Sunday night, most country fans were watching the ACM Awards, but one country star was going big for St. Jude. John Rich raised nearly $700,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Sunday night as he led Team Backbone to a big...defeat at the hands of the women's team on Celebrity Apprentice. Donald Trump challenged the two teams to create their own works of art using baseball caps and paintings to be sold at an art gallery. John was project manager, and guaranteed that country music fans would come through for him. “The only reason I am on this show is to raise more money than anyone in the history of this show. I want to show Mr. Trump what country boys are capable of and how big our hearts can open up.” The women's team raked in nearly a million dollars, but St. Jude still won, because John and Marlee Matlin, who was project manager for the women's team, agreed to let both charities get the cash no matter which team won. The combined $1.6 million was more than any other non-finale episode ever raised.
Last night, some of country's biggest stars turned out to salute the Superstar Women of Country. "Girls Night Out" taped in Las Vegas last night, with Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, Sara Evans and The Band Perry performing in honor of Reba, Martina McBride, Loretta Lynn, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Nettles and The Judds. The Band Perry performed a Patsy Cline classic, and Kimberly Perry gushed about the experience of being part of the show, “I feel like these ladies who we’re honoring just make up everything we love about country music everything from their sense of fashion to their spit-fire attitudes and everything in between.” It will air on April 22nd on CBS.
A surprised Taylor Swift is learning that words mean something different to different people. She wrote the song, "Mean," after reading a bad review. Now that it's been released as her 3rd single from "Speak Now," she's finding out that the song has more than one meaning: “Getting letters, and getting e-mails, and getting messages on Twitter and Facebook from the fans saying what that song means to them. I never would’ve imagined it would have that many different meanings to different people when I wrote the song.” Taylor will be on The Tonight Show tonight, talking about her ACM for Entertainer of the Year.
If you wanto to revisit Taylor's performance of "Mean" at the ACM's, here you go...
Lady Antebellum is on the road with Keith Urban, and the tour heads to Australia this week. It's Hillary Scott's first time there, and she has play-plans: “To meet the people, to see the fans, to hopefully, you know, make some new fans, we’re really looking forward to it. And the obvious, of like I’m going to go see the kangaroos and pet a koala bear, you know.”
Want to relive some of the best looks at Sunday night's ACM Awards? People.com has a best-dressed spread.
Backstage at the ACM Awards, a reporter asked Miranda Lambert where she and Blake were honeymooning after their May 14th wedding. She said they still don't have a plan, but hope something will come together soon. I'm betting there'll be hunting involved!
Josh Turner is enjoying life as the father of three boys, ages 4 years, almost 2 and a three-month-old. He says, in the latest issue of People Country, that if you keep them fed, “they’ll be happy for the most part.” Good advice!
Craig Campbell's self-titled debut cd is out today, featuring his first solo hit song, "Family Man."
Happy birthday to Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry, who turns 44 today and to Pat Green, who is 39.
The tweet of the day is from John Rich: "Back in Nashville....its a monsoon! Just ran over a catfish in the highway!"
