The American Music Awards nominations have been announced, and Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan both have two nods – Carrie is nominated for Favorite Female Country Album and Favorite Country Album, and Luke’s nods are for Favorite Male Country Artist and Favorite Country Album. The third album in the Country category is Lionel Richie’s “Tuskeegee.” Jason Aldean and Eric Church are the other nominees in the male country category, Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert round out the female country category, and in the Favorite Country Band, Duo or Group category, Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum and Rascal Flatts are nominated. The American Music Awards will be handed out live on ABC November 18th.

Big congrats to Little Big Town, who hold down the #1 spot for the 4th week in a row on the Billboard Country Album chart with “Tornado.” Karen Fairchild says that the album is well-named: “We’ve had an amazing journey as a band, but this has felt like a new day and it’s been akin to a storm, in a really cool way.”

They might just have to settle for 4 weeks – Jason Aldean’s “Night Train” comes out this Tuesday and is expected to blow away the competition and take over the #1 spot on the Billboard Country Album chart. You can stream it on iTunes now, and make sure you listen to “The Only Way I Know,” a collaboration between Jason, Luke Bryan and Eric Church. Jason explains how that came together: “I just thought, ‘Man, with those two guys having the types of years they’re having and our thing doing what it’s doing, it just—what a cool kind of thing that could be on the record. And so I talked to those guys and sent them the song, and both of them dug the song. It’s another thing on the album that’s completely different.”

Jake Owen, Love and Theft and Florida Georgia Line are on the road together with the CMT The Summer Never Ends Tour. What’s it like, traveling around the country with a bunch of guys? According to Jake, “That’s the cool thing about it—is traveling around with your friends and singing songs and making people happy and then moving on to the next town and doing the same thing again. I mean, we’ll do everything from hang out and maybe play some golf, or try to find a boat somewhere and go out on a boat, or do some fishing. You know just what guys do, but the cool thing about it is every night we get to have a get-together with a bunch of friends and pick some guitars and sing songs.” The guys from Florida Georgia Line have some thoughts, too: “I know we are going to be playing a lot of ping pong – for sure. We like to find a gym and time to work out or do something. We’ve talked to Jake, we’re gonna have a whole bunch of random things. We’re gonna get all the stuff out at every stop and have a little mobile gym. It’ll be a good time getting a little workout in.” 

Speaking of working out, Miranda Lambert shares some workout secrets and her workout playlist in a WebMD interview: she’s put bad snacks on the “must miss” list and now snacks on almonds and low-fat string cheese, though will occasionally splurge on a cheeseburger or Dairy Queen Blizzard. As for her workout playlist, here you go… "Stronger" - Kelly Clarkson 
"Before He Cheats" - Carrie Underwood 
"Hell on Heels" - Pistol Annies 
"Run the World (Girls)" - Beyoncé 
"Love in an Elevator" - Aerosmith 
"Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" - Shania Twain 
"Smokin' the Boys" - Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound 
"You and I" - Lady Gaga 


Greg Bates is working his way up the charts with his debut, “I Did It For The Girl.” The singer-songwriter has a dream that he hopes comes true one day: “I would love to write a song with Alan Jackson. I think...you know, he was a huge influence on me as a writer and I’ve always wanted to sit down with that guy and if anything just learn anything else that I can from him as a writer.”