Garth Brooks will return to Las Vegas in 2014 and this time he’s bringing his band. The Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas will host Garth Brooks: The Man, His Band And His Music Jan. 3-4. The shows will focus on Brooks’ own catalogue instead of featuring songs by artists that influenced him, as he did with his one-man show. Details here.

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Dolly Parton‘s “Jolene” and Kris Kristofferson‘s self-titled debut album are among the recordings to be inducted into the 2014 Grammy Hall Of Fame. They’ll join Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” The Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women,” U2’s The Joshua Tree and more from the 2014 class, which marks the Hall’s 40th anniversary. A 150-plus-page collector’s edition book to commemorate the event is available here.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – The combination of Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan at the Academy of Country Music Awards was so good, they’re doing it again. They will return to co-host the awards, set for April 6 in Las Vegas. It’s Shelton’s fourth time hosting, and Bryan’s second time.

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WASHINGTON (AP) – Naomi Judd’s work as an activist will get special recognition this weekend. She will receive the Humane Legacy Award from the American Humane Association, a charity that works to protect animals and children. Judd’s charity work includes food drives, women’s issues and liver health. Judd will receive her award in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday.

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Garth Brooks Live From Las Vegas was first in its 9-11pm ET time slot Friday (11/29) and helped power CBS-TV to a first-place finish on the night. The special pulled in 8.75 million viewers (1.8 rating/6 share). NBC-TV‘s Grimm was second in the first hour with 5.66 million (1.3/4), followed byABC-TV‘s Shark Tank (1.2/4). In the second hour, ABC took second with 20/20 and NBC’s Dracula placed third.

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NASHVILLE (AP) – Dictionary.com will go country this week. The site has teamed up with the Grand Ole Opry to showcase words that country music made famous, like “dobro” and “bluegrass.” The trivia section of Dictionary.com will also feature words used in country songs performed by artists who belong to the Opry, like Trace Adkins and Carrie Underwood. It will also feature trivia with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town.

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CMA Country Christmas is tonight on ABC at 8 pm Central.
Hosted by Jennifer Nettles, the show will feature Trace Adkins, Luke Bryan, Jake Owen, Darius Rucker and others.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Garth Brooks says some of his fans might be surprised to hear some of the songs he will perform in his TV special tonight. Brooks says the show is about his musical influences – and he says that was shaped by what he listened to at home. He says he got a heavy dose of soul, R&B and Motown, along with the rock and country served up by his mom at home. He says all those different styles of music were “forced down my neck” – and he says it was so good that he would “eat it and drink it willingly.” Brooks hopes you will tune in, willingly or otherwise, to the special, which airs on CBS.

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UNDATED (AP) – Lynn Anderson has a great excuse for missing the George Jones tribute concert last Friday: she was in a car accident. Anderson says on her Facebook page her SUV blew its front right tire as she was on her way to the show and she went off the road and into gravel. She says she got “a pretty good cut” on her head. A passer-by saw the accident and called an ambulance. She was released from a hospital after two days. Anderson says she doesn’t even know the man’s name but would like him to come forward so she can thank him in person.

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NEW YORK (AP) – Carrie Underwood says her experience as an “American Idol” winner will be a big help to her when she tackles a role in a live TV production of the “Sound of Music.” It’s her first major acting role – but she says being on Idol has made her comfortable with performing live on TV. She says at least with the musical, “there’s no chance of me being voted out.” Underwood made sure that she would be around for the show – she showed up two weeks before the six-week rehearsal period began – with all of her lines memorized. Co-producer Neil Meron says Underwood “is one of the bravest artists” he’s worked with. Underwood says she feels like she’s learning something every day in rehearsals. The show airs December 5.

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UNDATED (AP) – What got Miranda Lambert angry at the tabloids — rumors that she’s getting divorced? No. That she’s pregnant? No. It’s that they’re claiming she lost weight through surgery. Lambert writes on her Web site she never cares what tabloids report about her but she denies she had surgery to drop weight. She says she lost it “the healthy and good old-fashioned way” by watching what she ate and working out with a trainer. She says she doesn’t know how many pounds she lost. She says it’s not about a scale but how you feel and how your jeans fit. Lambert calls herself “a normal size girl” and she encourages people to be confident at any size.

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