You’re not on it either? The Blake Shelton and Friends Cruise set sail yesterday, and Blake says there’ll be shenanigans, and someone might have to go overboard: “Well it won’t be Trace—although he may put us over the weight limit. I don’t know, I’d say—Easton’s gonna be there. I don’t think any of us would miss him if we through him over.” Also along for the ride are Jerrod Niemann, Neal McCoy, Lee Brice, Brett Eldredge, Randy Houser and Jana Kramer. Jana’s got mixed feelings about going on a cruise: “I’ve never done a cruise before because I’m really claustrophobic and I’m afraid – or if I get motion sickness. I was like, ‘You know what I’m getting over a fear, and hanging with some of my buddies on a boat. I get to bring my mom – it’s going to be awesome. I can’t wait to play and then meet people and hang out – go swimming and tan!”

In the wake of video showing an admittedly drunk Jason Aldean flirting with American Idol contestant Brittany Kerr in Hollywood, Jason Aldean says that the situation, though tough, is taken care of: “You can handle it two ways, you can go hide and run from it or you can get up and face it and deal with it and that’s kinda what we tried to do and just kinda move on, you know? And the main thing is that me and my family are OK.” He talked with CMT Insider and that segment aired this past weekend.

Jason Aldean is planning to hit a few more stadiums during his 2013 tour, saying that the sellout at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio was pretty awesome. According to Jason, “This next year we’ll probably dabble in it a little more, try a couple places and really just try to build on that. There’s not a lot of people that can do that [consistently], and that’s where we’re trying to figure it out —can we do that in certain markets? Or can we do that on a consistent basis? That’ll be a little bit of a learning pro­cess for us over the next year.”
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s Soul2Soul show in Las Vegas kicks off in December, but preparations are in high gear now, and Tim says it’s pretty cool: “It’s different to think somebody offers you a ton of money to come do three years in Vegas or something, and they say ‘Here’s your theater and you can build it like you want it...’ For all we’ve done in our career past, and all we hope to do in the future with our careers, to have this sort of moment to do this thing for these ten weekends and then to turn the theatre over to us and build what you want is sort of rare.” 
Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss performed on the David Letterman Show Friday night. They collaborated on a song on his “Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran” album which comes out tomorrow. He’ll announce tour plans later this week. 
Luke Bryan announced some tour plans – he’ll kick off his first headlining tour on January 17th in Evansville, Indiana, with shows running through at least March. Thompson Square and Florida Georgia Line will open on the first leg of the tour. 
Taylor Swift’s new album, “Red,” doesn’t come out until the 22nd, but she’s working the publicity angle hard. She’s on the cover of the October 24th issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, presumably dishing some details of her love life, and has partnered with Keds to release a new, limited-edition line of “Red” footwear. But wait, there’s more – she’s also partnered with Walgreens, where you’ll find a Taylor Swift Store, with t-shirs, tour books, backpacks, journals and lots more. And of course, “Red” will be on sale one minute after midnight on October 22nd at all Walgreens stores. 
Keith Urban will receive the Harmony Award from the Nashville Symphony in a gala later this year. The award honors him for his work to help the Country Music Hall of Fame, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Habitat for Humanity. 
Trishia Yearwood is on The View and Josh Turner is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight.

Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean have a few things in common: they’re both from Georgia, they both put on great country music shows, and they’re both die-hard Georgia Bulldog fans. They’re on record as saying that the team has a shot at playing for the National title, or at least for the SEC Championship. While on the road, the satellite dish on the bus is always tuned to college football for those two, so you know what they’ll both be watching tomorrow!

Speaking of the home of the Bulldogs, Dierks Bentley shot his “Tip It On Back” video in Athens, GA and really wanted a college-town party feel to it. “It turned out great. The fans are great! We just put a little word out on the street that we were shooting a video and people came down in the middle of the day and filled the place up…had some beer onstage, like props… pretty soon the props starting getting drunk [Laughs], and the crowd got into it, too. It was a long day, it was really like doing two shows in one day. You know, we did a show basically for that video.” Dierks even does a bit of crowd-surfing in the video – catch it on CMT.

Easton Corbin is enjoying a top 10 single with “Lovin’ You Is Fun” off of his just-released album, “All Over the Road.” How did Easton and his band pick the songs that would be on the album? “We found songs that I love and I relate to, and that spoke to me. I feel like that translates to the audience out there.” I guess that’s one way to do it!

Justin Moore is working hard to find the right songs for his next album: “I have been writing a ton and I’ve been listening to a lot of songs. I listened to more songs this go around than I ever have. But we are in the very early stages of discussing things. But I am very excited to get new music out to fans.” He’s on the road with Eric Church right now, and his latest single, “Til My Last Day,” is speeding up the charts.
Brad Paisley has a new album coming out, but we’ll have to wait until April 9th to get it. But in addition to his newly-released single, he’ll also be part of Colbie Caillat’s upcoming Christmas album. He sings and strums on “Merry Christmas Baby” – the album comes out October 23rd. 
Hanson has covered Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” How does she like it? Really, really well – she tweeted that she loveloveloved it! 
 
Willie Nelson is releasing a memoir entitled “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” the same title as his current song release. In the book, he’ll share his greatest musical and life influences, his thoughts on poker and Texas and will offer up some rare family pictures. His son Micah created the book’s cover art, and the book comes out November 13th, just in time for your holiday shopping. 

Easton Corbin released his sophomore album a week ago today, and “All Over the Road” debuted at #2 on the country charts. Easton doesn’t take something like that for granted: “I’m very thankful that I’m still out here doing what I’m doing. These careers you just don’t know – you could be here one day and gone tomorrow. Still could be you never know. So you just have to appreciate everyday you’re out there and thank the Lord for blessing you.” His latest single, “Lovin’ You Is Fun,” is inside the top 10 and headed for #1. If it gets there, it’ll be his third #1 song, joining “A Little More Country Than That” and “Roll With It.”

Are you a Hunter Hayes fan? You can get a free copy of a previously unreleased song, “Light Me Up,” by visiting his Facebook page. Once you’ve liked the page, click here to be taken to the post with the download link.
Jana Kramer is making her first splash on the country music charts with the song “Why Ya Wanna,” but she says she’s encountered some resistance along the way: “You know, in the very beginning I was getting so criticized like, ‘Oh gosh, another actress coming into the country format.’ And I kept just saying, ‘You know what? When they hear the music, they’re gonna get it. They’re gonna understand that this is my passion that this is what I want to do and they’re gonna see that it’s real.” It is, and so are her acting chops – she’ll star in “Heart of the Country,” due out in 2013. This isn’t a TV project, like her previous acting work – this is a feature film and here’s a sneak-peek: 



Ethel Kennedy is very hopeful – either that, or that’s her standard answer to nosey reporter questions! A Boston Herald writer asked her if she hoped that her grandson Conor Kennedy and Taylor Swift get married. She replied, “I hope so!” He went on to ask her if Taylor really bought the house across the street from the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, and the Kennedy matriarch had the same response – “I hope so!”

Blake Shelton’s “Cheers, It’s Christmas” and Jerrod Niemann’s “Free the Music” are both out today.

Kimberly Perry co-hosted the “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” with Luke Bryan last night, and she had a blast. She enlisted her brothers in The Band Perry to help her prepare for her hosting duties: “Oh goodness, for me, I didn’t know what a co-host was supposed to do. You see the pro’s like Carrie and Brad on the CMA Awards, and it’s like well, ‘You have some big shoes to fill.’ I actually practiced for my interviews because I had never done an interview before. You guys have a really tough job! Reid, Neil and I, they played Brad 1 and Brad 2 in the bus before I went out and did that and kind of threw me some curve balls. That’s what I did to prepare.”

Tim McGraw understands the power of a song, and also that artists have to dish up different types of songs in order to stay relevant to their fans. What’s his secret? “The key is finding good ones. There’s always a place for ones that don’t say a whole lot that are just fun, too. I mean I’ve had a few of those and I have no problem with those. It’s like, I go to the movie, I like to have some chocolate covered peanuts, you know, but I also like a heavy movie. And there’s places for all of it.” His latest song, “Truck Yeah,” falls into the “chocolate covered peanuts” category – here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video…



Yes, that was Charlie Daniels being featured last night on Monday Night Football on ESPN. It’s not the first time he’s done that gig – every week during the 2006 football season, Charlie was part of an all-star band that opened the show.
All the Pistol Annies are now off the market. Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton have been married a couple of years, Angaleena Presley married Jordan Powell in May and now Ashley Monroe is engaged to Chicago White Sox pitcher John Danks. Here’s the photo she tweeted to announce the news… 

 

The ACM Honors stage just got hotter. Dierks Bentley is hosting the show, and Randy Houser, Luke Bryan, Jana Kramer, Kellie Pickler, Ashley Monroe, Rodney Crowell and Daily & Vincent will all be part of the entertainment next Monday night at the Ryman. The evening celebrates the winners of ACM awards given out before the televised portion of the show, as well as special honorees.

Lee Brice’s song, “Hard to Love,” has been certified gold for half a million copies sold. What’s the song about? Lee explains, “It’s a song about me. It’s a song about a lot of guys. So it’s a country strong and it’s really about every man in the world – not just country music men.”

Easton Corbin’s new album, “All Over The Road,” is out today, and he says the two years he spent living life have helped his sophomore project: “The more you grow, the older you get and obviously the more experiences you go through in life. I think it opens up some stuff, maybe some new territory to cover on a record, ya know.”

Dwight Yoakam is out with his first new music in seven years – “3 Pears” is out today, and Dwight produced the project. Why did a new album take so long? “I was continuing to hopefully evolve as a producer and learn. You know, you only have yourself to blame for whatever works or whatever doesn’t.”

Today's Country Tidbits

Jake Owen may be learning a lot about performing by being part of the Brothers of the Sun tour, but he’s learning something else, too: diet tricks of the big stars! According to Jake, “Kenny pretty much sticks to chicken, salmon and broccoli. And I have been trying to do the same – I’ll mix in an occasional brew here and there. But he’s really good with his diet, and Tim looks amazing. His body looks like he’s 22 years old. I’m just trying to keep up with those guys.”

It’s not the 4th of July yet, but don’t tell Alan Jackson, Easton Corbin and Gloriana. They’re starting early at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, celebrating with military families there. The show’s open to the public and will include a major fireworks display.

It’s lucky 13 for Toby Keith – his I Love This Bar and Grill added a Dallas, Texas location this week. They’re not just a bar and restaurant, they also provide a concert venue as part of the package, and according to Toby, they’re a hit! “They’re really doing well! They’re going like gangbusters.” Well, yeah…have you had the French fries?

Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley have become great friends, and Carrie describes Brad as being like her big brother: “Kim and his kids are just absolutely amazing, and they’ve always been super sweet to me. And it’s just nice to have people that you work with that you really enjoy, and you enjoy being around. And he and Mike [Fisher] have hung out together, and it’s just nice to have that in your life.” Right now, Carrie and Mike are in Australia, where she’s taken her Blown Away tour.

Zac Brown Band has been added to the Road to Ram Jam sweepstakes, where Ram Trucks get a year-long lease to a 2012 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn truck. At the end of the lease, the trucks will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the military charity of the artist’s choice. Other artists include Kellie Pickler, Brantley Gilbert and Easton Corbin.

Kellie Pickler has teamed up with ConAgra foods and Feeding America this summer to provide meals for hungry kids, and she’s very passionate about the project: “This is just a really great way to spread the word and awareness and get people involved in something so important. These are kids, they can’t fend for themselves – they need us. It’s our responsibility, whether they’re our kids or not, it is still our responsibility as human beings to help these children.” Did she have cake for her birthday yesterday? Not home-made – she had to hit the road early yesterday, headed for tonight’s show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Tim McGraw is busy and in-demand – he’s reading scripts for his next movie role, though he hasn’t found it yet, and just turned down an offer to appear on Broadway. Tim says he “can read fifty scripts and not find anything.” He’s had better luck with songs – he’s chomping at the bit to get his new album out to fans.

Congrats to Kenny Chesney – “Welcome to the Fishbowl” debuted atop the country album sales chart, selling nearly 200,000 copies. It was #2 on the all-genre chart. He says he put his heart and soul into the songs: “Bein’ in that driver’s seat to, you know, try to reach inside somebody’s heart live is a great seat to be in. And to figure out which songs of these that you think is gonna do it the most is a balancing act when you’re recording your record and when you’re done with it.”

Today's Country Tidbits

Kenny Chesney’s “Welcome to the Fishbowl” is out today, and according to Kenny there’s a lot more of him on the album than in previous projects. He says he spent a lot of time on the songs, and “This album was unlike any other just for the emotional journey that I went on to make it. The songs on this album are very personal. There is a thread now of searching on this record in a lot of these songs. I didn’t realize it at the time. I was just recording and writing what I felt - and recording what I love and things that touched me and mattered to me.”

It’s official – the Virtual Reality World Tour’s first prank has been pulled, and Brad Paisley didn’t do it! Kristen Kelly, who is a Virtual Opry Stage performer, showed up alongside Brad, dressed as his twin! It’s actually a pretty good disguise – check it out!

Blake Shelton doesn’t fear getting older – yet! He’s still got it with the teens, picking up three nominations for the Teen Choice Awards. About his younger audience, Blake says, “You know, any time that I’m anywhere and somebody has a teenage kid that wants to meet me and have a picture it’s like, ‘Oh, thank God,’ because you know, you don’t want to be that point where they’re like, ‘No! I don’t want a picture with him...he’s old and creepy!’”

David Nail uses Adele’s song “Someone Like You” as a vocal warm-up before going on stage. According to David, “It brings so many things out of you as a vocalist.” People who heard him sing it persuaded him to set it to video, which he did, intending it just for friends. Well, we must be his friends, because here it is…

Taylor Swift spent last week working with rapper B.o.B. on a music video. She sings vocals on the track “Both of Us” on his Strange Clouds album, and they shot the video for the song in Nashville. The video won’t be out until the end of the month, but here’s the song…

If you’re a Lady Antebellum fan, mark your calendar for this Thursday at 3:30pm Eastern. Hit their Facebook page and join them for a live chat. They’re excited to talk with fans about their music, the Own the Night tour and their upcoming overseas trek, which Charles is already going on about: “You know, we did London last year and we had a few days there too. This year we’re actually going to Ireland and Scotland and all through Germany and Scandinavia as well. So, these are all places, you know, we really hadn’t ever been.” You can submit questions now on their Facebook page.

  

Easton Corbin’s next album, “All Over the Road,” will drop September 18^th.

Today's Country Tidbits

Sugarland's tour manager, Hellen Rollens, may have saved some lives Saturday night, chief among them Jennifer and Kristian's. The band was gathered backstage, ready to go on, when Hellen looked at the sky and decided to hold them off the stage. One minute later, the stage collapsed around them, with debris and dust swirling around them. When they heard the thunderous roar of the roof collapsing, Sugarland and their crew hit the ground, then huddled up against a nearby wall, thinking the roof would fall on them. Sugarland's manager, Gail Gellman, said the other people backstage felt it was safe to go onstage, but that Hellen stuck to her guns and instinct and probably saved some lives.

Eric Church is one of the hottest new acts out of Nashville in years, and it's thanks to his hard work and his parents' support. Eric's dad, Ken Church, promised him that if he graduated college, he would pay Eric's living expenses in Nashville for a year while he tried to make it as a star. Eric hit town, got a job answering phones at the Home Shopping Network and in the evenings he played free shows around town, trying to get noticed. His work ethic and great stage presence couldn't be ignored, and now Eric's on tour with Toby Keith. Apparently, in Eric's mind anyway, there's an on-stage rivalry. “We take the stage every night to step on it and I try to bring it every night and kick Toby’s tail. And it’s up to Toby to either kick back or not and I think it makes for a great show for the fans. I’d do that whether it was Toby or Garth or the Rolling Stones…doesn’t matter. I’m still gonna do what I do. I think it makes for a great show because Toby’s the same way. It makes it fun for the fans.” Ken and Rita Church, meanwhile, are enjoying their son's success - somewhat. Says Rita, what her son does isn't "as easy as it looks," and about some of the wild road behavior, his dad said, “I’ve been a Sunday school teacher for a lot of years, and I’ve cringed sometimes.” Eric and his wife Katherine are expecting their first child, a boy, this October.

The inspectors are going over the stage set-up in the wake of the tragedy Saturday night at the Indiana Sugarland show. Sunday night's show was cancelled and much of Sugarland's touring

equipment is still on the stage, under the mangled lighting trusses. For this year, at least, there

will be no more shows on the racetrack stage, and the Lady Antebellum concert scheduled for this Friday night has been cancelled. Kristian Bush of Sugarland posted on their web site, "I thank God for every fan and emergency responder, for everyone who ran to the trouble instead of away from it. The courage of those men and women will forever be with me."

Luke Bryan's "Farm Tour 2011" opens September 29th in Clemson, SC, and there will be a total of six shows. Luke loves taking his show into rural areas where normal tours can't stop, saying, "There’s nothing like building a tour set in the middle of a crop field!” The tour also stops in Athens, GA on September 30th, Macon, GA on October first, Statesboro, GA on October 5th, Valdosta, GA on October 6th, and Carrollton, GA on October 7th.

Toby Keith is preparing for an album release and a European tour. "Clancy's Tavern" comes out on October 25th and hs 12-date European tour kicks off five days later. Says Toby about his previous

European tours, "The accents are a little different and the food sure isn't what you get in Oklahoma. But they say music's a universal language, and the folks we saw sure seemed to be having a good time. And so did we."

Lady Antebellum's fall tour will kick off November 11th in Knoxville, TN. The "We Owned the Night" tour includes Josh Kelly, Edens Edge and Randy Montana, with opening acts changing from show

to show.

Dierks Bentley's version of Octoberfest is the "Country & Cold Cans" tour. First date is October 6th in La Crosse, Wisconsin and includes Jerrod Niemann and the Eli Young Band.

Entertainment Weekly has a stream of the new Pistol Annie's song, "Bad Example." The cd, "Hell on Heels," is out on August 23rd.

Congratulatons to Easton Corbin, who earned platinum certification for "A Little More Country Than That." Also raking in the heavy metal are Lady Antebellum's quintuple platinum certification for "Need Yo Now and first platinum certification for "Just a Kiss," plus Blake's platinum "Honey Bee."

Lady Antebellum's "Just a Kiss" is the #1 song this week.

Happy birthday to Ashton Shepherd, who turns 25 today and to Emily Robison of the Dixie Chicks, who is 39. Billy Joe Shaver turns 72 today.

Eli Young Band's cd, "Life at Best," is out today. The lead-off single, "Crazy Girl," has already been certified gold.

The tweet of the day is from Colt Ford: "Got to play 2 shows with Ronnie Dunn. He is without a doubt 1 of the Greatest Country Singers there has ever been."

Today's Country Tidbits

Taylor Swift is on a roll in her career, and her fan base is pretty dedicated. When Taylor started writing some of her lyrics on her arms and hands, some of her fans followed suit in a more permanent way - tattoos! According to Taylor, fans show her “Lots of lyric tattoos...I was seated next to a seat filler at the Billboard Awards. She said, ‘Hey, check it out!’ She had ‘Fearless’ tattooed on her wrist. You know, there are girls who tattooed lyrics like, there was this girl who had on one arm, ‘I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairytale.’ And then, there are people who like, actually go for the face! They just, like, tattoo my face on parts of their body.”

Kid Rock threw himself a birthday party at Hotel on Rivington in New York, and among the 200 guests were Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert. They enjoyed rock shrimp tacos, sipped on Kid Rock's o

wn American Badass beer and headed for the roof to take in the New York skyline at night, hand in hand.

August 7th is the air date for the three-hour ABC-TV special, "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock." Performers include all of the top country artists who were in Nashville for the CMA Music Festival in June, so yes, that means your favorite is bound to be part of the show.

Dierks Bentley is the star performer at the Franklin Fire Company benefit concert in Pennsylvania tomorrow night. It's a sure bet that the firefighters and their friends will "feel that fire" when Dierks takes the stage. Tickets to the show are available at the door on Friday evening and at the local high school during the day tomorrow.

Cheyenne Kimball, who up until this past weekend was a member of Gloriana, tweeted that she is now engaged. Her intended is musician Benji White, and the two celebrated their happiness at the popular Nashville night spot, 3rd and Lindsley. Cheyenne has been engaged once before, last fall, but that relationship broke up shortly after the engagement was announced.

It's the Hats Off to the Opry Sweepstakes, and you can win his and her Stetson outfits plus a trip to Nashville. Brad Paisley, Stetson and the Grand Ole Opry have teamed up to give you a shot a really fun prize. Enter once a day until September 5th for your chance to win.

Little Big Town has a weekly video feature called "Scattered, Smothered and Covered" where they cover another artist's song. Showing off their amazing vocal ability, this week they tackle Jessie J's "Price Tag" and nailed it!

And Jaron and the Long Road to Love (aka Jaron Lowenstein) was on Extra, performing "Beautiful Lies."

America is exporting a couple of hot tours north of the border this weekend. Taylor Swift resumes her "Speak Now" tour tonight in Montreal, and Kenny Chesney's "Goin' Coastal" tour heads for Canada this weekend, too.

Congratulations to Justin Moore who has the #1 country song in America with "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away."

And further congrats to Easton Corbin, whose first two singles have both gone gold. He's the first male solo artist in 17 years to have that happen, since Clay Walker did it in 1993 with "What's It To You" followed by "Live a Little." Easton did it with "I'm a Little More Country Than That" and "Roll With It." How is Easton feeling about the accomplishment? Humble. He says, “You know, I was just goin’ in there and cuttin’ music I believed in and…and uh, you know, again I’m so fortunate for all the fans in radio and the industry to get behind me and, and really be supportive!”

It's a re-run, but Steel Magnolia is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Jewel, tweeting about her newborn son: "1 little piece of heaven broke ranks from the sky and fell into my arms...he smells like a peach, warmed by the sun..."

Today's Country Tidbits

Miranda Lambert knows what she wants, and she wants Loretta Lynn as a writing partner. She had an idea for a song, thought Loretta would be perfect for it and wrote her a letter. According to Loretta, "she sent me the idea for the song so I’m going to have to call her and tell her, ‘let’s get with it.’” That should be a magical songwriting session!

The Billboard Awards will happen on May 22nd in Las Vegas, and Lady Antebellum and Keith Urban will perform on the show. Award nominees will be announced tomorrow morning.

Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow and Bob Seger hit Kid's studios in Detroit about a month ago, after Bob and Sheryl did a show there, and they stayed up all night recording. One of the song's "Hannah," will be part of Bob Seger's next album.

Chris Young is headed to Iraq and Kuwait on his second "Stars for Stripes Piece of Home" tour. He'll tour five camps while he's there, performing for the troops and distributing iTunes gift cards.

Easton Corbin's tour manager, Chris Tate, had a momentous Sunday on the golf course. No, he wasn't in Augusta at the Masters, he was in Brentwood, TN at the Governors Club golf course. On the par 3 number 12, he scored an ace. It was his first hole in one and he used a hybrid 3 on the 201 yard hole.

Congrats to the Zac Brown Band, who sits atop the country music charts again this week with "Colder Weather."

Sara Evans is on the Tonight Show, The Grascals are on The Talk, Kenny Rogers is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Wynonna is on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Happy birthday to Vince Gill, who turns 54 today and to Easton Corbin, who is 29.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Home. OK spring day. Awesome! Can't wait to spend forever like this."

Today's Country Tidbits

Taylor Swift made a video blog of her Asian trip, so when you have nine and a half minutes to watch, here you go!

Want to have a say in who's taking home some hardware at the ACM Awards? You only have until tomorrow at noon Eastern time to get your votes in. You can vote for Eric Church, Easton Corbin or Randy Houser in the Top New Solo Vocalist category, and The Band Perry, the JaneDear Girls or Steel Magnolia in the Top New Vocal Duo or Group category. They're all offering enticements to get your vote, so choose carefully!

Eric Church has a cute video, a free song and a shot at a trip to the 2011 CMA Music Festival.

Easton Corbin has a free song for you.

Randy Houser offers up an acoustic performance of his next single, plus shows off his celebrity connections.

The Band Perry has a free acoustic version of "Hip to My Heart" and wrangled Grandma Betty Lou into helping with their video.

The JaneDear Girls got YouTube sensation Keenan Cahill to help with their video.

Steel Magnolia got a thumbs-up from ACM co-host Blake Shelton in their video, but it could be one of those "with friends like that, who needs enemies" kind of thumbs up!

Congratulations to Garth Brooks, who will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at their annual dinner on June 16th. In reaction, Garth said, "To consider myself a 'songwriter' is something I find hard to agree with, for it is the songwriter that is the most gifted and most important ingredient in the music formula. I am humbled and flattered by this award and want to thank the songwriters I have written with in the past. I feel it is because of them I am receiving this award."

Keith Urban fans, here's a surfing alert for you: the free iTunes download of the week is "Georgia Woods," a song that Keith wrote on Waylon Jennings' guitar. Says Keith about the writing experience, "I wanted to use the guitar on some writing sessions and the riff that starts 'Georgia Woods' came straight out of that guitar. It’s like playing a holy grail." Follow the links for the content. While you're at iTunes, you might want to pick up the deluxe edition of "Get Closer," which includes several unreleased tracks plus live cuts from his "Love,Pain & the whole crazy thing" Atlanta tour stop.

Congratulations to Miranda Lambert, the first artist in history to sell out the legendary Billy Bob's Texas two nights in a row.

In case you missed Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson doing "Don't You Wanna Stay" on the Ellen DeGeneres show, here you go!

This Saturday, James Wesley will sing the National Anthem for NASCAR's Nationwide Series race at the Phoenix International Raceway. The Basha's Supermarket 200 will be broadcast on ESPN.

On tv today, catch Colt Ford on "The Teriot Family: Riot In The Bayou" on MTV and Kellie Pickler on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Happy birthday to Steve Holy, who turns 39 today.

The tweet of the day is from Kellie Pickler: "Be sure to watch @theellenshow today to see why my husband forbids me to go back on her show! ;)"

Today's Country Tidbits

Every year on New Year's Day for the last 5 years, Dierks Bentley starts the year by swimming in Nashville's Percy Priest Lake. No one from his band showed up this year, and he says he'll make them pay for their absence while on tour this year. Meanwhile...Brrrrrrr!

First we heard that Shania Twain got married over New Year's weekend, then we heard about Valerie Bertinelli's wedding, and now it's official - Kellie Pickler married fiance Kyle Jacobs on New Year's day, too. They were on a private island in the Caribbean and had an intimate ceremony with just a few family members and friends. They got engaged on the beach, so it's only fitting that the wedding would take place there, too. Says Kellie, “I love the beaches. I love hot weather. I am not a fan of snow. I’m not a fan of cold weather at all. I’d much rather be on the beach, in the ocean, or in a pool than anywhere. So, that would be ideal. Like, wouldn’t it be so cool to just be able to live on a beach somewhere and have no care in the world…all ya gotta do is tan and swim.”

In other relationship news, it looks like the Taylor Swift/Jake Gyllenhaal romance has cooled. People magazine is reporting that they spent their birthdays and Christmas apart, and were last seen together publicly on December 9th in Los Angeles.

What does it take to be the number one female country touring artist? Thirteen trucks of equipment, 8 buses, 80 traveling workers and a million fans in attendence. Carrie Underwood closed out her 2010 Play On Tour last Thursday after being on the road since March. Inspired by the "36 cents" referenced in her song "Change," Carrie donated 36 cents from every ticket sold - over a million tickets - to Save The Children's United States programs. What do you want to bet that she rounds that donation up to an even half-million dollars?

Miranda Lambert is featured in the January 10th issue of US Weekly, talking about her weight-loss. One way she's shed a few pounds is by choosing almonds instead of Cheetos. She's not talking about how many pounds she's down, but she has lost two sizes by working out three times a week and watching what she eats.

Luke Bryan is performing at the inaugural celebration for incoming Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. The party will be at Phillips Arena next Monday. He's also hosting the taping of GAC's "ACM Showcase" at the Ryman on January 18th. Tickets range from $18.50 to $55 and are available through the Grand Ole Opry website. Performing during the show will be Eric Church, Randy Houser, Easton Corbin, The Band Perry, the JaneDear Girls and Steel Magnolia. The special will air on January 27th, kicking off fan voting for the newcomer categories at the ACM's.

Got Rock Band 3? Love Johnny Cash? You're in luck - The Man In Black's music is finally available for download and play. Eight of his most popular songs, including "I Walk the Line," Cry, Cry, Cry" and "Folsom Prison Blues" are available for $13.49 and will work with Xbox 360, Wii and Playstation consoles.

Gwyneth Paltrow will host Saturday Night Live on January 15th. It's her third time hosting the show, and the musical guest is Cee Lo Green. Wonder if she'll whip out a line or two of "Country Strong?"

Check out the People's Choice awards tonight on CBS. Kid Rock will perform and Taylor Swift will be there. Tim McGraw is up for Favorite Male Artist, Carrie Underwood is up for Favorite Female artist, Favorite TV Guest Star and Favorite Country artist. Also up for Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Country Artist is Taylor Swift. Rounding out the Favorite Country artist category are Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and Rascal Flatts.

Catch Tim McGraw on Good Morning America and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon today. Tomorrow, he'll be on Chelsea Lately, and Friday he'll visit with Martha Stewart.

The tweet of the day is from Kellie Pickler Jacobs: "Private Island. Caribbean. Cigar in one hand, Rum in the other. Someone just called me "Mrs. Jacobs."....sounds nice :)"

Today's Country Tidbits

The LA premier of "Country Strong" was Tuesday night, and all of the stars were there, including co-star Tim McGraw with his wife Faith Hill on his arm. Reba McEntire and her hubby Narvel Blackstock were there to see the show, and Reba gives the movie two thumbs up. After the movie, the country music contingent, Gwyneth Paltrow included, all went out for a late dinner together.

Rascal Flatts year-long celebration of a decade in music concluded last night at the Grand Ole Opry. They performed, and were recognized by Karl Dean, mayor of Nashville, for their great music and good works. He said, in his official Mayoral Proclamation, "This is such a privilege to be here tonight to thank you in person for all that you do for the community and for the children in this city."

When NBC's "Who do You Think You Are?" returns for the second season, Tim McGraw will be one of the people digging into his past and trying to decipher his family tree. The show follows people around the world as they work with historians and research their own roots. Also appearing in the new season, which premiers January 21st, are Ashley Judd, Vanessa Williams, Rosie O'Donnell, Kim Cattrell and Steve Buscemi.

The ratings weren't great but the post-show sales boost was. After the airing of the initial American Country Awards, performers saw a nice sales increase in their product. Easton Corbin's self-titled debut cd saw a 58% sales increase, Josh Turner's "Haywire" was up 68% and Blake Shelton's "Hillbilly Bone" sold 75% more after the show. Nice!

What did boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal get for Taylor Swift for her birthday? A vintage Fender Grestsch guitar, signed by Chet Atkins. It's reported to have set him back $11,000. Nice!

Pretend you're the Mom of a big country superstar. What on earth do you give him for Christmas? That's Kenny Chesney's Mom's dilemma - whenever she asks him about something she wants to give him, he's already got it. What does he really want? Green beans. Says Kenny, “My mom and grandmother can green beans themselves. I love it, because it’s what I grew up with.” Watch out, Kenny...you're about to be inundated with home-canned beans!

Congrats to The Band Perry, whose debut album has gone platinum, signifying sales of over a million units.

Congratulations to Jamey Johnson. His double-disc cd, "The Guitar Song," has gone gold for sales of half a million units.

And congratulations to Taylor Swift, who has the top selling country music album again this week. She even sold 11% more this week than last, moving 201,000 units.

The tweet of the day is from David Nail: "Can't believe we just landed on this runway, ridiculous in Rochester, NY. Can't be safe at all!"

Today's Country Tidbits

The first-ever American Country Awards were handed out last night. Blue Fender Stratocaster guitars were the award, and Carrie Underwood got six of them, including Artist of the Year. Rascal Flatts were recognized for 10 years of success and great music, and the mystery of the evening was that the award for Best Male Artist got so lost in the shuffle that even the official list online didn't have it. Brad Paisley won it, by the way. Here's how it all shook out last night in the fan-voted awards:

Artist of the Year - Carrie Underwood

Artist of the Year, Duo or Group - Lady Antebellum

Artist of the Year, Breakthrough Artist - Easton Corbin

Artist of the Year, Male - Brad Paisley

Artist of the Year, Female - Carrie Underwood

Album of the Year - "Play On" by Carrie Underwood

Single of the Year, Male - "Why Don't We Just Dance" by Josh Turner

Single of the Year, Breakthrough Artist - "A Little More Country Than That" by Easton Corbin

Single of the Year - "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum

Single of the Year, Female Artist - "Cowboy Cassanova" by Carrie Underwood

Single of the Year, Duo or Group - "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum

Touring Headline Package of the Year - Carrie Underwood

Music Video of the Year - "Hillbilly Bone" by Blake Shelton with Trace Adkins

Music Video, Male - "Hillbilly Bone" by Blake Shelton with Trace Adkins

Music Video, Breakthrough Artist - "A Little More Country Than That" by Easton Corbin

Music Video, Female - "Cowboy Cassanova" by Carrie Underwood

Music Video, Duo or Group - "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum

The Kennedy Center Honors awards show taped last night in Washington DC. The show will air December 28th on CBS, and one of the honorees was Merle Haggard. Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Jamey Johnson, Kid Rock, Vince Gill and Brad Paisley were all on hand to celebrate The Hag in a three-song tribute. Also honored this year were Broadway composer Jerry Herman, choreographer Bill T. Jones, Paul McCartney and Oprah Winfrey.

Taylor Swift's fans are living up to her last name. Tickets to her stadium show in Massachussetts sold out in five minutes and two shows at LA's Staples Center sold out in two minutes each. Since there's such demand for tickets, she's added more shows to the world tour, which kicks off February 9th.

Good news for Willie Nelson, for a change. He is now only facing misdemeanor charges in his marijuana possession bust in Texas last month. The official weight of the pot was 4 ounces, not the originally reported 6 ounces. Willie won't face jail time and is looking at a maximum $4,000 fine.

Garth Brooks will be part of Larry King's long goodbye. His last show will air December 16th, and Garth will be a guest for an entire hour this Friday evening.

The CMA Country Christmas special will re-air on December 22nd on ABC. Hosted by Jennifer Nettles, it features beautiful renditions of classic Christmas songs by a host of Nashville's finest.

Darius Rucker will be part of Disney's Christmas Day Parade, airing Christmas Day on ABC.

Here's something you can watch now - Kix Brooks shaving off his mustache for a role in the movie "Thrift Store Cowboy."

Congrats to Rascal Flatts, who have their 11th #1 song with "Why Wait."

Keith Urban is on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "There's nothing like being done with touring and working on the next batch of songs in the studio. Especially this time of year."

Today's Country Tidbits

Last night in Nashville, CMT taped their first "Artists of the Year" show, which airs Friday night at 8 Eastern. It was a star-studded taping, including performances from the honorees, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band and Jason Aldean.

Montgomery Gentry's Eddie Montgomery now has more trouble heaped on his plate. He found out he has prostate cancer and is scheduled for surgery soon, and last night his wife served him with divorce papers. Apparently she decided she can't handle fighting cancer with her husband so is going to let him fight it on his own. Wow...guess she didn't mean those "in sickness and in health" words she said to him. Harsh...

A former Texas state prosecutor says Willie Nelson may face up to two years in jail for his current pot arrest. Because he's been arrested several times before, and because the reported weight of the marijuana was six ounces, he's looking at felony posession, which carries a minimum of 180 days in jail and a maximum of 2 years with a $10,000 fine.

Friday night, look for Martina McBride and Rascal Flatts to be sniffing exhaust fumes and getting oil on their hands. Oh, wait - maybe not, but they will be celebrating NASCAR. They'll perform at the 2010 NASCAR Spring Cut Series Awards Friday night in Las Vegas. The event will be broadcast live on the Speed Channel.

Today, Easton Corbin turns on the holiday lights at Monroe Carroll Children's Hospital in Nashville, then will treat patients and families to a concert.

For the ultimate Taylor Swift fan, what could be better than Christmas cards designed by Taylor, plus a collectible ornament that plays "Love Story?" Those are the new additions to her American Greetings line for this holiday season, and they're in stores now.

Taylor Swift is on the Regis and Kelly show today, and is the focus of an E! Entertainment special tonight. Miranda Lambert is on the Grammy Nominations Concert tonight on CBS, Darius Rucker is on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and in case you missed it the first time, Keith Urban's "Halftime in Real Time" airs again on GAC tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Little Big Town's Kimberly Schlapman: "It's always nice to hear Santa Claus is a fan... I just met him at the Cool Springs mall."

Today's Country Tidbits

Sunday night, Nashville celebrated the song. It was the induction ceremony for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Garth Brooks was in attendance to perform "Unanswered Prayers," "That Summer" and "The Thunder Rolls" to honor inductee Pat Alger, the author of those songs. Also inducted were Steve Cropper, whose work includes "In The Midnight Hour" and "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", Paul Davis who wrote "I Go Crazy" and "'65 Love Affair" and Stephen Foster, who penned the classics "Oh Susanna" and "My Old Kentucky Home." Honored for the third time in four years was Taylor Swift, who won Songwriter/Artist of the year again.

Speaking of Taylor Swift, check out this video of Taylor in Paris, trying to get from her car to the front door of a building. The French are in love with Taylor, that's for sure.

And in case you're wondering, some of the guys Taylor wrote about on her upcoming cd, "Speak Now," are being identified by song. "Dear John" is apparently for John Mayer, with whom she was rumored to be romantically linked last year. That song references the wish that she'd listened to her Mom's advice, and it's clear from the lyrics that it didn't end well at all. Taylor Lautner, her love interest in the movie "Valentine's Day," gets two songs: "The Story of Us" and "Back to December." The second song is an apology to Taylor L., whose heart Taylor S. confesses to have been careless with. And "Innocent" was written for Kanye West in the aftermath of the MTV Video Music Awards debacle last fall. The new cd is out a week from today.

Last night's Sugarland concert in New York was streamed live online, and Twitter was used to give away an autographed guitar. Special guests Ronnie Dunn and Little Big Town helped make the show amazing, and even mighty YouTube had a bit of trouble keeping up with the demand for the stream.

At the CMA Awards this year, Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow will team up for a tribute to Loretta Lynn, in celebration of her 50 years in country music. They'll perform "Coal Miner's Daughter" live on the show. The next night, "CMA Country Christmas" will be taped to air November 29th on ABC. Scheduled to perform are Brad Paisley, Reba, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride, Little Big Town, Sheryl Crow and LeAnn Rimes.

Voting is underway for the first annual American Country Awards, a fan-voted show which will air live from Las Vegas on December 6th. Nominees include Lady Antebellum and Easton Corbin, who are each nominated seven times, Carrie Underwood, who has six nominations, and Miranda Lambert and Josh Turner, both nominated five times.

Brad Paisley's H2O tour has been re-named the "H2O Frozen Over" tour, and will continue January and February of next year. Darius Rucker is on the bill as one of the openers, with Jerrod Niemann joining the tour.

Jack Ingram's Acoustic Motel series continues this week with "Stand Up."

Gary Allan will have to take some time off the road in December, as he undergoes surgery to remove a polyp from his vocal cord. Ticketholders for the shows on December 11th and 31st are being offered a refund, even though both shows will be rescheduled. Gary is expected to make a full recovery after surgery and vocal rest.

Congratulations to Easton Corbin, whose "Roll With It" is the #1 country song this week.

Congratulations to John Rich, who will be part of the next season of "Celebrity Apprentice."

And condolences to the family of Rodney and Tammy Jo Atkins. Tammy Jo's stepfather, Ralph Smith, passed away. Services were held yesterday.

Catch Blake Shelton on "Chelsea Lately" tonight. It's his third visit on the show, more than any other country artist, and it's also a celebratory show, as it's the 600th episode. Knowing both of them, anything could happen, so either stay up or set your DVR.

Today is the day that Sugarland's "Incredible Machine" cd is released. It's incredible...take that to the bank! Also look for the two "Original Songwriter Demos Volume 1 and Volume 2" which are out today. They're the original demo versions of songs like Garth Brooks' "The Dance," Martina McBride's "Independence Day" and Tim McGraw's "Something Like That," performed not by the artist, but by the demo singer or songwriter, in the form that the artist heard the song when deciding to record it. Great concept.

The tweet of the day is from Jimmy Wayne: "He stopped & shook my hand & said we're gonna have fun tonight. It was Garth. The only thing I could think to say was " uuuuhh hey Garth"."

Today's Country Tidbits

Brad Paisley's tour stops tonight, tomorrow and Saturday in Idaho, Utah and Colorado, and opening act Easton Corbin is nervous. It's his last weekend with the tour and Brad hasn't pranked him yet. “I’m thinkin’ since we haven’t seen anything yet, I’d be very surprised if we didn’t see something here in the next week. Whatever happens I’ll take it. Take it like a man, I guess.” Will he retaliate if pranked? “Well, we just got a lot of guys on the bus. There’s a lot of time to think about things, you know. Well one guy was like, “I got a great idea. If he pranks us you know. I got this great idea.” And he told us about it. He’s like, “you can’t tell anybody.” He said, “Just keep it under your hat.” And I’m like alright.”

Lady Antebellum will play a benefit concert in New York City on October 13th for Musicians On Call. The money raised will help bring entertainment to hospital patients. You can buy front row tickets if you hurry...and if you've got a grand each for them.

Shania Twain may not be a new American Idol judge, but she is writing an autobiography that will be out in the spring of next year, plus she's working on a series for Oprah's network, OWN, which will also debut next spring.

Are you an award-show buff? Or maybe just a fan of country music since way back? Then this book's for you. Journalist Deborah Evans Price authored a scrapbook-style history of the CMA Awards, going all the way back to their inception in 1967, and including program replicas, rare photographs, a forward by Kenny Chesney and an afterward by Barbara Mandrell. "The CMA Awards Vault" is available at the official CMA Awards site.

What will Sugarland be for Halloween? Maybe the BeeGees...!

Congrats to Jamey Johnson on having the top-selling country album on the charts this week. His double-disc "The Guitar Song" sold nearly 63,000 copies.

And wall bling for Luke Bryan, who's earned gold certification for his cd, "Doin' My Thing." Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" is triple-platinum for digital downloads and "Undo It" earned digital gold. Miranda Lambert's "The House That Built Me" has also gone gold.

The tweet of the day is from Taylor Swift: "Walked out of my room and my mom says to the hair/make up team, "You guys sure got your work cut out for you this morning, don't you.."

Today's Country Tidbits

One of Carrie Underwood's tour truck drivers was in a wreck over the weekend, and unfortunately, he didn't live through it. The "Play On" tour stopped in Atlantic City on Friday night, and at around 8am the next morning on I-95 in Connecticut, while heading to the next tour stop, the driver of one of the stage trucks drove the truck off of an embankment, where it flipped and burned. There were no skid marks, so the driver either suffered some sort of debilitating health crisis or fell asleep while driving, and he was killed in the crash. Carrie's show in Connecticut went on Saturday night, and when she got to the part of the show where she performs "Temporary Home," she talked about the incident, saying that the song means so much to her anyway, but meant a little more Saturday night.



Dierks Bentley will take his "Miles & Music for Kids" ride to Seattle this year. The ride and after-concert will benefit the Seattle Children's Hospital and takes place on Saturday, September 18th.

Gary Allan was supposed to have show in Oklahoma City on Saturday night...nope! Snow and ice forced the cancellation and rescheduling of the show to May 27th. Randy Travis also had a show in Oklahoma, and that one had to be canceled, too, because he didn't beat the storm into the state.

Easton Corbin did get to perform over the weekend. He was part of the Saturday night Opry line-up. And a big congrats to him..."A Little More Country Than That" sits at number one on the country chart this week.

Great news for those of us who still like to buy hard-copy cds: the largest music group in the world, UMG, is about to start pricing cds at or below download prices. UMG's roster includes George Strait, Sugarland, Josh Turner, Billy Currington, Shania Twain and tons more big stars.

Congrats on the new wall bling to:
Alan Jackson for his 15th platinum album with "Good Time."
Lady Antebellum for their double-platinum "Need You Now."
Taylor Swift for a six-times-platinum certification for "Fearless" and gold certification on the single, "Today Was a Fairytale."
Carrie Underwood gets a triple-platinum on "Carnival Ride," platinum for "Play On," and "Cowboy Cassanova" has earned platinum single status.
Platinum singles were also earned by Zac Brown Band for "Toes" and Jason Aldean for "Big Green Tractor."
Miranda Lambert has earned gold status for "Revolution," and Tim McGraw has it for "Southern Voice."
Gold single awards were given to Toby Keith for "God Love Her," Brad Paisley for "Online," Darius Rucker for "It Won't Be Like This for Long" and "Alright," and LeAnn Rimes earned gold for "I Need You."

Blake Shelton is on "Chelsea Lately" on E! tonight.