After the ACM Awards, several artists sat down backstage to talk about the night and their lives.
Miranda Lambert debuted a new girl-group during the "Girls' Night Out: Superstar Women of Country" taping Monday night. She, Ashley Monroe and Angeleena Presley teamed up as Pistol Annies to perform. Miranda doesn't give up many details, but did offer this: “They’re great friends of mine and we’ve just been writing songs like crazy. And I’ve always kinda wanted to do a girl project. But it’s not your typical girl trio. We definitely have an edge. And we sing a lot about like, housewife sort of… I won’t tell you. You know what, just watch. You’ll see it.” When asked what her favorite performance of the night was, Miranda said, without hesitation, “My favorite part of the night was Carrie Underwood. She brought the house down.” Carrie and Vince Gill duetted on "How Great Thou Art." The show airs April 22 on CBS.
Miranda Lambert is also serving as executive producer on another tv show, this one based on her childhood. The ABC Family network show features a family where the parents are private investigators and the kids help solve the crimes. Very much like Miranda's upbringing, where her parents were PI's and dinner table talk often featured discussion about the current case. No word on when the show will debut.
Big & Rich have reunited to tour, plus they've cut a song that'll be on the soundtrack of the upcoming Footloose movie. The song is called "Fake ID" and Big Kenny says about the experience, “And just when you think that that’s pretty cool and really good, you find out that Julianne Hough is dancing to your song. And she looks so good and does such a fantastic job. It’s hot, hot, hot, and on fire. It’s Big and Rich. It’s edgy and sexy.” Gretchen Wilson lends her vocals to "Fake ID," which should be out before the movie opens on October 14th.
John Rich has strong feelings about Taylor Swift's ACM EOY win, and doesn't care who knows it: “She deserved that. And I know she’s caught a lot of criticism over the years, ‘well she’s you know she’s not the greatest singer, she’s too young or what does she know about it she’s only this old,’ or whatever. She writes about what her life is at that particular second. And that’s what country music is supposed to be about and it’s why so many fans around the world connect with her.” He and Taylor have written songs together and he says he's proud to see her win.
What was Taylor Swift up to on Monday, after winning Entertainer of the Year? Shopping. She was spied power-shopping at Anthropologie and pushing a shopping cart in the West Hollywood Target store.
People.com has a photo spread of Taylor Swift's adventures as she toured Europe and Asia.
In the latest issue of People Country, Keith Urban takes top honors as country's hottest guy. He also spills the beans about his first kiss at age 5...what he can remember about it, anyway! He doesn't remember if she kissed him or he kissed her, but does recall it happened on the monkey bars at the playground. Keith also notes that Sunday Rose is a really great big sister to Faith Margaret, saying “She’s taking that older sister role very seriously. I mean, she puts the paci back in, and she like puts the blanket back on if it comes off. She’s good, she’s really good with her.”
Ashley Judd has written a book about growing up in the Judd household, and according to some excerpts leaked from the book, all was most definitely not peaches and cream. According to one excerpt, "I loved my mother," Ashley writes about Naomi Judd, “But at the same time I dreaded the mayhem and uncertainty that followed her everywhere.” Ashley's search into her family history will be part of "Who Do You Think You Are?" this Friday night on NBC.
Congratulations to the Zac Brown Band, who have another #1 song with "Colder Weather."
Happy birthday to Merle Haggard, who turns 74 today.
Carrie Underwood is on the Tonight Show.
The tweet of the day is from Big Kenny Alphin of Big & Rich: "LOVE EVERYBODY, there is only one command. Please spread it far and wide!! Please."
