Billy Dukes

Last week's fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas was part of a very difficult news week, but country stars like Hunter Hayes are sensitive to the challenges of playing shows in the affected areas immediately afterward. Hayes is opening the Blown Away Tour with Carrie Underwood, which has three stops scheduled this week and last within three hours of the small town.

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Carrie Underwood has responded to a suggestion made by Tennessee State Representative Andy Holt that she should stick to singing instead of politics and lawmaking. At issue is the Livestock Cruelty Prevention Act, known as the Ag-Gag Bill to critics like the country singer, the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States.

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Jared Ashley now makes his home on the road after spending four years on the water in the U.S. Navy. The 'Last Train to Memphis' singer says Nashville came calling after a performance at a country bar in Yokosuka, Japan. Before long the New Mexico-born, Georgia-raised singer was a regular at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge and now labelmates to Aaron Lewis and Hank Williams Jr. 

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Those flames, they're real. No, not just the metaphorical flames shooting from the head of Katie Armiger's scorned vixen in her new 'Playin' With Fire' video. It was up to her to do the welding and flame-throwing during the clip's dramatic final scene. It wouldn't be accurate to call the singer an expert necessarily. OK, she had no idea what she was doing.

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The debut effort from Tate Stevens is about as straight-forward of a country album as you'll find. 'Tate Stevens' is an end cap-at-Walmart sort of record that proves the 'X Factor' winner can compete with the big names in Nashville.

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The 2013 Billboard Music Award nominations have been revealed and Taylor Swift shares the lead as a finalist in 11 categories for the May 19 awards show. The 'Red' album-maker is up for a host of country awards, but also all-genre honors like Top Female Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album ('Red') and the night's big prize, Top Artist.

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Like any married couple, Carrie Underwood and husband Mike Fisher don't always see eye to eye. But they're not the type to have knock-down, drag-out fights that wake up the neighborhood. "I've never thrown anything," Underwood said laughing during a recent interview with Taste of Country Nights host Jeremy Robinson.

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As the fourth single from 'Neon' nears the top of the charts, Chris Young is preparing to release new music. The singer tells Taste of Country that his next album is finished and the focus is on tempo. Fans can expect a faster paced-record than his previous three, one that better reflects his live show. 

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This video is one of the better feel-good, summertime videos of all time. The singer mixes old pictures and footage of himself with pics of others during their glorious adolescent days. It's a nostalgic four minutes intertwined with modern day footage of this superstar and his band singing the song on a small-town bridge. Do you recognize the video from this photo?

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Longtime country fans remember a teenaged Krystal Keith joining her father Toby Keith on stage at the 2004 CMA Awards. They sang their duet 'Mockingbird' together, and then the superstar let fans know she'd be going to college before continuing her country music education. Eight-and-a-half years later, her self-titled debut EP is available, and a full-length is coming later this year. As for that conversation between father and daughter, it wasn't exactly a 'Leave It to Beaver Moment.' 

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Songs that are amongst the biggest of Lee Brice and Lady Antebellum's careers make a return to the ToC Top 10 Video Countdown this week -- in a big way. 'I Drive Your Truck' was a chart-topper for Brice, while Lady A's 'Downtown' sits at the top of the charts just this week. However, neither of these videos were No. 1 on this list, as decided explicitly by country music fans.

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When Randy Houser debuted with 'Anything Goes' in late 2008, many were wondering if country music had just found a future Male Vocalist of the Year nominee. He voice was -- and is -- that strong. 'Boots On' was a Top 5 follow-up, and then ... then he sort of got lost -- shuffled around like a middle-reliever in Major League Baseball, despite his talent as a singer and songwriter

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