Today's Country Tidbits

VH1's "Do Something Awards" nominees have been named, and a bunch of country is showing up. Awards will be handed out to those who get the most on-line votes, so if you want to support country, vote early and vote often. Nominated for awards are Blake Shelton, Reba, Taylor Swift and Jimmy Buffett for their benefit concerts in the past year. The awards will be handed out August 18th.

Vogue magazine is out with their annual issue of fashion icons. In a feature called "American Idols: Icons of Stateside Style" Tommy Hilfiger chose Taylor Swift for her stylish casual summer looks as well as her red-carpet glamour.

Willie Nelson is being recognized for his committment to green causes. No, not that kind of green! His long-time support of family farmers, his biodiesel tour bus and his encouragement of others to follow in his footsteps has landed him the "Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance Visionary Award" in San Francisco next Friday.

Blake Shelton is sometimes outrageous, sometimes very thoughtful but always very honest. When questioned about his crazy Twitter behavior and whether he needs to tone it down a little bit, Blake replies, “I hope people learn from me it’s OK to be yourself. It’s OK to offend somebody…If you don’t stand for something, how can anyone respect what you do?”

Craig Morgan's 5th annual Charity Ride and Concert will happen August 6th and 7th in his hometown of Vanleer, Tennessee. The motocross/sporting clay shoot and concert event takes up the whole weekend and benefits Billy's Place, a home for temporarily homeless children. Celebrities confirmed for the weekend include Bucky Covington, Pam Tillis and Sarah Darling.

Blake Shelton was his normal rowdy self on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Miss it? Oh, no you dih-uhn!

Luke Bryan's latest LBTV episode recaps his week, playing a festival in Ohio, the original site of Woodstock and some down-time fun...

Loretta Lynn is resting at home after having to cancel a few shows after treatment for heat exhaustion and dehydration. The Conneticut and Ohio shows will be rescheduled if possible.

Congratulations to Eric Church, who's latest album, "Carolina," has been certified gold. At the party, Eric said, "I have a pretty strong opinion of the identity of who I am and where I'm heading. It may take a little longer, but I promise we're going to kick everybody's ass in the end." Now that's a flaming stake in the ground, but one that Eric can certainly live up to. His new cd, "Chief," comes out a week from Tuesday.

Brad Paisley is on Good Morning America and Billy Ray Cyrus is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Happy birthday today to Linda Ronstadt, who turns 65 today and to Luke Bryan and Craig Morgan, who both celebrate birthdays on Sunday.

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "Anyone who gets up early for the @GMA concert series friday will recieve a limited edition bright warm smile. Don't delay! Act now!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Taylor Swift is on a roll in her career, and her fan base is pretty dedicated. When Taylor started writing some of her lyrics on her arms and hands, some of her fans followed suit in a more permanent way - tattoos! According to Taylor, fans show her “Lots of lyric tattoos...I was seated next to a seat filler at the Billboard Awards. She said, ‘Hey, check it out!’ She had ‘Fearless’ tattooed on her wrist. You know, there are girls who tattooed lyrics like, there was this girl who had on one arm, ‘I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairytale.’ And then, there are people who like, actually go for the face! They just, like, tattoo my face on parts of their body.”

Kid Rock threw himself a birthday party at Hotel on Rivington in New York, and among the 200 guests were Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert. They enjoyed rock shrimp tacos, sipped on Kid Rock's o

wn American Badass beer and headed for the roof to take in the New York skyline at night, hand in hand.

August 7th is the air date for the three-hour ABC-TV special, "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock." Performers include all of the top country artists who were in Nashville for the CMA Music Festival in June, so yes, that means your favorite is bound to be part of the show.

Dierks Bentley is the star performer at the Franklin Fire Company benefit concert in Pennsylvania tomorrow night. It's a sure bet that the firefighters and their friends will "feel that fire" when Dierks takes the stage. Tickets to the show are available at the door on Friday evening and at the local high school during the day tomorrow.

Cheyenne Kimball, who up until this past weekend was a member of Gloriana, tweeted that she is now engaged. Her intended is musician Benji White, and the two celebrated their happiness at the popular Nashville night spot, 3rd and Lindsley. Cheyenne has been engaged once before, last fall, but that relationship broke up shortly after the engagement was announced.

It's the Hats Off to the Opry Sweepstakes, and you can win his and her Stetson outfits plus a trip to Nashville. Brad Paisley, Stetson and the Grand Ole Opry have teamed up to give you a shot a really fun prize. Enter once a day until September 5th for your chance to win.

Little Big Town has a weekly video feature called "Scattered, Smothered and Covered" where they cover another artist's song. Showing off their amazing vocal ability, this week they tackle Jessie J's "Price Tag" and nailed it!

And Jaron and the Long Road to Love (aka Jaron Lowenstein) was on Extra, performing "Beautiful Lies."

America is exporting a couple of hot tours north of the border this weekend. Taylor Swift resumes her "Speak Now" tour tonight in Montreal, and Kenny Chesney's "Goin' Coastal" tour heads for Canada this weekend, too.

Congratulations to Justin Moore who has the #1 country song in America with "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away."

And further congrats to Easton Corbin, whose first two singles have both gone gold. He's the first male solo artist in 17 years to have that happen, since Clay Walker did it in 1993 with "What's It To You" followed by "Live a Little." Easton did it with "I'm a Little More Country Than That" and "Roll With It." How is Easton feeling about the accomplishment? Humble. He says, “You know, I was just goin’ in there and cuttin’ music I believed in and…and uh, you know, again I’m so fortunate for all the fans in radio and the industry to get behind me and, and really be supportive!”

It's a re-run, but Steel Magnolia is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Jewel, tweeting about her newborn son: "1 little piece of heaven broke ranks from the sky and fell into my arms...he smells like a peach, warmed by the sun..."

Today's Country Tidbits

There's a new little country bundle of joy - Jewel and hubby Ty Murray welcomed their first child into the world on Monday in Texas. Kase Townes Murray weighed in at 7 lbs., 6 oz. Says Jewel, “Ty and I are so pleased to welcome our new baby boy into the world. We are overcome with happiness – it really is as great as everyone told us it would be – better even!” The couple have been trying for a long time to get pregnant, and when she was 5 months along, Jewel was in a bad car crash. Luckily, neither mom or child was injured. With a professional bull rider as a daddy and a singer/songwriter as a mommy, Kase is sure to be one talented little country kid!

Chris Young celebrated the release of his new cd, "Neon," on Good Morning America yesterday. Here's the live version of his current hit, "Tomorrow."

Blake Shelton is making the rounds of the tv talk shows, chatting up his new cd, "Red River Blue." He jokingly threw Miranda Lambert under the bus while talking to Jimmy Fallon about songs they've written together, saying, “Finally, you know, it was like…it came down to time to record and it was like, ‘Hey babe, are you thinking about cutting this song?’ ‘Yes…why?’ ‘Oh, no reason.’ So, anything we write…she gets first pick of and it’s usually the only ones that are worth a crap.” He posted his musings on music yesterday...shameless plug for his new cd included.

And Craig Campbell's new song, "Fish," has a video. Be prepared to laugh...this is a funny, sort of bawdy song...

Cosmopolitan magazine compiled a list of the hottest men on tour, and Kenny Chesney made the cut. There are 15 guys on the list and 11 pictures in the photo spread, though only one of Kenny.

Happy birthday to Louise Mandrell, who turns 57 today.

Blake Shelton is on LIVE! With Regis & Kelly this morning and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight. VH1 goes behind the music with Miranda Lambert tonight, and Billy Ray Cyrus is on The View.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "I'm so drunk right now I just announced to the hotel lobby "Listen up people!! I have a bomb in my pants.. Now, who wants to disarm it?!""

Today's Country Tidbits

Gloriana is now a trio, as Cheyenne Kimball left the band over the weekend with a tweet. At the end of a show in Missouri, she didn't return to the bus. After waiting as long as they could, the rest of the band took off for their next show, and Cheyenne tweeted, “Fans, I'm no longer going to be a part of Gloriana. It's been a great 4 years and thank you for all of ur support. See u soon.” In a prepared statement, the group's Tom and Mike Gossin and Rachel Reinert said, "We need you to know that Gloriana will absolutely continue on. We couldn't imagine our lives any other way ... We wish Cheyenne the best of luck in whatever lies ahead for her." Last night, she tweeted, "Don't worry you guys. I will be giving my side of the story soon. Xo" No word on what Cheyenne is planning, but at this point the remaing three plan to release their next album this fall.

Remember last year, when Jimmy Wayne walked 1,700 miles across America to raise awareness of teen homelessness? i20productions is making a documentary of the trek, and Jimmy say it's "a great opportunity for us to spread the message even further. I am incredibly grateful that the people involved in the company understand the plight of these foster children, who age out of the system and are left without any options." He's also written a book about the 8 months he spent walking from Nashville to Arizona.

Dierks Bentley knows how to enjoy a day off, and will do almost anything for a beer...check this out!

It's official...Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will once again host the CMA Music Awards. That was the big announcement yesterday, and it marks their 4th year in a row of co-hosting country music's biggest night.

Congrats to Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher, who celebrated their first wedding anniversary over the weekend at the exclusive Blackberry Farms resort in the Smokey Mountains of east Tennessee. Their actual anniversary was on July 10th, but they managed to squeeze a whole weekend out of the celebration.

Congrats to Taylor Swift, whose "Speak Now" cd has already gone quintuple-platinum for 5 million units sold. And kudos to Justin Moore, who has his second #1 song with "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away."

Did you miss seeing Ashton Shepherd on the Tonight Show? Oh, no you dih-uhn!

Catch Blake Shelton on the David Letterman Show tonight, LIVE! with Regis and Kelly tomorrow morning and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tomorrow night.

New music out today is Blake Shelton's "Red River Blue," Ashton Shepherd's "Where Country Grows" and Chris Young's "Neon." If you like your country stars on DVD, you're in luck...Trace Adkins' turn in "The Lincoln Lawyer" is in stores today, as is Martina McBride's CMT Crossroads episode with Train.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "My new album is out in less than 12 hours!! I can't wait to hear it!! I was so drunk when recorded it I can't remember whats on it..."

Today's Country Tidbits

Jason Aldean is the featured performer at tonight's State Farm Home Run Derby, part of Major League Baseball's 2011 All Star Week. He took part in the Legends & Celebrity Softball Game yesterday, which will air right after the home run derby tonight. This is sort of a dream come true for him, being part of the All-Star celebrations. He used to dream of being a pro baseball player, and even went to college on a baseball scholarship. Who's his favorite team? The Braves.

This morning at 11am Eastern, two of country's biggest superstars will make what the CMA calls a "major announcement" via the CMA's Facebook page. No word on who the stars might be or what their announcement is, but it's sure to be something about the 45th Annual CMA Awards, scheduled to be handed out on November 9th at Bridgestone Arena.

Tim McGraw is hobbling around in a cast onstage because he's broken a bone in his foot. According to a post on his Facebook page, Tim said, “FOOTBALL, BASEBALL, car wrecks, bar fights, bullridin'...and this is the first broken bone I've ever had!” No details on how it happened, but it won't keep him from performing.

Congratulations to Justin Moore and his wife Kate, who are expecting their second daughter in November. Their first daughter, Ella Kole, was born in February of last year.

Taylor Swift missed out on a whole week of shows, rescheduling the sold-out Charlotte and Atlanta shows until this fall. Bronchitis has laid her voice low and her doctor said she has to rest. The tour resumes in Montreal on July 14th.

Miranda Lambert announced her next album plans while on Good Morning America Friday. It'll be out on November first, will be called "Four the Record" and she hopes to record a duet with hubby Blake Shelton for the project. And in more Miranda music news, her "girl group" Pistol Annies will release their debut cd featuring "Hell on Heels" August 23rd.

Earlier this year, Neal McCoy added "wedding singer" to his resume, when he was the featured entertainment at Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's shindig. Now, he can add the title "Grandpa" to his list of accomplishments. Neal's daughter Miki and her husband Trevor welcomed their first child and Neal's first grandchild into the world on July 7th. Titan McCoy Strong was 7 pounds, 6 ounces and 21 inches long, and he and his mama are both doing great.

New music out tomorrow includes Blake Shelton's "Red River Blue," Ashton Shepherd's "Where Country Grows" and Chris Young's "Neon." Chris will celebrate the release by playing live on Good Morning America tomorrow.

Today's Country Tidbits

It's Independence Day, a commemoration of the very brave Founding Fathers, who risked their life, liberty and happiness in order to build an independent nation. Those signers of the Declaration of Independence epitomized the bravery and can-do spirit of America.

On this day, country music artists reminisce about what the 4th of July means to them.

Josh Turner: “All the individual families kind of had a lot of competition with each other and they tried to outdo each other to try and see who had the biggest and baddest fireworks and all that. My daddy I think was the smartest one. He just went out and bought maybe 25-dollars worth of fireworks and let everybody else put on the big show. So, he saved a lot of money!”

Carrie Underwood: “America really is, you know, the land of opportunity. It’s the only place in the world that I could try out for some show and win and…amongst hundreds of thousands of people…and go on to do great things. I mean, it’s just the land of ‘anything could happen.’ The people in it are what makes it great.”

Chris Young: “Fourth of July is always a big day with me and my dad. I think we spend, like, four-hundred dollars, five-hundred dollars on fireworks alone during Fourth of July. And we go do a cookout at the house, and then we set off fireworks. And we’ve almost blown ourselves up a couple times, but you know, it’s somethin’ that me and my dad just love gettin’ out there and doin’. It’s a lot of fun for us.”

Jerrod Niemann: “Well, as a kid, I loved Fourth of July because I could shoot Roman candles at my siblings. But then when you finally understand what it stands for, and you’re old enough to grasp that the only reason you can shoot Roman candles at your siblings is because there’s people out there that are sacrificing their lives and allowed all of us to continue to be free and do the things that we love.”

Kenny Chesney: “You know what? I was usually playin’ little-league baseball on the Fourth of July. You know, I was big into sports, and the summertime in east Tennessee consisted of playin’ baseball, and that’s what I did on the Fourth of July. And they had a big fireworks display after all the games, and I was usually, you know, tryin’ to win the affection of some little girl over at the concession stand. And, you know, things don’t change very much!”

Miranda Lambert: “I love holidays in general, but Fourth of July is…summer is my favorite time of year, so Fourth of July is probably one of my favorites because…my favorite firework is sparklers. Always it brings out the little girl in me. I always ask for sparklers for Fourth of July”

Billy Currington: “My best memories would be hanging out with my mom and brother and sister on the beach of Tybee Island, right off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. We’d go there pretty much every year and we’d light our own fireworks and watch the ones they had for us. Those were some of the best times of my life.”

Jake Owen: “Fourth of July is my weekend, man to relax. Every year, we do a big boat party and just a lot of my friends, family...cook a lot of food, do a lot of wakeboarding, water skiing, hang out, get sunburnt…get a little buzz…and have a good time.”

Darius Rucker: “Oh, I love fireworks. We had the bottle rocket fights and all that good stuff. I was the typical little crazy kid, you know. In South Carolina it was always legal, so we shot fireworks when it was legal. We did all that sort of stuff. I almost blew my hand off once.”

No matter how you spend your day, have fun, be safe and remember the bravery that made our nation possible.

I'm on vacation for the rest of the week...see you on July 11th!

Today's Country Tidbits

Blake Shelton is featured in the current issue of US magazine, talking about how Miranda Lambert has changed him. Saying he wouldn't take back one single thing he did in his wild, drinking-til-7am-pizza-for-breakfast-at-noon days, he says, “Now if I want to go drinking, I only want to sit at the house with Miranda watching ‘Snapped’ on TV at home. She really is that rock for me and the center of all of this.” Awwwww...! And this just in - confirmation that all four judges from The Voice will return for season 2. Online auditions are going on now for the show, which will tape late this year or very early in 2012.

Trace Adkins spent yesterday in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, helping to raise money and awareness for the preservation of endangered Civil War battlefields. He's working with The Civil War Trust in its mission to protect endangered sites and to promote education and tourism for them.

The video is out for Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffet's "Knee Deep."

Brad Paisley's music is featured in the new Cars 2 movie, and one song, "Nobody's Fool," is a very bluesy track. According to Brad, “That kind of thing is really fun for me, and it’s especially good timing because I just released what I would consider my ‘countriest’ album. So it’s not like somebody can see that and say, ‘Well see? He’s leaving!’ I’m not leaving. I just happen to be able to get away with things like that every now and then, with the right opportunity.”

If you've been on the sidelines for much of the Taylor Swift phenomenon and wondered how she's managed to garner such a host of rabid fans, she posted a blog yesterday that will help you understand why people love her like they do. Take a minute and read it...unless you're totally convinced you never want to even like her. If that's the case, then don't read it, because if you have even half a heart, you'll give it all to her after reading this blog post.

Congrats to Toby Keith, whose Bluebird Cafe benefit concert raised $20,000. That's an astonishing number when you consider that the venue's seating capacity is only 100 people!

Up and coming country singer Bradley Gaskins, whose song "Mr. Bartender" is climbing the charts, is excited about finally breaking through. Why? His dreams for his dad. According to Bradley, “It’s the first single that I’ve ever had to reach country radio. And it’s really crazy for him now, ’cause before that, he said, ‘Boy, I’m gonna give you this drywall job and let you have it,’ and I said, ‘Dad, no offense, but I don’t want it because I’ve seen it beat you down, and I’m gonna try to retire you someday.’ And I said, ‘So I’m gonna try to make it in the music business.’” Now that's incentive!

Happy birthday to Michelle Wright, who turns 50 today. It's also the anniversary of the birth of the late Keith Whitley. He would have been 56 today.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Oh hell.. Woke up and read that I signed up for Season 2 of The Voice... Damn you Bacardi!!! I was going to retire!!!!"