Stevie Nicks Praises Taylor Swift

A LOT of hullabaloo was made about the Grammy performance of Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks, but I think we can all Shut UP now as Stevie has some pretty nice things to say about Taylor.

Taylor Swift has been named to the 2010 Time 100 list of most influential people. In the article, Stevie Nicks praises Taylor for being the voice of women of all ages saying, "Taylor is writing for the universal woman and for the man who wants to know her. The female rock-'n'-roll-country-pop songwriter is back, and her name is Taylor Swift."

A New Baby for Emerson Drive

Frontman Brad Mates is a daddy! His wife Jana had Tyler Robert Mates Wednesday night in Nashville, at 7:04 p.m. CST. He weighed seven-pounds, 13-ounces, and both he and mommy are doing well. Tyler is their first child. Tyler isn't the first baby for the band. Fiddle player David Pichette and his wife Jill have a daughter, Emma, who is 17-months old.

The Mindy McCready Sex Tape is Coming Out

"Baseball Mistress" is going to be out May 4th. It seems Vivid Entertainment says Mindy signed away her rights to the tape (!), transferring it to a third party. Mindy's lawyer, Adam Dread, says she "has no recollection of signing it." Plus he says at the time she "was in no mental capacity to enter into a legal contract." It seems the day after she made the binding agreement Mindy was admitted to the hospital, where she spent the next eleven days "in and out of a comatose state because of alcohol and previous injuries from being beaten."

So are they going to try and block the release? No! But Mr.Dread does say he might pursue a case against the third party that sold the tape to Vivid.

Wow! Just WOW!

Idol Results

Hey! I can't believe I got my wish! Sioban went home! But Holy Hannah - Casey was in the Bottom 2 with her! WTH is that about? I'm gonna guess people thought he would be safe and didn't vote for him for that reason. Aaron Kelly not in the bottom 3! Really? Really!?

My take on American Idol Goes Shania

Sioban - "Any Man of Mine" - Go HOME Sioban! Totally, completely AWFUL last night! Well, her very last note, on the word Mine was very nice - other than that . I've grown very tired of her performances. That shriek was absolutely painful and I think the only reason that Simon was so nice is 'cuz he wants her to stick around. To say that her shriek sounded like she was giving birth, but then give her a pass is mystifying. Even more mystifying is Randy shouting "YES!" to that statement.

Michael Lynche - "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing" - 2nd worse for me was Big Mike. Mostly 'cuz he sang my fav Shania song and he didn't do it justice. Her voice sounds scraped raw with hurt when she sings it - which is what the lyrics of that song demand - and I didn't hear that from him.

Aaron Kelly - "You Got a Way" - Not a fan of Aaron, so his performance didn't do anything for me either. He's going to have to improve a LOT for me to program any future music of his to WXRO. But he's young, so I think with work, down the road I would give him a chance.

Crystal Bowersox - "No One Needs To Know" - Crystal gave the only true country performance last night - I liked what she did with that song. A little twang in her voice too.

Lee DeWyze - "You're Still the One" - Truth be told I am very very sick of that Shania song he sang (except as an anniversary dedication - but outside of that it's overplayed for me). But I actually liked his version, and the more I listen to the clip I have of it the more I like it.

Casey James - "Don't" - the BEST of the night, and his best in a long time. I've been a fan of his since I heard an original from him. I do think the judges need to stop talking about his looks now. He is not a piece of meat and they need to stop talking about him like that.

I think I've made it clear who I want to see go home, but I'm sure she'll stay and it'll be Mike or Aaron.

Looking forward to the results show tonight for a change. Thou WTF does Shakira have to do with country week?

And every since Ryan got off the wall weird/rude a couple of weeks ago I've been looking at his eyes. Dude is totally tired! Wouldn't be surprised to see him backing off one of his many gigs at some point soon.

Mary Chapin Carpenter to Receive the Spirit of Americana Award

In recognition of her efforts to promote free speech she will receive the "Spirit of Americana" Free Speech in Music Award from the Newseum's First Amendment Center and the Americana Music Association.

Mary and her work will be honored at the "Freedom Sings" event and she'll be saluted musically by Rodney Crowell and Judy Collins, and take part in a Q-and-A session.

When the announcement was made, the Newseum and the First Amendment Center's Ken Paulson said her career, "has been one of absolute integrity. She has consistently written and performed songs that take a stand and reflect the human condition, while her activism outside of her art has also effected real change for real people."

Other stars to receive the "Spirit of Americana" Free Speech in Music Award include Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Charlie Daniels, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Steve Earle, and Mavis Staples.

The "Freedom Sings" event is tonight.

American Idol Goes Country

Shania is going to be the mentor. I'll have more on Tuesday.

For right now - check out MJ's blog for the scoop - including a list of songs that they can choose from.

Idol really has the potential to be super ugly (translation - painfully fun) this week.