Trace Adkins presented Faith Hill and Tim McGraw with the 2011 CRB Artist Humanitarian Award during Country Radio Seminar. Photo courtesy of Aristo PR.
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill received the 2011 CRB Artist Humanitarian Award from the Country Radio Broadcasters during opening night of this year’s Country Radio Seminar. Tim and Faith were presented with the award in recognition of their ongoing efforts to aid those affected by the Nashville floods in 2010, particularly the star-studded Nashville Rising flood relief concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in 2010 that the couple organized. Last year’s winner, Trace Adkins, presented them with the award.
Taylor Swift performing for fans at her 13-hour Meet and Greet during the 2010 CMA Music Festival in Downtown Nashville. Photo courtesy of John Russell / CMA
Billboard.com has just released their “Top 40 Money Makers 2011″ list outlining the artists who rolled out of 2010 with the most dough! Billboard has a very in-depth and complicated formula for projecting the net earnings of artists based primarily on what they make from touring and music sales. My guess is these are pretty good estimates but on what I know about their calculations but don’t hold me to it. It definitely shows how much a major tour and a hit record can impact a bottom line.
It should come as no surprise that the overall top money maker on Billboard’s list is Lady Gaga. From our side of the tracks, a total of 11 country acts made their way onto the list lead by Taylor Swift who lands at the No. 6 position, sandwiched smack in between Bublé and Bieber.
Alan Jackson photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
Alan Jackson is set to add another honor to his ever growing collection. He will be inducted into the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Star Trail of Fame on March 18 as he reaches 1 million in attendance at RODEOHOUSTON. He will join superstars Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, Charley Pride and George Strait in the Trail of Fame as well as Gene Autry, Elvis Presley and Roy Rogers. He’ll be only the fifth entertainer history to perform in front of 1 million RODEOHOUSTON fans. Continue Reading
Ronnie Dunn photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
As part of the legendary duo Brooks & Dunn, Ronnie Dunn sold 30 million records. Now he’s set to add to that number with his first solo single, “Bleed Red.” It’s the first release from his upcoming solo debut album.
Produced by Ronnie and written by Tommy Lee James and Andrew Dorff, the ballad “Bleed Red” showcases Ronnie’s incredible voice and is all about the importance of forgiveness, healing and redemption.
“This song knocked me out from the first listen,” says Ronnie. ”I genuinely felt the spirit of the lyrics in my gut. It’s a really big song, and it needed to be sung.”
Blake Shelton photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.
Each year GAC asks fans to help us choose the best of the best country music videos released during the prior 12 months for our year end Top 50 Videos of the Year countdown. Here are the voting results for 2010 based on videos released and added to the GAC playlist from Nov. 1, 2009 to Oct. 31, 2010.
1. Blake Shelton — “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”
2. Miranda Lambert — “The House That Built Me”
3. Blake Shelton — “All About Tonight”
4. Carrie Underwood — “Mama’s Song”
5. Carrie Underwood — “Temporary Home”
6. Taylor Swift — “Mine”
7. Carrie Underwood — “Undo It”
8. Taylor Swift — “Fearless”
9. Sugarland — “Stuck Like Glue”
10. Lady Antebellum — “American Honey” Continue Reading
Brooks & Dunn photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
When they first came to national attention with “Brand New Man” in 1991, Brooks & Dunn were an unlikely combo — a couple of guys who moved to Nashville with dreams of becoming solo performers who were sort of glued together by a Music Row executive.
By the time Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn wound it down with the Last Rodeo Tour in 2010, they had become the most commercially successful duo in country music history — better known than Country Music Hall of Famers the Louvin Brothers with more hits than Hall of Famers the Everly Brothers.
The Brooks & Dunn breakup ranks No. 5 as GAC counts down the dozen top stories of the past year.
Rascal Flatts photo courtesy of Big Machine Records. Photo credit Chapman Baehler.
A dismal, sluggish economy was central to every part of American life in 2010, and it certainly had an effect on Music Row. Nowhere was it more obvious than when Disney shut down the Lyric Street Records office in April, creating turmoil in the lives of several artists, including Rascal Flatts.
The Lyric Street closing and all that it represented is the No. 12 story among country music’s one dozen most important stories of the year.
Trace Adkins photo courtesy of Show Dog-Universal Music.
Kix Brooks, Trace Adkins and Buddy Jewell are among the latest acts taking time from their schedules to honor the soldiers who put their lives on the line for their country.
Kix is in the midst of a Middle East tour, Buddy just headed out with with a package of country singers that will visit four countries, and Trace is set to appear on a TV special with a military theme before his own USO journey.
Lady Antebellum's Need You Now CD. Photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.
Billboard.com has just released its year-end charts for 2010. Here are the 50 most popular country albums for the year (based on album sales). Congrats to Lady Antebellum for taking the top spot!
Gwyneth Paltrow & Tim McGraw from the upcoming movie, Country Strong, in theaters January 7, 2011. Photo by Scott Garfield, courtesy of Sony Pictures USA & Monarch Publicity.
Ever since he appeared in the 2004 films Black Cloud and Friday Night Lights, Tim McGraw has had a fairly regular supply of roles in the movies.
The latest news in that department: He’ll appear in the spy drama Safe House, set to start shooting in South Africa, according to comingsoon.net. The movie stars Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington. Tim revealed his involvement during an interview for Country Strong, the film in which Gwyneth Paltrow plays a country star.
In that picture, set for national release Jan. 7, Tim portrays the husband/manager of Gwyneth’s character, Kelly Canter, taking the struggling singer out of rehab early in an attempt to jump-start her career before she loses her fan base.
GAC recently spoke to Tim, Gwyneth and other cast members at the red carpet premiere in Nashville. Check out our red carpet photos and exclusive interviews with all of them HERE and watch Tim’s interview below:
Because of the subject matter, Tim’s role with Country Strong went deeper than usual. Country music is, after all, a world he knows quite well.
