Eli Young Band photo courtesy of Universal Records South.

In an era when Kid Rock and Bon Jovi have found success in country music, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to hear Tom Petty’s name being thrown around.

The Eli Young Band has been covering the rocker’s “American Girl” frequently in concert, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are something of a muse for the Texas foursome as it develops a follow-up to the 2008 album Jet Black & Jealous.

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Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton at the Fremont Street Experience during ACM Week in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 17, 2010. Photo courtesy of the Academy of Country Music.

It’s barely been a week since Miranda Lambert received a ring — and a wedding proposal — from longtime boyfriend Blake Shelton.

Since they began dating in 2005, she’s fielded frequent questions from the media about when they might tie the knot, which only put more focus on the possibility. But while she hoped internally that it would happen, she gave Blake the space to pop the question when he was ready. He asked her May 9 in the woods near her home in Tishomingo, Okla., and she didn’t see the proposal coming.

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Toby Keith photo courtesy of Show Dog Nashville.

If you’re dedicated to keeping tabs on all of country’s biggest stars, you might need some rest today, because there’s enough news in the pipeline to keep you dizzy for a week.

Toby Keith is extending a non-music business franchise, Taylor Swift is getting kudos from People magazine, Alan Jackson is raising money for the families of some West Virginia coal-mine victims and Colt Ford and Willie Nelson both landed in the Top 10 of the country albums chart their first week out.

Take a look at this hodge-podge of headlines:

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Lady Antebellum pictured at the 45th Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Resort in Las Vegas, NV on April 18, 2010. © RD/ Erik Kabik/ Retna Digital

If anyone had doubts about Lady Antebellum’s rise to prominence, the band likely erased them Sunday night when it won five trophies in three different categories during the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards telecast at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood collectively ended Rascal Flatts’ seven-year run as Top Vocal Group. They also shared Song of the Year for “Need You Now” with fellow composer Josh Kear, becoming the first band ever to win that honor and win an additional trophy by penning its own song. “Need You Now” also got them victories as artist and producer for Single Record of the Year.

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Lady Antebellum on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at the Ryman Autitorium in Nashville. Photo courtesy of The Greenroom.

When the nominees for the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards were announced in March, Lady Antebellum found itself at the top of the list with seven total nominations.

As country music’s leading artists gather in Las Vegas this weekend for Sunday’s telecast, the band is feeling a real sense of acceptance. It’s barely two years since the trio released its self-titled debut album, and the enormously positive feedback by industry peers is flattering, to say the least.

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Figures don’t lie, but liars can figure. So they say. And “White Liar” figured prominently in the annual Nashville Scene country music critics poll, taking the scribes’ honor as the top single of 2009. It’s one of three categories Miranda Lambert dominated in a vote that does its best to tab quality over sheer sales volume.

Miranda’s Revolution, the disc that spawned “Liar,” was cited as the Top Album in the poll, compiled from rankings supplied by 77 country journalists. Accordingly, Miranda earned Top Female Vocalist in the process.

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Miranda Lambert started working on her third album late last year. Now she’s seeing the payoff for her efforts as Revolution debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart, kicking off the fourth quarter of 2009 in high gear.

“I’m so excited,” Miranda says. “I know everyone says they are proud of the album they make, but I feel this one is so special I can hand it to my idols, hold my head up and say ‘Here, this is all of me. I hope you like it.’” Continue Reading

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Miranda Lambert releases her third album on Tuesday, and it’s a sign that she’s transitioning in her life.

She titled the CD Revolution, signalling outwardly the inward changes she’s chronicled in the album’s 15 songs.

“When I hear the word revolution, it means things are happening, change is coming,” she told The San Antonio Express-News. “And this record opens the door to new things for me. I was a crazy, wild-eyed kid when I was writing Kerosene, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was kind of the same. Now that I’m 25 years old, have a really steady relationship and a great career going, I’m settling into life a little bit. Continue Reading

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

With her third album, Revolution, set for release on Tuesday, Miranda Lambert is a special guest this weekend on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown.

The appearance comes on the heels of Thursday’s sold-out concert at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, where Miranda performed the CD’s songs in full for an appreciative crowd. One of her goals with the album was to expand the way the world perceives her.

“I feel like I was getting dangerously close to being shoved in that box of ‘She’s that crazy girl who kills people in her songs,’” she told The Los Angeles Times. “That’s fine, but there’s so much more to me than that; there’s so much more to the great music that I love than one song.” Continue Reading

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Miranda Lambert is barely two weeks away from releasing her third album, Revolution, and she’s packed it with music — 15 tracks in all.

It’s more material than artists usually put on their CDs, and she had to make some financial concessions with her record label to make it happen. But Miranda was willing to do that because she believes so strongly in the music she’s made — and that it belongs together.

“We made this record as a whole album,” she told Billboard. “If we took even one song off, it wouldn’t be complete.” Continue Reading

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