Carrie Underwood was a bit under the weather during her show Friday night in Des Moines, IA.  In a clip from the concert posted to YouTube, a noticeably hoarse Carrie told the crowd she was only getting about halfway to where she wanted to be vocally due to her illness.

Since she couldn’t give the fans a hundred percent, Carrie told them, “I feel real guilty about making any money of this show tonight.  So, whatever I’m making is just going to go right back into this community.  ‘Cause I feel like that’s the right thing to do.”

Carrie’s proceeds will most likely be north of $250,000, so that will be a nice holiday surprise for whichever organization receives it.

Carrie’s Saturday night show in Kansas City, MO was postponed to May 6, 2013.

 

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Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley are lending their support to the Live Beyond…Thirst initiative, which brings clean water to the people of a small town in Haiti. Thomazeau is a suburb of the Haitian capital of Port au Prince, and the Paisleys’ friends Dr. David and Laurie Vanderpoolhave been leading the effort to offer aid to the townspeople there.

The new initiative seeks to establish 100 clean water collection sites, and Brad and Kimberly have issued “The Paisley Challenge” to get people to donate to the project. You can give money or find out more about the effort at LiveBeyond.org or BradPaisley.com.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

 

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Lee Brice‘s son Takoda has a lot of cars and trucks on his Christmas list this year. The young boy even dreams of monster truck parties, which confused Lee at first. He thought Takoda might have been referring to his daddy’s song “Parking Lot Party” at first. Then Lee’s friend who puts on monster truck rallies invited him to one of their events near Nashville.

Lee says, “I jumped straight in my truck. I happened to be home. Went and grabbed him and [my wife] Sara and we drove out to way south of town. Went and saw, sat down and saw those monster trucks. You know, and he was just beside himself.”

Lee and his wife and son got to ride around in the monster trucks too, and Takoda told his parents, “Now, that’s a monster truck party.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

 

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Now that Shania Twain‘s new residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is up and running, fans are wondering if she’ll record any new music soon. It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen right away.

Shania tells Vegas magazine, “I know I am ready to go back in the studio and record an album, I just don’t have the time yet.”

The new show at Caesars, titled Shania…Still the One, allows Shania to connect intimately with her fans, and she doesn’t want to take time away from that right now.  “I don’t want to lose that element of being able to touch people and connect with them and not be separated from them,” she explains. “For me it’s like a dream, so to the fan it must be as well.”

For more information about Shania…Still the One, go to ShaniainVegas.com.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

 

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Little Big Town‘s Kimberly Schlapman will host a second season of her GAC cooking show, Kimberly’s Simply Southern. New episodes will begin airing this spring.

Kimberly is thrilled to have another round of shows coming up.  She says, “This cooking show is a childhood dream of mine and I have to keep pinching myself to make sure it really has come true! I look forward to many more adventures on the road and to more fun in the kitchen with my family and friends. Thanks for watching!”

Kimberly heads back out on the road for three more shows later this month, including a New Year’s Eve date near Atlanta, GA.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

 

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If you’re planning a trip to Nashville between January 22 and February 6, you’ll unfortunately miss out on the chance to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. The building will be closed during that time for improvements and other preparations as part of its ongoing expansion project that will double the Hall of Fame’s exhibit space. The project is expected to be completed in early 2014.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

 

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Country stars offer their thoughts and prayers to those affected by the school shooting in Newtown, CT through Twitter:

Blake Shelton — “Stand strong and stand united everyone… We are Americans and we are better than this. What a sad sad disgusting day this is…”

Miranda Lambert — “I’m praying for those babies and all the victims of the Connecticut shooting. May God bring peace to the families.”

Lady Antebellum — “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families and everyone affected in Connecticut. #newtown”

Kix Brooks — “Just being a part of the human race, makes me feel like apologizing to ‘those kids’ families – what’s wrong with people ??!!”

Lee Brice — “Love those around you and never take a single day for granted! Such a terrible tragedy today, keep all of those affected in your prayers.”

Carrie Underwood — “All my thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies go out to the families in CT dealing with this tragedy. There are no words…”

Rascal Flatts — “Our hearts are broken by the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut today. You are in our thoughts and prayers. #PrayForNewtown.”

Jason Aldean — “Thoughts and prayers goin out to everyone in Connecticut. What a tragedy.”

Little Big Town — “To all the families in CT suffering. We’re devastated & our hearts are broken. We’re praying for you and we’re with you.”

Brad Paisley — “I spent 15 minutes yelling at the top of my lungs about what happened in Connecticut. I’m as mad as I am sad. Enough. Enough!!!!!!”

Reba — “My heart hurts. I don’t understand. Why does this happen? Praying for the state of CT, it’s people, it’s families and it’s children.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

 

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Alan Jackson and wife Denise‘s three daughters are growing up fast, but they still make a point to celebrate Christmas in a big way each year.

He says, “Always try to remember Jesus’ birthday, and just the whole thing and just have a wonderful big meal, almost like Thanksgiving four weeks later.  We have the same, pretty much, turkey, dressing, all the same kind of things.”

The family goes down to see their relatives in Georgia in mid-December, but Alan spends Christmas Day with his immediate family.  Of course, music is a big part of setting the mood for opening presents that morning.

“I try to keep Christmas music going in the background,” Alan says.  “I like to turn that on before I let them come down to the tree and everything.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

 

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Eric Church has played roughly 250 shows a year for the past six years, so he’s looking forward to taking some time off the road in 2013.  He’ll be busy writing and recording the follow up to his platinum-selling album Chief, but Eric isn’t sure he’ll release a new project in the year either.

He tells the Charleston City Paper, “I kind of want to see what’s happening creatively.  I want to get away from the road and away from all the stuff that’s happening, check back in and see what’s happening from a songwriting standpoint.”

Eric’s fans will have a few chances to see him in 2013 with a few solo dates scheduled for February.  He’s also opening the stadium shows on Kenny Chesney‘s No Shoes Nation tour starting in March.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

 

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