Jo Dee Messina Launches Parenting Blog

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Jo Dee Messina Launches The Fumbling Mom. Jo Dee Messina is branching out of the area of expertise she is known for, country music, and moving into an area where she maybe does not feel quite like an expert. The mother of one recently announced she is expecting her second child with husband Chris Deffenbaugh, and has decided to share her experiences with motherhood and parenting with the rest of the world. Messina is launching a parenting blog titled, The Fumbling Mom which will debut January of 2012. The content for the blog will focus on Messina’s experiences as a working mother, and she will give insight into her own life while offering tips and pointers to readers. Country music fans can also look forward to a brand new single from Jo Dee which she announced will release sometime early next year.

2012 Wisconsin Country Thunder Festival

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2012 Wisconsin Country Thunder Line-Up Announced. The initial line-up for the 20th annual Wisconsin Country Thunder in Twin Lakes, WI has been announced, and you can check out who is slotted to perform so far below! The camping and concert festival will take place Thursday, July 19th through Sunday, July 22nd, and so far, it is looking like this is going to be one awesome weekend. Headliners include, Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Blake Shelton and Big & Rich with additional performances by Luke Bryan, Hunter Hayes, Brantley Gilbert, Steve Holy, Wade Bowen, The Farm, and Neal McCoy. Tickets are available for four day passes or individual days, and concert goers can camp onsite or stay off site and just purchase a ticket to gain entrance to the festival grounds. Whether you’re a camper or just want to check out the music, you are bound to have one heck of a time! Stay tuned for more details as they are released! Current Announced Line-Up Thursday, July 19th 5:30-6:30pm The Farm 9:00-10:30pm Big & Rich Friday, July 20th 4:00-5:00pm Wade Bowen 5:30-6:30pm Steve Holy 7:00-8:30pm Luke Bryan 9:00-10:30pm Jason Aldean Saturday, July 21st 9:00-10:30pm Blake Shelton Sunday, July 22nd 4:00-5:00pm Hunter Hayes 5:30-6:30pm Neal McCoy 7:00-8:00pm Brantley Gilbert 8:30-10:00pm Toby Keith

Christmas In The Black Hills

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Big & Rich Host GAC Special, Christmas In The Black Hills. December in country music means plenty of Christmas celebrations. Country artists and others in the industry are just clamoring to join in on all the festivities, and GAC is offering a television special titled Christmas In The Black Hills. The show will be hosted by country duo Big & Rich, and will include performances by up and coming country artists. Among those featured will be husband and wife duo, Thompson Square known for their hit single “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not“. Most recently the two have been nominated for several awards including a CMA for vocal duo of the year, and several American Country Awards of which they walked away with three. Also featured on the show will be newcomer Andy Gibson who recently released his debut single “Wanna Make You Love Me“, and has two Christmas singles, “The Christmas Song” and “Feliz Navidad” which will be performed as part of the show. Viewers will also have a chance to check out new trio, The Farm, Bradley Gaskin and Tracy Lawrence. Christmas In The Black Hills was shot in and around The Black Hills of South Dakota and the iconic city of Deadwood. The Christmas special will air on Monday, December 12th at 8pm, Tuesday, December 13th at 12am, 10am, and 7pm , and Wednesday, December 21st at 8pm (all ET).

Kellie Pickler 100 Proof Album Cover

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Kellie Pickler Releases Cover of Upcoming Album, 100 Proof. In the run-up to the release of her upcoming album, 100 Proof, Kellie Pickler has let slip a little sneak peak of the album cover! I know you’re not supposed to judge a book (or album…) by its cover, but if you could, I think you could expect good things from 100 Proof! It has a classic and sophisticated look, and frankly, I’m excited! We’ve been hearing little bits and pieces about this album for a few months now, and Pickler’s recent single “Tough“, is one of the eleven tracks featured on the album (for a complete list see below). The release date is set for January 24th, 2012, and fans can already pre-order. 100 Proof, Complete Track Listing 1. Where’s Tammy Wynette 2. Unlock That Honky Tonk 3. Stop Cheatin’ On Me 4. Long As I Never See You Again 5. Tough 6. Turn On The Radio And Dance 7. Mother’s Day 8. Rockaway (The Rockin’ Chair Song) 9. Little House On The Highway 10.100 Proof 11.The Letter (To Daddy)

Top Country Artists of 2011

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Billboard Releases List of 2011 Country Music Chart Toppers! Billboard has released a year end summary of the 2011 country music chart toppers, and you can find the complete list below. After all the awards she has won this award season and the success of her Speak Now world tour, its not really surprising to see Taylor Swift at the top of the list. Happily, while they may have disappointed on their nomination to actual award win ratio, Zac Brown Band are sitting at number 4 on the list which proves that award or no award, they are one successful group! Newlyweds Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert both claim spots in the top 15 which follows the winning trend both have been on all year long. The only person I am surprised to see on this list is Scotty McCreery since he has only technically been a country artist for about 5 months. However, the rankings are based on album sales, airplay, track download sales, touring revenue, ringtone sales, etc. So, if the numbers back him up, I guess that’s all there is to it. Are you surprised to see any of these folks on this list? Is anyone missing? Let us know, and comment below. Billboard’s Top Country Artists Chart 1-Taylor Swift, Big Machine 2-Jason Aldean, Broken Bow 3-Lady Antebellum, Capitol Nashville 4-Zac Brown Band, Southern Ground/Roar/Bigger Picture/Atlantic 5-Blake Shelton, Warner Bros. 6-The Band Perry, Republic Nashville 7-Rascal Flatts, Big Machine 8-Kenny Chesney, BNA 9-Brad Paisley, Arista Nashville 10-Luke Bryan, Capitol Nashville 11-Keith Urban, Capitol Nashville 12-Miranda Lambert, RCA 13-Sugarland, Mercury 14-Eric Church, EMI Nashville 15-Scotty McCreery, 19/Interscope/Mercury

Rascal Flatts Host Opry Year End Special

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Rascal Flatts Will Host Opry Year End Radio Special. Rascal Flatts will be hosting the 2011 Grand Ole Opry radio special, America’s Opry Weekend Year-End Special. It will be available to country radio both Christmas and New Year’s weekends, and will recap all of the hits and high points of 2011 in country music. They will be spinning all of these hits as well as live recordings from the Opry. Some of the songs you can expect to hear include “Honey Bee,” Blake Shelton; “The House That Built Me,” Miranda Lambert; “This Is Country Music,” Brad Paisley; “Am I The Only One,” Dierks Bentley; “Tomorrow,” Chris Young; “Mama’s Song,” Carrie Underwood; “If I Die Young,” The Band Perry; “Just A Kiss,” Lady Antebellum; “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” Jake Owen; and the hosts own “Why Wait”. You can catch this special edition of the weekly syndicated radio show by tuning into 650 WSM-AM, through Sirius XM Satellite radio or at opry.com. So, why not include Rascal Flatts in your holiday festivities and check out the brightest moments of country music from 2011?

Sugarland Every Girl Like Me…In a Taxi

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Sugarland Performs Acoustic Version of Every Girl Like Me In London Taxi. Sugarland is definitely not your average country duo, and its always fun to see what hijinks these two are getting up two. They have recently released a video of an acoustic version of “Every Girl Like Me” that, here’s the fun part, they taped while riding around in a London taxi cab last February. It’s definitely an interesting idea, and way cheaper than what an average music video would cost, so maybe these two are onto something! Check out the video, and let us know what you think. Watch the Video Here [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aMNOPa44kc]

Lauren Alaina AOL Music Sessions

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Lauren Alaina Featured Performance and Interview Featured on AOL Music Sessions. Last week, Lauren Alaina announced that she will have the opportunity to tour with Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan on Aldean’s 2012 My Kinda Party tour. That’s just one in a long line of recent successes for Alaina. She debuted her first album, Wildflower, this fall, recently was among a select group of country artists to perform for President Obama, and now a tour announcement for 2012! This is a huge leap for a girl America had not even heard of less than a year ago! In all this craziness, Lauren took a few minutes to sit down with Aol Music Sessions to perform tracks off her album as well as chat a little bit about her quick rise to stardom and how its impacting her life. You can watch the videos below! Watch Lauren’s Performances Here Check Out Lauren’s Interview

Alan Jackson Here In The Real World

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Today Is The Aniversary Of The Release Of Alan Jackson’s First Hit “Here In The Real World.” Twenty-two years ago today, Alan Jackson released his first hit “Here In The Real World!” This is such a great song and a perfect display of Jackson’s talents. He is a major part of the country music world and has a major part of my heart! I grew up listening to his classics “Little Bitty“, “Wanted“, “Midnight In Montgomery“, “Don’t Rock The Jukebox” and many more including this one! I’m sure I speak for everyone when I saw I can’t wait to see what he will have in store for us in the next 22!

Blake Shelton’s Dad – The Details

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It was an emotional night for Blake Shelton as he accepted his ACA for Music Video of the Year, and performed a slightly choked up version of “God Gave Me You” last night. In his acceptance speech Blake dedicated the award to his father Ricky who he said had been having a hard time the last few weeks. For those of us sending our well-wishes, here’s what we’re up against. Blake Shelton’s spokeswoman, Tree Paine, told CNN the singer’s father had been taken to a hospital with pneumonia that evening. After the show, Shelton immediately flew home to Oklahoma to be with his family. “Thanks to every one of y’all who took time to vote for me for the ACAs,” he tweeted as he left the venue. “And for all the thoughts and prayers for dad! He’s happy about it!” Blake, you know our hearts are with you, and I’m sure your daddy will knock that pneumonia right in the rear, cause that’s what these Oklahoma men do! Cheers! ~WC~