Blake Shelton understands that his work on The Voice helped him win the CMA Entertainer of the Year award, but he’s still a bit star-struck to have won: “It’s just making me go, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m starting to become one of those guys that I’ve read about, I’ve studied and I’ve understood and worshiped. What do I do with this?’ And it’s very important to me with what I do with this. That’s why a vehicle like The Voice is such a big deal.”

Little Big Town knows exactly why they won their first two CMA Awards last week – it’s the fans: “If we all knew the recipe for what makes that kind of big smash hit – then we would do it over and over again and we wouldn’t have waited 13 years! (Laughs) But I think just timing and the fans you know, you pick the right song at the right time and bam all the stars start lining up. But the fans, they gotta grab on to it, and they made it their song this summer.”

Their debut album went platinum for over a million in sales, and The Band Perry is poised to release their sophomore album early in 2013. The first single, “Better Dig Two,” hit #1 on iTunes as soon as it was released, and shows the dark side of love, but according to Kimberly Perry, it’s a love song! “It is truly that love story—and the cycle of life and love and living with the person that you care more about than anything in the world.” Including breathing, apparently!

Thompson Square is working on their next album, too, and say they’ve grown a lot since their debut album came out: “We learned a lot from radio, we learned a lot from our fans and just from all the shows we’ve been playing. We wanted to say something a little bit different on this album – it’s a little more diverse. It shows growth from the writing standpoint, performing and even production.” Expect their next album sometime in the spring.

Looks like Reba may have another hit on her hands, and it’s not a song. “Malibu Country” attracted nearly 9 million viewers last Friday night for the premier episode, and Reba says the end product was a labor of love: “Putting it all together, working hard on it, making sure every script, every concept of the TV show is meaningful—it’s a lot of work! I was in auditioning almost all the characters, but other than that it’s a lot of fun. It’s a job I love to do.” Catch Reba and Lily Tomlin tomorrow night at 8:30 on ABC.
The Civil Wars are apparently living up to their band name. The Grammy-winning duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White abruptly cancelled their tour right in the middle of the European leg, citing “internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition.” They have a new album due out in early 2013, but according to the announcement, they are “unable to continue as a touring entity at this time.” They won the Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Barton Hollow” and were nominated in the Vocal Duo category at last week’s CMA Awards. 
Taylor Swift is the featured artist on CBS.com this week – check out her performance and audience Q&A.. 


Tim McGraw’s new song “One of Those Nights” has a lyric video out, taped at the performance he did the night before the CMA Awards. See if you can recognize any faces… 
 
Carrie Underwood is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight, performing “Blown Away.”