Brad Paisley Backstage at 2012 CMA Awards

Brad Paisley Takes Us Behind-the-Scenes at the CMA Awards. With only a few hours left till the CMA Awards (TONIGHT, November 1 at 8/7c on ABC), Brad Paisley is taking us behind-the-scenes as he prepares to host. In the video, Brad discusses his favorite part of the CMA Awards, his new music premiere, his interactions with Carrie Underwood (CMA Awards co-host) and the preparation for the show. “We work very hard at making this show the type of thing that beginning to end is interesting to watch. It’s full of great music!” -Brad Paisley Make sure you check out the CMA Awards TONIGHT! WATCH Brad’s Backstage Interview and Rehearsal:

2012 CMA Awards Drinking Game

Shot of Country Special Edition: Join In The Country Music News Blog 2012 CMA Awards Drinking Game! The 2012 CMA Awards are hitting Nashville Thursday, November 1st, and I will be front and center covering the show live! It’s not fair for me to have all the fun though! So, for the CMNB Team members and all our country music fans/readers that will be watching the awards from the comfort of their living room, we’ve devised a little drinking game that we think will add to the experience! From cowboy hats to Carrie Underwood‘s wardrobe changes to Luke Bryan‘s rhinestones to Brad Paisley‘s jokes, we’ve got plenty of opportunities for you to take a sip, a swig, or a shot! So, grab your drink of choice and see if you can keep up! Cheers! 2012 CMA Awards Drinking Game: [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1QLSSlJy4U]

Little Big Town Tornado Video: Out Tomorrow

Little Big Town Unveils New Music Video for “Tornado” on Halloween! The wait is almost over for Little Big Town‘s new music video for “Tornado.” The video releases tomorrow (Oct. 31st) at 6:00 am ET on CMT, and you can catch it every hour throughout the day. You can also catch the video during CMT’s Top 20 Countdown on Nov. 2nd. Be sure to check out the video which promises to be a dramatic and powerful as the song! Little Big Town has more announcements coming soon including concert tour plans! We’ll keep you posted and up-to-date as info is released. WATCH The Teaser-Trailer for “Tornado“:

Watch: Taylor Swift Good Morning America Performance

Watch Taylor Swift’s Good Morning America Performance! With the release of her new album Red this week, Taylor Swift was a flurry of activity promoting and making appearances all over the place! One of her stops included the set of Good Morning America where she performed a few of her singles old and new! In case you missed it, her team was cool enough to put clips from the concert online for everyone’s enjoyment. So, check it out below! “Red“ “Love Story“ “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together“

LeAnn Rimes on ABC’s All Access Nashville

LeAnn Opens Up with Katie Couric On ABC’s Upcoming All Access Nashville Special Report. LeAnn Rimes will be featured in the upcoming “20/20” special report: All Access Nashville, and she opens up to Katie Couric about her recent voluntary stint at a 30 day treatment program, the stress of her career and more. “I feel like I am starting over even though I’ve had all these years behind me. How many people get to (start) over again in this day and age?” LeAnn Rimes It is sure to be an enlightening and candid interview, and you can check out a clip below. It will air on ABC on Friday, October 26th at 9 p.m. ET. Other country music powerhouses like Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood and the Pistol Annies will also be featured! Rimes will also guest on Katie Couric’s daytime show today which you can catch online. Rimes just recently debuted her revamped fan website, and she will be releasing new single, “What Have I Done” in December. Watch LeAnn Rimes Interviewed by Katie Couric Clip.

Scotty McCreery Christmas Album Climbing the Charts

Scotty McCreery’s Christmas Album, Christmas with Scotty McCreery, is at the Top of the Nice List! Christmas is two months away, but Scotty McCreery‘s Christmas Album, Christmas with Scotty McCreery, is already setting the mood for a great Christmas! The eleven songs on this album are climbing the charts with honors such as No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200, No. 2 on the Top Country Albums charts, and No. 1 on the Top Seasonal Albums. His album has already sold over 40,000 copies! “I owe it all to my fans. It’s just incredible that last October AND this October, the fans put my new albums at the top of the Billboard charts.” -Scotty McCreery You can check out Scotty performing some of his new Christmas songs on “CMA Country Christmas,” which airs Saturday, November 3rd. Keep checking back with us for more Scotty McCreery holiday specials and news! Check out “Christmas in Heaven”, one of the songs off Christmas with Scotty McCreery:

Hayden Panettiere to Release A Country Music Album

Hayden Panettiere Hopes to Record Full Length Country Music Album. Hayden Panettiere is currently starring alongside Connie Britton on ABC’s hit new drama, Nashville, as the young, conniving and emotionally damaged pop country singer we love to hate, Juliette Barnes. So far, she’s already had to sing a couple of times for the role, and it looks like she wants to do a lot more of it! Hayden recently shared with US Weekly that she’d love to record a full country record! “I recorded an album when I was younger, and I always said that if I was going to go back to music, I would do country. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.” -Hayden Panettiere Like many young starlets, Hayden already has a background in music/recording in addition to her acting chops with credits on Disney soundtracks like Ice Princess and Disney Girlz Rock. She even released her own pop single in 2008 titled “Wake Up Call“. It’s super poppy stuff, but based on her performance on Nashville, I think Hayden could offer up a pretty decent country album. You can actually purchase tracks from Nashville via iTunes!

Scotty McCreery Performs Christmas Songs On QVC

Scotty McCreery To Perform Tracks from His Christmas Album on QVC Network. To promote his recently released Christmas album, Scotty McCreery will be stopping by the set of QVC on Tuesday, October 23rd at 2pm to perform a couple of his holiday tunes! Besides performing, McCreery is also offering up a special two CD set including both his albums, Christmas with Scotty McCreery and Clear As Day. The two disc set will be available October 23rd via QVC while supplies last. Sounds like a nice little gift, doesn’t it? Since his time on American Idol, Scotty has had quite the eventful career, from winning awards for new country artist from the ACMs and the ACAs to touring on Brad Paisley‘s Virtual Reality Tour 2012.

Trace Adkins Joins All Star Celebrity Apprentice

Trace Adkins Joins the Cast of All-Star Celebrity Apprentice. Trace Adkins will be returning to the small screen to compete yet again on The Apprentice, this time for the “All-Star” edition of the show. “This season’s “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” brings back 14 celebrity contestants to compete in business-driven tasks around New York City. Contestants will work grueling hours on mentally challenging tasks that test their ability to work together. All contestants return this season to endure an entirely new set of tasks with the goal of raising money and awareness for their charity of choice. Each has a second chance to be named “The Celebrity Apprentice” and have the honor of delivering a $250,000 bonus check to their charity.” -show synopsis The All-Star Apprentice Line-Up Includes: actor, author, and entrepreneur Stephen Baldwin Academy Award-nominated actor Gary Busey magician, master illusionist and Vegas superstar Penn Jillette DJ artist, rap star and entrepreneur Lil Jon Poison frontman Bret Michaels NBA Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman rock star and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider Star of ‘Taxi’ and best-selling author Marilu Henner entertainment icon La Toya Jackson television/radio personality and actress Claudia Jordan “The Apprentice” original all-star Omaros actress, host and author Lisa Rinna Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick For more on the show, visit the official page.

ABCs Nashville Episode Eval: The Pilot

MissMolly’s Episode Eval for the Pilot of ABC’s Nashville (Spoilers below!). Wednesday night, ABC premiered the pilot episode of its highly anticipated new drama, Nashville, and I’m gonna say it straight up, they didn’t disappoint!! Lots of times, trailers and teasers for shows and movies are kinda misleading and the viewing experience is a bit of a let down, but my Nashville viewing experience was quite the opposite. The show producers brought everything they promised and more from the drama to the characters to the music to that authentic country music feel! So, let me tell you what I loved the most! The Characters. I am thoroughly impressed by how written Nashville is, and how well developed the characters already are! I honestly thought all of the characters were complex and interesting! Rayna (Connie Britton) is a super strong woman that clearly knows what’s up, and the moment where she essentially tells the new head of her record label that he can stick his suggestions where the sun don’t shine…well, that was an empowering moment! Then there’s Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) who at first I was super annoyed with since it appeared that her one method of communication involved either sex (when dealing with men) or cattiness (when dealing with women). I was disappointed because that is such a cliche! Yet, by the end of the show, we got to peak behind the curtain a little and see that there’s more to her story, and I think it will be super interesting to see that story line develop (not that it excuses her behavior, but still…)! All the supporting actors are amazing as well from Teddy (Eric Close) to Rayna’s father, Lamar (Powers Boothe) and sister, Tandy (Judith Hoag) to Deacon (Charles Esten). I think the stand out so far though is Scarlett O’Conner (Clare Bowen) and her impromptu performance at the Bluebird Cafe. Her voice is phenomenal, and that was such an emotional scene!! I can’t wait to see what comes of her and her storyline. Nashville Looks Amazing On TV! As someone who has spent a fair amount of time in Nashville, TN, I was very pleased with how well its landmarks and features were showcased throughout the show. From The Bluebird Cafe to the Ryman to the Grand Ole Opry, its abundantly clear that they shot the show IN Nashville and not on some sound stage in California. This lends an authenticity to the show that I think country music fans will appreciate, and will go a long way to making this show a success! Added bonus: there were a lot of amazing skyline and and overhead shots of downtown Nashville cut in throughout, and the city of Nashville is simply gorgeous! The Music! Appropriately, the music on the show is really amazing. Firstly, I love that the actors are actually singin’ their own songs, and again, this lends authenticity to the show as a whole. Secondly, real life country music was featured on the soundtrack including Continue reading ABCs Nashville Episode Eval: The Pilot