Today's Country Tidbits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today's Country Tidbits

With Christmas only three days away, some country artists are reminiscing about their childhood holidays. Keith Urban's Christmas in Queensland, Australia came with sunscreen: “The four of us, my brother, and me, and mom and dad, would all go the beach and [there would] be families everywhere. And, we’d take lunch with us, and a lot of the times we’d take all our presents with us, and we’d open them up, either on the beach or the backseat of the car, you know...usually in the car because we couldn’t wait ‘til we got to the beach. That’s most of my fond memories of Christmas.” Carrie Underwood's presents may have been wrapped, but she was never surprised at what was inside: “One thing you learn in my family is that my mother is a blabbermouth, and ever since I was little I have known ever single Christmas present I have ever gotten…ever. I’m not one for surprises! [Laughs] And yeah, I’ve always known my presents before Christmas.” And Alan Jackson makes Christmas for his daughters very much like the Christmases he had growing up: “We always try to remember Jesus’ birthday and just the whole thing! And, [we] just have a wonderful big meal, almost like Thanksgiving four weeks later. We have the same, pretty much, turkey, dressing...all the same kinds of things. Sometimes we have family members in Tennessee and sometimes just us or friends, and we always go home to Georgia prior to that. So, you know, pretty standard, lovely Christmas.”

Josh Gracin had a rough day yesterday. His car was broken into in his driveway in the middle of the afternoon. The crook or crooks got away with his laptop, and police told Josh that two houses on his street were broken into and all the Christmas presents were stolen. Someone's getting coal in their stocking!

Blake Shelton will be part of NBC's "New Year's Eve with Carson Daly." About Blake, Carson quipped, “First thing about Blake Shelton, if you don’t know him, to see him is very intimidating, because he is nine-foot, two. And, he’s a real smart ass! I mean, he really is a smart ass! So, he makes for a great TV personality.”

Dierks Bentley and Darius Rucker will be part of Super Bowl week January 27th through February 5th. They'll perform on the Verizon Stage in downtown Indianapolis. The schedule will be announced in January.

Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift have landed on Forbes magazine's “30 Under 30: The Youngest Stars in The Music Business.” Taylor made the list because she raked in $45 million over the past year, and Hillary's on the list because her songwriting and singing helped Lady A win 5 Grammy awards in 2011.

Congratulations to George Jones and Glen Campbell, who will be honored by the Recording Academy as two of the seven Lifetime Achievement Awards recipients. The ceremony will be on February 11th, and the Allman Brothers Band, Antonio Carlos Jorbin, the Memphis Horns, Diana Ross and Gil Scott-Heron are the other honorees.

Taylor Swift's "Jump Then Fall" has been certified gold.

Lady Antebellum is on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Glen Campbell is on Conan O'Brien, Frankie Ballard is on the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson and Craig Campbell will sing the National Anthem before the MAACO Bowl festivities. The game is between Boise State and Arizona State.

The tweet of the day is from Clay Walker: "Worked cutting horses the last three days and trail rode them afterwards. Sore legs never felt so good!"

Today's Country Tidbits

A teacher in Knoxville, TN, knew that Keith Urban likes to read signs that audience members bring to the show. Patty Sloan had tickets to his show, so made up a sign that said, "I told my class no more homework for the rest of the year if I had my picture made with you." Keith loved the sign, and Patty's wish came true, as did the wishes of her 4th grade class. No more homework for the rest of the year for them. Patty said afterwards, "Thank God I'm tenured!"

Blake Shelton is on a roll, with #1 albums and songs coming easily in the last couple of years, a new marriage to a beautiful and talented woman, plus a role on a top tv show. That makes people talk about other dragons he could slay, and the rumors are out there that he's going to start his own record label. In response to that, Blake says, “I can’t even balance my checkbook. At least once a week, I’ll have an accountant call me and go, ‘hey, did your credit card get stolen? Are you okay?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, why?’ ‘Ahh you’re overdrawn you know, two-thousand dollars. It says here you bought a bunch of corn.’ ‘Oh yeah, I had to fill up my deer feeders—I’m broke?!’…I don’t really see myself in the executive position.”

We won't be seeing Dierks Bentley on "Celebrity Apprentice," apparently. After winning last year, John Rich suggested that Dierks would be a great contestant, but with a new tour and kids at home, Dierks is bowing out. “I did get the call, which I was totally flattered to get. It’s just for me, at this time, where I am, I just, I’m really happy. I have, like, the road and the show and the fans and the music and the songwriting and the making records. That stuff brings you so much joy and happiness…a family and everything that comes with that. I’m good. I don’t need anything more right now.”

Have you seen the video for Martina McBride's new song, "I'm Gonna Love You Through It?" It's star-studded, featuring Robin Roberts, Katie Couric, Hoda Kotb and Sheryl Crow, all women who've either fought their own battle with cancer or have a close connection to someone who has. The video is a message of hope to cancer patients and their loved ones.

Ronnie Dunn has lived some of the lyrics to his latest song, "Cost of Living." He grew up moving a lot, as his dad chased jobs to keep his family fed. According to Ronnie, “You know, I went to 13 schools in 12 years. My dad was always out of work. I can remember times when…just not knowing where the next meal was gonna come from. One of the comments that one of the executives made when I was getting’ ready to cut the song was, ‘Hey, you’re too rich to sell that song right now.’ And I just lost my mind.”

Congrats to Luke Bryan, as his "Tailgates & Tanlines" debuts at #1 on the Billboard Country Album chart this week, and at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The first single, "Country Girl (Shake it For Me)" has been certified platinum for more than a million downloads.

Onstage in London, Brad Paisley's show was well-received, especially when the legendary Ron Wood took the stage with him. He and Darius Rucker joined Brad for the encore, and the legendary Rolling Stone guitarist and Brad swapped hot licks (on their guitars, silly!)

The tweet of the day is from Josh Gracin: "I hate when mean snotty ugly people say "I need my beauty sleep".... B!%*h U need to Hibernate!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Tonight on American Idol, Ellen Degeneres takes over for Paula Abdul on the judging panel, and an Idol alum thinks it's a good thing. Carrie Underwood says that Ellen has been in the entertainment business for a long time, knows what it's like to be on stage in front of people and bomb, and will be helpful and root for the contestants.

Carrie Underwood is a Muppet-worm! She's provided the voice for Carrie Underworm for an episode of Semame Street. You can watch it as it airs on PBS on February 11, March 17, April 3 and April 26, or you could just watch it now.

Kellie Pickler had a bad Monday. Not sure exactly how she did it, but she dropped another iPhone into the toilet. That's the second time it's happened, and we all know those phones don't work after a good dousing. She spent the afternoon getting a new phone, and hopes she'll have better luck with this one!

Not impressed with Super Bowl halftime shows over the past few years? Like to see country music represented there? Join a new FaceBook group, "Kenny Chesney for Superbowl 2011"

Josh Turner's appearance on the David Letterman show last night was rescheduled at the last minute. He was backstage, ready to go...and then, no go. No word on when the new date is.

New music out today - Josh Turner's "Haywire," Kenny Chesney's "Greatest Hits II," re-issued with bonus tracks, a digital-only release from Rascal Flatts, "14 Love Songs for the 14th," and the "Valentine's Day" soundtrack, featuring songs from Jewel, Steel Magnolia and Taylor Swift.

Congrats to Jason Aldean, who is #1 for the 3rd week in a row with "The Truth," and to Lady Antebellum, who are on top of the album chart again this week with "Need You Now.

Today's Country Tidbits

Is Carrie Underwood about to make a splash in the movie world? Looks like it. "Soul Surfer" is a true story about surfer Bethany Hamilton, who was determined to continue to live her dreams after a terrible shark attack. Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt are also part of the project. "Soul Surfer" will film in Hawaii and be released this fall.

In an interview with CMT, Toby Keith was asked about the faltering album sales and how the economy is affecting the music business. He said that it's now a "free 99 cent world" so sales of hard-copy product will probably continue to fall, but that no one can take the live concert event and discount that. As long as radio plays an artist's music, then that artist can go on tour, and Toby says, "You want to go on tour, where you make your hay at." Keep makin' hay, Toby...keep makin' hay!

Josh Gracin is in the studio, sweetening his next cd.

Another Josh, Josh Thompson, is about to be hitting the road with Eric Church. His first single, "Beer on the Table," is climbing the charts, and he's excited to take his band out to share his music. They'll be traveling in a white van with a white trailer, so Josh has nicknamed his tour rig Van-a-White. I'm sure the real Vanna is charmed.

There's a new song from Taylor Swift released today on iTunes. "Today was a Fairytale" is part of the soundtrack for the movie "Valentine" which features Taylor on-screen. The soundtrack comes out on February 9th and the movie will be out just before Valentine's Day.

In more Taylor news, she and Ashley Judd were part of a 4.5 hour Hoops for Haiti telethon, helping to raise a million dollars.

As reported here last week, two of the three Dixie Chicks have new music almost ready to debut. Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, working under the name Court Yard Hounds, have an album that should be out in May.

Colt Ford is riding high - he's been invited to perform at the Ryman on the Grand Ole Opry on January 30th. He said it's as close as he can get to heaven while playing music.

Don't forget to watch Shania Twain guest-judge on American Idol tonight.

Lady Antebellum is making the media rounds, promoting their second cd, due out a week from today. But their focus is on somthing much more important: helping the people of Haiti. Hillary Scott said, to CMT: "You just have to hug your loved ones and do what you can. Any little bit you can give, give it. One, you're doing it for an unbelievable cause ... and if you do it with a pure heart, you'll be blessed for it."

Here's how country folks roll...we are the first to help when someone's hurting. If you're wanting to help the Haitian people recover from a disaster at least as big as Katrina, one thing to remember is that scamsters come out at times like this. Here are the safe ways to donate money - you can
give $10 to the massive relief effort in Haiti by texting DISASTER or HAITI to 90999. You can also call 800-Red Cross to donate, or the Catholic Relief Services at 888-277-7575. Both of these
organizations are already in Haiti, working to recover trapped survivors, tending to the injured and helping to bury the dead. Give as much as you can, and thank you.

Today's Country Tidbits

More industry props for the Zac Brown Band - they've been invited to perform on the Grammy Awards show on January 31st on CBS.

On the Jimmy Wayne trail, he woke up yesterday morning with ice on his sleeping bag, and ice on the inside and outside of his tent. In order to give them time to dry out, he spent last night in a motel, and tweeted, "I'm more thankful tonight than I have been in a long time! Gosh this cheap motel feels like a 5 star presidential suite ." A Nashville news team did an interview with Jimmy Wayne, spreading his story even further. Donations are coming in from all over, including other artists. Dierks Bentley donated to HomeBase in support of MMH. If you'd like to help, here's the page to do it on.

A lot of people are inspired by country artists, but who do they find inspiration from? Martina McBride finds in in Meryl Streep. "I hesitate to use the word "idol" and have never really used it, but Meryl Streep is my idol. She rocks. Period. I find her so inspiring."

Clay Walker's "Band Against MS" website has been totally re-vamped, and Clay's really excited about it, saying “The new BAMS site creates a friendlier atmosphere, one that is less clinical for visitors in need of information on dealing with multiple sclerosis.”

How's this for a hunt camp trio - Eddie Montgomery, Blake Shelton and Craig Morgan. They're hunting together in Mississippi this week.

Justin Moore spills the beans on how "Backwoods" came to life as a song. He grew up in the country in Arkansas, but his guitar player grew up in a place called Greasy Creek, Kentucky. They played a couple of shows there, and Justin told his producer, "Dude, I grew up out in the woods, but you wouldn't believe how backwoods this place is!" The song wrote itself in about 20 minutes, and he was pleased with how it turned out, but when they all went into the studio to cut it, he was blown away by how it sounded with a full band. He knew that day it would be on the album, and hoped it would be a single. It was, and is his fastest-rising song so far in his short career.

Randy Houser is nearly finished with his new cd...been working overtime in the studio before hitting the road again. Expect the still-untitled cd to be out in April.

Josh Gracin is in the studio, recording like a madman. He says there'll be new stuff for us to hear soon.

Country Crossing, near Dothon, Alabama, is getting ready for their grand opening, and they've decided to do a three-day music festival. Before you roll your eyes and say, "who can afford that?" hear this: you can. It's all free. Three days of country concerts, featuring Tracy Lawrence, Joe Nichols, John Anderson, and many many more, are all free and open to the public. The shows are on January 15th, 16th and 17th and run from about 3:30 to past midnight each day.

Today's Country Tidbits

Charlie Daniels has worn a lot of hats in his career, and now he can ad a "tv commercial star" hat to that collection. Geico is now introducing the "Rhetorical Question" campaign, a new line of commercials illustrating the "best of the best" concept, and Charlie Daniels is the star of one of them.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift wraps up 2009 as People Magazine's most Intriguing Person of the Year. She'll have to buy another condo to house all of the awards she earned this year!

Word is out that Carrie Underwood's diamond is a 5-carat stone, but she's not satisfied in the sparkle category. She's shopping for the costumes she'll wear onstage during her "Play On" tour, and wants to be like Reba and Loretta Lynn...sparkly, looking great and sounding great. She hints that there'll be more costume changes on this tour than on the last one, and that's saying something!

Phil Vassar is working on a Broadway play. Actually, the play is written, and he's in charge of writing the songs for it. He says it's a lot different than writing a 10 or 12 song album. He said, "I’m 10 or 12 songs into this thing. I never realized how many songs are in a Broadway show.” Might have to ask for a raise, there, Phil!

Josh Gracin is writing, writing, writing songs in preparation for being in the recording studio next week.

Justin Moore got up at 4 this morning, bundled up for the 20-degree weather and is hunting today. He says there's nothing better than watching the sun come up while sitting in a blind.

Big fan of the late Johnny Cash? Then you'll be delighted to learn that there's a new cd coming out by him in February. It's disc number 6 from recordings he made in 2003 while working with Rick Rubin. No word on a track list yet, but the title is "American VI: Ain't No Grave."

Tonight on CBS, catch the Kennedy Center Honors concert. Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland is part of the tribute to Bruce Springsteen, singing a medley of his songs.

Today's country tidbits...

Keith Urban played Secret Santa down under. He and the band were in a music store, testing out some electric guitars. Nearby, a young boy was playing with a fuzz-effects guitar pedal, oblivious to the star in the store. Keith settled on his guitar, and also quietly bought the pedal for the boy. On the way out of the store, he shook the little boy's hand and wished him Merry Christmas. The kid asked, "Was that just Keith Urban? He said Merry Christmas to me!" Then the store manager told him, "Yeah, he just bought you that pedal." The little boy was so blown away that he was shaking. A new guitar hero was probably just born!

Congrats to Toby Keith, who has been named Billboard Magazine's Top Country Artist of the Decade and also Songwriter of the Decade. He was third on their all-genre list, behind Eminem and Britney Spears. Billboard awarded Top Country Single of the Decade props to Keith Urban's "Somebody Like You."

There's another award for Taylor to find a spot for - Associated Press Entertainer of the Year. The votes are cast by newspaper editors and broadcast producers worldwide, and she won by a wide margin. People.com has a photo review of Taylor's amazing year.

Not only did word that Carrie Underwood is engaged become official yesterday, she was also awarded Billboard's Top Country Album of the Decade for "Some Hearts." Speaking of Carrie's engagement, check out her ring. AP photographer Sean Kilpatrick got the shot.



And tonight's the repeat of Carrie's "All-American Holiday Special" on Fox, featuring Carrie, Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton.

Today's the day you can buy Blake Shelton's "Hillbilly Bone" on iTunes. For a month, you can also buy a special electronic album of hits from Blake there, too.

Josh Gracin spent yesterday making Christmas cookies with his family. Peanut butter, rice crispy treats, sugar cookies, fudge and no-bake cookies - you name it, Josh and friends made it.

Today's country tidbits...

How did your favorite country stars spend their Thanksgiving weekend?

Rascal Flatts is working on a new cd now, though they weren't last weekend. Jay DeMarcus was spotted getting all of his Christmas shopping done at Lenox Square in Atlanta.

Billy Currington and Reba were part of the Macy's parade in New York City.

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman did a little Christmas shopping at the Home Depot in LA, near their home there.

Josh Gracin was part of Detroit's Thanksgiving Day parade, then went home to Nashville for the rest of the day. On Black Friday, while the rest of the world was shopping, Josh was hunting.

Brad Paisley played the Grand Ole Opry over Thanksgiving weekend, and played lead guitar while Bill Anderson was singing. While singing "Mud On the Tires," he forgot the words. OOPS!!

And Sugarland's Kristian Bush threw down the gauntlet to Brad Paisley, to see who's Christmas tree would be up and decorated first. No word so far on who won that contest.

What is Kristian Bush of Sugarland thankful for? "I am thankful for music, headphones, children's smiles, turkey, balsawood airplanes, wind, Charlie Brown specials and a good laugh"

Taylor Swift spent some time with her "red haired friend Abigail" driving around Nashville and shopping. While they were driving, they heard "15" on the radio. Can you imagine the giggles and squeals?

Chris Young took in a movie yesterday afternoon, and the movie was The Blind Side. He said afterwards, "Wow. Just saw The Blind Side... Hands down one of the best movies I have ever seen."

Don't forget to watch Oprah today to see Tim McGraw and Sugarland.