The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! broadcasts from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday night on CBS, and country music is playing a big role in the show.  Taylor Swift is set to co-host with LL Cool J, and Luke Bryan has secured a performance slot.  Look for Hunter Hayes to appear on the show too while The Band Perry and Dierks Bentley take part in a tribute to Johnny Cash.

Of course, these stars are all hoping for Grammy nominations, and Billboard.com editor Tye Comer [tie COAM-er] says Taylor could get a nod for her monster hit “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”

Tye tells ABC News Radio, “I don’t think the Grammy committee will overlook it and it is quite possible that it could get a record or song nomination this year.”

Taylor’s platinum-selling album, Red, was released too recently to make the Grammys eligibility period.

Though he’s not on the show, Lee Brice could possibly walk away with his first Grammy nominations for his #1 hit “A Woman Like You” or his album Hard 2 Love.  Getting that nod would be a big dream come true for Lee.

He says, “That’s one of the big things in my mind ’cause the Grammys is not just country music or this — it’s just music.  It kinda says that you somehow changed music or you impacted music as a whole with a song or an album.”

Lee is also excited to see the Grammy Nominations Concert take place in Music City and shine a big light on country music.

“The biggest stars in the world really right now are country stars,” Lee explains.  “It’s about time, you know?  It’s a good thing.”

The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! airs Wednesday night at 10 ET on CBS.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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Charlie Daniels’ 2013 Wish List:

CharlieDanielsWishList2013

Charlie on his favorite Holiday recipes:

CharlieSouthernCornbreadDressing_01

Charlie on his all-time favorite Christmas present:

CharlieDanielsBestGift

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Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town lost her brother-in-law Allen Schlapmanin a roadway accident on Wednesday, November 21 in Nashville.  He was visiting Kimberly and her husband Stephen for Thanksgiving at the time.

Kimberly writes on her Facebook wall, “This is a part of life that one never imagines or plans for. It has been very difficult to accept.  Allen Schlapman was an amazing father, husband, brother & son. We will miss him so much.”

The other driver, Gregory Powers, crossed the middle lane and hit Allen’s motorcycle head-on according to The Tennessean.  He was charged with vehicular homicide and failure to maintain a lane, the paper reports.  The Tennessean also cited investigators as saying they believe Powers was impaired at the time of the crash.  He was out on bond from a previous DUI and vehicular assault charge last July, the paper reported.  Police told the paper that in the prior incident Powers hit an employee in the parking lot of a Franklin, TN bar and fled the scene.

Allen Schlapman leaves behind his wife Linda and their daughter Rachel Allyn.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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Dustin Lynch has lined up an appearance on the syndicated daytime program The Better Show on Tuesday.  During the visit, Dustin will perform an acoustic version of his new single “She Cranks My Tractor.”  He’ll also talk about his upcoming tour dates with Keith Urban and Little Big Town.  Check local listings for air time and channel.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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(AP) – Glen Campbell may have finished up a goodbye tour – but he may not be ready to say goodbye to touring. His manager says Campbell may play more dates next year – after doing 120 this year. Campbell is 76 – and Alzheimer’s disease has cost him some of his memory. His farewell tour wrapped for the year Friday night – but his manager says if Campbell is felling strong after the holidays, he’ll schedule more shows.

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Alan Jackson fans will remember his 140-acre spread of land outside Nashville named Sweetbriar. The property featured a massive main residence and breathtaking landscape along the Harpeth River. The Jacksons sold the property in 2010, and Alan and his wife Denisemade a photo journal of the property for their three daughters to remember the 13 years they lived there. They are now selling limited edition copies of that photo book at AlanJackson.com, with the proceeds going to a cause very close to the family’s heart.

Shortly after they moved away from Sweetbriar, Denise was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Though she has now received a clean bill of health, Alan and Denise thought the photo book, titled Seasons of Sweetbriar – A Photographic Collection of Home by Alan Jackson, would be a great way to raise money for colon cancer patients in need. All proceeds from the book will benefit the Colon Cancer Alliance’s Blue Note Fund.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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arrie Underwood is set to star as Maria Von Trapp in a three-hour live production of The Sound of Music, coming to NBC around the holiday season in 2013. The show will be based on the original Broadway musical and produced by the same team responsible for NBC’s Broadway-themed drama Smash and the movie musicals Chicago and Hairspray.

Carrie has acted in a few movies and sitcom guest spots before, but this will easily be her highest-profile acting role to date. Carrie also hosted her own holiday variety TV special in 2009 and has co-hosted the CMA Awards with Brad Paisley for the past five years.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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Reba‘s new sitcom, Malibu Country, doesn’t shy away from tackling gay issues. In fact, it features several gay characters, including Jai Rodriguez‘s music industry assistant role. Reba’s daughter on the show has a gay male friend named Sage, with who she sometimes makes out, and a lesbian friend named Lily, who hasn’t been seen on camera yet.

In an interview with The Advocate, Reba was asked if the show would have this much gay-friendly content if it was set in Nashville instead of Los Angeles. She feels the show’s location is irrelevant to that point, saying, “I’ve got a huge gay following, and they’ve always been very supportive, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t any difference between Nashville and L.A.”

Malibu Country has been picked up for an additional five episodes this season. It airs Friday night at 8:30 ET on ABC.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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There’s a slight change to the Academy of Country Music’s New Artist of the Year category. Industry votes will determine the winners in the New Male Vocalist, New Female Vocalist and New Duo or Group categories, and those three artists will then compete for the New Artist of the Year trophy. That award will be presented on camera at the ACM Awards next spring on a date yet to be announced.

Fans will be able to vote for the New Artist of the Year at GACTV.com.  The winner will be determined by a combination of those votes with the professional membership votes.

Nominees for the ACM Awards will be announced in February 2013.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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(AP) – Blake Shelton says it should be obvious from the title of his Christmas special that it’s not a typical Christmas special. It’s called “Blake Shelton’s Not So Family Christmas.” Shelton says it’s not a concert, but it is Shelton being Shelton. He says he pushed his advantage with NBC in asking what he was allowed to do, and to his surprise he got a yes. Shelton believes it’s good for country musicians to try new things and blast the stereotypes about country music. He jokes that some people see country artists on TV and are surprised that they can read. “Blake Shelton’s Not So Family Christmas” airs tonight after “The Voice” on NBC.

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Shania Twain returned to the stage for the first time in nearly a decade with the opening of her Shania…Still the Oneresidency at Caesars Palace Saturday night in Las Vegas. The high-tech, high-production show opened with Shania riding a motorcycle suspended in air to recreate her “I’m Gonna Getcha Good” video. In fact, the entire Vegas production capitalized on Shania’s iconic videos.

While planning the show with her production team, Shania recalls saying, “‘Let’s bring the videos to life,’ and so that’s what we’re doing, and we’re making them bigger than life, I think.”

That theme continued throughout the show as Shania delivered her biggest hits, ranging from the down-home, saloon-inspired production of “Any Man of Mine” and “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under” to the high-concept interpretations of her “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” clips.

Throughout Saturday night’s opening concert, Shania clearly felt the adoration from the crowd. At one point, she even wiped away tears while worrying aloud that her eyelashes would fall off from too much crying. That performance also marked Shania’s first major concert performance in nearly a decade.

As with any high-stakes opening in Las Vegas, Shania admitted the critics were her biggest concern. Any negativity they might throw her way was clearly offset by the love from her fans though.

“The fans are who I am up there for,” Shania explained in a press event before the show. “I’m there for them, and I feel it. They’re there for the same reason that I’m there. We love the music and we love the entertainment, and so I feel like there’s a really positive exchange there.”

Many of the fans who caught Shania’s Come on Over tour in the late ’90s or her Up! tour a few year later have already bought their tickets for her run of shows in Vegas. The cutting-edge technology available in Caesars Palace’s theater, The Colosseum, allows Shania to put on a show far beyond what she could have taken on the road though. The production elements of the new stage amaze Shania even while she’s performing on it.  

Talking about her intense rehearsals with her band and backing dancers, Shania says, “We’re seeing new things all the time happening behind us and around us that I’ve never had, or that I wouldn’t be able to have in a traveling show — a lot of the technology and that sort of thing. It’s just a wonder in itself I think.”

Of course, Shania’s show is based on her stellar run of hits from 1995 through 2002 from the multi-platinum albums she co-wrote with her former husband, super-producer Mutt Lange. Shania admits she never listened to her own albums once she was done recording them, so getting reacquainted with the music for the Vegas show was a bit of a challenge.

Once she began working on the songs for the show, Shania recalling thinking, “Why did I write so many words? What was I thinking? These songs are so wordy! It’s like I’ve tried to fit in so many words. I still have to walk and sing. I had to get reacquainted with pacing myself again.”

Fans attending Shania’s opening night could easily tell she was singing every note live on stage, even while wrangling live horses during two separate numbers. To take in Shania’s show for yourself, check out her concert dates at ShaniainVegas.com.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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Trace Adkins caused a bit of a stir wearing in-ear monitors emblazoned with the Confederate flag on Wednesday night’s Christmas in Rockefeller Centerspecial on NBC. Several media outlets picked up on the story questioning whether or not it was appropriate for Trace to bring that image into the holiday special. The stars and bars of the Confederate flag are often associated with slavery, but Trace insists that wasn’t his intention.

Trace is actually on a USO tour entertaining troops in Japan this week. He released a statement saying, “As a proud American I object to oppression of any kind. To me, the battle flag represents remembrance of my Southern lineage – I am a descendant of Confederate soldiers who followed that flag into battle.”

Trace is a strong advocate for preserving America’s battlefields and history, but he adds, “To those who view the flag as a symbol of racism, that was not my message and I did not intend offense.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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