Today's Country Tidbits

Keith Urban and Vince Gill team up tonight with some of Nashville's top talent to raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. "We're All For The Hall" features groups and artists who are friends and inspirations to Keith, who's pleased that his childhood heroes are part of the show: “Alabama were a big influence on me because of the timing of when I was growing up listening to country, especially through the ‘80s. And there was that real mix of sort of contemporary melodies and the sort of the way the band sounded on records was different than any other band I’d heard before in the genre. So, we covered a lot of Alabama songs.”

Rascal Flatts paid homage to one of their musical influences on their latest album, "Changed." Only available on the Deluxe version is a classic Shenandoah song - here's why: “We’ve been huge Shenandoah fans forever, so just our ode to one of our heroes. we did a real cool version of ‘Next to You, Next to Me’ on it. So we’re excited for all the fans to hear it.” Rascal Flatts will be touring this summer, taking Little Big Town, Eli Young Band and Edens Edge along for the run.

Dierks Bentley's new song, "5-1-5-0," is racing up the charts, and astute fans have noticed the influence of a certain 80's rock band: “Well, you know I love country music and I love bluegrass music, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say rock music was a big part of my background. I grew up during the 80s and Van Halen was one of my favorite bands. They had an album called 51-50, which is a police code for a crazy person. So my friends and I would always kind of use that sayin, ‘Last night was 5-1-5-0, last night got crazy, it was a total 5-1-5-0 last night!’”

He's been to the top of the country charts as a songwriter before, but Lee Brice has landed his first #1 song as an artist. "A Woman Like You" got him there, and Lee is happy to credit his fiance, Sara Reeveley, as the inspiration to the song: “We’re that perfect couple of opposites in a lot of ways. She’s so clean and tidy and organized and really sensitive, and I’m just kind of wild and free and I’m messy. We complement each other, but she’s always on me about little things, and I actually like it, cause it’s makes me a better guy!”

Jake Owen's proposal to girlfriend Lacey Buchanan was spur-of-the-moment, apparently. Jake said when he got on stage and realized how many of their friends and family were in the audience, he realized that sharing the moment would mean a lot to everyone. In a press release, he called Lacey "an amazing person" and "the answer to all of his prayers."

So it looks like the divorce wasn't as amicable as we all first thought. Randy Travis' ex-wife Lib slapped him with a breach of contract lawsuit last week, claiming that he interfered with her role as his manager and that he terminated their management contract without written notice. The couple divorced in 2010 after 19 years of marriage.

Entertainment Weekly is out with their list of the "30 Greatest Artists Right Now." Adele tops the list, but Taylor Swift came in second as the magazine's "Everygirl Superstar." Other country artists on the list include Carrie Underwood (#4 - Country Belle) and Jake Owen (#19 - Nashville Casanova.)

The tweet of the day is from David Nail: "Sorry Pittsburg-h! I knew it looked kinda wrong! Whoops... Thus why I sing and don't teach spelling!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Team Blake is down to four members on "The Voice," and Blake Shelton is enjoying being the coach of his crew. “It’s definitely changed the way I view my position in this business. It’s easy to kind of take it for granted sometimes, but it’s like how many people would love to be standing up here and talking about the stuff I’m talking about. And every time I sit in one of those chairs and I see those people on that stage that want this, it’s humbling – it’s good for you.” Live battle rounds are tonight at 8 Eastern on NBC.

Jake is taken. Saturday night, while performing in his hometown of Vero Beach, Jake Owen proposed to his girlfriend Lacey Buchanan. Thanks to smartphones, there are lots of amateur videos of the event. Here's one from a really good vantage point...

Carrie Underwood has a singing hubby. Mike Fisher likes to sing Carrie's songs around the house, and apparently he's confident - but often wrong. “He’s ...he sings it out, even when it’s wrong. It’s quite amazing how words come out, because they’re always way off and I’m like, ‘Just...time out! What you just said...does that make any sense at all?’ I try to teach him but...I don’t do directions, he doesn’t do lyrics. I guess we both have our shortcomings.” He'll have a whole new album of material to butcher on May first, when Carrie's "Blown Away" comes out.

Justin Moore has his theories about fitness, but I doubt most fitness instructors would agree: “I tell my wife I’m in terrible shape but as long as I look like I’m in alright shape, I’m probably not going to do anything about it. I like to drink beer and I like chicken-fried steak and I can eat gravy on anything, but...you just have to watch it. Everything in moderation is OK, so as long as you don’t get outta control.”

The "All for the Hall" event is tomorrow night in Nashville. Keith Urban hosts it along with Vince Gill, and Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert and Pistol Annies, Alabama, The Band Perry and lots of surprise guests will grace the stage. The show will be at Bridgestone Arena and is sold out.

Happy birthday to Hal Ketchum, who is 59 today, and to Dave Innis, guitarist for Restless Heart. He turns 53.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Ok.. Very funny.. Who colored their Easter eggs on my white underwear?"

Today's Country Tidbits

Miranda Lambert is on fire, so what's up with her girl group, Pistol Annies? New music later this year, apparently: “The new album will be just what you expect. It’s three country girls singin’ about three country girls lives. We write everything on our own, we did on the last record and our goal on this next record is to write everything in our family – just us three girls again. I’m really looking forward to it and I’m gonna start kinda focusing on that that after the summer tour.”

Do you ever wonder what Nashville's old guard thinks about the new stars? Dolly Parton, never one to bite her tongue, dishes on Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift. About Miranda, Dolly says, “I think I really related to Miranda. She reminds me a lot of myself when I first moved to town somehow. She is just kinda raw and natural – she’s got a lot of gut, heart and soul.” And how does she feel about Taylor? “She represents herself so well for the youth of today I just wish so many more of the young people would follow her lead – in that respect. There’s not a thing that kid can’t do, and she’s beautiful, and she’s smart, and she’s talented. So, I really admire that.” Dolly has a new concert CD/DVD out, available at Cracker Barrel.

Miranda Lambert's tour took this week off, but she, Jerrod Niemann and Chris Young are ready to hit the road again after Easter. Chris Young is having a blast being part of the "On Fire Tour:" “The combination of all three of us—everybody is just having fun all the time. We don’t really prank each other, but, man, Miranda is just so funny. She’s got such a cool personality. It’s definitely one of my favorite tours I’ve been on!”

The Band Perry is working on a new album, due out later this year. Meanwhile, they've gone five deep on singles from their platinum-selling debut album. "Postcards from Paris" is the latest one, and Kimberly Perry explains the story behind it: “It kind of talks about that age old summer romance where it’s brief, but it has this way of kinda ruinin’ ya. The couple in ‘Postcard from Paris,’ neither one of them is quite the same after they’ve seen each other across the room and in the song it’s unclear whether or not they actually get together or not. I guess we’ll leave that up to the listener’s imagination.”

Trace Adkins wants you to check out his sausage. Trace Adkins' Hightower Country Sausage is in stores now, in three flavors - original, hot and jalapeno & cheese. It's "certified Cajun," according to the label, coming from Trace's home state of Louisiana.

Garth Brooks will help celebrate Calgary Stampede's 100th anniversary with a full-band concert. The show will be July 12th, with tickets going on sale this Tuesday.

Remember the song "We Are the World," where tons of singers teamed up to raise money for charity? Well, country stars have teamed up to do a song for Souls4Souls, a charity that provides shoes for poor people around the world. Billy Gilman wrote "The Choice," which will be out on April 16th and features Keith Urban, Reba, Montgomery Gentry and many other Nashville stars.

Brantley Gilbert has added to his tattoo collection - he had Corey Miller, star of LA Ink, add a flaming skull with his BG logo and the words "Prodigal Son" to his left forearm. Here's a picture of the partial work...

Happy birthday to Merle Haggard, who turns 75 today. Tomorrow, Cal Smith turns 80.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Treating people the way you want to be treated, doesn't always return the favor."

Today's Country Tidbits

Would you like to own one of the dresses Reba wore on the ACM Awards Sunday night? The cobalt blue, high neck, cutaway-shouldered gown is being auctioned off on ebay, with proceeds going to the non-profit Feeding America. Reba and her stylist Terry Gordon designed the dress, which was made by Universal Studios Couture. It's a size 6, and the high bid as of 5am Eastern this morning was $3,150, with 6 days to go in the auction.

Next time you go to a Jason Aldean show, wear your best country concert duds and smile pretty - you could be on a DVD one day. According to Jason, “We actually film every show, so just in case, that at some point, we wanted to put together a live DVD and just kind of a cool little thing from the road, we tape every single show.”

Kelly Clarkson played the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles Tuesday night, and her pop fans got a little country kick. Blake Shelton was in town for his show, "The Voice," and joined Kelly on "Don't You Wanna Stay," singing Jason Aldean's part. Later in the show, Reba strolled on stage to sing their hit, "Because of You." And Michelle Branch of The Wreckers also hit the stage to sing a little with Kelly, who just released a country version of her pop hit, "Mr. Know It All."

Alison Krauss and the Eagles are about to become Doctors of Music. The stars are the latest to be given honorary doctorates, recognizing them for their accomplishments and influence in the music world, from the Berklee College of Music. They'll don their caps and gowns on May 12th for commencement.

Congrats to Toby Keith, whose "Red Solo Cup" has gone platinum for sales of over a million. Toby says, “I’ve got 80-million spins as a songwriter and I didn’t write this song...it’s my only song that’s ever gotten pop airplay to speak of. Ryan Seacrest made it the Spring Break song of 2012.”

And Lionel Richie tops the country charts with his country duets album, "Tuskeegee." He's pretty clear the album's title is perfect: “There’s a great line in life that says, ‘Most the time in life you can’t go home.’ In this case I can. This is going to be a full circle. I’m going to revisit these songs again and it could only be called Tuskegee.” April 13th is the debut of the ACM duets special on CBS, featuring Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry and more of country's best.

Kellie Pickler is on American Idol tonight, performing her song "Where's Tammy Wynette" from her "100 Proof" album.

Happy birthday to Pat Green, who turns 40 today, and Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry, who is 45.

The tweet of the day is from Kellie Pickler: "I ain't talking to Siri till she learns how to speak with a southern accent. #StepItUpiPhone"

Today's Country Tidbits

Imagine being a married couple making a big splash at award shows - Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert have some serious decorating problems since last Sunday night! “We’re really thankful, we’re humbled. We’re really excited to celebrate it together. But I think he feels the same way I do, you know? It’s like ‘thank you so much for letting us win male and female, but we are totally happy.’ And we look at our awards every day, don’t get me wrong! We have ‘em all combined on one shelf, which I guess now, we gotta get a bigger shelf!”

First it was "Barefoot Blue Jean Night," and now Jake Owen scores his second #1 song with "Alone With You." “I mean there’s been people come and go that have had number one songs, you know? But when you can back up a number one with another number one, it really is a validating feeling like you—like people are accepting what I am doing.” "Alone With You has been certified gold with 500,000 paid downloads.

Rascal Flatts is making the media rounds this week, celebrating the release of their latest album, "Changed." Jay DeMarcus says the title is very appropriate: “Anytime that you have life changing experiences, whether it’s personal or career wise, and we have had bunch of both – it affects your artistry. You can’t help but let your life experience be let out through the music, and that has certainly happened on Changed.” The trio willbe on the Ellen DeGeneres show Thursday and Good Morning America Friday.

Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood is planning his wedding to Kelli Cashiola, and plans to be part of the entertainment, too. According to Hillary Scott, the trio will crash the wedding band at some point during the night. No word on when this party will be happening.

Hot on the heels of the Lionel Richie country duets project, John Fogarty is working on one, featuring Miranda Lambert, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban and Brad Paisley. Set for release this fall, "Wrote a Song for Everyone" will include artists from both the rock and country worlds.

Miss Loretta is telling all - well, at least more than she has up til now. Loretta Lynn has released a book, "Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics," which includes photos, song lyrics and the stories that inspired the songs. Get it at Amazon.com or a bookstore near you.

Good news for George Jones - he's out of the hospital after nearly a week of treatment for an upper respiratory infection. He'll rest at home until his next concert on April 20th in Minnesota.

Billy Currington is on Jimmy Kimmel tonight, dueting with Lionel Richie.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "I shall now begin to punish my liver by drinking my face off in a way that only @richardmarx could understand and appreciate."

Today's Country Tidbits

Toby Keith is about to celebrate 10 years of USO/Armed Forces Entertainment Tours. His first rotation was in 2002, and he's packing to go again, saying “We leave in a couple weeks, and we should surpass 200 shows this year. And we’ve got it all documented – at some point I’m going to put something together and show everybody what a wonderful ten years it’s been and the trip. And show you some wonderful warriors and heroes.” He'll do shows in Afghanistan, Kuwait and Bahrain, and will do a special show aboard an aircraft carrier.

Last night in Las Vegas, Lionel Richie was joined on stage by country's royalty as they taped "ACM Presents: Lionel Richie and Friends - In concert." Performers include Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Jennifer Nettles, Darius Rucker, Big & Rich and Lionel was blown away: “It humbles me. Because remember now, I don’t travel then talk to them everyday – I see the audience every day. So that was quite an eye opening experience when you open your eyes and realize they [artists] are singing my songs. It’s fabulous.” The special will air April 13th at 9pm Eastern.

Rascal Flatts' new cd, "Changed," is out today, and the guys had more fun than normal in the studio: “It was really fun to make this record, I can’t remember the last time we had so much fun doing a project. For us it was just one of those records that we couldn’t have made a few years ago, you know? We had to have gone through all the things we’ve been through in the past year and a half in order to make this record.”

Jason Aldean's been alternating time on stage with time in the studio and says he's finished his next album: “I’m done. I’m finished with the next record. We got a single comin’ out off of it probably sometime in the summer. Then, I think the album is going to be released probably October-ish. We found some songs I think are not right down the middle mainstream things. Things that allowed us to branch out a little more.” He promises that his "aggressive country style" will still shine through.

Carrie Underwood gives some fashion tips in the current issue of InStyle Magazine. Show off your best asset - for Carrie, that's her legs - and cover up the rest. She recommends a slathering of shimmer lotion to make your best asset shine, and her travel wardrobe is white, grey and black, because everything goes with those colors. For more Carrie fashion tips, check out the online issue.

Blake Shelton and the rest of the coaches lead their teams through a second night of live performances tonight on "The Voice" on NBC.

The tweet of the day is from Trent Tomlinson: "National anthem by The Frey! More like AFREYED NOT!"

Today's Country Tidbits

At the ACM's last night, there were great performances, amazing outfits and oh, yeah - some awards were handed out.

Taylor Swift won Entertainer of the Year again this year, as she prepares to cut a new album: “You know, for me I’m always looking forward, and I’m always ahead at what’s next – and I’m writing my next record right now, as I have been for the last two years, but intensely writing my next record right now. I hope it’s good, keep your fingers crossed I would love it if it was good!” Taylor's date was to have been high schooler Kevin McGuire, who is a cancer patient, but he was hospitalized on Friday night and unable to attend. Taylor tweeted, “Please keep him in your thoughts. I’ll make it up to you, Kevin!”

Blake Shelton, co-host and winner of Male Vocalist, watched Dierks Bentley perform "Home" just before he won. Blake noted, “I was standing there listening to Dierks sing that song and the lyrics of that song...I really was thinking, ‘Man...’ That kinda fits where I’m at, you know what I mean? It has been a long time to get to this point for me and I’ve seen a lot of people come and go since I’ve started that passed me and had big hits and I was always the guy that was in the audience wondering what it takes to be that.” On his loss to Taylor in the Entertainer of the Year category, Blake said, “I think she deserves it. I don’t think I said I hope Taylor wins...cause I hoped I would win! But, I remember saying, Taylor deserves it...I mean, she truly does.”

Miranda Lambert won Female Vocalist and Album of the Year for "Four the Record." Her date to the show was her grandmother, and Miranda said, “Nonny had the best night ever. My grandmother is rockin’. She was like, ‘I’m not gonna go to the after parties, I’m going to the slots.’ I was like, ‘Ok!’” About the Album of the Year win, Miranda said, “I really did want this really bad. But, I’m good now. I don’t need to win another ACM ever. I love the ACMs. I love the industry. I’m so thankful. I don’t want to be greedy. I’m so thankful and humbled, but I do believe that a time comes where, for a certain awards, you pass the torch and I do believe I’m ready to do that.”

Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson won two awards for "Don't You Wanna Stay" - Single Record of the Year and Vocal Event. About the song, Jason says, “That song has been huge man for me and my career. I remember sitting around talking about who we wanted to get to sing on the song and she was the first person I came up with. The way that song worked out I’m really glad that it went the way it did because I don’t think it could have been any better. Once she came in and put her voice on it it really made the song take off.”

Eli Young Band seemed completely blown away by their win in the Song of the Year category. “With the success of ‘Crazy Girl’ our life has kinda changed for the better. I think everything we’ve been used to before this has been these baby steps of success. We’ve never gone backwards which is good – it’s always been forward movement. But this song gave us – we took the elevator this time!”

Lady Antebellum took home Vocal Group of the Year after a stripped-down performance of their latest song, "Dancin' Away With My Heart." About the ACM's Hillary Scott remembers their first one: “It was all so new to us. I think literally the second red carpet we’ve walked down. The ACM’s have just been so fantastic to us and all the people involved are really important and special to us. So we are always happy to come back.”

Thompson Square won in the Vocal Duo category, and were given the award on Saturday night as part of the ACM Salute to the Military show. Kiefer recounts their journey to success: “Two years ago today, we did our first showcase for radio. A year ago today, we had the number one song in country. So, it’s been three good years for us.”

Toby Keith won Video of the Year for "Red Solo Cup," and remembers that some of his friends didn't believe they were really filming a video: “They weren’t convinced until about halfway through the video shoot that we were really shooting a video – they thought we were doing an episode of Punk’d. They were going, ‘Alright at what point are you going to tell us this is fake.’ They really were hesitant and reluctant about buying into the thing until we got halfway through the video. Then they finally said, ‘Oh this is the real deal,’ they were all excited.”

Scotty McCreery won the fan-voted New Artist award, and has this to say about his fans: “They never cease to amaze me. They are wild – on Twitter they call themselves the McCreerians and they’re just insane man – they’ve been by my side since American Idol and they keep on coming out so I appreciate them.”

The surprise of the night was that the top nominee went home with no awards. Kenny Chesney went into the night with nine nominations but went 0-fer on the evening.

The song Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw sang last night is Kenny's next single. "Feel Like a Rock Star" is the first single off of "Welcome to the Fishbowl," due out June 19th.

Catch the probably still-astonished Eli Young Band on Jimmy Kimmel tonight.

Happy birthday to Country Music Hall of Famer Emmylou Harris, who turns 65 today.

The tweet of the day is from Justin Moore: "Seen Ashton kutcher at the acms tonight. What a douche! I don't care for people making a mockery of the way country artists' dress."