CMT Blog: Uncategorized

I've been carrying Ana Egge's Road to My Love album around with me for a couple of months now. Her enticing voice draws me right into her songs, which are often soft-spoken and beautifully vivid. So whenever I just need to chill out, this is the album I've been reaching for -- and it's really nice on solo drives, too. The project starts with "Storm Comin'," which builds gradually, just like a mid-afternoon summer rain. Later, "Quitting Early" rises and falls like a relaxing breathing exercise. Egge grew up in North Dakota and now lives in Brooklyn and both locales clearly influence her craft. "Bully of New York" is vividly written about crossing paths with a Central Park ranger with a heavy heart, while "Farmer's Daughter" describes that wanderlust that comes from living on the prairie. Her true gift is being able to write about all this without boring me to tears.

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Carrie Underwood and hockey player Mike Fisher are now married, if you believe the tweet of an agent from Uptown Sports Management, the Canadian company that represents Fisher. So congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Mike Fisher. They are probably in their love bubble now in Greensboro, Ga., giggling over guests forcing them to kiss with the ol' tap of their fork on their champagne flutes. And you know who's probably enjoying the reception? Family and friends and, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, an odd assortment of celebs like Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and former American Idol pals David Cook and Lindsey Cardinale. And I think I speak for all the friends and fans who aren't there when I say we all wish the happy couple a lifetime of happiness. Let the honeymoon begin.

Meal discussions? Please. As if two lovebirds like Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher would postpone a wedding because they couldn't agree on the meal at the reception? According to Mike Fisher's agent, those rumors are simply not true. The agent, Todd Reynolds, told the Toronto Sun, "There's nothing to it. I spoke to Mike. ... The date hasn't changed. We heard about (the rumors) a couple of days ago and we tweeted something about it just to say there's nothing to it." As for the rest of the when, where, and who nuptial details, Reynolds is divulging absolutely nothing. "I'm sworn to secrecy," said Reynolds. But it must be coming up quickly. He also commented that trying to change any wedding plans at this point would be like "making a U-turn in an 18-wheeler on a one-way street."

I'm still not quite sure how you pronounce a stylized name with a dollar sign in it. And, I'm still not totally sold on Ke$ha's big electro-pop-dance hits like "Tik Tok" (although I do kind of dig the line about "before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack"). But you know what? I've realized she's a good ol' Nashville girl, and so last night (June 16) she put on a massive flood relief show at Nashville's Limelight club. All the profits -- literally 100 percent -- are going to help flood victims. She told The Tennessean newspaper, "I'm really in the position finally to help in a big way, which is to me one of the biggest upsides of the whole fame thing. Really, the only part of celebrity culture I take seriously is the fact that I am going to get to reach a lot of people about something this serious, that a lot of people need to be aware of." That sounds like something a country star might say.

I still have mixed feelings about Chely Wright's recent announcement that she's a lesbian, and those feelings have absolutely nothing to do with her homosexuality. I truly don't care about that. I've never claimed to be the world's most idealistic person, but I'd really like to think that we've reached a point in civilization where diversity is embraced to the extent that such matters are a non-issue. Judging by the media attention Wright is receiving, though, that must not be the case, and I don't know whether to blame the media or her. Yes, the national media -- including CMT.com -- have reported the story. However, mainstream America's awareness of Wright was magnified Wednesday (May 19) with her appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Without the big announcement, it's extremely unlikely that Winfrey would be talking to Wright at all. Read more...

I know I say this every time another Carrie Underwood cover story hits the newsstands. But this time, I swear she is opening up like never before. This story in Allure magazine really gets to the heart of who Underwood is and who she is not. Like when she talks about how she'd gladly go back on American Idol even though she's not contractually obligated to do so. "Of course, I will, because I'm not a little snot, you know?" she said.

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It's not every day I get to go out on the road with an artist. But I know this is not just a dream because my bus call is at 5 a.m. Saturday (March 27). So I'll be spending the majority of the weekend following Martina McBride while her Shine All Night tour makes its way around the Midwest. Which means I can try to answer any and all behind-the-scenes questions you may have about her tour. (Does she stay on voice rest all day? Or does she walk around belting out songs? What junk food does she sneak from the catering table? Does she have a pre-show ritual? Is there time during the day to write new songs? Does she have a demanding 20-page backstage rider?) So if there's something you absolutely must know, just leave a question in the comments below -- and I will do my best to answer it. Check back here on Monday (March 29), or follow me on Twitter for a steady stream of random observations.

No offense to Rascal Flatts, but I just don't get what makes this exclusive digital offering so special? I mean, if you really, really dig Rascal Flatts and always have, chances are you already have these tunes in your own personal music library. This 14 Love Songs for the 14th came out Tuesday (Feb. 9) and is basically just a Valentine's Day playlist of 14 of the band's most romantic love songs. But I suppose if you don't own every one of their recordings, this does package all their sweet and tender sentiments pretty nicely. Songs like "This Everyday Love," "Love You Out Loud," "I Melt," "My Wish," "Take Me There," "Bless the Broken Road" and eight more. It also avoids all the band's not-so-romantic ones about suicide, cancer and tragic untimely deaths, like "Why," "Skin (Sarabeth)," and "What Hurts the Most." Plus, I guess it's like a mix tape that you didn't have to mix yourself.

This is the cover line from this week's Billboard magazine: "After Charming Nashville, Lady Antebellum Prepares to Cross Over."

Before I even opened the magazine, I was thinking, "say it ain't so." Why would Nashville just be some kind of stepping stone to something else? Isn't wowing the country genre its own reward? And what's so great about crossing over, anyway, when country seems like the best place to be? In an instant, I was picturing them touring with Nickelback and Kelly Clarkson and getting spins on rock stations.

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When Taylor Swift speaks, celebrity Web sites listen. That was certainly the case Wednesday (Oct. 28) when portions of her interview with CMT Radio Live With Cody Alan made their way to the Internet. It looks like all the excitement is about Swift's comments regarding her friendship with Taylor Lautner, who portrays Jacob Black in the Twilight film series. The speculation stems from photos of Swift and Lautner in California at a Los Angeles Kings hockey game this past weekend. "I don't know, he's an amazing guy and we're really close ... and ah ... yep," she says in Alan's interview airing Wednesday night. "We're in a movie together and I am really excited about seeing it." The movie she's referring to is Valentine's Day, set to arrive in theaters on Feb. 12. Wait, that's just two days before Valentine's Day. What a coincidence! You can check out the Swift/Lautner coverage provided by People and Us magazines and Perez Hilton.