of the Music of Johnny Cash." Kenny Chesney, Ronnie Dunn, Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Shooter Jennings, Lucinda Williams, Amy Lee and Chris Cornell will honor the man in black in the Austin City Limits theatre. The show is a celebration of what would have been Johnny Cash's 80th birthday.

This week in Kentucky, Miranda Lambert was joined on stage by her friends from Pistol Annies, Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe. They ripped into Hell on Heels, and the audience was right there with them, word for word.

Jake Owen says fans are really reacting to his new song, "Alone With You." “It’s this song that’s got this passion to it of uh, don’t put your lips up to my lips and tell me you can’t stay and, and don’t tease me, like don’t mess with my mind. I’ve had girls, girls totally try to pull that on me before.” He's in the hot seat tomorrow, for sure, as he visits the Chelsea Lately show.

Craig Morgan's new album, "This Ole Boy," is out this week. It's a different kind of title - what does it mean to Craig? “I felt like that title, ‘This Ole Boy,’ encompasses who I am and who we are as a people...country people. I tell people, you know, I’m not a redneck, I’m not a hillbilly, I’m not a cowboy. Sometimes, those titles can come with a negative feel. ‘This Ole Boy’ don’t. It feels good.”

Little Big Town will host a Livestream chat at 6:45 Eastern this evening, talking with fans about anything and everything. When the chat is over, the work begins: LBT is in the studio, recording their next album and fans can stay on the stream and see how it's done.

Taylor Swift - hip-hop? Sounds like she and hip-hop artist B.o.B. are collaborating on a song on his next album. No one will confirm or deny the rumors, but they're pretty persistent. The album is due out in May, so we'll know for sure before then.

It's a boy for Jay and Alison DeMarcus, who are expecing their second child in early August. According to Daddy Jay, "Whew!!! Gonna have a house full!"

Shania Twain swung by the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to see where she and her band would be hanging out for a couple of years. Starting this December, she's got a two-year run in the main theatre at Caesars and she wanted to check out the sound system and the dressing rooms. According to someone on her staff, she's delighted with the digs for the "Shania: Still the One" show.

If you're a David Nail fan and could use a little R & R, head to Florida - he plays Davie tomorrow night, Bradenton Friday and Ft. Walton Beach on Saturday.

The tweet of the day is a series of tweets from Brad Paisley, who was suggesting bad ideas for sequel songs: "Where the streets have new names." "Hot for Professor." "Captive Bird." "Extended-stay Hotel California."

Today's Country Tidbits

Jason Aldean's My Kinda Party tour is on hiatus while he celebrates his birthday. He's 35 today, and his star has never been brighter. He's surrounded by band mates and crew that have been with him for the ride, and he's pretty philosophical about them: “Those guys are probably the only ones that really understand it, you know, or that, that really get it. I think family a lot of times, they, don’t see the everyday stuff. They just kind of, all of a sudden notice that you’re getting bigger and they’re proud of you obviously.”

Early yesterday morning on Music Row in Nashville, The Band Perry and The Henningsens celebrated their co-written song, "All Your Life." The song hit the top of the charts, and Kimberly, Reid and Neil had a couple of reasons to be proud: “One way this one is different, it was a two-week #1, which was a first for us. You know, ‘If I Die Young’ was a one week. But, yeah it’s pretty amazing. It was quite a week, I’ll tell ya. And to share it with our friends The Henningsens is also a brand new experience, and we were really, really thrilled and so proud for them.” They've spent time in the studio, recording their new album and spent the rest of yesterday in a songwriting session with Sheryl Crow.

Keith Urban tops the charts again this week with his song, "You Gonna Fly" and it looks like the follow-up, "For You," will be just as strong. He wrote it for the movie "Act of Valor" and the video is right here...

Get More: For You, Keith Urban, Keith Urban Videos

Time Magazine has recognized Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill restaurants as the #2 celebrity-owned restaurant. Toby's secret to success? “You just try to keep something very consistent, keep the food on top and serve all the Grade A stuff in the adult beverage world and let the people decide.” Gladys Knight topped the list for her Chicken & Waffle soul food outlets.

We don't usually announce Google enhancements here, but this one's important: when you search for your favorite music artist, a short list of upcoming concerts and links to purchase tickets shows up. Score!

Happy birthday to Jason Aldean, who turns 35 today.

Kenny Chesney is on the Jimmy Fallon show tonight, performing "I'm On Fire" in the show's Bruce Springsteen tribute. A little birdie told me that the band behind Kenny will be none other than Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. DVR alert!

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "I think I've had birthday since this race started! Upside @Miranda_Lambert has had a full night of sleep and is now up and watching again!!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Jason Aldean is on the 2012 My Kinda Party tour and is not just selling out arenas, he's breaking records: “You know, somebody with the venue, he’ll come up to us and he’s like, ‘Hey, you broke Elvis’ record tonight,’ and stuff like that. You know, anytime you hear that, it’s pretty cool...broke a Garth record not too long ago...broke a Bon Jovi record. So, it’s pretty crazy.”

Told you Friday about the sister of cancer patient Kevin McGuire putting up a Facebook page to convince Taylor Swift to be Kevin's prom date. Well, in true Taylor fashion, she's posted on her Facebook wall: “Kevin, I'm so sorry but I won't be able to make it to your prom. But I was wondering, the ACM Awards are coming up.. Would you be my date?” Kevin is hospitalized, but told reporters that he has cancer, it doesn't have him, and he's delighted to be Taylor's date.

The movie Act of Valor opened this past weekend, and Keith Urban's song "For You" was not just a hit with audience, it was a hit with the SEALS who were part of the movie. According to Keith, “For me, and I said this to some of the SEAL guys too, because they were saying, ‘Thank you so much for the song and being involved in the film’ – and I’d like to say it’s my family’s tiny little way of saying ‘thank you.’ It’s really extraordinary what they do. And I think this film in particularly when people see it will have a new insight as to what they do.”

The CMA Songwriter Series took Bob DiPiero, Clint Black and Bill Anderson to Ireland and the UK for a tour, but all didn't go as planned. A driver ran into the back of the tour bus, causing no injuries but delaying the concert for half an hour. According to Bill Anderson, “This accident happened when we were all on a Gibson bus – but it turned out to only be a Fender-bender – thank goodness!”

Condolences to Shawna and Keifer Thompson on the death of Shawna's father. He lost his battle with cancer last week, and he was surrounded by his family when he passed.

Yesterday, Johnny Cash would have been 80. And yesterday, Ronnie Dunn became a grandpa. Huxton "Huck" Wayne Dunn was born to Ronnie's son Jesse and his wife. All involved are doing great.

Lyle Lovett is on the David Letterman Show tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Joe Don Rooney: "It's a clear blue sky gorgeous day in Nash & Jag just walked outside w me & said hey dad it's a blue-tiful day! Lol"

Today's Country Tidbits

The down side to being a big star is that you can be the target of guilt trips - some of which put you in a no-win situation. That's the case with Taylor Swift right now, as the sister of Kevin McGuire is pushing to have Taylor be Kevin's date to his prom. Kevin was treated for leukemia at the age of 13, beat it, but now it's back. Saying nothing brightens his day more than Taylor Swift, she's put up a Facebook page trying to convince Taylor to go to the prom with Kevin.

Keith Urban is having a wonderful time being a coach on the Australian version of "The Voice." What's his favorite part of the show? “We live in such a visual age, you know, but we still, we don’t buy videos we buy records so what does it matter what an artist looks like. What about, how about how they sound and how does their voice affect me and how does that song affect me. I love that this show is the first one that I have seen that basically go on just the sound of the voice first.”

Miranda Lambert wrote "Airstream Song" for her "Revolution" album, and became so intrigued by them that she owns three. One is along for the ride on her "On Fire" tour, one is fitted out as a bar so she and friends can hang out there when they visit her house, and one is apparently a spare. Hopefully Blake will discourage her if she decides to write a song about a jumbo jet...

Lee Brice is scaling the charts with his new song, "A Woman Like You." It's not a typical love song, as Lee explains: “It walks a very fine line, I always talk about it like, ok this is to the girls because the girls are gonna love it when a man, you know, ‘look I’d be looking for a woman like you.’ Boom. But I was excited because the guys kinda get to say some things, I don’t know they could actually say it in real life and get away with it because it’s written so perfectly that you have to say it just like that or it might not come out right from, from a guy’s, you know, a girl might get a little put off.”

Brad Paisley is a great musician, but he's also a very good artist. If you've seen one of his shows, you've seen his work - he does all of the cartoons that run on the big screen. He's seeing some of that artistic ability in one of his sons: “I’m already seeing a little bit of artistic, uh, artistic drawing ability in one of them, and yeah it’s like, I wonder if that’s what I would have done if I had never been given a guitar because I am a pretty good artist, you know, as far as drawing and there’s a lot of careers for that and it’s a fun way to make a living too.”

Sammy Kershaw turns 54 today, and tomorrow Ralph Stanley turns 85.

The tweet of the day is from Dierks Bentley: "could have leased a new bus a long time ago but I like buses, guitars, boots, etc with stories and character. happy 1 MILLION MILES GOLDIE!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Jason Aldean is totally in love with his new song, "Fly Over States." He shot the video this week at an airport just outside of Nashville, and says, “I remember talking from day one about that song and wanting to make sure it was a single at some point off this record and, um, you know, finally got to a point where you know we were able to put it out there, and um, which is cool. You know a song that’s been around that long and you finally get to put it out there and give people a chance to hear it and see what they think about it.”

Dierks Bentley's Canadian tour leg lent itself to some fun off the stage. Dierks is a huge hockey fan, playing in an amateur league in Nashville when he's in town. He hit the ice with the Calgary Flames after one of their practice sessions, playing a half-ice pick-up game and loving every minute of playing with the pros.

Eric Church is a devoted dad. Not only are wife and son on tour with him in a custom Airstream trailer, fitted out as a nursery, but he's been known to finish a show and walk straight offstage into a diaper change. Eric is fascinated by how quickly son Boone is picking up technology, saying “What’s funny is they love iPhones. They love iPads. I mean, it’s amazing that they’ll...how quick that they’ll reach out and know how to spin a screen, or know how to light...it’s, it’s unreal you know, at four-and-a-half months old that he can do some of those things. You know, I think back to the toys I used to have and we used to play with car keys [laughs]. You know? And now people got cell phones and iPads.”

Hank Williams Jr. kicks off the "Taking Back America Tour" next month in Florida. Along for the ride are Jamey Johnson, Chris Young, Josh Thompson, George Thorogood and 38 Special. Bocephus says the current state of America has inspired his songwriting: “Oh yeah! Oh yeah...me? Yeah. Remember, I was the one with ‘Don’t Give Us a Reason’ and ‘American Can Survive’? Yeah, things are looking up!”

Chris Cagle sings the National Anthem before the Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300 in Daytona this weekend, and his face will be on Mike Wallace's Chevy.

They guys from Rascal Flatts were given the CRS 2012 Humanitarian Award yesterday in Nashville. They were recognized for their work for the American Red Cross, the childrens hospital in Nashville and other charities they support.

Rascal Flatts largesse extended to Sara Evans - they gave her a new Jeep yesterday as a thank-you for touring with them.

Lady Antebellum has the Billboard #1 on the country chart this week, and played a sold-out show last night in Nashville, where they brought some surprise guests Luke Bryan and Sara Evans onstage. Success can be crazy-making for some people, but not for Hillary Scott: “I think we’re all happier. I mean, I think we’ve always had a really close friendship from the very beginning, I mean with Charles and Dave knowing each other for years. But, I think we’ve seen each other grow and I know I can...I’ll speak for myself that I’m in a much happier place.”

Happy birthday to Steve Holy, who turns 40 today.

The tweet of the day is from Joe Nichols: "I'd rather set my head on fire and put it out with a toaster than watch another minute of Larry Crown. Need another Gump movie..."

Today's Country Tidbits

Jason Aldean is selling out arenas like crazy, and it's because he understand the economy is tough for a lot of people. He says it was just common sense to sell tickets for $40 instead of $80 and sell more of them. He's excited about his next album, which he says has a party feel and features famous Nashville collaborators.

Taylor Swift co-stars with Zac Efron in the animated film, "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" and of course the tabloids have already decided they are a couple. Taylor pointed out on the Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday that the movie is animated, and animated co-stars don't fall in love. Not only that, they recorded their voice-overs on opposite coasts. Taylor did teach him how to play guitar, and they duetted on the show.

Keith Urban has another #1 song with "You Gonna Fly." He didn't write it, but it was love at first listen: “I didn’t write it. It was brought to me, and I loved it straight away. ‘One, two, three, baby, don’t think twice’ – love that. I’m in! There’s just so much about the song that I loved immediately. I like the swagger, that’s…I like the guy in the song, you know?” Preston Brust and Chris Lucas of LoCash Cowboys wrote it, and it's the 4th single from Keith's latest album.

Joe and Heather Nichols will be hearing the pitter-patter of little feet soon. The couple, married in 2007, have been trying to get pregnant for quite a while and it's finally happened for them. The baby is due this spring, and will have a big sister - Joe has a 13 year old daughter from a previous relationship.

Finally some details on the movie the guys from Rascal Flatts have been working on. It will be in theatres on April 5th, and that's the only night it will play. "Rascal Flatts CHANGED: One Night Exclusive Theatre Event" will feature concert footage, songs from their upcoming album and scenes from their personal lives. Tickets go on sale in early March.

Country music can make for odd friendships. Case in point - Martina McBride and Blake Shelton. She seems so proper and he seems so ... well, definitely NOT proper! But the two are very close friends, and Martina says, “I just think underneath all that craziness is a really good person and you know I’m really drawn to that. Just both...sweet as can be. I mean, I love Miranda too, so it’s really cool to have that friendship.”

Carrie Underwood releases new music next week, and gives us a sneak-listen of the song "Good Girl."

Inductees to the Songwriters Hall of Fame have been announced - Don Schlitz, who wrote Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler," along with Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Seger, Jim Steinman, Tom Jones and the songwriting team of Harvey Schmidt will be honored June 14th in New York City.

Today in country music history, Brad Paisley's first single, "Who Needs Pictures," was released in 1999. Johnny Cash proposed to June Carter in 1968, and in 1956 Elvis Preslet opened for Little Jimmy Dickens at the City Auditorium in Waycross, GA.

The tweet of the day is from Jason Aldean: "Shot the video for "fly over states" today!! Looks cool. Cant wait for yall to see it."

Today's Country Tidbits

Lady Antebellum's Hillary, Dave and Charles are pretty high-profile these days. Just four short years ago, they were hoping to have a hit record, and now they have aspiriing artists asking them for advice. Here's theirs: “It’s something special to wake up and love what you do and I think everybody owes it to themselves to give that a shot. You know, it may not work out, and we everyday feel blessed that it did, but you have to give it a shot or you’ll always look back and regret it so...[Dave] Stay in school too. [All] Stay in school! [Dave] We definitely don’t regret that. [Charles] Although Hillary dropped out of college to join the band. [Hillary laughs] So, I don’t know...”

Keith Urban and his girls are in Australia as he films the Australian version of "The Voice." Nicole and their daughters are enjoying visiting the family, and Keith says this trip won't be all work and no play for him. “Well at some point I think we just want to go to the beach, I think that—you know if it’s the right time of year, which of course it’s in the middle of summer now, so that’s something that I always am anxious to get to. I haven’t gotten to the beach—I don’t even think we got there this summer, cause we were full on touring.”

Miranda Lambert and Chris Brown are still going back and forth, after a Twitter fight following Chris' performance on the Grammys. Miranda was irritated that he was allowed to perform, as he's got a history of beating up women. At a concert, she held up a fan's sign telling Chris to "take notes" as she cranked into "Gunpowder and Lead," a song about a woman who defends herself from an abusive boyfriend.

Brantley Gilbert co-wrote Jason Aldean's "Dirt Road Anthem" and says that songwriting is good for him in so many ways: “I was just too lazy to learn anybody else’s songs [laughs]. It was that and you know, it gets girls too...it works! I’ve seen it happen [laughs]. No, but I don’t know...I always had an itch for wanting to write my own stuff. It’s just something that I always enjoyed doing and it’s therapy for me.”

Craig Campbell is the headliner for the pre-Daytona 500 concert this Sunday. The show starts at 10:45 leading up to the 1pm race.

The "Act of Valor" soundtrack is out today, featuring music from Keith Urban, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, Jake Owen, Trace Adkins, Lori McKenna, Montgomery Gentry, Josh Kelley, Hunter Hayes and Wynonna Judd.

Jake Owen is on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show tonight.

Happy birthday to Mary Chapin Carpenter, who turns 54 today.

The tweet of the day is from John Rich: "Thx for the lively discussion 2nite on capitalism, music, dogs and rotten meat! Priceless...Hollar at ya'll later!"

Today's Country Tidbits

For two decades, Brooks & Dunn made music and had hits together. Last year, Ronnie Dunn released his debut solo effort, and now it's Kix Brooks' turn. He'll release the song "New to This Town," a song he co-wrote with long-time friends and collaborators Marv Green and Terry McBride. About songwriting, Kix says, “It’s really hard to describe when one falls in your lap and it comes so easy and the thoughts are so well organized in your mind. And then some days you try so hard and no matter what it just doesn’t want to work. I don’t know why.” This song is the first from a solo album due out later this year.

Taking a page out of the tour books of Garth Brooks and George Strait, Jason Aldean's 2012 My Kinda Party tour includes a 360-degree experience for the fans. Jason says, “For me, it’s a little bit of a challenge just making sure that those people sitting behind you are as involved in the show as everybody else. But, the way we’ve got the show set up, I mean, there’s ways for me to get back there to them. And it’s nice—I’ll probably be in the best shape of my life after this tour though! There’s a lot of running around going on this year, but that’s good. I need the exercise!” The round stage allows arenas to sell more seats, and that's what's happening. Jason's May 19th Atlanta Georgia show sold out in 4 minutes. A second show on the 18th has been added - bet it'll be a sell-out, too.

Tonight, The Band Perry plays to a sold-out Ryman Auditorium, inaugurating the new stage. The trio is thrilled at the enthusiasm for their music: [Kimberly] “Folks keep saying, ‘What was your favorite moment of the whole year?!’ and I’ll have to say, we’ve had a lot of beautiful ones, but the morning we got the wakeup call that we’d sold out the Ryman was probably hands down my favorite of the whole year. [Neil] It definitely was cause it’s our first headlining show at the Ryman, too! So it was like double plus. And I’ve even talked to friends who didn’t even get tickets! [Laughs] [Kimberly] And they are like begging us for tickets! But we did get one for our grandmother though, so she is coming.”

Dierks Bentley says he wrote 70 songs for his current cd, "Home." They cut nearly 25 of them, and then narrowed the field to the 12 songs that made it onto the project. Sounds like a stockpile of "from the vault" and "rare, unreleased tracks" for future album releases to me!

VH1 compiled a list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music of the past 20 years, and country artists pepper that list. Carrie Underwood, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert and Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum all show up on it. The entire list is on the VH1 website, but here's where our country ladies (or in some cases, ladies with country connections) landed:

89. Hillary Scott

82. Miley Cyrus

62. Leann Rimes

58. Miranda Lambert

43. Taylor Swift

41. Jewel

39. Dixie Chicks

37. Faith Hill

35. Shania Twain

25. Sheryl Crow

23. Carrie Underwood

19. Kelly Clarkson

In spite of all those love-lorn songs she writes, Taylor Swift says she's really good a being single. She says she's very independent, and her friends tell her that they have no clue what her "type" is where guys are concerned.

Did you catch the season premier of "The Apprentice" last night? John Rich to the rescue! "They asked me to come in towards the end, and kinda weight in on the situation. Kinda advise Trump with my first impression with several of ‘em when he was trying to thin them out a little bit.”

The Voice rolls on in America, and Keith Urban is headed to Australia to be a judge on their version of the show. He says as a mentor, he's focused on “looking for the strengths in people” and “working with players and trying to have a vision.”

BamaJam 2012 headliners have been announced - Tim McGraw, Zac Brown Band and Kid Rock anchor the three-day festival which runs June 14, 15 and 16. Tickets go on sale March 2nd.

The tweet of the day is from Chris Young: "Ummm. So I may have split my pants on stage tonight and didn't know it hahaha!!! That's what I call a good time!!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Oh, to have been in the audience for this - Darius Rucker's annual benefit for the childrens hospital in his home state of South Carolina raised $260,000. The show wasn't a typical Darius country set - he did 90 minutes of Sinatra music, backed by an orchestra which was led by Sinatra's long-time conductor. Darius is proud of this event, saying “Giving back is what you’re supposed to do. I’m a blessed individual. God has blessed me with a great life, and great kids, great wife, and you know I like helping people if I can – and giving back is how I do it I guess.”

Taylor Swift had a sit-down with an MTV reporter, talking about her new album, which should come out late this year - IF she quits writing long enough to get into the studio. She says she's been writing like crazy for the past year and will continue writing until she has literally zero time left to work on lyrics. According to Taylor, “With my feelings and things that I discover through love and through loss—writing about that is the only way that I feel better about that. And the only way that I get past it is when I’m standing onstage and I’m singing the words to that song, and I look down and someone is singing them back to me. ‘Cause it makes me feel like I’m not alone.”

Montgomery Gentry's first single for their new record label, "Where I Come From," is running up the charts, and T-Roy is really proud of it: “Every time I hear that song, I think about back home, I think about my family, and where I lived. Those years of growing up with all the neighborhood kids and hanging out and just playing ball in the front yard, and not having a care in the world.”

Lady Antebellum's members are still shocked over winning a Grammy, and they chat about that and Hillary dishes about Miranda Lambert and Lady Gaga's budding friendship as they shared a row at the Grammy Awards:

Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift and Toby Keith are all nominated in the 25th Annual Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards, which will be handed out March first.

David Nail has picked up two gold certifications, one each for "Red Light" and "Let it Rain." That's a great track record for him so far, and he says the reason is the songs: “I feel like with this record, a lot of it, you make your job as an artist so much easier if you pick great songs and you pick songs you’ve lived or experienced. I feel like that’s something I’ve done well with.”

Blake Shelton has already signed up for season 3 of The Voice. All four judges will return, with Christina Aguilara raking in $10 million and the rest of them having to settle for $6 million for the season.

Happy birthday to Bryan White, who turns 38 today, and to Larry the Cable Guy, who turns 49.

The tweet of the day is from Jake Owen: "One of my main goals again this year is to try a local brew in every city. Oxford, MS thanks for a good time and a good beer."

Today's Country Tidbits

The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo has been going on for 62 years, and has seen a lot of top country acts grace the stage. Reba, Toby Keith, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Brooks & Dunn - they've all sold out shows during the event. But there's sold out and then there's record-breaking sold out - Keith Urban just broke the record for concert attendance, playing to 16,799 fans in San Antonio this past Saturday night.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert were at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party, where they met Tom Hanks and his wife Rita. Apparently the two couples really hit it off, with Rita tweeting that she hoped to spend more time with Miranda and Blake. In true Blake fashion, he replied, “We love you Rita!!! And that weird Tom guy that was with you." Rita replied, “That weird Tom guy is now in my house!" Easy to see that there's a friendship blossoming there!

A California woman was busted for trespass at Kenny Chesney's home south of Nashville. Melissa Mansfield was arrested in the wee hours yesterday morning, caught in a bathroom in the pool house on the property. Not surprisingly, she was also charged with public intoxication. Kenny Chesney wasn't home at the time.

Chris Young is on tour with Miranda Lambert, and is wowing audiences with his limber bass voice. He didn't always sing like that, though, he remembers his voice before it changed: “I was a...like an alto slash soprano when I was getting started singing. I remember my voice changed and I thought my life was over because I couldn’t sing Vince Gill’s songs anymore. And I was like, ‘Man now I like I have to switch to falsetto to get up there and hit those notes.’ And then I realized that when you can sing really low people are ok with that too so I was like, ‘sweet!’” His songs "You" and "Voices" have gone gold, so the voice change seems to have served him well.

Dierks Bentley's new cd, "Home," debuted at the top of the Billboard Country chart. It's the 4th of his albums to do that, and Dierks thinks this one is the best one yet: “What’s cool about this record, and one thing I try to capture on it is a diversity of the music, but it all falls within the confines of who I am as a country singer as far as loving the country sounds, the bluegrass sounds, loving some of the rock sounds and energy and mixing it all together on a record. I think it’s all there, so I think there’s a diversity of subject matter and sounds but in a way that it all kind of gels together pretty well.” Dierks was on the Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday, performed "Home" and donated $50,000 to a struggling military family. Watch the segment now.

Taylor Swift was on the Today show, talking life, love and Lorax...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Eric Church has a very young roadie - his 4-month-old son, Boone. About the experience of fatherhood, Eric says, “We went through the first couple months and just like, it was like combat. You know there’s no rhyme or reason he sleeps, it’s his own schedule. So, um, it’s, it’s been, it’s been a total life changing experience. It’s been wonderful. We are all exhausted but it’s a good exhaustion.” About his loss in the Country Album of the Year category at the Grammys Sunday, Eric has a philosophical outlook: “I think win or lose though, I’m proud of the record and I wouldn’t have made a different record. If you would have told me, ‘If you do this you’ll win the Grammy.’ I still wouldn’t have done it because I am proud of the way the record is.”

Craig Morgan is ready to release his sixth studio album, and the first album of new music in three years. Drop date for "This Ole Boy" is February 28th.

The tweet of the day is from Dierks Bentely: "just touched down in Vancouver & saw all the @theellenshow tweets. how strong/amazing is that military couple! honored to be able to help."

Today's Country Tidbits

CMT staged a brand-new award show last night - The Teddys. The categories are a bit different, since these are awards for music videos, not the music itself. Miranda Lambert won for Best Break-Up Video with "Kerosene," and thinks it's a fitting win for her, saying, “I’m not a love song person. I always have one or two but you know because I am in love and I have been in love whether you know, whether my heart is broken at the time or not, um, I lean more towards the sad song and the cheating song and the revenge songs.” Here's the list of winners:

Best Kiss in a Video - Chris Young – “Tomorrow”

Best Cheating Video - Carrie Underwood – “Before He Cheats”

Steamiest Video - Rascal Flatts – “I Melt”

Best Use of Lingerie - Carrie Underwood – “Cowboy Casanova”

Best Breakup Video - Miranda Lambert – “Kerosene”

Best Flirting Video - Lauren Alaina – “Georgia Peaches” and Blake Shelton – “Honey Bee” (tie)

Sweetest Video - Keith Urban – “Without You”

Tightest Jeans in a Video - Luke Bryan – “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)”

Alan Jackson's latest single, "So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore," is out on iTunes this week, and he's so proud of it: “The record just came out beautiful and everybody that heard it, first thing they said was ‘Man, that thing gave me goose bumps on my arms’ and it’s just a great song, great melody. You know I’m a song writer and I appreciate songs and so I definitely appreciate this song.”

The Eli Young Band is headed to Canada with Dierks Bentley and couldn't make it home to Nashville to be with their wives for Valentine's Day. According to Chris and Mike, it's not a big deal, though. “[Chris] We married women who, who have been around us for quiet awhile and who really understand what we do and everything we do was really nothing new to them when they said yes. [Mike] They have to be extremely understanding ladies to be able to be with us in the first place with how much we travel.”

Another country artist is suing his record label. Kenny Rogers is suing Capitol Records, saying they “deliberately misled Rogers and other artists about payments owed to them for online music sales.” Kenny says he's owed more than $400,000 by Capitol for digital sales of his music.

In true Judd style, Wynonna is planning a "barefoot and just fun" wedding. She say's it'll be in the fall, because that's "not a sweaty time for brides," and will take place on her farm. Wynonna and Cactus Moser got engaged Christmas Eve.

Spring break with Luke Bryan? Sure - why not! For the 4th year in a row, Luke will play shows in the panhandle of Florida during spring break, plus release a Spring Break EP. The shows are March 13th and 14th, and the album is Spring Break 4 - Suntan City, due out March 6th.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Still awake. Listening to music. Hey @Jason_Aldean.... Fly Over States makes my heart swell. Thanks:)"

Today's Country Tidbits

On this Valentine's Day, thought we'd take a look at how some of your favorite country artists view the holiday:

Dierks Bentley: “It’s that holiday that comes along where you have to really like stamp out on paper exactly where the relationship really stands. You don't want to undershoot it 'cause then you'll be in trouble, you know, if you don't give the right present or don't say the right things, you're gonna be in the doghouse. But then if you overstate your hand, then you're moving the relationship way faster than you actually want to."

The Band Perry on their song "All Your Life" as a Valentine: “(Kimberly) Kind of the first bonafide love song we’ve had out at country radio and I’m the spitfire in the band but Reid and Neil are the hopeless romantics so, uh they’re excited this has done so well. (Reid) We are and you know the song is actually, uh somewhat of a good luck charm for guys who want to propose while the song is being played live at a TBP show. (Kimberly) Yeah we’ve had three. (Reid) We have had three and three yeses.”

Chris Young on his Valentine role model: “I can never live up to my stepdad, because he asked my mom to marry him on Valentine’s Day, and then called us down from upstairs and asked me and my sister permission. So, pretty much anything I do, he made me look like a punk for the rest of my life on Valentine’s Day.”

Kellie Pickler on the state of her love life: “It’s so wild to sing cheatin’ songs and, you know, the heartbreak songs because I’m so happy. For the first time in my life, I’m actually -when I say I’m happy, I really am happy. I have a man that loves me. My husband is my best friend, and he’s so good to me.”

Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood on the strain touring puts on relationships: “Making that real effort and time when we’re home to have that one on one time together and then you know you have to do your best on the road to stay in touch but know that, you know, I feel like we’re supposed to be out there touring and doing this and you know, living this life. So we’ll make the most of the time we have and be excited for the time that we do get to spend with them.”

Thompson Square: “(Shawna) I have to like force him to go to the mall to buy me something or - (Keifer) oh it’s not that bad (Shawna) give him reminders that it’s Valentine’s Day (Keifer) you don’t have to remind me it’s Valentine’s Day. I know, I just, I hate hallmark holidays. (Shawna) I was about to say that (Keifer) Hate it! I just hate that whole thing. I’d much rather do like flowers or whatever like other times when you’re not expecting it, you know.”

Kelly Clarkson has re-made her current pop hit, "Mr. Know It All," with a more acoustic vibe and with steel guitars. The country music community already accepts her, owing to her duets with Reba and Jason Aldean, so it'll be interesting to see how a solo country effort flies. Give it a listen...

There's a new compilation album out, featuring music from Trace Adkins, Justin Moore, Rodney Atkins, Hank Williams Jr., Lee Brice, Josh Thompson, John Rich and Charlie Daniels Band. "This is NRA Country Volume One" is available on the NRA Country website.

With two shiny new Grammys in hand, that's not all The Civil Wars have to celebrate. The husband/wife duo of Joy Williams and Nate Yetton have a child due in June. The two won Best Folk Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance Sunday night at the Grammy Awards.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Y'all look at my V- day gift. I have been wanting this for a year and a half! I have the best husband in the world!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Lady Antebellum took home the Country Album of the Year Grammy. That award was presented by Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert. Charles Kelley says the trio was truly surprised with the win: “We did think it was gonna be Taylor’s night. She had won a couple going into it in the pre-telecast and honestly...shocked...we truly did not feel like we had a chance this year, just because last year was so life changing we were like...this year, it’s nice to be nominated and I did think Taylor was gonna take it and she would have deserved it.” Hillary Scott weighed in on the topic of the night - the loss of Whitney Houston. “There’s a hole in the heart of music now and I don’t know if it can ever be filled because she was so unique and amazing. So, we will miss her.”

Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson killed it on the Grammys last night, bringing down the house with "Don't You Wanna Stay." But that was the highlight of his night, as far as we know - he lost in all three categories where he was nominated. What does he like about award shows? “You know, I think one of the cool things about any of these shows—you know I’ve had a chance to go to the American Music Awards that kind of thing—and to me the coolest thing about that is going and getting to see other artists from different genres perform. Getting to see acts like that I really haven’t seen perform live before to me is part of the coolness about being able to go to some of that stuff.”

Taylor Swift won two Grammy awards before the show even started, and performed her winning song "Mean" during the show. She got a standing ovation, and true to form, she was shocked to see the audience on their feet. She then talked about Glen Campbell and introduced the tribute to the country legend.

One of the highlights of the Grammy Awards last night was The Band Perry and Blake Shelton teaming up on a tribute to Glen Campbell, who joined them at the end of "Rhinestone Cowboy." The Band Perry sang "Gentle on My Mind" and Blake Shelton swung into "Southern Nights."

Carrie Underwood and Tony Bennett duetted on "It Had to Be You" just before the Best New Artist Grammy was handed out. Unfortunately, The Band Perry didn't win it - Bon Iver did.

Here's the list of country winners last night:

Best Country Album

Own the Night – Lady Antebellum

Best Country Solo Performance

“Mean” – Taylor Swift

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

“Barton Hallow” – The Civil Wars

Best Country Song

“Mean” – Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)

The tweet of the day is a collection of tweets from country artists reacting to the death of Whitney Houston:

Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean): “Very sad to hear about the death of Whitney Houston.... What an amazing talent she was.”

The Band Perry (@thebandperry): “RIP Whitney Houston. #heartache”

Reba (@reba): “Rest in peace, Whitney.”

Sara Evans (@saraevansmusic): “What a tragedy losing Whitney Houston. One of my all time idols. So very sad for her family. I will be praying for them. :(”

Chris Young (@ChrisYoungMusic): “RIP Whitney Houston. Truly one of the best vocalists of all time/all genres. #sadday”

Billy Ray Cyrus (@billyraycyrus): “R. I. P. Whitney Houston. I will always love you and your music and talents will live on forever.”

Lady Antebellum (@ladyantebellum): “We are so heartbroken to hear of the loss of Whitney Houston. One of the best voices EVER! Praying God's comfort for her family. ~hill”

LeAnn Rimes (@leannrimes): “I can't stop crying. I have a show to do soon. Wow, I learned how to do what I do because of 3 great women, one being Whitney. She was always so kind to me. This is not gonna be an easy show for sure. I'm doing what she taught me to do by listening to her records over & over as a little girl. Her death is very surreal.”

Jay DeMarcus (@JayDeMarcus): “Whitney Houston has died!!! Oh my goodness, what a loss.... Sad.”

Today's Country Tidbits

Jason Aldean is gearing up for Sunday night, when he's up for three Grammy Awards. Is he nervous? “I got my fingers, toes everything crossed going for the Grammys this year man. I’m excited. For an artist or anybody in the music business, I don’t know if that gets any bigger than that for us. To not only to be performing on the show but to be up for three awards is a pretty good feeling.” Grammy rehearsals were yesterday, and Jason Aldean was rocking out like the rehearsal was airing live.

The Band Perry will be attending the Grammys for the first time ever, and they're pretty psyched about it. Kimberly Perry said, “It will be our first time to ever attend that awards show, which has always been kinda like the “mama” of awards shows. We’ve always made such a big deal of the Grammys in our house since we were kids, so we’re really excited!” They're not just attending the show, they're up for Best New Artist and will perform with Blake Shelton during the show.

Though she's been nominated many times, Martina McBride has never won a Grammy. She tries again - her 14th time - this Sunday, with a shot at Best Solo Performance in the country category, up against Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. About "I'm Gonna Love You Through It," Martina muses, “It would be great to win for a song that has meant so much to so many people. You know that song is so moving and so powerful and I’ve just talked to so many people that feel like that’s ‘their’ song. So yeah, that would be a great thing.” The Grammys air at 8pm Eastern on CBS.

Nashville is getting a new museum, this one in honor of Johnny Cash. Complete details will be revealed this Tuesday, but we already know that the museum will be in downtown Nashville. No word on whether or not the decor will all be black.

Heads up, Taylor Swift fans - her new video will debut on Monday, February 13th. It's the video to "Safe and Sound," the first single from The Hunger Games soundtrack. CMT, MTV and VH1 will all air it at 8pm Eastern time Monday. In other Taylor news, her tour is the Stub Hub Top Tour of 2011, outselling even U2 and Lady Gaga.

If you're anywhere near an Obama re-election event this year, chances are you'll know a lot of the songs being played. Sugarland's "Everyday America" and "Stand Up" are part of the official set list, as are Dierks Bentley's "Home," Darius Rucker's "This" and Zac Brown Band's "Keep Me In Mind."

Jason Aldean has a profile on CBS This Morning today.

Happy birthday to Craig Campbell, who turns 33 today.

The tweet of the day is from David Nail: "Want to feel old? Eat dinner at a college cafeteria! I feel like a creeper!"

Today's Country Tidbits

A judge in Tennessee has ordered Rodney Atkins to do 30 hours of community service and stay out of trouble for 11 months and 29 days, and if he does, the domestic assault charge his wife filed against him will be expunged from the record. Tammy Atkins claimed that he tried to smother her with a pillow and threw her down the hallway on November 21st. Rodney got to cool his heels in jail that night and filed for divorce shortly after getting out the next day. He and Tammy are sharing custody of their son Elijah and are working out the details of a permanent custody arrangement.

Jason Aldean watched the Super Bowl, but made a point to watch Kelly Clarkson sing the National Anthem, and he was nervous for his "Don't You Wanna Stay" duet partner. How did he think she did? “I was blown away. You rarely ever hear anybody do it justice. I mean, everybody tries to put their spin on it, and more times than not—it doesn’t work. With me, I’ve done it a couple of times, but it’s not something, you know—I’m always scared I’m gonna mess it up. I was watching her and I thought she, I texted her right away and said ‘You just killed it! That was one of the best renditions I’ve ever heard.’”

Trace Adkins has partnered with the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. He's performing the audio version of the book "Owney: Tales from the Rails." It's a childrens book and is the story of a dog that rides the rails, visiting post offices across the country. Check out the project on the Owney website.

The Grammy Awards are getting more and more country - word came out yesterday Reba will present an award. Already planning to be there are Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, The Band Perry, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum, Glen Campbell and Kelly Clarkson.

"Act of Valor" had it's Nashville premier on Tuesday night and Keith Urban and Jake Owen were on hand to soak it in. Keith contributed an original song, "For You," to the soundtrack, which also includes Lady Antebellum, Trace Adkins, Sugarland, Josh Kelley and Hunter Hayes. The movie opens for the rest of us February 24th.

Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" keeps getting bigger. It's sold nearly a million and a half downloads so far, and Toby's surprised - and not surprised. “I knew it was gonna be successful and I knew that it was gonna be big in my show. I didn’t know it was gonna be a...like a household drinking vessel.”

Tim McGraw's "Emotional Traffic" is the top-selling country cd for the second week in a row. About his success, Tim says, “You know any chance you get—and what I’ve been lucky with throughout my career, in music, movies, songwriting, and books, everything—is working with fantastic people whom you learn something from every time you do a project.”

Ever wonder how Faith Hill stays so trim? In an article in Self magazine, she says she watches what she eats, but splurges on sweet tea. And she doesn't skip her daily workout, which she says gives her more energy throughout the day and has a positive impact on her life.

Watch for Clay Walker on the AT&T Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament from Pebble Beach today.

Happy birthday to Travis Tritt, who turns 49 today.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Ahhhh!! Thanks to @nbcsvu I got to check something off my bucket list. Acting on my favorite show! I can't stop screaming like a 3 year old!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Miranda Lambert lives a dream tonight - she gets to guest-star on her favorite tv show, Law & Order: SVU. With her star just getting brighter, and with a tv-star hubby, Miranda says she's understanding "crazy" celebrities just a little bit more: “I understand now why sometimes people that get largely famous and sort of become a little bit weird—it’s not because—you get trapped in your own world just a little bit, you know? And I’m lucky that I’m in country so it’s not as bad, but, some of these big stars—you can’t walk down the street.” Miranda took a minute out of filming the video for "Over You" to thank her fans...

Miranda Lambert on WhoSay

Rascal Flatts' new cd has a name - "Changed." Gary LeVox explains the title: “Actually, there’s a song on the album called ‘Changed,’ and it’s a really, really special song. And we thought the title of that song really captures what this new season in our career is, ‘cause everything in our professional career has changed. So this is a great way to start 2012 thought the title was appropriate.” The guys are working on a movie about their careers, and it features their individual stories.

With another American Idol season underway, the most successful Idol, Carrie Underwood, will again do some behind-the-scenes mentoring of the contestants. “You know, I always try to go and talk to them and mainly what I say is, of course, don’t take anything for granted...you know, for some reason, I think occasionally it can get to where people play the game a little too much and forget why they’re...why they’re in it.” This Sunday night, Carrie and Tony Bennett duet on the Grammy Award show on CBS.

It might have been Garth Brooks' birthday, but he's the guy who gave the biggest gift. Garth surprised longtime friend Allen Reynolds by renaming a Nashville recording studio in his honor. Jack's Tracks was the Music Row studio where Allen produced all but one of Garth's albums, along with recordings by Trisha Yearwood, Crystal Gayle and Kathy Mattea. Trisha told Garth, "It's your 50th. Dream as big as you want." Garth said there was nothing he wanted more than to see Allen, now retired from the music business, get the recognition he's due. Jack's Tracks is now known as Allentown Studios.

Congratulations to Kenny Chesney for another platinum single. "You and Tequila" has been certified platinum for over a million downloads. It's the second song from "Hemingway's Whiskey" to reach that lofty goal - "Somewhere With You" got there last year.

CMT Crossroads with Carrie Underwood and Steven Tyler had nearly two million viewers when it aired live Saturday night from the Super Bowl Fan Jam in Indianapolis. If you missed it, it'll be on again several times this weekend.

Miranda Lambert is on Law & Order: SVU tonight and Dierks Bentley is on The Late Show with David Letterman.

The tweet of the day is from Jack Ingram: "Gonna hop in the beat up ford, drive 2 a record store, sit in the parking lot w/my iPhone & download Dierks Bentley's new cd "Home"!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Nearly 40 million people watched the season premier of "The Voice" with Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilara. Blake says the dynamic between the four of them is a little different this year: “The four of us were going, ‘Ah, I know I can hear pitch better than Cee Lo can, I’m hittin’ my button!’ It’s not that this year, I don’t think. I think we know what we’re after, and I think you’ll see when we do pick the same artist. You’ll see the claws come out a little bit more this year because we know exactly what we want.” The four coaches go at each other again next Monday night.

Lady Antebellum is headed over the pond for a European tour. According to Charles Kelley, "It’s definitely exciting; I mean I think you know it’s happened if we are being realistic, a lot faster than we could have probably dreamed. We’ve wanted this for a long time now, and to be able to get out there and have our own fans pace out the show, and take them through the musical journey we’ve always wanted.” July is when their European fans' journey begins.

First it was her father-in-law, then a childhood friend, and Miranda Lambert's third loss in as many weeks was her beloved dog, Dixie. Needless to say, her life has been a tear-filled experience so far in 2012. When she took the stage in Huntsville, AL she couldn't finish "The House That Built Me." Her fans helped her out - watch this...

Randy Travis was arrested and booked on public intoxication charges. He was in a parked car in a church parking lot, holding an open bottle of wine. When police did sobriety tests, he flunked, slurring his words and stumbling around. Randy released a statement, saying, “I apologize for what resulted following an evening of celebrating the Super Bowl.” He adds, “I’m committed to being responsible and accountable, and apologize for my actions.”

On the law enforcement flip side, Vince Gill has been sworn in as an honorary narcotics officer, complete with badge. The McMinn County Sheriff hopes to bring more awareness to the drug problems in his county. Vince quipped, “I’ve never used drugs, and never had those types of problems. If I had, my daddy would have killed me.”

Dierks Bentley's seventh cd, "Home," is out today and in the early morning hours, was #1 on iTunes. Dierks tweeted that he's going to be calling fans to see what they think of it, so tweet him your phone number! Meanwhile, early feedback on the title cut has been very gratifying: “One of the first times I played this song, a girl came up to me that had been in the Navy and told me just how much the lyrics meant to her and since then as the song has gone up the charts more and more, just hearing from so many different fans in the military saying how much the lyrics really affect them, so it’s just awesome to have a song out there that we can sing to our fans and they can sing back to us, and we can really honor those families that are making a huge sacrifice for all of us.”

Dierks is on the Today Show this morning, and here's a new type of media mention - Faith Hill is the guest on Self Magazine's Facebook page today.

Happy birthday to Garth Brooks, who turns 50 today.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Damn you @adamlevine! Cocky rockstars...at least you finally admitted to the country how attractive I am."

Today's Country Tidbits

Lots of country stars were part of the Super Bowl yesterday, starting with Faith Hill, who kicked off the day's festivities with a special version of her NFL on NBC song. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert sang "America the Beautiful," and just before they started singing, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady yelled at Blake, "I got your back!" Kelly Clarkson nailed the National Anthem, Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum was at the game purely as a spectator, and after the Giants won, "The Voice" began it's second season, with Blake Shelton as a mentor and Pistol Annies kicking off the show with their song, "Hell on Heels." Yep - good night for country music!

Dierks Bentley's new cd, "Home," comes out tomorrow and "Thinking of You" features his three-year-old daughter Evie. About how family influences his songwriting, Dierks says, “You know, life for me is...I’ve moved from, you know, I’ve gone through first, second, third, fourth gear. You know, I’m movin’ up the gears and having a chance to experience more of life and having a...you know, couple kids is an amazing experience that ah...you know, as...trying to be honest as a person, as a songwriter, that’s definitely gonna make its way into the music, so that’s a big part of my life.” Wanna check out Dierks and Evie's duet? Here you go...

Keith Urban and family are headed down under as Keith gets set to film the Australian version of "The Voice." While he's working, Nicole and their daughters will get a little quality time with the family. “I’m gonna be a mentor and um...spending a bit of time there, which actually will be great as far as, uh...particularly seeing all the grandparents, you know, for our kids and that’s the thing. But ah...it’s also a very short trip too, so I’m gonna be, you know, in Nashville just as much as anywhere.”

Martina McBride will hit some small theatres when she and George Strait finish their tour. Martina says she's looking forward to more intimate shows, starting in April.

If you go see Brad Paisley on tour and catch The Band Perry opening for him, don't be surprised when they throw a little Queen into their set. Kimberly Perry says, “Well, ‘Fat Bottom Girls’ is always a tip of the hat to both our dad Steve and our mother Marie. He’s a rock ‘n roll lover and that’s one of his favorite rock songs. Mom is the country fan so we always threw a little bit of a bluegrass jam at the end of it. It’s sort of a tip of the hat to our parents and where we’ve come from musically.”

Happy birthday to Richie McDonald of Lonestar, who turns 50 today.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "As @Miranda_Lambert walked out on the field a football flew past my head... Then I heard "Don't worry Blake I got your back"... Tom Brady!!!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Tomorrow night, CMT airs a live Crossroads with Carrie Underwood and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. The show is part of the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam and is on at 11pm Eastern time. About the show, Carrie says, “I’ve been listening to Steven my whole life, literally, and um...I knew every word to every song and it’s just...he’s awesome!”

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton will sing "America the Beautiful" before the Super Bowl on Sunday evening, and the second season of The Voice, starring Blake, airs at the end of the game. Miranda says that show has changed life for the two of them: “The last time we were in New York City, we couldn’t even walk five feet and that’s not a country Mecca. Now that he’s this big network television star, things have changed. And, you know, we’re exactly the same people we always were. We were like, so down to Earth and do not care about the scene or having this certain famous image, but then there’s this part that you are a star and that’s how people perceive you, so you have to always carry yourself that way.”

Not sure who to root for in the Super Bowl on Sunday? Toby Keith has an idea: “You could literally pull up at your football game, back your vehicle in, break out your ice chest and stick a flag up representing your camp and it could be white with a red Solo cup on it, and you would draw a crowd. It’s the symbol for fun!”

Dierks Bentley isn't sure who to root for, either, saying, “I don’t know! I really am just pulling for, like, a great game. You know, as a fan I just want to see a game that, you know, isn’t over by halftime. I wanna see something that goes to the 4th quarter, maybe even deeper. That’d be so cool. I think...I had a chance to be at the last meeting between these two teams. It was a great game and I was kinda pulling for this rematch in some ways, you know, I have a feeling a little payback...it’s gonna be pretty cool.” He played the Ryman last night, brought out his daughter Evie to help him sing a song, and when Del McCoury and the Travelin' McCourys, Dierks switched off the mics. He said "It's the Ryman, we don't need microphones." He was right - brought the house down with their acoustic romp. And yes, he did kiss the stage several times. His new cd, "Home," comes out Tuesday.

Blake Shelton is on the Ellen DeGeneres Show today.

Happy birthday to Clint Black, who turns 50 tomorrow and to Sara Evans, who turns 41 on Sunday.

The tweet of the day is from singer-songwriter David Bradley: "I think I just witness a little piece of history with @DierksBentley at the Ryman."

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?"