Today's Country Tidbits

Kind of a fun shift for the CMT Music Awards last night, as Brad Paisley, Eric Church and Hank Williams Jr. played their sets on an outdoor stage. It’s the first time this award show has catered to fans who couldn’t get tickets - nice move! Here’s why Toby Keith likes being at this particular show: “I got a lot of CMT Awards in my office at home. But they always put together a great show. It’s different – to me it’s not as sterile as the other award shows. It’s more hang out, hang loose and the whole night’s funner. They’ve got a wonderful package this year.” Jason Aldean feels the same way: “The CMT Awards are always one of those awards shows that are really laid back and loose and a lot of fun and to me I think they got one of the coolest trophies in all the awards shows.” And Zac Brown is even more direct: “I feel like getting to come play on that show and celebrating the kind of glimpse into country music rather than being a political side of country music – I feel like it’s a lot different. You know, I don’t feel the...I don’t feel the politics as much I guess.” 

Billy’s little girl is growing up – Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend of three years, “Hunger Games” co-star Liam Hemsworth, got engaged on May 31st. He gave her a 3.5 carat diamond ring…niiiiiiice! 

It’s now three in a row for Luke Bryan – he’s scored three platinum singles in a row off of his “Tailgates & Tanlines” cd: “Drunk on You” was just certified platinum, following “Country Girl (Shake it For Me)” and “I Don’t Want This Night to End.”

Sheryl Crow, who occasionally collaborates with country artists, just revealed that she found out six months ago there’s a brain tumor in her head. According to her doctors, it’s benign, but it has caused her some memory problems. She battled breast cancer five years ago and has been cancer-free since then.

Miranda Lambert’s next single is “Fastest Girl in Town.” This isn’t the official music video – she hasn’t made it yet – but you can hear the song here…



Love and Theft took on Las Vegas and they think they won…check out these videos and see what you think!





And this is a rock band poised to break big from Nashville. The debut single from Goodbye June has a video featuring two big fans, country star Steve Holy and St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher. The two had a blast playing the good guys/bad guys in this video…

Today's Country Tidbits

Going to the CMA Music Festival? Big fan of great songwriting? Then you want to put this benefit concert on your list: the Musicians on Call Songwriter Series will host a tribute to Kenny Chesney on June 10th, with a guitar pull featuring Mac MacAnally, Craig Wiseman, Brett James, Neil Thrasher Wendell Mobley and Casey Beathard. You can buy tickets online before you get to Nashville for the CMA Music Festival.

Brooks & Dunn have a house named for them on Music Row. Knoxville Habitat for Humanity and the Charlie And Moll Anderson Family Foundation are teaming up to build a neighborhood over the next 10 years. A major part of the fund-raising happens at benefit concerts, and Brooks & Dunn headlined the first one. Next year's home will be named for Martina McBride, who headlined the second concert last year.

Martina McBride has a new manager - Clint Higham of Morris Artist Management. Clint is the same guy who manages Kenny Chesney and Jake Owen, and Martina's excited about working with him. Of Martina, Clint says, "Martina is a superstar at the top of her game, but I believe there are many layers to her career that have yet to be explored."

Donations are still pouring in to GAC for the Music City Keep On Playin' benefit for flood relief. You can donate through this Sunday, either online or by texting GAC to 501501. Proceeds benefit the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

When we think of Nashville musicians, we think of the superstars with big fan clubs and big bucks. But most musicians in Nashville live and play in relative obscurity, and have lost not just their livelihood but the instruments they used to make a living in the flood waters. Music Rising, a partnership formed after Hurricane Katrina to assist musicians with instrument repair and replacement, is pitching in after Nashville's floods. Administered by the Gibson Foundation, the charitable arm of Gibson Guitars, Funds will also be used to help flood victims get back into their houses more quickly. Donations are appreciated, and you can donate and read more about it online.

Here's a sneak-peek at this Sunday night's Brooks & Dunn tribute show.







Do you have kids who own Miley Cyrus jewelry? Toss it - Wal-Mart has pulled it from the shelves due to high levels of cadmium, a toxic element. It's thought to be safe to wear, but ingestion can cause bone softening, kidney failure and cancer.

Reba and Brooks & Dunn were on the Today show this morning, and they'll be on the Late Show with David Letterman tomorrow night.

Today's country tidbits...

Today isn't just a big day for country music, it's a big day for America. Today, Veteran's Day, is a day to turn our thoughts and prayers to the men and women who are on the battlefront or have been. They don't make government policy, but they carry out their duties to implement that policy with honor, courage and commitment. Today is a reminder that we shouldn't take those real human beings who are willing to put their bodies and lives in the line of fire for granted. America's military veterans are the finest example of walking the talk: they honor their commitments, responsibilities and also honor us with their service. Today, honor them. And tomorrow, and every tomorrow after that, honor them, too. It's because of our veterans and their fallen brothers and sisters that we are a free nation. Happy Veteran's Day, and if you're a Veteran, like my Dad, thank you and God bless you!

Records could be set when Entertainer of the Year is announced at the CMA's tonight. Taylor Swift will be the youngest winner if she gets the award. If Kenny Chesney wins, then he'll set the record for most times won with five, breaking Garth Brooks' four-win record.

And the Nashville Tennesean has another CMA feature that's worth a look: photographic evidence of the contributions they've made to country music for each of the Entertainer of the Year nominees. Check out their amazing photo gallery.

Martina McBride is promising a big surprise for her performance on the CMA show tonight. Hmmmmm....

Look for Kellie Pickler to be wearing the dress of the night - she describes it as looking like liquid - and check out her new red hair, if it's still red! She went brownish, then a beautiful auburn, but has caught a lot of flack from fans. She loves it...let's see what you think tonight. She's presenting the award for Song of the Year, so will get some good tv time.

Darius Rucker and Brad Paisley have been writing songs together, and have come up with one that they'll duet on. Darius describes it as a two-guy duet, very fun. They'll record it next month and it'll be part of his next cd, due out some time next spring.

When Darius was just a kid, he remembers his views on music: "I think I just said to myself, 'I'm never going to let anybody tell me what I can listen to.' And I never did. When I was sitting there watching 'Hee Haw,' my brother didn't want to watch it. He was older than me but there was going to be a friggin' fight if they didn't let me watch 'Hee Haw.'"

Been waiting for news of Faith Hill's annual Christmas tv special? Wait no more - here's the scoop: December 23 on CBS, catch Faith with Reba, Carrie Underwood, Shakira, Mary J. Blige and more guests to be named later. It's the "11th Annual A Home for the Holidays with Faith Hill" show and it's not only entertaining, it aims to raise awareness on the importance of adoption.

Yesterday morning in Nashville, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley put on a free concert for Good Morning America. In case you missed it, here's Brad Paisley's performance of "American Saturday Night" and Carrie Underwood singing "Temporary Home."

More than 18 million votes were cast for the 2010 People's Choice awards, and Country is well-represented in the final slate: Keith Urban and Tim McGraw are both up for Favorite Male Artist, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift are both up for Favorite Female Artist, Favorite Country Artist nominees are Taylor, Carrie, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts. Taylor Swift is also nominated in the Favorite Pop Artist category. Miley Cyrus is up for Favorite Web Celeb and Favorite Breakout Movie Actress, and Taylor Swift's recent escort, Taylor Lautner, is up for Breakout Movie Actor. You can cast your vote for the winners here.

People.com has a slide show of country stars best Twitter pictures.

A country-music-couple-breakup: Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough have split up. Sources say it's "mutual" and that they just need time away from each other.

Happy birthday to Reba's hubby, Narvel Felts, today.