52nd Annual Grammy's are Sunday

Here are the country-related nominees!

Record Of The Year
Beyonce, "Halo"
Black Eyed Peas, "I Got A Feeling"
Kings of Leon, "Use Somebody"
Lady GaGa, "Poker Face"
Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me"

Album Of The Year
"I Am...Sasha Fierce," Beyonce
"The E.N.D.," Black Eyed Peas
"The Fame," Lady GaGa
"Big Whiskey & The GrooGrux King," Dave Matthews Band
"Fearless," Taylor Swift

Song Of The Year
Lady GaGa, "Poker Face"
Maxwell, "Pretty Wings"
Beyonce, "Single Ladies"
Kings of Leon, "Use Somebody"
Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me"

Best New Artist
Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

Best Female Country Vocal Performance
Miranda Lambert, "Dead Flowers"
Martina McBride, "I Just Call You Mine"
Taylor Swift, "White Horse"
Carrie Underwood, "Just A Dream"
Lee Ann Womack, "Solitary Thinkin'"

Best Male Country Vocal Performance
Trace Adkins, "All I Ask For Anymore"
Billy Currington, "People Are Crazy"
Jamey Johnson, "High Cost Of Living"
George Strait, "Living For The Night"
Keith Urban, "Sweet Thing"

Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
Brooks & Dunn, "Cowgirls Don't Cry"
Zac Brown Band, "Chicken Fried"
Lady Antebellum, "I Run To You"
Rascal Flatts, "Here Comes Goodbye"
Sugarland, "It Happens"

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
Dierks Bentley & Patty Griffin, "Beautiful World"
Kenny Chesney & Mac McAnally, "Down The Road"
Brad Paisley & Keith Urban, "Start A Band"
Carrie Underwood & Randy Travis, "I Told You So"
Lee Ann Womack & George Strait, "Everything But Quits"

Best Country Instrumental Performance
Alison Brown, "Under The (Five) Wire"
The Greencards, "The Crystal Merchant"
Sarah Jarosz, "Mansinneedof"
Steve Wariner, "Producer's Medley"
Track from: Steve Wariner c.g.p. My Tribute To Chet Atkins

Best Country Song
"All I Ask For Anymore," Casey Beathard & Tim James, songwriters (Trace Adkins)
"High Cost Of Living," Jamey Johnson & James Slater, songwriters (Jamey Johnson)
"I Run To You," Tom Douglas, Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott, songwriters (Lady Antebellum)
"People Are Crazy," Bobby Braddock & Troy Jones, songwriters (Billy Currington)
"White Horse," Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)

Best Country Album
Zac Brown Band, "The Foundation"
George Strait, "Twang"
Taylor Swift, "Fearless"
Keith Urban, "Defying Gravity"
Lee Ann Womack, "Call Me Crazy"

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Adele, "Hometown Glory"
Beyoncé, "Halo"
Katy Perry, "Hot N Cold"
Pink, "Sober"
Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me"

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
Rosanne Cash & Bruce Springsteen, "Sea Of Heartbreak"
Ciara & Justin Timberlake, "Love Sex Magic"
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, "Lucky"
Willie Nelson & Norah Jones, "Baby, It's Cold Outside"
Taylor Swift & Colbie Caillat, "Breathe"

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Tony Bennett, "A Swingin' Christmas"
Michael Bublé, "Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden"
Harry Connick, Jr., "Your Songs"
Liza Minnelli, "Liza's At The Palace"
Willie Nelson, "American Classic"

Best Rock Instrumental Performance
Jeff Beck, "A Day In The Life"
Booker T. Jones, "Warped Sister"
Brad Paisley, "Playing With Fire"
Brian Setzer Orchestra, "Mr. Surfer Goes Jazzin'"
Steve Vai, "Now We Run"

Best Southern/Country/Bluegrass Gospel Album
Jason Crabb, "Jason Crabb"
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, "Dream On"
Tracy Lawrence, "The Rock"
Barry Scott & Second Wind, "In God's Time"
Triumphant Quartet, "Everyday"

Best Americana Album
Bob Dylan, "Together Through Life"
Levon Helm, "Electric Dirt"
Willie Nelson & Asleep At The Wheel, "Willie And The Wheel"
Wilco, "Wilco (The Album)"
Lucinda Williams, "Little Honey"

Best Bluegrass Album
Jim Lauderdale, "Could We Get Any Closer?"
Steve Martin, "The Crow / New Songs For The Five-String Banjo"
Michael Martin Murphey, "Buckaroo Blue Grass"
Bryan Sutton And Friends, "Almost Live"
Rhonda Vincent, "Destination Life"

Best Musical Show Album
Ain't Misbehavin'," 30th Anniversary Cast Recording With Ruben Studdard, Frenchie Davis & Others
Robert Sher, producer; Various, composer; Various, lyricist
"Hair," New Broadway Cast With Sasha Allen, Gavin Creel & Others
Noah Cornman, Kurt Deutsch, Joel Moss & Steve Norman, producers; Galt MacDermot, composer; James Rado & Gerome Ragni, lyricists
"9 To 5 The Musical," Original Broadway Cast With Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, Megan Hilty & Others
Alex Lacamoire, Stephen Oremus & Dolly Parton, producers; Dolly Parton, composer; Dolly Parton, lyricist
"Shrek The Musical," Original Broadway Cast With Brian d'Arcy James, Sutton Foster & Others
Peter Hylenski & Jeanine Tesori, producers; Jeanine Tesori, composer; David Lindsay-Abaire, lyricist
"West Side Story," New Broadway Cast with Matt Cavenaugh, Josefina Scaglione & Others
David Caddick & David Lai, producers; Leonard Bernstein, composer; Stephen Sondheim, lyricist
Best Long Form Music Video
Chris Botti, "In Boston"
Johnny Cash, "Johnny Cash's America"
Anita O'Day, "Anita O'Day - The Life Of A Jazz Singer"
Keith Urban, "Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy World Tour Live"
Various Artists, "The Beatles Love - All Together Now"

ACM Voting

The Academy of Country Music has released their "Top New" Categories for us to vote on.

The winners of each "Top New" category then goes on to compete for Top New Artist.

Voting begins February 26th and runs thru March 12th. Then, the Top New Artist voting will start April 1st and the willer will be announced on the show April 18th.

You can vote (when the time comes) at VoteACM.com (I'll put this on the side when the time arrives.)

Nominees for the ACM Awards' "Top New" categories:

TOP NEW SOLO VOCALIST
Luke Bryan
Jamey Johnson
Chris Young

TOP NEW VOCAL DUO
Bomshel
Joey + Rory
Steel Magnolia

TOP NEW VOCAL GROUP
Eli Young Band
Gloriana
The Lost Trailers

Keith Urban & John Mayer do CMT Crossroads

Sometime in the Spring (no date yet - but keep watching the DVR Alert section) CMT's Crossroads will feature these great artists.

Of course they played each other's songs, and there were spontaneous jam sessions. I'm told the songs were all filled with lengthy guitar solos, and towards the end John said, "There's something fun about meeting your match. I'm flyin' high tonight, and it's been a blast. They closed the show with George's Michael's Faith (I guess it went on a while :)

Songs covered:

Tonight I Wanna Cry

Sweet Thing

'Til Summer Comes Around

Perfectly Lonely

Say

Gravity.

Toby Keith Helping Haiti

Toby has donated seven semitrailers to Can-Do and Livin' the Music, two nonprofits which are gathering goods to send to Port-Au-Prince next week. It's a nice thing for Toby to do, as these trailers will be filled with donations of nonperishable food, baby formula, water purification products, medical equipment, first aid kits, work gloves, tarps and personal hygiene products, then sealed and shipped.

Big Kenny's Friend Lost in Haiti

Big Kenny's friend Walt Ratterman was staying at the Hotel Montana in Port-Au-Prince when the earthquake hit, and he is still missing.

Big Kenny has been down in Haiti working with rescue and recovery teams searching for his friend, whom, on his blog, he describes as "a great humanitarian and mentor."


Big Kenny has been documenting the devastation as well as the strength and resilience of those he has met on his blog.

In a Monday blog post Big Kenny introduces Jean Jacques, another friend of Walt's, and says, "He is nothing short of amazing. It is very hard to meet anyone in Haiti who has not lost loved ones. I weep for them all. Then I breathe and repeat the cycle. I know with men like Jean there is great hope for Haiti to come out of this tragedy."

Halway To Hazard we barely Knew Yee

On the duo's website, David Tolliver says they'll be taking some time off. "It has been a wild ride so far and we have made so many great friends and memories but at this time in my life I have to take a step back and deal with some personal and family issues that I have neglected to address until now. I am gonna take a break from Halfway to Hazard and put my energy into making myself a better man, father and husband! I will miss you guys but it will only be for a short time, after that we'll see how this life is gonna go! God bless you all, I love each and everyone of you like family!!!"

This is effective immediatly so all of Halfway To Hazard's upcoming appearances have been "postponed indefinitely."

A little background for you.

Halfway To Hazard also features Chad Warrix, and gave us a great debut single with "Daisy" (which didn't do very well for them, but still a great song) in 2007. They were the opening act on Tim & Faith's "Sould2Soul" tour (and Tim was a co-producer on their self-titled debut album. Their sophomore CD, "Come On Time," in October 2009.


Hopefully everything will be OK with Dave and they can get back out there - I thought they had a great sound - they just need a good break.

Tim, Faith, & Taylor

Excellent job Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in your efforts in the fight against cancer. Tim and Faith will receive the Courage Award at the Women's Cancer Research Fund's "An Unforgettable Evening" gala tonight for their commitment to supporting cancer prevention as well as research.


Actress Christina Applegate, who recently went through a successful battle with breast cancer, will also be honored.

Taylor Swift will provide entertainment.

The Women's Cancer Research Fund is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation.

New Music on my Show Today

I went out and got Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now."










And then I saw Vince Gill's "Love Songs" CD and after waffling for 30 seconds bought that too.








So listen for music from those 2 CD's today!





And don't tell my man - 'cuz I spent my lunch money for the week on both. Shhhhhhh!




Some have asked where Lady Antebellum got their name. Antebellum is a style of house - and they had their photo taken in front of one once and loved how it sounded, and felt it reflected the type of sound they were trying to achieve. Here are three photos of fabulous (really the only kind) Antebellum houses.

I love the stairs in this one.

Make sure you check out our Facebook page too - become a fan!

Darryl Worley and Baseball

Darryl will be featured on MLB.com (yep the official site of Major League Baseball).

Check this out to watch him perform and chat about baseball and the Atlanta Braves.

Party with Brad Paisley

Brad's website will start hosting weekly online parties on February 3rd, and chat's and prizes will also be included. You don't have to be a member of the fan club as there will be free access to the chat.

Again - February 3rd - put it on your calenday!

BradPaisely.com

Haiti PSA

Look for Tim McGraw in the new American Red Cross PSA to help Haiti. Tim is a member of their Celebrity Cabinet. He is joined by Reese Witherspoon (June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line"), Morgan Freeman, Julia roberts, Meryl Streep, and Jake Gyllenhaal as they encourage donations to the Red Cross' Haitian relief efforts.

You can also donate to the Red Cross here.

Haiti Telethon Raises Big Bucks :)

Keith Urban and Taylor Swift were part of the big even on Friday that raised more than $57-million for Haiti in the "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" telethon.

Keith joined Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock to performance the classic Bill Withers "Lean On Me." MTV.com says they gave it, "a country feel."

Taylor sang a Better Than Ezra song "Breathless." MTV praised her performance, saying it was, "breathtaking and seemed far beyond her young age."

If you missed any of it, or just want the songs the "Hope For Haiti Now" album (with all the performances) is available via iTunes for $7.99, and iTunes is offering a video of the entire telethon for $2.99. Individual songs are on iTunes for 99-cents each.

You can still help.

Go to helphaitinow.org.

Carrie Underwood - How I Met Your Mother

I don't have an air ate for the epi yet - except sometime in March - keep checking the DVR alert on the side - but I do have some details.

In her fan club blog she wrote, "I got to hang out with the whole cast, dress up like a flight attendant, play a cavewoman and had a baby pig poop on me -- jealous? ... I think I was the only one who knew how to hold and wasn't afraid of a little piglet!"

Hahahahahahahahahahaha - Sorry, I was ROFLMAO at the thought of Barney handling a piglet.

Lilith Fair adds Loretta Lynn

Nice!

Loretta is excited to be on the tour this summer. "I have never done shows just with other girl singers before. When I first started out, they said girl singers couldn't sell records or concert tickets. We've come a long way since then and we're gonna have a big time out there!"

Should be a good Summer 2010 show with Sugarland, Miranda Lambert, and Emmylou Harris are also on board along with Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Norah Jones, Mary J. Blige, and Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan.

No dates yet, but Lilith Fair should hit more than 30 cities including Chicago.

A little history on Lilith Fair. Sarah McLachlan started the all-woman tour in 1997 - had a three year run, but hasn't had a tour since 1999. Looks, to me, as if they are relaunching with a great line up!

The Decades Best - and it's NOT Taylor :p

The L.A. Times Ultimate Top 10 entertainers has Celine Dion at the head of their list, but it's Kenny Chesney who's right behind her. The list looks at most money made - from concert tickets (Kenny woulda beat Celine if his tickets were priced higher I bet) and album sales only. Not counted for this list = merchandise sales, endorsement and licensing deals, ring tones, and other income sources. The paper calls Kenny a "road warior" as his place on the list as almost two-thirds of his income comes from his tours. Kenny says, "I don't think in terms of promoting or working ... I think about the music I want to make, the kind of shows I want to do -- and how to give those fans the things that I wanted from the artists I loved when I was growing up."

Tim McGraw has the number nine spot. He would have come in 14th, but he was given an extra $95-million towards his earnings from his half of the "Soul2Soul" tours with wife Faith.


"The Los Angeles Times'" Ultimate Top 10 of the Decade

1. Celine Dion, 747-point-nine-million-dollars
2. Kenny Chesney, 742-million-dollars
3. Dave Matthews Band, 737-point-four-million-dollars
4. The Beatles, 627-point-three-million-dollars
5. U2, 609-point-seven-million-dollars
6. Toby Keith, 591-point-nine-million-dollars
7. Bruce Springsteen, 588-point-three-million-dollars
8. The Rolling Stones, 569-point-six-million-dollars
9. Tim McGraw, 550-point-seven-million dollars
10. Britney Spears, 494-point-three-million-dollars

Lonestar

Just yesterday I was wondering what was up with Lonestar. Since they hired new lead singer Cody Collins not much has happened for them (or Richie McDonald with his solo career for that matter).

Well good news!

Lonestar's 10th album, and first with Cody Collins (who has been with them since 2007) will be out April 27th. Michael Britt says he believes the CD reflects where they are now saying the songs convey their values thru music, lyrics and production.

And they are all involved in the CD - writing 8 of the 10 songs and producing.

Oh - the name?

Party Heard Around the World!

Charlie Daniels Doing Well After a Mild Stroke

WHEW!

While snowmobiling in Colorado on Friday (where he's been vacationing since 12/27) Charlie had a mild stroke. He was treated at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango, CO then airlifted to Swedish Medical Center in Denver, CO. He was then released from Swedish Medical Center on Sunday and returned to his home.

Charlie must be feeling good 'cuz he has no plans to cancel his concert dates when they start up again at the end of February in Florida.

UPDATE 1/25/10

Charlie posted on his "Soapbox" blog and I wanted to share that with you.

"I'm doing fine and I want to thank all of you who got the news and prayed for me. I have seen the hand of God extended over me in the past when I was in a dangerous situation and I knew He was near." When it came to those getting him help as quickly as possible he says, "There were so many things that made me know that God was ordering our steps, everthing worked like clockwork." He's feeling good, and says, "The only effect that it seemed to have left behind was a numbness in my left hand and a stiffness in my left arm." The docs say the feeling will return on its own.

Charlie says, "One of the first things I did when I came home from the hospital in Denver was to pick up my guitar and make sure my fingers still work on it."

Charlie says, "What the heck, I may take up skydiving next -- who knows."

What's Up with The Dixie Chicks?

Their not officially disbanding but Emily Robison and Martie Maguire got the urge to make some new music so they have formed a duo called Court Yard Hounds.

It's not like they purposely left Natalie Maines out in the cold. Talking to Rollingstone.com Martie says "Emily and I had the itch, and every time we'd call Natalie and say 'are you ready?' she wasn't ready. She wanted a clear-cut break." (I guess she is still Not Ready To Make Nice - not that I blame her one bit.)

As I said, this is not intended to be the end of the Dixie Chicks but they are unsure of their future. The three don't see each other very much as Natalie now lives in LA (hubba-hubba hubby Adrian Pasdar just finished his stint on Heroes and hopefully will be showing his gorgeous square jawed mug on my TV again soon!)

So what's up with their new duo Court Yard Hounds? They will present their debut disc at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas in March, release it in May, and then tour. Martie does hope Natalie will catch them on tour and she hopes it will, "...inspire her to want to do music again."

I always thought Natalie had the best voice of the three, but let's see what happens with Court Yard Hounds. And please, someone ask about that name!

Congrats Jack Ingram

Texas loves Jack Ingram!!!

Jack just received the trophy for the Most Number-One Hits of the Decade on The Texas Music Chart.

Here are his number ones:
2005's "Wherever You Are"
2006's "Love You"
2007's "Lips of an Angel" and "Measure of a Man"
2008's "Maybe She'll Get Lonely" and "That's a Man"
2009's "Barefoot and Crazy"

Jack is going down under to Australia in March. He says, " Australia is going to rock. From what I've been told the mentality of Aussie's mixes well with Texans. If that's the starting line I think we're gonna get along just fine! I am really looking forward to this tour and of course the Vegemite!"

Taylor News

Taylor Swift is in the new issue of People Style Watch and under her fashion "musts" it says she

loves strawberry lotion from The Body Shop, headbands, peep-toe pumps, bold colors and dresses that show off her collarbones. The reason she prefers to show off her collarbones is adorable. "It's a way to show enough without showing too much," Taylor says.

BTW - if you want some new Taylor music head over to iTunes 'cuz "Today Was a Fairytale, from the film and sountrack "Valentine's Day," is now there.

Taylor might get a new award (where will she put them all? She is going to need one huge room just for her accolades!) Taylor has been nominated for International Breakthrough Act at the 2010 BRIT Awards that are February 16t in London. Her competition is Lady GaGa, Animal Collective, Daniel Merriweather, and Empire of the Sun.

Jimmy Wayne Update

As of today Jimmy was in Memphis, TN on his "Meet Me Halfway" walk to raise awareness and money for the Homeless.

Yesterday he tweeted "2nite will B interestN. I'm not sleepN n my tent;RV;hotel! I'm sleepN n a homeless shelter!"

People are being great on his trek, but he is getting some unpleasant advice. Here's another of his tweets. "been warnD about the neighborhood I'm about 2 walk thru. Many said "they ain't white". I hate racism! the guy that stabbed my mom was white."

Jimmy was referring to his childhood - which included a stint as a homeless teen.

Keith & Nicole sing to The Mentalist

Love, love love Simon Baker!! So yummy, right ladies?

I love him in this picture. He looks great in what I like to call "The Relaxed Suit." Such a nice smile too.

OK ::shakes head, focuses:: So what's he got to do with Keith Urban and wife Nicole Kidman?

They sang to him at the G'day USA Ball (which promotes Australian culture, tourism, and business) in LA over the weekend. They sang a parady of Men at Work's "Down Under."

P.S. It was at this ball in 2005 that Keith and Nicole met.

Here's the song!

Sigh

I have fallen head over heels for The Twilight Saga. Got book #1 for Xmas from my bro and proceeded to devour the series in a little over a week. Thank goodness for a patient partner who puts up with me when I become obsessed and only want to read. I figure I will not, at the end of my days, regret any dishes left in the sink (or all over the counter 'cuz the sink is overflowing :)

I am currently experiencing something I rarely experience. I cannot seem to let go of Edward, Bella, Jacob and the rest of The Twilight clan. They are always hovering in the back of my mind. I feel distracted. I seem to be always just noodling away at a part of the book. Don't ask me what I'm thinking when I get that far away dreamy look in my eyes. I'll lie. As if I would tell you that I am day dreaming about my vampire and werewolf friends. :P)

I am currently reading (well, re-reading as I read it about 15 years ago) Bella's fav book (points to you for knowing), Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I thougth it would be a nice way to ween myself from the Saga, but alas, I find that as I read I am imagining Bella and Edward reading it. LOL

Here are some Twilight photos I found online. I'll prolly pop some up here and there.

I love this one, but as a blogger pointed out Edward's hand is filthy!

The rain picture gives me chills thou I have no idea where it came from!

T Bone Burnett & The Golden Globes

I've been hearing great things about a little movie that almost went straight to DVD - "Crazy Heart" T Bone scored the movie with his late friend Stephen Bruton - who died of cancer last May.

In December T Bone was honored by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and over the weekend he won two more awards. On Friday "The Weary Kind" (which he wrote with Ryan Bingham) was named Best Song at the Broadcast Film Critics Association's 15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards. "The Weary Kind" also won the Best Original Song - Motion Picture last night at the 67th Annual Golden Globes.

On a side-note - Jeff Bridges won Best Actor - Movie (Drama) for Crazy Heart!!


Best Movie (Drama)Avatar
Best Actor - Movie (Drama) Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
Best Actress - Movie (Drama) Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Best Movie (Musical or Comedy) The Hangover
Best Actor - Movie (Musical or Comedy)Robert Downey Junior (Sherlock Holmes)
Best Actress - Movie (Musical or Comedy) Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
Best Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Best Supporting Actress Mo'Nique (Precious)
Best DirectorJames Cameron (Avatar)
Best Television Series (Drama)Mad Men (AMC)
Best Actress - Television (Drama)Juliana Margulies The Good Wife
Best Actor - Television (Drama) Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical)Glee (FOX)
Best Actress - Television (Comedy or Musical)Toni Collette (United States of Tara)
Best Actor - Television (Comedy or Musical)Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Best Supporting Actress - TelevisonChloe Sevigny (Big Love)
Best Supporting Actress - TelevisonJohn Lithgow (Dexter)
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Grey Gardens (HBO)
Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Drew Barrymore (Grey Gardens)
Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Kevin Bacon (Taking Chance)
Best Animated Feature FilmUp
Best Original Song"The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart

Chatting with Little Big Town

Send them questions via their Twitter page, then tune in January 21st at 5pm for the actual chat on UStream.tv.

For full deatails see their MySpace page.

Toby Keith & Trace Adkins - BIG News!

There was a big press conference in Nashville yesterday to announce the new partnership between Toby Keith's ShowDog label and Univeral South. The two labesl will merge, and the first artist to sign on with the new parternshop is Trace Adkins.

Toby & Trace are thrilled and in a printed statement Toby says, "We both worked the same old bar circuit of the Southwest years ago at the same time. We are just alike and see eye to eye in so many ways." Toby promises Trace that his staff is, "ready to tear it up for him."

I'm guessing you're thinking what I'm thinking, that their tour last year allowed this to happen. Trace said, "Toby and I had some time to get to know each other better and we discovered that as artists, we share a common vision."

The merger provided an incentive for Trace to sign on. He said, "The excitement surrounding this merger is very invigorating and I'm really excited about the future and the opportunities and possibilities that are ahead at Show Dog-Universal Music."

Yes, this all means that Trace is leaving his home of 15 years - Capitol Records/Nashville.

All this was done on Trace Adkin's 48th birthday and Toby Keith and Mark Wright (with Universal South) ended the press conference by getting the audience to seranade Trace with "Happy Birthday" as they brought out a cake.

I'm very excited about all this!

Valentine's Music

Pick up the new CD "NOW That's What I Call Love," for some great Valentine's Day music.

Three country songs will be featured.

Taylor Swift's "Love Story," Keith Urban's "Kiss A Girl," and Lonestar's "Amazed."

Also the original "Lips of An Angel" by Hinder (you'll recall Jack Ingram does an amazing version of this song).

You'll also find rock, pop, and R&B music like Hoobastank's "The Reason," Alicia Keys' "No One," 3 Doors Down's "Here Without You" and Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved." Also, songs by Daughtry, David Cook, Katy Perry, Norah Jones, and Lifehouse.

"NOW That's What I Call Love" will be in stores January 26th.

New Johnny Cash CD

RollingStone.com says that Johnny Cash's final recordings will soon be released. "American 6: Ain't No Grave" is coming out February 26th - what would have been his 78th birthday.

These are Johnny's final recordings.

The "American" series has been produced by Rick rubin who is on board for this one too.

This new CD will feature the original tune "I Corinthians: 15:55" which Johhny wrote during his last three years of life. Johnny will also cover Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times," and Sheryl Crow's 1990's track "Redemption Day."

The "American" series was very important to Johnny as it was something he worked on even after his beloved June died. Rick Rubin said, "Johnny said that recording was his main reason for being alive. I think it was the only thing that kept him going."

Forbes Magazine's List of Hollywood's Top-Earning Couples

Country Super-Star couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill make the list. "Forbes" calls them, "the Jay-Z and Beyonce of country music" -- Those two are number one on the list.

Putting Tim and Faith in at number 12 is the success of Tim's "Let it Go" and Faith's huge deal with NBC's "Sunday Night Football." They also counted the movies Tim has been doing (that little ole film he did, The Blind Side prolly helped :), and their touring.

Yes Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman make the list. "Forbes" says Keith's CD "Defying Gravity" and Nicole's movie Australia helped them be equal breadwinners for their family.

This list looked at money earned from June 2008 and June 2009.

“Forbes'” magazine's list of “Hollywood's Top-Earning Couples”
1. Beyonce & Jay-Z -- 122-million-dollars
2. Harrison Ford & Calista Flockhart -- 69-million-dollars
3. Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie -- 55-million-dollars
4. Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith -- 48-million-dollars
5. David & Victoria Beckham -- 46-million-dollars
6. Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi -- 36-million-dollars
7. Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson -- 35-point-five-million-dollars
8. Jim Carey & Jenny McCarthy -- 34-million-dollars
9. Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes -- 33-point-five-million-dollars
10. Chris Martin & Gwyneth Paltrow -- 33-million-dollars
11. Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick -- 29-million-dollars
12. Tim McGraw & Faith Hill -- 28-million-dollars
13. Eva Longoria Parker & Tony Parker -- 22-million-dollars
14. Katherine Heigl & Josh Kelly -- 20-million-dollars
15. Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban -- 17-million-dollars

Wanna Go to The 45th Annual ACM's?

Sugarland and Pepsi want to send you! Pepsi is holding a contest with a grand prize of tickets to the ACM's April 18th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

You would also win tickets to the "Dr Pepper Welcome Reception with Sugarland" and the post-show "ACM All-Star Jam."

Jennifer Nettles says she and Kristian Bush are "...excited to partner with Dr Pepper to support such an important part of country music, saying they, "look forward to seeing our fans at our special performance."

Details are at drpepper.com.

Stephen King & Shooter Jennings.

Looks like I'll have something fun to add to my Stephen King collection. (Right now the fav in my collection is a pop-up book of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.)

Shooter's new album is a 70-minute concept album entitled "Black Ribbons." Stephen lends his voice to the project - he is "Will O' The Wisp" a late-night talk radio host.

Get this, "Will" is delivering the last hour of his broadcast before the government takes over transmissions so he is ranting and making points with the music of Shooter's new band, Heirophant. (I am sooooo right now pictuing Ray Flowers last broadcast in The Stand, aren't you?)

Apparently Shooter has had the album ready for almost a year, but he needed to find the right voice for "Will." He eventually got Stephen on board, but they've never met. "To this day I've never met or spoken to Mr. King. Someone who had business contacts with him put us in touch and I presented my ideas to him."

The internet was very helpful in the collaboration. "Through a string of e-mails, we went back and forth about the character and the story of the album, and the few weeks later I had a recording of several voiceover clips called 'The Last Night Of The Last Light' on my doorstep."

March 2nd it's coming out! I cannot wait!!

Chris Young Contest

His new song is the title cut from his latest CD - The Man I Want to Be.

Chris says, "There are men and women both, but there's a lot of guys that are sending stories that are going, 'Hey, this song is totally me. This is me trying to become the perfect man for her.'"

This has inspired a Valentine's Day contest. Chris is looking for the best story from his fans.

The winner will receive dinner, flowers and a phone call from Chris in time for Valentine's Day.

The deadline for entries is January 22nd.

Log onto MySpace.com/ChrisYoung for details.

Congrats New Dad John Rich

John keeps his private life very private. When he married his wife Joan in Dec. 2008 it was after 5 years of under-the-radar dating (they never acknowledge in all that time that they were a couple - now that is discipline!). Last October he did announce that they were expecting and their first child was born in Nashville on Sunday.

They had a boy, who I'm going to guess, was named after Johnny Cash.

His name is Cash Rich!

Sorry Miley - You ARE a Role Model

Miley is aggravating me at the moment. She is on the cover of the new issue of Harpers Bazaar, and in the article in the mag she says she hates being a role model.

She says, "My job isn't to tell your kids how to act or how not to act, because I'm still figuring that out for myself. So to take that away from me is a bit selfish. Your kids are going to make mistakes whether I do or not. That's just life."

Uh, Miley - hate to break this to you, but when you are the most popular teenager on the planet, when young children across the globe worship the ground you walk on, you are a role model. Sure, you are still trying to figure it out, but since it was your choice to be in the public eye while you are "trying to figure it out" then you have to realize that you have a responsibility to all those young eyes that look at you. You can't just take their money (well there parents) and expect it to end there. I'm sorry if that means you are going to get flack for taking pix of yourself (and your exposed tummy) on your cell, or making slanty eyes when you shouldn't, but this is the life that you chose.

With your unprecedented popularity comes responsibility. To quote you, "that's just life."

People's Choice Award Winners

People love Country Music!!!

Keith Urban won the Favorite Male Artist Award. Thou he may have ticked off some people with his acceptance speach. heehee He said, “I don't even care if you download it illegally and give it to your friends – I really don't care – I love that people hear the music and come out and see us play live.”

Taylor Swift was nominated in 3 categories, but only won the Favorite Female Artist Award.

Carrie Underwood won the Favorite Country Artist Award.

Rascal Flatts (who were up against Carrie in the Fav Country Artist category) presented the award for Favorite R&B Artist to Mariah Carey.

DUH!

Fearless is the best selling CD of 2009.

According to Billboard.com we bought 3,217,000 copies of it.

Taylor Swift just edged out Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream which sold 3,104,000 copies.

Susan's showing is very impressive as her CD cam out in late November of 2009 while Taylor's came out in November 2008.

SoundScan's Top Ten Best-Selling Albums Of 2009
1. Taylor Swift, "Fearless,"
2. Susan Boyle, "I Dreamed a Dream,"
3. Michael Jackson, "Number Ones," two-point-36-million copies sold
4. Lady GaGa, "The Fame," two-point-24-million copies sold
5. Andrea Bocelli, "My Christmas," two-point-21-million copies sold
6. "Hannah Montana: The Movie" soundtrack, one-point-82-million copies sold
7. Black Eyed Peas, "The E.N.D.," one-point-79-million copies sold
8. Eminem, "Relapse," one-point-74-million copies sold
9. Jay-Z, "The Blueprint 3," one-point-52-million copies sold
10. Kings Of Leon, "Only By The Night," one-point-four-million copies sold

Craig Called It Last Night

If you were listening to our witty banter last night after the 4pm news you heard Craig tell us that Carrie Underwood will be on one of my Top 3 sitcoms. How I Met Your Mother. Carrie will play a love interest for Ted (I'm sure she won't be the mom - but wouldn't it be funny...). She'll play Tiffany - a pharmaceutical sales rep. This is Carrie's acting debut. Hey if Britney Spears could do it - Carrie can! The epi will air sometime in March - watch the DVR alert for the exact date.

And if you're somehow not watching one of the most awesome of awesome shows that is legen...wait for it...dary, start now!!! How I Met Your Mother is hilarious!!

BTW - Here are my Top 3 sitcoms
1. The Office
2. The Big Bang Theory
3. How I Met Your Mother

People's Choice Awards

They're tonight on CBS - Queen Latifah is hosting.

Here are the country nominess:

Favorite Male Artist
Eminem
Jason Mraz
John Mayer
Keith Urban
Tim McGraw

Favorite Female Artist
Beyonce
Britney Spears
Carrie Underwood
Pink
Taylor Swift

Favorite Pop Artist
Britney Spears
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift
The Black Eyed Peas

Favorite Country Artist
Brad Paisley
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Rascal Flatts
Taylor Swift

Top 10 Country Dance Club Hits

The list comes from marketing company Marco Club Connection - they polled more than 230 club owners, DJs and dance instructors in the U.S.
1. The Zac Brown Band -- "Toes"
2. Randy Houser -- "Boots On"
3. Jason Aldean -- "She's Country"
4. Carrie Underwood -- "Cowboy Casanova"
5. Gloriana -- "Wild at Heart"
6. Brooks & Dunn -- "Honky Tonk Stomp"
7. Billy Currington - "People Are Crazy"
8. Reba -- "I Want a Cowboy"
9. Joey and Rory -- "Cheater Cheater"
10. Jack Ingram -- "Barefoot and Crazy"

Sara Evans - Author

Sara's first novel, The Sweet By and By was released yesterday.

Sara says, "It takes place in the South and it's about this girl who is getting married to a rich lawyer from old Southern money."

Want to read the first part? Here ya go.

http://my.musiccitynetworks.com/domain/766/upload/docs/SBB-preview.pdf

Lady A's New CD

I am counting the days to the release of "Need You Now." (20)

Charles Kelley says of the album, "We touch on a lot of really personal things in these songs. There's a lot of emotion...there's love, heartache, nostalgia, vulnerability, happiness and hopefulness. We hope that fans will get to know us even better when they listen to it. We want people to go through a journey, but we're just fired up."

Here's the track listing. (and yes - I'll be buying it and playing it on my shift on Jan. 26th!)
1. Need You Now
2. Our Kind Of Love
3. American Honey
4. Hello World
5. Perfect Day
6. Love This Pain
7. When You Got A Good Thing
8. Starts Tonight
9. If I Knew Then
10. Something 'Bout A Woman
11. Ready To Love Again

Kellie, Randy, & Jamey on a USO Tour

I can't tell you when and where they're going (security reasons you know), but Kellie Pickler, Jamey Johnson, and Randy Houser are headed overseas for a USO tour.

Kellie is packing thou and told us on Twitter, "Think I'm gonna leave the Red High Heels at home 4 this trip. Easier 2 jump in/out of helicopters in flats."

It's Kellie's 3rd USO tour - her last one was December 2008 when she spent five days visiting the troops in Germany, Kosovo, The UK, Iraq and Afghanistan. That time she went with the Zac Brown Band, and Kid Rock.

Kenny Chesney - Getting Serious?

I ask 'cuz he has gone and bought a couple of puppies with his girlfriend, Amy Colley. They got two Maltipoo sisters. I guess it was suppose to be one, but once they saw the pups they got two. It was suppose to be Amy's Christmas present. These are teeny tiny doggies - they only weighed about a pound-and-a-half each! Full grown they're only 4 pounds! That's $625 a pound 'cuz they cost $2500 each! Nice present Kenny!

Oh, their names? Molly and Dolly.

Now, I am not going to go into a tirade about Kenny buying puppies from a breeder when the Humane Society is stocked with pups in need of good homes. But a part of me kinda wants to.


But look at them (these are not his puppies, just two I found on the net), they are sooooooo adorable!