Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Hello, world: Just in case anyone was left on the planet that hadn’t figured out how significant Lady Antebellum was this year, the Recording Academy slipped the band into three of the big-four, multi-genre categories on the prestigious Grammy Awards ballot. Finalists in the general-interest categories were unveiled Wednesday during a one-hour nominations special on CBS.

“Need You Now” and the album of the same name were tabbed as finalists for Record, Song and Album of the Year, pitting Lady A against such pop, rock and rap acts as Eminem, Katy Perry and Arcade Fire.

Miranda Lambert sang her snarky “Only Prettier” on the special, which also saw “The House That Built Me” gain a Song of the Year nomination for composers Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin. As a result, two country titles — “Need You Now” and “House” — are among the five Song of the Year finalists, something that’s only happened seven times in the Grammys’ previous 52 years.

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I think we may have located William Hung’s uncle living under the radar in Wichita, Kansas.

You may remember William Hung as the American Idol season 3 contestant who enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame thanks to a gut wrenching, laugh out loud performance of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs”  in 2004.

Fast forward back to 2010 and the Towne West Mall in Wichita, where 52-year old Robert Wong took the stage to perform his own over the top version of Carrie Underwood’s chart topping hit “Before He Cheats.”  The performance is Mr. Wong’s entry into a “Carrie-Oke” contest local TV station KSN-3 is running. Continue Reading

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"I Run to You," performed by Lady Antebellum and produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley, wins Single of the Year and the group wins Vocal Group of the Year at "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photographer: Jim Hagans / CMA.

Even for jaded music media types who get to see and hear artists all the time, Lady Antebellum’s performance at Wednesday’s No. 1 party was special. Joined by songwriter Josh Kear, the trio sang “Need You Now” at Cabana in Nashville backed only by Dave Haywood’s acoustic guitar, and by the time the harmonies peaked in the second chorus, the rendition created a little tingle in the gut.

Lady A likewise gave an acoustic performance last August, and that too generated some very strong emotions that were hard to hold back. It’s a genuine sign of an act that’s making an impact, though the numbers in this case don’t hurt, either.

Not only did “Need You Now” hit the No. 1 position on the national country charts, it stayed there a whopping five weeks. And even though Capitol Records hasn’t picked up a phone once to ask a pop radio station to play the song, more than 50 are now doing so, label chief Mike Dungan said. “Need You Now” entered the Top 30 on the USA Today Mediabase Adult Contemporary chart this week. it’s sold more than 1.4 million copies via download.

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Carrie Underwood rehearses on Sunday, Nov. 8 at the Sommet Center in Downtown Nashville for "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards," which will broadcast live on the ABC Television Network on Wed., Nov. 11th, 8-11PM/ET. Photographer: John Russell / CMA

Carrie Underwood has done her best to keep her private life as private as possible, but the news of her engagement took just hours to become public knowledge.

Ottawa Senators hockey player Mike Fisher asked her on Sunday to marry him, The Ottawa Citizen reports. Carrie said yes, though no date has been announced.

“We’re both obviously excited and very happy,” Mike told The Citizen.

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