What’s Hot on iTunes

Taylor Swift Video - Our Song!

This is one of the most addictive songs ever. I love this girl’s voice!

Phil Stacey’s New Country Single

You gotta love Phil Stacey’s voice - it’s a great one. A fan put this together and put it on You Tube to promote Phil’s new country singe, “If You Didn’t Love Me.” I’m a fan of the man, so I’m throwing my support in that direction.

I hope Phil has mad, crazy success. He seems like a quality guy - and you don’t have to pay a lot of attention these days to know that quality people are in short supply.

Did you catch American Idol last night? Funny as always - I really liked Chris and a couple of the girls. The Star Wars fan is the stuff nightmares are made of, though. I honestly wouldn’t mind if AI started leaving nuts out of the batter - it’d taste a lot better.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The What Took so Long?

The Good:

Country sweetheart Taylor Swift is one of the few stars who’s actually as sweet as they look. Her record label president gave her a new hot pink truck on her 18th birthday. She has donated the truck to one of the coolest charities on the planet: the Victory Junction Gang, a charity that helps children with terminal illnesses.

Taylor also is actually laughing off a bizarre fan encounter that would have most stars speed-dialing their lawyers at best, knocking teeth out at worst. A fan apparently ran into the back of her car … and then asked for her autograph.

“Somebody hit my car and then asked me to sign a broken piece of my taillight,” she told the Canadian news site canoe.ca.

Then things got crazier as the first accident caused another one.

“It was crazy,” said Swift. “Five minutes later, this other woman saw me on the side of the road and decided that she wanted to get an autograph for her daughter. So she pulled over to get my autograph and then somebody hit her car. It was quite the experience!”

The Bad

I have received so many e-mails about Britney Spears. People ask me if I like her music (I have liked a lot of her old songs - they were fun, catchy, the girl has a good voice.), if I hate her (I honestly don’t hate anyone), and what I think of her train wreck of a life. I feel sorry for her, because personally I think she’s pretty messed up. If I were going to hate anyone, it’d be people who would take advantage of someone like Britney….like the photographer she’s shacked up with.

I think that, like most people, this whole thing ceased being even mildly amusing when she locked herself in a room with her two innocent little boys and refused to give them back. Reports say that the youngest, Jaden, even has a bruise where she was holding him so tight, refusing to let go of him. (NOW she wants them?!?! What about all of the court-appointed meetings she couldn’t be bothered with attending or the time she had to turn them over to K-fed and then celebrated by partying all night?)

The latest stunt, refusing to turn them over and having a stand off that involved the police, has caused a lot of people to go from feeling sorry for her to just…well… despising her. I agree that these two little babies don’t deserve any part of this craziness. Britney’s diehard fans say they feel sorry for her because she wanted her babies so badly that she was willing to fight for them. I dunno. I mean, look at her face in the ambulance on the night it happened (the pics are all over the internet). That’s not a loving mom that’s been separated from babies she loves. She’s actually smiling. And the pics taken the next day when she was driving around with her photographer lover, she was smiling and laughing like she was on top of the world.

It seems to me that it’s like there are two Britneys. There’s the one that’s plasetered all over the internet, always doing stupid things and looking like a wild, reckless fool. Then there’s the one that OK! magazine photographer Dani Brubaker photographed a few weeks ago with Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, for the latest issue. During the photo shoot, Brubaker says that the singer was focused on her sons. “She was very loving,” Brubaker recalls. “She told me she loved her children and that they are her life.”

Reportedly, Britney found Brubaker’s photos so powerful that she became emotional. “I’m told that when she saw the photographs she literally cried for over an hour and stared at them all night long,” says Brubaker.

A friend of Britney’s told the magazine that she is “inconsolable.” “Those boys are her everything, and she’s said repeatedly that life isn’t worth living if she can’t have her babies with her,” says the friend, who adds.”"Britney has always said, ‘I would die for my boys if that’s what it took to prove I loved them. I’d do anything for them.”

Like I said, two Britneys. But the problem is, they both love publicity and they both need help. Stat! I want to see Britney make it safely to the other side of this nightmare. I hope she gets the help she needs, gets her act together, and even gets on top of the recording industry. Mostly, I hope that she realizes how lucky she is to have those two beautiful little boys and becomes the mommy they need.

The Ugly

Jessica Sierra was sentenced Monday to a yearlong stint at a California rehabilitation clinic and three years’ probation. Sierra, who is just 22, was arrested last month for disorderly intoxication and resisting officers. She remained jailed Tuesday in Tampa.

Circuit Judge David Perry said he doesn’t “want anybody glamorizing the fact that she’s a drug addict.” He also said he didn’t want the sentence to be another screen test for Sierra.

How’s he going to stop the glamorizing thing - I mean, look at her picture, if that’s not glamorous, what is?

The What Took so Long?

Finally, from the Taylor on top (the Swift) to the Taylor on bottom (the Hick) - Taylor Hicks has apparently been dropped by J Records.

*** Apparently, after the photographer skank sold videos/pics of him and Britney to the tabloids, Britney kicked him to the curb. So, she’s not totally out of her mind - well played, Brit.

Jessica Simpson’s Recording a Country CD

From CMT.com:
Jessica Simpson’s country album will be released sometime in 2008 on Columbia Nashville, according to Billboard. She tells the magazine she’s been collaborating with Nashville songwriters, and that because she’s from Texas, she grew up listening to country music and has always wanted to make a country album. In the article, she cites Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Reba McEntire as inspirations.

Jessica is a ridiculously talented girl. She can act, sing, write, design….. She has one of the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard - and I love her song writing. She and Ashlee are both really good at writing.

Jessica has been good to movies, but they haven’t been very good to her - as a matter of fact, with the exception of DOH, her movies have been Brutus to her Ceasar. E tu, Blonde Ambition?

Anyway, she’s back in the recording studio and I couldn’t be happier. She’ll be an absolutely perfect fit and I think she’ll set records with her sales.

More Jessica Simpson Pictures

Jon Bon Jovi and LeAnn Rimes on the Set of Their New Video

Here’s a set of pics from the set of Jon Bon Jovi’s “Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore,” Featuring LeAnn Rimes video. The song’s from Bon Jovi’s New Album “Lost Highway,” and being a huge fan of both his and LeAnn’s I can’t wait to hear this song! The video looks white hot, too.

Keith Urban Wipes Out then Gets a Helping Hand

Keith Urban recently had a spill on his motorcycle but, like George Clooney before him, he has a “scrape goat” - the paparazzi.

“Today’s incident was the result of one person’s desire to do his job and my desire to maintain my privacy,” Urban said in a statement Monday after the story made the Australian headline rounds.

“Some have already attempted to inflate the facts, but the reality is this: while out riding to an AA meeting, a time when my privacy is especially important to me, I felt myself being pursued.”

Urban said he then tried to ditch the photographer, but an oncoming car (trying to make an illegal U-Turn) caused him to bail out. As a result, Urban said, “I saw no choice but to drop my bike.”

After the 39-year-old Urban wasn’t hurt at all in the incident said the motorcycle-bound paparazzo that had been in hot pursuit surprised him by declining to take advantage of the available money shot.

“In actual fact, my pursuer came to my assistance, without taking photos, and helped me from the road. I returned home, got my car, and continued on my way.”

The drama unfolded near Nicole Kidman’s Darling Point home. A newspaper reported that there was a nearly 30-foot skid mark.

Keith and Nicole confirmed last month that they recently purchased a sizeable plot of land outside Nashville, which they plan on turning into a horse farm. Cools.

Carrie Underwood’s So Small Video

Here’s Carrie Underwood’s new single and video - both are absolutely amazing. Maybe her best, yet.

This cd is going to be a monster, you realize that, right? When Simon said that Carrie would go on to sell more cds than any other Idol - I thought he was off his nut…like so far he needed to be locked up. Nothing against Carrie, mind you, I just never thought she (or anyone) would outsell Miss Kelly. Looks like Simon’s very much on his nut because Carrie’s gaining momentum - this cd is going to blow up, just like her first. Maybe even more so.

I’m really happy for her. She and country are a perfect, perfect match.

Nominees for The CMA Awards

Carrie Underwood: Princess of Country Music!

“The 41st Annual CMA Awards” will November 7 on ABC, live from Nashville, of course. The nominees are pretty much the same lineup of suspects as every year, with a few originalities thrown in to keep things interesting. I put a * by each artist I WANT to win - and a @ by the one I THINK will win. I had a few ties, but I just couldn’t make up my mind.

Entertainer of the Year:
* Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Rascal Flatts
@ George Strait (Country Music loves, loves, loves their veteran artists.)
Keith Urban

Female Vocalist of the Year:
Alison Krauss
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
*@Reba McEntire (Reba’s pretty much the queen of Country Music and has always represented it with class.)
*Carrie Underwood (She’s been so amazing for Country Music, and is definitely the beautiful reigning princess.)

Male Vocalist of the Year:
*Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Josh Turner
*@Keith Urban (I think his popularity might cause them to give him the award, but it’s a toss up between him and Kenny.)

Horizon Award:
*Jason Aldean
Rodney Atkins
Little Big Town
*Kellie Pickler
@Taylor Swift

Vocal Group of the Year:
*@Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas
Dixie Chicks
Emerson Drive
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts

Vocal Duo of the Year:
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
*Montgomery Gentry
*@Sugarland
The Wreckers (Love them, but it seems like they should be in the Horizon Award category.)

Single of the Year:
(Award goes to artist and Producer.)
“Anyway”
Martina McBride

*“Before He Cheats”
Carrie Underwood

*“Lost In This Moment”
Big & Rich

“Ticks”
Brad Paisley

“Wrapped”
George Strait

Album of the Year:
5th Gear
Brad Paisley

It Just Comes Natural
George Strait

Long Trip Alone
Dierks Bentley

@ Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing
Keith Urban

* These Days
Vince Gill

Song of the Year:
(Award goes to Songwriter and Primary Publisher.)

“Anyway”
Martina McBride/Brad Warren/Brett Warren

*“Before He Cheats”
Josh Kear/Chris Tompkins

“Give It Away”
Bill Anderson/Buddy Cannon/Jamey Johnson

*@ “Lost In This Moment”
John Rich/Keith Anderson/Rodney Clawson

“Stupid Boy”
Dave Berg/Deanna Bryant/Sarah Buxton

Musical Event of the Year:
(Award to each Artist)

*Reba McEntire with Kelly Clarkson
“Because of You”

Tracy Lawrence featuring Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney
“Find Out Who Your Friends Are”

@ Jimmy Buffett with George Strait and Alan Jackson
“Hey Good Lookin’” Live

Alison Krauss and John Waite
“Missing You”

* Vince Gill with Guest Vocalist Alison Krauss
“The Reason Why”

Music Video of the Year:
(Award goes to Artist and Director)

“Anyway”
Martina McBride

*“Before He Cheats”
Carrie Underwood

“Moments”
Emerson Drive

“Online”
Brad Paisley

* “You Save Me”
Kenny Chesney

Okay, you know that for the occasional American Idol gripe, I try to ride on a positive wave….and avoid negative currents (there’s far too much negativity everywhere else, right?). Eh, throwing that aside for just a minute or two. How in the name of all sanity can the Dixie Chicks be considered for anything? Why would Country Music want to acknowledge them at all? They’ve trashed the genre and tried to distance themselves as far from it as possible. - I’d have loved to see a complete snubbing.

I also don’t get Sugarland and The Wreckers not being in the Single of the Year or Song of the Year categories. I didn’t care for Martina’s, George Strait’s, and Brad Paisley’s songs. Fact is, I wanted to punch my radio every time “Ticks came on.” I know, I know, I”m off that positive wave but good, here, but I’m just saying…

I’m also surprised that Kenny Chesney’s “You Save Me” wasn’t a nominee for song of the year and single of the year. Beautiful song…beautifully done.

Jason Aldean: One of my picks for the Horizon Award

Walk the Line Poster

Walk the Line Poster
Buy at AllPosters.com

Hot poster!

Next Page »