Showing posts with label Jo Dee Messina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jo Dee Messina. Show all posts

Friday, November 9, 2012

Brad Paisley is gallivanting around in Europe this week, playing shows in Sweden, Norway and Ireland. But as he says in the song “Southern Comfort Zone,” there’s no place like home: “There’s this circle of wood at the Opry, and it’s back here in Tennessee where everything is as I remember it. And everything is…it’s just…it’s the Shire in Lord of the Rings, it’s the place that’s this beautiful, ideal place to live, which I appreciate more now after having seen the world.”

When Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney toured together this past summer, what was their favorite part of the shows? Kenny starts the reminiscence: “It’s just special, you know, it was special for me, it was special for Tim. I think it was special for the fans to get to see us. To get to sing this song together every night and you know that’s something that doesn’t happen every day in this business and we were very excited to do it and this is just icing on the cake, really. [Tim] For me, it was seeing Kenny naked on those videos during the show.” Hey, Tim – that was “shirtless,” not naked!!

Taylor Swift has the #1 album in the country again this week with “Red.” It sits atop the Billboard Country chart and the Billboard 200 chart. As is her custom, Taylor either wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, and one of her collaborators is long-time writing buddy, Liz Rose. Taylor says, “It was really cool to get back with her, and tell her what was going on in my life and to just kind of walk her through this experience I had. We wrote a song called ‘All Too Well’ which is basically the story of a relationship from beginning to the ending. It’s pretty sad actually.” When the two sat down, Taylor had the song written, but it was over ten minutes long.

Luke Bryan has the #1 country song in America again this week, but if you ask him about other songs, he’ll dish. Favorite make-out song for him and Caroline? “Can’t Get You Off My Mind” by Lenny Kravitz. Favorite Karaoke song? Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.” The song he wishes he’d recorded? Blake Shelton’s “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking?” About his #1 song, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye,” co-written by Luke, Jeff Stevens and Shane McAnally, Luke says, “I think the chorus of that thing is some of the best writing that I’ve ever been a part of and I love the simplicity of the verses…I just love ‘Girl, rest your head.’ I love all that -- the melodies and all that through the song.” “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” is Luke’s sixth #1 song, and the third from “Tailgates & Tanlines.”

We know what the guys in Zac Brown Band will be doing this holiday season – resting! They blocked out their calendars for some serious family time, but they won’t be resting long. By March, they’ll have new music written, a new touring rig and the production mapped out for their 2013 tour.
Sunday, Jo Dee Messina is running 13.1 miles at the Rock n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon & ½ Marathon. Not content to just run, she’s playing the post-race show at the Alamodome. 
Tracy Byrd is frying up turkeys again this year. His 7th Annual Mission Possible Turkey Fry happens Tuesday, November 20th at the Nashville Rescue Mission. He and his cohorts will fry 500 birds, providing meals for the homeless and unemployed. It’s open to the public, so go pitch in if you’d like. Donations are appreciated. 

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Today's Country Tidbits

At the Peoples Choice Awards last night, Taylor Swift racked up some more hardware, winning Favorite Country Artist. She was the only country artist to win anything this year.

There's a hot little rumor about a couple of other country artists - Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert singing "America the Beautiful" before Super Bowl 46. Kelly Clarkson is featured in the same rumor as the National Anthem singer. No official word has been released, but how fun will that be? The Super Bowl happens February 5th in Indianapolis.

Rascal Flatts tour fires up tonight in Charleston, West Virginia and they're fired up to share their new song, "Banjo," live from the stage. According to Joe Don Rooney, "It’s gonna be a great live song. I think everybody by the first chorus will get it, they’ll be singing along to it and it’s just, um...just fun stuff.” Sara Evans and Hunter Hayes are along for the Thaw Out 2012 Tour.

Miranda Lambert's On Fire Tour kicks off tonight, too, with Chris Young along for the ride. He's become good friends with Miranda and Blake Shelton over the past year, and is psyched about the opening slot: “It’s an amazing feeling, especially with her. I’ve got a good relationship — this year especially, I ended up hangin’ out with her and Blake a lot on the road and love…love both of them as people and as artists. So, the fact that, you know, she asked me and my band to go out with her and be a part of that tour is big, and it’s somethin’ I’m overwhelmingly looking forward to. It’s gonna be a blast.”

Congratulations to Jo Dee Messina and her hubby Chris Deffenbaugh on the birth of their second son, Jonah, Christopher Deffenbaugh. He was born yesterday, and Jo Dee said in a statement that everyone is fine and “God has blessed us so much.”

Scotty McCreery has decided to go to college in the fall. He says it might take him 50 years to graduate, but he's committed to getting an education. “I’m hoping to go right out of high school into college like a normal kid, you know? Hopefully, like, Belmont so I can study music while I’m doing this career, so I can learn more. I need to learn...I’m young, so I’ve got a lot to learn.” Other Belmont alumni include Brad Paisley, Trisha Yearwood, and Josh Turner.

Happy birthday to William Lee Golden of the Oak Ridge Boys, who is 73 today.

The tweet of the day is from Justin Moore: "On the bus bout to leave Nashville. Next stop, TOLEDO! First night of "well lit and amplified" tour with Blake shelton! Hello 2012!"

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Today's Country Tidbits

Toby Keith tops Forbes Magazine's "Country Music's Highest-Paid Stars" list, raking in $50 million in the past year. His money comes not just from his music and tour dates, but also his "I Love This Bar & Grill" restaurants, his "Wild Shot Mezcal" and a sponsor relationship with Ford. Taylor Swift is second with $45 million, Brad Paisley is third at $40 million, Tim McGraw comes in fourth with $35 million and Rascal Flatts is a close 5th at $34 million.

Fun news about the CMA Awards - all five of the Entertainer of the Year nominees - Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban - will perform during the show. Tickets for the show go on sale to the public this Saturday at Ticketmaster.

Luke Bryan kicks off his third annual "Farm Tour" next week in South Carolina. Luke loves these little-town shows, saying “We just wanna have a little fun in the fall. And these things are a big event for these towns. I just love the fact that people can come out and have a big time, listen to some music, and…it’s just a fun experience.” He's on the road now, and wraps up his show with a little Lady Gaga. Don't believe me? Check out Luke's rendition of "Bad Romance"...


Last night in New York, Vince Gill and Sting shared the stage for a taping of CMT Crossroads. The two have known each other for 14 years and are great friends, and both had been looking for a way to work together. During the invitation-only concert, they swapped licks on Vince's "Whenever You Come Around," "These Days" and "Liza Jane." From Sting's catalog, they chose "Fields of Gold, "Shape of My Heart" and "Every Breath You Take." They also both whipped out guitars and had fun with a guitar jam. "CMT Crossroads: Sting and Vince Gill" will air in November. On October first, Vince will be part of Sting's 60th birthday concert, along with Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga.

Randy Travis celebrates 25 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry on October 4th. Carrie Underwood and Josh Turner are just two of the stars turning out to fete Randy. Parts of the show will air on GAC's "Opry Live" on October 15th, and there are still tickets available if you're up for a road trip.

Montgomery Gentry's new cd, "Rebels on the Run," won't be out until October 18th. The release date was pushed back because the guys decided to give away a motorcycle in conjunction with the release. One of the cd cases will include a "golden ticket" that the winner will exchange for a custom-made chopper from Demented Cycles.

There's fantasy baseball, fantasy football and now...fantasy hunting? Yep, and Craig Morgan is the first country artist to sign on as a player. There's over $60,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs, so you might want to pick a team!

Happy birthday to Faith Hill, who turns 44 today. She wants to share her gifts with her daughters - “I guess the greatest gift that I could give my girls is a sense of self worth and just…to be happy, learn to be happy, try to be happy.” By the way, Faith is working on a new album, though there's no word on a potential release date.

The tweet of the day is from Jo Dee Messina: "Love is ... carrying leftover mac and cheese 1/2 way across country, through secuity, on plane, for a 2 year old"

Monday, May 3, 2010

Today's Country Tidbits

The weather on Sunday wreaked havoc with homes, roads and concerts in Tennessee. Dierks Bentley's Knoxville concert was canceled and he spent the extra time bailing water out of his house, Terri Clark had to bail water out of her basement with big plastic storage totes, and Naomi Judd had six buffalo escape from her farm in Leiper's Fork. Jo Dee Messina tweeted, "Well, house flooded :( trying to pump out water. Its at least 5 ft high. Crazy weather here. family is well. Thats most important." And Kenny Chesney asked for help for the community: "TN is a mess with floods. If you're fortunate enough to help out, hit up the mid-TN Red Cross: Stay safe, everyone." In Nashville today, there's a lot of clean-up going on. Schools are closed, many businesses are closed & mopping up the mess, and the Opryland Hotel sits empty, a victim of flood evacuation. Singer-songwriter Seth Jones put the mess to music:



The 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday evening was a great race, made even more special by Rascal Flatts' performance of our National Anthem.



The spring leg of the Strait/Reba/Lee Ann tour wrapped up last night. They'll take their show back out on the road for more concerts later this year.

Last night was also the last night for Martina McBride's Shine All Night tour. Here's hoping all of those artists who are heading home from tours find their homes safe and dry.

Tim McGraw is about to take his Southern Voice tour south of the Equator - he's headed to Australia and New Zealand.

Congrats to Taylor Swift, who has logged another endorsement deal. Now she's the new face of Cover Girl cosmetics. A brand new product is on the way, featuring Taylor as the face of it in print, tv and in-store advertising.

This week's edition of Country Weekly is the Mother's Day issue, with Miranda Lambert and her Mom, Bev, on the cover, and Carrie Underwood, Reba, Darius Rucker and more stars saluting their Moms.

Happy birthday to Eric Church, who turns 33 today.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Today's Country Tidbits

Brooks & Dunn's Last Rodeo tour includes local active-duty military marching across the stage while they perform "Only In America," confetti cannons shooting red, white & blue streamers out over the audience and "Brand New Man" and "Boot Scootin' Boogie" as the encore songs. There are less than 50 shows remaining in the duo's 20-year career, so catch them if you can.

About 500 miles away, Sugarland kicked off their "Incredible Machine" tour, minus the machine set pieces, which didn't make it to the venue. Fans didn't seem to notice, as Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush tore through not just their own songs, but a medly of hits from Jackson 5, Beyonce and Miley Cyrus wrapped inside "Everyday America."

"Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D" made over a million dollars in it's first four days in theatres. It's only supposed to be in theatres through this Sunday, so catch it quick if you want to see it on the big screen.

Well, the two Auburn University seniors who were angling for a hug from Taylor Swift got it yesterday, in typical Taylor style. Brian and Michael got an email from Taylor Swift at 12:30, telling them to go to a theatre at AU and sing some karaoke to her songs. They rounded up a bunch of friends, and of course the video cameras were rolling.



Have you seen Taylor Swift's Sony commercial for the new Cyber-shot camera, which takes panoramic view shots?

Garth Brooks popped in to entertain child patients at Denver Health, and to help with the grand opening of the new Child Life ZONE, funded by Garth's Teammates for Kids Foundation and the Troy Aikman Foundation. In the zone, kids have a library, playground, tv studios and creative areas where needles and treatments are not allowed.

Jimmy Wayne is about 550 miles short of his destination of Phoenix, Arizona in his walk across America. His new goal is to get Oprah Winfrey's attention, so she can help him raise awareness about the problems foster teens have when they age out of the foster care system. With nowhere to go, they become homeless, helpless and often hopeless. Project Meet Me Halfway is hoping that Oprah will do a segment on teen homelessness to help the mission.

New country music in stores today includes Lonestar's "Party Heard Around the World" and Jo Dee Messina's "Unmistakable: Love."

If you pick up a copy of "Chicken and Biscuits" by Colt Ford, you also have a good shot at getting a free meal from Zaxby's. There are 50,000 coupons out there, so good luck!

Lady A has scored triple-platinum status with the single, "Need You Now," and double platinum certification for the CD of the same name.

Before Lady Antebellum had a big hit with their first song, "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," the trio was tapped to be part of Jim Brickman's latest compilation, "Never Alone." They sing the title cut, and the CD is available for purchase today.

Don't forget that it's country music week on American Idol. Shania Twain is the mentor tonight, and Lady Antebellum and Rascal Flatts perform tomorrow night on the results show.

Dierks Bentley is on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Today's Country Tidbits

In the middle of a huge tour, Tim McGraw is wrapping work on his latest movie and has already signed on for another one. He and Dwight Yoakam will be part of "Dirty Girl," a comedy about a wild high school girl looking for her father. Tim's also going to get a little military appreciation in - on May 5th, he'll do a concert at the Player's Championship golf tournament as the capper for their Military Appreciation Day.

In other Tim news, he's publicly supporting co-star Sandra Bullock through her tough times. Saying that she's tougher than he could be in the same situation, he wishes her nothing but the best as she deals with allegations of her husband's multiple infidelities.

Saturday night, Taylor Swift was up for two Nickelodeon Kids Choice awards. She won them both - Favorite Female Singer and Favorite Song for "You Belong With Me." Congrats, Taylor!

So a couple of guys from Auburn, AL put up a website, trying to get a hug from Taylor Swift for a film project. She was charmed, so decided to challenge them to do some good deeds to earn the hug. Challenge #1 - help an old lady across the street. I'm thinking they won that challenge with flying colors. See what you think.



Jo Dee Messina is hosting the CMA Music Festival's 5K family run for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Every participant who raises at least $250 will get two tickets to brunch with Jo Dee. Online registration for the June 12th event is going on now.

Want a free ringtone for your phone, and love Charlie Daniels' fiddle playing on the Geico commercial? You're in luck!

Jimmy Wayne crossed into Texas on Saturday in his walk across America for Project Meet Me Halfway. While in Oklahoma, he trudged through yet another snow storm in his walk to raise awareness for teen homelessness.

On April 10th, a tv special will tape in Connecticut. The retrospective is entitled "Kenny Rogers: the First 50 Years," and the line-up of stars just got bigger. Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Wynonna Judd and Lionel Richie were already on the bill, and Tim McGraw, Darius Rucker, Billy Currington, Smokey Robinson, Chris Isaak, Sheena Easton and the Oak Ridge Boys are all going to be part of it. Tickets for the show range from $100 to $225 and are on sale now.

In case you want to be in Hollywood for the occasion, Alan Jackson gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 16th at 11:30am.

Congrats to Reba, who turned 55 yesterday. That woman is rockin' 55!

Alan Jackson and Gretchen Wilson both have new albums out tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Today's Country Tidbits

Brad Paisley tipped his tour info yesterday at a #1 party for "Welcome to the Future" and "American Saturday Night." The "H2O World Tour" kicks off in late May for a run of 75 cities with Darius Rucker and Justin Moore as his opening acts. He made the announcement yesterday because it was World Water Day, a day set aside to raise awareness for the worldwide need for safe drinking water. Brad's new song is "Water" and he is planning a "Water World Plaza" at his tour stops, featuring performances by Easton Corbin, Steel Magnolia and Josh Thompson. Also on the plaza is a Corvette simulator, where fans can try to beat Brad's performance and win meet & greet passes.

Meanwhile, on the Keith Urban tour front, he's decided to take his show to places he's never played or hasn't played in a long time. Here's a list of his tour stops this spring and summer:

April 16th Florence, Arizona
April 23rd Las Vegas, Nevada
April 24th Indio, California
May 29th Baton Rouge, Louisiana
June 10th East Rutherford, NJ
June 12th Boston, Massachusetts
June 14th Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 15th Washington, DC
June 19th Chicago, Illinois
June 25th Manhattan, Kansas
June 26th Greeley, Colorado
June 27th Grand Junction, Colorado
July 8th Cavendish, Nova Scotia
July 10th Ft. Loramie, Ohio
July 16th Sarnia, Ontario
July 28th Paso Robles, California
July 30th Sweet Home, Oregon
August 1st Camrose, Alberta
August 6th Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
August 14th Indianapolis, Indiana
September 3rd Allentown, Pennsylvania
September 4th Essex Junction, Vermont

The ACM videos continue. Starting on April first, fans can vote for Top New Artist and Entertainer of the Year. Taylor Swift is up for Entertainer, along with three other awards. Here's her video asking for your vote.



Jo Dee Messina is taking a page out of the Blake Shelton playbook: she's releasing three smaller albums this year instead of one big one. The first, "Unmistakable: Love," is out on April 27th and is her first album in six years. It'll be followed later this year by "Unmistakable: Drive" and "Unmistakable: Inspiration." Each features seven to 9 songs and will showcase the music she's written and recorded over the last six years.

When Blake Shelton played the Ryman last week, Trace Adkins joined him on stage for "Hillbilly Bone," and someone had a video phone. Of course someone did - someone always does! The video quality isn't great, but the performance sure is!



Jimmy Wayne's Meet Me Halfway walk across America continues, and he's gotten caught in yet another snowstorm. He's in Oklahoma, nearing Mangum, where my Dad grew up, and according to the counter on his website, he's walked 721 miles so far. He's collecting coins he finds alongside the road and will donate the money to MMH, to help homeless teens.

Shopping alert - The Blind Side, co-starring Tim McGraw and Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock, is out today on DVD and Blu-Ray. And Carrie Underwood’s "All-American Girl" will be available as a single-track download for Rock Band users next week.

If you missed the Zac Brown Band & Jimmy Buffett on CMT Crossroads last Friday night, you can catch a re-air tonight. And here's just a little sample of how good the show was:

CMT Crossroads: Jimmy Buffett and Zac Brown Band
"Free/Into the Mystic"

CMT Crossroads | Jimmy Buffett | Zac Brown Band


Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Today's Country Tidbits

The ACM award show isn't until April 18th, but already we know who the Top New Solo Vocalist, Vocal Group and Vocal Duo are. Congrats to Luke Bryan, Gloriana and Joey+Rory for winning those fan-voted categories. They're now competing against each other for the ACM Top New Artist, which again will be fan-voted. That starts on April 1, the same day that GAC will air the Trace Adkins hosted "ACM Top New Artist" special.

Another awards show is getting set to announce nominees - the ninth annual CMT Music Awards happens on June 9th at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. The awards recognize excellence in country music videos, and the show will feature live performances from fan favorites. Tickets to the show go on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets on April 10th.

And there should be some sort of award for this - it's the 25th year for Farm Aid, and founding board member Willie Nelson says, "In 1985, we started out to save the family farmer. Now it looks like the family farmer is going to save us as our nation continues to endure a historic economic downturn." Farm Aid 25: Growing Home For America is in the planning stages, but everyone knows Willie will be there.

Something tasty from the Zac Brown Band - the Southern Ground Cookbook is now available at their website and also at Cracker Barrel's site. The book features removable recipe cards for ease of recipe-following, and Zac Brown's Southern Ground Grub foods will be in stores soon. Which recipe is Zac's favorite? “There’s one in there called ‘Chicken and Corn,’ and its homemade fried chicken and homemade fresh cream corn and you bury the chicken in the corn and bake it for a little while. It’s ridiculous, I mean really.”

Craig Morgan, who's touring with Carrie Underwood, had to catch a flight home early this morning to check on his son and pickup truck. Apparently his son had a wreck, and Craig's been told that he's ok, but he wants to go see for himself. He'll be back on stage for the Atlantic City show Friday night.

Jo Dee Messina and her hubby are expecting their first child in three months. It's a boy, and they're ecstatic: "We knew we wanted to have kids, but we just said, 'Whenever it happens, it happens.' And it happened! We were both surprised at first. It's such a lifestyle change. But then we're like, 'Wow, we're going to be parents.'"

The Eagles will tour with the Dixie Chicks this summer, and Keith Urban will join the tour for five shows. The eight-city stadium stomp happens in June, and it's the first time the Dixie Chicks have toured in four years. Here's the itinerary, and the * indicates the shows that include Keith Urban:

June-8 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre
June-10 *East *Rutherford, NJ New Meadowlands Stadium
June-12 *Boston, MA Gillette Stadium
June-14 *Philadelphia, PA Citizens Bank Ball Park
June-15 *Washington, DC Nationals Park
June-19 *Chicago, IL Soldier Field
June-22 Winnipeg, MB Canad Inna Stadium
June-24 St. Louis, MO Busch Stadium

Mindy McCready is on "The View" today, Craig Morgan is on "Hannity" and Gary Allan is on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." And set your dvr's...the Zac Brown Band/Jimmy Buffett CMT Crossroads episode debuts this Friday night.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Today's Country Tidbits

The star-studded Hope for Haiti telethon Friday night just picked up a bit of twang. Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock will all be part of the two-hour event airing on dozens of networks and media outlets simultaneously. Taylor Swift will be part of the Los Angeles segments, where Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock will perform together on the show. Los Angeles also includes Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake and Stevie Wonder. Performing in New York are Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira and Sting. The London lineup features Coldplay and a group performance by Bono, the Edge, Jay-Z and Rihanna. Starting Saturday, each performance will be available for download from iTunes for 99 cents each, with all proceeds going to Hatian relief efforts.

The Grammy Award show is getting more country by the minute. Confirmed to appear are the Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert.

Taylor Swift has a new nomination in this new year...this one for Breakthrough International Artist at the Brit Awards, the UK equivalent of the Grammys. The awards will be handed out February 16th.

Kellie Pickler, Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser have returned from their USO tour of the middle east. All are glowing about the experience, and how proud they are to be Americans.

Kellie Pickler got a haircut yesterday, after she returned from her USO tour. She says she feels like a pixie, so we know two things: it must be a pretty short haircut, and it's probably as cute as her puppy, Pixie!

Gretchen Wilson released a greatest hits package yesterday and her new cd, "I Got Your Country Right Here" has a release date of March 30th. Her first single from it, "Work Hard, Play Harder," is working it's way up the country charts now.

Kenny Chesney has been sequestered in a movie studio in LA working on his "Summer in 3D" movie. The release date is April 21st. This year marks 15 years in country music for him, and he's the cover story in Country Weekly magazine this week.

How did Lady Antebellum land the plum gig as Tim McGraw's opening act on tour? Well, as Tim puts it, he's a fan of their music, so they were on his short list. Then his 12-year-old daughter Gracie started in on him - "come on, Dad...come on, Dad...come on, dad!" so he had no choice but to bow to the will of the even bigger Lady A fan in his life.

Jo Dee Messina is taking her Music Room show to New York City in March for a 5 night, seven show stint at the Regency Hotel, where there's a lovely theatre. According to Jo Dee, “This tour is whatever the audience wants. We do a couple songs then we flip it over to the audience and they make requests, so no two shows are the same. Sometimes the audience just wants to hear the hits; sometimes people want to hear stuff from the new record...It’s whatever they want. That’s the magic of this show, there’s no set list."

Charlie Daniels continues to recover from the mild stroke he suffered while on vacation in Colorado last Friday. He's home and doing well, and his tour, which kicks off next month, isn't expected to be affected.

Happy birthday today to John Michael Montgomery.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Today's Country Tidbits

Garth Brooks has teamed up with The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. to raise a million bucks in 2010 for Teammates for Kids. In the past ten years, athletes from all sorts of sports have helped raised over $75 million, with one hundred percent of the proceeds going to children's charities.

By popular demand, Jimmy Wayne's Meet Me Halfway trek across America now has its own website. Follow his frigid trek from Nashville to Arizona as he raises money to help homeless teens. As a former homeless teen himself, he's making a point to stop at local shelters along the way to show those kids how a life can turn around with the right dreams and the willingness to work for those dreams.

On the heels of having the biggest-selling cd of 2009, Taylor Swift just hit another milestone: she's the most-downloaded artist in history, with a total sales of 24.3 million digital tracks.

Gretchen Wilson will be the halftime performer at the AFC Divisional Playoff game in Indianapolis this coming Saturday. She'll also sing the National Anthem before the game, which features the Indianapolis Colts vs. the New York Jets.

Kenny Chesney is a new homeowner in Franklin, Tennessee. He plunked down $9.2 million for a 30 acre estate with five bedrooms, seven full baths and two half-baths in 11,143 square feet of house. The estate is called Bella Luce, which is Italian for "beautiful light." The driveway is nearly a mile long, there's an infinity-edge swimming pool and a six car garage, complete with it's own heating and air system. So, two puppies for the girlfriend, a new mansion...hmmmm, can an engagement ring be far behind?

No word on when it will tape, but Keith Urban and John Mayer will be featured in an episode of CMT Crossroads this season. That should be hot!

Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson and Kellie Pickler left for the middle east yesterday, to deliver postcards of support and to play for the men and women laying their lives on the line for our country.

Toby Keith wants to give you a new pickup and a private concert for you and 99 friends...in your own back yard. To enter the Ford F-150 sweepstakes, check out Toby's tour page.

Montgomery Gentry's new cd is done. No word on a name or release date yet, but the studio work on it is finished, and the tour planning is underway.

And Jo Dee Messina is set to release new music this year. The first single, "That's God" is available on her website. No, not just part of it, like most artists do...the whole song is there, and she calls it "her soul on a page."

Sara Evans - novelist? Yep, her first book is out, and she's doing a book signing in Nashville today. "The Sweet By and By" is a semi-autobiographical novel, with heroine Jade Fitzgerald finding redemption in faith following a stormy childhood. This is the first of four books that Sara's planning in the series.

The Country Crossings gambling dispute continues. Alabama Governor Barber has stated that he'll go on with the raid to remove what he considers illegal gambling machines if the judge dissolves the restraining order against the raid. The hearing is tomorrow morning in Dothan, Alabama. Meanwhile, Houston County elected officials and business leaders have sent a letter to the Governor, asking that the dispute be settled in a civil, not criminal, manner. Citing the tough economy and the potential job losses if Country Crossings is closed down, they're trying to appeal to the Governor's sense of fairness. Country Crossings is scheduled to host three days of free concerts this coming weekend as part of their grand opening celebration.

As part of Sound and Speed's Friday night concert, Chris Young found himself onstage, singing a duet with Vince Gill. He tweeted about what an amazing experience that was on Friday night, and was still going on about it Saturday afternoon.

Happy birthday to Mama Judd, Naomi, today.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009


Today's country tidbits...

Yesterday in Nashville, Keith Urban was the center of the songwriters' #1 party for "Only You Can Love Me This Way." He did an acoustic version of the song as part of the festivities. It was one of three songs on "Defying Gravity" that he didn't write or co-write, but he thought it was important to be at the #1 celebration to thank the writers. He flew in from LA before the party, then flew back out after the party.

What happens to the tour buses when artists are home for the holidays? They line up to help kids, that's what. On December 14th in Hendersonville, TN, the Wal-Mart parking lot will be filled with tour buses, some with their stars on board, and for a small donation, you can tour the bus and get autographs. The proceeds benefit Christmas 4 Kids, which gives special kids their own holiday shopping sprees.

Got a Guitar Hero playing Taylor Swift fan on your Christmas list? Here's the perfect gift - "Our Song" will be released by Neversoft as a download for Guitar Hero on December 22nd. It's also on Band Hero, in case your Guitar Hero wants a new game to play.

The end of the year lists are starting to come out, and AOL's country presence, The Boot, has declared that Brad Paisley has the #1 song of the year with "Then" and the #1 album of the year with "American Saturday Night."

Miranda Lambert, on how she's making it in the tough music business: "You really have to go into this business knowing exactly what you want to do and what you have to say and surround yourself with people that uplift that. Otherwise, you'll get lost. I think it's hard to stay true when somebody else may be more successful than you because they compromise a little bit, but you just have to decide if it's worth it."

Yesterday, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton were out hunting, sitting in a tent blind. Miranda tweeted, "It's rainin like crazy. Oh wait, it's sleeting. Brrrrrr"

Kellie Pickler is taking some time to write songs, and eat her favorite food: Velveeta Shells and Cheese. Now, why isn't that a surprise?

James Otto on twitter: "I'm in the studio all week cuttin some new music. I truly love hearing a new song come to life. It's still one of the best parts of my job."

Sugarland will perform and Dwight Yoakam will be a presenter as the Grammy nominations are announced tonight. "Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music's Biggest Night" is on CBS tonight.

Catch Jo Dee Messina on tv tonight, as part of Christmas in Rockefeller Square. She'll be part of the Christmas tree lighting ceremony on NBC.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009


Today's country tidbits...

Yesterday afternoon, last night, and into the wee hours of this morning, Chris Young had a party in Nashville. It was his number 1 celebration for “Gettin’ You Home.” He and the co-writers, Cory Batten and Kent Blazy, wrote the song in about an hour. At the time, they wondered if it was brilliant or stupid. Doubt they'll be second-guessing themselves the next time lightening strikes!

Lady A has done a version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" for Verizon V-Cast users. Get it as a ringtone and ringback here.

The details are trickling out about Oprah's show on Monday. It's a holiday duet extravaganza, according to Tim McGraw, who'll be duetting with Alicia Keys. Sugarland teams up with Jennifer Hudson and Andrea Boccelli pairs off with Mary J. Blige. Sounds fun!

Jo Dee Messina has added a second concert to her Harvest Hands Community Development benefit on December 5th. The show is at the Brentwood (TN) United Methodist Church, the tickets are free and you can get them from Jo Dee's website, and the plate will be passed with all of the money going to Harvest Hands.


Jimmy Wayne shared memories of his childhood Thanksgivings, and they weren't all rosy. He and his sister Patricia didn't always get to spend Thanksgiving together because they were in and out of foster homes. When they were home together, they didn't always have food. Now that they're adults, they make it a priority to spend the holiday together as one big, happy family. And the family got bigger this year...Jimmy's sister and her husband adopted a new daughter, 3 year old Charlie Storm.

A Very Special Christmas Volume 7 is the latest in a series of compilation albums that began in 1987 to benefit The Special Olympics. It's in stores just in time for Thanksgiving & holiday shopping, and features great Christmas songs sung by some of today's hottest stars, including Carrie Underwood's "The First Noel," Kellie Pickler's "Santa Baby," Gloriana's "Silent Night," and Miley Cyrus' "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree." Over the years, the project has raised more than $100-million.

The Nov. 14 Opry Live webcast featuring Rodney Atkins, Martina McBride, Jake Owen and Carrie Underwood is now available for a limited time on the official Grand Ole Opry MySpace page.

Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson and Sugarland are all part of Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 2010. Brooks & Dunn will play July 24, Sugarland on July 30 and Alan Jackson on July 31. Also part of the fun, Neal McCoy, Aaron Tippin, Clay Walker and more artists to be named later. Tickets go on sale Dec. 5.

A big congrats to Donnie Osmond, who was crowned the champion last night on Dancing With the Stars. He slyly said he wanted to do better than his sister, Marie, at the beginning of the competition. Looks like he did!

Monday, November 9, 2009


Today's country tidbits...

Taylor Swift knocked it out of the park Saturday night as host of SNL. From her "Monologue Song" which touched on ex-boyfriends, current maybe boyfriend and of course, Kanye West, to her dark-haired look in the fake movie trailer, to her brace-wearing turn as Samantha Samuels in a fake television commercial, she showed that her acting and comedy skills are as well-developed as her singing and songwriting skills. Country Music Tattle Tale links to all of the show's skits, in case you missed the show or want to see parts of it again.

Nashville's newspaper, The Tennessean, has a very lively on-line presence. They set out to get on-camera interviews with each of the CMA Entertainer of the Year nominees, talking about what it would mean to them to win the award on Wednesday night. See the results here.

George Strait made big-screen history in the 1992 movie, "Pure Country." Next week in Nashville, "A Pure Country Gift" is filming, including a concert scene at the Municipal Auditorium. The movie stars Katrina Elam and features George Strait. If you'll be in Nashville next Wednesday, show up at the auditorium in your best country duds to be part of the concert crowd. Get there before noon...before 9 is probably better advice, if you want to get in.

Dierks Bentley rubbed shoulders - literally - with the hero who's credited with saving so many lives at the horrible massacre at Ft. Hood in Texas. Sgt. Kimberly Munley is a big Dierks Bentley fan and went to his Freedom Fest concert at Ft. Hood on July 4th. Photos of the two of them at his meet & greet have been on the news over the weekend, and he tweeted that he was able to speak with her on the phone and pass along his prayers for her speedy recovery. She's in stable condition.

Keith Urban has just been announced as one of the performers on the American Music Awards, airing on ABC November 22nd. Carrie Underwood is also performing.

Jo Dee Messina will be performing a benefit concert in Nashville on December 5th at the Brentwood United Methodist Church. Tickets are free and you can get them from Jo Dee's website, but the plate will be passed for Harvest Hands Community Development Corporation, an organization taking Nashville's blighted inner-city and refurbishing it, one life at a time.

The flamboyant Hollywood reporter, Perez Hilton, snagged the John Mayer/Taylor Swift duet that's part of John's upcoming cd. Hear Half of My Heart here.

Rascal Flatts loves Wendy's - here's video proof!