Taylor Swift "Obnoxiously Excited" Over CMA Nomination

Taylor Swift loves country music and clearly loves the country music industry, too. You could detect that if you saw her reaction Thursday (Aug. 30) when she heard her name called as a one of the nominees at this year's CMA Awards.

While she and Montgomery Gentry were announcing this year's nominees, Swift learned that she's nominated in the Horizon Award category with Jason Aldean, Rodney Atkins, Little Big Town and Kellie Pickler. It's Swift's first CMA nomination.

Following the CMA's press conference at Nashville's Sommet Center, Swift acknowledged she is "obnoxiously excited" about the nomination.

She shares the Horizon nomination with Pickler, her tourmate on Brad Paisley's Bonfires & Amplifiers tour.

"I'm so happy for her," Swift said. "I mean, she's such an awesome person, and nobody deserves it more. She's just so cool and so fun to be with, and I'm lucky to have been touring with her. With awards, you can't make it personal. For me, I've been in categories with Miranda [Lambert] and Kellie before, and I love them both to death. It's not up to the artist to decide who wins. You just have to have an even keel and a good attitude about it and just be confident that what you can control is what you do when you're on stage. What you can't control is award shows. I'm just excited to be nominated."

When Swift's self-titled debut album returned to the top of the country album charts, she pushed out Paisley's 5th Gear, which received an album of the year nomination from the CMA. Referring to Paisley's reputation for playing practical jokes on his opening acts, she joked, "Yeah, he sees himself as quite the prankster, but that's my prank."

Swift's album has enjoyed consistently strong sales ever since its release in October 2006.

"They keep telling me you sold 'this many' this week, and I'm, like, 'Why?' I mean, we haven't been on much national television, and I just realized at this point that it's word of mouth. When I'm playing as much as I am and meeting as many people as I am, they are going out and telling people -- which I'm so thankful for and will never forget."

Paisley has been particularly supportive of Swift's career.

"My song, 'Teardrops on My Guitar,' peaked at No. 2, which I was fine with," she said. "But Brad Paisley apparently has had so many of his songs go to No. 2 -- and not No. 1 -- he decided to throw me a No. 2 party. You can imagine the decorations of the No. 2 party. There were second-place ribbons everywhere. He gave me a plaque with Mr. Hankey from South Park on it. It was pretty interesting. I'm not gonna lie. They have a lot of No. 1 parties in Nashville, but you rarely ever see a No. 2 party."

Swift is already looking ahead to attending the CMA Awards show on Nov. 7 in Nashville.

"I think I'm going to have a custom dress made," she said. "That's what I've been doing a lot lately because you don't want to have a moment when you're walking down the carpet, and somebody else has the dress that you're wearing, and you're, like, 'Oh, my gosh.' When I was at school, that was a huge issue, and you don't want that to happen at prom. But I'm really excited about what to wear and, it'll probably be really girly, as usual. I'm so excited."

BOB is "obnoxiously excited" that we're having pizza for dinner... what... we're not? NOOOOOOOO!

Thanks: CMT

Faith Hill Previews New Single for Ellen

Faith Hill spent Thursday (Aug. 30) in New York City where she performed her new single, "Red Umbrella," during a taping of the season premiere of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The episode is set to air on Wednesday (Sept. 5). "Red Umbrella" is one of the new songs on Hill's upcoming CD, The Hits. Scheduled to be released to country radio stations on Sept. 13, the song was written by Aimee Mayo, Chris Lindsey and Brett and Brad Warren. "It's nerve-racking to perform a new song on television," Hill said. "But we added 'Red Umbrella' to the set for the last three Soul2Soul [concert] dates, and the fans' reaction was fantastic. So at least that gives me a bit of comfort. Fact is that it has the ingredients of any great song. It's cleverly crafted and its message is sincere."

Thanks: CMT

Josh Turner On Emeril Saturday September 1st

Turner Lands CMA Nomination For Male Vocalist of the Year in Nashville, Thursday August 30. Turner, the man with one of the most recognizable voices in Country music, will be performing on Emeril Live this weekend.

Turner will be a special guest on Emeril's "Great Global Grilling" episode Saturday, September 1 at 7PM.

Of the CMA Award nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, Turner said, "Man, I'm just floored...I'm speechless. What a way to start the day! I'm in mighty fine company in the Male Vocalist category and I'm so thankful to everyone who voted for me."

"Firecracker", Turner's fasted climbing single to date, is rising on the Country charts and his much-anticipated new album is set for release October 31. "Your Man," Turner's previous album, has been RIAA certified Double-platinum.

Thanks: AllAboutCountry

North Dakota, Canada and Keith: The CONTROVERSY!

A totally fabricated rumor about Keith Urban has been circulating throughout Canada by e-mail for more than a year, the Minot, N.Dak., Daily News reports.

The e-mail states that while Keith was playing at the North Dakota State Fair last year, he asked all the Canadians in the audience to stand up and walk out before he would perform. The rumor claims that he was upset with Canada for not doing more to aid the United States in its military campaign in Iraq and that he refused to play for Canadians as a result.

Jessica Bullinger, marketing director for the State Fair, says that while she wasn't present for the entire concert, she has asked several co-workers who were there and was told that Keith gave a special greeting to his Canadian fans. She thinks the twisting around of this greeting may have been how the rumor started.

"He did ask how many Canadians were in the audience, then gave them a special welcome and thanked them for attending the show," she says. "It's very unfortunate because it was a special welcome that he gave to Canadians."

In the weeks after the fair, Bullinger says they started receiving several e-mails per week about it. Even a year later, the rumor gains a second wind when Keith tours in Canada, as he will in September. The e-mail states that many Canadians have already returned their tickets and calls on everyone who receives the message to do the same.

Wendy Howe, executive director of the Minot Convention and Visitors Bureau, believes the special greeting Urban gave the Canadians in the audience is how the rumor got started. She likened it to a story that gets changed slightly every time it's retold until it only vaguely resembles what actually happened. "It's one of those urban legends, if you'll excuse the pun," she says. "A rumor gets started, and it takes a long time for people to forget about it."

BOB Says: Lies. All lies.

Thanks: GAC, The City of Minot

Carrie at the carnival!

Two-time Grammy winner and reigning CMA and ACM Female Vocalist Carrie Underwood is preparing to release her new album, Carnival Ride, on October 23.

With first single, “So Small,” already a country airplay Top 10 after only four weeks, the Checotah, Oklahoma native who went from college student to American Idol winner to six-million-selling, multi-format superstar in less than three years has clearly been on an adventure ride of her own.

In choosing the album title, Underwood found Carnival Ride (taken from a lyric line in the new disc) to be a great metaphor. She explains, “You step onto this ride called life, and it’s a crazy thing you don’t know anything about, but you get on it anyway. You do what you can to lean different directions to try and get it to go where you want it to go, but you can’t stop it – it just keeps moving. That’s why Carnival Ride works as my album title, because it describes the wonderful craziness that I’ve been through over the past couple years.”

BOB: We all know what "Carnival" means!!!! COTTON CANDY! SCORE!

Thanks to: AllAboutCountry

Tim McGraw's 'Louisiana' Now Available For Free Download

Tim McGraw and Jeep have teamed up again with an exclusive downolad offer of his never-released song "Louisiana". Beginning now (8/30), the first 10,000 downloads from The Jeep Website will be free. Afterwards, the song will continue to stream on the site.

The song is being released in conjuction with the Camp Jeep 2007 annual Jeep Owners Meet in Charlottesville, VA. It is a mix of off-road driving and other outdoor activities, including a performance by Tim.

To get the song... visit the Official Jeep Website.

Thanks: Jeep / AllAboutCountry

Faith Hill Sings Sunday Night Football Theme

Faith Hill will be singing "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" this season as the opening theme to NBC's Sunday Night Football, the network announced Wednesday (Aug. 29). The song, set to the tune of Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You," was sung last season by pop singer Pink. Hill has already recorded the theme song in New York, altering the lyrics a bit with each one to include the teams playing that week. She will also perform in Indianapolis on Sept. 6 during a pre-game show before the NFL season opener between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts.

Thanks: CMT

Brad Paisley, George Strait Lead Field of CMA Award Nominees

With five nominations each, Brad Paisley and George Strait will be the top contenders at the 41st annual CMA Awards show. Kenny Chesney, Alison Krauss and Martina McBride received four nominations each while John Rich, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban racked up three each for the Nov. 7 awards show.

The nominees were announced in New York and Nashville

Sara Evans and Sugarland revealed the final nominees in five of the 12 categories Thursday morning (Aug. 30) in New York during an appearance on Good Morning America. Taylor Swift and Montgomery Gentry were at Nashville's Sommet Center to announce the other finalists during a live press conference that aired as a special edition of CMT Insider.

Paisley and Strait are both nominated for entertainer of the year, male vocalist and album of the year. In addition to his album nomination for 5th Gear, Paisley's "Ticks" is nominated for single of the year and "Online" is up for video of the year. The video also provided a CMA nomination for Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander, Paisley's friend who directed and appears in the production. Strait's album nomination is for It Just Comes Natural, and he's also nominated for single of the year (for "Wrapped) and musical event of the year for his collaboration with Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson on a live version of Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'."

The 2007 CMA Awards show takes place at the Sommet Center and will be telecast live on ABC.

Thanks: CMT

It's now or never

Danielle Peck is enjoying some quiet time at her Nashville home before heading into the studio to wrap up her second album.

Danielle has cut about 10 tracks for her sophomore CD, which should be in stores by the middle of October. Although three singles from her debut — "I Don't," "Findin' a Good Man" and "Isn't That Everything" — landed in the top 30 on the charts, she knows this album is an important project for her.

"It's kind of, do I stay or do I go," she tells the Toledo Blade. "I'm praying I stay. I have a really good feeling about it. I feel this album is going to be more of me. I'm going to dive into more of me — the serious side, but also show that I like to have fun. It's a whole new baby. I'm excited to stick it out there and show people how things have been coming along for me."

The first single from the new project, "Bad for Me," fits her perfectly, Danielle says. It was written by her good friend Sherrie Austin, and at first Danielle thought she might have been the inspiration behind it. "I was kind of disappointed when I heard it was just a song she wrote," she says. "I thought it fit me to a T. Every line in it is me."

Almost two years into her professional music career, Danielle is experiencing the highs and lows that all new artists experience, but she says she wouldn't trade it for any other job in the world. "I want to keep on writing my music and keep growing and showing people who I am," she says. "Really, I'm just living my dream."


Thanks: GAC

Bigger and Richer -- same Big and Rich

Big & Rich are still riding high from the recent news that their newest single, "Lost in this Moment," went to No. 1 on the country charts, their first song to reach the top.

"That's incredible for us," Big Kenny tells The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa. "We've had so much commercial success that most people thought we had done it before, but we hadn't. It was a goal, a bar, we set for ourselves and it feels damn good to reach it."

Although he welcomes success, Kenny says it can take a toll. "We're spiritual people, and the more of a name you make for yourself in this industry, the more pressures that are on you, the more demands on your time," he says. "You have to keep a spiritual base and stay close to your family and kids. You need to keep it all in perspective."

Kenny says the hardest part of his job is being separated from his family. "We travel a lot and we're working hard. We're gone from home 200 days a year. I miss my family terribly when I don't have them with me."

Kenny's son, Lincoln, will turn 2 in November, and he admits that it's not always easy to keep up with the hectic pace, both at home and on the road. "I try my best to stay in shape, get a little exercise and take care of myself," he says. "But we have so many projects going, including movie soundtracks and short films, that it's not easy. We've got to get out there and perform at a high level every night. You can't take a night off. You've got to give them everything you've got. It's a hard job, but if it was easy, everybody would be doing it."

Thanks: GAC

Pickler and Aiken Lead Celebrity '5th Grader'

You may be smarter than a 5th grader, but how about Clay Aiken or Kellie Pickler or Regis Philbin?
FOX has scheduled a series of celebrity contestants to compete on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" during the November sweeps period.

Not surprisingly, the all-stars won't be competing to pocket the potential million dollar prize, with all winnings going to charity.

"American Idol" finalists Aiken and Pickler will lead the celebrity group, along with game show veteran Philbin. Also signed on are skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, Miss America Lauren Nelson and relative-to-the-President Billy Bush.

"Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" will premiere on Thursday, Sept. 6. The Jeff Foxworthy-hosted show will have special Friday airings through early October.

Thanks: AllAboutCountry

LeAnn’s Low-Key Birthday

LeAnn Rimes says she’s planning a “low-key, very intimate” celebration for her 25th birthday today, Aug. 28, barbecuing with husband Dean Sheremet and a few close friends.

The singer, who first rose to fame in her early teens, says she’s happy to be turning 25. “When you start out as young as I did and people make such a big deal of your age, you enjoy getting older,” she says. “And with age comes wisdom. I think I’m getting wiser. At least I hope so!”

LeAnn’s new album, Family, is set to hit stores Oct. 9.

Thanks: Country Weekly

Joe "The Rainman" Nichols

A hard rain isn't enough to keep Joe Nichols from performing for his fans, as he proved Wednesday night in Rapid City, S.D. Joe was scheduled to perform at the Central State Fair, but the show was canceled because of a storm.

When Joe saw several hundred fans still waiting around in the rain hoping to see him, he and his band moved the show to the beer tent behind the grandstand, where they set up and performed a full set, giving those who braved the rain a special treat.

"It was a little cozy in there, with me, the band and a few hundred people all hanging out under the tent," Joe said. "But that's what it's all about for me — the music. These people came to hear some good old country music, and by gosh, me and the band were going to deliver."

Joe released his new CD, Real Things, last week and the reviews have been some of the best of his career. The CD's lead single, "Another Side of You," is a Top 25 hit, and climbing.

Thanks: GAC

Kellie Wigs Out!

Beauty school dropout Kellie Pickler, who is currently touring with Brad Paisley, likes to play around with her appearance, sometimes even donning disguises that have fooled a few people.

"I have this dark wig that I put on, auburn-colored," she told Entertainment Weekly recently, "I've always wanted red hair. Reba McEntire — I love her hair. At shows, after I sing, I put my wig on and I change clothes, and I go out and I'm actually in the audience on the front row singing with the fans, as a fan, and I watch Brad's show. It took three shows for Brad to realize that it was me down there. Because he was like, 'God, this girl keeps coming to all the shows and she's wearing the same thing.' "

Kellie says she gets a big kick out of watching people's reactions to her antics. "I was at the concession stand, buying a hot dog, and I had my wig on, and the guy behind the counter was like, 'Has anyone ever told you you look like Kellie Pickler?' And I went, 'Who? Never heard of her.' He got [indignant], like, 'Well, she just played!'"

Thanks: GAC

Martina Remembers

These days, Martina McBride is on top of her game in country music and an A-Lister among her peers. However, she still remembers her early days in Nashville when she got her first taste of the music business and all the craziness that surrounds it.

Martina recalls the "old Martina" of the early 1990's with fondness. "It was a different business then," she tells Dial-Global. There was no Internet or any of that kind of stuff. The innocence has gone out of it a little bit, but I'm still that same girl that loves to get up on stage and sing and is still kind of amazed at all the opportunities that I get and just hoping to be able to do it a little bit longer."

Martina says that from the beginning she wanted to make music that was important to her. "Even I can look back at that girl and realize that that girl had a really strong sense of self and really handled all the people coming at [her] saying, 'You need to wear this. You need to cut your hair, you don't need to cut your hair. You need to take your wedding ring off in your video. You need to do this, you need to do that.' And I was like, 'Nah, that's not me.' So I'm proud of that girl for having that ability to stand up and say, 'This is what's right for me and this isn't, and I think that's part of why I'm still here, to be honest."

Thanks: GAC

Hank Williams Jr. Nominated for Songwriters Hall

Hank Williams Jr. is one of the nominees up for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in the songwriter-artist category. Additionally, 10 others are nominated for induction in the songwriter division. Also nominated in the songwriter-artist field are J.J. Cale, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Amy Grant and Tony Joe White. The songwriter nominees are Paul Craft ("Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life"), Bob DiPiero ("American Made"), Kye Fleming ("I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool"), Larry Henley ("The Wind Beneath My Wings"), Mac McAnally ("Old Flame"), Earl "Peanut" Montgomery ("We're Gonna Hold On"), Bob Morrison ("You Decorated My Life"), Thom Schuyler ("16th Avenue"), L.E. White ("After the Fire Is Gone") and Lawton Williams ("Fraulein"). Two from the songwriter category and one from the songwriter-artist category will be inducted during ceremonies on Oct. 14 in Nashville.

Thanks: CMT

CLOSE UP: Miranda Lambert

Miranda Lambert doesn't give a hoot about her bad reputation. In fact, the 23-year-old country sensation gets a kick out of the fact that so many people assume she's truly the bad girl that she portrays in her songs.

"A lot of people tell me, once they get to know me, that they're surprised that I'm nothing like they think I'll be," the Lindale, Texas, native says with a laugh over the phone from a tour stop in Delaware. "Yeah, I have a tough-girl image. People see me as someone who doesn't take any crap from anyone - which I don't - but it's my shtick, and I obviously don't act like that all the time."

Still, it's no mystery why Lambert is known as a bit of a loose cannon. On her platinum-selling premiere CD, 2005's rollicking "Kerosene," she made her name as a woman who wasn't above setting an ex's house on fire after he dumped her. Her gleeful explanation for exacting revenge with a few gallons of gasoline and a match: "You can't hate someone who's dead."

This spring's follow-up, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," should give her future paramours even more reason to think twice before getting on her bad side. Throughout the album's country-rock stompers and laments, she lies, breaks hearts, packs heat, murders an abusive ex and, in the psychotically fun title track, stalks a former lover and his new lady friend. Not for nothing, it turns out, was Lambert introduced at the Country Music Association Awards as "every man's nightmare."

Whether or not it's a reflection of her true self, that gloriously unhinged persona has helped make Lambert one of country music's most successful new artists. In the past few years she's scored two No. 1 albums, a Grammy nomination, two consecutive nods for the CMA's Horizon Award and stints opening for big shots including Keith Urban and Toby Keith. It seems the only thing she hasn't been able to do is win over radio, a lack that has left her without so much as a single Top 10 hit.

"I'd love to get played on the radio, but it just doesn't happen," Lambert says. "I really can't explain why. It's just really slow these days. It's hard because there are so many artists and not many spots on the radio. My single, 'Famous in a Small Town,' is stagnant in the 30s (on the charts) right now, but I'm hoping it will be the one that becomes my first real hit."

She laughs, and adds dryly, "Or even just a Top 30 hit."

Regardless of her lack of airplay, Lambert remains the biggest success story of the USA Network's "Nashville Star." In 2003, she got her start on that twanged-out equivalent of "American Idol," beating out thousands of hopefuls to finish third. Looking back, she believes it was actually a blessing that she didn't come in first.

"I don't think I was ready to win," she says. "Honestly, (winner) Buddy Jewell had been around Nashville for 10 years, singing and looking for a record deal. I was 19 and had never really been out of Texas, and I wasn't ready to make an album in two months. Getting third place got me all the exposure I needed, and I had time to do all I wanted to because I wasn't so rushed. The show was a huge steppingstone in my career."

The next step, Lambert says, is to convince people that there's more to her than just her rabble-rousing image because, while she loves that her strident, take-no-guff persona has resonated so strongly with her fans and critics, she hopes that they'll start paying more attention to the introspective side of her songwriting.

"I put those types of softer songs on my albums so people will actually hear them," Lambert says. "I'm proud of them."

The finest moments on "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" come when she's not singing about hunting down less-than-impressive men. Breathing new life into country music's tired, tear-in-my-beer tropes, its sparse, emotionally taxing songs such as "Desperation" and her rendition of "Easy From Now On" - a heartbreaker made famous by Emmylou Harris in the late '70s - are standouts.

"It's time for me, in my career, to really open up that vulnerable side of myself, even if it's scary to put that stuff into songs and put it out there in the world," Lambert says. "I think my fans are ready for that. They're starting to notice that I'm a tomboy but that I also have a girlie side. I'm not always a gun-totin' mama!

"But," she adds, laughing, "I don't think I'll ever get tired of talking about guns."

Thanks: AP

Heartland Featured in Country Weekly On Stands Now

Country Thunder Records’ vocal group, Heartland, recently sat down with Country Weekly’s Chris Neal to discuss the long journey of making their musical dreams come true. The feature titled, “Playing By Heart,” can be found on page 28 in the September 10th issue with Tim McGraw on the cover.
In the feature, the members of Heartland candidly talk about the 14 years they have spent together working on their dream prior to their 2006 debut number one hit, “I Loved Her First.” Currently the band is working on their follow-up album to be released on Country Thunder Records in 2008 with their first single sent to radio earlier this month. “Once A Woman (Gets A Hold of Your Heart)” was produced by John Rich of Big & Rich and co-written by Richie McDonald and John Rich.

“That song caught our attention right off the bat,” comments lead singer Jason Albert. “When John (Rich) found out what song we picked, he told us that he always thought it was a hit.”

Thanks: Country Weekly

Trisha and Babyface Mix It Up

Grammy winners Trisha Yearwood & Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds will team up for the next installment of CMT Crossroads, set to premiere on the network in September. Yearwood is set to launch her first studio album in two years Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love, on November 13th. Edmonds’ upcoming classics collection, Playlist is due September 18th, and contains such songs as “Fire And Rain”, “Please Come To Boston” and “Wonderful Tonight”. Plans call for the two artists to mix their biggest hits and newest music for an unforgettable hour.

Dierks Bentley Plays Nashville Block Party

Several thousand country music fans gathered Thursday night (Aug. 23) on Demonbreun Street in Nashville to see Dierks Bentley perform as the headliner at a free event billed as the Capitol Pub Crawl. Country Music Hall of Fame member Porter Wagoner greeted the crowd on the outdoor stage prior to Bentley's appearance near Music Row. The temperature was still in the 90s during Bentley's set for the block party sponsored by his record label, Capitol Nashville. Earlier in the evening, three other Capitol acts -- Eric Church, Luke Bryan and Lady Antebellum -- performed at various clubs on Demonbreun.

Thanks: CMT

Montgomery Gentry Celebrate Another No. 1

Montgomery Gentry needed two parties Thursday (Aug. 23) to celebrate their first multi-week No. 1 single, "Lucky Man." The celebrations on Nashville's Music Row had special significance for the artists and songwriters alike.

Unlike most No. 1 parties, where an artist doesn't have a particularly close relationship with the songwriters, Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry have a long history of friendship with the song's co-writers, David Lee and Dave Turnbull. They all met before any of them found success, and all four of them continued to support and encourage one another through the years.

The first of two back-to-back bashes was held at ASCAP, a performance rights organization, was supposed to have started at 4:30 p.m. to honor Turnbull, but Montgomery Gentry showed up fashionably late -- although fashionably on-cue as always. Despite the 104-degree weather outside, Montgomery waltzed in sporting his trademark long, black, beaded jacket with jeans and a hat. He said he grew up cutting tobacco on the farm during the summer, so he was accustomed to the heat and wasn't going to let it stop him from dressing up for the occasion. Gentry, on the other hand, opted for a tightfitting T-shirt and jeans.

Once the duo arrived, though, they wanted all of the attention pointed toward the songwriters. The party at ASCAP's offices recognized Turnbull's very first No. 1 song. He moved to Nashville in 1993 to continue his songwriting career.

During her introductory comments before handing out a series of plaques, ASCAP senior vice president Connie Bradley pointed out that "Lucky Man" is Montgomery Gentry's third No. 1 single. Turnbull thanked anyone and everyone he could think of, referring back to his written list several times. Ironically, he ended up having to be reminded to thank his mother. Turnbull apparently left the U.S. Naval Academy to pursue his dreams as a songwriter, and Montgomery Gentry's No. 1 single finally provided the validation to prove to his mother he had made the right career decision.

With one party down and another to go, the next celebration took place two blocks away to honor Lee, who is affiliated with BMI, another performance rights organization. To catch the attention of the chatty industry crowd at BMI's offices, BMI's vice president of writer-publisher relations Jody Williams held up a sign made out of a Popsicle stick and a piece of paper featuring one word -- "Shhh." The trick seemed to keep everyone quiet during the presentations.

Williams spoke highly of Lee, pointing out his previous success as a songwriter. Much like Turnbull, Lee moved to Nashville in 1993 with his wife and a mere $300 to his name. He wrote Lee Ann Womack's "(Now You See Me) Now You Don't," and his first No. 1 single was Mark Wills' "19 Something." He also co-wrote Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's current duet, "I Need You."

And if a few people had started up conversations again while Lee's accolades were being listed, all attention went back to the stage when Lee became emotional in front of the microphone. He spoke of how he never imagined a concrete worker from Wichita Falls, Texas, would make it as a songwriter in Nashville, much less achieve two No. 1 songs. And looking out into the crowd, he pointed to his dad, who was standing in the front row wearing a cowboy hat and holding a camera like any proud papa would, and thanked him for playing and singing country music to him while he was growing up. Lee wrapped up his speech by saying, "To all of you songwriters out there, don't give up. If I can do this, anyone can."

Thanks to: CMT

Brooks & Dunn Recall Earnhardt's Greatest Comeback

Brooks & Dunn will host a one-hour CMT special featuring a replay of the late Dale Earnhardt's final laps of the 2000 NASCAR Winston 500 race at Talladega, where he won the race after moving from 18th place with only 11 laps to go. Dale Pre-Show: His Greatest Comeback airs Sept. 4 at 6 p.m., prior to the television debut of Dale, the only authorized film about Earnhardt's life.

The documentary includes archival race footage, rare outtakes and never-before-seen family home videos. His Greatest Comeback includes interviews with several of Earnhardt's friends and fans, including Billy Ray Cyrus, Dierks Bentley and John Rich. Following its Sept. 4 premiere on CMT, Dale will air again just twice -- on Sept. 5 and 6 -- prior to its release on DVD next year.

Thanks to: CMT

Underwood and Pickler Offer New Holiday Tracks

New recordings by Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler and Sara Evans will be featured on Hear Something Country Christmas, a 14-track holiday CD set for release on Oct. 2. Among the six new recordings are Underwood's "Do You Hear What I Hear," Evans' "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and Pickler's remake of Eartha Kitt's classic from the '50s, "Santa Baby."

Rounding out the new tracks are Terri Clark's "O Little Town of Bethlehem", Blaine Larsen's "Away in a Manger" and Keith Anderson's "Please Come Home for Christmas." The remaining songs are previously-released music from Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn and others.

Thanks to: CMT

Rascal Flatts performs for children

Rascal Flatts visited the Monroe Monroe Carell Jr. Childrens Hospital at Vanderbilt yesterday (8/22) and performed a short acoustic set for children and their families in the Children’s Theater. The kids were also treated to visits by several Disney characters- Cinderella, Mickey & Minnie and Snow White- thanks to Rascal Flatts record label Lyric Street Records, whose parent company is Disney.
“It puts a smile on our face to be here today,” said Gary LeVox to press following the party appearance. “Maybe it took their minds off of things for just a little while today.” “The benefit concert in September is the entire community’s show,” shared Jay DeMarcus. “Everyone who buys a ticket is affecting the lives of those kids.”

After singing to the kids, Gary, Jay & Joe Don visited and took pictures with each of the children in the party and then spent time visiting patients who could not attend in their hospital rooms.

Rascal Flatts upcoming concert on September 21 at the Sommet Center will benefit the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Some tickets for this show are still available through www.ticketmaster.com. Rascal Flatts have donated 1.4 million to the hospital through their Nashville concerts the past two years.

Kenny Chesney Scores A #1 & Most Added to the Radio In The Same Week

It's a special kind of hat trick to log one's 5th week at #1 on Billboard's Country Singles Chart with the Southern rockin' bluegrass "Never Wanted Nothin' More" and to also have the week's 2nd most added song "Don't Blink" -- both from a record that is still almost a month away from release. But when you're Kenny Chesney, and you've spent close to two years getting the music on Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates just right, it's no wonder people respond to the songs the way they do. So when the fans pick-up his new album next month, they’ll be treated with two hit songs from a new studio album.

"I just try to find songs that say something about what feels right about life to me," Chesney offers. "I don't know that I'm any different than anybody else, so I find that if a song hits me, well, chances are it's gonna strike other people out there, too. I know with 'Never Wanted Nothin' More' this summer, the people were reacting to it like it was already a hit the second week we'd put it in the show!"

And that kind of fevered response made the Ronnie Bowman/Chris Stapleton slice of desire for the first time Chesney's fastest #1 -- hitting the top spot in 7 weeks from add date -- and the longest chart-topper of 2007. With Just Who I Am hitting stores on Sept. 11, it meant there was time to get another song out to the people even before they could get their hands on the full-length release.

Kenny continues on the blazing Flip Flop Summer Tour, brought to you by Cruzan Rum, having played his sixth and final NFL Stadium show at Detroit's Ford Field last weekend. With a run through Virginia Beach and Bristow, Virginia this weekend, as well as Columbia, Maryland's Merryweather Post Pavillion, the momentum isn't slowing any on what Pollstar has named the Most Attended Country Tour for the first half of 2007.

Thanks to: AllAboutCountry

CMT Top 20 Countdown Unveils 5 New Videos

The CMT Top 20 Countdown celebrates new music this week with two World Premieres from The Eagles and Little Big Town and three video debuts by some of country’s biggest artists including Kenny Chesney, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks & Dunn. Premiering tomorrow (8/23) at 5:00-8:00 p.m, look for in-studio guests Little Big Town, who World Premiere their video for the new single, “I’m With the Band,” which will air exclusively on CMT for two days. Also making a World Premiere is the photo of the newest member of the Little Big Town family, Kimberly Roads’ new baby, Daisy Pearl. The episode also features a World Premiere of The Eagles’ new single, “How Long”.

Video debuts this week also include Kenny Chesney’s "Don't Blink", Trisha Yearwood’s "Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love" and Brooks & Dunn’s "Proud Of The House We Built".

Also stopping by the studio this week is Dierks Bentley, whose user-created, green screen, viral music video search via CMT Loaded begins tomorrow (8/23). CMT will look to thousands of video makers to put together their own version of Bentley’s music video “Free and Easy (Down The Road I Go).”

Thanks to: AllAboutCountry

No playing with Dolly!

A British court has barred a country music fan from indulging her tastes late at night after neighbors complained about hearing a little too much Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.

Diane Duffin cannot play country music between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. This after her neighbors in the northern English city of Leeds complained to the city council after hearing the songs played over and over again. A neighbor who kept a diary of Duffin's musical habits said that on one day alone, Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" was played 20 times.

Thanks to: AP

Toby Keith and Aerosmith's Joe Perry to Honor Elvis

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry will join Toby Keith onstage Friday (Aug. 24) in Buffalo, N.Y., to tape a performance for an upcoming ABC News special commemorating the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. The footage from Keith's Big Dog Daddy tour will be featured in Elvis: Viva Las Vegas, a two-hour program analyzing Presley's connection to the gambling mecca. Keith is among several contemporary artists who will perform Presley classics in the special airing on Sept. 18

Thanks to: CMT.com

Jason Aldean & Wife Welcome New Arrival

Jason Aldean and his wife Jessica welcomed their second daughter, Kendyl, into the world weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces on Monday, August 20 at 9:28pm.

"Everyone is healthy and happy," said Aldean. "I've got three girls at home now...I'm sure they'll be ganging up on me in no time!"

Aldean will be back out on the road with Rascal Flatts for the "Still Feels Good" tour this weekend.

Thanks to: The Associated Press

Montgomery Gentry Sing To Support Jerry's Kids

Montgomery Gentry will lend their support to assist in eradicating muscular dystrophy by performing on legendary comedian Jerry Lewis' annual MDA Telethon live from Las Vegas on next Sunday, (9/2).

First broadcast over Labor Day weekend in 1966 by just one TV station in New York City, the unique event quickly caught the public's attention and raised more than $1 million. Now the show will be broadcast on "190 MDA Love Network" stations across the country.

Montgomery Gentry is currently touring throughout the country and promoting their latest album, Some People Change. Their latest single, "What Do Ya Think About That" is currently climbing the country music charts.

Thanks to: AllAboutCountry

Kenny stands by friend

According to Uncle Kracker’s manager, Kenny Chesney and Kid Rock are standing behind their friend. According to Michigan’s Macomb Daily, Kracker’s hometown newspaper, Michael Shaffer – who is also the rapper/singer’s brother – says Kracker is in high spirits considering everything that has happened. "But personally, he's bummed out that someone seeking their 15 minutes of fame could ruin his reputation as one of the good guys in this business," he said. Kracker – whose real name is Matt Shaffer – is scheduled to appear in a North Carolina courtroom on September 24th to answer to second-degree forcible sex charges.

Garth Back on Hit Parade

The music isn't over for Garth Brooks. Not by a long shot.

Seven years after hanging up his Stetson and heading into semiretirement, the country superstar is ready for a comeback...of sorts. Brooks has cowritten and recorded four new cuts that will grace a greatest-hits package hitting stores Nov. 6.

Ultimate Hits is actually a three-disc set containing two CDs, with 34 of his best known songs and a DVD of videos. With his exclusive two-year distribution deal with Wal-Mart expiring on July 7, Brooks, now 45, will self-release the collection to retailers nationwide via his Pearl Records.

At a Nashville press conference Saturday, the "Friends in Low Places" singer said he would promote the retrospective by making the publicity rounds on radio, television, satellite—you name it.

"You're going to see us everywhere," Brooks told reporters. "It's my job to let people know it's out there. And then after February, I'm going to go back to whatever I was doing before this."

After becoming the bestselling solo artist of all time, topping the 100 million album mark in the U.S., Brooks called it quits in 2000 to be a father to his three daughters in Oklahoma. Aside from an occasional benefit appearance with his second wife and fellow country star, Trisha Yearwood, he has largely stuck to his promise not to take to the stage until his youngest daughter graduates from high school in 2015.

That means fans shouldn't expect a tour in support of the compilation. However, the two-time Grammy winner did reveal plans to give a concert for Wal-Mart as a way of thanking the retail giant for helping him sell nearly 20 million units during the first year of their partnership. He also didn't rule out the possibility of doing more live events.

"If we're going to do something on that scale, we're going to find a way to bring it locally into your town," he said.

Yearwoods' label, Big Machine Records, will handle promotional duties for the album.

The first new track to be released as a single, "More Than a Memory," is a poignant ballad that goes out to radio stations nationwide Aug. 27. The other new recordings are "Leave the Light On," "Midnight Sun" and a duet with Huey Lewis on the latter's 1982 hit "Workin' for a Livin'."

According to Brooks, Ultimate Hits will feature two album covers—a regular and a limited edition—and will be retail priced between $11 and $14.

The set won't be available for download on iTunes, however, as the entertainer and Apple failed to rope an online agreement.

Brooks' last studio album was 2001's Scarecrow, which debuted atop the Billboard charts—the seventh number one album of his career—and has sold over 3 million copies.

Thanks to: E News Online

Trent Willmon Makes The 'Food City 250' Official With National Anthem

Trent Willmon will sing the national anthem before the Food City 250 Busch Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway this Friday, (8/24). The event will air on ESPN2.

A native of Texas, Willmon, who will release his third album, Broken In, on January 22, 2008, is looking forward to performing in front of the more than 100,000 fans that will be in attendance at the Food City 250.

“I’ve heard so much about the excitement surrounding the races at Bristol Motor Speedway,” said Willmon. “This will be my first time attending a NASCAR race and I’m so glad it gets to be the Food City 250.”

Joe Nichols, Travis Tritt Offer New CDs

Joe Nichols and Travis Tritt are among the country artists releasing new albums on Tuesday (Aug. 21). Nichols' Real Things (Universal South) includes his latest single, "Another Side of You." Tritt's The Storm (Category 5) was produced by American Idol's Randy Jackson and begins with "You Never Take Me Dancing," written by Richard Marx. Other country releases include Crystal Gayle's Greatest Hits (Capitol Nashville/EMI Music Catalog Marketing), which includes 16 of her No. 1 hits.

Thanks to: CMT.Com

Kenny Chesney Takes on Rappers

Rapper 50 Cent has vowed to hang up his solo career if Kanye West outsells him when their new albums are released on September 11, but Kenny Chesney, whose Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates also goes on sale that day, may prove to be a bigger threat.

Kenny says the guys ought to be watching their backs in case he slips by both. "It's funny how with every record that comes out, we're aware of the urban [competition], and none of those acts are aware that I exist — until I have that No. 1 debut on the Top 200," he told Entertainment Weekly.

Kenny's last four studio albums have debuted at No. 1, including his most recent effort, The Road and the Radio, which beat the original soundtrack to 50 Cent's film Get Rich or Die Tryin' when both debuted in November 2005. He also consistently places at or near the top of annual lists of the year's top concert-ticket sellers. So if West and 50 Cent split the rap vote come September 11, Kenny just might be the spoiler.

Kenny says his only complaint is that his fans are getting ignored "because they're not an image the media find sexy. What does bug me is discounting the people who bought my records year in and year out."

Thanks to: CMT.Com

Little Big Town Offering Free Download

Little Big Town will provide free downloads of its new single, "I'm With the Band," for a 24-hour period beginning Friday (Aug. 24) at 12 a.m. ET (that's 11PM Fargo time!) at its official It's the first single from the quartet's second album for the Equity Music Group. "We wanted to give our fans the new single for free as a gift," said band member Phillip Sweet. "It's a way to say thanks and a way to share a piece of the new record we have been working so hard on all year. We are excited about 'I'm With the Band' and are glad to give it away to all our friends." Little Big Town's new CD, as yet untitled, will be released in November.

Thanks to: CMT.Com

Trisha Yearwood on Husband Garth's Return

In the wake of Garth Brooks' press conference over the weekend to reveal details about his upcoming project, Trisha Yearwood talked to Dial-Global about her husband's decision to get back in the spotlight. "I think it's sort of like a calling," she said. "I know for me, being an artist wasn't something that I really felt like I chose. I felt like I'm supposed to do this. I think Garth is so uniquely talented that if he does it every day or if he doesn't do it in a year, when he steps out there?it's just natural for him 'cause it's who he is.

"It's easy to wonder after you've been off the scene for a while how you are going to be accepted," she continued. "I'm always happy for him because people love him and are always like, 'Oh, we just miss you. We miss hearing you.' And it's a good thing."

Thanks to: GACTV.Com