Miranda Lambert photo by Randee St. Nicholas, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Miranda Lambert made her acting debut on last night’s episode of Law & Order: SVU. Miranda played Lacy, an actress believed to have been sexually assaulted by a reality show producer, played by Michael McKean. Miranda developed the character of Lacy in her mind before going in front of the cameras.

“I play a girl named Lacy Ford,” Miranda said to ET. “I see her as a girl from the south who comes to New York City to try to make it. She probably has a bad home life, maybe has issues with her dad and is looking for approval.”

Check out this clip of Miranda as Lacy!

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Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton pose with awards at the 45th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 9, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert will be on hand at Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday to open the event with a duet version of “America the Beautiful.” This will be their first TV performance together since their headline-topping wedding in May of 2011. Their version of the song is available for download at iTunes now.

Immediately after the Super Bowl, fans can tune in to catch Blake on the season premiere of The Voice at 10/9 CT on NBC. Blake is currently on the road on his Well Lit & Amplified Tour and received two ACM Award nominations for Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. He is also nominated for three GRAMMY Awards.  Continue Reading

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Fan voting for the ACM New Artist of the Year semi-finalists runs from Jan. 16-30, 2012!

Eight of country music’s most talented newcomers — each competing for the Academy of Country Music’s New Artist of the Year honor – will be featured on ACM Showcase, Monday, January 16 at 8/7c on GAC, check schedule for more times. The 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be held Sunday, April 1, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Host Storme Warren will interview Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes, JT Hodges, Scotty McCreery, Justin Moore, David Nail, Jerrod Niemann and duo Thompson Square, catching up with each on the remarkable year they’ve had. These eight semi-finalists were chosen by the first round of ACM professional membership voting and the fans will help choose the three finalists. Online voting is now open at gactv.com/acm and closes Monday, January 30 Noon ET and fans may vote once per day. When the three final nominees are chosen, online voting for the New Artist of the Year honor begins Monday, March 19, at 3pm ET by logging on to VoteACM.com. Continue Reading

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The Academy of Country Music and Great American Country (GAC) announced today that for the fourth consecutive year, the newcomer category for the 47^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards — New Artist of the Year—will be opened up to interactive fan voting through VoteACM.com and GACTV.com/ACM, beginning Monday, January 16, 2012.

The Academy of Country Music combined all newcomer categories into a single combined, overall category for New Artist of the Year.  The New Artist of the Year award absorbs all newcomer categories including New Male Vocalist, New Female Vocalist, New Vocal Duo, New Vocal Group, New Solo Vocalist and New Vocal Duo or Group categories from past years, and the winner will be revealed on the LIVE telecast at the 47^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.  The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 8 p.m. live ET/delayed PT on CBS.

The top 8 artists from the first round of ACM professional voting are considered semi-finalists and will compete via the GAC fan vote at GACTV.com/ACM, combined with the ACM professional membership vote, to determine the final 3 nominees for the Award.  The final 3 nominees will compete for the trophy, with a combined fan and professional membership vote to determine the winner. Don’t miss our special, ACM Showcase 2012, hosted by Storme Warren and featuring interviews with all 8 semi-finalists, premiering Monday, January 16 at  8/7c.

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR semi-finalists are:

• Brantley Gilbert
• Hunter Hayes
• JT Hodges
• David Nail
• Jerrod Niemann
• Justin Moore
• Scotty McCreery
• Thompson Square

First round fan voting for New Artist of the Year will begin at www.VoteACM.com and www.GACTV.com/ACM on Monday, Jan. 16  at 9 a.m. ET, and will close on Monday, Jan. 30 at Noon ET.  The final three nominees will be announced in February and will move on to compete for ACM New Artist of the Year.  Final round voting for the New Artist category will begin at VoteACM.com on Monday, March 19 and will close on April 1, with the winner being announced live during the 47^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast on CBS on Sunday, April 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

As part of this partnership, GAC will air several stand-alone specials, including a show featuring the top eight semi-finalists, as well as a show featuring the final nominees who will compete for New Artist.  The first GAC special “ACM Showcase” will feature all eight semi-finalists, and will premiere Monday, January 16 at 8 p.m. ET. This special will re-air through January 30, when voting closes.  The GAC “ACM New Artist of the Year” special will feature interviews and exclusive performances with the final three nominees.  That special premieres March 19 at 9 p.m. ET and airs through April 1.

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Jerrod Niemann photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Jerrod Niemann is celebrating the start of 2012 with his first platinum single for his hit “Lover, Lover,” after the song sold more than one million copies. The No. 1 song is from his chart-topping album Judge Jerrod & The Hung Jury, which also features the Top 5 and gold-certified hit, “What Do You Want.”

“To have a platinum single is mind-blowing,” Jerrod said. “It’s just truly a dream come true for me. To know that people have thought ‘Man, I care about this enough to own it,’ whether it’s to get over somebody or just to ignore the words and kick your shoes off in the sun, it doesn’t matter. It’s just amazing to me.”

Jerrod isn’t the only country star starting the New Year off with new wall bling. Dierks Bentley’s “Am I The Only One,” the lead single from his new album, Home, which will be released February 7, was certified gold after more than 500,000 downloads. Continue Reading

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Miranda Lambert photo by Randee St. Nicholas, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Miranda Lambert will make her acting debut on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit reports TVGuide.com, (via MSN.com). Miranda will play an actress who claims to have been sexually assaulted by the producer of a reality show, played by Michael McKean. The air date for Miranda’s schedule has not been scheduled.

Miranda shared both the news and her excitement with her Twitter followers on Saturday. “Yall I’m so freaking excited to be on my favorite show ever !!!” she tweeted once the news broke.

While this is Miranda’s first acting role, she is no stranger to reality shows. She jump-started her career as a contestant on Nashville Star in 2003 where she finished third. She will also serve as an advisor to husband Blake Shelton’s team on the new season of NBC’s The Voice, which premieres Sunday, February 5 right after the Super Bowl. Continue Reading

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Miranda Lambert photo by Randee St. Nicholas, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Miranda Lambert is starting of the New Year with some new bling. Her latest album, Four The Record, has been certified Gold. The album reached Gold status faster than any of her previous three albums, all of which were eventually certified Platinum.

Four The Record, released November 1, 2011, has received rave reviews from critics and ended up on many Album of the Year lists, including our own Top 10 Albums of 2011 list, plus Rolling Stone, USA Today, People Magazine, American Songwriter and The Houston Chronicle. Rolling Stone included the song “Mama’s Broken Heart” from the album on their Singles of the Year list. Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Billboard.com has released their list of the Top Country Artists of 2011. Artists are ranked based on album sales, song downloads and airplay, touring revenue, Social 50 chart action, ringtone sales and streaming data provided by Nielsen BDS. Congratulations to Taylor Swift for being named the Top Country Artist of 2011! What do you think of this ranking? Who’d top YOUR Top 50 list? Leave us a comment below!

1. Taylor Swift
2. Jason Aldean
3. Lady Antebellum
4. Zac Brown Band
5. Blake Shelton
6. The Band Perry
7. Rascal Flatts
8. Kenny Chesney
9. Brad Paisley
10. Luke Bryan
11. Keith Urban
12. Miranda Lambert
13. Sugarland
14. Eric Church
15. Scotty McCreery
16. Toby Keith
17. Thompson Square
18. Chris Young
19. Billy Currington
20. Tim McGraw Continue Reading

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Eli Young Band photo courtesy of Universal Records South.

Billboard.com has released their year-end Top Country Songs chart for 2011. Here are the 50 most popular country songs of the year based on radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS. Congratulations to Eli Young Band for having the No. 1 song of the year with “Crazy Girl!” Of note, the song was co-written by Lee Brice who recorded “Love Like Crazy,” the Top Song of 2010.

1. “Crazy Girl” – Eli Young Band
2. “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” – Jake Owen
3. “Take A Back Road” – Rodney Atkins
4. “Tomorrow” – Chris Young
5. “You Lie” – The Band Perry
6. “Am I The Only One” – Dierks Bentley
7. “You and Tequila” – Kenny Chesney
8. “Honey Bee” – Blake Shelton
9. “Just Fishin’” – Trace Adkins
10. “Let Me Down Easy” – Billy Currington
11. “Here For A Good Time” – George Strait
12. “Knee Deep” – Zac Brown Band
13. “Just A Kiss” – Lady Antebellum
14. “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” – Justin Moore
15. “Made In America” – Toby Keith
16. “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” – Luke Bryan
17. “Heart Like Mine” – Miranda Lambert
18. “God Gave Me You” – Blake Shelton
19. “Don’t You Wanna Stay” – Jason Aldean w/Kelly Clarkson
20. “What Do You Want” – Jerrod Niemann Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift's Speak Now CD. Photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Billboard.com has just released its year-end charts for 2011. Here are the 50 most popular country albums for the year (based on album sales). Congratulations to Taylor Swift for taking the top spot with her Speak Now album!

1. Speak Now – Taylor Swift
2. My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean
3. Nothing Like This – Rascal Flatts
4. Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
5. You Get What You Give – Zac Brown Band
6. Own The Night – Lady Antebellum  Read Our Review >>
7. The Band Perry – The Band Perry
8. The Incredible Machine – Sugarland
9. Get Closer – Keith Urban
10. Hemingway’s Whiskey – Kenny Chesney
11. This Is Country Music – Brad Paisley  Read Our Review >>
12. Clear As Day – Scotty McCreery  Read Our Review >>
13. Number One Hits – Tim McGraw
14. Tailgates & Tanlines – Luke Bryan  Read Our Review >>
15. Chief – Eric Church  Read Our Review >>
16. Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton – Blake Shelton
17. Red River Blue – Blake Shelton  Read Our Review >>
18. The Foundation – Zac Brown Band
19. Revolution – Miranda Lambert
20. Country Strong Soundtrack – Various Artists Continue Reading

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