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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Wynonna Judd & Cactus Moser photo courtesy of Webster & Associates.

Congratulations to Wynonna Judd and Cactus Moser, of award-winning country group Highway 101! The pair got engaged on December 24, reports People magazine. The pair have been dating since late 2009. Wynonna and Cactus are currently touring together as Wynonna and The Big Noise.

Wynonna is a five-time GRAMMY Award winning artist and New York Times best-selling author — and of course, half of one of the most successful musical duos of all time, The Judds. During her 28-year career, she’s sold more than 30 million records. Wynonna recently reunited with her mother, Naomi, for a final Judds tour in 2010, The Last Encore. During this time, the iconic duo invited cameras from the new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) to capture their unprecedented moments together as they navigated the intricacies of their first tour in 10 years. The television docu-series, “The Judds” debuted in April 2011 — and if you missed it on OWN, you can watch it on GAC in 2012!

Cactus is a drummer and founding member of the four-time Vocal Group of the year, Highway 101. In the late ’80s, Highway 101 charted 16 Top 10 hits, five of which went to No. 1. Now, in 2011, Cactus continues to tour with Highway 101 as well as his new fiancée, Wynonna.

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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 has added her name to the growing list of celebrities participating in the 1 for All campaign designed to speak out in support of the First Amendment. As part of the campaign, Wynonna will participate in Free To Tweet, a day-long online celebration of First Amendment rights on December 15. During the tweetathon, Americans are encouraged to tweet their support of the First Amendment using the hashtag #FreeToTweet. Blake Shelton and Joe Nichols have also signed on to the campaign.

“My success in music would not have been possible without freedom of expression,” Wynonna said. “It’s an honor for me to join in supporting the 220^th anniversary of Bill of Rights Day.”

Free To Tweet will also give high school and college students the opportunity to win one of 22 $5,000 scholorships. All they have to do is tweet creatively about the First Amendment. More information can be found at FreeToTweet.org. 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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Shelby Blackstock, Reba McEntire, Scott Borchetta & Dan Wheldon. Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/reba.

IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon’s life was honored last weekend with a private funeral on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Florida and a public memorial on Sunday at Indianapolis’ Conesco Fieldhouse, in the city where Dan won his 2011 Indy 500 championship. Dan was killed in an accident during the IndyCar race at Las Vegas on October 16.

Several country music stars were on hand at Sunday’s memorial to help honor Dan’s memory. Garth Brooks performed “The Dance” and Reba preformed “If I Had Only Known.” The Band Perry performed a medley of “Go Rest High On That Mountain” and “Amazing Grace.” Continue Reading

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The Judds photo courtesy of Webster PR.

The Judds will headline a concert in their hometown of Franklin, Tennessee on October 18 to benefit the recently restored Franklin Theatre. The concert is part of the Green Nights concert series that will help sustain the theatre for use by future generations.

“The heart of Franklin is the theater and it’s beating again,” Naomi Judd said.  “It never occurred to me that we’d have the thrill of actually performing up on its stage, looking out at smiling familiar neighbors. Pardon me if I shed a tear of nostalgic joy.”

“I love Franklin and knowing that part of it is being kept original is so important to me and my children,” Wynonna Judd said.  “I have lived in Franklin since 1978.  One of the things I love most is our small town spirit and the way we all hold sacred our unique community.  The familiar sights and the beauty I see when cruising down Main Street does my heart good. I am happy and grateful to live in such a special place. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else on the planet.” Continue Reading

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Wynonna Judd photo courtesy of Curb Records.

Wynonna Judd will headline the 29th Annual Independence Day Concert on Friday, July 1 in Warner Robins, Georgia.  Joining Wynonna will be CNN Headline News morning show anchor-turned-country-singer Robin Meade and the U.S. Air Force Reserve Band.

The free show will start at 8 PM/ET with the singing of the National Anthem and an F-15 fighter jet fly over. Held at McConnel-Talbert Stadium, the concert is expected to bring more than 30,000 people out. The show will be taped and broadcast on the Fourth of July on American Forces Network which serves American service men and women and their families stationed at bases overseas. Continue Reading

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One of the ACM Lifting Lives Music Campers sings to and with Wynonna Judd at Winners Bar on June 28, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for ACM)

A group of just over 30 developmentally challenged individuals visiting Nashville this week for the 2^nd Annual ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp got the surprise of a lifetime last night. It was karaoke night for the campers as they gathered for a private event at Winners Bar & Grill, a local nightclub, to take the stage and belt out some of their favorite tunes.  A couple songs in, a group of campers were onstage performing “No One Else On Earth” when none other than Wynonna Judd herself appeared. Jaws dropped and the stunned campers’ looks of shock quickly gave way to smiles a mile wide.  Wynonna wasted no time joining in on the fun. But this was not her night to perform, it was the campers’ night to shine and Wynonna made sure all eyes were on them. Continue Reading

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Little Big Town at the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp. Photo credit: Getty Images/Courtesy of ACM Lifting Lives.

The 2nd Annual ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp is underway in Nashville this week and stars including Little Big Town and Carrie Underwood are lending their time to the program. The camp is open to campers with developmental disabilities who are also talented in music and serves as a study of Williams syndrome and other developmental disabilities. ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music, funds the camp, which allows the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities to advance it’s mission of improving the lives of those with developmental disabilities.

On Monday, campers were treated to a songwriting workshop with Gary Allan, Odie Blackmon and Brett James. They crafted a song from concept to final lyrics and will record the song with Carrie and producer Mark Bright. Last year’s song penned by the campers, Chris Young and Brett was performed by campers during the 46th Annual ACM Awards. Later Monday evening, Little Big Town participated in Art N’Music, a session that allowed campers to create Warhol style self-portraits while using music to inspire them. Continue Reading

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