Today's Country Tidbits

Lady Antebellum's Hillary, Dave and Charles are pretty high-profile these days. Just four short years ago, they were hoping to have a hit record, and now they have aspiriing artists asking them for advice. Here's theirs: “It’s something special to wake up and love what you do and I think everybody owes it to themselves to give that a shot. You know, it may not work out, and we everyday feel blessed that it did, but you have to give it a shot or you’ll always look back and regret it so...[Dave] Stay in school too. [All] Stay in school! [Dave] We definitely don’t regret that. [Charles] Although Hillary dropped out of college to join the band. [Hillary laughs] So, I don’t know...”

Keith Urban and his girls are in Australia as he films the Australian version of "The Voice." Nicole and their daughters are enjoying visiting the family, and Keith says this trip won't be all work and no play for him. “Well at some point I think we just want to go to the beach, I think that—you know if it’s the right time of year, which of course it’s in the middle of summer now, so that’s something that I always am anxious to get to. I haven’t gotten to the beach—I don’t even think we got there this summer, cause we were full on touring.”

Miranda Lambert and Chris Brown are still going back and forth, after a Twitter fight following Chris' performance on the Grammys. Miranda was irritated that he was allowed to perform, as he's got a history of beating up women. At a concert, she held up a fan's sign telling Chris to "take notes" as she cranked into "Gunpowder and Lead," a song about a woman who defends herself from an abusive boyfriend.

Brantley Gilbert co-wrote Jason Aldean's "Dirt Road Anthem" and says that songwriting is good for him in so many ways: “I was just too lazy to learn anybody else’s songs [laughs]. It was that and you know, it gets girls too...it works! I’ve seen it happen [laughs]. No, but I don’t know...I always had an itch for wanting to write my own stuff. It’s just something that I always enjoyed doing and it’s therapy for me.”

Craig Campbell is the headliner for the pre-Daytona 500 concert this Sunday. The show starts at 10:45 leading up to the 1pm race.

The "Act of Valor" soundtrack is out today, featuring music from Keith Urban, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, Jake Owen, Trace Adkins, Lori McKenna, Montgomery Gentry, Josh Kelley, Hunter Hayes and Wynonna Judd.

Jake Owen is on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show tonight.

Happy birthday to Mary Chapin Carpenter, who turns 54 today.

The tweet of the day is from John Rich: "Thx for the lively discussion 2nite on capitalism, music, dogs and rotten meat! Priceless...Hollar at ya'll later!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Jason Aldean is gearing up for Sunday night, when he's up for three Grammy Awards. Is he nervous? “I got my fingers, toes everything crossed going for the Grammys this year man. I’m excited. For an artist or anybody in the music business, I don’t know if that gets any bigger than that for us. To not only to be performing on the show but to be up for three awards is a pretty good feeling.” Grammy rehearsals were yesterday, and Jason Aldean was rocking out like the rehearsal was airing live.

The Band Perry will be attending the Grammys for the first time ever, and they're pretty psyched about it. Kimberly Perry said, “It will be our first time to ever attend that awards show, which has always been kinda like the “mama” of awards shows. We’ve always made such a big deal of the Grammys in our house since we were kids, so we’re really excited!” They're not just attending the show, they're up for Best New Artist and will perform with Blake Shelton during the show.

Though she's been nominated many times, Martina McBride has never won a Grammy. She tries again - her 14th time - this Sunday, with a shot at Best Solo Performance in the country category, up against Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. About "I'm Gonna Love You Through It," Martina muses, “It would be great to win for a song that has meant so much to so many people. You know that song is so moving and so powerful and I’ve just talked to so many people that feel like that’s ‘their’ song. So yeah, that would be a great thing.” The Grammys air at 8pm Eastern on CBS.

Nashville is getting a new museum, this one in honor of Johnny Cash. Complete details will be revealed this Tuesday, but we already know that the museum will be in downtown Nashville. No word on whether or not the decor will all be black.

Heads up, Taylor Swift fans - her new video will debut on Monday, February 13th. It's the video to "Safe and Sound," the first single from The Hunger Games soundtrack. CMT, MTV and VH1 will all air it at 8pm Eastern time Monday. In other Taylor news, her tour is the Stub Hub Top Tour of 2011, outselling even U2 and Lady Gaga.

If you're anywhere near an Obama re-election event this year, chances are you'll know a lot of the songs being played. Sugarland's "Everyday America" and "Stand Up" are part of the official set list, as are Dierks Bentley's "Home," Darius Rucker's "This" and Zac Brown Band's "Keep Me In Mind."

Jason Aldean has a profile on CBS This Morning today.

Happy birthday to Craig Campbell, who turns 33 today.

The tweet of the day is from David Nail: "Want to feel old? Eat dinner at a college cafeteria! I feel like a creeper!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Last night was country night at the White House, with a bunch of country stars performing for the Obama family. Dierks Bentley, The Band Perry, Darius Rucker, Alison Krauss, Lyle Lovett, Kris Kristofferson, James Taylor and Lauren Alaina all turned the East Room into a country music hall. The show will air tomorrow night on PBS.

Dierks Bentley's new song, "Home," is touching a lot of hearts, but is about to be even more personal for people. On his website, Dierks is inviting people to upload their own videos and photos to make the video their own. Bet there'll be a lot of people sharing their videos to Dierks' beautiful homage to America.

Jake Owen knows how to round up a few friends on a random Sunday night - invite them to Waffle House. He tweeted, "Waffle House. I'm up late. On a Sunday. Anyone else hungry? I'm buying. Now. On my way." When he got to his neighborhood WH, he tweeted the address and before you know it the restaurant was filled with Jake Owen fans. Good to his word, he picked up everyone's tab. See - one of the perks of living in Nashville!

Speaking of rounding up a few friends in Nashville, Tracy Lawrence is set to host his 6th annual Mission Possible turkey fry. It was supposed to be today, but since it's outdoors and rain is expected, it's been re-scheduled until tomorrow. The fry will happen from 6am to 1pm in the parking lot of the Nashville Rescue Mission, and the 500 turkeys fried by Tracy and many Nashville music luminaries will provide several thousand meals at the mission. If you happen to be in Nashville tomorrow, you can stop by and pitch in if you'd like.

Congratulations to Justin Moore and his wife Kate on the birth of their second daughter. Kennedy Faye Moore was born early yesterday morning, weighing in at 7 pounds exactly. Big sister Ella Kole is 21 months old and delighted to have her very own little sister. Justin had just finished touring with Miranda Lambert, so was home for the birth of his second child.

Craig Campbell has a holiday song, just in time for Thanksgiving. Here's his video for "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and it comes complete with a tissue alert. The song is available on iTunes and part of the proceeds goes to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Eric Church is about to set out on the "Blood, Sweat and Beers" tour, and he's got Brantley Gilbert, Blackberry Smoke, Sonia Leigh and Jon Pardi supporting the show.

Speaking of Brantley Gilbert, congratulations on his first #1 song. "Country Must Be Country Wide" is #1 on both the Billboard and Country Aircheck charts this week.

Did you miss Rascal Flatts on the Today Show yesterday? The performances are online.

The CMT Crossroads with Vince Gill and Sting premiers on Thanksgiving Day. Here's a taste of the show - the two of them doing Sting's song "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You."

Tags: If I Ever Lose My Faith in You (From CMT Crossroads), Sting, Sting Videos

Lady Antebellum is on Dancing With the Stars tonight for the season finale.

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "So this one time, at bandcamp...ah nevermind. It's in the book."

Today's Country Tidbits

There's a new little country bundle of joy - Jewel and hubby Ty Murray welcomed their first child into the world on Monday in Texas. Kase Townes Murray weighed in at 7 lbs., 6 oz. Says Jewel, “Ty and I are so pleased to welcome our new baby boy into the world. We are overcome with happiness – it really is as great as everyone told us it would be – better even!” The couple have been trying for a long time to get pregnant, and when she was 5 months along, Jewel was in a bad car crash. Luckily, neither mom or child was injured. With a professional bull rider as a daddy and a singer/songwriter as a mommy, Kase is sure to be one talented little country kid!

Chris Young celebrated the release of his new cd, "Neon," on Good Morning America yesterday. Here's the live version of his current hit, "Tomorrow."

Blake Shelton is making the rounds of the tv talk shows, chatting up his new cd, "Red River Blue." He jokingly threw Miranda Lambert under the bus while talking to Jimmy Fallon about songs they've written together, saying, “Finally, you know, it was like…it came down to time to record and it was like, ‘Hey babe, are you thinking about cutting this song?’ ‘Yes…why?’ ‘Oh, no reason.’ So, anything we write…she gets first pick of and it’s usually the only ones that are worth a crap.” He posted his musings on music yesterday...shameless plug for his new cd included.

And Craig Campbell's new song, "Fish," has a video. Be prepared to laugh...this is a funny, sort of bawdy song...

Cosmopolitan magazine compiled a list of the hottest men on tour, and Kenny Chesney made the cut. There are 15 guys on the list and 11 pictures in the photo spread, though only one of Kenny.

Happy birthday to Louise Mandrell, who turns 57 today.

Blake Shelton is on LIVE! With Regis & Kelly this morning and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight. VH1 goes behind the music with Miranda Lambert tonight, and Billy Ray Cyrus is on The View.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "I'm so drunk right now I just announced to the hotel lobby "Listen up people!! I have a bomb in my pants.. Now, who wants to disarm it?!""

Today's Country Tidbits

Congratulations to Scotty McCreery, the winner of season 10's American Idol. Both Scotty and Lauren Alaina were prepared for the other one to win. According to Scotty, “Me and her have been together since day one and we’re gonna stick together.” And Lauren chimed in, "He's my best friend and I love him and I couldn't be happier for him." Carrie Underwood made a special appearance and duetted with Lauren Alaina on the show. 122 million votes were cast Tuesday night in the lowest-rated performance finale in American Idol's history.

Reba and Blake Shelton threw a benefit concert for tornado victims in Oklahoma, and Blake told the story watching the tornado that did so much damage to a town close to him. “It was coming literally directly to my house. Being the, you know, the smart guy that I am I walked outside and stood in the driveway and we actually filmed the tornado…it was only about, you know, a mile and a half from our house and we filmed it come out and it touched the ground for a minute and then it went away and it kept moving east and ultimately ended up going through Tushka.” Donations are still being accepted - text “OKGIVE” to 27722 to make a one-time $10 donation, added to your cell phone bill. Funds will be donated to The mGive Foundation for the benefit of the Tushka Disaster Relief Fund. Checks can also be made out to the Tushka Disaster Relief Fund and mailed to: 101 SE 1st Street, Tushka, OK 74525.

An online charity auction is underway through mid-June, with proceeds benefiting Musicians on Call. Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Dolly Parton and Gwyneth Paltrow have all donated memorabilia and meet & greet opportunities. Sports stars have also donated items, so check out the auction and be generous!

Luke Bryan is on tour with Tim McGraw, and Tim had a birthday this week. Luke interrupted Tim's set to sing him the birthday song, with a little help from the audience.

Speaking of Luke, a new CMT Crossroads is in the offing, featuring Luke Bryan and the Doobie Brothers. The special has already taped and it premiers June 24th on CMT.

Sara Evans had a #1 party for "A Little Bit Stronger" yesterday in Nashville. The songwriters, Luke Laird, Hillary Lindsey and Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott, were also at the party. According to Sara, “When the album was all done and we knew that ‘Little Bit Stronger’ was the first single, I knew that as soon as I heard it. I…I said, ‘That is the first single, no question…We have to name the album Stronger.’ And it’s a great song! You know, it’s a song that everybody can relate to. Very well written.”

Did you miss Sara Evans on Dancing With the Stars? Here she is...

People are going "huh??" over Craig Campbell's new song, "Fish." It'll either shock you or make you laugh out loud...you've been warned!

Congratulations to Jason Aldean, who has the #1 country album for the 4th week in a row with "My Kinda Party." The album has been on the charts for 29 weeks, never outside the top 5.

Loretta Lynn's ranch, The Plantation, will be featured on an upcoming episode of Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel. The show's hosts visit with Miss Loretta and hear stories about the many ghostly encounters she and her family have had on the property. The episode will air June 10th.

John Rich is on the Ellen DeGeneres show today.

Happy birthday to Hank Williams Jr., who turns 62 today.

The tweet of the day is from Kellie Pickler: "I wish these dang cicadas would watch where their going. They keep flying in my hair. Maybe I should use bug spray instead of hairspray??"

Today's Country Tidbits

John Rich and Marlee Matlin face off in the finals of "Celebrity Apprentice" this Sunday night. John says the show is unpredictable, and he's psyched about going for the win. “I know that it’s me and Marlee Matlin and one of us is gonna win and I hope it’s me because if I win I get another 250-thousand dollars for the kids at St. Jude and that will put me well over a million dollars raised. My goal coming into this was to raise a million bucks. So, to hit my goal, I gotta win.” The show airs from 9 to 11 Eastern Sunday night on NBC.

Brad Paisley is hangin' at the tracks this weekend, getting set to world-premier the video for "Old Alabama." His new cd, "This is Country Music," drops Monday and it's likely that the second single from it will be the #1 country song next week. Brad will celebrate at the NASCAR Spring All-Star Race tomorrow, and world-premier the video to "Old Alabama" at the race, on the SPEED channel on tv and at NASCAR.com. The video includes not only Alabama, but Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick, and takes viewers down a virtual memory lane of Alabama music videos from the '80's.

Tomorrow night is Taylor Swift's final dress rehearsal before her "Speak Now" tour fires up in the US. At Bridgestone Arena, the show is sold out, and is a benefit for tornado relief. At least two songs will be streamed live starting at 10 Eastern on her website, and she's cautioning the audience that it won't be a perfectly polished show. “Because it is actually a true dress rehearsal, there might be some fine tuning, there might be some things we’ll have to do over again…I can imagine that it might be a very, very true dress rehearsal, but I don’t care—it’s worth it to raise money for people who really need it right now.”

Garth Brooks will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City on June 16th. Doing the honors is Garth's friend of 20 years, Billy Joel.

Carrie Underwood is about to take her first trip to Australia to tour. She's going there in mid-June and will play shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. She's there in support of the June 10th release of "Play On: Deluxe Edition" in Australia and New Zealand.

Heading to Nashville for the CMA Music Festival? Here are the Opry performances that week:

June 4 - Rascal Flatts and Jimmy Wayne

June 7 in the afternoon - free Plaza Party with Jerrod Niemann

June 7 - Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Darius Rucker, Oak ridge Boys and Jerrod Niemann

June 10 - Billy Ray Cyrus and Randy Travis

June 10 & 11 - Charley Pride, Mel Tillis, Roy Clark and more.

June 11 matinee - Thompson Square, Mandy Barnett, Anna Wilson and more

Blake Shelton's next cd, "Red River Blue," drops on July 12th. It's his 9th studio album, and includes his hottest single yet, "Honey Bee." And Blake Shelton will likely return for season two of The Voice. The other three judges have also indicated that they're open to being part of the hit show, too.

This Sunday, Craig Campbell sings the National Anthem before the NASCAR "Iowa Dealers 250" on Sunday, and then plays a free concert after the race for those at the track. The race airs at 2pm Eastern on ABC.

This Sunday night, Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift are up for a combined 13 awards at the Billboard Music Awards. Lady A is up for eight and Taylor's nominated in five categories, and performers include Lady Antebellum and Keith Urban. The show airs Sunday night starting at 8 Eastern on ABC.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: "In the studio this morning with my band singing a few songs live for some radio stations. Waffle House is on the way..."