Blake Shelton photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

Blake Shelton has always been on the shy side, not one to speak his mind or crack a joke. Okay, okay…I’m kidding! That may be BS, but it ain’t Blake.

You can guarantee that who he is when we aren’t looking, is the same person we see in the spotlight! Just ask soon-to-be Mrs. Shelton, Miranda Lambert. While the dust is settling from their country wedding in Texas, you can get your dose of BS on a special Backstory: Blake Shelton, Sunday night at 10/9c!

This week’s GAC Trivia Time* is all about Blake! Check out these fun facts.

Jun 18, 1976 – Blake Shelton born in Ada, Oklahoma. Beginning with his 2001 debut, “Austin,” he mixes ballads with biting humor on his way to a 2010 Country Music Association award as Male Vocalist of the Year

Dec 25, 1992 – Blake Shelton’s parents give him a Remington 243 rifle as a Christmas present

May 5, 2001 – Blake Shelton sings “Austin” during his debut on the Grand Ole Opry

Jul 31, 2002 – On the one-year anniversary of the album’s release, Blake Shelton’s self-titled debut goes gold

Jun 24, 2003 – Blake Shelton’s pet turkey, named Turkey, dies of heat stroke on his farm in Centerville, Tennessee

Jun 6, 2006 – Reba McEntire‘s husband, Narvel Blackstock, has re-opened Starstruck Entertainment’s management division. Their first client: Blake Shelton

Apr 12, 2007 – Blake Shelton shows up on FOX-TV’s American Idol

Jul 9, 2007 – Blake Shelton helps apprehend a thief at his uncle’s house in Ada, Oklahoma. Shelton keeps the intruder on the porch until the arrival of the police, who book him for burglary and public intoxication

Dec 24, 2007 – Blake Shelton gives his girlfriend, Miranda Lambert, a 31-inch mini-horse for Christmas at her home in Oklahoma. Lambert names the pony Annie   

Dec 1, 2008 – Blake Shelton is hailed as the “sexiest country singer” in People magazine’s annual “Sexiest Men” issue.

Feb 12, 2009 – Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton raise $70,000 to build an animal shelter in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, with a concert at Murray State College

May 9, 2010 – Blake Shelton proposes to Miranda Lambert in the woods near her home in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. She says yes

* Blake Shelton trivia courtesy of RolandNote.com, the ultimate country music database!

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Reba McEntire photo courtesy of The Valory Music Co.

Today Reba McEntire is marking the 20^th anniversary of the plane crash that took the lives of seven of her band members, her road manager, and the plane’s pilot and co-pilot by posting a special landing page on her website. On March 16, 1991, the jet carrying guitarist Chris Austin, 27, backup singer Paula Kaye Evans, 33, bassist Terry Jackson, 28, bandleader Kirk Cappello, 28, guitarist Michael Thomas, 34, drummer Tony Saputo, 34, keyboardist Joey Cigainero, 27 and road manager Jim Hammond crashed into Otay Mountain, near San Diego.

“By far this is my darkest hour, the most awful thing that ever happened in my life,” Continue Reading

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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.

If you’re one of the lucky few who’ve seen the movie Country Strong (the movie’s been in limited release since Dec. 22 and opens nationally Jan. 7), you may have noticed Tim McGraw‘s character’s distinguished “beard and turtleneck” look. It turns out Tim — who plays the husband/manager of Gwyneth Paltrow’s character, a country singer – looked to none other than Reba McEntire‘s stylish husband/manager, Narvel Blackstock, for visual inspiration.

GAC’s Storme Warren recently interviewed Tim on the red carpet at the Nashville premiere of Country Strong. In the interview, Tim ribbed Storme, saying, “Hey your dad’s missing his jacket.” Watch the clip below for Storme’s retort, plus Tim’s confession of his character’s “stolen identity.” Continue Reading

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Blake Shelton photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

When Blake Shelton won Male Vocalist of the Year at the 44th annual Country Music Association Awards, he was jubilant. But Blake was not the only emotional person in the room.

His fiancee, Miranda Lambert, was ecstatic. And Reba McEntire shed a few tears. And there’s good reason for that — her husband, Narvel Blackstock, signed Blake up to the Starstruck management company, and they have a strong connection.

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Jason Aldean photo courtesy of Broken Bow Records. Kelly Clarkson photo courtesy of Starstruck Entertainment.

The new Jason Aldean album, My Kinda Party, is released today, and while the title track is the rockin’ first single from the project, it’s a duet with Kelly Clarkson that’s gotten the most attention among music critics who’ve already heard the album.

Jason and Kelly lock voices on “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” a big-sounding ballad that marks the first time he’s recorded with an artist from outside country music. Now they’ve announced they’ll be singing together during the 44th annual Country Music Association Awards Nov. 10.

The song was not originally presented to Jason as a duet, but he and producer Michael Knox thought the lyrics would work for two people if he could reel in a female singer to tackle it. Jason only considered two artists for the job: Kelly and the woman who will co-host the CMAs with Brad Paisley. There was no guarantee that either would do it.

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Trace Adkins (l) and Blake Shelton rehearse on Friday, April 16, 2010 for the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Photo courtesy of the Academy of Country Music.

Blake Shelton invoked the name of Country Music Hall of Famer Conway Twitty in the opening line of “Hillbilly Bone,” and he employed Trace Adkins in bringing it to life.

So when Blake celebrated the song at a No. 1 party on Wednesday, it was only appropriate that a couple of other artist attachments came into play. The party took place at the Starstruck offices, a building owned by Reba McEntire. Reba’s husband, Narvel Blackstock, is Blake’s manager. Blake also brought along Miranda Lambert, to whom he’s newly engaged, though Miranda remained out of sight for most of the event, presumably to avoid distracting attention from the accomplishment of her future husband.

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Reba McEntire photo by Russ Harrington, courtesy of the Valory Music Co.

Tuesday is a landmark day in the life of Reba McEntire. There’s no album release, she doesn’t have a major show slated and it doesn’t appear that she’ll be receiving any awards. Still, she’ll be observing the 20th birthday of her only biological son, Shelby Blackstock.

He’s at an age which is difficult for a lot of parents — no longer a teenager and beginning to set out on his own. He’s at the beginning of adulthood but already has created a load of memories, and Reba’s been vacillating between looking forward and looking back as her son approached the milestone.

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Reba McEntire photo by Russ Harrington, courtesy of the Valory Music Co.

You’ve probably heard of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, a 1929 shooting spree that saw seven people killed in a gruesome, crime-gang related incident in Chicago. You’ve definitely heard of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a whole series of horror films that has more in common with Halloween than Feb. 14.

Reba McEntire once managed to unwittingly tie those two massacres together with an inventive gift to her husband that was… uhm… unusual, to say the least.

It was Valentine’s Day 1989, their first observance of the occasion as a couple. Narvel Blackstock gave her a diamond tennis bracelet. Reba gift-wrapped something for him that was, she thought, a little more practical.

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