5/14/2008
L.e.i. jeans has tapped Taylor Swift to serve as the centerpiece for its 2008 back-to-school ad campaign, which will debut in August in a variety of entertainment and fashion publications. As part of the push, there will be opportunities to meet Taylor and see her in concert. "L.e.i. jeans fit great and look great, and the price is right," says the singer-songwriter-guitarist. In other news, the ringtone for Taylor's "Our Song" has been certified gold.
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5/14/2008
Brad Paisley is the reigning ACM Top Male Vocalist, but that doesn't diminish the significance of capturing the award again this year. He tells us, "ACMs are one of those things that you take very seriously. I remember wanting to win those ... It's just all part of building your career and trying to reach more people when you win an award like that."
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5/14/2008
James Otto is proving that last week's ascension to the top of Billboard's country singles chart was no fluke, as "Just Got Started Lovin' You" will remain at No. 1 on the monitor for a second consecutive seven-day stanza. The tune also will stay at the pinnacle of Mediabase's country tally. Taylor Swift's "Picture To Burn" and Brad Paisley's "I'm Still a Guy" are among the leading contenders to become the next chart-topper.
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5/14/2008
Miranda Lambert has three special guests accompanying her to Sunday night's ACM Awards -- her mother, father and her 72-year-old grandma. She tells Parade magazine, "She's like me -- she's a crazy grandma on a walker."
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5/14/2008
Gretchen Wilson has been added to the lineup of Marty Stuart's seventh annual Late Night Jam, which will take place June 4 in Nashville. The event, now an official part of the CMA Music Festival, also will feature a 30-minute segment hosted by Big & Rich's John Rich. Charlie Daniels and Kathy Mattea are among the other artists who will take the stage that evening with Marty & Co.
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5/14/2008
Even though he hasn't charted a hit in quite some time, Joe Diffie has hardly hightailed it away from the country scene. In fact, the singer, known for such hits as "Pickup Man" and "John Deere Green," is featured on a new single, as part of a collaboration with Slovakian country group Peter & the Rowers.
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5/14/2008
Lady Antebellum could hardly believe that they got their first nomination for a major award so early in their career. The group's Hillary Scott, who is usually never at a loss for words, was speechless and humbled when she heard the news of their nomination for the ACM's Top New Duo or Vocal Group. She says, "I couldn't believe it because you're voted by your peers. There is something so special about that."
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5/14/2008
Rascal Flatts member Joe Don Rooney is in his hometown of Picher, Oklahoma, lending a hand to victims of the tornadoes that nearly wiped out the town. According to Radio and Records, Picher, which has a population of about 16-hundred, suffered severe devastation, including six deaths. The Tulsa chapter of the American Red Cross is organizing the clean-up effort.
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5/14/2008
You wouldn't be faulted if your first impression of Dierks Bentley involved him holding a cold adult beverage while on the concert stage, but the truth is that the singer is not an owner of a beer belly. In fact, he's in such good shape that Men's Fitness listed him on its 2008 list of the Fittest Guys in America. Read all about Dierks' affinity for working out in the June-July issue, on newsstands Monday.
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5/14/2008
Carter's Chord, the musically-preordained trio on ShowDog Nashville, will release their self-titled debut through all major online retailers on June 17. The albums physical release is expected later this year.
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5/13/2008
Some of country's more notable newcomers, including Jake Owen, Lady Antebellum and Luke Bryan, will give acoustic performances at GAC's Music Fest Kickoff Breakfast. Mark Wills will serve as master of ceremonies for the June 4 event, one of many Nashville-based affairs that will precede the 2008 CMA Music Festival. The breakfast also will include complimentary admission to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which will serve as the host venue.
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5/13/2008
Alan Jackson reveals that some of his best songs have not come from structured sessions with Nashville tunesmiths, but instead from snippets of conversation that end up as notes jotted down on scraps of paper. "The best lines come when you're out with a bunch of friends and you have a couple of drinks and you're just goofing off," he explains. "Somebody will say something that's a little different and it'll jump out at you."
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5/13/2008
Kix Brooks explains that the 12 songs chosen to make up the track listing for Brooks & Dunn's latest studio effort, Cowboy Town, were selected with one specific purpose in mind. "[It's definitely] a theme record, sort of like Red Dirt Road, that to me thematically kind of holds together pretty well," says Kix. "I think they all kind of represent the fact that Cowboy Town is real cowboy, old cowboy stuff."
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5/13/2008
James Otto is a member of Nashville's infamous Muzik Mafia, as is Big and Rich, Gretchen Wilson, John Anderson and Two Foot Fred, but James remembers when he was the only one of the mob with any star power. James tells MTV.com, "When I joined Muzik Mafia, nobody else had anything going on. John Rich was John Broke. His record deal hadn't taken off at RCA. I was actually the only one with a record deal at the time. Then my record deal [at Mercury] disappeared as Gretchen's and Big and Rich's stars took off. The great thing about Muzik Mafia was that everybody agreed to reach back and help their brothers out. When they made it, they were going to give other musicians a hand up and let them play on their stages and do whatever they could to help them make it."
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5/13/2008
With three ACM nominations, including Female Vocalist and Top New Female, Taylor Swift is among the most nominated artists at the show, but it's the Album nomination she is most honored by.
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5/13/2008
Jack Ingram may be a nominee for the ACM's Top New Male Vocalist, but he has actually been on the Texas music circuit touring and recording for over 10 years. He tells us, "You know, to country fans who never heard of me before I made 'Wherever You Are' I'm brand-new to them. They're still putting a face with a name with a song. So, in that respect I am a new male vocalist."
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5/13/2008
Dierks Bentley has been named one of Men's Fitness magazine's 25 Fittest Guys in America. Despite his beer-drinking, party hard reputation, Dierks maintains a healthy lifestyle including visits to gyms across the country while touring. He tells the magazine, "I've even worked out in church basements!" Other fit dudes include golfer Tiger Woods, Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn, actors Will Smith and Daniel Craig, and presidential candidate Barack Obama.
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5/13/2008
Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg got together to do some songwriting in Amsterdam, and now comes word they also shot some footage for the video for Snoop's country single, "My Medicine." The rapper tells MTV.com that he's been true to hip-hop for so many years that it's simply time for him to branch out.
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5/13/2008
Crooner Rod Stewart has a dream - a country and western album. The 63 year-old has done quite a few projects lately, including several standards albums, but is yet to record a country project.
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5/12/2008
John Michael Montgomery, brother to Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry and country superstar in his own right, is currently in checked into a rehabilitation center. His condition is unknown.
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