Troubadour, TX Through the Grapvine

I'm not a big fan of Reality TV in general, as most of you can probably tell by now. Still I do like some of the talent ones out there. I also enjoy ones that take you behind the scenes of making a record or show. This one looks like that kind of show...

 

Girl's Night Out and Looking Ahead.....

So, apparently whatever is possessing my TV decided to cut me a break. I got to see the Girl's Night Out special on CBS the other night and what a show it was! They honored Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Nettles, Martina McBride and more.

Each person had a short video played about them and then one of their songs was played by another artist. After that, the honoree got to sing as well. My favorite performance was Carrie's "How Great Thou Art". Other highlights included Little Big Town's version of "Independence Day" and Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley singing "Hell on Heels". Rascal Flatts also did a good job with Reba's "Why Haven't I Heard From You". Here are a few videos from the special... Enjoy! And check your local listings for any potential repeats... especially on GAC or CMT if you missed it the first time around.







Check back in a couple of days when I will have a special post out about the book Across the Galaxy along with a Q&A with the author!

CMTs Next Superstar

So, I had a chance to watch last night's debut and I enjoyed it for the most part. I think most of the contestants are great and the format worked well.

Announcing....

CMT's Next Superstar! It's a show from the people behind American Idol that will follow 10 contestants as they compete for the top prize. It premieres on Friday, April 8th at 9 PM Eastern time. I'll be watching... will you?

Stay tuned, because tomorrow I will have a special video and maybe some other goodies posted to get you ready for the show.

Looking Ahead....

Tomorrow I hope to have a post up about a special program airing Friday.... for now, I would like to mention a couple of cool things I noticed on yahoo news. First off, there's going to be a special called Girl's Night Out on CBS on the 22nd. Just looking at the rundown for this one is getting me excited. All my favorites are going to be there and it looks like the duets are going to be good.

Also... Miranda Lambert is getting into the TV business. Apparently, she and her mother are going to serve as executive producers for a new ABC Family drama. No, it's not going to be about a country singer, but it is something related to her real life. Check out the details here.

ACM Awards

Just a reminder to tune in to CBS tonight at 8 PM eastern time to catch the Academy of Country Music Awards. I'll most likely be splitting my time between the show and the first new Desperate Housewives episode in quite a while. To see what you can expect from the awards tonight, check out yahoo!news' preview.

What is your choice for tonight? Comment and let me know...

Aritst You Should Know: Christian Kane

If the name Christian Kane sounds familiar, it should! He's been in ANGEL, Leverage and other shows/films throughout the years. For those that don't know, he has also started a career in country music! His CD, The House Rules, is out now and features 11 tracks. You can hear previews of each here on amazon.

New Music Alert....

Ashley Gearing is getting ready to release a new single called "Five More Minutes" to radio very soon. I found a video of her performing the track on youtube at a benefit show. Check it out....



Love the melody and her voice actualy reminds me a little bit of LeAnn Rimes... especially in the chorus. I think the sentiment behind the lyrics is sweet, too. Enjoy and feel free to post your thoughts!

Reba Update...

You may remember me posting a little bit back about Reba McEntire's father being in the hospital. Well, the boot has just shared an update on his condition that I thought I would pass along. Good news that is definitely needed for her today, as she marks the 20th anniversary of a crash that took the lives of several people close to her. She shared a tribute video on her facebook page earlier in the day. Stop by and show your support!

That's about all for now. Check back later for more...

I Heard it Through the Grapevine....

I was sent this announcement and thought that I would pass it along. I'm sure a lot of us out there are looking for new music to try out so enjoy! I'm also including a couple videos for you!

Kellie's New Gig and Shania the Writer

According to yahoonews, if you're in the Indianapolis, Indiana area, you'll get a chance to see Kellie Pickler performing at an NCAA festival. Check out all the details here.

According to my friends at the Country Music Tattle Tale, Shania Twain is about to be a published author. Her book, From This Moment On, will be released May 3rd. I have to admit that I am curious about this one. Just what we know of her backstory already says that she has a very compelling story to tell. She's also supposed to have her own series on the new Oprah Winfrey Network, so it looks like this is going to be a very busy year for her. Now, let's hope there is some new music to add in the mix...

I leave you now with a couple of favorites videos from each:

Blast From the Past...

The 80's geek in me is eagerly awaiting March 1st. Why? Because Tiffany will be releasing a new CD. Yes, that Tiffany. You may seen her recently in the sci-fi movie Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid. Some may even have heard the couple cds she released over the past few years, although they did not get near the amount of attention they deserved. With her new CD, Tiffany is taking on the country genre. The disc is going to be called Rose Tattoo and has 8 tracks on it. To get you in the mood, here is a song she did for her movie called "Serpentine":



I love the sound she has going on here and, while this song is not listed on the disc, I hope that the music will be similar in style. What do you think? Post your thoughts and let me know.

Wow...

I never realized I had so many comments waiting on this blog. There seems to have been a glitch that didn't let me know I had any comments at all. I want to thank everyone that has visited this blog and/or left a comment. I also apologize to any of you who had been waiting for some kind of response- I wasn't intentionally ignoring anyone.

Anyway.... all things change and I am ready for one as well. I am still going to be sharing info on Country music, but I will also be re-naming the blog and writing about other genres as well as other entertainment/writing related stuff in the future. It was a very long, bad year last year personally and now I am ready to get that behind me and start getting back into the writing thing again (in more ways than one...). I hope that you will be joining me on this new journey!

Today's the Day...

As promised, I have that link for you. Here it is- it features performances of new songs by Carrie Underwood and an interview with her in celebration of Play On. Enjoy everyone... and let me know what you think about the new songs. Also... be sure to check ITunes. It seems she's releasing a new song a week leading up to the album release. She's also doing a TV special, so stay tuned on more about that. See ya next time!

More Free Music

People's at it again! This time, they're offering an ITunes play list. I see a few songs on here I'm liking- what about you guys? Keep checking back, cause I'll let you know as other downloads are offered.

By the way.... can't post it yet, but stay tuned to the blog, because in about a week, I'll be posting a link where you can see interviews and performances like the Reba one I shared before (it won't be her, though).

CMT's Big Weekend...

So, who caught the CMT Big New Music Weekend? They debuted videos from Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Reba and more. I think the most surprising video was Carrie's. She actually dances a little bit in it! Not sure how I feel about that, but the song is fun and she sounds great.

Miranda's was one of those that actually made me like the song more. I was iffy on the lyrics, but the melody, instrumentation and visuals changed my opinion quite a bit. I don't wanna say too much about the video, cause I think it'll spoil it. Just trust me when I say it's a cute video.

Tim McGraw's Southern Voice is a feel good, relaxing kind of song, although the video kind of bored me. It was clips of him performing at the NLF Kick-Off mixed with clips of him jamming with a bunch of guys outside a store.

Reba's video for Consider Me Gone was different, yet more of the same. While she actually acted out the story herself in "Strange", the new clip has her returning to the narrator role as she plays a designer a girl comes to after having trouble with her guy.

So, who else saw these clips? Were there any that were your favorites? Any you didn't care for? Comment and let's talk about it.

Brad Bares All....

Yes, it's what you're thinking... but not. I think this link can explain it better than I can. Personally? I'm cracking up right now. I love Paisley's sense of humor.

So it's begun....

Football season has started and the McGraw-Hill family has been very involved in it so far, with Tim performing before the kick-off game and Faith doing the theme for Sunday Night Football. Well, now Faith's getting into the whole prediction thing. Her official website will be home to all of her football picks for the season. They're listed under the news section of the site.

So, I'm sure y'all know by now that Taylor Swift was at the MTV VMAs last night and won for best female video. I'm sure you also heard what happened when Tayolr went onstage to accept the award. If not, here's the clip:

Info From the Grapevine...

Got another release to share with you. Check it out:

Country Rocker Bonnie Bishop Performs at

Americana Music Association Conference