The Band Perry and Kacey Musgraves have joined the performers lineup for the 2013 Billboard Music Awards next month in Las Vegas. Taylor Swift is already slated to perform on the show, along with Prince, Justin Bieber, Pitbull and Christina Aguilera.
The 2013 Billboard Music Awards broadcast live on ABC Sunday, May 19 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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Miranda Lambert is clearly OK with owning and carrying a gun since she has two guns tattooed on her arm, and her breakthrough hit was titled “Gunpowder & Lead.” That being said, you won’t find Miranda telling anyone else how to think on the hot-button topic of gun control. Miranda is a big fan of the Dixie Chicks, and she learned that speaking out on politically charged topics can spell big trouble for a singer’s career.
Miranda tells TheBoot.com, “I don’t want to ever use my career or this thing that I’ve built as a platform to sway people to my direction, because, truthfully, I don’t care. I just want to believe what I believe and be happy, and people can believe what they believe. I don’t ever want to push my opinion on someone because I don’t want them pushing their opinion on me.”
Miranda has her concealed handgun permit and uses guns for hunting, but she knows firearms aren’t for everyone.
“Some people don’t feel like they need guns and that’s their prerogative,” Miranda says. “But I do think that we should each have a choice of one or the other.”
It’s no accident that Miranda’s group with Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley is called Pistol Annies. They’re new album, Annie Up, comes out May 7 featuring the lead single, “Hush Hush.”
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Tim McGraw and Faith Hill wrap up their limited engagement at The Venetian in Las Vegas this weekend, and Tim calls the 10-weekend run of shows a “dream job.”
He says, “It’s just been so much fun. You know, we had friends come out and family come out. Great shows every night.”
Though their Soul II Soul tours together have been blockbusters at the box office, Tim and Faith don’t get to sing together all that often.
Tim adds he is grateful “to sort of have that sort of special time that we can go out there and sing and put together this show that looked so beautiful and felt so cool in that theater. The Venetian people, I can’t imagine anybody being any nicer to us.”
Tim isn’t taking any time away from the stage though. He’ll fire up his Two Lanes of Freedom tour with Brantley Gilbert and Love and Theft on May 2 in Birmingham, AL.
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Country music legend George Jones died Friday in Nashville, Tennessee after being hospitalized April 18 with a fever and high blood pressure. Jones was 81 years old.
Jones was one of the defining artists in country music history, bearing the influence of the genre’s early pioneers Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell as he gained prominence in the mid-1950s.
Born in rural Saratoga, TX on September 12, 1931, Jones began singing on the streets as a child after the family moved to Beaumont, TX. Following a stint in the Marines, Jones recorded his first top-five hit, “Why Baby Way,” on the Texas-based Starday label in 1955. He then signed to Mercury Records and scored his first #1 hit in 1959 with “White Lightning.” Jones’ hits continued through the 1960s with country standards like “She Thinks I Still Care” and “The Race Is On.”
Jones had weathered two failed marriages by the time he married Tammy Wynette in 1969. The couple scored hit duets with “We’re Gonna Hold On,” “Golden Ring” and “Two Story House,” in the process earning the title of President and First Lady of Country Music. Jones and Wynette continued to record together well after their 1975 divorce, while Jones also continued racking up solo hits like “The Grand Tour” and “A Picture of Me (Without You).” Jones and Wynette reunited for an album and tour in 1995 and were on friendly terms when Wynette died in 1998.
In the late ’70s and early ’80s, Jones’ alcohol and cocaine addiction led to multiple arrests and hospital stays. He also missed dozens of concerts, earning the nickname “No-Show Jones.”
Despite his personal issues, in 1980 Jones released what is often hailed as one of the greatest songs in country music history: “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” The ballad was a #1 hit and won Jones several CMA Awards, as well as a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
Jones married wife Nancy Sepulveda in 1983, who’s credited with getting Jones’ personal and public lives back on track. He went on to win several more CMA Awards mostly thanks to collaborations with the likes of Brad Paisley, Patty Loveless, Garth Brooks and Buck Owens.
Following his 1992 induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Jones released his bestselling memoir, I Lived to Tell It All, in 1996.
Jones was seriously injured in a car accident 1999 while driving under the influence of alcohol. He released an album called Cold Hard Truth that same year that produced the CMA Awards-nominated single “Choices.”
Jones was honored with the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime achievement in 2008.
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Billy Currington turned himself in Thursday afternoon to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest Wednesday. His bond is set at $27,700, and the charges stem from an April 15 altercation in the waters in front of Currington’s residence near Tybee Island, GA.
The “People Are Crazy” singer was indicted Wednesday on charges of making terroristic threats against Charles Harvey Ferrelle. Currington is also charged with abuse of an elder person by inflicting mental anguish upon Ferrelle, who is more than 65 years old. Each charge is a felony in Georgia and could come with a one-to-five year prison sentence.
Ferrelle reportedly spoke with police the day of the incident, telling them Currington began yelling at his boat that afternoon when he drove in front of Currington’s property. Currington then got in his boat and chased Ferrelle’s boat back to his slip according to the police report. Once they got on land, Currington apparently threatened to beat Ferrelle up.
Also, while Currington was pursuing Ferrelle, he apparently got too close to another boat dock and nearly knocked an elderly man in the water. It’s not clear if the elder abuse charge is connected to that incident as well.
Currington posted a statement on Twitter Wednesday saying, “I wanted to thank everyone for the huge amount of support that I have received already. Unfortunately, I can’t comment on this situation as this is an ongoing legal matter. It means a lot to me to have your support during this time.”
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Jason Aldean and his wife Jessica Ussery are separated according to a report from Us Weekly. A source tells the magazine the split happened back in January, and they also point out Ussery wasn’t at the ACM Awards with Aldean earlier this month in Las Vegas.
Aldean was photographed getting intimate with former American Idol contestant Brittany Kerr at a bar in Los Angeles last year, but the source adds that there was trouble with the marriage before that incident. The couple has two daughters.
Jason’s rep confirmed the couple is going through a tough time. The rep tells Us, “There is nothing more to share at this time. It’s a private family matter, and we hope everyone will respect that he would like to keep it that way.”
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Any truly beautiful person will tell you how you feel about yourself has a lot to do with how you look. The country stars who’ve made this year’s Most Beautiful list in People magazine reveal a few things they’ve learned about themselves that help them feel beautiful inside and out.
For Carrie Underwood, it was the love her husband that helped her truly feel beautiful. She says, “I’ve spent a fair share of money on creams and makeup to help minimize my scars. Then I met Mike Fisher. He made me feel loved and beautiful…scars and all.”
Taylor Swift has graced the cover of Vogue and countless other magazines, but she had to make peace with her light skin tone before she felt beautiful.
“I’m pretty pale,” Taylor says. “In high school I was insecure and thought it’d be cool to go to a tanning bed. Now I just let it look the way it looks.”
Tim McGraw is also featured in People‘s Most Beautiful issue. His sense of confidence in his own decisions is what makes Tim feel attractive.
He says, “I’ve learned that my instincts are usually pretty good and to trust them.”
As for being selected for this list, Tim says, “Thank God for country music. That’s my reaction ’cause I sure wouldn’t be picked standing on the street corner. It’s a good thing I’ve got a guitar in my hand up under the lights.”
At age 58, Reba is also highlighted in the Beautiful at Every Age feature in People‘s Most Beautiful issue. You can pick it up on stands Friday.
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Billy Currington was indicted Wednesday on charges of making terroristic threats against Charles Harvey Ferrelle. Currington is also charged with abuse of an elder person by inflicting mental anguish upon Ferrelle, who is more than 65 years-old. A bench warrant is now out for Currington’s arrest.
The incident reportedly took place April 15 in the waters in front of Currington’s residence near Tybee Island, GA. According to The Tennessean, Ferrelle spoke with police that day telling them Currington began yelling at his boat that afternoon when he drove in front of Currington’s property. Currington then got in his boat and chased Ferrelle’s boat back to his slip according to the police report. Once they got on land, Currington apparently threatened to beat Ferrelle up.
Also, while Currington was pursuing Ferrelle, he apparently got too close to another boat dock and nearly knocked an elderly man in the water. It’s not clear if the elder abuse charge is connected to that incident as well.
Currington posted a statement on Twitter Wednesday saying, “I wanted to thank everyone for the huge amount of support that I have received already. Unfortunately, I can’t comment on this situation as this is an ongoing legal matter. It means a lot to me to have your support during this time.”
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Keith Urban held his annual All 4 the Hall concert in Nashville last week, and the event raised nearly $650,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Tim McGraw and Willie Nelson were among the stars on the bill entertaining a sold-out crowd of nearly 14,000 fans.
Since it started four years ago, the All 4 the Hall concerts have raised more than $2 million for the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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Willie Nelson welcomed Sheryl Crow, Jamey Johnson, Norah Jones, Ashley Monroe, Neil Young and Leon Russell for a new CMT Crossroads special taping in Nashville last week. Jack White hosted the show at his Third Man Records in Music City, and the cast of stars toasted Willie’s upcoming 80th birthday during the taping. He’ll celebrate that milestone April 29.
CMT Crossroads: Willie Nelson & Friends from Third Man Records will premiere in late June on CMT.
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Some of Nashville’s biggest stars are lending their voices to a new compilation CD featuring songs from some very special writers. Everybody Has a Story features stars like Kix Brooks, Faith Hill, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and more performing songs penned by young patients at the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Music City.
The kids wrote the songs during their clinical music therapy sessions over the past six years, and the patients or the patient’s families were invited to the studio to watch the artists bring their songs to life.
Vanderbilt music therapist Jenny Plume says, “For those patient songwriters who have passed on, this will be a legacy to celebrate their lives.
Proceeds from the album will go to the Julian T. Founce Music Therapy Fund at Vanderbilt. The album will be released May 14 through all digital outlets and music retailers in the U.S. and Canada.
For more information, go to EverybodyHasaStoryCD.com.
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While making his first two gold-selling albums, Justin Moore knew exactly what he wanted them to sound like before he ever stepped foot in the studio. For his self-titled debut, Justin went for a cross between southern rock and traditional country, and he changed the formula a bit for the follow-up.
Says Justin, “I feel like the newer album, the Outlaws Like Me album, was more traditional-country sounding than the previous record. Or at least that was our goal.”
Justin recently finished working on his upcoming third album, featuring his latest hit, “Point at You,” and he admits he took a different approach this time around.
“With this one, I had no idea what the heck I wanted to do with it, at all,” Justin explains. “And I’m a fan of people who make a different album every time and not the same thing over and over and over. That just kind of came to me with the songs that we heard; the songs I wrote.”
Look for Justin’s new album to land in stores in the coming months.
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Brad Paisley will appear on the season finale of ABC’s Nashville. TV’s Extra reports he will play himself and perform with Connie Britton‘s Rayna and Charles Esten‘s Deacon.
Brad’s wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, who has a recurring role on the show as Peggy Kenter, will also appear in the Nashville season finale, scheduled for May 22.
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