Tim McGraw was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People.
The magazine calls him a "Renaissance man in a cowboy hat" -- for his diverse career and interests, including music, acting, reading
serious novels and history.
Taylor Swift also made the list in the icon category.
Sunday's 50th Academy of Country Music Awards at AT&T Stadium in Arlington,
Texas is expected to be the biggest awards show in history with an estimated
70,000 fans in attendance.
In addition to the Sunday's presentation, more than 35,000 fans will flock to nearby
Globe Life Park forParty for a Cause on Friday and Saturday for two days of music and
the taping of ACM Presents: Superstar Duets, which will air on CBS on May 15th.
Nashville News: Thursday, 4/16
Darius Rucker's Southern Style tops the country album chart for the second week in a row.
Here he is on his favorite part of making the album. He says he wrote tons of songs
for this album and loved the writing process.
Carrie Underwood is one of the stars of the new Guitar Hero Live.
The revamped video game features a new selection of songs and new controllers -- and puts the player on stage with a band. There's also a feature in which the you can
see how well you're doing judging by audience reaction.
It will be available in the fall.
Eric Church is developing a furniture line that will launch at the end of the year.
The collection, called Highway to Home, will be available in a variety of styles, including rustic western,
traditional, contemporary and urban industrial.
The home furnishings business is in Eric's blood -- his dadKenis an executive at a furniture company. Eric even worked at his dad's
upholstery plant when he was growing up.
A portion of the proceeds from the collection will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation through Eric's Chief Cares foundations.
Nashville News: Wednesday, 4/15
Brett Eldredge is known for doing some pretty wild stuff to celebrate his number-one hits.
He jumped out of a plane for his first chart-topper. For his second number-one, he swam with sharks. But the celebration he has planned for his third number-one, "Mean to Me," might just be his craziest stunt yet. He's planning to host a five-course dinner in the sky.
Brett and his team are still trying to work out the logistics of the feat, but he promises that it will happen.
It looks like we are going to have to share Sam Hunt- his song “Take Your Time” has been at #1 on
Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart for nine weeks and counting, but now it is crossing to pop audiences.
The song debuts at #40 on the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart this week.
Miranda Lambert is up for eight ACM Awards at this Sunday's ceremony -- including Entertainer of the Year-- and that just boggles her mind.
She already has 18 ACM trophies to her name -- including five consecutiveFemale Vocalist of the Year wins. But she tells Billboard that she can hardly
believe the path her career has taken. She says- "I'm pinching myself: 'Is this real life?' Growing up,
I used a yellow legal pad to write down all the nominees, circle who I thought was going to win before
the show and see how many I got right. But I never imagined this at all."
The 50th ACM Awards air live Sunday CBS from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Nashville News: Tuesday, 4/14
Reba McEntire releases, Love Somebody, her first new album in five years today.
Reba says that musical styles might change, but her requirements for songs on her albums stay the same.
Willie Nelson was the subject of a celebrity death hoax over the weekend,
as rumors circulated around the internet of his passing. A random website created the
story which was shared over a half a million times on a social media site. But, rest assured,
Willie is still alive and well.
Congrats again to the Zac Brown Band for landing at #1 on the Mediabase Country Singles Chart
for a second consecutive week with ‘Homegrown.”
This is the band’s first single from their forthcoming ‘Jekyll + Hyde’ album, which is due out on April 28th.
Nashville News: Monday, 4/13
The first studio album in three years from Alan Jackson-- titled Angels and Alcohol-- lands July 17th. Alan wrote seven of the collection’s 10 songs, including the title track.
This new release comes a little more than 25 years after his debut, the
double-platinum Here in the Real World.
You could win a chance to host a Justin Moore concert -- in your backyard!
Now through April 30th, Justin is offering a chance to win a free acoustic show
through his Gold Record Challenge. Each time Off the Beaten Pathhits an album-sales milestone, he'll give away prizes including autographed CDs, meet-and-greets and personal phone calls. And if more than 150,000 albums are sold, Justin
will headline a private acoustic concert at one lucky fan’s home.
Details are on his website.
Reba McEtntire serves as mentor on tonight's episode of The Voice where she'll
coach the top 12 finalists.
Reba, who has become a triple-threat entertainer -- in music, movies and theater -- has some very sage advice for aspiring performers: Practice a lot.
She releases her new album, Love Somebody,tomorrow.