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DECEMBER 2009 (30th)
Miley Cyrus Wraps It Up
"Awesome" is how Miley Cyrus describes her concert tour through Ireland and England. She says she loves Dublin and loves London. And, she says she's "met a lot of nice people." Cyrus' final concert is tonight in London, wrapping up her two weeks in the U.K. She says "it's better once you are here for a little while, being in London for a bit because you meet people that you really like." She says with that "you have friends that you can go and visit you find spots that you really comfortable with." Miley Cyrus has been on tour since mid-September.
...Miley Freezes In London
Miley Cyrus might consider buying some warm clothes at the after-Christmas sales in London. She's been in the U.K. for nearly two weeks on tour, shivering the whole time. She acknowledges she didn't bring the right clothes. She says she and her crew packed lighter because they didn't realize how cold it was going to be. Cyrus says "it's definitely freezing."
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LeAnn Rimes To Host Talent Show Final
As she's done the last few years, LeAnn Rimes will host National Final of the Colgate Country Showdown talent show. It's set for January 14 at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Five regional winners who've made it through competitions during the year, will be competing at this highest level. The winner gets $100,000 and the title, "Best New Act in Country Music."
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Wild Horses Capture Sheryl Crows & Willie Nelson
Federal officials have begun a two-month roundup of about 2,500 wild horses in northern Nevada. And, Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow are among those who are against it. Some protesters say the roundups are inhumane and being done without the public being able to know everything that's happening. A Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman says a contractor is using two helicopters under BLM supervision to move the horses to corrals. The animals are then being trucked to a location where they'll be fed and given immunizations. Long-term plans call for the mustangs to be adopted or sent to facilities in the Midwest. Nelson says "we should leave the horses to run naturally on their land." The BLM says there are too many horses for the land.
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Taylor Swift's Lucky Number Is Up - Valentines Day
Taylor Swift is surrounded by her lucky number in the upcoming movie, "Valentine's Day." In a scene in the second trailer, a TV reporter asks her and Taylor Lautner: "so how do you guys feel about each other?" Swift answers, "oh my gosh, I totally love him." Lautner says, "I'm crazy about her." Then, comes the number part. Swift says "he even wrote his number on my hand." She shows the back of her right hand and there's a big "13." It doesn't stop there. The reporter works for a Channel 13 because his microphone flag says "13."
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Graceland Owners Make "Improvements"
The owners of Graceland want to spruce up the area around it. Robert Sillerman of CKX, the company which has owned Graceland since 2004, tells the Memphis Commercial Appeal he plans to hold meetings next month to discuss the area's future. His plans include demolishing the old visitors center and Heartbreak Hotel to replace them with larger, better facilities. There's also talk of widening Elvis Presley Boulevard.
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DECEMBER 2009 (10th - 18th)
Rascal Flatts Flip The Switch For Charity
Rascal Flatts will be flipping the switch for charity today. They'll turn on the lights on the trees that line the street next to Monroe Carell Jr. Childrens Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville. Rascal Flatts also will visit with patients and families at the tree lighting ceremony. The three guys have raised more than $3 million for the hospital over the last few years. Good on ya' guys!
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Reba McEntire - That Dress
The 1993 CMA awards were a long time ago. But, some people might remember them for one reason: the red dress Reba McEntire wore while performing her duet, "Does He Love You," with Linda Davis. The dress was a shocker for some viewers because of its plunging neckline and strategically-placed sequins. It was so memorable that it's earned a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. It's on display now through June 13. Reba jokes she "got more press off that dress" than if she'd won Entertainer of the Year.
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Trace Adkins Returns With Luke McBain Part 2
While Trace Adkins is on the Shine All Night tour with Martina McBride, his alter-ego is busy being an action-hero. "Luke McBain" is a Southern renegade inspired by Trace's looks and personality. The second Luke McBain comic will be available this Wednesday. The first of the four editions came out a month ago and sold out at the distributor level in 48 hours on the stands. In the first issue, we learn McBain is an innocent ex-con returning to his home in Louisiana after 14 years. Part 2 has McBain working at the family timber mill. But, he has to watch his back because someone wants him dead. The comic books are available at comic book shops and at www.TraceAdkins.com
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DECEMBER 2009 (18th - 25th)
Jimmy Wayne And The Luck Of "Sara Smile"
Jimmy Wayne can thank the bargain bin for his current hit. Wayne says he was returning a rental suit to a mall and he saw Hall and Oates' greatest hits for sale. He bought it for a dollar. He listened to it on the way home and heard "Sara Smile" and fell in love with the song. His version is a hit. The song has been good luck for him. He got a record deal by singing "Sara Smile" when he first moved to Nashville.
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The Divine Taylor Swift Isn't A Club - Hopper
Are you just waiting to see those photos of Taylor Swift doing something bad? Not going to happen, she says. Swift tells People magazine she "would like to think everybody out there isn't just waiting for me to trip and fall and stumble out of a club drunk." She says she's not a party girl and she doesn't have urges to go out to clubs. Swift had a big year in 2009, and she says, "You can stay the same person, even if everything around you changes." Swift is one of People magazine's "25 Most Intriguing People of 2009." It refers to Swift as "The Golden Girl."
And... Ms. Swift Named "Best Mannered" Celebrity
That Taylor Swift is such a nice girl, according to the National League of Junior Cotillions. The group has named Swift to the top of its list of the best-mannered celebrities. The group praises Swift "for consistently showing courtesy to her fans." Tiger Woods was named the most ill-mannered.
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Garth Brooks Sues Hospital Over Naming Rights
Garth Brooks is in a serious squabble with a Canadian hospital. The singer claims the Integris Canadian Valley Region Hospital in the Yukon of going back on a promise to name a building addition after his late mother, Colleen. Brooks says the promise to name the extension after his mom was made in exchange for a $500,000 contribution from the country star -- and he says hospital officials showed him mock-ups of buildings with his late mother's name on it during discussions with him. The two sides met for nearly two years before the matter went to court. Brooks now wants the money back. An attorney representing the hospital has declined to comment and a hospital rep didn't return a call seeking comment.
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Film About Country Star Earns Golden Globe Nods
The movie about an aging country music singer is getting some attention for the Golden Globes. "Crazy Heart" has earned a nomination for T Bone Burnett, who is up for best original song for the tune "The Weary Kind." He notes he'll be competing with U2 and Paul McCartney, and already figures that he'd "have to be the underdog in that group." Meanwhile, Jeff Bridges earned a nomination for his portrayal of the singer in the film.
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Julianne Hough Uses George Strait Tour To Make Fitness Video
Julianne Hough put her down time on the George Strait tour to good use. She choreographed a dance workout video. Hough tells TVGuide.com she worked out the moves for her video, "Dance With Julianne: Cardio Ballroom," on the tour bus while she was the opening act for Strait. Hough is also working on her second album. She co-wrote it and says it will feature "a lot of personal stuff."
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Sugarland Give Away Cookie Cutters
Sugarland are thinking sugar cookies. They're giving away three custom-made cookie cutters. They're in the shape of a heart with wings. Fans can enter to win by texting SUGARCOOKIE to 66937 or post "I Want a Sugarland Cookie Cutter" to the comments section of the news page on the band's web site. Details are at www.SugarlandMusic.com.
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Leann Rimes Cooks With Gordon Ramsey
LeAnn Rimes cooked up a storm last night with Gordon Ramsay -- and she didn't need any Band-Aids. Rimes was one of the celebrity guests on Fox's "Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live." She confessed to Ramsay that after one recent escapade in the kitchen, she needed three stitches. Rimes said she cut herself trying core an apple for baked apples. Ramsay jokingly grabbed a knife from LeAnn and said he would do the cutting.
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Nashville Firm Training Drivers To Bus Stars Around
Ever dream of being on a tour bus with Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood or Brad Paisley? If your dream is to do that from the driver's seat of the bus, you might be interested in a new program being developed in Nashville. Some companies are getting together to train bus drivers and then try to place them in the entertainment industry. The Celebrity Bus Drivers Academy will have its first training session near Nashville early next year. Those in the program will be referred to a placement program that will help the drivers find jobs. Most music performers based in Nashville travel by bus, and one of those involved runs a company that already provides bus service for Swift, Paisley, Underwood and other music stars.
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DECEMBER 2009 (10th - 18th)
Rascal Flatts Flip The Switch For Charity
Rascal Flatts will be flipping the switch for charity today. They'll turn on the lights on the trees that line the street next to Monroe Carell Jr. Childrens Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville. Rascal Flatts also will visit with patients and families at the tree lighting ceremony. The three guys have raised more than $3 million for the hospital over the last few years. Good on ya' guys!
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Reba McEntire - That Dress
The 1993 CMA awards were a long time ago. But, some people might remember them for one reason: the red dress Reba McEntire wore while performing her duet, "Does He Love You," with Linda Davis. The dress was a shocker for some viewers because of its plunging neckline and strategically-placed sequins. It was so memorable that it's earned a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. It's on display now through June 13. Reba jokes she "got more press off that dress" than if she'd won Entertainer of the Year.
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Trace Adkins Returns With Luke McBain Part 2
While Trace Adkins is on the Shine All Night tour with Martina McBride, his alter-ego is busy being an action-hero. "Luke McBain" is a Southern renegade inspired by Trace's looks and personality. The second Luke McBain comic will be available this Wednesday. The first of the four editions came out a month ago and sold out at the distributor level in 48 hours on the stands. In the first issue, we learn McBain is an innocent ex-con returning to his home in Louisiana after 14 years. Part 2 has McBain working at the family timber mill. But, he has to watch his back because someone wants him dead. The comic books are available at comic book shops and at www.TraceAdkins.com
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Lady Antebellum To Sing At Superbowl
It'll be a sweet New Year's for Lady Antebellum. They've been selected to sing the national anthem at the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day. Charles Kelley is really hyped about it. He says "it wouldn't feel like the holidays without football." This year's Sugar Bowl in New Orleans has the University of Cincinnati against the University of Florida. The night before the game, on New Year's Eve, Lady A will give a free concert in the French Quarter.
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Jewel Recording Again
Jewel is going back in the studio today. Last night she tweeted that she had just arrived in Nashville. She says she's going to "take a crack at recording 'stay Here Forever."' She asks her fans to wish her luck and says she hopes "it comes out good." She says there's a chance it could be her new single.
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DECEMBER 2009 (1st - 7th)
Eric Church & His Foot
Eric Church has been dealing with his broken foot since September 4. That's a lot longer than the usual "6 to 8 weeks" it sometimes takes to get back on your feet after a break. He broke it during a gig when he was stomping his foot on a concrete stage. Eric admits he hasn't taken the "time to sit around and let it heal."
So, it's not healing as fast as it might. Eric says he needs to start following doctors' orders. Now, comes the excuse. He says he's had such a busy and successful touring schedule, with five or six shows a week that he hasn't had time to follow those orders. So he says he's "just going to keep playing, and it will either fall off or heal at some point in time." He says: "that's my plan. Not a good plan, but it's my plan." Get well soon Eric!
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And then there's more.... Stars Added To Grammy Nominations TV Special
Tomorrow's Grammy nomination TV special will include a performance by Sugarland. Also on the special, but not performing, is Dwight Yoakam. He'll announce one of the categories. Same with Ringo Starr and George Lopez. T-Pain, who we know from "Thug Story" with Taylor Swift, also will announce one of the nominations. Tomorrow's hour-long nominations announcement and concert is on CBS. The Grammys themselves will be awarded January 31.
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Faith Hill's Converstions With Sandra Bullock
What do A-listers talk about when they're just chatting? If it's Sandra Bullock and Faith Hill, the topic is decorating. Hill and Bullock met on the set of "The Blind Side," which co-stars Hill's husband, Tim McGraw. Hill says she and Bullock found out they both love decorating and "just finding good stuff around." Hill says since they "both travel so many places, its fun to discover little secrets in little towns across the country." So, she says they "had a lot in common that way."
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Darius Rucker Moves To The Country
Having just won the CMA award for new artist, Darius Rucker still is talking about his move to country music. He tells the Daily Record of Parsippany, New Jersey it didn't feel like much of a leap. He says he always thought Hootie and the Blowfish "were about as close to country as you could be without being a country band." And, Rucker says he felt they "wrote kind of story songs." But, he says he would bring the band "country songs that they had to turn into rock 'n' roll songs."
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Kenny Chesney In 3D
Kenny Chesney releases the trailer for his 3D movie “Kenny Chesney:Summer in 3D”
Soon you will get to see Kenny Chesney in true-to-life form on the big screen which is cool, but even cooler is that it will be in 3D! Kenny is releasing a trailer today that previews his 3D special “Kenny Chesney:Summer in 3D” in conjunction with Sony Pictures. The film is expected to give fans the full concert experience as if they were really there. (I wonder if that comes complete with flip-flops, sand and beach balls?)
The film is expected to hit select theaters in April of 2010 which will help tide fans over until Kenny gets back out on tour. According to Chesney: “It’s amazing to me how intense this footage is. It’s me in a way I’ve never seen myself – and I can’t wait to share it with my fans. I put all of myself into my shows, a lot of heart and sweat and stuff most people might not think is all that important, but I do… and always have. This film captures every little detail in a way that makes it even more important than I thought it was when we were working on it, and it makes my fans even more in my face than when I’m onstage, which is great! So I am completely thrilled that there’s something we’re able to give people a taste of the film with. Obviously, it’s not 3-D, but it’s pretty invested in what JOE THOMAS, the director, is trying to help us capture. APRIL is a long way away, and I know I don’t want to wait that long to let people get a peak at what we’re doing.”
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