Today's Country Tidbits

Congrats to Joe Don Rooney and wife Tiffany Fallon on the arrival of their second child, Raquel Blue. Her older brother, two-year-old Jagger Donovan, is already in love with his new baby sister, according to Joe Don: "Yesterday, he gave her kisses and tried to feed her cookies. We feel blessed and are ready for the sleepless nights ahead."

Fall is a busy season for Carrie Underwood as well as for her hubby, Mike Fisher. He's heading into hockey season, with games all over the continent, and she's on the second leg of her "Play On" tour, plus will co-host the CMA Awards, plus at some point this fall, her movie, "Soul Surfer" should be released. She plans to be home on 12/20, though, and plans to be with Mike to celebrate the one-year anniversary of getting engaged.

Reba's upcoming cd, "All The Women I Am," includes a cover of Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy," proving once again that a great song is a great song, no matter who sings it.

Reba McEntire More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Want a peek at Tim McGraw's upcoming movie, "Country Strong?" Here you go!

Last night, Taylor Swift helped kick off the 2010 NFL season with a live show in New Orleans. Sunday night, she'll be part of the MTV Video Music Awards, though lips are tightly sealed about whether or not she and Kanye will share a stage again this year - this time on purpose!

Tonight's "Stand Up to Cancer" telethon will feature Martina McBride, Kris Kristofferson and Lady Antebellum. Tonight, Blake Shelton guests on the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Sunday, Kenny Chesney's football documentary will re-air on ESPN2. On Tuesday, catch the Judds on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Kenny Chesney's "Invitation Only" episode will debut on September 27th.

Happy birthday on Sunday to George Jones and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland.

The tweet of the day is from Kellie Pickler: "Watching the game. My fiance' is from MN, so the room is intense. I've got my Coors, so I'm good to go."

Today's Country Tidbits

So it wasn't just sympathy pains that James Otto has been feeling. He was hospitalized yesterday to check out the abdominal troubles he's been having off and on for a few weeks. Shows this weekend have been canceled, and James reports, "I may have been a bit distracted by all the excitement of baby Ava's arrival! I'll be down for a few days, but hope to be back in action and on the road again soon."

The Lady Hazing continues...Lady Antebellum has decided to spoof Blake Shelton's song "All About Tonight" with "These Jeans are Mighty Tight." Enjoy the silliness.

Congratulations to Charlie Daniels, who'll get the Lifetime Entertainment Achievement Award at the TJ Martell Foundation's 35th annual awards gala on October 27th in New York City. The event is a fund-raiser for cancer and AIDS research.

Carrie Underwood's skin is so beautiful that it was only a matter of time before she became the celebrity face of a product. That product is Olay Skin Care and Carrie's campaign will debut early next year. She remembers her Mom using Olay, and says “I love that Olay has managed to change with the times, yet stay in touch with women of all ages who want affordable skincare products that do what they promise. Olay’s inspiring campaign echoes my beliefs and feels deeply personal to me.”

Tim McGraw is playing shows in Texas this weekend, then he heads across the Pacific Ocean for shows in Australia.

Gloriana is performing at the private NASCAR Jimmy Jam in Richmond, VA tonight, celebrating Sprint Cup champion Jimmy Johnson.

Taylor Swift helps kick off the NFL's 2010 season tonight at 7:30 eastern on NBC, Blake Shelton performs on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and Jamey Johnson performs on the Late Show with David Letterman. Early dvr alert - the Judds will help Oprah Winfrey kick off her farewell season next Tuesday, talking about their tour, giving Oprah a private tour of their Tennessee farm and also performing on the show. Speaking of performing, don't miss Sugarland on the Today show tomorrow morning.

The tweet of the day is from James Otto: "Twitters crazy. I've never had so many well wishes. Thank y'all for caring about me. I will be out of the hospital soon no worries."

Today's Country Tidbits

It was such a success last year that Keith Urban is doing it again. His second annual "We're All for the Hall" benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will be October 5th in Nashville. Already committed to the project are Miranda Lambert, Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride and John Mayer. Each artist will play one of their own songs plus a song from one of their country music heroes. Tickets go on sale September 17th at all Ticketmaster locations.

Tomorrow, Taylor Swift helps the NFL kick off the 2010 season with a performance in New Orleans. She and the Dave Matthews Band will celebrate starting at 7:30pm eastern time on NBC and on the NFL Network.

Dierks Bentley is barnstorming New York City for four days in October. He'll play four different venues and the musical guests on "Up On the Ridge" will be his musical guests in New York, including the Del McCoury Band, the Punch Brothers and songwriters Jessi Alexander, Jim Beavers and Jon Randall Stewart. A limited number of four-day passes and single-day tickets will be available through Dierks' website starting this Friday for the October 18-21 shows.

Someone with a lot of extra time and a huge talent for video took a Bobblehead Brad Paisley doll, some Barbie dolls and the song "Water" and made a great video. Brad Paisley was so impressed that he tweeted, "I have no idea who did this but it's awesome. Good job whoever you are. You're hired"

Bobblehead Brad "Water" from Bobblehead Brad on Vimeo.

Jack Ingram is dishing up acoustic versions of his favorite songs each week on YouTube in his "Acoustic Motel" series. Here's the first - Willie Nelson's classic "I'd Have to be Crazy."

Alan Jackson has a big present for fans this November 23rd. His two-disc set, "34 Number Ones" is actually a 37-track double disc cd, celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut. The extra three songs are "Look at Me" from the "Billy: The Early Years" soundtrack, "As She's Walking Away," the current Zac Brown Band/Alan Jackson hit, and AJ's cover of the late Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire."

Taylor Swift will embark on a world tour February 13, 2011. The tour will hit 18 countries with 85 shows and will start in Osaka, Japan.

Craig Morgan and Miranda Lambert are both headed to Switzerland for shows this weekend.

Congratulations to Merle Haggard, who is one of five 2010 Kennedy Center Honrees. The ceremony happens on December 5th in Washington DC and will air on December 28th on CBS.

And congratulations to Billy Currington, who scores the number 1 spot with "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" on the charts this week.

Country musicians are all over tv this week. Tonight, Blake Shelton's special will debut on CMT, then tomorrow night Taylor Swift is part of the NFL season kick-off on NBC, and Jamey Johnson will perform "Lonely at the Top" on The Late Show with David Letterman. Friday morning, Sugarland fires up some songs on the Today Show, and Friday night's "Stand Up to Cancer" telethon will feature Martina McBride and Lady Antebellum. Later Friday night, Blake Shelton guests on the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Sunday, Kenny Chesney's football documentary will re-air on ESPN2. Phew...your DVR will be smokin'!

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: 'Just saw a pink corvette pull up in LA, thought to myself..."whoever's driving, she's gotta be hot". Then a guy got out.'

Today's Country Tidbits

Keith Urban is bubbling over with excitement about his upcoming cd, "Get Closer" and the lead-off single, "Put You in a Song." He co-wrote it with Sarah Buxton and Jedd Hughes and hopes it will be his next number one song. “It’s an amazing feeling to, I think, anybody that gets their number one. It’s an incredible feeling. Absolutely. It’s hard to do, you know? It’s very hard.” "Get Closer" drops November 16th.

Wanna see some of what makes Keith Urban a great nominee for Entertainer of the Year? Check out this clip from a show in Allentown, PA over the weekend, where he was giving the audience singing and songwriting lessons.

September 20th in Nashville is the date for the ACM Honors, and Keith Urban is one of the honorees, along with Mel Tillis and Marty Robbins. Among the artists who will appear and pay tribute to the honorees are Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, Randy Travis, Marty Stuart and Kenny Rogers. For the first time ever, tickets are available to the public.

What does a big star like Taylor Swift do over Labor Day weekend? She and her little brother Austin were in the stands for the Notre Dame football game. She wanted to sit in the student section, but security concerns sent Taylor, her brother and her friend Selena Gomez down to the sidelines to see the game. And Notre Dame won, so it was a great day in Swift-land.

And as we get closer to the MTV Video Music Awards this year, the Kanye/Taylor controversy from last year keeps coming up. Will the two do something together on stage? Will Kanye serenade Taylor with the song he wrote for her? We'll just have to wait and see, but we don't have to wait long. They air this Sunday night at 9 eastern.

Going to a Miranda Lambert concert? Mind your manners - she had to stop another show because two people got into a fight while she was performing, and she chastised them from the stage. Later she tweeted about the situation, saying “Tonight some idiots got in a fight on the front row at my show. I had to stop and call them out. Funny part…it was during ‘Only Prettier.’” Now that is funny!

There's a "making of Only Prettier" video on Miranda Lambert's website...fun!

Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson helped their friend Dierks Bentley with a song on his "Up On the Ridge" cd. That song, "Bad Angel," is up for a CMA for Musical Event of the Year. Here's the video they made for it.

Dierks Bentley More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Rodney Atkins Cracker Barrel cd is available now. It includes 4 #1 songs and an unreleased track.

If you were looking forward to getting Steel Magnolia's debut cd on the 21st of this month, I have sad news for you - the release has been pushed back to January 11, 2011.

Pick up a copy of American Songwriter magazine if you're a Zac Brown Band fan - they're on the cover and featured in a 6-page story.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "For sale: 1976 bladder, needs some work, tends to leak late at night. Will trade for liver or better hearing..."

Today's Country Tidbits

The Brooks & Dunn "Last Rodeo" last show ended at about 11:45 central time last night, marking the end of the most successful duo ever. Kix and Ronnie started off as songwriters and were put together by record executive Tim DuBois in 1991. Over the years, they've charted more than 50 singles, with 20 of those going to #1. In 1992 they started raking in awards, and just from the major award shows, they picked up 67 trophies. The show last night featured most of their biggest hits, and after seven songs, Kix told the crowd, "Thanks for making the last go-around for us very special. This is not a funeral… we came to party…and I hope you guys are not in a hurry. Cause this is the first time all year that I've got about 15 min to go to get home…" There was one special guest - Reba joined them on stage, singing just one chorus of "Cowgirls Don't Cry." She got a standing ovation.The show lasted more than three hours, and the two encore songs were "Boot Scootin' Boogie" and "Brand New Man." When the house lights were turned back on, the band could be seen, still on stage and all hugging each other. Tennesseean.com has a slide show of last night's last concert.

Blake Shelton is featured on People.com talking about his "All About Tonight" six-pak, his favorite song on it, and what it's really like to sing a duet with Miranda Lambert.

There's a Loretta Lynn tribute cd in the works, and the Country Music Hall of Famer hand-picked the women she wanted on it and the song each would sing. "Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn" will feature Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Reba, Gretchen Wilson and Lee Ann Womack. Oh, and she picked a few guys, too - Alan Jackson, Steve Earle and Kid Rock will be part of the project. It hits stores on November 9th.

New Taylor Swift greeting cards are out, exclusively at Target.

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "Recording with Darius today. Its between a song we wrote and a Bluegrass version of Ebony and Ivory. Tuff choice."

Today's Country Tidbits

Tonight is it - Brooks & Dunn will perform their last concert together and put a cap on their 20-year career with a show in Nashville. It's at Bridgestone Arena, it's sold out, and it's a benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Kix Brooks might be tipping us off on what to expect: “Hopefully there will be some buds that come to hang with us and sit in and it should be a good time.”

Yesterday during the announcement of the nominations for the CMA awards, Miranda Lambert's name was called a lot. Nine times, as a matter of fact, making her the record-holder for female artist with the most nominations for one CMA show. How did that make her feel? “Um, I don’t even have a word, they don’t even make a word for the way I feel. I’m gonna have to make one up and get back to you on that one. (laugh)” She's nominated for entertainer of the year, female vocalist of the year, album of the year, song of the year, video of the year, single of the year and vocal event of the year.

Love the beach? Love Brad Paisley? Then you'd better plan a trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama on October 17th. He'll be putting on a free concert to promote tourism, and you get tickets by reserving a rental.

Got any emerging fashionistas in your house? Then you'll want to know that the Hot Topic apparel company has found one country act stylish enough to be part of their "When Music and Fashion Collide" campaign. Yes, that's Gloriana as part of their back-to-school campaign.

The iTunes store is getting a facelift today. iTunes 10 is rolling out, and has been described as "Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes." Customers can keep track of their favorite artists, artists can interact with fans, and everyone can interact with their circle of friends, seeing what they're listening to, buying and which concerts they're planning to attend.

Congrats to Little Big Town on hitting the top spot on the country charts with "The Reason Why." First-week sales of nearly 42,000 units propelled them to the top.

The tweet of the day is from 9-time CMA nominee Miranda Lambert: "OH MY DEAR LORD!!! I can't believe this is happening. Thank you country music for letting me live my dream. God bless this industry!"

Today's Country Tidbits

The CMA nominations are all out for this year, and Miranda Lambert is the leader, with 9 nominations. Lady Antebellum as a group have 5, and in three categories, Miranda is competing with herself. For single of the year, song of the year and for music video of the year, she's nominated for "The House That Built Me" and "White Liar." In Single of the Year and Vocal Event, she's up against her "financy," Blake Shelton. Anybody else notice that Jason Aldean's name is nowhere to be found on this list? What's up with that?

Entertainer of the Year

Lady Antebellum

Miranda Lambert

Brad Paisley

Keith Urban

Zac Brown Band

Female Vocalist

Miranda Lambert

Martina McBride

Reba McEntire

Taylor Swift

Carrie Underwood

Male Vocalist

Dierks Bentley

Brad Paisley

Blake Shelton

George Strait

Keith Urban

Album of the Year

(Award goes to artist and producer.)

Need You Now

Lady Antebellum

Producers: Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum

Play On

Carrie Underwood

Producers: Mark Bright and Max Martin

Revolution

Miranda Lambert

Producers: Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

Twang

George Strait

Producers: Tony Brown and George Strait

Up on the Ridge

Dierks Bentley

Producer: Jon Randall Stewart

Musical Event

(Award goes to each artist.)

"Bad Angel"

Dierks Bentley featuring Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson

"Can't You See"

Zac Brown Band featuring Kid Rock

"Hillbilly Bone"

Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins

"I'm Alive"

Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews

"Till the End"

Alan Jackson with Lee Ann Womack

New Artist

Luke Bryan

Easton Corbin

Jerrod Niemann

Chris Young

Zac Brown Band

Vocal Group

Lady Antebellum

Little Big Town

Rascal Flatts

The Band Perry

Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo

Brooks & Dunn

Joey & Rory

Montgomery Gentry

Steel Magnolia

Sugarland

Single of the Year

(Award goes to artist and producer.)

"A Little More Country Than That"

Easton Corbin

Producer: Carson Chamberlain

"Hillbilly Bone"

Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins

Producer: Scott Hendricks

"Need You Now"

Lady Antebellum

Producers: Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum

"The House That Built Me"

Miranda Lambert

Producers: Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

"White Liar"

Miranda Lambert

Producers: Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

Song of the Year

(Award goes to songwriter.)

"A Little More Country Than That"

Songwriters: Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress and Wynn Varble

"Need You Now"

Songwriters: Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Josh Kear

"The House That Built Me"

Songwriters: Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin

"Toes"

Songwriters: Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins and Shawn Mullins

"White Liar"

Songwriters: Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby

Music Video

(Award goes to artist and director.)

"Hillbilly Bone"

Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins

Director: Roman White

"Need You Now"

Lady Antebellum

Director: David McClister

"The House That Built Me"

Miranda Lambert

Director: Trey Fanjoy

"Water"

Brad Paisley

Director: Jim Shea

"White Liar"

Miranda Lambert

Director: Chris Hickey

Musician

Paul Franklin -- Steel Guitar

Dann Huff -- Guitar

Brent Mason -- Guitar

Mac McAnally -- Guitar

Randy Scruggs -- Guitar

The CMA Awards will air Nov. 10 on ABC.

Brad Paisley has been having such a good time on the road that he's extended his H2O World Tour through November 20th. Darius Rucker and Justin Moore are the openers for him. The new shows are on Brad's website.

Joe Nichols says he'd be a baseball fan no matter what city he grew up in, but since he lived in St. Louis and his Dad was a security guard at Busch Stadium, he's a rabid fan of baseball and the Cardinals. So much so that he's featured on MLB.com's "Major League Artist" page. In other Billy Currington news, he's broken the attendance record at the Kentucky State Fair's Cardinal Stadium. Charlie Daniels was the previous record-holder, and his record stood for more than 20 years, until Billy Currington showed up last weekend. More than 20-thousand people packed the stadium to see him play.

Tim McGraw will be in Atlanta on October 2nd to accept the True Ally Award at the 2010 Men Stopping Violence Annual Awards Dinner. Tim and Faith have raised thousands of dollars for womens shelters, and that's what he'll be honored for.

Don't forget - tonight's the night for "Country's Night to Rock." It's the best parts of the CMA Music Festival, reduced to a three-hour tv special. Performances by Reba, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldea, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift are the highlights, but not the only ones you'll see. Tim McGraw hosts the show, which airs from 8-11 eastern tonight on ABC.

The tweet of the day is from David Nail: "Validation is a funny thing, it comes in different shapes, sizes, times, etc. Congrats Luke, Miranda and Lady A, you guys inspire me!"