Today's Country Tidbits

Nicole Kidman, snake lover? Apparently so. She and hubby Keith Urban have a Tennessee farm, where they raise alpacas. Daughter Sunday Rose loves to take the alpacas for walks, and Nicole admires them for their sweet nature and lovely long eyelashes. But she's expressed the desire to add more odd pets to the collection: snakes. Says Nicole, “I'd love to get snakes, I love them. They might not be a good idea around the baby though." Hmmmmm, wonder what sort of snake Nicole has in mind? Must be a big one!

Starting in January, we'll see Taylor Swift in a whole new way - she's the spokesperson for CoverGirl's new NatureLuxe line of cosmetics.

Whoa, Nellie!! According to InTouch magazine, Jake Gyllenhaal has asked Taylor Swift to help him pick out a house in Los Angeles. According to the report, he's pretty sure she's "the one" and wants to be sure his house suits her taste. This after only a few weeks of dating? Either he's moving too fast or the magazine is making stuff up. No word on Taylor's take on all of this.

Using the same attorney who got him off on the 1994 pot charges, Willie Nelson will fight his latest misdemeanor pot possession charge. Joe Turner isn't revealing his strategy, but does say he's trying to "produce another miracle" for Willie.

Keith Urban is on the Ellen Degeneres Show today.

The tweet of the day is from Gloriana's Tom Gossin: "I think manual transmissions should be mandatory...that would solve the whole texting while driving thing!"

Today's Country Tidbits

It was written on an airplane, on an airsick bag. It's his signature song, and now it's going into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Willie Nelson's 1980 hit "On the Road Again" will be honored for it's lasting qualitative or historical significance. Congrats, Red Headed Stranger!

Rolling Stone is out with their list of the Best Albums of 2010, and Country snags a few slots. Jamey Johnson's "The Guitar Song" came in at #5, Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" landed at her lucky number, 13, and Kid Rock's "Born Free" is #16 on the list.

CBS and VEVO are offering an on-demand Taylor Swift concert starting today. The show was taped in October after Taylor's visit with David Letterman.

Didja miss Taylor Swift on the Today Show? Here she is...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Congrats to Taylor Swift, as "Speak Now" has already been certified triple-platinum. She's also being honored by the RIAA as the top-certified artist for digital sales from 2000 to 2009, largely on the strength of the quintuple-platinum single, "Love Story."

Miranda Lambert and Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum are close friends, so it's only fitting that Hillary should know something about the wedding preparations. She does, telling People Country “Miranda is going to do this exactly how she wants to do it and I’m staying the hell out of the way.” Talking about the wedding dress, Hillary was serious, saying that Miranda will look stunning. “She’s a real woman and I love that about her, so it will be something that shows off her curves.” What will Hillary give the happy couple? She's toying with the idea of a matched pair of pistols!

If you're on FaceBook and like to play the games, check out "Nightclub City" which features Keith Urban. Players develop their own online nightclub.

Here's a collection of some of the best lines from Monday night's American Country Awards on Fox:

"You get me to a honky-tonk, I'll find you the badonkadonk." — Trace Adkins

"Clearly, I don't a problem with the use of the word 'ass.'" — Blake Shelton

"It builds confidence getting to do something like this, whether you win an award or not. — Easton Corbin on performing on a network broadcast

"It's a live show. What are they going to do? They can't fire me right in the middle of it, can they?" – Trace Adkins apparently deciding not to do the monologue on the TelePrompTer

"Don't be surprised if we don't show up next year because we want to go out on top." — Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott on the band's big night

"We're running over, shut up!" — Trace Adkins to the crowd

"You ladies be thorough. I'm very patriotic." — Trace Adkins to the "TSA" models

"I've never gotten to hold a guitar before." — Lady A's Hillary Scott on handling the Vocal Group guitar

"Trace completely screwed me out of my acceptance speech." — Blake Shelton, backstage

"I'm thinking of a number between one and 10. What is it?" — A press room smart-aleck to magician Criss Angel, to which he replied, "If I'm not getting paid, I'm not performing."

"Believe it or not, Willie Nelson is a wonderful mentor." — Toby Keith backstage

"I got up at rehearsal with Nancy [O'Dell], and they handed me the guitar, and I was like, 'Is this a prop?'" — Josh Turner on the ACA trophy

"That's a Fender. That's not a bullcrap guitar. That's a pretty cool trophy." — Blake Shelton

"That's a testament to how many people we paid off." — Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus on the band's longevity.

"I love that a lot of the performances were younger artists who haven't had the chance to take the stage yet." — Lady A's Hillary Scott

"We were that artist last week." — Lady A's Charles Kelley

"I was really inspired and happy that Alan Jackson got up there and got to sing 53 songs. I was like, 'This is my first concert condensed into five minutes.'" — Carrie Underwood on what she liked about the show

Happy birthday to Marty Raybon, lead singer of Shenandoah, who is 51 today.

Cowboy Troy is on the Mo'Nique Show, Little Big Town is on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Wynonna is on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "Great idea for a tradition:cut down a tree, let it slowly dry out, stick it by the fireplace, & wrap it w/electrical cord. What could happen?"

Today's Country Tidbits

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

Artist of the Year - Carrie Underwood

Artist of the Year, Duo or Group - Lady Antebellum

Artist of the Year, Breakthrough Artist - Easton Corbin

Artist of the Year, Male - Brad Paisley

Artist of the Year, Female - Carrie Underwood

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

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

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

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

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

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

Touring Headline Package of the Year - Carrie Underwood

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keith Urban is on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

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

Today's Country Tidbits

On Friday at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base, Army veteran Craig Morgan will headline a free concert for military members and their families during the Jack Daniels/USO care-package-stuffing event, "Toast to the Troops." More than 150,000 care packages are expected to be stuffed and sent overseas to service members who won't be home for the holidays.

Out holiday shopping and want to help support music in schools? Rascal Flatts and Best Buy have a deal for you - proceeds from select items at Best Buy stores, including Rascal Flatts' "Nothing Like This" album, will fund an $825,000 donation to the Grammy Foundation's Grammy in the Schools program.

People Country has rounded up some really great prizes for their online auction, benefitting flood relief efforts in middle Tennessee. A Reba meet & greet, Taylor Swift autographed guitar, and a private tour of the Grand Ole Opry are just three of the many things up for bids. The auction runs through December 17th, so you'd still have time to get the gift home, wrapped and under the tree!

Some artists give the shirt off their back for charity - Keith Urban is giving the pants off his...well, you figure it out! He's donated a pair of his jeans, plus a guitar, autographed them both, and they're being auctioned off to benefit Grammy Charities.

As the daughter of two superstars, it's not surprising that Sunday Rose Kidman Urban is a bit precocious. According to her parents, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, she likes to put on shows,

and is quite the singer and dancer. Dad weighs in on her singing ability: "She's a wonderful singer, I think. But I’m your typical proud Dad as well ... I'm not biased at all." And since Sunday's been on the set with Mom a time or two, she gets the whole make-up thing, too, says Nicole: "She loves

makeup. She's not allowed to wear it out of the house, obviously, but pops a little blush on and some lip gloss." Wonder what she'll be when she grows up?

What do artists eat while they're out on the road? A bit of everything, sounds like:

Carrie Underwood: “I’m all about grocery shopping and fixing everything myself.”

Hillary Scott, Lady Antebellum: “We try to be healthy, we try to do like almonds, or peanuts, or some kind of protein.”

Luke Bryan: “A great steak and some wine, and good ‘ol fried shrimp every now and then too.”

Jason Aldean: “I’m a steak and potatoes kind of guy, yeah…pretty much just a meat and potatoes guy period.”

Darius Rucker: “I’m an Italian guy, lasagna’s my favorite.”

Steel Magnolia's debut cd won't be out until January 11th, but it's available for pre-order now.

Blake Shelton is throwing an after-party tonight after the American Country Awards in Las Vegas. He's promising lots of food, alcohol and music from him and surprise guests.

Miranda Lambert is on the Ellen Degeneres Show today, and tonight is the inaugural American Country Awards show on Fox.

The tweet of the day is from Sarah Buxton: "8 stitches in my finger tonight, a lot of blood & bandages later... Lesson: RESPECT THOSE BRAND NEW KNIVES! #mostPainfulWeddingGift"

Today's Country Tidbits

Kenny Chesney will be part of one of Indianapolis' hottest events next year. No, not the Indy 500, but the annual "Celebration of Caring," which benefits the Payton Manning Children's Hospital. Helmed by Peyton and his wife, Ashley, the March 4th fundraiser will feature Kenny Chesney putting on a full concert. Kenny and Peyton have been friends for a long time, and Peyton has been known to join Kenny onstage to sing, though there's no word on whether that will happen at this show. (Bet on it!!) Bob Costas is the emcee and attendees to this black-tie gala will get to rub shoulders with Kenny, Peyton and Bob.

Tonight, Jamey Johnson is teaming up with NFL player Jared Allen, defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings, to raise money for "Homes 4 Wounded Warriors." The money goes to help build or modify homes of severely injured US military members.

Congrats to Taylor Swift, who was named Entertainer of the Year by Entertainment Weekly. She's the youngest artist ever to win the honor.

Trace Adkins is in the movie "The Lincoln Lawyer." It's star-studded and action-packed, as you can see from the trailer.

Brad Paisley's sons are opposites, as he tells it: "Jasper's the opposite of Huck, and I think that's often the case with kids," Paisley explains. "The second one's born and looks at the first one and goes, 'OK, that's covered. I'll be the one that gets five stitches.' And Jasper's already done that.'" But three-year-old Huck is a little more cautious than his one-year-old younger brother. "Huck's the type that thinks things out," Paisley says. "He'll get up on a chair, and you'll say, 'Huck, what'll you think will happen if you jump off that?' 'I'll get hurt.' 'Yeah, are you going to jump off that?' 'Well, no.' 'Jasper, what'll you think will happen if you jump off that?' 'I don't know; let me see.' And he jumps. We've had to go to emergency room already with him. We just gave the hospital our name and started an account because we'll be back. Huck just shakes his head at his little brother, which is really fun." Wonder what's on the boys' Santa lists this year?

Got a George Strait fan on your shopping list? Now through December 31st, select Wrangler Specialty Apparel retailers are giving out free George Strait "Cowboy Love Songs" cds with the purchase of at least $50 in Wrangler gear.

The Keith Urban fan in your life would probably like his annual calendar, a benefit for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Jimmy Wayne will be on the 12th annual "A Home for the Holidays" CBS special, December 22nd at 8pm. He'll perform part of his song, "Belongs to You" and talk about how his adoptive family affected his life.

Jake Owen has a free concert webcast tonight. He's performing live at Joe's Bar in Chicago, and you can see the performance starting at 11 Eastern.

Watch Martina McBride and Rascal Flatts perform on the NASCAR Srint Cup Series Awards Ceremony live from Las Vegas tonight on the Speed Channel. Josh Turner is on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the CMT Artists of the Year show airs tonight. Sunday night, Sugarland is part of VH1 Divas, a salute to the military. Monday, catch Miranda Lambert on the Ellen Degeneres show, and the first annual American Country Awards is on Fox-TV Monday night at 8 Eastern, live from Las Vegas. Trace Adkins is hosting the show, which will feature A-list performances from Nashville's best.

Happy birthday Sunday to Gary Allan, who turns 43 today.

The tweet of the day is from Kellie Pickler: "Stranded on 75 South somewhere between Alabama and hell. First person to bring me a gallon of gas gets $100..."

Today's Country Tidbits

Last night the Grammy Nominations Concert was held, and the nominees were announced. Lady Antebellum is up for six Grammys and Miranda Lambert is up for Grammys for best country song and best country album. Dierks Bentley has three nominations, including two in the country collaboration category. A complete list of nominees is available, but here's where our country artists showed up:

Record of the Year

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

Album of the Year

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

Song of the Year

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me - Tom Douglas & Allen Shamblin, songwriters

Best Female Country Vocal Performance

Jewel - Satisfied

Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me

LeAnn Rimes - Swingin'

Carrie Underwood - Temporary Home

Gretchen Wilson - I'd Love To Be Your Last

Best Male Country Vocal Performance

Jamey Johnson - Macon

Toby Keith - Cryin' For Me (Wayman's Song)

David Nail - Turning Home

Keith Urban - 'Til Summer Comes Around

Chris Young - Gettin' You Home

Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals

Zac Brown Band - Free

Dailey & Vincent - Elizabeth

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

Little Big Town - Little White Church

The SteelDrivers - Where Rainbows Never Die

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals

Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert & Jamey Johnson - Bad Angel

Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury & The Punch Brothers - Pride (In The Name of Love)

Zac Brown Band & Alan Jackson - As She's Walkin' Away

Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins - Hillbilly Bone

Marty Stuart & Connie Smith - I Run To You

Best Country Instrumental Performance

Cherryholmes - Tattoo of a Smudge

The Infamous Stringdusters - Magic #9

Punch Brothers - New Chance Blues

Darrell Scott - Willow Creek

Marty Stuart - Hummingbyrd

Best Country Song

The Breath You Take - Casey Beathard, Dean Dillon & Jessie Jo Dillon

Free - Zac Brown

The House That Built Me - Tom Douglas & Allen Shamblin

I'd Love To Be Your Last - Rivers Rutherford, Annie Tate & Sam Tate

If I Die Young - Kimberly Perry

Best Country Album

Up On The Ridge - Dierks Bentley

You Get What You Give - Zac Brown Band

The Guitar Song - Jamey Johnson

Need You Now - Lady Antebellum

Revolution - Miranda Lambert

This week's Lady Antebellum Webisode Wednesday is a look back at 2010. Hmmm - maybe they should have waited 'til the Grammy noms were announced before looking back at the year!

Blake Shelton had a chat with the Academy of Country Music, and they turned it into a cool little video. Be sure to watch the out-takes at the end.

As reported here yesterday, Eddie Montgomery's wife of more than 20 years had him served with divorce papers late Tuesday evening. He was having dinner with his 23-year-old daughter at his steak house when the process server showed up. According to Eddie's publicist, Tracy told him she can't deal with the stress of someone going through cancer. They have four children and a grandchild. Eddie plans to have surgery to remove a cancerous tumor on his prostate after this weekend's show in Charlotte, NC.

Golf and country music continue to mix at the PGA Greenbrier Classic. The 2011 tournament will feature shows from Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Reba. To see the shows, you have to have tournament tickets.

Wanna have a spa day, complete with Faith Hill as your lunch companion? You can...good luck!

Dairus Rucker is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Billy Currington: "who else looks in the refrigerator one minute and finds nothing and then goes back two minutes later as if something is going to appear.."

Today's Country Tidbits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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