Neil Perry, Kimberly Perry and Reid Perry of The Band Perry backstage at The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live! Countdown to Music's Biggest Night at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 30, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Several country stars are in Los Angeles this weekend for the 54^th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Besides being nominated, several artists will take part in the all-genre show as performers and presenters. The GRAMMYs will air live from the Staples Center on Sunday, February 12 at 8/7 CT on CBS. LL Cool J will serve as host.

Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Glen Campbell will perform with Blake Shelton and The Band Perry in what is sure to be a highlight of the night. Blake is nominated for two GRAMMY Awards, including Best Country Solo Performance for “Honey Bee” and Best Country Album for Red River Blue. His No. 1 hit “God Gave Me You,” written by Dave Barnes, is also up for Best Country Song, given to the songwriter. The Band Perry is nominated for the all-genre New Artist of the Year award.

Other country performers include Carrie Underwood with Tony Bennett, Taylor Swift, and Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson. Carrie’s “Mama’s Song” is nominated in the Best Country Solo Performance. Taylor is up for three GRAMMY Awards. Her hit “Mean” is nominated for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song, while her Speak Now album is up for Best Country Album.

Jason is also up for three GRAMMYs. “Dirt Road Anthem” is nominated in the Best Country Solo Performance category. “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” which he will perform with Kelly Clarkson during the show, is up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and his My Kinda Party album is in the running for Best Country Album.

Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert and Gwyneth Paltrow will be among the GRAMMY presenters during the show. A special tribute to the late Etta James by Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt will be featured during the telecast, as well as performances by Katy Perry, Adele, Coldplay and Rihanna, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Paul McCartney and Nicki Minaj.

Here is a complete list of all the country categories as well as a few others featuring country stars as nominees:

Best New Artist (all genres)
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex

Best Country Solo Performance
“Dirt Road Anthem” — Jason Aldean
“I’m Gonna Love You Through It” — Martina McBride
“Honey Bee” — Blake Shelton
“Mean” — Taylor Swift
“Mama’s Song” — Carrie Underwood Continue Reading

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Carrie Underwood photo by James White, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum have been added to the list of country stars who will be a part of the 54^th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Carrie will join Tony Bennett for a performance while Lady A will serve as presenters. A tribute to the late Etta James by Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt has also been added. The GRAMMYs will air on CBS on Sunday, February 12th at 8/7 CT.

Other country artists scheduled to perform include Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Glen Campbell, with Blake Shelton and The Band Perry, Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift. Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert and Gwyneth Paltrow will be among GRAMMY presenters. Continue Reading

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

Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert and Gwyneth Paltrow have been announced as presenters at the 54^th Annual GRAMMY Awards. They are just the latest country stars to be added to the awards. Lifetime Achievement Recipient Glen Campbell will perform with special guests Blake Shelton and The Band Perry. Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson, and Taylor Swift are also slated to perform.

Other performers on the GRAMMYs include Katy Perry, Adele, Coldplay and Rihanna, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Paul McCartney and Nicki Minaj. LL Cool J will act as host of the GRAMMYs for the first time. Continue Reading

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Glen Campbell photo courtesy of Big Hassle PR

Glen Campbell, who is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy, will perform on the GRAMMY Awards with Blake Shelton and The Band Perry. Glen has won five GRAMMYs over his career and is currently on the road for his Goodbye Tour after announcing last year that he has Alzheimer’s.

Blake Shelton is nominated for two GRAMMYs, including Best Country Solo Performance for “Honey Bee” and Best Country Album for Red River Blue. The Band Perry is up for Best New Artist. The 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place on Sunday, February 12. The show will air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on CBS at 8/7 CT. Continue Reading

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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)

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton will perform “America the Beautiful” together prior to the kickoff of the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on February 5, reports the Associated Press (via Yahoo). One of the most-watched events of the year, Kelly Clarkson is slated to perform the National Anthem. The Super Bowl will air live on NBC.

Blake and Miranda aren’t the only country artists who will be in Indianapolis for Super Bowl events, however. Darius Rucker and Dierks Bentley will perform at concerts in Super Bowl Village in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, while Sara Evans will perform at the Taste of the NFL’s 21st Annual Party With a Purpose on February 4. Madonna has been announced as the Super Bowl’s halftime performer. Continue Reading

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Jason Aldean photo courtesy of Broken Bow Records.

Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift are among the first artists announced as performers at the 54^th Annual GRAMMY Awards. This will be Jason’s first performance on the show, while Taylor has performed previously. Other artists announced as performers include the Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, and Nicki Minaj.

Jason and Taylor are up for three GRAMMYs each. Jason is nominated for Best Country Solo Performance for “Dirt Road Anthem,” Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Kelly Clarkson, and Best Country Album for My Kinda Party. Taylor is also nominated for Best Country Solo Performance as well as Best Country Song for “Mean,” and Best Country Album for Speak Now.

In other GRAMMY news, MusiCares, the charitable arm of The Recording Academy which provides assistance for music people in times of need, will honor 14-time GRAMMY winner Paul McCartney as their 2012 Person of the Year. Paul and other artists to be announced will perform at a gala two nights prior to the GRAMMY Awards in Paul’s honor. All proceeds from the event, now in its 22nd year, will go to MusiCares.

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville. Jewel photo courtesy of The Valory Music Co.

NBC’s “The Voice” coaches have enlisted multi-platinum singer-songwriters Kelly Clarkson, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds,” Jewel, Miranda Lambert, Alanis Morissette, Ne-Yo, Lionel Richie and Robin Thicke to lend their knowledge and skills as advisers to six separate artists on Teams Adam (Levine), Blake (Shelton), Cee Lo (Green) and Christina (Aguilera), respectively, during the “battle rounds” phase of competition on the upcoming season.

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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 2011 based on videos released and added to the GAC playlist from Nov. 1, 2010 to Oct. 31, 2011.

1. Blake Shelton — “God Gave Me You”
2. Jason Aldean w/Kelly Clarkson — “Don’t You Wanna Stay”
3. Keith Urban — “Without You”
4. Jason Aldean — “Dirt Road Anthem”
5. Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood — “Remind Me”
6. Blake Shelton — “Honey Bee”
7. Lady Antebellum — “Just A Kiss”
8. Alan Jackson — “Long Way To Go”
9. Scotty McCreery — “I Love You This Big”
10. Trace Adkins — “Just Fishin’” Continue Reading

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LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 05: Singer Jason Aldean poses in the press room with the awards for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Singer of the Year: Male, Single of the Year: Vocal Collaboration, Touring Artist of the Year and Music Video: Group or Collaboration at the American Country Awards 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on December 5, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Slow and steady wins the race and Jason Aldean is proof of the old adage. Ever since Jason’s self-titled debut in 2005, he has slowly been working his way up the ladder, scoring hit songs and platinum albums along the way. 2011 turned out to be his year, as his My Kinda Party album, released in November of 2010, catapulted him to new heights.

My Kinda Party went double platinum and was the top-selling country album of 2011. The album was named the CMA Album of the Year as well as iTunes’ Country Album of the Year and came in at No. 4 on Billboard’s all-genre Top 200 Albums of 2011 chart. It produced three consecutive No. 1 hits, including “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” “Dirt Road Anthem,” and “Tattoos On This Town.”

“When we did our annual holiday party, we had more to be thankful for and celebrate than we ever have before,” Jason said. “It’s really cool to be experiencing some of this stuff with a lot of the same guys who have been with me since I started in 2005. We’re definitely a family, and that has made the whole experience even more special.”

While industry awards have alluded Jason in previous years, 2011 changed that. He picked up two CMA Awards for Album of the Year and Musical Event of the Year for “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Kelly Clarkson, won six American Country Awards, including Artist of the Year, and won the Breakthrough Award at the Billboard Touring Awards. Jason was nominated for 20 total awards in 2011, including three for the 2012 GRAMMYs.

One of his biggest accomplishments came in touring, however. Jason’s My Kinda Party Tour played to over one million fans and sold out more than 50 arenas and amphitheaters in advance. The tour was named to the Billboard Top 25 Tours of 2011 list, coming in at No. 24, one of just four country acts to make the cut. Continue Reading

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Jason Aldean photo courtesy of Broken Bow Records.

Jason Aldean and The Band Perry have been announced as performers during the Nightly Concerts at LP Field during the 2012 CMA Music Festival. The CMA Music Festival will take place in downtown Nashville June 7-10. Carrie Underwood was announced as a performer during the LP Field shows last week.

Jason and The Band Perry both picked up their first CMA Awards last month. Jason won Album of the Year for his triple platinum My Kinda Party album as well as Musical Event of the Year for “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Kelly Clarkson. The Band Perry picked up CMAs for Single of the Year for “If I Die Young” and New Artist of the Year and lead singer Kimberly Perry was awarded the CMA Award for Song of the Year for writing “If I Die Young.” Check out CMA Awards photos HERE. Continue Reading

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