The Nashville Rising benefit concert led by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw has raised more than $2.2 million for flood victims in Tennessee.

The total came from sold-out ticket sales, donations and sponsorships. It will be distributed through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Last month’s all-star concert included performances by Hill, McGraw, Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, LeAnn Rimes, Luke Bryan, Michael W. Smith, Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift, Toby Keith and ZZ Top.

Record amounts of rain the first two days of May caused more than $2 billion in damage in Nashville alone. The water forced thousands from their homes, struck some of the city’s biggest landmarks and destroyed the gear of scores of musicians.

Country musician Craig Morgan often chats with troops at USO shows overseas, and some of his closest friends are those he met when he was a U.S. Army soldier.

Now he’s speaking for troops who are silently struggling with combat stress.

Morgan is the new spokesman for Not Alone, an online-based program that offers confidential counseling and support for soldiers and families dealing with depression, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“It deals with a subject that is really sensitive to the military,” Morgan said in a recent phone interview with The Associated Press from Las Vegas, where he was touring with Carrie Underwood. “It’s difficult sometimes for a soldier to discuss his frustrations or his lack of understanding of what it is that he’s going through.”

Read the full story

Super fun: Map pinpoints parties, more

Carrie Underwood is going to the Super Bowl — and she’ll be singing the national anthem.

The country superstar won’t be alone in singing America’s praises. Queen Latifah will perform “America the Beautiful” as well.

Underwood joins other big names who have sung the national anthem at the game, includiing Beyonce, Billy Joel and Whitney Houston.

The Feb. 7 Super Bowl in Miami pits the Indianapolis Colts against the New Orleans Saints.

The Who will provide halftime entertainment.

The Super Bowl will be shown live on CBS.

Just weeks after Carrie Underwood released her third album, she’s got more big news to celebrate: She and Mike Fisher are engaged!

Fisher, 29, asked Carrie to marry him in front of his family. Underwood and Fisher, who plays forward on the Ottawa Senators hockey team, have been dating for more than a year. Underwood told Ellen Degeneres that she’s “old-fashioned” and wouldn’t move in with anyone until she said ‘I do.’ A wedding date hasn’t been set. Read the full story

Full list of winners | Photos

It was a night for upsets at the Country Music Association’s Awards show last night.

The biggest was Lady Antebellum snagging two awards – Single of the Year for I Run to You, and even more shocking, the trio bested shoe-ins Rascal Flatts for Group of the Year.

Newsworthy but not so shocking: Taylor Swift walked away with several awards including the Entertainer of the Year award. At 19, she was the youngest nominee ever, and as a winner she’ll probably hold that record for a good long time.
Read the full story

Janis Fontaine: Swift wins big, sings badly
Full list of winners | Photos

All four of the guys who lost to Taylor Swift for entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards made a tactical error: They asked the crossover sensation to open for them in their concerts.

Swift quickly shed her opener status and shook up the music world with an incredible year that included the best-selling album, a concert tour that sold out almost immediately and, now, a historic night at the CMAs that included becoming the youngest winner of the association’s highest honor.

“Yeah, next year we’re not going to take any opening acts out,” Brad Paisley said jokingly.

The CMA’s more than 5,000 members – often cited as a conservative bunch – seemed as taken with Swift as the rest of the music world has been. She won all four awards for which she was nominated, snapping Kenny Chesney’s streak of four entertainer wins in the last five years and Carrie Underwood’s three-year run as top female vocalist.
Read the full story

This year’s CMA Awards will be broadcast live Wednesday from the Sommet Center in Nashville. You can watch from 8-11 p.m. on ABC.
Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood return as hosts of the show for the second time.
Here’s a complete list of the nominees for the 2009 CMA Awards and my picks for the winners:
Read the full story

The Fox network says Carrie Underwood will host a two-hour variety special tentatively titled, “Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special,” to air Dec. 7.

The network says Underwood will perform new music from her upcoming album, previous hits and holiday classics. Musical guests will include Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley and David Cook.

Underwood won season four of “American Idol.” The 26-year-old country singer is a four-time Grammy winner.

Her new album will be released Nov. 3.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Carrie Underwood Christmas Special (countrymusicnewsblog.com)
• Wanna see Carrie for free? (nashvillegab.com)
• Carrie Underwood to Release a New Album in November (idiomag.com)

The 43rd annual Country Music Association awards will offer fans one of the last chances to see Brooks & Dunn before they split next year.

The popular duo joins a star-studded lineup, including all five entertainer of the year nominees, scheduled to perform during the Nov. 11 ceremony.

CMA also announced Monday that Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Sugarland, Darius Rucker and Keith Urban will perform. Also scheduled to play songs are co-hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn plan to tour next year, then will dissolve a partnership that’s sold 30 million albums and had 23 No. 1 hits. They’ll be competing for their 15th vocal duo award and are also nominated for top musical event with McEntire.

Last night’s CMT Awards were fun but predictable, with the usual names taking home buckles: Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, Sugarland and of course Taylor Swift.

Truthfully, I was a little bit overwhelmed by Taylor Swift’s domination of the 2009 CMT Music Awards show last night. I fully agree that her video “Love Story” earned its position as Video of the Year, but did we really need to see three performances from her?

Don’t get me wrong: I love Taylor. Always have. But I find some of her antics contrived, and it seems like no one wants to question Taylor’s judgment. Like the bathrobe behind the fake window during “You Belong To Me”? Did we really need all this overly-orchestrated stuff?

And I was dreading the rap I’d heard about and the Def Leppard number, “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, but I have to say, her rap with T-Pain was cute. And you have to love someone who can make fun of herself.

It also shows Swift’s open-mindedness to other genres and her depth as a musician that she can morph so easily with rap and rock. And the preamble to the pre-taped rap had Swift in Vulcan ears on the bridge of the USS Enterprise and then in NFL gear. “It’s my dream,” was the hook. I doubt Swift dreamed that she’d become the face and name of country music in 2008-09.

Read the full story