Friday, April 20, 2012

Today's Country Tidbits

Tomorrow, Keith Urban will be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, after a surprise invitation the night of the All for the Hall benefit concert. About surprises, Keith says, “You know, it’s funny because my wife and I have a very strict rule that we don’t keep secrets, we’re not into surprises. My wife’s like, ‘I don’t like surprises, don’t ever have a surprise—always tell me if there’s going to be a surprise party’—that kind of thing. And so we’ve never surprised each other with anything or kept any secret about anything and this was the rare exception. When I got home she said, ‘Do you wish I’d told you?’ And I said, ‘No!’” Carrie Underwood isn't surprised at all - she says he's the perfect Opry member: “I mean Keith Urban - I can’t believe he’s not an Opry member already. People already thought of him, you know, being associated with the Opry, so it’s only fitting that he is actually a member! What a great addition to our Opry family.”

Lady Antebellum is doing their tornado relief concert up right. "Rebuilding Henryville Charity Ball" in Louisville, Kentucky on May 16th will include the Lady A show and probably a surprise guest or two. A fan-voted poster contest is going on right now at the band's website, looking for the design that'll be featured on commemorative t-shirts. Tickets for the show go on sale April 27th at Ticketmaster.

http://ladyantebellum.com

How do country stars relax before going out on tour? Well, if you're Jake Owen, you buy a new boat and float: “Just went for a little joyride the other day and had a good time. I love, especially when I’m in Nashville, just getting away and getting out on the river and turning the engine off and just floating with the current down the river. It’s just very relaxing. It’s good for your mind and soul.” Jake is getting set to be part of the Brothers of the Sun tour with Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney this summer.

Miranda Lambert is now part-owner of the Green Bay Packers football team. Her tour hit Wisconsin on Wednesday, and she was presented with one share of stock in the team. She and 99,999 others own a tiny bit of football.

photo

A little birdie told me that Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera are planning to do a country duet.

When Justin Bieber surprised the audience with a visit on The Voice, Blake Shelton got to see Bieber Fever first-hand, and was impressed, saying, “I never witnessed anything like that, it’s got to be similar to what happened with Elvis when he would come walking into a room...I literally looked at a group of girls that were in the audience and they were crying!”

Today is April 20th, a day many people celebrate as Weed Day. Who else to chime in on this but Willie Nelson, who was asked if marijuana makes him a better songwriter: “I’ve never thought about it that way because I wrote a lot of hit songs before I smoked and I’ve written a lot since I started so I can’t even make that comparison. It doesn’t compute. I think a songwriter will write songs and if he gets too high to write he’ll sober up and write again so I can’t say that it’s affected it one way or another.”

Late night tv is repeats tonight - catch Jason Aldean and Lionel Richie on the David Letterman Show and The Civil Wars on Jimmy Kimmel.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Bed. Dogs. Need to wash face and tryin to talk myself into it. Ok... I will. It's not worth a zit :)!"