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...

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:

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).

Apologies and a Funny Video...

Hey, everyone. Sorry I've been so quiet. Unfortunately, I was unable to put up a few posts ahead of time before leaving for a vacation. I'm back, though, and ready to get back into it. I wanna start off with a cute video. It's of Taylor Swift reacting to her CMA nominations- especially her EOTY nod-

Diamond Rio

CMT is reporting some great news for Diamond Rio fans. They've got two new releases in the works. One is a new album called The Reason, which will be released on September 22nd. It's the first studio release for their new label, Word Records. Also coming out that day is a book called "Beautiful Mess". The band wrote it all about the group's journey from unknowns to their switch to Christian music. To mark the new releases, I thought I'd post a video I found of the song their book is named after. It's one of my favorite tracks. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday!

To LeAnn Rimes and Shania Twian, who turn 27 and 44. In the spirit of the occasion, here are two of my favorites (What I Cannot Change and





Speaking of birthdays- Shania's present to her fans was a video diary of the past year and another special letter. Check out her official site for it.

Jessica Harp- Solo Artist

You might know her as one half of The Wreckers, but Jessica Harp has been making some noise with her first solo single "Boy Like Me". With an album being released digitally soon, she's got a little teaser on youtube to show you what you can expect. Enjoy:




Gotta say, I'm enjoying their solo stuff a lot, even though I'd love it if they'd do some Wreckers stuff here and there. Hey, it works for Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas...

Single

Hey, everyone! I’m back and here to share a little Darius Rucker news. The singer’s new single is called ‟History in the Making‟ and fans are reporting that it’s been sent to radio already. This is the fourth single from his debut country CD, Learn to Live. Will he get a fourth #1 out of it? Stay tuned. In the meantime, check out this live performance, thanks to 396mjr:

Song of the Week

Every week, I'll start posting a new favorite. Some will be old, some will be new. All will be my personal favorites! Listen and let me know what you guys think of the songs. I love getting to chat music...

This week's pick is Taylor Swift's "Mary's Song (Oh My, My, My)" from her debut album. I love this song because the lyrics are great and it's got a beautiful melody:

From LYRICSMODE.COM lyrics archive

Song lyrics | Mary's Song (Oh My My My) lyrics

Kenny the Policeman?

Ya’ll may have heard by now that Kenny Chesney is involved in a little bit of a controversy. He recently confiscated a camera from one of his fans at a show in Foxborough. ContryMusicNewsBlog has a great opinion piece up about it that I can’t agree more with. I wish more people in the industry would think the way whiskeychick does.

Don’t get me wrong. I sympathize with artists not wanting unreleased material out there without their approval. They have every right to try and keep that stuff from coming out if they don’t feel its up to par. Still, I think everyone could lighten up a little about concert clips and music videos. Let’s be realistic, here. Artists want the videos seen right? Well, since GAC is the only channel that I know of that features music, concerts and similar programming all day, sometimes we have to let the fans get these videos out by other means so they can be enjoyed. As WhiskeyChick says... free publicity is a good thing. So is the word-of-mouth from your fans.

What do you guys think? Are you with Kenny on this or do you agree with the other side? Write back and let’s talk about it. Take care and I’ll see y’all tomorrow with more.

Reba's Coming Back With a Bang....

Hello everyone! Well, Reba’s new CD, Keep on Loving You, is now available for purchase and she’s got a special page on the WalMart website for fans to get performances and other content. It’ll go completely live on September 1st. For now, though, there’s a little interview clip with Reba talking about her absence from country music the past few years and ‟Strange‟. You can see the video and other clips as they’re made available here.

Brad Defends Haters?

I spend some time every day browsing the news sites to find out what's going on in Country that day. Well, today I came across an article where Brad Paisley defends some of the haters of Country Music. Why, you ask? Well... he says that he feels the genre has gotten away from some of it's traditional roots. Especially when it comes to true story telling in songs.

I can't say I agree with that completely. I think there's still plenty of great story telling in the genre and I don't know of any other genre where the songs are as or (sometimes) more important than the artists themselves. I do see his point, though. There's been quite a few changes in the genre over the years and I've heard quite a few people complain that the music today is a little too rock or pop oriented.

So what do you think? Do you think the story telling's leaving the genre or do you think there's still life there? Comment and let me know! See ya next time.

Brooks and Dunn, the final look back....

Hey, everyone! As promised, I have one final Brooks and Dunn clip for you this week to mark the end of their career as a duo. Before I get to the song, here’s an interview they did with CMT about the split. You can catch them on repeats of The Insider today. These guys are hilarious and I like that it seems there really isn’t any animosity between them. Refreshing isn’t it? Stars actually telling the truth! :) One of the highlights for me is when they talk about Bill Anderson’s reaction to their first single. Check it out for yourself. Congrats to them on a great 20 years and I’m curious to see where they’ll go from here once the tour is over.

And now? The song. Neon Moon. I picked this one because it brings back a lot of memories for me. We used to know a guy who ran a Kareoke show, so my family and I would go regularly and one of the regulars there would always sing this one. Enjoy!

Boots On...

So, have you seen the latest video by Randy Houser? It's called Boots On and features one of the most adorable kids ever. The video features actual footage of a songwriter's child rocking out to the song. For his video, Randy mixed footage of little Drake with him driving the car. Check out the original clip here:



I love the video because it's unlike anything else on GAC or CMT today and the song is just plain fun. I wanna grab my guitar hero controller and rock out when I hear this myself... what do you all think? Post your comments below and I'll see y'all tomorrow with a final Brooks and Dun feature.

LeAnn Scoop and Another Look Back at Brooks and Dunn

According to fans at her shows, LeAnn has announced that the first single from her new album will be called "You've Ruined Me". Interesting title, don't you think?

That said, it's time to look back again on one of my favorite Brooks and Dunn songs. my choice today? Play Something Country. The song is so fun and I can't help wanting to dance every single time I hear it. I'm sure the guys out there found plenty of reasons to like the video as well...

Anyway, here's a video of them performing the song live, thanks to bnelson01:

Brooks and Dunn- A Look Back (Part 2)

Here is another one of my personal favorites from Brooks and Dunn. It's a performance of Red Dirt Road:



This is one of the first Brooks and Dunn songs I remember hearing and it's always stuck with me. I love how it's kind of touching on nostalgia and innocence while, at the same time, reflecting on the loss of that innocence. The narrator is remembering his small town childhood and finding Jesus, while also talking about crashing his first car and having that first beer. What do you all think of this song? Share your thoughts and let's chat about it.

Brooks and Dunn- Looking Back

I thought this week would be a good time to share some of my favorite songs by the duo. I know I reviewed this first one a long time back, but I can't help including it. It's called "Believe". Here's a live performance of the song for you:



Like I said in my old review of it- I just love the words and vocals in this song. His voice is just so strong on this track, it gives me chills. What do you all think? Comment and share your own thoughts on this song. See ya with more tomorrow...

Angel Kaset Review...

So, I got the chance to listen to an album called Underneath a Vincent Van Gogh Sky by singer/songwriter Angela Kaset. I’ll be blunt- If you’re looking for the country-pop leanings of a Taylor Swift or a Shania Twain, you’re out of luck with this one. Angela is for those with a more mellow, almost jazzy taste in music.

Getting Put on the Spot....

I found a cool video of singer/songwriter Angela Kaset performing a song she wrote on the spot at a women's music event thanks to greense09. Enjoy and check out a review I'll be posting tomorrow of her new album: