CMT Blog: Faith Hill

Faith Hill is reportedly in Greensboro, Ga., for the Wedding of the Century, so I hope -- just for fun -- Carrie Underwood plays Hill's "Dearly Beloved." Maybe it's not appropriate at the actual reception since it's about a shotgun wedding. But maybe Friday (July 9), at the rehearsal dinner, it would kick off the festivities with a sense of humor. (According to E! Online, that dinner is being prepared by a chef that Underwood and fiance Mike Fisher flew in for the night.) But come Saturday, when the post-nuptial dancing begins, here are some songs I hope Underwood has on her orchestra's play list. Add 'em if you've got 'em:

"Stealing Cinderella," Chuck Wicks
"Lost in This Moment," Big & Rich
"Forever and Ever, Amen," Randy Travis
"You Had Me From Hello," Kenny Chesney
"I Swear," John Michael Montgomery
"I Loved Her First," Heartland

Tonight (June 22) is Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's Nashville Rising benefit concert for flood relief. I'm not able to go, but I love reading about the good they are still doing for all the victims, like hoping to raise up to $3 million for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in just one night. In this story from the Tennessean, Hill says one of the reasons why they put this show together for June, nearly eight weeks after the flood hit, is because people will continue to need help down the road. "You need it all. You need the beginning, the middle and the end," she said. McGraw agreed, saying "Everybody was putting their benefits together (immediately following the flood), and that was fantastic and they raised a lot of money. But ... we knew that later on down the line it would start losing some wind." I'm happy that McGraw and Hill are keeping the local devastation top of mind long after most of the national attention has died down.

Photo credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

The whole who-are-you-wearing thing really shouldn't be an issue at awards shows, but it is. I guess it's just human nature that everyone wants to check out everyone else. And if it's a crime, I'm kind of guilty of it, too. I got as dressed up as I could to work, not walk, the blue carpet at last night's (June 9) CMT Music Awards, and some of the media around did ask the outfit questions and dole out the compliments. But I will say this. The styles I noticed most were the strapless dresses on the women because they looked so comfortable in the heat and humidity. A lot of the men were wearing the Johnny Cash-ish all-black suit, shirt and tie get-up. (See photos.) Trust me, they were all sweating like crazy. Or as they say in the South, they "glistened." But MTV.com has all the details on who wore what, and how Miranda Lambert's dress sparkled, Faith Hill went boho with a floral J. Mendel gown and how Taylor Swift's hair was sleek and straight while Snooki's pouf was high and mighty.

Photo credit: Ed Rode

I know it was the fans who voted for Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova," but Snooki totally loves that video, too. She told me so on the blue carpet before the CMT Music Awards last night. I asked the petite star, also known as Nicole Polizzi, of MTV's wildly popular Jersey Shore what her favorite video of all-time was, and she said, "That newer one where Carrie Underwood's all sexy? 'Cowboy Casanova.' That's my favorite one ever." Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino of Jersey Shore said he liked anything from Taylor Swift, Underwood or Faith Hill. It's too hard to pick one because he likes them all, he said -- like ice cream. And women.

I actually asked the same question to all the stars who approached me on the blue carpet and here's what they had to say:

Luke Bryan: Brooks & Dunn's "Believe"

Miranda Lambert: Blake Shelton's "Ol' Red" because it's like a mini movie and she kind of digs the singer.

Little Big Town: The band came to a unanimous decision that their favorite is Johnny Cash's "Hurt."

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Last month in Las Vegas, I was lucky enough to score a ticket to ACM Presents: Brooks & Dunn - The Last Rodeo, and it's probably my favorite concert I've seen all year. Like many of the performers on the show, I've been a fan of Brooks & Dunn since the beginning. I was in high school when "Brand New Man" was out, and I distinctly remember listening to their first album (on cassette) on my ever-present Walkman. It's a testament to the duo that their material holds up even when somebody else is singing it. And it certainly doesn't hurt when it's Keith Urban ("Brand New Man") or Brad Paisley ("My Next Broken Heart") doing the honors. The special airs Sunday night (May 23) on CBS.

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Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, two much-loved country singer-songwriters, will join together in holy matrimony after a very long courtship. It's just like in 1996, when Tim McGraw and Faith Hill became the new George and Tammy. Just like in 1969, when George and Tammy had become the new Johnny and June, who'd married in 1968. Shelton proposed on Mother's Day in the woods near Tishimingo, Okla., after asking Lambert's dad, Rick, for his blessing. After she said yes to the proposal and the diamond-and-platinum ring, they celebrated with rum and Diet Sprite. This will be Lambert's first marriage and Shelton's second. Lambert told People.com that she "can love him the rest of my life and be happy and make him happy." Sounds like a country song.

They have always been extreme with their generosity in the face of natural disasters. But this Nashville flood hit very close to home, which probably explains why Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are really going all-out this time. They've created Nashville Rising: A Benefit Concert for Flood Recovery, which is set for June 22 in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena. Making it in June, as opposed to right this minute, is smart because it will keep the fundraising efforts going even after the clean-up and recovery are well under way. By then, the money right now may not be enough to sustain the efforts through the months ahead. And the McGraws aren't doing this alone. They've recruited some other performers you may have heard of. Like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Miley Cyrus and so many more. The tickets go on sale this Friday (May 14) and the proceeds will benefit the Community Foundation and its Tennessee Emergency Response Fund.

More country stars are speaking out in response to the flooding that devastated Nashville and much of the mid-South on May 1 and 2. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will join Anderson Cooper on his AC 360 show live from Nashville tonight (May 6) at 10 p.m. on CNN. "We are very concerned for our town," said the McGraw family in a statement on the singer's website, "but are also extremely proud of the selflessness and generosity shown by our wonderful citizens. We truly live in a special community." The damage, which in Nashville has been estimated at $1 billion, has not yet been completely surveyed. Mayor Karl Dean says, "We will remain Music City and we will go forward doing what we've been doing." Organizers of the CMA Music Fest have stated that the annual festival will go on as scheduled in June and Jo Dee Messina is seen in a CNN interview touring the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and Schermerhorn Symphony to see what was lost, and more importantly, what was saved.

I have some very strong feelings about People magazine's "World's Most Beautiful People" issue. Like, why aren't there more country stars in it? But I will say that the country stars they did include -- Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and Faith Hill -- definitely belong on that list.

But it's what Underwood had to say that I am really digging. When they asked her, "What makes you feel pretty," she had the best answer. "It's the way we spend our time with others and not the time that's spent on ourselves," she said. And even though she is one of the most glamorous country stars to ever grace a stage and she always seems to have her hair perfectly styled, her makeup just right and her outfits super cute, she also says that "feeling beautiful isn't about hair or makeup or fancy clothes. I feel beautiful when I am giving myself to others: meeting a Make-a-Wish child at a concert or raising money for a worthy cause."

And Swift has this to say about what makes her feel pretty: "If someone is nice enough to compliment me on my dress or my hair or something like that, it really makes my day."

Hill made the issue, too, in the "Beauty at Every Age" section of the magazine. She's 42, and looks as good as the 20-and-30-year-olds sharing the page with her.

She may sing that she's just a Mississippi girl who still likes wearing her old ball cap, but we all know that Faith Hill has become a style icon in the country world. Every time she sets a glamorous foot on a red carpet, she owns it. So it makes sense that she'd be asked to judge the finale of Project Runway that aired Thursday night (April 22). It seemed like it was a little hard for Hill to get a word in edgewise with the loquacious fashion-industry hotshots. But she managed to show her own sense of style after the big runway show in New York City's Bryant Park. "I thought to myself, 'I would totally rock that.' I would wear that in a heartbeat," she said of one outfit. Then of another designer's dress, she gushed, "It was so feminine and sexy and strong and confident." Hill even gave detailed feedback -- like, "The length of the sleeve is so flattering on a woman. The way it was fitted was impeccable" and " I loved how you had a white and a black glove and the way you did the leggings." Sounds like somebody knows her way around high fashion.