As you try to keep your hands out of the Halloween candy stash from last night, country stars share some of their favorite Halloween memories. Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood remembers his best costume as a kid – half of a pair of dice: “I was a die for Halloween. I had a big cardboard box that I had painted white and had the polka dots and stuff. And I remember I was walking up this hill to go to this hill and literally fell back down the entire hill, rolling in this giant cardboard box that I couldn’t do anything about, because I rolled down about 50-feet.” Luke Bryan says Halloween is great for researching your neighbors: “You can find out a lot about your neighbors by what kind of candy they put out. So, well, like full bars of Snickers bars, that’s what, and Reese’s cups, but the old chocolate popcorn ball of stuff, that’s no good either, like Dots – you get Dots one time of year and they pull your teeth.” And Taylor Swift has a different kind of Halloween memory: “All I remember about Halloween last year is that it’s when I bought my cat. She’s a Halloween cat. I didn’t really dress up for anything last year - I just went out and bought a kitten.”

Last week was the biggest sales week for any album in over a decade. Taylor Swift’s “Red” sold 1.2 million copies last week, meaning it is platinum after just seven days in release. It’s her second straight album to sell more than a million copies in its first week – “Speak Now” accomplished that feat in 2010. The last artist to sell over a million was Eminem in 2002, with the release of “The Eminem Show.”

What you’ll see tonight on the CMA Awards show: the show-opener will be Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Eric Church singing Jason’s new song, “The Only Way I Know How,” Tim McGraw performing his new single, “One of Those Nights,” Faith Hill performing “American Heart,” then Tim and Faith will be part of a tribute to Willie Nelson which will also include Lady Antebellum and Blake Shelton. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood performing separately, Taylor Swift doing her new single, “Begin Again,” Kelly Clarkson singing her new country song, “Don’t Rush,” backed by Vince Gill, and John Rich with the biggest smile on his face ever, because he and Big Kenny are nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year. “To see our name back in the lineup is pretty cool. It is like, ‘Alright there it is!’ It’s just a manifestation of what we’ve been doing for the last couple of years. You know, hookin’ the cables back together between Big Kenny and myself. It’s been quite a ride to do that, because you wonder if the fans are still there and you wonder if anyone gives a damn about your music anymore.”

The cash has finally all been counted, and Jason Aldean’s breast cancer benefit concert last weekend raised $509,125. Wanna bet he rounds the check up to $510,000?
Taylor Swift is the magazine cover queen right now – she’s on December’s Cosmopolitan magazine, plus the United Kingdom’s “You” and Australia’s “Sunday” publications.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has started a “Hey St. Jude” fund and awareness drive, and country stars lend a hand, of course. Randy Owen, Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Big & Rich, along with a host of sports and entertainment stars, show up in the video. To watch it and to donate, visit the video’s home page, and you can get one of the cool t-shirts featured in the video for a $35 donation.
Kenny Chesney’s “El Cerrito Place” keeps leaping up the chart, rising faster than his past smash hits. He thinks the song is striking a deep chord in fans for a couple of reasons: “I understand that sense of searching and longing in that song. It just felt very real to me. And that’s what Grace sang on. You know, to have her on ‘El Cerrito Place’ and sing in that high harmony is just...she just makes that searching and longing come to life.” 

Jake Owen is having loads of success with his “Endless Summer” EP, which was released last week. How does he feel about these four songs? “You know everybody has got an iPod mix that says, ‘Summer Playlist.’ I’ve got mine. If I was making one, these songs I would put on there. I just felt honored to be able to put my voice on them, and put it out there – I think it’s kind of cool.” He’s getting set to hit the road with Love & Theft and Florida Georgia Line – the tour kicks off next Wednesday in New York City.

George Strait may be hitting the road for the last time, but he’s doing it in style, touring with Martina McBride. About her, George says, “She’s just incredible...an incredible singer and a great person. We have a lot of fun out there with her. We were out with her last year and we’re gonna go out with her again this year, and so we’re happy about that.” His “Cowboy Rides Away” tour happens in 2013 and 2014, and after that, George says he’s not going to tour anymore.
Rascal Flatts is in the current issue of Variety Magazine, and Jay DeMarcus remembers when the country music super group first hit the scene and reporters compared them to the Backstreet Boys. They were pretty stylish for country music in the early 2000’s, but held on to their look despite the digs. Gary, Jay and Joe Don just got their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, something the Backstreet Boys haven’t done yet. 

What will The Voice be like without Blake Shelton? Get used to the idea – he says leaving the show may happen soon. NBC has decided to air two seasons per year of the show, and according to Blake, that is “not acceptable.” He says if he wants to tour, “there’s not a chance of that doing back-to-back seasons.” He’s to the point of telling NBC honchos that “It’s changed my life, but it’s not my life.” In other Blake news, by the end of the year, membership in his fan club will be free. Still the same access, just no cash needed. Several other country artists have decided that their fans do enough for them and their careers – they shouldn’t have to pay to be fans.

Eric Church’s Blood, Sweat & Beers tour is underway, and Eric feels like he has the perfect opening acts in Justin Moore and Kip Moore. (no relation) According to Eric, “You know, Justin’s been around for a while now. I’ve been impressed with the fact that he’s gone out played bars, played clubs, whether he had a radio hit or he didn’t have a radio hit. With Kip, I’m impressed with just the songwriter sense and his instinct from a songwriter’s side. I like the grit in his music.”

Eli Young Band’s Jon Jones and his wife Sarah are expecting their first child late this year. In July, Mike Eli and his wife had their first child. The two credit Little Big Town with showing them that having a life and having a career that involves a lot of road time can work: “We were on the Throwdown tour watching them have their families out on the road and seeing that it actually can be done. That’s one of those things that we always weren’t quite sure how do you have a family and be out on the road at the same time? Cause being out on the road is tough, and we really credit them with convincing us that you can actually have a productive life outside of being on the road.”

Big & Rich are climbing the charts with “That’s Why I Pray,” from their first album in five years, “Hillbilly Jedi.” Why Hillbilly Jedi? John and Kenny explain just what or who Hillbilly Jedi are: “[John] They’re the guys that go all over the universe. [Kenny] They represent The Force...the light! [John] Kenny and I, we’re hard to describe. We can’t even describe us. It is an intangible thing that you really don’t know what it is, but it’s there. Kind of like The Force, as goofy as that is, so Hillbilly Jedi suits us a little bit. [Kenny] And I don’t know if you realize this or not, but we are both a tad bit hillbilly.”

Congratulations to Hunter Hayes, who has his first #1 song with “Wanted.” How does that feel? “It’s just so cool to be considered an artist in this world, you know? It’s like I’ve been a fan for so long...I still am. But, to be able to get on stage and say I get to do it too is pretty cool, you know? I don’t know. I’m still passing the amazement part [laughs] ...Still passing that.” He’s on the road, opening for Carrie Underwood.

Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley are gearing up for their 5th year of hosting the CMA Awards together. Promos have started airing, but you don’t have to try to catch them on TV…here you go:

Taylor Swift’s new single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” is selling so fast that if it keeps up the current pace, it’ll be a gold record by Sunday. Sales of this song rival Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” which came out in 2011. Taylor’s a worldwide superstar, which explains her face on nearly every magazine cover, but she admits she ignores the gossipy ones: “My friends make fun of me because if I see my name somewhere I just click off of it. I just don’t want to see anything that’s inaccurate.” Sounds like a good plan to me!

Carrie Underwood and hubby Mike Fisher just spent some time at Animal Kingdom in Disney World. While there, they had a date night or two, and Carrie says they really value that time: “Not just have dinner, but like sit and talk. We’re one of those annoying couples that like goes to a restaurant and never leaves.”

Keith Urban takes fans on a tour of his favorite places in Nashville – when you’ve got about 5 and a half minutes, check out his Nashville…

Did you catch John Rich on the series premiere of “The Next: Fame is on Your Doorstep” last night on the CW? The show follows John and his fellow mentors Gloria Estefan, Nelly and Joe Jonas as they travel across the country looking for America’s next big singing stars. John loves being part of the show because “I’ve always enjoyed working with new artists and artists that need a little helping hand. I’ve had people help me along the way, so a show like The Next is perfect for a guy like me.” By the way, the next Big and Rich album, Hllbilly Jedi, comes out September18th.

Congratulations to Colt Ford and everyone at Average Joes Records – Colt’s new cd, Independence Day, debuted at #1 on the Billboard country album chart and #4 on the all-genre chart. About the album, Colt says, “This is so personal for me. And it’s me at my best – which is being honest and real and open with the fans. It’s what I’ve always tried to do.” Nice job, Colt and crew! The first single, Colt and Luke Bryan singing “Back,” will have a wild video, apparently. If we can believe Colt’s Facebook post, it’ll be a dance competition, Chippendale style.

Speaking of Jake Owen, his summer EP, Endless Summer, comes out September 25th. According to Jake, “These songs are just a way, that even though the summer is winding down. It’s a way to always have a mix that caters to that feeling of what it feels like when summer rolls around.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd is on FOX & Friends this morning.

Today's Country Tidbits

When the Brothers of the Sun tour hit Nashville this past weekend, it was one of the sisters in the show who stole the spotlight. Grace Potter’s 29th birthday was Wednesday of last week, but Kenny held off the celebration until Saturday night. Enlisting the help of the Brentwood High School marching band and 50,000 concert-goers, there was a rousing rendition of the Happy Birthday song, he brought her out a huge margarita and presented her with a cake in the shape of a Flying-V guitar. The video is very amateur, but bear with it – it does get right-side up and in focus for the good stuff!



As that same concert, Tim McGraw said that it’s tough to play in Nashville, because the audience is filled with family members, friends and people who work for him. According to Tim, “They know me. So, it’s hard to impress them.”

Sometimes it’s not good to look like a star. Also at the Nashville Tim and Kenny tour stop, a fan who looks a lot like Kenny Chesney was escorted out of the arena and invited to go home. Apparently audience members thought he looked so much like Kenny Chesney that a mini-ruckus kicked up while Tim McGraw was performing. Nathan Blankenship has been contacted by Kenny’s people, who knew nothing of the expulsion, and they’re going to make it up to him somehow. Kenny had this to say: “You don’t have to be famous to be a star, like it says in that song. You know, there’s a line in ‘Welcome to the Fishbowl,’ ‘You don’t have now, to be a star. Just get caught on video and there you are.”

Dierks Bentley and Thompson Square have made their love for Little Bit Town’s new song, “Pontoon,” public. As a matter of fact, Keifer Thompson is chomping at the bit to own his own! “[Keifer] The reason we haven’t bought one—I haven’t figured out which one I’m wanna get. I wanna ‘neck it out, like that man, I mean cheesy lights, slide—[Shawna] –‘neck it out? [Keifer] ‘Neck it out, man. [Shawna] –meaning? [Keifer] Redneck it out!”

Big & Rich capped the ACM Lifting Lives music camp week, performing with developmentally disabled but musically gifted teens. Check out the performance on the Grand Ole Opry stage…



The Republican National Convention will be rockin’ this year, as Trace Adkins, Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd will be the featured performers. Oh, yeah – and the Republican presidential nominee and his running mate will also be announced at the late-August event in Tampa, Florida.

Will you ever see Brantley Gilbert without his ball cap on? Probably not! “I actually leave it on sometimes in the shower on accident. We’ve got like 30 of them and sometimes I’ll go to sleep and wake up in the morning, and it’s still on. It’s like a piece of my body almost, it’s weird.”

Billy Ray Cyrus hits Broadway this winter, playing lawyer Billy Flynn in “Chicago.” The seven-week engagement will be at the Ambassador Theatre November 5th through December 23rd.

Congratulations to Luke Bryan, who tops the country charts this week with “Drunk On You.”

Kellie Pickler is on the Ellen DeGeneres Show today.

Happy birthday to Lorrie Morgan, who turns 53 today.

Today's Country Tidbits

Next week is the 3rd Annual ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp in Nashville, and some of music city’s stars will be there working with the developmentally disabled kids. Luke Bryan, Big & Rich, David Lee Murphey, Lauren Alaina and Paul Worley are just some of the names associated with this event. Campers participate in a songwriting workshop, recording session and get a live show at the Grand Ole Opry just for them. 

Kenny Chesney has a new pal – a puppy named Pancho. A friend gave him the dog in the hopes he might “learn to attach to something.” Kenny says he’s getting very familiar with pet supply stores and that Pancho will be the four-legged crew member on the Brothers of the Sun tour this summer. 

In Nashville, musicians take care of each other. Jan Grantt, wife of session musician Kevin “Swine” Grantt, has ovarian cancer and no health insurance. Kevin is part of Toby Keith’s Incognito Bandito band, and they’ll be performing at Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley on June 19th. It’s a benefit show to help pay for Jan’s treatments, and Craig Morgan, Josh Thompson, Darryl Worley and Carl Jackson will all be part of the show. A quick peek at Toby’s tour schedule shows he’s off from the 16th through the 22nd of June. Hmmmmmm…think he might show up?

There are fans, and then there are FANS. Paul Eckhart hasn’t missed a single show at the Grand Ole Opry in 40 years. Obviously he lives in Nashville, making it easier for him to go, but this is an incredible streak that the Opry will celebrate tomorrow night. Paul, along with his wife and family, will sit on the front row and be honored with the first-ever Opry Fan Award. He’ll be gifted with some other surprises, too, so watch the live show to see history made.

Blake Shelton is in his red chair, taping another season of The Voice. Can he keep up the hectic pace? “The reason that you want the four of us is because we’re viable artists right now –current. We can’t do both if we do back-to-back seasons and I’ve been hammering them about it. But, I look forward to it and I love it. I can’t imagine not being part of The Voice ever. I’d love to do it from now on, but it just needs to work. So something has gotta give, ya know?” Blake celebrates his 36th birthday on Monday.

Carrie Underwood’s song “Good Girl” is already platinum – wow, 16 weeks to sell a million downloads...amazing! Her next single is “Blown Away” and it’s already doing well, even before being officially released. “‘Blown Away’ the single it’s already doing really well, as far as whatever - numbers and all that. But, it’s exciting to see people get behind it. And it’s exciting to see people like what we’ve done – because we did work hard.”

Sara Evans will sing the National Anthem at the NBA Finals Game Two tonight between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder. It airs on ABC.

Today's Country Tidbits

Last night, Montgomery Gentry led a salute to America’s heroes with a special performance at the Grand Ole Opry. About the special military appreciation night they said, “We just don’t thank them enough. When you see our American heroes, man, they are just totally awesome!” You’re totally right, guys!

Garth Brooks and Troy Aikman have teamed up to raise money for special facilities at children’s hospitals, and they dedicated one last week. The two superstars showed up at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Ft. Worth Texas to dedicate the Child Life Zone. It offers young patients an arcade and a professional recording suite, where kids can record their own music videos and songs. Garth and Troy spent hours at the facility, making kids’ smiles broader than cowboy hat brims.

Rascal Flatts and Farmers Insurance have teamed up to make a lot of Rascal Flatts fans very happy, and two fans will be over the moon! The “Star For A Day” contest is up and running, and 10 fans per Rascal Flatts tour stop will win tickets, a private meet & greet with the band, dinner at the crew catering tables, a private backstage dressing room and a package of tour merchandise. Everyone who enters is also in the hat for the grand prize tickets to the CMA and another Rascal Flatts meet and greet. Go get entered quick – the tour kicks off in June!

Big & Rich have new music out, and Saturday they hit the road for a summer tour. The video for “That’s Why I Pray” was released yesterday and you can hear the song and see the video here…



Taylor Swift is the top country nominee for the Teen Choice 2012 Awards. She nominated in four categories, including the all-genre Female Artist category. Blake Shelton is nominated in three categories, including the all-genre Male Artist category. The awards will be handed out on July 22nd.

Three country cuties landed on the Maxim 2012 Hot 100 list. Taylor Swift is the 26th hottest, Julianne Hough is at #47 and Kellie Pickler landed at #72. Topping the list is supermodel Bar Fefaeli.

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s announcement of Tim McGraw’s new label comes another country music label change. Joe Nichols and Show Dog Universal have parted ways. Joe tweeted, “I’m very thankful for Show Dog and what they have done for me.” Stay tuned for where he will land – I’ll let you know.

New music out this week includes Ronnie Dunn’s special Cracker Barrel release. “Ronnie Dunn – Special Edition” includes a couple of previously unreleased tracks, and a portion of the proceeds benefits the Wounded Warriors Project. Ronnie says the song “Singer in a Cowboy Band” describes him to a “T”: “I mean hey I’ve played all those states – I played all those bars, all those holes in the wall, that’s just part of the process coming up through the deal. At the end of the day I’m just a singer in a cowboy band, or a wannabe singer in a cowboy band. However you want to interpret that.”

Scotty McCreery is on American Idol tonight.

Happy birthday to Jewel, who turns 38 today.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: “I just heard the worst song ever. It was pitched to Blake. People actually finish songs that shi**y and then demo them? Why?”

Today's Country Tidbits

Kenny Chesney is so happy that his current song, “Feel Like a Rock Star,” is doing well on the charts. It is, he says, exactly his life: “We’ve always lived by the theory of we work really hard and play harder. And it seemed to work for us. But I think that defines a lot of the people that have spent a lot of summers with us out there on the road. And the first time I heard ‘Feel Like a Rock Star,’ I knew I was gonna record it because it just defined everything that we’re about out there on the road.” He and Tim McGraw kick off the Brothers of the Sun tour June 2nd in Florida.

After years of raising money for it, Toby Keith’s dream becomes a reality starting a week from today. Groundbreaking on the OK Kids Korral in Oklahoma City will kick off the 9th Annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic on the 18th. The building on the grounds of the OU Medical Center will house children and their families while the kids are undergoing treatment at OU Med. In addition to the golf tournament, there’s also a banquet and auction, with everything from Three Stooges memorabilia to a trip to Africa included in it.

Coming up on June 5th is the date of the first Tug McGraw Foundation Celebrity Clay Shootout at the Nashville Gun Club. This event will raise money for service men and women suffering from traumatic brain injuries, to help improve their lives. Scheduled to be part of the fun are Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Troy Gentry, Eddie Montgomery, The Warren Brothers, Josh Gracin and several other Nashville notables.

John Rich of Big & Rich met Jimmy Fallon last year while he was busy winning Celebrity Apprentice. Jimmy pitched in to help John’s charity, and the two became great friends. No surprise to find that Big & Rich are featured on Jimmy Fallon’s album, “Blow Your Pants Off.” The track is “Cougar Huntin,” and the album will be out June 12th. No dummy, Jimmy also lined up Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Paul McCartney and other music luminaries to help with his music debut. 

Carrie Underwood has a plan for her look, as well as for her music: “I felt like ‘Good Girl’ and several of the other songs on the album, as well as the title Blown Away kinda allowed me to be a little more fierce for this one. I want every album to have a different feel to it, so I feel like you can look at the album covers and every single one occupies its own space, and none of them look the same.” 

BamaJam is coming up soon, and the ticket prices go up on Monday. If you don’t have yours yet for the mid-June festival, get em quick! 

Thompson Square debuted the newest addition to their family: a terrier puppy named Etta. Here she is, backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Our dogs should be so lucky!  

Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson’s “Don’t You Wanna Stay” has reached double-platinum status for sales of over 2 million copies.

Happy birthday today to Kevin Fowler, and to Mark Herndon of Alabama. Kix Brooks celebrates tomorrow, and Darius Rucker’s birthday is Sunday.

The tweet of the day is from Josh Gracin: “One of the worst feelings is meeting the perfect person at the wrong time.”

Today's Country Tidbits

The music industry is still struggling to find its way as cd sales plummet and downloadable music takes over. It stands to reason, then, that an artist who can sell a million units in one week has quite a bit of pressure on her to produce new cds. Taylor Swift's next album is in the works, but according to the Blonde One, she won't be hurried: “With this one, it’s gonna be done when it’s done. And it’s only gonna be done when I’m obsessed with it to the point where like every single song is on it for a reason. I still have like, a little bit of time. It might be this year, it might be next year, but… I hope that whenever it comes out, it’s good!” Meanwhile, she's written with Justin Bieber for his next cd and duetted with rapper B.o.B for his new album.

Brad Paisley is in the studio, working on a new album, too.

One week from today, Keith Urban becomes a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was invited earlier this week and has been buried in well-wishes: “I got swamped with texts and emails from my family and friends, and Brad Paisley sent me a nice text this morning. Dierks Bentley sent me a text yesterday and said, ‘Oh, and from now on, don’t call 911...it’s 912.’ He goes, ‘It’s an Opry thing.’ So, I’m in!” The 912 reference is to an Alec Baldwin line about 912 being the 911 for rich people.

Brantley Gilbert isn't exactly rich yet, but he's well on the way. He's got a project going on in his hometown of Jefferson, GA: “I’m actually building a house in my hometown. I bought some acres out there and have a house going up. It’s pretty exciting – I’m in transition.” He's touring with Eric Church, and tomorrow night, headlines a show in Austin, Texas.

Big & Rich are back, and Jon Bon Jovi gave them the title to their upcoming album, Hillbilly Jedis. John and Kenny explain: “[Kenny] We’re in the middle of writing this new song and these lyrics come out, ‘Hillbilly Jedi.’ Bon Jovi looks at us and says, ‘That’s ya’ll!’ [John] Bon Jovi does say ‘ya’ll’ by the way. [Kenny] He calls us his country cousins.” Jon and Richie Sambora have apparently recorded songs with Big & Rich for their next album.

More details are rolling out for this year's CMA Music Fest. Here's the Riverfront Stage lineup for the free shows:

June 7th: Lee Brice, Colt Ford, Tracy Lawrence, Dustin Lynch, Neal McCoy, Montgomery Gentry, Craig Morgan, Jerrod Niemann, Randy Rogers Band, Josh Thompson, Uncle Kracker

June 8th: Craig Campbell, the Farm, Gloriana, Jo Dee Messina, David Nail, Oak Ridge Boys, Thomas Rhett, Sawyer Brown, Phil Vassar, James Wesley

June 9th: Laura Bell Bundy, Edens Edge, Casey James, Lonestar, Love and Theft, Kip Moore, Heidi Newfield, James Otto, Corey Smith, Mel Tillis

June 10th: Wade Bowen, Brett Eldredge, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, JT Hodges, Steve Holy, Jana Kramer, LoCash Cowboys, Lorrie Morgan, Sunny Sweeney, Darryl Worley

Tonight is the Lionel Richie & friends concert, taped the day after the ACM Awards. The show features country artist like Kenny Chesney, who'll duet with Lionel on "My Love." How did Lionel find out that Kenny would be part of his Tuskeegee project? Kenny tells the tale: “We’d been over-served in red wine, I think, and I decided that I was gonna call Lionel and tell him I was gonna do the record. And then I did a really, not-very-flattering rendition of ‘My Love’ on his voicemail. And so that’s how it happened, and I’m glad he didn’t perceive that—you know how you can put something on the record before it actually starts? I’m glad you didn’t hear that [mimics phone static noise].” Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw Sara Evans, Martina McBride...those are just some of the country stars on the show tonight at 9 on CBS.

New country baby - Mindy McCreedy has just confirmed the birth of her son, Zayne, on Monday. She and David Wilson released a statement, and in it Mindy said, “Zayne is truly a blessing and a joy. It was a long and trying pregnancy; we're so happy he's here. There are no words to convey how happy we are.”

Happy birthday to Loretta Lynn, who turns 80 tomorrow.

The tweet of the day is from Chris Young: "Today has been surreal and we haven't even played a show yet. Sometimes I really can't believe this stuff is really happening."

Today's Country Tidbits

The lawsuits and notices of impending lawsuits are starting to fly fast and furious after the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair, and so far, they're all including Sugarland as defendants. Very sad, on so many levels... Meanwhile in Syracuse, NY, Sugarland fans brought signs to the show to make Jennifer and Kristian feel better. Thousands of them held up signs saying "Little Miss, Little Mister - it's alright, and it'll be alright again." Two schoolteachers organized the project, handing out 6,000 signs for the audience to raise when the song "Little Miss" came on.

Told you last week that Blake Shelton had to do a little cajoling to get what he wanted for the "God Gave Me You" video - wedding footage. Miranda took a week to say "yes" to its' use, and Blake is proud of the way the video turned out...

This might be the next single from Miranda's "Four the Record." Live in concert, here's "Mama's Broken Heart."

Friday night, Brad Paisley conjured up Carrie Underwood on stage to duet with him on "Remind Me." She wasn't really there, though - she's projected on a screen so she's about the same size as Brad, fooling a few people in the arena. By the way, Carrie says she wants to "tour her face off" next year, so maybe she and Brad will do this song live then. Meanwhile, enjoy the fan video of the virtual duet.

Saturday night in Washington DC, Toby Keith shared his pre-show ritual with a video camera.

Sunday night, Lady Antebellum performed the National Anthem before the Cowboys/Jets game. The entire tribute was wonderful, but Lady A capped it off perfectly.

Taylor Swift was in Vancouver Sunday night, and during her concert, she stopped to remember the 10th anniversary of 9/11. She performed Alan Jackson's beautiful "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning," and those were the lyrics she wrote on her arm that night, too. This is an amateur video, but you get a feeling for how powerful the moment was.

Trace Adkins will be featured on "Invitation Only" on September 25th on CMT. Here's a sneak-peek of the session - "Just Fishin'"

Tags: Just Fishin' - From Invitation Only, Trace Adkins, Trace Adkins Videos

And while we're playing with videos, go "like" NRA Country's Facebook page to see Justin Moore doing their theme song.

A little behind-the-scenes info on Miranda Lambert's "Baggage Claim" - it features a couple of guests, Josh Kelley singing back-up vocals and rocker Steve Winwood on the Hammond B-3.

Last night at the Grand Ole Opry, stars turned out to celebrate George Jones' 80th birthday. Alan Jackson took the stage, singing "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "Golden Ring" as a duet with Lee Ann Womack. Jamey Johnson, Montgomery Gentry, the Oak Ridge Boys and Pam Tillis were part of the fun, that included a possum-shaped birthday cake. The show was sold out, and George was grinning ear to ear when he took the stage for the happy birthday song.

The ACC has taken note of how much Dierks Bentley likes to party, and have invited him to perform at the ACC FanFest before their championship game on December 3rd in Charlotte.

John Rich and Big Kenny are touring, and post-tour, they'll be headed for a studio to record another Big & Rich album. Says John, “Kenny and I are swapping songs, swapping ideas, so I would say it's inevitable, it's coming. And it's not like people can pitch you songs for a Big & Rich record; our music is not like anybody else's stuff. It really is a meeting of the minds between me and Kenny, so it's just a process. But we're pumped about it, I can tell you that.” The tour runs through next month, and they're planning to be in the studio by December.

Pick up the latest issue of People Country to see how your favorite country stars live. Opening their homes for the photo feature are all three members of Lady Antebellum, Kenny Chesney, Reba, Brad Paisley, Sara Evans and more.

Tomorrow morning, catch Clay Walker on Fox & Friends.

Happy 52nd birthday to John Berry, and to Mrs. Brad Paisley. Kimberly Williams Paisley is 40 today.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: "1 more thing before bed. My 6 year old lost her first tooth today! Sigh."

Today's Country Tidbits

Road trip alert - Zac Brown Band will throw a huge three-day food and music festival October 21-23 at Charleston, SC's Riley Park. In other ZBB news, the guys have a new tour sponsor - Jack Daniels. Old No. 7 will back the tour, take part in the Eat and Greets with adult beverages, and Zac Brown Band will be featured in advertising and responsible drinking messages. The partnership kicks off at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO on September 5th. If you can't make it to the show, there'll be special commemorative bottles of Jack Daniels for sale soon, with some of the proceeds going to Camp Southern Ground.

Yesterday's blog told you about Alan Jackson's invitation to be part of the national 9/11 recognition event this year. After yesterday's earthquake, the host venue is in trouble. Washington National Cathedral reports that at least three of the spires have fallen off of the central tower and the tower itself appears to be leaning. Structural engineers will be on site later today to assess the damage and see if the show can go on.

More George, more often. George Strait's "Here For a Good Time" streets on September 13th, and a week later, a greatest hits collection, "Icon," will be out. The 11-song collection includes nine #1 songs. Here's the track list:

Amarillo By Morning

Ocean Front Property

All My Ex's Live In Texas

Love Without End, Amen

I Cross My Heart

Check Yes Or No

I Just Want To Dance With You

Living And Living Well

Give It Away

I Saw God Today

River Of Love

Chomping at the bit to hear new Lady Antebellum music? Head over to Amazon.com for 30-second previews of all of the songs on "Own the Night," which streets on Septeber 13th. The trio is really excited about the new songs, suggesting, “[Hillary] ‘Dancing Away with my Heart’ for sure…It’s very Lady Antebellum. [Dave] Yeah, there’s one called ‘Friday Night’ that we’ve been playing live. It’s a fun tempo, just kinda good electric guitar kinda rocker. So, you know, that would be one they could definitely check out.” The "Own the Night" tour kicks off November 11th in Knoxville, TN.

Another ZZ Top tribute album is set to be released on October 11th, and includes Jamey Johnson covering "Tush."

Brad Paisley is enjoying his time in Europe, and the Old World fans are enoying Brad, singing along to all of his songs, even the album cuts. He did three sold-out shows in Ireland last weekend, with fans coming from as far away as Spain. He's off to Scandanavia this week.

Congratulations to the President and CEO of Big Machine Label Group Scott Borchetta, who will be honored with the TJ Martell Foundation Spirit of Excellence Award at the November 3rd gala. The other honorees are Arnold Palmer and Drew Carey. Big Machine is the home of Taylor Swift, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts and many more Nashville luminaries.

Last night at a Taylor Swift concert in Los Angeles, Justin Bieber hit the stage for a song. What happened next is the tweet of the day, so be sure to scroll down and read it. He promised in July that he would surprise fans with an appearance and duet with Taylor on his hit, "Baby" after he found out she was singing it in concert. Enjoy...

Rascal Flatts' current song, "Easy," is a duet with Natasha Bedingfield. But, Natasha can't be on tour with them, so how does that work on stage? Tour mate Sara Evans to the rescue. According to the band, “We asked her, and she loved the song and was willing to stick around…it’s hard for somebody that’s been offstage for an hour-and-a-half to get pumped up to come back out and do one song, so, we’re very, very grateful to her that she decided to come out and do that with us each night. And it is one of my favorite moments of the show, to be quite honest.”

Big & Rich have remade the Kenny Loggins hit, "Footloose," and here's a peek at the video...

Here's a peek at the behind-the-scenes world while Martina McBride was filming the video for "I'm Gonna Love You Through It."

Tomorrow night, "CMT Unplugged: Martina McBride" wll be webcast on the Starburst Facebook page as well as on the Unplugged CMT page. Martina will perform music from her upcoming album, "Eleven," as well as talk about the making of the album.

http://unplugged.CMT.com

This coming Monday night, check out Dateline NBC, because Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Pistol Annies will be featured.

Alison Kraus & Union Station are on the Ellen DeGeneres Show today.

The tweet of the day is from Taylor Swift: "You think you've heard LOUD screaming in your life.. Then @justinbieber comes out and does a surprise song during your show. Woah. Unreal."

Today's Country Tidbits

Sugarland will resume their tour with the show tomorrow night in Albequerque, New Mexico. To say they were shaken by the events of last Saturday night is to be guilty of understatement. Here's the text of their latest message on their website:

Dear Fans, Family and Friends,

We have taken a couple of days to try and even begin to emotionally process the magnitude and gravity of the tragedy in Indiana on Saturday. While the path to healing from this type of trauma and loss is long and winding, we wanted to reach out and update you on where we are and how we are.

We are in the process of planning a private memorial in Indiana, to honor those fans who died. We would first like to hold space so that their families can have time to go through their own services and memorials. Until that time we are holding vigil for them. We join them on their mourning benches. And we stand in the gap asking God to offer them peace and healing. For those suffering from injury we hold you up with prayers for complete healing of your own.

We are also addressing our own specific healing. Our road family experienced its traumas together. While we all scattered to our given families for their comfort, the trauma

we experienced together binds us in a unique way that we share only with each other, and those who were there. There is healing in our being together. There is healing in our working together. For this reason we are planning to get back on the road this weekend, beginning with our scheduled show in Albuquerque this Thursday, August 18th. The emotions have us yearning to be close to each other immediately. The logistics have us needing to replace all of our instruments and equipment. (The set is a loss that is insignificant in light of the tragedy.)

This Incredible Machine is more than a tour and more than a set. We have always celebrated music as a Healer. While music cannot change the events and losses at the Indiana State Fair, it can hopefully serve as a ritual and a balm to provide comfort and facilitate healing in this time of great sorrow. We hope to see you all soon.

Love,

Sugarland

Last night in Athens, GA, a benefit concert for two fallen police officers drew an all-star crowd for a guitar pull. Jason Aldean, Colt Ford, James Otto, Brantley Gilbert, Corey Smith, Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Mike Dekel and Edwin McCain were all on stage raising money and raising the roof. No word on the amount brought in, but judging from all the tweets about it, we should all be sad today that we weren't there. I know I am!

Last week, Keith Urban helped a Knoxville woman become a homeowner through Habitat f

or Humanity and Anderson Cos. He played a private benefit concert for The Anderson Foundation, to raise money to build a house on Knoxville's Music Row. The event raised over a quarter of a million dollars, more than enough for the house and furnishings. The home's recipient, Regina Olum, moves in near homes dedicated to Martina McBride and Brooks & Dunn.

For the second week in a row, Lady Antebellum's new song, "Just a Kiss," sits at the top of the country charts. It's been certified platinum for a million downloads, and Hillary Scott says they knew they were onto something special the day they wrote it. “I’ll never forget the day we wrote our single, ‘Just a Kiss,’ because the guys were over at Dallas Davidson’s, in his writing room, and I was in the vocal booth actually singing a vocal on another one of the songs on the album. And so, Charles called and said, ‘Hillary, I know you’re singing, but you’ve got to get over here. We started something that we really think is special.’ And so I drove down Music Row and hopped in the writing room with the boys, and we wrote it and loved it.”

Pistol Annies, consisting of Miranda Lambert, Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe, are offering up free music this week as a preview to their album release this coming Tuesday. Plus, if you see a Miranda Lambert show, you're likely to see a Pistol Annies set of music. According to Miranda, “We’re hoping to tour on our own even maybe in December. But, you know it’s not that exhausting, believe it or not, because I’m already on tour. I’m already doing all this. I already have all my schedule laid out and now we just plugged in the Pistols with it. So, they’re on the road with me and we do a Pistol Annies set in the middle of my set and the logistics have worked out. It’s almost like the stars were aligned.”

Blake Shelton is in Cosmopolitan and Ladies Home Journal magaznes, talking about how he knew he found a keeper in Miranda Lambert, his biggest fears and his best grooming move.

You're about to start hearing of a new country artist, Eric Paslay, so let's start here. He's releasing a song called "Never Really Wanted" and is hoping that it will be as successful as some of his other songs. Whaaaa? He's already made quite a mark on Nashville as a songwriter. Jake Owen's current song, "Barefoot Blue Jean Night," was co-written by Eric, and he's pumped about who else has cut one of his tunes: “I’ve got a song on the next Lady Antebellum record called ‘Friday Night’ that’s coming out soon and I’m just pumped they recorded…they’re such a…I mean, they’re one of the biggest bands in the world right now.”

Road trip alert: Big & Rich will play a free show during Nashville's "Pickin' on the Patio" event on August 25th.

October 11 is a big day for Taylor Swift fans. Her first DVD, "Taylor Swift's Journey to Fearless" will be released, and in addition to concert footage from the Fearless tour, the set includes home movies and personal photos, and Taylor narrates the project.

Condolences to Joe Don Rooney on the loss of his big bag of wagging love, AKA Stevie Ray. The 170-pound Dogue de Bordeaux exited his life with the family on Monday. According to Joe Don, Stevie Ray Rooney was the "Sweetest dog ever put on this earth!"

The Band Perry is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Quote of the day... "I get how funny you are... But when you're around stupid people... You ain't that funny"... - Neal McCoy"

Today's Country Tidbits

Tonight's American Idol is the sing-off before tomorrow night's season finale, so Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery have to sing their hearts out. They'll each do three songs - their personal favorite from this season, their debut single, chosen for them from the Idol producers and a song chosen for them by their own personal idol. Lauren's musical hero is Carrie Underwood and Scotty's is George Strait, so we'll see what those two country superstars pick for these superstar-wannabes. Tomorrow night is the night one of them is crowned our next American Idol, and it's nice to know that they're keeping it country.

Sugarland, Little Big Town and Matt Nathanson highlighted the fact that the Harold Camping rapture prediction didn't quite come true at their concert Saturday night...

Big & Rich, Toby Keith, Zac Brown Band and Luke Bryan have all been announced as performers at the 2011 CMT Music Awards. It's Big & Rich's first televised appearance as a duo in nearly four years. Kid Rock, who is hosting the show, will do a duet with Sheryl Crow. The show airs on June 8th at 8pm Eastern on CMT.

John Rich is making the talk-show rounds this week, basking in the glow of his victory on Celebrity Apprentice. He's proudest not of the win, but of being able to help out St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Says John, “I’ll raise money for St. Jude ‘til the day I die. You know, Randy Owen from Alabama really is the great-granddaddy of country singers to raise money for St. Jude. He started it 25, 30 years ago. I think country music as a genre’s approaching a billion dollars that they’re responsible for, for raising money for that hospital. So, I’m a miniscule part of that, but I definitely want to do my part.” He'll be on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday.

Darius Rucker spoke to the Medical University of South Carolina's graduating class over the weekend, and was given an honorary doctorate for all of the charity work he's done for the MUSC Children's Hospital.

Miranda Lambert will be featured in the new season of VH1's "Behind the Music." Her episode premieres July 13th on VH1.

Kenny Chesney will be featured in the June issue of Boating magazine, talking about how the water and his boat enhance his life.

Congratulations to Brad Paisley, who has his 19th #1 song with "Old Alabama." He's also the latest artist to join in the 1 For All movement, to help Americans understand what the First Amendment is all about.

Catch Brad Paisley on Good Morning America, the Late Show with David Letterman and Hannity today. Also today, Blake Shelton is on The Voice, Sara Evans is on Dancing With the Stars and Josh Kelly is on The Talk.

Happy birthday to Rosanne Cash, who turns 56 today and Mike Reid is 64.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Married to Miranda.. by Blake Shelton Yes dear.. Of course baby.. Oh absolutely honey.. Yes.. Yes.. No.... Ouch!! Yes dear.."

Today's Country Tidbits

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."

Today's Country Tidbits

Well, it was no surprise that Taylor Swift's army of fans turned out for her, and she won the fan-voted Entertainer of the Year award last night at the ACM awards. That makes it three years in a row that the ACM award for Entertainer of the Year went to a female artist. She's now taken top honors in both the ACM Awards and the CMA Awards, where she won Entertainer of the Year in 2009.

Miranda Lambert went into the night with seven nominations and ended up with four awards, including Female Vocalist, Single, Song and Video of the Year awards. That's more awards than anyone else won last night. Brad Paisley chalked up the Male Vocalist win. Album of the Year and Top Vocal Group of the Year went to Lady Antebellum. Sugarland hosted the show at Mandalay Bay and were rewarded with a win in the Vocal Duo of the Year category. The Band Perry beat out Eric Church in the fan-voted Top New Artist category. From the "who's surprised here" desk, Alan Jackson and Zac Brown Band won the ACM Vocal Event of the Year award for "As She's Walking Away." And Sara Evans got a standing ovation at the show last night. Country fans love her, and country music artists are glad she's back, too.

In the performance category, let's just say that the ACM Award show last night broke new territory for award shows. They didn't even mention an award, much less give one out, for the first 53 minutes of the show. Between Reba and Blake's opening skit and banter, the first 11 minutes of the show was all talk except for the little bit of "Who Are You When I'm Not Lookin" that Blake serenaded Reba with. The performances last night were stellar. Brad Paisley and Alabama brought the house down with his new song, "Old Alabama," Keith Urban re-created the video experience in his performance of "Without You." Toby Keith performed his new song, "Somewhere Else" to a rousing round of applause and Eric Church knocked "Smoke a Little Smoke" out of the park, performing at the Mandalay Bay party. The Band Perry also performed from the stage at Mandalay Bay, singing "If I Die Young" just before being awarded the fan-voted ACM award for Top New Artist. Dierks Bentley showcased his fun new song, "Am I the Only One" and Taylor Swift looked like she was having wicked fun singing "Mean," which is a song that sprang from her award show experience singing with Stevie Nicks and the very bad reviews she got afterwards. Jason Aldean did his country song/rap, "Dirt Road Anthem." In a closely-held surprise pairing, Carrie Underwood was joined by duet partner Steven Tyler, and they teamed up on her song "Undo It" and his song "Walk This Way." Very fun - their voices worked really well together and Carrie looked like she was having a blast.

Blake Shelton debuted his new song, "Honey Bee," last night on the ACM awards. Jennifer Nettles and Rhianna teamed up on Rhianna's song, "California King Bed." Jennifer was the top trending topic on Twitter for quite a while after that rather risqué-lyriced duet...people loved it! And Zac Brown Band teamed up with James Taylor for a magical musical pairing. "Colder Weather" into "Sweet Baby James"...lovely! Darius Rucker had the heart-string-tugging performance of the night. He sang "Music From the Heart" with a group of young adults who have developmental disabilities. The Academy of Country Music sponsors a program through Lifting Lives that includes music training, and it was people from that academy who joined Darius on the song. At the end, the audience gave them a standing ovation and cameras caught Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift with tears in their eyes. The song is available on iTunes, with all proceeds going to Lifting Lives.

Tennesseean.com has a vast photo gallery from last night's awards show.

And People.com has a gallery of the best lines of the night, complete with appropriate photos.

Tonight in Las Vegas, the "Girls Night Out: Superstar Women of Country" show takes place and will be taped for airing on April 22nd on CBS. And just who are those superstar women? Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Nettles, Reba, Loretta Lynn and the Judds will be honored, and Sara Evans and The Band Perry will take part in doing the honoring. This one includes not just women, as Ronnie Dunn, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts and John Fogerty are also scheduled to perform.

When Kid Rock hits the road this summer, Sheryl Crow will be going with him. Starting July 2nd and going through September 3rd, the two will wow the crowds. Their duet, "Picture," was the first country music success story for both of them.

Big & Rich are putting the band back together, taking the "Xtreme Muzik: The Tour" on the road starting June 18th. They'll take along Gretchen Wilson, Cowboy Troy and Two Foot Fred to be part of the fun, and promise the shows will be like the Muzik Mafia shows from the '90's, with a twist. According to John Rich, “We’re gonna have a bar on the stage and as one of us finishes a song we go sit down at the bar and have a beer, have a shot whatever we’re gonna do and watch the other one sing. And then we may jump in, sing with them and have fans up on the stage hangin’ out with us at the bar and it’s really gonna be a really interesting, different kind of a concert.”

Craig Morgan has signed a new recording contract with Black River Entertainment Group. Gordon Kerr of Black River said of getting Craig, "You could take a poll of country fans, and be pretty sure at least one or two of Craig's hits would be among their all-time favorites. We're immensely proud to have Craig join the Black River family." They plan to release a new Craig Morgan cd later this year.

Kenny Chesney's many fans in the NFL can breathe a sigh of relief - in spite of the rule saying that players can't go to any stadiums during a lock-out, NFL players will be allowed to attend Kenny Chesney stadium shows because the event if not NFL related. The NFL bigwigs cleared that problem up on Friday and promise that it's not an April Fools joke. Kenny has nine more stadium shows this summer.

Josh Thompson is on Better TV today.

Happy birthday to Hal Ketchum and Steve Gatlin today.

The tweet of the day is from Reba, who was between rehearsals for the ACMs and the airing of the ACMs when she tweeted: "Sitting back stage playing Angry Birds...."

Today's Country Tidbits

Kenny Chesney kicked off his "Goin' Coastal" tour last night in West Palm Beach. On stage is his stuffed marlin, "Marley," and Kenny occasionally enjoys the view from a life guard chair. After so long off the road, was he nervous about last night's show? Says Kenny, "I got butterflies, but it's a different butterflies. It's not ... 'Oh my God, what are we gonna do?' It's an anxiousness to get out there and really try to blow people's hair back with our music and try to show them the best time ever." And you know he did, and you know he will when you go see him.

Miranda Lambert played the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Wednesday, and the stats are in. It was the third-largest crowd in the history of that concert and the largest crowd ever on a weeknight. That's saying something - the show has been going on annually for the last 79 years. Miranda started her performing career when she was 17, playing Houston's "Firehouse Saloon." "I think there were about seven people at that first concert," she joked. She's doing a bit better at drawing a crowd these days!

The Flatts Fest details are out, and it's going to be quite a show. Rascal Flatts on tour with Sara Evans, Easton Corbin and Justin Moore. The schedule right now calls for 24 shows from June 18th through September 18th. Along with main-stage fun, there'll be an interactive pre-show festival, with a mobile karaoke vehicle, carnival games, photo booths, putt putt golf, food vendors and lots of contests. Check to see if the show is headed your way.

Big and Rich are getting the band back together and hitting the road for "Xtreme Muzik: The Tour" along with Gretchen Wilson, Cowboy Troy and Two Foot Fred this summer. So far, only five dates are scheduled, but if fun is had by all, watch that tour grow.

Country artists are teaming up with the NRA for NRACountry, a celebration of lifestyle, freedom and an outdoor way of life. Shouldering their weapons so far are Troy Gentry, Blake Shelton, Gretchen Wilson, Trace Adkins, Luke Bryan, Josh Thompson, Justin Moore, Chuck Wicks, James Crady and Mickie James.

The ACM Fan Jam just got bigger, with the addition of The Band Perry, Eric Church, Randy Houser, Little Big Town, Steel Magnolia, Laura Bell Bundy, Sarah Darling, Bradley Gaskin and Casey James. That show will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center during and after the ACM Awards on April 3rd, and the broadcast of the awards will cut away to the concert periodically. Sugarland headlines that stage.

Haven't voted for the ACM Top New Artist yet? The two contenders have issued campaign videos which couldn't be more different. Here's Eric Church's video, and be warned - the content is suggestive, but doesn't go where you think it's going.

And here's The Band Perry video, which just might make you tear up.

Voting closes on April 3rd for this award, so get your vote in!

Taylor Swift will be part of the animated movie, "The Lorax," derived from the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. Taylor will voice the character of Audrey, the dream girl who's coveted by the main character, Ted, who will be played by Zac Efron. Danny DeVito and Betty White are also part of the project.

Shania Twain will probably take over for Celine Dion for a while this year, performing in Las Vegas while Celine takes time off to enjoy her new twins. By the way, if you're a huge Shania fan, Oprah is looking for you.

Wynonna has been in a relationship for the past year and a half, but wouldn't say who she was dating. The details are out - it's Cactus Moser, Highway 101 member and drummer for Julianne Hough. Guess it's going well since she's willing to talk about it now. Lucky her - he's a good guy!

"The Lincoln Lawyer" opens today, and features Trace Adkins in a small part.

Happy birthday today to Charley Pride, Jaron Lowenstein of Jaron and the Long Road to Love, and Philip Sweet of Little Big Town, and Sunday to "Ranger" Doug Green of Riders in the Sky.

Billy Ray Cyrus is on The View today, talking about how he's called off the divorce and is working hard to put his family back together. Carter's Chord will perform on the NASCAR Nationwide Series tomorrow.

Condolences to the family of Ferlin Husky, who passed away yesterday afternoon. He was 85 and had suffered from congestive heart failure. He was a long-time member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and of the Grand Ole Opry.

Please help the people of Japan, who are suffering and will continue to suffer for years as they struggle to rebuild broken lives and a broken country. Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross' Japanese relief efforts. If you can give more, please go to the donation page for the Red Cross. Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Chris Young, Josh Thompson, Phil Vassar, Randy Houser, Randy Montana, Heidi Newfield and Katie Armiger have all filmed public service announcements urging country fans to lend a hand.

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "The quiet dignity & grace of the Japanese people throughout this tragedy has been so remarkable.My heart is simultaneously proud and broken."

Today's Country Tidbits

It's the season finale of American Idol tonight, and Carrie Underwood returns to the show, performing her current hit, "Undo It." It's also the final show for Simon Cowell, and Carrie chimed in on who could fill his shoes. “I think it surprised everybody. I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen. People are like ‘Oh do you know who they are going to get to replace him? I don’t know anything, but you know I think they did a great job with Ellen. I wouldn’t have immediately thought of her to be a judge so I’m sure whatever they come up with will be great.”

Faith Hill and Emmylou Harris have been asked to perform at a gala on June 2nd in honor of Sir Paul McCartney. Whoever was in charge of naming the show, which will air on July 28th on PBS, needs an editor, though. "Paul McCartney: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in Performance at the White House" is the name of the show. Suppose they could have wedged a few more words into the title??

Benefit concerts continue in and around Nashville, pouring money into the flood relief efforts. Kix Brooks just hosted the "As Long As We Have Voices" show at his Arrington Vineyards, just south of Nashville. He performed, along with Joey + Rory, Ty Herndon, Keith Stegall and others. Tickets were $100 for the sold-out show, and included a bottle of wine from the vineyards. Proceeds went to the Salvation Army's flood relief efforts.

Love to play the game Rock Band? Want to help out the American Red Cross with middle Tennessee flood relief? Musicians like Big Kenny are donating songs to Rock Band Relief, and those songs will be available in a couple of months via download from the Rock Band website. Proceeds from those downloads will go to assist in rebuilding Nashville and the surrounding communities devastated by the floods.

Dierks Bentley's new website is up, and he's proud of all of the changes. His dog, Jake, even has his own forum topic page!

Jewel has a new song out, with a cd coming out on June 8th. She was on Live with Regis & Kelly yesterday, and here's the video in case you missed it.



And Reba's "Unplugged" episode is online for your viewing pleasure.

Today's Country Tidbits

The last stop on Brooks & Dunn's Last Rodeo tour, their last concert together ever, they're saying, will be Aug. 10 at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. The show will be a benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, with all tickets selling for $25. They go on sale a week from tomorrow through Live Nation, Ticketmaster and Brooks & Dunn's website.

All the stars are in Nashville, and last night found some interesting duets being performed on the Sony Music boat ride on the General Jackson. Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert sang the old Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Travelin' Man," then Miranda and Josh Thompson duetted on his song, "Sinners." Brad Paisley and Brian Adams hit the stage for "Cuts Like a Knife" and then Carrie joined Bryan to close out the show with "It's Only Love." Brad also announced plans for his summer tour, the H2O Tour, kicking off in May and including Darius Rucker, Josh Thompson, Miranda Lambert, Steel Magnolia, Easton Corbin and Justin Moore as the opening acts.

Blake Shelton has chimed in on the pranking that's going on during Brad Paisley's tour, and as Miranda Lambert's boyfriend, he's in a position to know what her reaction might be. “You know Miranda, she’s not a big prankster. She truly does not like that stuff because she’s all about her show going smoothly and looking like a rock star. And I told Paisley’s booking agent, I saw him on the airplane the next day, and he told me about it and I said, ‘Man, the thing about her is she won’t try to get even with him. She’ll just walk up and kick him in the nuts, ya know.”

Congrats to Luke Bryan and his wife Caroline - they're expecting baby #2. Their first child, Bo, turns 2 in March and is already excited about his new baby brother or sister.

Josh Turner wants to meet you at the Grand Ole Opry. Make a video of yourself dancing to "Why Don't We Just Dance" and submit it. On March 12, six finalists will be chosen, and then there'll be fan voting for two weeks to decide the winner. So get creative to get a trip to Nashville to meet Josh Turner at the Opry.

You can help decide who wins the ACM awards in the three newcomer categories, Solo, Vocal Duo and Group. Online voting starts tomorrow and ends on March 12. The awards will be handed out on April 18th.

One of the events leading up to the CMA Fest in June is the Nashville Celebrity Softball Challenge. Two players have been announced: Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan. The game is on June 7 and is a benefit for the City of Hope. Tickets for the 20th anniversary game are on sale now.

Big Kenny has a new song and video in memory of his friend, lost in the rubble after the earthquake in Haiti. It is a very beautiful song and the video is a moving tribute, as well as a strong reminder that Haiti still needs us all. Tomorrow night in Nashville, the Ryman Auditorium is the site of a benefit concert for Compassion International's Haiti disaster relief fund. Performers include Big Kenny, Alison Kraus and Union Station and more. The concert will be streamed live online.

Steel Magnolia will be on the CBS Early Show tomorrow.

Monday night is a big one for country stars on tv. The episode of How I Met Your Mother guest-starring Carrie Underwood will air on CBS, Brad Paisley will be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Josh Turner will be on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show.

The late Johnny Cash would have been 78 today, and birthday wishes to Jason Aldean, who turns 33 on Sunday.

Today's country tidbits...

Looks like the folks at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas are serious about shutting down scalpers of Garth Brooks tickets. They've announced that anyone trying to gain admittance to a show with a ticket bought through a scalper will be denied entry and will only get back $143, no matter how much they paid for the tickets. Right now, those tickets are going for upwards of a grand online.

Congrats to the Zac Brown Band on their second #1 song. "Toes" hits the top spot on the Billboard Country Singles chart this week. "Chicken Fried" was their first #1. Tim McGraw's "Southern Voice" is the number one country album and should be in the top 5 on the Billboard 200 chart. Don't have these yet? Click the "Buy the Music" tab on this site for the best price and secure shopping.

Carrie Underwood is going to be everywhere for the next couple of weeks, promoting her new cd, "Play On," dropping next Tuesday. Monday night, she'll perform on The Late Show With David Letterman, then Tuesday morning she'll do a concert at Lincoln Center for Good Morning America. She's also co-hosting the CMA Awards with Brad Paisley a week from tomorrow.

George Strait loves to work his cattle, do some team roping events, hunt white tail on his ranch and loves to fish. But not Texas creek fishing…nope, George says there’s nothing like hooking a big marlin and working him onto the boat. He’s fished in places as far from south Texas as the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, and closer to home, the Texas gulf. He’s also going on this third safari in Tanzania in the next few weeks.

Trace Adkins is becoming a comic book action hero. The Luke McBain series will debut on November 11, and there will be 4 issues to the set, to be released once monthly. Get the comics at comic book stores, on Trace Adkins' website, at Trace's concerts and on the publisher's website.

Big Kenny has filmed videos for every song on his new cd, "The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy." The video for the first single, "Long After I'm Gone," was shot in Culpepper, VA on the farm where he grew up.

Speaking of growing up, looks like Taylor Swift is seeing someone special. She and Taylor Lautner were photographed together in LA at a hockey game. No one's confirming reports of them dating.

Remember to catch Taylor Swift performing on the Dancing With The Stars results show tonight, singing the songs "Jump Then Fall" and "Love Story." Then watch Tim McGraw and Gregg Allman perform on the Jay Leno Show.

Today's Country Tidbits...

At a show in California on Sunday, Joe Don Rooney was pulled off the stage by a fan. He was high-fiving fans at the front of the stage and suddenly just disappeared. An overzealous female fan grabbed his hand and pulled. He fell off the stage and onto the floor, but wasn't hurt and finished the show ok.

It's 11...Keith Urban has his 11th #1 song with "Only You Can Love Me This Way." It's his second #1 from the cd "Defying Gravity." "Sweet Thing" also hit the top spot.

The Houston Rodeo's 20-day extravaganza of music isn't until March, but already some of the performers have been announced: Jonas Brothers, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Brooks & Dunn. They'll play the rodeo as one stop on their Last Rodeo farewell tour. Brooks & Dunn have played the Houston Rodeo every year for the last 18 years.

Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins talk about the experience of shooting the video for "Hillbilly Bone"

Blake says, “I had the best day shooting this video with Trace. He has been a great friend for many years and for him to take time out and come down and play a hillbilly with me was so cool. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time."

Trace replies, “He [Blake] is hands-down, one of the funniest guys I know, so doing this song and video with him was really a no-brainer."

The song isn't available for sale yet, but some radio stations are playing it. It's good, as you might imagine!

Congrats to John Rich (of Big & fame) and his wife Joan. They were married last December and are expecting their first child.

Are you a fan of Dolly Parton's music? Next Tuesday, her 4-disc box set, "Dolly," will be released, but all this week you can sample the music.