Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Relativity Music Group will release the Act of Valor soundtrack on February 21, featuring original songs written and inspired by the Navy SEAL action-thriller. It will include “For You,” a song written by Keith Urban that is featured in the film’s end credits, as well as music from Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Trace Adkins, Wynonna Judd, Montgomery Gentry, and more. In theaters February 24, Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy Seals along with actors Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov, Jason Cottle and Nestor Serrano.

Produced and directed by Mike “Mouse” McCoy and Scott Waugh and written by Kurt Johnstad, Act of Valor takes audiences into the secretive world of the most elite, highly-trained force in the modern world as the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot against the U.S. Inspired by true events, the film combines combat sequences, battlefield technology and heart-pounding emotion.

The track listing for the soundtrack includes Keith’s “For You,” “Guide You Home” (Sugarland), “I Was Here” (Lady Antebellum), “If the Sun Comes Up” (Trace Adkins), “Two Soldiers Coming Home” (Lori McKenna), “The Best I Can” (Jake Owen), “What It Takes”(Montgomery Gentry), “The Best of Me” (Josh Kelley), “Where We Left Off” (Hunter Hayes) and “Whatever Brings You Back” (Wynonna Judd). Continue Reading

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Have you ever watched the stars announce the nominees at an awards show press conference? Sure you have! But now, YOU could be one of the folks doing the announcing! Beginning today, you can visit the ACM YouTube Channel to learn how to post a video announcing the name of the artist or artists YOU would like to see receive an Entertainer of the Year nomination.

On Thursday, January 26, the ACM will host the first-ever ACM digital press conference (also hosted by CBS Television and dick clark productions) via the ACM social media channels, www.facebook.com/AcademyOfCountryMusic and www.twitter.com/ACMAwards.

The press conference will announce the nominees for the 47^th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, Country Music’s Party of the Year®, to be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 8 p.m. live ET/delayed PT on CBS.

During the real-time digital press conference, you can watch to see if your video submission was chosen to announce your pick for the Academy’s biggest prize. If your video is selected, you’ll be in good company. Past participants in the ACM nominations press conferences have included Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Blake Shelton, Sugarland, Carrie Underwood and many more!

Academy of Country Music Awards co-host Reba will participate in the nominees announcement, with more VIP surprise guests to announce categories via videos posted in real time to fans and media simultaneously.  The press conference will culminate with country music fans announcing the nominees for Entertainer of the Year.

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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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The main concert stage collapses during a storm at the Indiana State Fair on August 13, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The stage fell just before country duo Sugarland were scheduled to perform, killing at least four people and injuring as many as 40 more. (Photo by Joey Foley/Getty Images)

Moments before Sugarland was scheduled to take the stage at the Indiana State Fair on August 13, a deadly storm with wind gusts of 60-70 mph rolled in, causing the main stage to collapse.  Seven people were killed and dozens more were injured.

This raw video clip posted by a concert-goer on YouTube shows the stage collapsing as the storm hit. (WARNING – this video contains disturbing images):

Indianapolis Star music reporter David Lindquist was in the fifth row of the Grandstand when the storm hit. According to him, opening act Sara Bareilles finished her set by commenting what a beautiful night it was. Less than 30 minutes later the stage was on the ground. “The gust of wind came, there was no rain yet and the production fell from left to right,” he said. “And you could see, you could clearly see people were under the footprint of the rigging.”

Pollstar reported that a last-second decision by Sugarland’s tour manager, Hellen Rollens, likely saved the lives of Sugarland and their band. She made the decision to hold everyone backstage just minutes before they were scheduled to go on and moments later, the stage collapsed. As the stage fell, Sugarland and their crew hit the ground and took cover against a wall, thinking the structure was going to collapse on top of them. ­­

View photos of the stage collapse »

Sugarland released an emotional letter to their fans, friends and family following the tragedy. Read it HERE. The duo returned to the stage for the first time on August 19 in Albuquerque, NM. At the beginning of the show, Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, along with their entire band and crew, took the stage and asked the crowd to join them in a moment of silence honoring all the victims and their families.  Jennifer and Kristian went on to play a stirring acoustic version of “Love.”

Watch the performance:

  Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift's Speak Now CD. Photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Billboard.com has compiled their list of the Top 200 Albums of 2011. Adele’s 21 was named the No. 1 album of the year, but Taylor Swift’s Speak Now album came in at No. 2. Jason Aldean’s My Kinda Party was also in the Top 5, coming in at No. 4. Rascal Flatts‘ Nothing Like This album took the No. 17 spot and Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now came in at No. 19.

Other country albums in the Top 50 include Zac Brown Band’s You Get What You Give at No. 23, Lady Antebellum’s Own The Night at No. 25, The Band Perry’s self-titled debut at No. 30, Sugarland’s The Incredible Machine at No. 33, Keith Urban’s Get Closer at No. 36, Kenny Chesney’s Hemingway’s Whiskey at No. 42, and Brad Paisley’s This Is Country Music at No. 46.

The Year-End top-selling albums are ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.

Top 20 Albums of 2011:

1. 21 – Adele
2. Speak Now – Taylor Swift
3. Born This Way – Lady Gaga
4. My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean
5. The Gift – Susan Boyle
6. Tha Carter IV – Lil Wayne
7. Pink Friday – Nicki Minaj
8. Sigh No More – Mumford & Sons
9. Loud – Rihanna
10. Teenage Dream – Katy Perry Continue Reading

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People crowd around the collapsed stage at the Indiana State Fair August 13, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The stage fell just before country duo Sugarland were scheduled to perform, killing seven people. (Photo by Joey Foley/Getty Images)

All but one of the 65 claimants have accepted settlement offers over the Indiana State Fair stage collapse totaling $5 million says Indiana’s state attorney general’s office as reported by the Associated Press. The settlement is the maximum under Indiana state law.

The 64 claimants accepting the settlement includes the estates of all seven people who died in the August 13^th collapse at the Indianapolis fairgrounds just moments before Sugarland was supposed to take the stage. The estates each received more than $300,000. Spokesman Bryan Corbin said the only rejected offer was less than $1,700 to a minor who was injured. Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Billboard.com has released their list of the Top Country Artists of 2011. Artists are ranked based on album sales, song downloads and airplay, touring revenue, Social 50 chart action, ringtone sales and streaming data provided by Nielsen BDS. Congratulations to Taylor Swift for being named the Top Country Artist of 2011! What do you think of this ranking? Who’d top YOUR Top 50 list? Leave us a comment below!

1. Taylor Swift
2. Jason Aldean
3. Lady Antebellum
4. Zac Brown Band
5. Blake Shelton
6. The Band Perry
7. Rascal Flatts
8. Kenny Chesney
9. Brad Paisley
10. Luke Bryan
11. Keith Urban
12. Miranda Lambert
13. Sugarland
14. Eric Church
15. Scotty McCreery
16. Toby Keith
17. Thompson Square
18. Chris Young
19. Billy Currington
20. Tim McGraw Continue Reading

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Shania Twain and her husband, Frédéric Thiébaud, on their January 1, 2011 wedding day. Photo credit: Robert Evans, RobertEvans.com.

Several country stars tied the knot in 2011. Two of them even kicked off the year with New Year’s Day nuptials in tropical places! Shania Twain married husband Frédéric Thiébaud in Puerto Rico on New Year’s Day in front of 40 close friends and family. Shania announced their engagement on her website on December 21, 2010.

Kellie Pickler and husband Kyle Jacobs also tied the knot on New Year’s Day. The pair scraped their plans for a big Nashville wedding and eloped to Antigua where they were married at sunset. “We didn’t have anything but us and God and our minister,” Kellie told People, “and I can’t think of a word that can quite describe how perfect it was.”

LeAnn Rimes married actor Eddie Cibrian on April 22 at a private home in California. The 40 guests invited believed they were attending an engagement party but were surprised with a wedding ceremony. The couple exchanged personalized vows and Eddie’s sons Mason and Jake, from his previous marriage, were in attendance. “I’m looking forward to settling down,” LeAnn told People before her wedding. “Settling into our life.”

Chely Wright, who made headlines in 2010 when she came out, married her partner, Lauren Blitzer, during a ceremony at Lauren’s aunt’s home in Connecticut on August 20. Since Lauren is Jewish and Chely is Christian, both a rabbi and a reverend presided over the wedding. “The freedom of being out and open about who I am allowed me to find and fall in love with Lauren – the most amazing woman I’ve ever known,” Chely told People. Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift's Speak Now CD. Photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Billboard.com has just released its year-end charts for 2011. Here are the 50 most popular country albums for the year (based on album sales). Congratulations to Taylor Swift for taking the top spot with her Speak Now album!

1. Speak Now – Taylor Swift
2. My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean
3. Nothing Like This – Rascal Flatts
4. Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
5. You Get What You Give – Zac Brown Band
6. Own The Night – Lady Antebellum  Read Our Review >>
7. The Band Perry – The Band Perry
8. The Incredible Machine – Sugarland
9. Get Closer – Keith Urban
10. Hemingway’s Whiskey – Kenny Chesney
11. This Is Country Music – Brad Paisley  Read Our Review >>
12. Clear As Day – Scotty McCreery  Read Our Review >>
13. Number One Hits – Tim McGraw
14. Tailgates & Tanlines – Luke Bryan  Read Our Review >>
15. Chief – Eric Church  Read Our Review >>
16. Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton – Blake Shelton
17. Red River Blue – Blake Shelton  Read Our Review >>
18. The Foundation – Zac Brown Band
19. Revolution – Miranda Lambert
20. Country Strong Soundtrack – Various Artists Continue Reading

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Kellie Pickler performs on ABC's CMA Country Christmas, the concert special airing Thursday, December 1 at 9/8 CT.

The CMA Country Christmas concert special, hosted by Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, airs tonight, December, 1 at 9/8 CT on ABC. The holiday special includes performances from some of country’s biggest stars as well as intimate fireside chats with artists sharing their favorite holiday memories.

For Kellie Pickler who was joined by husband Kyle Jacobs, one of her treasured  memories is from when she visited with troops in Iraq who couldn’t be home with their families for the holidays. “There are so many things we take for granted,” she said. “We don’t realize it until it’s not there anymore – until that luxury, that freedom, is not there.”

One of Faith Hill‘s favorite memories is of the Christmas she and her two older brothers were given a big box of peanuts by their parents. The siblings had to dig through the peanuts to find money. “I got so upset because she didn’t put any money in my box,” Faith said. “I thought, ‘She gypped me!’” Faith also revealed that she, husband Tim McGraw and their three daughters read The Night Before Christmas, bake and make reindeer food every Christmas.

See photos from this year’s CMA Country Christmas! >>

Vince Gill and wife Amy Grant shared some of their favorite Christmas memories from their childhoods. Vince revealed that his sister is a master at opening Christmas gifts before Christmas Day – and re-sealing them. “She was good at acting surprised at what she got,” Vince said. Continue Reading

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