Toby Keith is spending this week in the Middle East, entertaining troops on his 10th USO tour. He'll do shows in five countries over the 12 day tour, and service men and women in forward staging units won't be left out. He's already done a show on the SS Abraham Lincoln, and by the time this tour is over, he'll have done meet & greets on more than 100 military installations. There've been camera crews recording it all, so expect some sort of video project soon.
Told you earlier this week that "Uncaged" was the probable title for upcoming Zac Brown Band cd, and now it's official - ZBB's next project will be out July 10th and "Uncaged" is officially the title. The band has also added a new member - Daniel de los Reyes, a percussionist who "adds a new kind of pulse" to the band's music, according to Zac. Also adding some flavor to the new album is Trombone Shorty, a legendary New Orleans musician, who appears on the track "Overnight."
Keith Urban's working on a new album, too, and says that the songs will be more personal. Since his vocal chord surgery, he feels his voice is stronger than it's ever been and looks forward to getting into the studio with his new songs.
The Indiana State Fair has announced part of their concert line-up for this summer, and Blake Shelton will be one of the performers. He doesn't have to worry about having the stage collapse, as it did just before the Sugarland show last year. The grandstand stage has been retired since the tragedy that cost seven people their lives last summer. The shows will now be held inside the Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
People Magazine comes out tomorrow with their list of the 2012 World's Most Beautiful Women. Beyonce topped the list, but Miranda Lambert made the cut, too. She once said, in an interview with Seventeen magazine, “I have a horrible girl crush on Beyoncé. I’ve seen her four times. I got to meet her in Dallas. I met her backstage and it was awesome.”
Lionel Richie's "Tuskegee" is at the top of the Billboard album charts again this week, and Lionel Richie knows why - his country collaborators brought it: “Tim McGraw walks in...he sang the song just like Tim McGraw. Everyone brought their A-game and their style.” In other Lionel news, he'll serve as a mentor on the ABC summer show, "Duets."
You can listen to all of Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away" album at iTunes, but you have to use a special link to get it.
It's baby girl #2 for Lady Antebellum's Josh Kelley and Katherine Heigl. They've adopted a second baby. We don't know little sister's name yet, but big sister Naleigh is delighted with her new baby sister.
Happy birthday to Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts who turns 41 today.
The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Grown men who wear skinny jeans may as well wear a t-shirt that says "Even though I don't have to, I pee sitting down..."
