The JaneDear girls photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s latest spotlight exhibit will be in support of the American Heart Association and Go Red For Women. The Exhibit, Something in Red, will feature red ensembles from several country stars including Sara Evans, Naomi Judd, and Lorrie Morgan. The exhibit opens on February 3, National Wear Red Day, and runs through April 2012.

The red dress symbolizes the fight against heart disease in women. Several country artists have parented with the American Heart Association and the museum to raise awareness for the disease, which is the number one killer in women.

Some of the dresses featured in Something in Red include Sara Evans’ dress from the1999 Academy of Country Music Awards, Naomi Judd’s leather-like jacket and skirt she wore at the 1987 Country Music Association Awards, the dress worn by the JaneDear girls’ Danelle Leverett on the cover of the duo’s debut album (photo above) and Susie Brown’s dress from the 2011 ACM Awards, and gowns worn by Lorrie Morgan and Julie Roberts on the Grand Ole Opry. Continue Reading

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THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE -- 7UP Finale Part 2: Sweet Victory -- Pictured: (l-r) Donald Trump, John Rich -- Photo by: Heidi Gutman/NBC.

Country stars were well-represented in reality TV in 2011. From The Voice and American Idol  to Celebrity Apprentice and The Biggest Loser, stars were giving up their guitars and putting on their game faces or else signing for their chance to be music’s next big thing.

Perhaps the biggest reality star from the country music realm ended up being Blake Shelton. Blake took on the role as a coach on NBC’s The Voice alongside artists Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Maroon 5‘s Adam Levine. Blake coached team member Dia Frampton all the way to a second place finish, winning over America in the process. Blake will take Dia on tour with him in 2012 and he’ll return to the coach’s chair when the second season of The Voice premieres on NBC January 5.

American Idol has been known to springboard the careers of several country artists — and season 10 proved no different. It was an all-country Top 2 with Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina being voted into the finale by fans across America. Scotty went on to win, but both artists released highly-successful debut albums and singles in 2011 and will hit the road on major tours in early 2012.

“This is pretty wild, I gotta say,” Scotty told Billboard after winning. “It’s a whole lot more than I bargained for coming into this. I never would have expected it. But I’m handling it well — this is what I asked for, and it’s my new life, so this is a really crazy ride so far.”

American Idol Finale Photo Gallery >>

John Rich continued the country tradition of doing well on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. John won the competition over Marlee Matlin in what Trump’s daughter Ivanka said was the closest finale in the show’s history. John was awarded $250,000 for his charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, bringing his total for the hospital to over one million dollars. Continue Reading

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Wynonna Judd photo courtesy of Curb Records.

Wynonna Judd is picking up right where she and her mom, Naomi Judd, left off — she’s hitting the road on her own. Last night, Wy kicked off her fall tour in Phoenix, the same city she and Naomi performed their last concert as part of The Judds: Final Encore Tour. With the holidays fast approaching, Wynonna will use the tour as a way to say thank you to her fans, holding a ‘Thanks & Giving’ meet and greet at every tour stop.

“It means a lot to me to have such dedicated and hardworking fans that have been with me throughout my journey,” she said. “Thanking each person is always hard to do, but I’m going to meet as many fans as possible and express my appreciation to them in person.”

Wynonna is also planning to return to the studio in December to continue work on her eighth studio album for Curb Records. For more information on her upcoming tour, visit wynonna.com Continue Reading

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The Judds photo courtesy of Webster PR.

The season finale of The Judds will air on Sunday at 10/9c on OWN. In the last episode of the docu-series following Naomi and Wynonna on their Last Encore Tour, mother and daughter are emotionally and physically exhausted as they reach the final stop. During their concert, Wynonna and her boyfriend, Cactus Moser, surprise Naomi with a song, “Love It Out loud,” they wrote together for her.

Here’s a sneak peek: Continue Reading

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Jennifer Nettles, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood and The Judds perform during the Girls' Night Out: Superstar Women Of Country concert. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

If you were in Las Vegas last Monday night and were lucky enough to attend the Academy of Country Music’s Girls’ Night Out: Superstar Women Of Country taping, you saw many once-in-a-lifetime performances. Each part of the show – which spotlighted honorees Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, The Judds, Sugarland‘s Jennifer Nettles and Martina McBride – featured a musical collaboration as well as a video tribute and performance salute. Click HERE to see photos from the taping!

Country Aircheck reports that Miranda’s fiancé Blake Shelton sang “Famous In A Small Town” for her. Miranda also debuted her new group Pistol Annie with Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley to perform “Hell On Heels.” Vince Gill sang “Jesus Take The Wheel” for Carrie, who then joined Vince on “How Great Thou Art.” Rascal Flatts performed “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” for Reba, who sang “The Heart Won’t Lie” with the Flatts. John Fogerty performed “Rockin’ With The Rhythm Of The Rain” for the Judds. Wynonna and Fogerty then performed “Proud Mary,” while Naomi Judd observed. Sugarland partner Kristian Bush hosted a video tribute for Nettles, who joined Ronnie Dunn on “Let Him Fly.” Dunn also performed Sugarland’s “Stay.” Little Big Town and McBride sang Linda Ronstadt’s “When Will I Be Loved.” Honoree Loretta Lynn couldn’t attend the taping because of recent knee surgery, but she spoke via a satellite video feed. Continue Reading

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The Judds photo courtesy of Webster PR.

The Judds released their latest album this week. I Will Stand By You: The Essential Collection features twelve classic songs from The Judds, including “Mama He’s Crazy,” “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Ole Days),” “Turn It Loose” and their anthem, “Love Can Build A Bridge.” It also includes two new tracks, “I Will Stand By You” and “Back Home,” which features Alison Krauss. This is the first time the mother-daughter duo has recorded together since 2004’s “Flies On The Butter,” which is also included on this album.

The Judds were recently recognized as the most awarded female duo in ACM history. On Monday, they joined Loretta Lynn, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles, Reba and Carrie Underwood for the ACM’s Girl’s Night Out: Superstar Women of Country concert which will air on CBS Aprill 22. You can also catch The Judds on their new television series, The Judds, which premieres April 10 at 9/8 CT on the new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The reality show will follow the duo as they embark on their first tour in 10 years. Continue Reading

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The Judds photo courtesy of Webster PR.

Their life is kind of a crazy train, so when Wynonna and Naomi Judd launch a reality series on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network in 2011, will it be a new version of “The Osbournes”?

Probably not. But they could have done that if they wanted.

“We were offered the VH1 slot after ‘The Osbournes,’” Wynonna remembers. “I was like, ‘I’d rather have a lobotomy.’”

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The Judds photo courtesy of Webster PR.

Wynonna and Naomi Judd will make a pit-stop from The Judds: The Last Encore tour tonight, Tuesday, December 14th, to spend an hour with longtime friend Larry King during his final week as host of CNN’s Larry King Live.  You can watch Larry’s visit with The Judds at 9/8c on CNN.  Larry King Live has been airing on CNN since 1985.

There is still a half dozen or so stops left on The Last Encore tour, you can find all of the latest info, including a complete listing of concert dates, on the official tour website: www.thejuddstour2010.com.

Watch GAC’s exclusive Fan Q&A video series with The Judds and check out their photo gallery »

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The Judds photo courtesy of Webster PR.

Wynonna and Naomi Judd hit the road on Friday as the Judds’ Last Encore Tour got underway in Green Bay, mixing some of the duo’s classics with numerous solo songs from Wy.

Mother and daughter locked voices on such historic titles as “Love Can Build A Bridge,” “Young Love,” “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Old Days)” and “Love Is Alive.” Wynonna ran through “No One Else On Earth” and “She Is His Only Need,” and they added a few holiday performances as well, including “Silent Night” and “Ave Maria.”

The Judds took country by storm in the 1980s before a potentially fatal bout with hepatitis C forced Naomi to retire from the road. The disease has since gone into remission, but she’s been content to let Wynonna carry on her solo career while she stays at home in Nashville most of the time.

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Wynonna Judd photo courtesy of Curb Records.

Wynonna Judd is getting ready to tour with her mom this month for the first time in a decade, and it’s likely to represent a major turn-around in her relationship with her career — and with herself.

When the Judds first took off in the 1980s, Wynonna was in her late teens, and the duo’s success set up a personal storyline that differs from most people. Instead of separating from her parents, as is typical in the 20s, she was cooped up with her mom, Naomi, on a bus, driving for hours from show to show. It was stressful, to say the least. And Wynonna had a hard time emotionally when she failed to live up to her mom’s expectations or to the praise she received from the public.

Fortunately, Wy has gone through some personal transformations, and she doesn’t feel career pressure in the same way.

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