Chris Young has several treats for his fans this week starting with an appearance on Katie Wednesday.  He’s set to perform on the show and chat with Katie Couric alongside Reba and Nashville star Connie Britton.  Chris also sings his latest hit, “I Can Take It from There.”

The fun continues Thursday with Chris hosting a Livestream event Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET.  He’ll sing songs and interact with fans during the session at New.Livestream.com/LiveStreamSessions/ChrisYoung.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

 

 

 

Brantley Gilbert still considers himself a “hell-raiser” even though he’s given up the bottle.  He made the decision to get sober more than a year ago, and it’s been a positive change for Brantley.

He tells TheBoot.com, “I felt like I could be more productive if I didn’t [drink], and it wasn’t something I really needed in my life.”

Though he doesn’t go into details, Brantley admits the decision to stop drinking was prompted by things that were going on around him too.  Now that he’s sober, Brantley is thankful for the people in his life who help him stay that way. That group includes Brantley’s fiancée, Jana Kramer.

Says Brantley, “I actually have a really good support system.  People around me have been really cool.”

Brantley will hit the road with fellow sober country star Tim McGraw this summer on the Two Lanes of Freedom tour, launching May 2 in Birmingham, AL.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

 

 

 

Eric Church is the leading nominee for the 48th Annual ACM Awards, scoring seven nods. Hunter Hayes picked up six nominations, while Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift are tied with five apiece. Miranda is going up against her husband Blake Shelton in the Entertainer of the Year category, which also includes Taylor, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan.

The Entertainer of the Year and New Artist of the Year categories will be opened up to a fan vote. The New Artist of the Year nominees have all already won their individual categories: Brantley Gilbert is this year’s New Male Vocalist; Jana Kramer is the New Female Vocalist winner and Florida Georgia Line is the winner for New Vocal Duo or Group.

The 48th Annual ACM Awards will be handed out live on CBS, Sunday, April 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan are set to co-host the telecast.

Here are the 48th Annual ACM Awards Nominees:

Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift

Male Vocalist
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Toby Keith
Blake Shelton

Female Vocalist
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Kacey Musgraves
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Vocal Duo of the Year 
Big & Rich
Florida Georgia Line
Love and Theft
Sugarland
Thompson Square

Vocal Group of the Year
The Band Perry
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Zac Brown Band

Album of the Year
Blown Away, Carrie Underwood
Chief, Eric Church
Red, Taylor Swift
tailgates & tanlines, Luke Bryan
Tornado, Little Big Town

Song of the Year (Award to Songwriter)
“A Woman Like You,” Lee Brice (Phil Barton, Jonny Bulford, Jon Stone)
“Even if It Breaks Your Heart,” Eli Young Band (Will Hoge, Eric Paslay)
“Over You,” Miranda Lambert (Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton)
“Springsteen,” Eric Church (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell)
“Wanted,” Hunter Hayes (Hunter Hayes, Troy Verges)

Single Record
“Even if It Breaks Your Heart,” Eli Young Band
“Over You,” Miranda Lambert
“Pontoon,” Little Big Town
“Springsteen,” Eric Church
“Wanted,” Hunter Hayes

Video of the Year
“Creepin’,” Eric Church
“Wanted,” Hunter Hayes
“Tornado,” Little Big Town
“Merry Go ‘Round,” Kacey Musgraves
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor Swift
“The Wind,” Zac Brown Band

New Artist of the Year
Jana Kramer,  New Female Vocalist Winner
Brantley Gilbert, New Male Vocalist Winner
Florida Georgia Line, New Vocal Duo or Group Winner

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

 

 

 

Country Music Hall of Famers Alabama will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their very first concert at The Bowery in Myrtle Beach, SC with the Back to the Bowery tour. The trek launches April 5 in Myrtle Beach and continues into the fall, playing theaters and amphitheaters.

Alabama hasn’t toured on this scale since 2002, and front man Randy Owen notes, “We still love one another, have played music together all these years, and are blessed to still be around.”

The band is also excited to see their fans again. Randy adds, “To be able to go back out and play for them will make this a very special year.”

For ticket information, go to TheAlabamaBand.com.

Here are the Back to the Bowery Tour Dates:

4/5 – 4/6 — Myrtle Beach, SC, Alabama Theatre
4/26 — Wallingford, Ct, Oakdale Theatre Presented by Toyota
4/27 — Rama, ON (CAN), Casino Rama
5/1 — Westbury, NY, The NYCB Theatre at Westbury
5/17 — Atlanta, GA, Fox Theatre
7/5 — Orange Beach, AL, Amphitheater at the Wharf
8/30 — Highland Park, Il, Ravinia Festival
8/31 — Hinckley, MN, Grand Casino
10/4 -10/5 — Minot, ND, Norsk Hostfest
10/12 — Thackerville, OK, Winstar Casino

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry 

 

 

 

Kacey Musgraves‘ “Merry Go Round” video has racked up more than 2.7 million views on Vevo, but the clip had very humble beginnings.  Kacey and her friend actually made the clip while surfing the Internet in that friend’s kitchen.

She tells ABC News Radio, “We stumbled upon this archive full of vintage footage like that, and it was really cool because you could search by keyword.  So, we looked up suburbia, 1960 family, church, whatever.”

Kacey feels the archival footage of that long-gone era captures the small town repression she sings about in “Merry Go Round.”

She says, “Especially back in the day, that whole thing of like, look pretty and be proper and don’t air your dirty laundry kind of thing, that is crazy to me ’cause it’s just gonna make it worse later, you know?”

Kacey certainly doesn’t hold back in her own songwriting.  You can hear more of it when her debut album, Same Trailer Different Park, lands in stores March 19. She’ll perform “Merry Go Round” on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

 

 

 

Blake Shelton will release his new album, Based on a True Story… on March 26.  The 12-song set will feature Blake’s latest hit, “Sure Be Cool If You Did.”  He’ll promote the project on his Ten Times Crazier tour launching July 19 with special guests Easton Corbin and Jana Kramer.

Here’s the Based on a True Story… track listing:

“Boys ‘Round Here”
“Sure Be Cool if You Did”
“Do You Remember”
“Small Town Big Time”
“Country on the Radio”
“My Eyes”
“Doing What She Likes”
“Still Got a Finger”
“Mine Would Be You”
“Lay Low”
“Ten Times Crazier”
“Granddaddy’s Gun”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

 

 

 

Tim McGraw is expected to land his 15th top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart this week with Two Lanes of Freedom. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the set could sell up to 100,000 copies in its first week, putting it at #1 behind Josh Groban‘s new release, All That Echoes.

Two Lanes of Freedom will most likely debut at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart too, making it Tim’s 14th project to top that tally.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

 

 

 

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards are now in the history books, but you can keep the memory alive with some memorabilia from the Grammy Foundation’s latest online auction.  Head over to eBay.com/Grammy to bid on a guitar autographed by Jason Aldean or official Grammy merchandise autographed by Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood. 

Dolly Parton has also donated music memorabilia to the auction benefiting the Grammy Foundation and MusiCares, which provides aid to musicians in need.  The auction runs through February 21.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

 

 

 

Brad Paisley‘s new album, Wheelhouse, is due out April 9 featuring the hit single, “Southern Comfort Zone.”  That first single threw a curveball to country fans with the gospel choir and clips from The Andy Griffith Show peppering the track.  Brad has a few more surprises in store for fans on Wheelhouse, including a collaboration with rapper-turned actor LL Cool J.  Brad had met LL before, but he got a mutual friend to hook them up in the studio for this project.

Brad says of LL Cool J, “He’s a great songwriter, and more importantly, he’s a great human being.  He’s a really nice man, and he is a class act.  And I am lucky to associate with him at all.”

Brad also tapped Charlie Daniels for a guest appearance on Wheelhouse in a way fans won’t expect.  All of this experimentation is an effort on Brad’s part to test the limits of country music.

“The stuff is really meant to say things that I didn’t think you could say,” Brad says of his new material.  He points out that in other genres, like rap, artists can’t really shock their listeners because the fans have heard it all before.

Says Brad, “I’m a little envious of that.  In country music, there’s quite a few boundaries, and I think there should be boundaries, but I also wonder what those are.  And that’s what I set out to explore with this.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

 

 

 

Here are the winners of the 55th Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night:

Album of the Year
Mumford & Sons, Babel

Record of the Year
Gotye featuring Kimbra, “Somebody That I Used to Know”

Song Of The Year [awarded to songwriter]
“We Are Young,” Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (fun. featuring Janelle Monae)

Best New Artist
fun.

Best Pop Vocal Album
Kelly Clarkson, Stronger

Best Pop Solo Performance
“Set Fire To The Rain (Live),” Adele

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Somebody That I Used To Know,” Gotye featuring Kimbra

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Kisses On The Bottom, Paul McCartney

Best Rock Performance
“Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys

Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
“Love Bites (So Do I),” Halestorm

Best Rock Song
“Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys

Best Rock Album
El Camino, The Black Keys

Best Alternative Music Album
Making Mirrors, Gotye

Best R&B Performance
“Climax,” Usher

Best Traditional R&B Performance
“Love On Top,” Beyoncé

Best R&B Song
“Adorn,” Miguel

Best Urban Contemporary Album
Channel Orange, Frank Ocean

Best R&B Album
Black Radio, Robert Glasper Experiment

Best Rap Performance
“N****s In Paris,” Jay-Z & Kanye West

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“No Church In The Wild,” Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream

Best Rap Song
“N****s In Paris,” Jay-Z & Kanye West

Best Rap Album
Take Care, Drake

Best Country Solo Performance
Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“Pontoon,” Little Big Town

Best Country Song
“Blown Away,” Carrie Underwood

Best Country Album
Uncaged, Zac Brown Band

Song Written For Visual Media
“Safe & Sound” (From The Hunger Games), Taylor Swift, John Paul White, Joy Williams

Short-Form Music Video
“We Found Love,” Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris

Long-Form Music Video
“Big Easy Express,” Mumford & Sons

Best Spoken Word
Society’s Child: My Autobiography, Janis Ian

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry