It’s her second time on the cover of Rolling Stone, and Taylor Swift and the art director at the magazine decided to go for something a little different: “The first one was me kinda with my guitar and hair, and the second one is kind of [laughs], kind of me like looking a little edgier and it’s a lot different than anything I’ve ever done before. And it was shot by Theo Wenner, who is like this ridiculously talented 25-year-old photographer who blows my mind he’s so talented and I felt really lucky to get to be a part of an edgy shoot like that, especially on the cover of Rolling Stone.” On the way to the interview, Taylor backed into her bass player’s car and put a pretty good dent in it. She told him, “I’m gonna pay for it, I promise! I’m good for it!” In other Taylor news, she’s partnered with Papa John’s Pizza – starting this coming Tuesday, you can order a large one-topping pizza and a copy of “Red” for $22.

So, have you listened to Jason Aldean’s “Night Train” all the way through yet? Jason wants to know what you think about the cut, “1994.” “This song is unlike anything we’ve ever cut. It really is different and very unique. It stands out from everything else on the album. It seems to be so far the one that people are talking about the most. I’m excited for people to hear it. We actually haven’t played it live yet – so I’m looking forward to throwing it in the show and kind of getting a reaction.”

George Strait has some pretty amazing fans – and they’ve proved it again, with a bunch of shows on his “The Cowboy Rides Away” tour already sold out. The first show, in Lubbock, Texas, sold out over 15,000 seats in less than 15 minutes. George knows he’s blessed with fabulous fans: “I’ve had great fans – they’ve been so loyal over the years. I’ll see fans sometimes that have come out during the ‘80s and they’re still coming out. That’s pretty special.”

Rascal Flatts on-stage set is pretty complex, with loads of screens, lights, risers and instrument changes. Now that they’ve decided to extend the Changed tour into 2013, Gary LeVox says that staging their show each night entails a lot: “A lot of communication, a lot of conversations, a lot of praying that everything that’s hanging above us will stay there [laughs].” Here are the 2013 tour dates… 1-10 Green Bay, WI Resch Center 
1-11 Moline, IL i wireless Center 
1-12 Springfield, MO JQH Arena 
1-17 Sioux City, IA Tyson Events Center 
1-18 Tulsa, OK BOK Center 
1-19 Wichita, KS INTRUST Bank Arena 
1-24 Spokane, WA Spokane Arena 
1-25 Missoula, MT Adams Event Center 
1-26 Billings, MT Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark 
2-7 Terre Haute, IN ISU Hulman Center 
2-8 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena 
2-9 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena 
2-14 North Charleston, SC North Charleston Coliseum 
2-15 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum 
2-16 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena 
2-23 Pikeville, KY Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center 
2-24 Youngstown, OH Covelli Centre 
2-28 Topeka, KS Landon Arena 
3-1 Jonesboro, AR ASU Convocation Center 
3-2 Tupelo, MS BancorpSouth Arena 
Tonight at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium, Vince Gill, Charlie Daniels and Randy Owen will be honored at the 2012 Leadership Music Dale Franklin Awards for their charity work and for making a difference in people’s lives. There’s a special musical tribute as part of the evening’s fun. 
More performers have been added – surprise, surprise! – to the CMA Awards show on November first. Just announced are Eli Young Band, Brantley Gilbert, Lady Antebellum and Blake Shelton. It is now officially easier to say who’s not performing than who is! 
It’ll be a while before Hunter Hayes has a new album out, but he’s working on it. Meanwhile, to tide fans over, he’s released a live EP – it’s on iTunes for $3.99. 
Congrats to Carrie Underwood, who has the #1 country song this week with “Blown Away.” 
Happy birthday to Alan Jackson, who turns 54 today.