Alan Jackson‘s Precious Memories Volume II is #1 on one of the Billboard charts, but it’s not the one you might expect. Alan tops the Christian Albums tally with the new hymns project, which also bows at #2 on Billboard‘s Country Albums chart with 55,000 copies sold according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Alan topped both of those charts with his first Precious Memories release in 2006. That album sold 107,000 copies in its first week, making Alan the only artist to top the Country Albums chart with a gospel album since Charley Pride‘s Did You Think to Pray, back in 1971.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Darius Rucker is in the giving spirit these days.  He’s set to host the ACM Lifting Lives Celebrity Golf Classic this Saturday in Las Vegas, and proceeds from that event go to the Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund to help those in need in the music industry. Taking part in these events is a no-brainer for Darius, who is very passionate about golf.

He says, “It’s awesome that I can help people and hang out with my buddies and hit a little white ball.”

Darius adds with a laugh, “You know, ’cause that’s the only time I can hit something white as hard as I can and not go to jail.”

Darius is also bringing back his annual Darius and Friends benefit concert Monday, June 3 at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville.  That event raises money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and tickets go on sale Friday at WildhorseSaloon.com and DariusRucker.com.

The Darius and Friends event has raised more than $125,000 in its history for St. Jude.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Florida Georgia Line and rapper Nelly have joined the bill for the ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night taping Monday night in Las Vegas. John Fogerty, Faith Hill and The Band Perry have also been added to the lineup for the show, which will air Sunday, May 19 at 9 p.m. Eastern on CBS.

Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Ne-Yo, Pitbull and Lady Antebellum have been previously been confirmed as performers on the show. Tim McGraw will serve as the ringleader for the special, which is designed to kick off the 2013 summer touring season.

Proceeds from the taping go to ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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All eyes will be on Blake Shelton and his new co-host Luke Bryan at the 48th Annual ACM Awards Sunday night on CBS.  While Blake thinks Luke will do a great job in the gig, he admits it’s going to be hard not having his long-time co-host Reba helming the show.

Blake says, “I think anytime you had Reba involved in anything, and you take her out, that’s a big piece of the puzzle gone that you can’t replace, you know?”

He adds, “We’re gonna do the best we can.”

Blake always relied on Reba to help keep him in line and be the rock of the show for the past few years.

Now that she’s gone, Blake says, “With me and Luke, you know, I don’t know who the hell is going to be the rock.  I guess it’s supposed to be me.  That’s kind of scary.”

Though this is Luke’s first time hosting a major, live awards show, Blake has seen Luke in action when they filmed a few commercials for the show last month.

“He’s really good with the camera and timing and the teleprompter and is still just enough of Luke in there that it’s a lot of fun too,” Blake says.

Reba fans can still look forward to seeing country’s most famous redhead introducing George Strait and Garth Brooks‘ tribute to the late Dick Clark on this year’s show.

The 48th Annual ACM Awards broadcast live from Las Vegas Sunday night at 8 Eastern on CBS.

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Brad Paisley brings country’s past into the present using a sample of the late Country Music Hall of Fame member Roger Miller‘s 1964 hit “Dang Me” in his new song “Outstanding in Our Field.”  He also recruited Dierks Bentley to contribute vocals, and Hunter Hayes plays guitar on the track which will be included on Brad’s new album, Wheelhouse, coming out next week.

Fans watching the ACM Awards will get to see this collaboration come to life on Sunday night’s show, and Roger will be in on the act too.

Brad tells ABC News Radio, “When we do it live, you’ll see in black and white Roger Miller behind me come up on the screen.  You’ll see that on the ACMs this week, where there he is.  He’s doing his line, and then Dierks comes in the next verse, and Hunter plays guitar and all this.”

Brad has always prided himself on being a steward of country music’s history, and he feels this collaboration takes that role to a new level.

“Now you really have the technological ability to not just build on the past and take all of these things I learned from Roger Miller being a fan, but I get to sing with him because of technology,” Brad explains.

There are some legal issues behind the scenes over whether or not Brad can actually sample Roger Miller’s records, but he says, “The copyright lawyers get to figure it all out.  Which is fun, I don’t care.”

Brad Paisley hosts the ACM Fan Jam this Sunday night at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.  Portions of that show, including the performance of “Outstanding in Our Field,” will be shown on the ACM Awards broadcast on CBS starting that night at 8 Eastern.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Blake Shelton has scored his second #1 debut on Billboard‘s Country Albums chart with Based on a True Story.  That set sold 199,000 copies according to Nielsen Soundscan, giving Blake his best first-week sales numbers ever. Based on a True Story also debuts at #3 on the overall Billboard 200 chart.

Look for Blake and a few friends to perform “Boys ‘Round Here,” the lead single from Based on a True Story, to open this Sunday night’s ACM Awards on CBS.  He’s co-hosting the show with Luke Bryan.

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A ton of TV, sports and music stars have signed on to present trophies at this Sunday’s ACM Awards in Las Vegas. Look for Reba to introduce the George Strait and Garth Brooks‘ joint tribute to the late Dick Clark. Jake Owen, Miranda Lambert, John Fogerty, Kacey Musgraves, Sheryl Crow and Scotty McCreery are also on the presenters list, along with a few stars from CBS shows including Vegas‘ Michael Chicklis, Beth Behrs of 2 Broke Girls, and The Big Bang Theory‘s Kaley Cuoco.

Duck Dynasty stars Willie & Korie Roberts will present trophies too, along with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Media personalities Nancy O’Dell and Kevin Frazier are also serving as presenters.

Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan co-host the 48th Annual ACM Awards Sunday night at 8 Eastern on CBS.

 

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Thompson Square won their first vocal duo of the year trophy last year at the ACM Awards, and the duo’s Keifer Thompson tells ABC News Radio he’s still not used to seeing that award sitting next to their other trophies on his mantle.

“You look at those awards, and you’re like, those aren’t real,” Keifer says. “Those can’t be ours, you know?”

Though Keifer and his wife and duo partner, Shawna Thompson, are hoping for a repeat win in the vocal duo category at this Sunday’s ACM Awards, they plan on making the most of their time in Las Vegas for the show regardless.

Says Keifer, “We never thought in a million years we’d have one of those, so, we’re just going to relax and just have fun this year.”

Look for Thompson Square on The 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards this Sunday night at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS. Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan are set to co-host the broadcast.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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The Band Perry‘s Pioneer album premiere show in Greeneville, TN last weekend was a big success with an estimated crowd of about 25,000 people. Some of those folks traveled from Iowa, Texas and even Canada.

Lead singer Kimberly Perry tells ABC News Radio, “It was a really precious thing to see our whole town come together to pull this event together. And really it was the spirit behind Pioneer — lots of people coming together to do good things.”

Now that Pioneer is in stores and online, Kimberly looks forward to seeing which songs their fans like the best.

“It’s really a neat thing to see what the fans are going to make their own soundtrack,” Kimberly says. “So, I can’t wait to see that this week.

Though Pioneer is now in the hands of the fans, Kimberly admits she and her brothers Neil and Reid Perry would still be making changes to the album if they could. She doesn’t have any regrets about the choices they made in the 18 months writing and recording Pioneer.

Kimberly says, “We did have the opportunity to try out all of our ideas. We wrote some wild songs that ultimately weren’t in the final 12. But we got to just really break our own boundaries, which was exciting.”

Look for The Band Perry to perform on Sunday night’s 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS at 8 p.m. Eastern. They’re up for vocal group of the year honors.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Kacey Musgraves made a splash by taking an honest look at small-town life in her debut hit, “Merry Go Round.” Now she’s offering up another slice of honesty with the follow-up single, “Blowin’ Smoke.” Look for Kacey to premiere the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show April 10.

Kacey is nominated for Female Vocalist and Video of the Year for “Merry Go Round” at the ACM Awards this Sunday night on CBS. Her debut album, Same Trailer Different Park, recently debuted at the top of Billboard‘s Country Albums chart.  Kacey is the first solo female act in five years to pull off that feat.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Wynonna‘s husband and drummer Cactus Moser began walking on his own this week for the first time since losing one of his legs in a motorcycle accident last August.  The couple has been waiting eight months for this moment, and Wynonna tells People, “It freaked me out because I’ve seen him in a wheelchair and using a walker, and he just walked towards me and I was like, ‘Wow.’  I was so stunned.  I saw the wreck, I saw him lose the leg.” 

Wynonna is now competing on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, and her fellow contestant and reality TV star Lisa Vanderpump was one of the first people to walk with Cactus.

Wy says of her husband, “He’s so positive.  I call him Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky.  It’s really irritating, because sometimes I just want to complain or act tired about dancing, and he’ll say, ‘But you’re moving and you’re looking so great.'”

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