My Country: Smash Hits 2

Hey guys! I am a big supporter of the troops, so when this release came my way I had to pass it along! The Album is for a good cause and there is also a contest going on for anyone who has family in the military....

Reactions to The Voice....

So, I was posting my thoughts about tonight's episode as it was playing on twitter. If you haven't seen the new episode yet, don't go any further:

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...

First the Good News....

Reba McEntire has been inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The bad news? Her father is currently in a coma in a Tula, OK hospital. Congratulations to her on the honor and best wishes are going out to her and her family at this time. You can read the whole story on yahoo!news.

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.

Twittering the CMAs...

You may have heard today's news story about the country artists that are going to be twittering about the CMA Music Festival while the show is airing on the 31st. Well, here are the twitter names of some of the people involved:

Trace Adkins (@traceadkins)
Dierks Bentley (@dierksbentley)
Lady Antebellum (@ladyantebellum)
Martina McBride (@martinamcbride)
Reba McEntire (@Reba)
Kellie Pickler (@therealpickler)
Zac Brown Band (@zacbrownband)

Check the CMAs page (http://twitter.com/countrymusic) for more. There's an artist listing on the left side of the page. I'm sure Taylor will also be involved.

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.

Big Reba News....

It's just been announced Reba will be leaving MCA records and joining the Valory Music Company soon. The label's the sister label to Big Machine Records and is home to Jimmy Wayne and Jewel. It's also run by Scott Borchetta, who used to work at MCA. Congrats to her on the move and may this bring her a lot of success. Big Machine and Valory seem to be doing pretty well by their artists. Expect new music from her very soon.

A Family Reunion or Andy Griggs Makes History!

Hello out there, Country Music fans. I hope everyone had a good weekend, I know I did. But, now it's time to get back to business and I wanna start by talking about Reba's new video. It's for the song "Every Other Weekend" with Kenny Chesney.

I have mixed feelings on this one. I didn't like how they had Reba in the video without Kenny. It just seemed awkward to have her sitting on a bench singing and no performance shots of him. If Kenny wasn't allowed to be in it or unavailable to film, I feel like they should've just left Reba out of it as well... it would have flowed better in my opinion.

What I did like, however, was the inclusion of Reba's TV daughter and son-in-law. Both actors did well in their roles as seperated parents who regret the choice they made, but stick to it because they feel the other is happy with how things are. They don't say a word in the video, but you see and feel the pain the characters are in. I thought it showed that the Reba cast didn't just say they're like family... they really were. Reba's also included Melissa Peterman (Barbara Jean) on her tour with Kelly Clarkson (who also guested on the show). So, do you think the video was Van and Cheyenne's future or no? Post your opinion in the comments and let me know.

In other Country Music news, Andy Griggs set a record! He recently became the first Country artist to participate in the World Series of Poker. I won't say how he did, because the tournament will begin airing on July 22nd on ESPN. You can catch it every Tuesday. Fans have another reason for wanting to check it out. During Day two, he performed not only the National Anthem, but the song "It's All About the Money" from his The Good Life CD. If you can't wait to find out how he did, check out his website, where you can learn all about his experience in the competition.

Well, that's about it for now. See ya next time! I leave you now with a couple screencaps from the Reba Video. You can see the real deal at RebaTV.