Where was Little Big Town when they heard they had their first #1 song? Karen, Phillip and Jimi spill the beans: “[Karen] We were grilling out with Rascal Flatts. It was Saturday. [Phillip] College football Saturday and all of the sudden we all got the text and I immediately got off the bus and went looking for Jimi. [Jimi] Yeah, Phillip and I ran and hugged each other from across the parking lot and slapped each other five!” They had a #1 party in Nashville on Friday, and day after tomorrow they’ll be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, performing their next single, “Tornado.” By the way, Kimberly Schlapman now has her own cooking show on GAC. “Kimberly’s Simply Southern” kicked off Saturday morning and continues for 12 more weeks.

Hunter Hayes just had his first #1 song with “Wanted,” and the song is a favorite of Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott: “[Hillary] When I got that album, that was the song that I had on repeat that I listened to over and over and over. He’s just such a breath of fresh air, he’s such a cute guy. And my little sister is the biggest fan of his! And he’s a great talent! He has all of the chops you’d ever need to back it up. [Dave] Uh-huh!” Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood had a writing session with Hunter and were blown away by his talent. Hunter co-wrote, sang, played all the instruments and co-produced his self-titled debut album. He’s opening for Carrie Underwood on her Blown Away tour.

Starting tonight at midnight, a new Taylor Swift song from her upcoming album “Red” will be released weekly. “Red” comes out October 22nd. Catch Taylor on Good Morning America, revealing the next song each Monday morning.

Brad Paisley released a new song on Friday, but it won’t be available on an album until April 9th, 2013. “Southern Comfort Zone” is a song Brad says he hopes makes people see all the amazing things the world has to offer, and then appreciate their own comfort zone, wherever it may be.

Toby Keith is excited about the success of his current single, “I Like Girls That Drink Beer.” About the song and about girls that drink beer, Toby says, “I think she just makes a statement, because you don’t see many ya know? Most of the time it’s an umbrella. You just don’t see a girl drink with the guys, so it was just funny to me when you see that all the time. It used to be more common and now it has gotten where it isn’t.” His next album, “Hope On The Rocks,” comes out October 30th.

Faith Hill is getting set to release her 8th studio album, just released a new single, “American Heart,” and will hit the stage with hubby Tim McGraw in Vegas for a series of concerts. But it wasn’t always bright lights and fame for Faith, who celebrated her 45th birthday on Friday: “I don’t even remember how many years ago this was, but I sold t-shirts for Reba. I worked for that fan club. I boxed merchandise up and stuff and I just remember that more vividly than I even remember the beginnings of my career. It was just kind of embedded in my brain!”

Brantley Gilbert just wrapped up his opening slot on Toby Keith’s “Live In Overdrive” tour, and is taking a few days off before kicking off his own “Hell On Wheels” tour later this week. What does he do when he gets home? According to Brantley, “I’m spending a lot more time away from home, but I think in a way it’s really showing me how much those people I’m missing mean to me. I’m in a hurry to get back and when I do get there, I’m always going to the next place, seeing my mom or my dad or going to see the guys I ride with and spending all that time on my motorcycle, which is a big plus!”

Congrats to Jason Aldean, who just got another gold record for “Take A Little Ride.”



More country music news on my blog every weekday – just click the “sandy’s blog” button at moby in the morning.com. yeah baby!