Congratulations to Sandy Karst from Dorrance! She is the winner of a brand new Carrico Implement John Deere Gator!
There were 60 finalists chosen from our various remote locations during The Great Gator Giveaway the past couple of months.
Sandy was the last person standing in the giveaway and won the Gator.
Thanks to all of our listeners and finalists for participating!
Newcomer Greg Bates is a horrible gift giver, and he knows it. Though he buys actual gifts for the people in his immediate family, everyone else in his life will be getting the same thing this year.
Greg says, “I’m the guy that will give you a gift card or cash because it’s really hard for me to find the one perfect gift to give everybody every year and sometimes it’s just easier.”
He doesn’t exactly feel bad about giving gift cards though.
“I like to think that if I give somebody a gift card then they can go spend it on whatever they want to spend it on,” Greg explains.
Greg Bates scored his first top five single this year with “Did It for the Girl.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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This year’s CMA Country Christmas premieres on ABC Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET with repeat showings on the nights of Saturday, December 22 and Sunday, December 23. Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland returns as host with Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Martina McBride and Scotty McCreeryon the performers list.
Colbie Caillat, John Legend and Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins round out the performers lineup, and Jennifer likes seeing acts from outside country music join in the show.
She says, “You can see that lots of people are becoming interested in the show. That it is expanding beyond even country music. That people want to come in and contribute and be a part of it and celebrate as well.”
The stars also sit down for fireside chats about their Christmas memories and traditions during the two-hour show. Elements of comedy add an old-school variety show feel to the program.
Says Jennifer, “I love that element of just the entertainment value, and I love that it is entertainment that the family can enjoy.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Reba and Kelly Clarksoninterviewed each other on Twitter Wednesday as part of The Recording Academy’s Artist Interview Series, and the two stars and friends got some interesting answers out of each other.
Reba and Kelly have toured together in the past, and they could work together again on Reba’s sitcom Malibu Country. Kelly asked Reba when she could guest star on the show, and Reba answered back, “When we get the script just perfect for you!!! That’ll be a blast!”
Kelly is also newly engaged to Reba’s stepson Brandon Blackstock, so Kelly asked her fiance’s stepmom if there was anything she should know about him at this point. Reba said, “I think you know all you need to for now! If you knew it all, it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun in the future! :))”
Reba also offered her singing services at Kelly and Brandon’s wedding, but she got a little nervous when Kelly requested she sing “Let’s Get It On,” which Kelly identified as an Al Green number but which, of course, was by Marvin Gaye.
For the complete transcript of Reba and Kelly’s Twitter conversation, go to Twitter.com/TwitterMusic.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Justin Moore‘s Christmases are even sweeter now that he has two daughters, Ella and Kennedy, to celebrate with around the tree. Though Ella is only three, she’s already had some pretty eventful holidays. Justin recalls her first Christmas, saying, “She actually got her first tooth on Christmas morning. You know, that was pretty neat to see and something we’ll always remember.”
Justin’s daughters can look forward to getting a lot of gifts from daddy this year too. He says, “Of course I’m gonna spoil them rotten. That’s my job as a daddy, especially to little girls.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Miranda Lambert used her personal sense of style when choosing the items for her new store, The Pink Pistol, in Oklahoma. Now she’s taking that fashion sense to Project Runway.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miranda will be one of the guest judges on the 11th season of Project Runway on Lifetime. Other guest judges include Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Joan Rivers and Jordana Brewster of TNT’s Dallas.
Of note, designer Zac Posen will replace Michael Kors on this season’s judges panel, though Kors will return for the season finale. Heidi Klum and Nina Garcia remain on the panel.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Lee Brice is ending 2012 with a bang as his latest #1 hit, “Hard to Love,” picks up a platinum certification for a million paid downloads. The follow-up single, “I Drive Your Truck,” is also shaping up to be Lee’s fastest rising-single ever.
Lee says, “I can’t think of a better way to end the year than this. I’m floored by the support of my friends at country radio and my fans who continue to believe in me…can’t wait for 2013!”
The good news keeps coming for Lee, with New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica naming the singer’s Hard 2 Love album among the top-10 releases of 2012. iTunes also named Hard 2 Love their Top Breakthrough Country Album of the Year.
Copyuright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Reba, Miranda Lambert, Sara Evans and Kelly Clarkson are taking part in a Twitter Q&A among female artists as part of The Recording Academy’s Artist Interview Series. The ongoing conversation continues now through December 20. You can see the complete transcription at Twitter.com/TwitterMusic.
Sheryl Crow and newcomer RaeLynn are also taking part in the Twitter conversation, designed to build anticipation for the 55th Annual Grammy awards, happening Sunday, February 10 in Los Angeles.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Little Big Town is capping off their incredible 2012 with a performance of “Pontoon” on The X Factor Wednesday night. The group will sing their #1 hit with finalist Tate Stevenson the first part of this season’s finale on Fox. The show starts at 8 p.m. ET.
Looking forward to 2013, Little Big Town will kick off The Tornado Tour on January 31 in Murray, KY with special guests David Nail and Kacey Musgraves.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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(AP) – Like any touring group, Thompson Square is looking to shore up its own fan base. But the members of the husband-wife duo say they are also hoping to pick up a few new fans along the way. They are opening for the Luke Bryan tour. And Shawna Thompson says she hopes they will also find that some of the fans who come to see the headliner will appreciate their work, too. Hubby Keifer agrees – saying that the tour is also an opportunity for them to play a set a middle slot on the tour. He says they “are really looking forward to that.”
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Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney‘s Brothers of the Sun Tour played 23 stadium shows for more than a million fans in 2012. The trek grossed more than $96 million to come in at #7 on Billboard‘s Top 25 Tour of 2012 list.
Jason Adean is at #13 on the list with nearly $40 million coming in from 59 sold out shows in 2012. His My Kinda Party tour played to more than 984,000 fans in the time period represented in the chart — from November 2011 to November 2012.
Lady Antebellum ranked at #14 with more than $38 million coming in from 88 shows, while Brad Paisley brought in more than $33 million for a #16 finish. Taylor Swift ranked 24th with more than $26 million made in just 21 shows. Rascal Flatts was 25th with more than $26 million coming in too.
Madonna‘s MDNA tour was the top tour of 2012 grossing more than $228 million and playing to 1.6 million fans.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Gary Allan‘s new single, “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain),” offers a message of hope to those going through hard times. Gary has lived this song firsthand after the 2004 suicide of his wife Angela, and credits therapy and songwriting with helping him survive. Often, songwriting turned into therapy as he worked on his 2005 album, Tough All Over.
“We all laughed and said, ‘That’s the most expensive therapy in the world right there,'” Gary says. “We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in there crying and trying to get a bunch of stuff on tape that I knew we were never going to use because it was so deep and so graphic.”
Things eventually got better for Gary. He says, “Time will knock it out of you. But you have to want to get better too. I see some people that just kind of stay there.”
Gary explains that going through therapy too helped him be able to talk about Angela and her death without falling apart. His message for anyone going through something similar: “Keep walking forward. It gets better.”
“Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” is the lead single from Gary’s new album, Set You Free, due out January 22, 2013.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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What’s for dinner on Christmas Eve at the Brice home?
Lee share’s one of his favorite Christmas memories:
Lee talks about his favorite Christmas gift ever received:
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