Miranda Lambert says moments like Sunday’s ACM Awards make all the struggles of a celebrity marriage worthwhile.  Miranda shared Song of the Year honors with husband Blake Shelton, for co-writing her hit “Over You.” She also went on to win Single and Female Vocalist honors at the show her husband co-hosted.

“You know it’s not easy all the time being on opposite sides of the country and, you know, traveling and all that,” she shares. “But when you get to celebrate moments like this together and when you go through the hard stuff together, those are the moments that actually count. All the rest is fluff.”

As for her long-term marriage philosophy, Miranda has adopted an attitude she learned from her parents.

“Like I always say my mom said to my dad, ‘Divorce is not an option,’ she says.  “We really love each other and have a real marriage outside of all of this.”

Miranda even predicts her marriage to Blake will outlast their country careers.

“When this is all said and done we will be drinking a beer together on a front porch somewhere, reminiscing about the good old days, and that’s what I’m happy about.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Of all the songs on Brad Paisley’s new CD Wheelhouse, none is generating as much buzz as his duet with LL Cool J on “Accidental Racist.” In the song, the two each give their perspective on race relations, 150 years after the Civil War.

Much like in the song, Brad started thinking about the issue after he wore an Alabama t-shirt with a Confederate flag in the design into Starbucks. He was surprised to find out it offended the African-American barista.

“I’m the guy that kind of walks in sort of blindly wearing something that I never imagined was offensive,” he tells ABC News Radio.

Thinking about what happened, Brad came up with the idea to explore it in song. LL Cool J seemed like the perfect person to offer the alternate take on the issue.

“LL is one of the classiest people I’ve ever known, and when I wanted to have this discussion because I don’t know the answers to this…Having that conversation and asking that person, ‘How does this make you feel?’ and that’s what I got to do with him, when he was writing his verse.”

Brad recalls a very honest moment, when it came time for LL to write how cowboy hats and rebel flags make him feel.

“LL thought about it and he said, ‘You know, I think you wish I wasn’t here when I see that,’ and it’s like, ‘Well say that then, let’s hear it. Let’s hear what that’s like.’”

While Brad is quick to admit he doesn’t have the answers to the questions the song raises, he believes simply asking the question is the first step.

“I don’t know what the answer is,” he says, “but I know that asking the question of ‘How do we show our Southern pride and what do we do and how do we be sensitive?’ is the first step toward us all taking a big deep breath and going, ‘Alright let’s respect each other and figure this out.’” 

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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How do you make a Scotty McCreery peanut butter and jelly sandwich?  Apparently, it involves an entire box of cereal. The American Idol winner gives a lesson on how to craft the perfect PB & J as part of a new campaign from DoSomething.org.

“There’s only one way to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Peanut butter, your jam, and– don’t be shy,” he cautions. “Then your cereal.”

Scotty dumps the whole box of cereal on his plate, before finishing the sandwich and shoving it in his mouth. “Anybody got a napkin?” he mumbles, with his mouth full.

The comical clip is part of the “Peanut Butter and Jam Slam” to encourage people to donate peanut butter and jelly to their local food pantries to fight hunger.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Tim McGraw held court at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Monday night, introducing a sold-out crowd to the country sounds they’ll hear on the road this summer. The concert will air as the ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night next month on CBS, and the show features a performance of Tim’s latest single “Highway Don’t Care,” featuring Keith Urban and Taylor Swift.

Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, JaCancelson Aldean and this year’s ACM Entertainer of the Year, Luke Bryan,joined Tim and rock legend John Fogerty onstage for the finale performance of “Born on the Bayou.”

The show kicked off with pop star Pitbull singing his hit “Feel This Moment” with Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton‘s pal from The Voice, appearing virtually on the screen. Pitbull also performed with Tim on the country hit, “Felt Good on My Lips.” Tim later teamed up with Ne Yo for a performance of “She Is,” their collaboration from Ne Yo’s recent album, R.E.D.

Lady Antebellum previewed the song “Goodbye Town” from their new album, Golden, landing in stores May 7. The Band Perry reworked their ACM Awards performance of “DONE.” for the upcoming broadcast, and Tim delivered a rousing version of “Mexicoma” from his latest album, Two Lanes of Freedom.

Tim’s new tour mate, Brantley Gilbert,performed his #1 country hit “Country Must Be Country Wide,” and Tim’s wife Faith Hill performed her 1994 cover of the Janis Joplin hit “Piece of My Heart.” Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean and Dierks Bentley also took solo turns on the show.

Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night airs May 19 on CBS.

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     NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Kenny Rogers, Bobby Bare and Jack Clement are the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
 
     The trio of new inductees attended a news conference Wednesday at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.
 
     Each has had a significant impact on music.
 
     Rogers was both a pop crossover and a pop culture sensation in the 1970s and ’80s with songs like “The Gambler” and the Lionel Richie-produced “Lady.”
 
     “Cowboy” Jack Clement, a colorful artist and producer, played a crucial role in the history of music, working as a producer and engineer at Sun Records before moving to Nashville.
 
     And Bare charted his own path, emulating the free-thinking outlaw movement and veering from country to pop and rock.

 

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When you listen to Caught in the Act: Live for the first time, Eric Church wants you to know that the CD is just what the name implies — a spontaneous musical event.

“We made this set list for this live record an hour before show time with a pencil and a piece of paper,” he recalls of the recording last October. “I just went out and looked at the band. I said, ‘What do you guys want to play tonight?’ There was no rhyme. There was no reason. It was about the music. We left the lights up so that people, I could see ’em. They could interact with me.”

In addition to hits like “Smoke a Little Smoke,” the 17-song CD also includes concert favorites like “These Boots” and “Before She Does.”

After it was done, Eric says he was anxious to listen to the recording of his show at Chattanooga’s Tivoli Theatre.

“I’m always nervous about live records because I have some that I adore, and I have some that I’d just rather buy the regular record,” he admits. “So, for me, it was a sigh of relief when I heard it, and I realized that that energy was there and that feeling was there that we wanted to capture.”

Eric’s first live album makes it debut in stores and online today.

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Brad Paisley likes the concept of “wheelhouse” so much that he named both his home studio and his new CD after it.  But, he admits, at first he didn’t know exactly what it meant.

“I like to throw big words around, and sometimes I get ’em right,” he jokes.

Initially, Brad thought it had something to do with automobiles.  But Brad finally found out the word is best known for its use in America’s pastime.

“I always just pictured sort of the wheel well of a car,” he says. “And then I realized it was baseball, and what they’re talking about is the strike zone and the area where when you follow through on the sort of circular motion of a swing that you’ll hit the ball the best.”

You actually hear Brad sing the lyric in his hit “Southern Comfort Zone.”

“I had said, ‘When your wheelhouse is the land of cotton,’ I said, ‘That feels like that’s the name of the record, Wheelhouse,’ because this is all about exploring my comfort zone and what am I comfortable doing and what am I uncomfortable doing and let’s see if I can make that now something that’s within this wheelhouse of mine.”

On this record, Brad stretches past his comfort zone, producing the record himself, a first for Brad.  Wheelhouse is new in stores today.

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This year’s Academy of Country Music Awards not only made big winners of artists like Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan, it also helped CBS come out on top.

The 48th Annual ACMs was the most-watched program of the night, with the show’s biggest audience in fifteen years. 2013 will also go down in history as the first year the ACM show had more viewers than the CMA Awards.

In all, fans cast more than a million votes for Entertainer and New Artist of the Year, with Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line taking home those trophies.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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The day after winning the ACM Entertainer of the Year trophy, Luke Bryan posted a special post-show thank-you to his fans on his YouTube channel.

“I have been yelling and partying and screaming and shouting and crying, really every emotion you can have,” he says, commenting on how obviously hoarse he is in the video.  “All those emotions are what you guys have done for me…making my life go to a whole ‘nother level and a whole new special place.”

Luke also jokes that juggling his hosting duties and performing a new song did get the best of him, at least once.  “It was awesome getting to do the new single ‘Crash My Party,’ which I messed up the first lyric,” he admitted. “So go download it so you can hear the proper lyric.”

That song is the first single from Luke’s forthcoming fourth studio album.

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Country’s biggest stars showered both the fans and the military with gifts at Saturday’s ACM Party for a Cause Festival.

Lee Brice’s “Parking Lot Party” seemed to be the appropriate theme for the outdoor show just east of the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, while Hunter Hayes hinted at his Sunday performance with Stevie Wonder by singing “Superstition.” Eli Young Band left the stage with a shower of guitar picks, sweaty towels and drumsticks for the fans.

Host Kix Brooks brought out the cast of A&E’s Duck Dynasty to help pass out a few checks for the festival’s chosen cause: America’s military. The ACM donated $25,000 to both the Wounded Warrior Project and Folds of Honor, plus $10,000 to Nellis Air Force Base Support Squadron.

Dierks Bentley continued showing fans the love, bringing one onstage to play guitar and heading into the audience to give an autographed one to another. Then the big surprises started.

First, Sheryl Crow harmonized with Dierks, before performing her hit “If It Makes You Happy.” Then, Tim McGraw appeared strategically as Dierks sang “Home.” 

Thanks in part to Tim, Army Sgt. Matthew Pickar and his wife walked away with the biggest surprise of the night — a new house from Operation Homefront. Tim couldn’t resist joining in with the generosity, giving the couple $10,000 to get them started.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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Monday’s taping of ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night promises “high octane performances and music collaborations,” and even Jason Aldean is expecting an unpredictable night.

“I think a lot of us are not really a hundred percent sure what it is…We don’t really know what to expect yet,” he says. “But obviously, you’re gonna have a lot of us there, and it should be a fun night.”

With rappers Nelly and Pitbull set to join artists like John Fogerty, Faith Hill, Florida Georgia Line and The Band Perry, it looks like Jason is probably right. R&B artist Ne-Yo will be in the mix as well, while Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum will all preview their summer tours.

Jason believes the two-hour special to kick off the summer tour season is even good for the acts that don’t happen to be on the show.

“It’s like you’re promoting all the big tours that are going on in country music and just the format in general,” he says. “The more people we have listening to our brand of music the better for all of us.”

But for Jason, it was one of his heroes’ names in the title that sealed the deal.

“I’m a big fan of Tim’s and the fact that he’s a part of it obviously was a big reason that I wanted to do it.”

You can see ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night Sunday May 19 at 9:00 ET on CBS.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

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