Country music stars sure love Twitter! This week, Carrie Underwood surprises Brad Paisley, Jerrod Niemann thanks Lee Brice for saving him from his burning bus, Randy Houser is a proud papa, Lady Antebellum takes a trip to the shooting range, and Tom McMillan of Tom’s Wild Life offers GAC a thank you gift after the season premiere of his show. Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week.

Photo courtesy of Carrie Underwood.

Carrie Underwood – CarrieUnderwood: Had so much fun tonight surprising @BradPaisley – Thanks Knoxville!!

Jerrod Niemann – jrodfromoz: To be honest, thank the good Lord that @leebrice was here tonite or I’d be freddy Krueger

Randy Houser – RandyHouser: He’s super handsome, sweet, i think he’s a singer, I’ve never loved like this, His name is West Yantz Houser. @JessaLeeHouser Our son! Continue Reading

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Lee Brice is set to release his new album 'Hard 2 Love' on April 24th. Photo courtesy Curb Records.

Lee Brice will release his long-awaited second Curb Records album, Hard 2 Love, on April 24th. The project will feature his current single, “A Woman Like You,” which has cracked the Top 10 and sold more than 450,000 digital downloads already. The single is on track to reach Gold status.

Hard 2 Love is the follow up to Lee’s critically-acclaimed debut album Love Like Crazy which spawned “Love Like Crazy,” Billboard’s Most Played Country Song of 2010. Lee repeated the feat as a songwriter when his song “Crazy Girl,” recorded by Eli Young Band,” was named 2011’s most played song. He’s also penned hits for Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and Tim McGraw. Continue Reading

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Miranda Lambert on the set of her new video "Over You"

Miranda Lambert’s new video, “Over You,” is emotional. The song was co-written by her and husband Blake Shelton about the death of his brother Richie when Blake was just 14. Both have called it one of the most personal songs they’ve ever written. The song’s lyrics became even more potent to the couple in recent weeks as they went through the loss of Blake’s father and then a close friend of Miranda’s.

In the video, Miranda is seen wearing a vintage dress, walking through the woods on a cold, snowy day. Two little boys are playing together around her, likely symbolic of Blake and Richie, when one disappears. A beautiful white horse then joins Miranda on her walk which ends in an old cemetery where she grieves her loss. Pay close attention to the tombstones at the end for a special tribute to the Shelton family.  The video made its world premiere today on VEVO.

Watch the video here then leave us a
comment below and tell us what you think… Continue Reading

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Jerrod Niemann photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Jerrod Niemann has released his latest single, “Shinin’ On Me,” to radio. The song, co-written by Jerrod, Lee Brice, Rob Hatch and Lance Miller, is the lead single from Jerrod’s yet-to-be-titled sophomore album.

“I am so excited to release “Shinin’ On Me” as the first single from my second album,” Jerrod said. “Not only does it represent some of the unconventional instrumentation on this record, it’s also intended to just make you wanna roll down the window on a bad day and smile with someone ya love.”

Jerrod’s debut album, Judge Jerrod & The Hung Jury, debuted at No. 1 and produced the chart-topping hit “Lover, Lover” and “What Do You Want” which reached the Top 5. Jerrod is currently out on the road with Miranda Lambert on her On Fire Tour.

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Country music stars sure love Twitter! This week, country stars took to the GRAMMYs, where Taylor Swift tweets her winning stationery, Miranda Lambert shares her new friend and Randy Montana is shaken up over Nicki Minaj’s performance. Elsewhere, The Farm makes their Grand Ole Opry debut and Edens Edge questions the validity of Twilight. Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week.

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/taylorswift13.

Taylor Swift – TaylorSwift13: Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. I’m floating.

Miranda Lambert – Miranda_Lambert: Y’all. I have a new friend! @ladygaga from NYC and a Texas girl. Who knew! She is really sweet! The odd couple… well not really!

Randy Montana – RandyMontana: Still wigged out from that Nikki Minage [sic] exorcism.

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/lady_antebellum.

Lady Antebellum – LadyAntebellum: And this awesome cake to kick off the show is perfect. Thank you Denver! Continue Reading

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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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