According to those who have seen the show, Taylor Swift's north American "Speak Now" show is pretty amazing. She includes a mini fireworks display, a flying balcony and a snowfall. Says Taylor, "The tour is exactly how my imagination looks and I'm so excited that we get to have these entire scenes created onstage." The show lasts for two hours and includes all of her biggest hits as well as songs from her new cd.
Jason Aldean is just blown away at how well the Colt Ford/Brantley Gilbert-written "Dirt Road Anthem" is doing for him. As it continues to march up the country charts, Jason says the fan reaction is amazing: “You know, it’s one of those big anthem-type songs. You hold the microphone out and they know every word, you know, and that’s always a really good sign for a song. So it’s been great. It’s become one of the fan favorites in our show.”
The reigning Celebrity Apprentice, John Rich, has some ideas on which country artist should be part of the next Celebrity Apprentice, and in typical John style, he's not being quiet about his opinion. Says John, “The directors of the show…They’ve all been asking me, ‘Who do I think? Who do I think?’ and I have told them Dierks’ name, of course it’s up to Dierks. I don’t know if he’d want to do it. But, you know to me there’s so many different looks in country music. You know, we don’t all wear cowboy hats. That’s the iconic image I guess of it is a cowboy hat but I would love to see another country artist that’s totally different than a ‘hat act’. You know, somebody else with a different look that represents a different part of our genre.”
Asked if they would consider doing reality TV, both Tim McGraw and Brad Paisley say heck, no. Tim, who sang with Scotty McCreery on the finale of American Idol, says that if he was just starting out in the business, he'd forgo reality tv and "go to college and stay there." Brad Paisley said he'd never be part of something like "The Voice," even though Blake Shelton is doing really well as a coach. Both men just want to concentrate on what they do best - country music.
Willie Nelson's Country Throwdown is underway and the reviews are great. A side stage alternates with the main stage, meaning that everyone gets a great seat to the shows they want to see. Check out this preview of the fun...
Luke Bryan and the Doobie Brothers taped a CMT Crossroads episode last night. The songs included the Doobie Brothers’ “Black Water,” Long Train Runnin’” and “China Grove,” as well as Luke’s “Rain Is a Good Thing,” “Do I” and “Country Girl (Shake It for Me).” The episode will air June 24th on CMT.
Lee Ann Womack is working on her first new album since the Grammy-nominated "Call Me Crazy" came out in 2008. She's excited about her producer, saying “I'm getting to work with this hot producer named Frank Liddell, who does Miranda Lambert, David Nail and back when Chris Knight. He's kind of something... Though, I am a little prejudiced: he's my husband!” No release date for the album yet.
Congratulations to Brad Paisley, who's notched another #1 debut for his cd, "This is Country Music." It sold nearly 152,000 copies during it's first week last week. He also has the #1 country song in America this week with "Old Alabama."
And congrats to The Band Perry, whose "If I Die Young" has been certifed double platinum in sales. That means two million units have sold, either in hard copy or by download.
Shania Twain gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. The ceremony starts at 11:30am Pacific time.
Mark your calendars and set your DVRs - the 45th annual CMA Awards will air live from Nashville on November 9th on ABC.
On this day in 1986, Randy Travis debuted with "Storms of Life."
Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina are on the Today show this morning. Tomorrow, catchThompson Square on Fox & Friends.
The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "I'm so hung over right now I just put two pot holders in the toaster and poured milk in a bowl of Gardettos.."
