The Band Perry‘s sophomore album, Pioneer, comes out Tuesday, April 2, and the sibling trio has lined up a Live on Letterman concert webcast Monday, April 1 to promote it.  Fans can catch the show live at CBS.com and Vevo at 8 p.m. Eastern from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City.  It will also be available afterward on demand.

Look for The Band Perry to sing their new single “DONE.” as well as “Better Dig Two,” “If I Die Young” and “All Your Life” during the show.

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Blake Shelton chose to name his brand-new album Based on a True Story… because he’s either lived through or is currently experiencing the emotions found in every song on the project.  If you take a listen to those songs, it’s pretty obvious Blake is loving life these days.  He’s about to celebrate his second wedding anniversary with Miranda Lambert, and his career is on a roll thanks to his latest hit “Sure Be Cool if You Did.”

When asked about the mostly happy and romantic song selections on the new album, Blake says, “It was just my mindset, I think, overall.”  He adds, “I’m very content with my life, which, I mean, who wouldn’t be?  I know how lucky I am.  I’ll be happy if it stays like this for a long time.”

There are a few sad songs on Based on a True Story… because this is still a country album, but Blake isn’t wallowing in that melancholy vibe like he has in the past.

“I’ve had those years where I made those type of records, and I don’t want to, but probably will have them again,” Blake explains.  “Something will happen one of these days, and it’ll be a part of my music.  Right now, it’s just everything’s pretty awesome.”

As for the album title, Blake worked to come up with something creative since he didn’t want to just name it after a song on the album.

He says, “I listened to it, and I finally just thought, ‘Man, this kinda is my life from start to finish.’  I just thought, ‘That’s what we’ll call it. We’ll just say it’s Based on a True Story.'”

The new single from Based on a True Story… is “Boys ‘Round Here,” featuring Miranda Lambert’s group Pistol Annies on background vocals.

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George Strait is set to release his 40th studio album, Love Is Everything, on May 14 featuring the lead single “Give It all We Got Tonight.” George wrote or co-wrote of the albums 13 tracks, collaborating on some of them with his son Bubba Strait and veteran songwriter Dean Dillon.

Love Is Everything will be released as George continues The Cowboy Rides Away Tour, his final U.S. trek, set to wrap up next year. All 16 shows on the tour so far have been sellouts, and more than 80,000 fans recently came to see George at this year’s Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo at Reliant Center.

Here’s the Love Is Everything track listing:

“I Got a Car”
“Give It All We Got Tonight”
“Blue Melodies”
“I Just Can’t Do on Dying Like This”
“I Thought I Heard My Heart Sing”
“That What Breaking Hearts Do”
“When Love Comes Around Again”
“The Night Is Young”
“Sittin’ on the Fence”
“I Believe”
“Love Is Everything”
“You Don’t Know What You’re Missing”
“When the Credits Roll”

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Trace Adkins explores every facet of love on his new album, Love Will…, and he’s lined up some special guests to help him sing about that enchanting and often elusive emotion.

Grammy winner Colbie Caillat joins Trace on “Watch the World End,” a song you can stream now at TraceAdkins.com.  Trace also welcomes Exile to sing on a cover of their 1978 #1 hit “Kiss You All Over,” while the Harlem Gospel Choir lends their voice to the title cut, “Love Will.”

“I can’t say enough about what Colbie, the Harlem Gospel Choir and Exile brought to the table in their own way,” says Trace. “It is an honor to have such talented performers, songwriters and producers join me on the most inspiring, satisfying album of my career.” 

Love Will… is available for online pre-orders April 2.  If you pre-order the project at iTunes, you’ll get an immediate download of “Watch the World End” with Colbie Caillat.

Track Listing:
“When I Stop Loving You”
“So What If I Do”
“Come See Me”
“Right Now”
“Every One of You”
“The Altar of Your Love”
“Kiss You All Over” (Featuring Exile)
“If the Sun Comes Up”
“Say No to a Woman”
“Watch the World End” (Featuring Colbie Caillat)
“Love Will” (Featuring Harlem Gospel Choir”

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Thompson Square‘s Keifer and Shawna Thompson rocketed to stardom quickly over the past few years, and the story of that journey is told on the duo’s sophomore album, Just Feels Good.  Being on the road with the likes of Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum and, now, Luke Bryan, have had a big impact on the album’s sound too

“We kind of stretched out on this album,” Keifer tells ABC News Radio. “We wanted to play around with a lot more different sounds.  So, sonically, this is not going to even closely resemble the first album.  It’s completely different as far as from a sonic standpoint.  It’s just a 2.0 version of us.”

That experimentation even led Shawna to rap on the new song “Testing the Water,” but the entire project is grounded in Keifer and Shawna’s shared experiences.

Says Keifer, “You can actually sequence the album to the point where it starts when we very first get together on a song called ‘That’s So Me and You’ all the way to ‘What Am I Gonna Do,’ which is a song about Shawna’s dad that we just lost.”

Since those songs they wrote are so personal, any songs that came from outside writers had to reflect Keifer and Shawna’s story too.

“That’s what you have to have when you find outside songs because people are writing for their experience,” Keifer explains.

Thompson Square will support their new album with a concert at Livestream.com Thursday at 4 p.m. Eastern.

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The country music history book has been rewritten, and we’re guessing Reba must be smiling from ear to ear right about now.

According to the new edition of Joel Whitburn‘s Hot Country Songs 1944 – 2012, Reba has overtaken Dolly Parton as the most successful female act ever based on data from Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart.  Yahoo! Chart Watch reports that Alabama remains the top group, and Brooks & Dunn hold on to their status as the top duo in country music chart history.  Eddy Arnold is the top male artist and top artist overall based on those Hot Country Songs figures.

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The 48th Annual ACM Awards won’t be handed out until April 7, but a few of country’s hottest stars have already been named winners in the off-camera categories. Jason Aldean has been selected to the Crystal Milestone Award in recognition of his sold-out stadium concerts this year. Notably, Jason will become the first country artist to headline a show at Boston’s Fenway Park later this year.

Blake Shelton is being honored with the Gene Weed Special Achievement Award in recognition of his “unprecedented, unique and outstanding achievement” as a coach on NBC’s The Voice. That position has catapulted Blake to household name status and led to his own NBC Christmas special last December.

The Jim Reeves International Award goes to Lady Antebellum this year for their contribution in taking country music to the world. Since their global hit “Need You Now” topped the charts around the world, Lady A has taken their live show to 11 countries on three different continents. Those international dates include three sold-out shows at the Sydney Opera House in Australia and a spot opening for Bruce Springsteen at London’s Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde Park.  

This year’s Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award goes to The Judds and the late Keith Whitley. The Judds won seven consecutive Vocal Duo trophies from the ACM Awards in the 1980s, and scored 14 #1 hits in less than a decade. Keith Whitley’s small but influential catalog includes the chart-toppers “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” and “When You Say Nothing at All.” He’s also regarded as one of the most respected vocalists of his era. Whitley passed away in 1989 at age 33.

Legendary songwriter Guy Clark and the late Hank Williams are being honored with the Poet’s Award, which honors songwriters who have made outstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions to country music.

These off-camera winners will be recognized at the 7th Annual ACM Honors taking place September 10 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

 

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The ACM Experience event in Las Vegas is shaping up to be as big as the ACM Awards themselves. 

The event runs April 5 through 7 at The Orleans Hotel and Casino, and this year’s ACM Awards co-host Luke Bryan has signed on to host the ACM & Cabela’s Great Outdoors Archery Event on April 6.  Luke’s pal Jason Aldean is taking part in that event along with Kix Brooks, Easton Corbin, Justin Moore and newcomers Chris Janson, Jon Pardi and Thomas Rhett.

Easton and Thompson Square also will sign autographs at the Ram Ride and Drive test track within the ACM Experience.  In addition, fans can meet Thomas Rhett and Craig Campbell as part of the event’s Diet Dr. Pepper Red Carpet Experience, and Dustin Lynch and Joe Nichols will sign autographs at the ACM Expo presented by Roper.

For more information on all of these events and artist appearances is available on the ACM website.

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Brantley Gilbert is going up against his fiancé, Jana Kramer, and his pals in Florida Georgia Line in the fan-voted race for ACM new artist of the year this year, but don’t worry about any awkward moments between these friendly country stars. Brantley says it’s OK whoever takes the trophy home.

Florida Georgia Line actually opened shows for Brantley a few years back, and he tells ABC News Radio, “I couldn’t be more proud of those guys. They’re kicking some tail right now.  It really wouldn’t hurt my feelings regardless of who wins.” He adds, “If Jana or I win, it’s going to the same house. If Florida Georgia Line wins, they’re on the label with us, so it’s all still in the family.”

Brantley points out that all three acts have already won ACM Awards too. He took the ACM new male vocalist trophy while Jana has been named ACM new female vocalist, and the Florida Georgia Line guys are getting some hardware as the ACM new duo or group winners. All three acts will accept their awards and perform on Monday night’s GAC special ACM Top New Artist: 2013, hosted by reigning new artist winner Scotty McCreery.

As for Jana, she sees winning an ACM Award as a big vote of confidence from country fans and industry insiders alike.

“To be a part of a family, and to be even acknowledged is something that I’m like, “What?” Jana tells ABC News Radio. “So, it’s really cool. I feel like I’m doing something right, finally.”

Jana and Brantley will display their individual ACM trophies on their respective shelves in the music room downstairs at their house in Nashville. While Jana admits Brantley has a lot more industry accolades to display than she does right now, she says with a laugh, “I’m just gonna have my one little trophy in the middle. It’s gonna be great.”

Fan voting in the ACM new artist of the year and entertainer of the year categories is now underway at ACMVote.com. Fans can vote once per day until the 48th Annual ACM Awards are handed out Sunday, April 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS. Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton serve as co-hosts.

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Blake Shelton returns for a fourth season as a coach on NBC’s The Voice Monday night with veteran coach Adam Levine and new coaches Usher and Shakira. Blake has coached the winning contestant on the last two seasons of the show, but the new coaches have been coming on very strong as they’ve filmed this season’s blind auditions.

Blake says, “It wasn’t play time. They were very serious. They were determined to win this thing, you know. Adam and I were like, ‘Hey! Alright, I see how it is now, you know.'”

When trying to recruit team members, Usher and Shakira actually used Blake’s winning streak against him. They told the hopefuls there was no way Blake could win the show three seasons in a row, and their tactics really messed with Blake’s confidence.

He says, “Then I started going, ‘I bet people are tired of me winning.  I probably won’t win this thing three years in a row,’ and it starts working into your own mind.”

This season of The Voice is the first one without coaches Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green, though they both have an open invitation to return to the show in the future. Blake knows he can’t stay on The Voice forever either. When he decides to leave the show, Blake says it will be for good.

“I don’t see me ever walking away and then coming back,” he explains. “That just doesn’t make sense to me. I think it’s a phase, and once that chapter’s over, it’s over.”

Blake Shelton will welcome Sheryl Crow as his team mentor this season, and Lady Antebellum‘s Hillary Scott will provide guidance for Adam Levine’s team too.

In other Blake news, his new album, Based on a True Story…, comes out Tuesday. Look for him to promote it with a performance on NBC’s Today Tuesday morning followed by appearances on Live! with Kelly and Michael and NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday.

Blake’s promotional rounds continue on NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno on April 2 and CBS’s The Talk and E!’s Chelsea Lately on April 3. The promotional blitz culminates with Blake co-hosting the 48th Annual ACM Awards with Luke Bryan on Sunday, April 7 on CBS.

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Rum is never in short supply at a Kenny Chesney concert, and now it seems Kenny is launching his own line of the libation, Blue Chair Bay. There is a video of Kenny introducing the beverage posted on YouTube. In the clip, Kenny explains all the elements he worked to capture in the taste of his rum.

More details on Kenny’s rum are expected soon, and fans can keep an eye on BlueChairBay.com for any developments.

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