CMT Blog: Faith Hill

Jennette McCurdy has not let the narcissistic character she plays on iCarly bring her down in real life. Thank God. That's just her being Sam. But I much prefer the real McCurdy who you can get a glimpse of in this making-of video for her debut country video, "Not That Far Away." It's been a year and a half since I first wrote about the young star launching a country career after all those episodes of iCarly on Nickelodeon. And it's been 10 years since McCurdy got her first taste of Nashville's charms when she played Faith Hill's daughter in the video for "The Way You Love Me." McCurdy's video debuts on Saturday (Aug. 14) and was directed by Roman White, the man behind "Fifteen," "You Belong With Me," "Before He Cheats," "Last Name," "Just a Dream," "So Small," "Hillbilly Bone" and many more. So I think it's safe to say, this video will be huge.

Nashville Lifestyles magazine has just issued their Hot List for 2010 and it has a little bit of everything, from iPads and cars to art and celebs. But the one I agree with the most? Faith Hill. Because, well, duh. Look at her. She's nice to look at, for sure, but she's also on the list because of what she did this summer when she hosted the Nashville Rising benefit concert with her husband, Tim McGraw. But the magazine also cites her always-classy and never-trashy styles to prove that "some things really do get better with age." Another hottie on the list? Heather Ann Heatherly, from Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Nashville's lower Broadway. She's apparently been behind that bar for 15 years and will be missed when she moves to California. But like Brooks & Dunn say, you can take the girl out of the honky-tonk but you can't take the honky-tonk out of the girl.

Photo credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Thank God for the real women of country music, like Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. That's what I'm thinking now after having just read this story in the New York Times about how "Everywhere you look, pop has gone Gaga." It concludes that there's a new feminism in pop music and how freeing the expansion of music liberation has been. But what it's really about is how unrealistic stars like Lady Gaga and Madonna really are. It's about Katy Perry's cupcake boobs in her "California Gurls" video. And how Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were all about their ostentatious image early in their careers. But to me, the unwritten story here is how real country music is.

Read more...

Faith Hill is playing at a vineyard in the Sierra Foothills in California tonight (July 23), so she chatted with the local paper about the show, her family and this and that. But here's what I loved the most. She said that right now, her favorite artists are Zac Brown Band and Miranda Lambert. She cites the Zac Brown Band because "they can play the hell out of a song" and praises Lambert as "an honest singer with a spitfire attitude." I couldn't agree more. She also talks a little bit about how technology has changed things for her, for the good and the bad. But if you're wondering if she'll follow in Lambert's social-networking footsteps, I'm guessing no. In this story she comes right out and says, "I don't tweet."

Well, I may not have been all that crazy about the video for John Rich's "Country Done Come to Town," but I have always thought of him as one of county music's gems because of the songs he writes. Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman" and Faith Hill's "Mississippi Girl" are two of my favorites. So I was thrilled to find this story about what to expect on his next album. Then bummed to find out it has more of what Gibson.com calls "ZZ Top swagger" and what Rich himself calls "the most aggressive rock and roll music I've made."

Read more...

I heard a Keith Whitley song on the radio the other day. One that I am crazy about. And I thought, "Well, that was nice." Nice because it was a change of pace. But would I want to hear a steady stream of old-school country? Not really. Because if there was too much old, how would you ever discover the new?

Just for the sake of argument, let's assume radio never had stopped playing Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. What if that prevented the world from hearing fresh country voices like Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Taylor Swift or Miranda Lambert? That would be a shame, wouldn't it?

Read more...

If you caught Jimmy Buffett and Friends: Live From the Gulf Coast when it aired Sunday night (July 11) on CMT, then you had to have noticed the huge crowd that turned out for the free show in Gulf Shores, Ala. I don't know the exact number, but it looked like attendance came pretty close to the 35,000 mark that organizers were expecting. That's a great thing for the people and businesses of the Gulf Coast area and, at the very least, shows one thing to local officials: People still want to head to the beach -- especially if you give them a special reason. To that end, it looks like Buffett's show may only be the first in a series of free concerts held on the Alabama coast. According to The Associated Press, there's a $15 million tourism grant from BP that could be used to put on more shows. Promoters are already pointing toward Faith Hill and Zac Brown Band (who had to miss the Buffett show due to a scheduling conflict) as possible performers, as well as Hawaiian beach rocker Jack Johnson. What do you think? Who would you want to see? And how much would it help the area?

Photo credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

It's a pleasure doing business with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Now that the $2.2 million in ticket sales were all added up, the proceeds can be donated to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to help flood victims still trying to overcome the tragedy that hit back in May. (You can make that number even higher by grabbing some post-concert merch like T-shirts and posters.) So the Nashville Rising: A Benefit Concert for Flood Recovery show was more than just a fun night full of country's best and brightest stars, including Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift. It was a no-brainer way for celebs and fans to make sure Music City gets back on its feet. "We cannot thank Faith Hill and Tim McGraw enough for stepping up and marshalling the gifts of all who were both onstage and back stage during this once-in-a lifetime event," said Ellen Lehman, the head of the organization.

Photo credit: Fred Breedon/Getty Images

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.

Someone just asked me if I thought this whole Carrie Underwood-Mike Fisher wedding today (July 10) isn't really even a wedding. As if they might already be officially married, and this fete in Georgia is just a big ol' reception. That could be, since there are so many things we DON'T know about the wedding. What I keep wondering about is all the little details that kept me up at night about my own wedding. Like seating. I had one famous person at my wedding, and it was a huge struggle to figure out who to seat just him with. So at Underwood's reception, will Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell sit with one of Fisher's aunts or uncles? And who do you put Tim McGraw and Faith Hill with? Is Ryan Seacrest there? And who are Underwood's bridemaids and Fisher's groomsmen, if they have them? Do they have ring bearers? Did they write their own vows? Is she nervous? Is he? Who will give the first toast? I wonder who will catch the bouquet, and/or if the bride and groom will do the sexy garter-belt routine. Are they registered at Macy's, and honestly, what do you buy for a couple this wealthy? Will she take his name? I guess I am so full of questions because I have such an intense curiosity about how celebrities go through the same milestones and sacraments as we do. Because deep down, they are really just a man and a woman who fell in love, like so many other couples out there who fall in love every day.