All the stars who'll be performing on the CMA Awards show tonight have been in rehearsals this week. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood are both hosting and performing, and they've been rehearsing since Sunday. Yesterday, Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, George Strait and Gwyneth Paltrow were on stage, rehearsing their songs for tonight's show. Carrie and Brad have a special kind of pre-show workout...
Miranda Lambert, nominated for a record 9 CMA awards tonight, is also celebrating her 27th birthday today. But wait - there's one more thing she'll celebrate after the show: the end of her diet. She's had a personal trainer traveling with her on tour, and she's been watching what she eats. But tonight, the diet goes out the window as she hosts a post-show pizza party for her birthday. She says she hasn't eaten pizza in a month, and she can't wait.
Taking advantage of the fact that most of Nashville's biggest stars are in town during CMA week, other organizations hold their award ceremonies this week, too. Monday night at the SESAC Awards, Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum won Songwriter of the Year for the second year in a row. Last night was the BMI Songwriter Awards ceremony, and even though she has a near shut-out in the CMA Award nominations, Taylor Swift had a big night. She won top honors - BMI's Country Songwriter of the Year - and in so doing, became the youngest person ever to win the award. She and Liz Rose shared Country Song of the Year for "You Belong With Me." It's been an emotional week for Taylor, who sang at a friend's funeral on Monday. She recognized him during her acceptance speech, saying “He was 21, and I used to play my songs for him first. So I would like to thank Jeff Lang.”
Forbes Magazine has issued their list of top-earning women, and Taylor Swift makes it for the first, but probably not last, time. On the strength of her tour, two endorsement deals and of course, sales of her music, Taylor is in the #9 spot.
1. Oprah Winfrey - $315 million
2. Beyonce Knowles - $87 million
3. Britney Spears - $64 million
4. Lady Gaga - $62 million
5. Madonna - $58 million
6. Sandra Bullock - $56 million
7. Ellen DeGeneres - $55 million
8. Miley Cyrus - $48 million
9. Taylor Swift (tie) - $45 million
10. Judge Judy Sheindlin (tie) - $45 million
Counting down to Keith Urban's next cd, "Get Closer" just got more fun. Target is offering Facebook streams of a track a day, with "Put You In A Song" and "You Gonna Fly" available now on the Facebook pages of Keith and Target.
Toby Keith was the Incognito Bandito in New York this summer, and one of the songs he did on stage was the classic Neil Diamond song, "Sundown."
Wanna see Garth Brooks in Las Vegas? New shows are about to go on sale, but they're gonna cost you. Steve Wynn, owner of the Wynn Hotel where Garth is performing, announced a price increase of $100 per ticket, saying "The most important thing for our company is to give people value for their entertainment dollar. The contact with Garth in the Encore is the equivalent of being in his living room ... In terms of value, I believe that Garth is still underpriced and represents the greatest entertainment value in modern Las Vegas." Tickets for the December 3-5, January 21-13 and February 11-13 and 25-27 shows will run you $225 each and are available through Ticketmaster.com or at 877-65-GARTH (42784)
For the football player or football lover in your life, Kenny Chesney's documentary is out, just in time for holiday gift-giving. Here's a sneak-peek...
Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley are on Good Morning America today, Blake Shelton is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight after the CMA Awards, and nearly all of Nashville will be on ABC tonight for the 44th Annual CMA Awards, starting at 8pm Eastern.
Happy birthday to Miranda Lambert (27) and Chris Cagle (42) today.
The tweet of the day is from Trisha Yearwood: "9 shows for flood relief! Thank you to everyone who is supporting the community of Nashville. You guys rock!"
