[
Lauren Alaina to Return to ‘American Idol’ This Season
Lauren Alaina will once again hit the ‘American Idol‘ stage where her dreams of country stardom first came into focus. Alaina is joining other past ‘Idol’ contestants-turned-celebrities who will perform on an upcoming episode in Season 11. Others taking the iconic stage soon are Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert and James Durbin.
[
Lady Antebellum Already a Dozen Songs Deep Into New Album
Lady Antebellum are in the middle of their 2012 Own The Night World Tour, and though their calendars leave them barely enough room to take a breath between shows, the Grammy-amassing trio say they already have a dozen songs for their next record. Talking to Billboard.com, Hillary Scott says the band has 12 songs ready, whether they’ve written them as a band or selected them from outside writers.
[
Rascal Flatts Follow the Call of the ‘Banjo’ in New Music Video
Rascal Flatts just released the music video for their single ‘Banjo,’ which hails from their upcoming record ‘Changed,’ available everywhere April 3. In the clip, the guys seem to be having a good time, each playing a different part. Gary LeVox steps into the shoes of a bus driver, taking the wheel of a downtown Nashville tourist bus that has ‘Music Line Tours’ emblazoned on the side.
[
Kevin McGuire at a Loss for Words Over Taylor Swift’s ACM Awards Invite
One of the most awe-inspiring stories we’ve seen in a long time continues to get better and better. After New Jersey senior Kevin McGuire, who is currently fighting cancer for the second time, asked Taylor Swift to be his prom date, the country superstar came back with a shocking invitation, asking to take McGuire to the ACMs with her in April. In the video below, CBS Philly captured the 18-year-old’s reaction when he heard the news from his hospital bed at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
[
Carrie Underwood Performs ‘Good Girl’ Live at Oscars Launch Party
Carrie Underwood just released the first single from her new record on Thursday (Feb. 23), debuting the song ‘Good Girl‘ at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville and through iTunes. The next day, Underwood performed at a 2012 Oscars launch party in Beverly Hills, where she offered up a killer acoustic version of the song with a live band, which you can see in the clip below.
[
Luke Bryan Delivers Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ in Concert
Luke Bryan has been on the road with Jason Aldean as of late, and recently, the pair hit Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, where Bryan took a creative turn by sitting down at a piano to cover Brit pop songstress Adele‘s ‘Someone Like You.’ Take a look at the video below and you’ll notice that the audience was pretty keen on the ‘Country Girl (Shake It for Me)’ singer’s choice of an unconventional cover song.
[
Dwight Yoakam Pulls Out of ‘Lone Ranger’ Flick
Dwight Yoakam was slated to play the part of the villain in the upcoming film ‘The Lone Ranger,’ but he has just walked away from the role due to conflicts in his schedule. The film — which has a celebrity cast of Johnny Depp as the American Indian Tonto, Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Tom Wilkinson as the evil railroad tycoon Latham Cole — will still go on without him.
[
Vince Gill Parts Ways With His Record Label
At the Universal Music Group label luncheon show at Nashville’s Country Radio Seminar Wednesday (Feb. 22), George Strait surprised the Ryman audience with his guest appearance — but fellow star Vince Gill had a surprise of his own. Before launching into his song ‘The Red Words,’ the ‘Threaten Me With Heaven’ singer told the audience, which was full of radio personnel, that he was performing that day as a thank you to radio, since he is no longer an MCA recording artist (part of UMG).
[
Rascal Flatts Give Sara Evans a New Car
Sara Evans joined Rascal Flatts for the first couple months of this year for their Thaw Out 2012 Winter Tour, along with opening act Hunter Hayes. The tour made a successful run and wrapped Feb. 18 in New Jersey. And while the most of the excitement may be over, Evans still has much to be excited about. As a thank you for a tour well done, Rascal Flatts gave their female co-star a gift to help her thaw out, and from Evans’ reaction on Twitter, the surprise present was much appreciated.
[
Mindy McCready’s Son to Be Kept in Foster Care
After a long and dramatic saga at the end of last year, country singer Mindy McCready was discovered in a closet in Arkansas with her son Zander. McCready had taken the five-year-old his Florida home, where he lived with McCready’s mother, his legal guardian. Zander was placed in foster care after the pair were found, and now a court has decided that he will stay in foster care in Arkansas — even though the case is being decided in Florida.
[
Carrie Underwood Talks Beauty, Her Style Icons and Healthy Eating
Carrie Underwood is getting ready to perform at the Nordstrom Symphony Fashion Show, a sold-out event that will take place at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Feb. 28. The show, which will feature an exclusive presentation of Oscar de la Renta’s Pre-Fall 2012 collection, will also showcase a performance by Underwood. In a recent interview with Nashville’s NFocus magazine, Underwood dished a bit on her favorite designers, her style muses and how she stays fit and glowing despite her hectic schedule.
[
Woman Jailed After Rascal Flatts Concert Claims False Arrest
In August, Taste of Country reported that a New York woman had been arrested after a Darien Lake, N.Y. Rascal Flatts show for striking another person in the face while holding her iPhone, which caused lacerations to the victim’s face. Now, six months later, 33-year-old Carolyn Marie Smith has filed a claim against the Genesee Country Sheriff’s Office stating that she was the victim of a false arrest.