Taylor Swift is working to top her Speak Now Tour with the Red tour, which kicks off next March. Tickets for some of the dates went on sale last Friday and even the stadium shows sold out in mere minutes. About what she has in store for her fans, Taylor says, “The next tour I really just want it to be even more entertaining than the last one. Which is going to be hard because we had a lot of stuff going on, on the Speak Now Tour. It was a tour that I was so proud of – and I always will be. So I’m trying to figure out what to do with this tour to make it different and a spectacle – but a different kind of spectacle.”

Carrie Underwood has a new song out called “Two Black Cadillacs,” and it’s causing quite a stir. The song is dark, almost sinister, and has been compared to an iconic Reba hit: “There’s a lot [laughs]—there’s a lot to be left to the imagination, and I love that. We don’t—we don’t go into too much detail, but I’ve heard it described umm like ‘The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia’. People keep bringing that one up, and I’m like ‘Yeah, it is a story like that!’ You wanna listen more to it, you wanna find out what happens.” Her “Blown Away” tour stops in St. Louis tonight, then takes a break for Thanksgiving.
Justin Moore is working on new music, and thinks his fans will like what they hear: “I love traditional country music, always have and always will. That’s what I grew up on and I’m always gonna try to do my part to keep that music alive, for not only the generations who grew up on it when that’s all there was, but also trying to keep it out there for the coming generation so that it’ll continue to be relevant down the road.” No word on when the new album will be out, especially since his latest hit song from his gold-selling sophomore album, “Til My Last Day,” is doing so well on the country music charts. 
Taylor Swift may have picked up more than just a couple of awards Sunday night. It looks like she and Harry Styles of the band One Direction could be an item. Harry was hanging out with Taylor’s mom during rehearsals and he and Taylor were spotted holding hands on the set of The X Factor when Taylor performed there last week. 
Yes, Hunter Hayes traveled with Taylor Swift, opening her show on the Speak Now Tour, and he loved every minute of it. Yes, the two did interact, did talk about writing together, but didn’t date, and if you ask Hunter if there’s a song about him on her new album, Red, Hunter says, “Ah that’s funny. No probably not. I didn’t hear any songs about opening acts. I didn’t hear any of that. So I would probably guess no.” 
Kristian Bush of Sugarland bought his bandmate Jennifer Nettles what he describes as the perfect baby gift. Dubbed “the Miracle Blanket,” it is supposed to help new babies sleep deeper and longer, allowing their parents to get more rest, too.

Did you catch Taylor Swift’s performance on the American Music Awards last night? She loves doing that show, because “The AMAs have great production so you can do all kinds of different things.” Tomorrow, Seventeen magazine’s love column will be taken over by Taylor, who dishes out advice on how to steer clear of guys who are bad news, plus how to get a crush’s attention. Wonder if she’ll tell teens to write a song about their dream guy?

Carrie Underwood performed her new single, “Two Black Cadillacs,” on the AMAs last night, and knocked it out of the park. It’s her third single from “Blown Away,” and Carrie hopes it’ll follow “Good Girl” and the title track to #1 on the charts, too.

In case you saw it over the weekend, that cover story that tabloid magazine Life & Style ran isn’t true – Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton are not having a baby. In true Blake style, he tweeted to his fans, “Look, I know I've gained some weight but the test was negative!!!" Miranda piled on, tweeting, “‘we are having a baby' Yay! @BlakeShelton we're getting a new puppy?"

Eric Church loves the fact that country music seems to be getting more mainstream: “When I first started touring, it was not cool to wear a country music artist’s shirt on a college campus. There was still that stigma that country was outside of cool. Frankly, I think country music has always been the coolest format.” We agree, Eric, we agree!

Hey, if you’re going to show up, show up big. Last week, Shania Twain made her official entrance into Las Vegas in advance of her Caesars Palace debut on December first. But she didn’t arrive in a limo – no, Shania rode up on horseback, accompanied by 40 other riders. Her song, “Still The One,” blared from loudspeakers up and down the Las Vegas strip and fans lined up to catch a glimpse of the arriving star. Shania will be performing in Vegas at the Colosseum for two years.
There’s a Hungerthon auction going on, and you have a chance to pick up some one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts – autographed guitars from Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Willie Nelson, Kix Brooks, and a football signed by Jason Aldean. There’s more in the auction, too, and it’s for a good cause. You have until December 13th to get your bids in. 
Wall bling for Justin Moore, whose album, “Outlaws Like Me,” has been certified gold, and for Florida Georgia Line – their first hit, “Cruise,” is now platinum, and has a huge fan in Darius Rucker: “That song! I heard that song – I don’t buy a lot of records. I heard that song I had to buy it on iTunes the second I heard it. Man, great song!”
Happy birthday to Billy Currington, who turns 39 today. 
Rascal Flatts is on Chelsea Lately, and Zac Brown Band is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

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. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Justin Moore – crime-fighter! Well, sort of. Justin and his band played at the Shenandoah County Fair in Woodstock, Virginia over the weekend and a theft occurred during the show. Justin’s sound engineer got his laptop stolen, and Justin took to Twitter to try to get it back. He tweeted, “If you did it, or know who did, please do the right thing. Nobody will be mad.” He went on to say it’s not fair his sound guy has to part with hard-earned money for a new one “because of a poor lack of class on 1 persons part.” He’s hoping someone will direct-message him on Twitter soon and the laptop will be recovered. Um, Justin – you have to be following someone in order for them to direct-message you. What are the chances of that??

Billboard Magazine is out with their annual list of “The Most Powerful Music Couples” and country music is well-represented. Topping the list are Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. Tim and Faith and Blake and Miranda show up, too. Here’s the list:

1. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
2. Jay-Z and Beyoncé
3. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
4. Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon
5. Chad Kroeger and Avril Lavigne
6. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale
7. Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz
8. Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez
9. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert
10. Skrillex and Ellie Goulding

Toby Keith has spilled the details about his new album. “Hope on the Rocks” drops on November 13th and will come out in two versions – regular, with 10 cuts, and deluxe, with 14. “I Like Girls That Drink Beer” is the first song from Toby’s new album.

Carrie Underwood had a #1 party in Nashville this week, celebrating the first #1 song from her new album, “Blown Away.” Carrie loves “Good Girl” and says it was the first single for a lot of good reasons: “To me, I like the thought of having something up-tempo and fun because I go sing it everywhere. I’m on a lot of TV shows and things like that. So when I first heard it I thought this would be a great one to kick everything off with because it’s just fun, and kind of spring summertime.”

THE reaction record of 2012 is climbing the charts, and Thomas Rhett says that “Beer With Jesus” was an easy song to write. “The song is basically about questions you and other people would as Jesus if they had 30 or 40 minutes to talk to him. Just because he probably wouldn’t have a lot of time, if he did have time, to talk to you.” You heard the song first as the hymn of the day last week here on the Moby show.

Taylor Swift fans will be glued to their TVs tonight as CMT, VH1 and MTV simulcast the premier of her new music video for “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” CMT will air a 30-minute special starting at 7:30 Eastern, and all three networks will simulcast the premier at 8pm. About the video, Taylor’s not saying much except that it had to be shot in only one take and “It was unbelievably fun because it was like a marathon and it was a lot like live performance, you know? You only have one chance to get it right when you’re on stage and I only had that one opportunity to get it right.”

Heavy metal alert – Jana Kramer’s “Why Ya Wanna” has been certified gold, Hunter Hayes’ “Wanted” has gone platinum and Zac Brown Band is celebrating the triple-platinum status of their album, “The Foundation.”

Would you work for $15 million less than a co-worker? Apparently Keith Urban will – he’s signed up to be an American Idol judge, making between $3 and $4 million for the 12th season of American Idol. Maria Carey will be paid $18 million and Nicki Minaj, if she signs, will make $8 million. Brad Paisley was asking $8 million, but producers wanted to trim the budget, apparently, so Keith was the choice. Season 12 kicks off in January of 2013. And he’s not giving up on music – Keith’s working on songs for another album, and loves being part of country music and country radio. Asked about the first time he heard one of his songs on the radio, Keith reminisces, “It was awesome! I was in a place called Tamworth, which is sort of the capitol of country music in Australia, at least for one month a year when they have the country music festival down there in January. And I was in the hotel getting ready to go and play a show, and I heard my single, my new single, on the little clock radio in the room, and just, gol’ man…what an amazing feeling!”

The Band Perry is on the road with Brad Paisley, and this week one member, Neil Perry, is featured in Country Weekly magazine. The article is less about the band’s music and more about Neil’s love of photography: “[Neil] I love taking photos and actually for this second album I’ll be heavily involved in kind of the artwork for the album. And Kimberly and Reid can attest to it, I take pictures all the time. I think I annoy them sometimes. Hopefully they won’t get some kind of contract I’ll have to sign every time I use a picture of theirs. [Kimberly] Approval processes will have to go into full effect.”

Carrie Underwood will be a Nashville Predators fan for at least a couple more years, as hubby Mike Fisher extended his contract with the hockey team. Carrie likes the sport, but worries about Mike’s injuries, especially since he doesn’t talk about them much: “I always find out through, like, team people and stuff like that. And they’re like, ’How’s Mike’s shoulder?’ and I’m like, ‘What’s wrong with his shoulder?’ or like, ‘What happened?’ When he fights, which is rare, but it does happen, I’m like, ’Get him, Baby! Get him! Punch him! Hurt him!’ I yell. And I don’t enjoy it, but I know he can take care of himself.”

Lady Antebellum is in the studio working on their 4th album. Here’s a peek at the surroundings, in case they give you any idea of the flavor the trio is going for. Deer heads and Christmas lights? Hmmmmmm…..



Justin Moore’s new song, “Til My Last Day,” is a love song, but sometimes the audience isn’t feeling the love – fights break out while Justin sings it! “It’s crazy when we shot the video, part of its live, and we shot it in Wichita, and during that show, the same thing happen. It’s the first love song we put out so people are reacting in a ridiculous way to it I guess. I don’t know.”

Randy, Randy, Randy – Randy Travis is under scrutiny again this year, for the 4th time. First he was found drunk in a church parking lot, then he was found naked and drunk in the middle of the street, his wrecked car nearby, then he was cited by police for an argument over a woman that happened in a church parking lot, and now a truck he owns has been impounded after being found overturned behind a Walmart in Texas. His lawyer says he hasn’t used the truck for months and that a ranch hand had borrowed it. Police are looking into the truck incident.

There’s a lot of speculation over who Taylor Swift’s new song, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” is about. Joe Jonas of The Jonas Brothers would like to make it clear: it’s not about him. He says “I don’t think we’ve ever tried to get back together another time.” Taylor’s not saying who she wrote it about, but does say, “I ended up being inspired by a lot of really crazy sort of zero-to-a-hundred-and-then-hit-the-wall-and-explodes relationships, which are so fun to write about...really dysfunctional and not good, generally, but when you write about them it...it gives you a lot of inspiration.” If you had to bet money, a good bet would be either Jake Gyllenhaal or Twilight star Taylor Lautner.

Jason Aldean is preparing to share new music with his fans on Live on Letterman September 5th. That’s the CBS.com production that some stars do when they are scheduled to appear on the David Letterman show. It will stream at 8pm Eastern, followed by a performance on The Late Show with David Letterman. Meanwhile, his new song, “Take a Little Ride,” could be nearing the top of the charts by then. According to Jason, “We obviously had a huge first week when the song came out, and we’re hanging in there! It’s my highest debut of any song—ever!”

Justin Moore’s career has taken him to a lot of places he’s never been before, and as his new song, “Til My Last Day,” continues it’s climb up the charts, he’s getting set to hit the road with Eric Church on the Blood, Sweat and Beers tour. But there’s still one place he really wants to go: “Unfortunately I have not been able to do a USO Tour overseas. But it’s definitely something I would like to do at some point. I think it’s a small way that we can give back to our troops that have given so much to us on a daily basis.”

Jake Owen is on tour with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw right now, but he’s looking forward to November, when he and his wife add a daughter to their life. Jake says Lacey is rockin’ the baby bump: “She looks great! She’s just happy and smiley—there’s something beautiful about a woman that’s pregnant. It’s cool. This is a really cool time in our life because it’s the last few months before we have an addition to our family—and it’s three of us! So it’s gonna be cool.”

Reba is a grandma – sort of. Her stepson Brandon Blackstock dates Kelly Clarkson and the two have just gotten a German Shepherd puppy together. They named the puppy Bear and he joins her other two dogs, a Maltese and a Poodle. Kelly joked, “uh-oh…commitment level!”

Wynonna has postponed shows in Canada next week in order to stay at her hubby Cactus Moser’s side in the hospital. The two went out for a motorcycle ride on Saturday in South Dakota when Cactus had a head-on collision with another vehicle. They were on separate bikes, so Wy watched the accident. Cactus is being treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Blake Shelton is busy filming season 3 of The Voice, and is enjoying the success of his new song, “Over,” from his Red River Blue album. He didn’t write it, but appreciates the vagueness and the vividness of the lyrics: “It’s one of those lyrics that when you listen to it, you know, ‘Wait a minute,’ ‘cause there’s lines in there about you know burnin’ the world down and sittin’ in the glow...it’s like so romantic and out there that you’re like, ‘Well, I guess that’s cool.’ You could have a different melody and it would be like a threat...that song [laughs] you know? But, that’s the cool thing about that song is just you kinda interpret it however you want to.”

Toby Keith is in the studio, working on his 17th studio album. He’s recorded more than two dozen songs so far and his current single, “Beers Ago,” will be the last from his Clancy’s Tavern album. Toby’s hinting that two tracks that’ll probably make the album and could be singles include “I Like Girls that Drink Beer” and a song that he says “puts everything into perspective for all the golf players of the world.”

Justin Moore lives the outdoor lifestyle he sings about in his hit songs, so much so that Cabela’s outdoor outfitter partnered with him to be his tour sponsor, the first time they’ve done that with any singer. While he spends his summers playing shows all across America, what he really loves is the triple-B: boats, bait and beer: “Summer is awesome...the best time of the year for me. My favorite way to spend a day in the summer is on the lake, whether I’m fishin’ or tubin’ or just kinda hanging out on the boat having a cold Bud Light.”

Forbes Magazine is out with their “Top-Paid Celebrities Under 20” list and Taylor Swift graces the #1 position. According to Forbes, she raked in $57 million between May 2011 and May 2012, grossing more than $65 million on her 65-stop tour.

That “vocal rest” prescription is contagious in Nashville – Gloriana’s Tom Gossin has been ordered to be quiet for a while, meaning that so far two of the band’s concerts have been rescheduled. According to Tom, he’ll be quiet for as long as the doctors tell him to – he’s trying to avoid having surgery.

Zac Brown Band will play Madison Square Garden on November 17th. Zac is hoping for a sellout, saying “When you can sell out the Garden, you’ve made it!”

David Nail got such a great reception to his rendition of Adele’s song, “Someone Like You,” that he’s decided to release it on his ep, “1979,” out tomorrow. About doing a cover of someone else’s hit he says, “I think anytime you do something like that, you’re scared to death. The last thing you want to do is get on your Twitter, and see Adele going, ‘Who in the hell is this redneck singing my song?’ But it hasn’t happened yet. So, either she likes it – or you know, she’s like, ‘Don’t bother me with this stuff!’” This video has been on this page before, but here it is again so you can see what all the fuss is about…

Today's Country Tidbits

Alan Jackson played Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado last week, and decided to make the show into a benefit for everyone devastated by Colorado’s massive wildfires. He offered up front row tickets at a special, premium price, with proceeds going to the Denver Foundation for use by the Colorado Wildfire Relief Fund. Within hours after being announced on local radio, thousands of dollars was raised for the effort.

Miranda Lambert is shot the video for her new song, “Fastest Girl in Town” and there’s a surprise for fans – NASCAR driver Danica Patrick is part of the video. About the song, Miranda says, “We wrote ‘Fastest Girl in Town,’ and it’s definitely got her Kentucky raw-girl spin on it, and it’s got my bullets flyin’ around, and there’s crime to it. But it’s just…it kind of makes bein’ the fastest girl in town not a skanky thing, but a glamorous thing, and that’s what I like about it.”

The new Zac Brown Band album, Uncaged, will be out July 10th and Zac is so excited about the newest member of the band: “He’s one of the finest percussionists in the world, his name is Daniel de los Reyes, and it’s a privilege to have him in our band. He’s just as good as it gets. He’s all over the record, I mean—all over it, under it, you can hear him all over it!” Daniel has played with Billy Joel and other big non-country acts and is psyched to be part of one of country’s hottest bands.

A new Taylor Swift fragrance will be out in October – Wonderstruck Enchanted. About it, Taylor says, "Wonderstruck is about that moment when you instantly feel a connection to someone, but then there's that feeling of being completely enamored – enchanted – when you know a little more about that someone and still feel that strong connection."

Justin Moore is proud to be the first artist to partner with Cabela’s, who will be the official outfitter for Justin’s tour through the end of 2013. Justin says, "The lifestyle they promote and embrace is an exact reflection of how I grew up and how I intend to raise my family."

Craig Morgan All Access Outdoors season three kicked off last night, and one of the hunting trips will be to Hawaii. According to Craig, “I had no idea. They have an over population of axis deer, they have what they call the wild goat – the Spanish goat. So there’s a lot of activity – fishing. It’s just absolutely amazing. The site seeing alone in Hawaii would have been worth the TV show.” Craig will also be part of Fox & Friends All American Summer concert series on July 13th.

Carrie Underwood’s Australian excursion included being “kissed” by a kangaroo, and covering legendary pop band INXS during her show. Here’s the video of her singing “Never Tear Us Apart”…..



Luke Bryan will be going back to Central Park in New York this month, but hopefully he’ll have a better time this year than last. Remember that broken collar bone? “You know, I fell on a skateboard last year in Central Park, now I’m performing in Central Park...it’s pretty good!” He’ll be part of the Good Morning America Summer Concert Series on July 13th.

Josh Turner is part of the PBS show, “A Capitol Fourth,” on Wednesday night. He’ll represent country music. Other stars include Matthew Broderick, Phillip Phillips and Kool & the Gang. Tom Bergeron will emcee the show.

“Wanted” by Hunter Hayes has been certified gold.

Today's Country Tidbits

Love her or not, one thing’s for sure – Taylor Swift takes care of her fans. One fan, 13-year-old Summer, had waited nearly a year to see her idol, Taylor. On the way to the concert at the sold-out Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, California, the car she was riding in was hit by a drunk driver. Summer ended up in the emergency room instead of in her seat at the show. The responding officer, Mike Lowry, couldn’t help but notice what a great attitude Summer had, putting on a brave face in spite of her injuries, so her parents wouldn’t worry. Officer Lowry decided to make it his mission to let Taylor know what happened. When Taylor’s managers heard the news, they set aside tickets for the next show Taylor does in Sacramento, and sent some personalized, autographed merchandise to help Summer feel better. Here’s the local news coverage of the story:



Jake Owen is getting set to hit the road with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw on the “Brothers of the Sun” tour. He’s had a roller-coaster few months, and hasn’t kept himself as toned as he would like, and he says he can’t take the stage looking soft. “I’m really trying to get myself back into shape because for like three months, I wasn’t able to do anything. I had shoulder surgery after I broke my collarbone. I couldn’t go to the gym, I couldn’t run, I couldn’t do anything. I just felt worthless, and I’m like a really active outdoorsy guy, and I like to do a lot—and when I had to sit inside and cancel shows, and not be able—it was bad.”

Lady Antebellum played Radio City Music Hall, and while doing the sold-out shows, Charles Kelly decided to take their show to new heights – literally! He climbed up to the highest point in the building, even “borrowing” a beer from the audience. Check out the fun…



The John Rich & Friends benefit concert for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will happen on June 5th and will include Darius Rucker, Kellie Pickler, Jeff Foxworthy and of course, Big & Rich. The concert kicks off the FedEx St. Jude Classic golf tournament and celebrates the 50th year St. Jude has been leading the fight against childhood cancer.

Willie Nelson has a new album out. “Heroes” is his fifty-somethingth album (even he’s lost count!) and much of what’s on them, Willie wrote. That’s a lot of songs! Has he ever hit a rough patch? According to Willie, “Well, occasionally, you go through dry spells where you don’t write anything and Roger Miller was a good friend of mine and one of the greatest writers ever. And he used to say, ‘Well sometimes you just gotta, when the well goes dry, you have to wait a while til the well fills up and you can write some more,’ and I’ve always kept that in the back of my mind and never worried too much whether I was producing too much or too little.”

Congrats to Justin Moore, whose “Flyover States” is the #1 song on the country charts this week.

Carrie Underwood will be on “Dancing With the Stars” tonight, performing “Good Girl.” Alanis Morissette will also be on the show.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: “Sitting outside and the temperature just literally dropped 5 degrees. Looks like we might get some rain or a thunderstorm. Love it!”

Today's Country Tidbits

Justin Moore had a rough weekend. Early Saturday morning, a car driven by Chicago resident Joseph Taylor crashed into the rear of Justin’s band and crew bus outside of Chicago on Interstate 57. When the 48-year-old Taylor got out of his car to assess the damage, he was hit by another car and was killed. Justin took to Twitter to express his feelings about the tragedy: “Thankful my band and crew guys are all good. They got hit by a car this morning in their bus. Prayers go out to the guy who lost his life and his family. You never know man. You have to be prepared to meet God today, cause it may be your last.”

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and as you would suspect, country artists love their Moms. Carrie Underwood says her mom and dad have had major adjustments to make since she won American Idol, but they’re coping well: “It takes a while to get used to everything but I think they’ve definitely done a great job, and mom and I, even though we don’t see each other as much as we used to, we still talk every single day.” Taylor Swift is very focused on her own mother/daughter relationship, and wrote a special song just for her mom: “‘The Best Day’ is a song that I wrote without telling my mom. I wrote it in the summertime, and I recorded it secretly too. I had this idea that I wanted to play it for her for Christmas. So, when I got the track I synced up all these home videos from when I was a little kid to go along with the song like a music video and played it for her on Christmas Eve. She was crying her eyes out.” Miranda Lambert says the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in her family: “My mom is a riot. She’s like, such a party animal — she loves to be on the road with me. She comes out probably like once a month. And my family is just great – they’re just, you know, they’re really cool. They get it, you know? They’re just like…they know when I need my space, but they also know when I need support. So, it’s really great to have a family like that.” Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelly says about he and his brother Josh: “We were honestly, at times, pretty hard to handle, both of us. And my mom’s just one of those people, she’ll do anything for her family and she sacrificed a lot for us boys. Anytime we needed something, she made it happen. And so, we owe her a lot. She’s definitely the reason we’re playing music.” And Kenny Chesney has a huge appreciation for his mom: “She’s been through a lot in her life. And she’s handled it. And she’s come through it, I believe, with a lot of grace…and a lot of style. And I’ve learned a lot from that. She has taught me a lot directly and indirectly. And she’s a hard worker, but she loves life. And I thank God that I got my love of life from her.”

Did you miss Carrie Underwood on the Jimmy Kimmel Show? They did a spoof music video – check it out and get set to laugh!



We don’t know when it will be made, but we know who will play the lead role. Zooey Deschanel was hand-picked by Loretta Lynn to play her in the musical adaptation of “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Loretta introduced Zooey at the Grand Ole Opry last week and the two sang “Coal Miner’s Daughter” together.

Willie Nelson is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Taylor Swift: “Celebrating this Mother’s Day, reflecting back on past matching velvet holiday ensembles.”

Today's Country Tidbits

Blake Shelton is still basking in the glow of having the winner on The Voice. Jermaine Paul gets $100,000 and a record deal, and Blake gets bragging rights. He also gets something else – a warm glow from knowing he helped a new friend get a great start: “Maybe I should try to remove myself from being so attached, but it’s hard to, you know? Especially whenever you’ve been in the rehearsals with them and you’ve had all these conversations with them that are about, you know, why they want to do this and that and...next thing you know you’re friends with them and you’re talking to them all the time and see them and you want this for them as badly as they do.”

Lady Antebellum debuted their new song, “Wanted You More,” on The Voice this week and Charles Kelley says that the trio are getting more comfortable at opening up with each other: “What we usually write about revolves around love. We don’t know how to change the world. And, you know, we just write about love lost and love gained, and right now we’re all in a really great spot and...I don’t know, it just feels like we’re growing even closer as a band and becoming even more comfortable to talk about the things that...I don’t know, maybe on the first couple records, we wouldn’t talk about.” This is the 4th single from “Own the Night.”

Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” is blowing away all the competition and blowing up chart records. It easily lands in the #1 position on the Billboard Country Chart, selling more than any other country album in the first week so far this year. But look at the records she’s tied or broken: she’s only the second artist in Billboard’s 47-year Country Chart history to have their first four albums debut at #1. And she’s only the second country artist in history to have three consecutive albums debut at #1.

Tifton, Georgia native Kip Moore is having his life changed by the success of his first single, “Somethin’ Bout a Truck.” According to Kip, “As a teen, man, all you can think about is getting out ‘cause it’s just so slow paced and there’s nothing going on. You always try to look for fun and now my life is extremely fast paced and there’s always a good time around, so it’s a lot different for sure.”

Justin Moore and his daughter Ella were in their pool yesterday morning, enjoying a nice swim, when a critter surprised them. It was a critter with no shoulders and no legs – Justin says it was a copperhead he killed. Check out the picture he tweeted…yikes!

Carrie Underwood is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight. 

The tweet of the day is from David Nail: “San Antonio Airport is like a freaking nursery this afternoon! Human birth control is what I like to call it!” 

Today's Country Tidbits

Team Blake is down to four members on "The Voice," and Blake Shelton is enjoying being the coach of his crew. “It’s definitely changed the way I view my position in this business. It’s easy to kind of take it for granted sometimes, but it’s like how many people would love to be standing up here and talking about the stuff I’m talking about. And every time I sit in one of those chairs and I see those people on that stage that want this, it’s humbling – it’s good for you.” Live battle rounds are tonight at 8 Eastern on NBC.

Jake is taken. Saturday night, while performing in his hometown of Vero Beach, Jake Owen proposed to his girlfriend Lacey Buchanan. Thanks to smartphones, there are lots of amateur videos of the event. Here's one from a really good vantage point...

Carrie Underwood has a singing hubby. Mike Fisher likes to sing Carrie's songs around the house, and apparently he's confident - but often wrong. “He’s ...he sings it out, even when it’s wrong. It’s quite amazing how words come out, because they’re always way off and I’m like, ‘Just...time out! What you just said...does that make any sense at all?’ I try to teach him but...I don’t do directions, he doesn’t do lyrics. I guess we both have our shortcomings.” He'll have a whole new album of material to butcher on May first, when Carrie's "Blown Away" comes out.

Justin Moore has his theories about fitness, but I doubt most fitness instructors would agree: “I tell my wife I’m in terrible shape but as long as I look like I’m in alright shape, I’m probably not going to do anything about it. I like to drink beer and I like chicken-fried steak and I can eat gravy on anything, but...you just have to watch it. Everything in moderation is OK, so as long as you don’t get outta control.”

The "All for the Hall" event is tomorrow night in Nashville. Keith Urban hosts it along with Vince Gill, and Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert and Pistol Annies, Alabama, The Band Perry and lots of surprise guests will grace the stage. The show will be at Bridgestone Arena and is sold out.

Happy birthday to Hal Ketchum, who is 59 today, and to Dave Innis, guitarist for Restless Heart. He turns 53.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Ok.. Very funny.. Who colored their Easter eggs on my white underwear?"

Today's Country Tidbits

Keith Urban and his band need combat pay for surviving the video shoot for his "Act of Valor" song, "For You." According to Keith, “I think my drummer got a little bit of [shrapnel] every now and then. And actually, I think in the video there’s one scene where they go off, and you can see my drummer’s head go forward a little bit…it’s so loud. Those things going off it’s just insanely loud and stuff goes everywhere. They were set a long way back from us, but there’s a lot of force going on.” Check it out for yourself...

Blake Shelton's doing it. Keith Urban's doing it. Does Justin Moore want to be a tv star, too? “You know what, as far as TV goes I have no desire to act. I don’t have a face for TV. I will never say never. You know, there are opportunities that come up that you have to think about. But for me, right now my soul reason for being where I’m at and my soul desire is to play music.” He's on the road with Blake's "Well Lit & Amplified" tour.

If Ronnie Dunn ever decides to give up music, he has a future in photography. He loves to shoot sunsets, and apparently he's really good. “It’s funny, I have a house in Santa Fe and I tell people I didn’t buy the house, I bought the sunset because it’s just perfect. The view is killer and I can stand outside on the veranda and shoot ‘em. But, a friend gave me this real cool 5D camera, state of the art stuff. So, I shoot sunsets. And they’re different! You know, every few seconds they change out there.”

In "hey, it worked for Toby Keith" department, Rascal Flatts will be opening a chain of restaurants later this year. No word on the name, or any other details, yet, but Gary LeVox said the guys want to give fans something new and different.

The Band Perry is touring the UK this week, celebrating the release of their self-titled debut album. It's been out in the US since October of 2010 but is just now being released across the pond.

Taylor Swift enjoyed writing songs for "The Hunger Games" soundtrack, which comes out tomorrow. She said writing from someone else's perspective was almost like taking a vacation. Taylor wrote from the perspective of Katniss Everdeen, the main character in "The Hunger Games," which hits the big screen this coming weekend.

Eric Church is on Jimmy Fallon's show tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: "I just did a "nature hike" that began with 432 stairs...straight up. I am not exaggerating. I counted."

Today's Country Tidbits

If you watch "The Voice" on NBC then you've noticed that the coaches sometimes dig each other pretty hard. Blake Shelton says when the cameras are off, so are the gloves: “I think that’s what’s helping the show as much as anything is that we do all get along and we’re not afraid to pop off to each other on TV because we know that as soon as it’s commercial break, we’re gonna high five and laugh about it.”

Martina McBride's song, "I'm Gonna Love You Through It," was something she found and recorded before her husband John heard it. According to Martina, “I played him the demo and he said ‘that’s what I would say to you, that’s what I would want to say to you’ and I thought wow I mean, that’s what I would want to hear so it’s – it’s really at the core of it it’s just about I will stick with you no matter what. The song is obviously written specifically about cancer but it can be – really applied to anything in life.”

Justin Moore's new song, "Til My Last Day," is wife-approved. It's Kate's favorite ballad, and after seeing her reaction to it, he knew he had to record it: “It’s my wife’s favorite song on the record. We all mess up, we’re all idiots, we’re guys. But this song’s about working on it at least and putting forth the effort to try to be who it is that you know you want to be for your girlfriend, wife, etc. And uh – it’s a lot of fun to play live. It’s totally different than anything we’ve ever done.”

The 2012 Tim Pan South Songwriters Festival in Nashville is always a big dang deal, and this year, it includes Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan as performers. The event runs March 27th through 31st at 10 different clubs around town, including the Bluebird and Douglas Corner Cafe. Yes, you can go - check out details on the Nashville Songwriters Association International website.

http://www.tinpansouth.com

On American Idol this year, when a contestant is eliminated, Scotty McCreery will sing them off the show. The season 10 winner has recorded a version of Tim McGraw's "Please Remember Me," and that will play as the eliminated contestant sees his or her AI life on the screen. Scotty says that meeting Tim was one of the highlights of his American Idol experience: “It was great picking his brain and getting the wisdom he has from over the years. It was really a special moment for me. He is really a genuine nice guy.”

Getting interviewed about going into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Garth Brooks dropped a bombshell: he almost wasn't Garth Brooks! “I got signed with Capitol Records in ’87, only to be told I was gonna have to change my name because they had a solo artist named Kix Brooks that was getting ready to launch his first record. I would spend the next six months driving through Arkansas and Kansas looking at just town names trying to figure out what my last name was gonna be. Kix’s record deal did not work out for Capitol, and so at the very last moment I got to keep my name.” Garth talked about how happy he was that Kix went on to redefine the term duet in country music.

We have to wait over a month to see it, but Trisha Yearwood's new cooking show, "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" debuts on April 13th on the Food Network.

Lauren Alaina is performing on American Idol tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Rosanne Cash: "Trying to lose a couple pounds before I go to Barcelona so I can eat my weight in tapas. Who's with me on this?"

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!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Dierks Bentley's next cd, "Home," is coming out on February 7th, and he says the new music feels fresh and represents some personal growth: “I mean, I’m always trying to be a better songwriter and trying to get in there and write songs that have more depth. At the same token, I love songs that are just fun, and when I’m driving around, I love jamming to. So, that aspect is represented on there as well.” Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild duets with him on one of the songs, and bluegrass legends Sam Bush and Tim O'Brien are also featured. And listen carefully to "Thinking of You," because Dierks says there's a "hidden special guest" on that track.

Rascal Flatts had a banner 2011, and are starting 2012 with a "Thaw Out" tour. Looking back on the year gone by, the trio are pleased with their accomplishments: “We started off the year with our own network special, which was thrilling, and there are very few acts that can say they've had their own television network special. We had a video with Justin Bieber, a song, a duet with him. So a lot of things that were milestones in our career - members of the Grand Ole Opry and so many of the goals that we had set for ourselves years ago had finally come true.”

Martina McBride is looking forward to touring with George Strait again, and the part she likes best is just spending time with him: “I don't know if he still does this but when we toured together before, there was a tent every night. You could go and hang out with him if you wanted to. He kind of likes to hang out, which I was surprised, and I took advantage of that. You know I'm thinking if I get to hang out with George Strait, I'm gonna do that. So, we’ve always just had a cool connection. I don’t know, I just really think he’s awesome.” The tour kicks off January 27th.

Justin Moore and Darius Rucker made a bet on a football game, and Darius lost the bet. Justin has plans - big plans - for Darius to pay off. He wants to do a concert in his home town of Poyen, Arkansas, and knows just the guy to bring in the bucks for St. Jude: “We’ve been trying to find a date for it, we’re gonna do that, and Darius owes me a bet. We bet on the South Carolina-Arkansas game last year, and he lost it. So, he’s gotta come do a charity event for free for me...F-R-E-E, free.”

Happy birthday to Deana Carter, who is 46 today, and to Patty Loveless, who turns 55.

The tweet of the day is from Sarah Buxton: "My 96 year old grandpa skyped me tonight & I recorded the stories he told me about his life. I can't believe I never thought to do that."

Today's Country Tidbits

Country Weekly has a feature about country stars’ favorite Christmas presents. Here are some of the highlights.

• “The greatest gift I’ve ever received is a letter from my dad a few years back. He wrote about all of his memories of my life through my ups and downs. He told me he was proud and loved me through it all. His greatest words were in the last paragraph, ‘Be at peace with yourself, be at peace with everyone around you and, most important, be at peace with God.’” — Big & Rich’s Big Kenny

• “My favorite Christmas gift is definitely my first Honda 50 motorcycle that I got back in 1984. It was just an amazing gift to have under the tree, and I never will forget seeing that.” — Luke Bryan

• “My favorite Christmas present as a kid was a ukulele from my parents, and I loved to carry it with me everywhere!” — the JaneDear girls’ Danelle Leverett

• “My favorite Christmas gift was probably my very first guitar from my Grandpa about 15 years ago. And more recently, I got a red Gibson about 5 or 6 years ago. That red one we use onstage was given to me by my Dad for Christmas years ago.” — Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood

• “I really enjoyed the go-cart my mom and dad got me and my brother when we were probably 6 or 7 years old. We had more fun on that thing, for just hours and hours on end. It was good times. Just hanging with him was good.”- Billy Currington

• “When I was in the third grade, I wanted a puppy real bad. I wanted a miniature dachshund. My parents told me they couldn’t, so I asked for a dirt bike instead. Christmas morning, I heard all this yipping and whining…They had gotten me the puppy I wanted.” - Brantley Gilbert

• “I can remember when I was about 6 or 7, I got a Hutch football outfit. You got the helmet, the shoulder pads, the little jersey, and the pants. Randomly, it was the New York Jets…I grew up in Southeast Missouri, so the Jets must have been the only one my parents could afford or get in the JCPenny catalog! I can remember just freaking out. I was a huge sports fan even then. I can remember being way too big to even where the stuff and still trying to put it on. Back then the Jets were horrible, and that was probably the most uncool jersey to wear but I didn’t care. I would have probably tackled you if you made fun of me.” - David Nail

Rascal Flatts’ “I Won’t Let Go” has reached platinum status for 1-million downloads, while Justin Moore’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” is certified gold for 500,000 downloads. Also, Miranda Lambert’s Four the Record and Blake Shelton’s Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton earned gold album status this month.

Keith Urban posted a holiday greeting to his fans…good to hear his voice!

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: “Super fun, laid back day. Santa was good to the girls. Just us at home. Nice. Hope you all have a very merry Christmas. Xoxo”

Today's Country Tidbits

Country stars were kids once, and have memories of Christmastimes gone by. Kenny Chesney remembers that he wasn't big on the Christmas pageant: “I think one time I held the star, you know, and did it behind them. You know, I didn’t…never did show my face. I was holding the star going through the night. That’s all I did. I remember doing that one year. But all my other buddies was Joseph and Mary and all that stuff. I never did, really, get out on stage that much. Never really did sing in the Christmas play and…no, I was pretty scared to get up there then!” George Strait's Christmases growing up included a lot of family: “At Christmas time, it was you know, we always kinda go together at my grandparents and had Christmas there. It was a lot of fun ‘cause you’d see cousins that you hadn’t seen in a while...gettin’ to spend a few days with them, and openin’ presents and...it was just a lot of fun back then.” Miranda Lambert loves the holidays now, because she gets to take on a different role: “I love, love, love holidays. It’s my time to really be a girl. And I get really domestic during holidays. And it’s kind of weird ’cause it’s so opposite of who I am on stage. But I love to bake cookies and cook dinner for the whole family, and I have every decoration you can think of. I like to have a tree in every room, and I mean, I really…that’s my time to just get ultra-girly.” Eric Church is counting his blessings this Christmas: “This year, there’s not many firsts in your life, and you know, first child, first Christmas with him is certainly something I’m not gonna miss. We’re gonna be in North Carolina with my family. I just look forward to relaxing and enjoying our first Christmas at home, and I can’t wait, at the same time, to dial it back up next year, and we’re gonna take him on the road, so it’ll be his first tour! So, it’s gonna be a lot of firsts over the next year, and we’re just soakin’ it in and enjoying every one.” Justin Moore knows it's better to give than to receive: “I’m not really good a receiving gifts. I’d rather get somebody somethin’. Honestly, as crazy as it sounds, I really don’t like bein’ the center of attention, unless I’m on stage. That’s about it. But, I love Christmas, ‘cause I just like gettin’ together with family and, you know, now I don’t get to see my family a whole lot, so...I don’t like takin’ the tree down either, to be honest with you.” Darius Rucker loves his life right now, and can't wait until Sunday: “Christmas at the Rucker house is pretty laid back. You know, our kids wake up early...real early and open the gifts. And, we hang out at breakfast, go to church and come home and play...play with toys and hang out and see family [that] comes by, or we go see family. And, it’s just a pretty normal, fun Christmas Day.”

Jason Aldean has had the most amazing 2011. About the year, he says, "It's been the most incredible year. I'm looking forward to some quiet time in the woods over the holidays so I can reflect on how much we accomplished and how grateful I am for all the support I've received from the fans and my peers in the music business."

Taylor Swift is very excited about something that's going to happen very soon, and she says it's not Christmas. She's not saying what it is, though, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Clay Walker is on the Rachel Ray Show.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton, the Country Kidder: "Come on man its Christmas... Don't be insecure... Make the yuletide gay."

Today's Country Tidbits

Tomorrow, the battle for his freedom lands in court, as Tim McGraw takes on his record label, Curb. Curb sued Tim last year, claiming he had breached his contract by turning in "Emotional Traffic" too soon. He counter-sued, saying Curb has kept him in "involuntary servitude." The hearing tomorrow and Wednesday is to determine whether Tim will be allowed to record music for another label before the full trial begins next July. He hopes to release new music before his Australian tour with Faith Hill in the spring of 2012.

Meanwhile, Kenny Chesney is chomping at the bit to get the Brothers of the Sun Tour underway: “It’s gonna be a rockin’ show — I can tell you that. And it’s still hard for me to believe, you know, that we’re gonna go out there, and I’m gonna spend next summer with my buddy Tim McGraw. And he and I are gonna have a blast out there with everybody.” Tickets for some of the shows go on sale this Saturday through Ticketmaster.

Keith Urban has his throat surgery behind him and is recovering nicely. The outpatient procedure happened just before Thanksgiving, and he's on vocal rest for three weeks. The procedure is described as routine and the doctor is thrilled with the results. Where is Keith resting his golden throat? That's a secret, apparently. If no one knows where you are, they can't find you and tempt you to talk.

Ronnie Dunn is celebrating - he's going to be a grandpa in February. Ronnie's son Jesse and his wife are expecing their first child, a son, early next year.

Miranda Lambert is celebrating today, but it's probably not because it's Cyber Monday. She tweeted last night that she finally got her first buck of the season. Well, she might be able to order a venison cookbook or something today.

Carrie Underwood is probably celebrating Cyber Monday - she's not a fan of the mall scene: “I hate shopping for Christmas presents. I kind of wander around aimlessly in malls and stores and what-not thinking, ‘Now what would fill-in-the-blank, what would this person like? Oh, yep, that looks like her, I’ll get that…’ I think I’ll be doing a lot of online shopping this year.”

Lady Antebellum is celebrating CyberMonday with free shipping on anything in their online merchandise store.

In this season of giving thanks, Darius Rucker counts his blessings and uses them as his reminder to help others all year long. “Giving back is just what you’re supposed to do. I mean, I’m a, I’m a blessed individual. God has blessed me with a great life and great kids and a great wife. And, and, you know, I like helping people if I can and, you know…giving back is how I do it, I guess.”

On Thanksgiving Day, Brad Paisley was playing with Twitter, posting a series of bad holiday special ideas:

The Gingrich that Stole Christmas

Frosty the Slow Man

The 12 Steps of Christmas

Occupy on 34th Street

Caucasian Christmas

And about the Macy's parade, he tweeted:

"This Macy's parade would be a lot better if they'd rope off an oval or square,set up pit crews,and see who's got the FASTEST float today."

Thanksgiving Day was a rough day for the American Idol country alums. Scotty McCreery was part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and made it painfully obvious that his performance was lip-synced. (They all are, but he just did a poor job on his.) And Lauren Alaina forgot a line in the National Anthem Thanksgiving night. She recovered well, but kicked herself all weekend.

Justin Moore is on the Craig Ferguson show tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Michelle Branch: "My favorite part of Thanksgiving: we asked my daughter to say "grace" and she said the Pledge of Allegiance. We felt too bad to correct her."