CMT Blog: Miranda Lambert

In less than 24 hours, Sugarland will make a big announcement. All I wanna do-oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo is check their Web site at 1 p.m. CT tomorrow.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are the proud parents of Hank, yet another stray dog. Their new baby is getting along just fine with dogs Jessi and Waylon.

One week he’s his own security guard. The next week he’s strolling casually through L.A. with his family. How many sides are there to Tim McGraw?

August 4 is going to be a boot scootin’ day for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That’s when Brooks & Dunn will get their much-deserved star.

In a radio interview, John Rich dishes on Nashville Star contestants, host Billy Ray Cyrus and giving the fans music worth buying in tough times.

An hour into Monday night’s (June 16) Nashville Star, Trace Adkins performed “You’re Gonna Miss This.” It wasn’t perfect, but it still gave everyone something to shoot for. It was a pivotal point in the show. The one where all the mediocrity that came before Adkins disappeared to make room for all the brilliance that would come after. And her name is Melissa Lawson.

I usually feign complete boredom with these staged talent shows and bitch about artists needing to pay their dues the old fashioned way. But the minute someone like Lawson opens her mouth, I’m texting my vote like a teenage girl. Read more…

Usually I can persuade a few of my friends to join me for the nightly concerts at the CMA Music Festival, so I don’t have to sit there by myself all night, taking notes. This year, for the first time, I had several friends ask if they could tag along. Well, sure! Seeing the event through the eyes of a first-timer always makes it a lot more fun. When Rascal Flatts suddenly appeared as the surprise guest that first night, you could definitely sense the excitement in the crowd - stuff like this just doesn’t happen outside of Nashville.

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Taylor and Kellie get their Red, White and Blue on. Watch the girls singing Toby Keith’s boot-in-your-ass American anthem in concert.

Is a picture of Johnny Cash in 1960 worth something? The New York Times reports that Sony hopes so, as they dig deep into their photo archives to make money.

Creedence Clearwater Revival and Lynyrd Skynyrd made it onto Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitars songs.

No gunpowder. No kerosene. Just some sweet words of praise from Miranda Lambert in this video blog to her fans.

They might have fame and fortune, but country stars are not uppity when it comes to pets. For many of country’s brightest stars, you can’t beat the love of a good mutt.

Miranda Lambert is famous for her support of shelter pets. She adopted her treasured mix-breed Delilah from the Humane Society, and she recently rescued two Lab-mix puppies that had been abandoned by the roadside. “There are so many great animals that need a home,” she says. “Don’t go buy a brand new dog when there’s a great dog out there that needs to be loved.”

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So far, American Idol has introduced two successful female singers into the country format - Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler. Unfortunately, time has run out on the guys. A finalist from the 2007 season, Phil Stacey has sold just over 25,000 copies of his self-titled debut album in the month since its release. Josh Gracin, who came in fourth in 2003, isn’t faring much better - less than 45,000 in two months. The debut CD by Bucky Covington, the 8th place finalist of season six, started strong with “A Different World,” but stalled at 345,000 units. Not bad, I guess, considering the current record-buying climate. However, country still hasn’t had a male crossover champ yet - how long until Taylor Hicks, David Cook or Ruben Studdard gives Nashville a try?

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There’s a rumor going around that Keith Urban is on the verge of releasing an old song of his. A song from his 2002 album, Golden Road. It’s called “You Look Good in My Shirt,” and is one of the songs that inspires full-on crowd frenzy when he plays it live. (That could have something to do with the fact that he usually goes on a little field trip into the seats and sings it from there … but still.) But it really is a good light-hearted banjo song, about hooking up with an ex-girlfriend. Read more…

Congratulations to Sugarland for winning two ACM Awards for “Stay” — single of the year (for notable airplay, sales and listener impact) and song of the year (essentially recognizing the songwriter). It’s proven to be a breakthrough hit for the duo. The first time I heard it, I was about to park my car and then this really quiet song came on the radio - and I was immediately hooked. Some people have commented in other blog entries that Jennifer Nettles - who wrote and sings the song — shouldn’t be glamorizing adultery. Huh? You can actually hear the pain in her voice, so I just can’t imagine anyone thinking, “Wow, now that’s the life!”

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Keith Urban says that he is really looking forward to his baby’s arrival (duh), but isn’t saying anything about the baby’s gender.

We can never have too many opinions on the ACMs. So check out the Washington Post’s thumbs down to Garth’s medley and thumbs up to Miranda’s win.

It was a dream come true for Taylor Swift to do that singing-in-the-rain thing at the ACMs. Although in her dream, the water probably wasn’t so cold.

Where did all that Vegas glam come from at the ACMs? Some say it was inspired by the King himself.

If hockey’s a lot like NASCAR, like Dierks Bentley says it is, then who is the Dale Jr. of the ice?

Can mobile music (like ringtones and ringbacks) help rescue the iPhone from obsolescence?

With Las Vegas as the setting for the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night (May 18), it’s not surprising that some artists would channel Elvis Presley. Carrie Underwood kicked off the show in an updated, feminine version of the King’s famous white jumpsuit—sleeveless and tight with rhinestones along the plunging v-neckline, accented by a sparkling wide belt. Underwood arrived at the show in a silver knee-length dress complete with shiny Elvis-worthy tassels. Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland performed in a sleeveless black belted jumpsuit with a plunging neckline and tasseled bell-bottoms.

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