The LA premier of "Country Strong" was Tuesday night, and all of the stars were there, including co-star Tim McGraw with his wife Faith Hill on his arm. Reba McEntire and her hubby Narvel Blackstock were there to see the show, and Reba gives the movie two thumbs up. After the movie, the country music contingent, Gwyneth Paltrow included, all went out for a late dinner together.
Rascal Flatts year-long celebration of a decade in music concluded last night at the Grand Ole Opry. They performed, and were recognized by Karl Dean, mayor of Nashville, for their great music and good works. He said, in his official Mayoral Proclamation, "This is such a privilege to be here tonight to thank you in person for all that you do for the community and for the children in this city."
When NBC's "Who do You Think You Are?" returns for the second season, Tim McGraw will be one of the people digging into his past and trying to decipher his family tree. The show follows people around the world as they work with historians and research their own roots. Also appearing in the new season, which premiers January 21st, are Ashley Judd, Vanessa Williams, Rosie O'Donnell, Kim Cattrell and Steve Buscemi.
The ratings weren't great but the post-show sales boost was. After the airing of the initial American Country Awards, performers saw a nice sales increase in their product. Easton Corbin's self-titled debut cd saw a 58% sales increase, Josh Turner's "Haywire" was up 68% and Blake Shelton's "Hillbilly Bone" sold 75% more after the show. Nice!
What did boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal get for Taylor Swift for her birthday? A vintage Fender Grestsch guitar, signed by Chet Atkins. It's reported to have set him back $11,000. Nice!
Pretend you're the Mom of a big country superstar. What on earth do you give him for Christmas? That's Kenny Chesney's Mom's dilemma - whenever she asks him about something she wants to give him, he's already got it. What does he really want? Green beans. Says Kenny, “My mom and grandmother can green beans themselves. I love it, because it’s what I grew up with.” Watch out, Kenny...you're about to be inundated with home-canned beans!
Congrats to The Band Perry, whose debut album has gone platinum, signifying sales of over a million units.
Congratulations to Jamey Johnson. His double-disc cd, "The Guitar Song," has gone gold for sales of half a million units.
And congratulations to Taylor Swift, who has the top selling country music album again this week. She even sold 11% more this week than last, moving 201,000 units.
The tweet of the day is from David Nail: "Can't believe we just landed on this runway, ridiculous in Rochester, NY. Can't be safe at all!"
