» Golden State:Lady Antebellum stopped by Good Morning America Tuesday (2/19) to announce their new album Golden and reveal a little about how they decided on the name, “The word ‘golden’ to me conjures up a lot of pictures,” said Dave Haywood. “In the title track, it depicts driving down the road at sunset but, to me, it also depicts a special time in our career ... a golden, special time for us. We definitely want to value this time in our careers because it’s such a treasure that we can still sit in a room and write songs together. I personally feel so humbled to still be making records that people are excited to hear.” Golden comes out May 7.
» Country Remembers Mindy:The country communities sympathies are with family and friends of Mindy McCready, who died Sunday night (2/17) at her home in Arkansas. She was 37. McCready is best known for her string of hits in the mid-'90s that included "Ten Thousand Angels," "Guys Do It All The Time" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What A Girl's Gotta Do)." She is survived by two sons, six-year-old Zander and 10-month old Zayne. Services are pending. Friends and admirers took to Twitter to express their condolences:
"I grew up listening to Mindy McCready...so sad for her family tonight. Many prayers are going out to them... "
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Carrie Underwood
"Mindy McCready, I will always remember you as the sweet,beautiful and talented young lady you were when I met you all those years ago. So sad."
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Charlie Daniels
"I listened admiringly to Mindy McCready growing up. May she finally be at peace and lend her beautiful voice to heaven's."
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Clay Aiken
"My heart goes out to Mindy McCready's friends and family. What a talented lady she was. RIP Mindy."
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Reba
"Very sad to hear about Mindy McCready. When I was in Lonestar she was our label mate and we were friends. A tragic end to a talented life."
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John Rich
"My heart is breaking hearing of the loss of Mindy McCready. Pray for her 2 precious little boys...may God's peace & protection be on them!"
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Hillary Scott
"Just heard about Mindy McCready. My thoughts and prayers are with her 2 boys and her family."
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Jason Aldean
"My heart goes out to Mindy McCready's family. I knew her well. It's a horribly tragedy. May peace be with her sons."
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LeAnn Rimes Cibrian
"I'm a huge country music fan, sending heartbroken love to the family, friends and admirers of Mindy McCready. R.I.P."
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Pee-wee Herman
"My prayers go out to Mindy McCready's children and family. Very sad. God bless them."
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Sara Evans
"Blessings to all of Mindy McCready's family and friends today. Very sad indeed."
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Keith Urban
» Abs Salute Country:Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are at No. 7 on Men's Health magazine's Hottest Celebrity Couples of 2013. The magazine, best know for fitness tips, created the list that includes Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck at No. 15 and the President and First Lady at No.1. Find out the secret to rock-hard abs and take a look at the other hot celebs here.
» Sunday Night Girls:Caroline Cutbirth and Jennifer (Wayne) Kuhle left Nashville and their band Stealing Angels behind to travel the globe on this season of The Amazing Race, which started Sunday night (2/17) on CBS-TV. Our insider caught up with them post-premiere to discuss why they have an advantage. "This is totally in our blood," says Cutbirth, a direct descendant of Daniel Boone. Kuhle, the granddaughter of John Wayne adds, "My grandma was watching. She called and said, 'See? John Wayne did pass on some toughness to you. You made it through!" The girls have a single as Caroline & Jen called "Girls Gotcha Back." "We are best friends, band-mates, basically sisters racing around the world together," says Cutbirth. "We wrote it together and thought it couldn't be a more perfect time to release it." Take a listen on iTunes here.
» Sour Cream And Clive's:"So I just heard Clive Davis is releasing a memoir and spreading false information about me and my music," stated Kelly Clarkson Tuesday (2/19) on her whosay blog. "I refuse to be bullied and I just have to clear up his memory lapses and misinformation for myself and for my fans. It feels like a violation. Growing up is awesome because you learn you don’t have to cower to anyone – even Clive Davis." Davis signed Clarkson to RCA Records after her American Idol win and his book The Soundtrack of My Life includes a bit about the dispute they had regarding Clarkson's 2007 album My December. Read Kelly's side of the story here and Clive's book here.
» I've Got Friends With Low Prices:Anderson Cooper reports the cold hard facts on CNN, but during Anderson Live! he basically does whatever. Like on Friday (2/15) his co-host was LeAnn Rimes' nemeses Brandi Glanville and the guest was the country singing Walmart cashier Kayla Slone. That's a good time and it got even better when Dierks Bentley phoned in. Dierks saw Kayla's YouTube video and was impressed enough to reach out and invite her to the 48th ACM Awards in Las Vegas April 7. Watch them talk here.
» Totally In Tents:If you plan on roughing it at some music festivals that allow camping this summer, you should know Dwight Yoakam is among the first announced to play the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. He'll join headliners Paul McCartney, Mumford & Sons, R Kelly and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers June 13-16 in Manchester, TN.
Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Kix Brooks, Chris Young, Colt Ford, Thompson Square, Jerrod Niemann, Thomas Rhett, Jon Pardi, David Nail, Greg Bates, Ashley Monroe, Drake White, Chase Rice and DJ Silver are scheduled to perform at the first-ever Faster Horses Festival. The three-day concert and camping fest takes place in Brooklyn, MI July 19, 20 and 21.
Hit List
Thompson Square have invited fans to sponsor a child through ChildFund International, offering backstage passes through March 23. More here.
Greg Bates will perform on the Coca-Cola stage at the Daytona 500 Feb. 24.
The Kentucky Headhunters, Exile, Skeeter Davis and more will be inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum April 12. More here.
Montgomery Gentry, Kenny Rogers, Josh Turner and Dierks Bentley have been added to the lineup for Nov. 22's final Nashville concert of George Jones’ career.
Billy Currington will auction off his 2012 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn as a part of the Road to the Ram Jam music series. Currington’s truck is up for bidding today (2/19) with proceeds to benefit Team Rubicon. More here.
Eric Church has been added as co-headliner at Rock The Ocean's Tortuga Music Festival April 13-14. The lineup includes Kenny Chesney, Gary Allan, Jake Owen, Eli Young Band, Kip Moore, Gloriana, Mac McAnally and others. More here.
Kenny Rogers' The Gambler will be reissued March 12 on 180-gram vinyl with restored artwork.
Birthdays
Mary Chapin Carpenter (2/21)
On TV
Wednesday (2/20): Keith Urban, American Idol (FOX).
Thursday (2/21): Keith Urban, American Idol (FOX).
Upcoming Album Releases
The MavericksIn Time (2/26)
Jadia Dreyer I Am Jadia Dreyer (2/26)
Ashley MonroeLike A Rose (3/5)
Kacey MusgravesSame Trailer Different Park (3/19)
Blake Shelton Based On A True Story ... (3/26)
Thompson SquareJust Feels Good (3/26)
Maggie RoseCut To Impress (3/26)
» Glory Days:Jason Aldean gets ready to release his new single "1994" by releasing a picture of himself from 1994 on Twitter.
» Not His Selfie: Opening on the Locked & Reloaded tour in Dekalb, IL Thomas Rhett pulls Miranda Lambert in for a quick pic before heading backstage for a "Beer With Jesus."
Lady Antebellum stopped by Good Morning America Tuesday (2/19) to announce their new album Golden and reveal a little about how they decided on the name, “The word ‘golden’ to me conjures up a lot of pictures,” said Dave Haywood. “In the title track, it depicts driving down the road at sunset but, to me, it also depicts a special time in our career ... a golden, special time for us. We definitely want to value this time in our careers because it’s such a treasure that we can still sit in a room and write songs together. I personally feel so humbled to still be making records that people are excited to hear.” Golden comes out May 7.
The country communities sympathies are with family and friends of Mindy McCready, who died Sunday night (2/17) at her home in Arkansas. She was 37. McCready is best known for her string of hits in the mid-'90s that included "Ten Thousand Angels," "Guys Do It All The Time" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What A Girl's Gotta Do)." She is survived by two sons, six-year-old Zander and 10-month old Zayne. Services are pending. Friends and admirers took to Twitter to express their condolences:
Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are at No. 7 on Men's Health magazine's Hottest Celebrity Couples of 2013. The magazine, best know for fitness tips, created the list that includes Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck at No. 15 and the President and First Lady at No.1. Find out the secret to rock-hard abs and take a look at the other hot celebs 
Caroline Cutbirth and Jennifer (Wayne) Kuhle left Nashville and their band Stealing Angels behind to travel the globe on this season of The Amazing Race, which started Sunday night (2/17) on CBS-TV. Our insider caught up with them post-premiere to discuss why they have an advantage. "This is totally in our blood," says Cutbirth, a direct descendant of Daniel Boone. Kuhle, the granddaughter of John Wayne adds, "My grandma was watching. She called and said, 'See? John Wayne did pass on some toughness to you. You made it through!" The girls have a single as Caroline & Jen called "Girls Gotcha Back." "We are best friends, band-mates, basically sisters racing around the world together," says Cutbirth. "We wrote it together and thought it couldn't be a more perfect time to release it." Take a listen on iTunes 
"So I just heard Clive Davis is releasing a memoir and spreading false information about me and my music," stated Kelly Clarkson Tuesday (2/19) on her whosay blog. "I refuse to be bullied and I just have to clear up his memory lapses and misinformation for myself and for my fans. It feels like a violation. Growing up is awesome because you learn you don’t have to cower to anyone – even Clive Davis." Davis signed Clarkson to RCA Records after her American Idol win and his book The Soundtrack of My Life includes a bit about the dispute they had regarding Clarkson's 2007 album My December. Read Kelly's side of the story 
Anderson Cooper reports the cold hard facts on CNN, but during Anderson Live! he basically does whatever. Like on Friday (2/15) his co-host was LeAnn Rimes' nemeses Brandi Glanville and the guest was the country singing Walmart cashier Kayla Slone. That's a good time and it got even better when Dierks Bentley phoned in. Dierks saw Kayla's YouTube video and was impressed enough to reach out and invite her to the 48th ACM Awards in Las Vegas April 7. Watch them talk 
If you plan on roughing it at some music festivals that allow camping this summer, you should know Dwight Yoakam is among the first announced to play the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. He'll join headliners Paul McCartney, Mumford & Sons, R Kelly and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers June 13-16 in Manchester, TN.
Thompson Square have invited fans to sponsor a child through ChildFund International, offering backstage passes through March 23. More 
