CMA 2010 Nominations

There were announced yesterday and today...  the show is on November 10th.

New Artist of the Year


Luke Bryan
Easton Corbin
Jerrod Niemann
Chris Young
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Group of the Year

Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo of the Year

Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland

Single of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))

“A Little More Country Than That”
Easton Corbin
Produced by Carson Chamberlain
Mercury Nashville

“Hillbilly Bone”
Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
Produced by Scott Hendricks
Reprise Records

“Need You Now”
Lady Antebellum
Produced by Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum
Capitol Records Nashville

“The House That Built Me”
Miranda Lambert
Produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke
Columbia Nashville

“White Liar”
Miranda Lambert
Produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke
Columbia Nashville

Song of the Year
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))

“A Little More Country Than That”
Rory Lee Feek, Don Poythress, and Wynn Varble

“Need You Now”
Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Josh Kear

“The House That Built Me”
Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin

“Toes”
Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins, and Shawn Mullins

“White Liar”
Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby

Music Video of the Year
(Award goes to Artist and Director)

“Hillbilly Bone”
Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
Directed by Roman White

“Need You Now”
Lady Antebellum
Directed by David McClister

“The House That Built Me”
Miranda Lambert
Directed by Trey Fanjoy

“Water”
Brad Paisley
Directed by Jim Shea

“White Liar”
Miranda Lambert
Directed by Chris Hicky

Musician of the Year

Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar
Dann Huff – Guitar
Brent Mason – Guitar
Mac McAnally – Guitar
Randy Scruggs – Guitar

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR


Lady Antebellum
Miranda Lambert
Brad Paisley
Keith Urban
Zac Brown Band

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Dierks Bentley
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Keith Urban

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer)

Need You Now
Lady Antebellum
Producers: Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum

Play On
Carrie Underwood
Producers: Mark Bright and Max Martin

Revolution
Miranda Lambert
Producers: Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke

Twang
George Strait
Producers: Tony Brown and George Strait

Up on the Ridge
Dierks Bentley
Producer: Jon Randall Stewart

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to each Artist)

“Bad Angel” — Dierks Bentley featuring Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson
“Can’t You See” — Zac Brown Band featuring Kid Rock
“Hillbilly Bone” — Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
“I’m Alive” — Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews
“Till the End” — Alan Jackson with Lee Ann Womack

It's Good to be Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman these days...

Recently Nic (since that's what Keith and her one true love call her) went to Haiti for a three hour tour. The last time I heard of a three hour tour it involved Gilligan, the Skipper, the SS Minnow and an actress of bigger talents than Nic, Ginger Grant. That three hour tour was ten times more sincere than the one that Nic went on. She looked oh so earnest, oh so sympathetic, as she met with those unfortunate souls. Haven't the people of Haiti suffered enough? What exactly was accomplished? Did that school that Keith and Nic promise to fund get built? Did she meet up with Sean Penn to ask what she could personally do? Nope, she got a lot of pictures taken, sweated through her sweater and hat and left having done a good job.

Keith Urban has been doing a little touring, a little recording and a lot of insipid interviews. Again we get the 'me and Nic' verbiage. 'Nic and I aren't really the types to make ourselves be out there for what we believe in until someone told us it might be better to get more money for the cause that way'. Huh? That is what he told Country Weekly. He talked about the Tennessee flood relief work he has done; his work for the Country Music Hall of Fame; and then he added that he also supports Nic's work for the UN about violence against women.

Keith was also recently on the cover of the National Enquirer with a picture of a drunk Keith Urban and his former dalliance Amanda Wyatt with the word 'cheater' above his face. It's not just about physical violence but also emotional violence and a womanizer knows how to inflict that, don't they? Perhaps that just an avenue one shouldn't drive down.

Speaking of driving, Keith has apparently bought himself a new set of wheels - a brand spanking new Aston Martin. With all that hard charity work, one must reward oneself. After all Keith, believes he lives in a 'rarefied air' these days; or so he told Country Weekly, after growing up in the back of a store sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Not a nice way to reflect on your parents doing the best that they could, Mr. Urban.

Another recent interview was on Parade.com; Keith spewed out how important family was; how that gives a sense to maintain a balance. I guess when you can sleep on 1000 thread count sheets in five different residences all over the world one does learn one's priorities.

Finally, we have the deluxe apartment in the sky; a ten million dollar place that you drive into and a lift takes your car to your floor. Why does anyone need a car in New York City? Rumors are Nic bought this place a few months ago but waited to tell everyone until the box office numbers were in about her true love's last film. There is always that rub isn't there? But when they bought this place they bought yet another place that will be inaccessible from those little people who might want to bother them. Another bonus is no one will see who actually lives there. Just like L.A., the gated place in Oz, the high rise in Sydney and the private gated farm in Tennessee. Yes, Nic and Keith do so much for the little people. The little people give because Keith and Nic say so. So while the little people scrimp and save to go see Keith or buy groceries, Nic can sit high atop the Big Apple proud of her contribution to humankind while she smokes her cigarettes off one of her three balconies. Keith can nurse his rumored ulcer. And Sunday, well does anyone know what happened to her?

Keith Urban Covers Country Weekly

 Keith Urban covers the new issue of Country Weekly. In the 2nd part of a 4-part series on Country Stars Giving Back, Keith Urban spoke to the magazine about the charities close to his heart, why he got involved, and how it makes him feel.

“I came from nothing, basically. Our family—very, very working class—really had nothing. [We had] a pretty rubbishy car and a pretty rubbishy house attached onto the back of the corner store my parents ran. My brother and I slept on little horsehair mattresses on the floor,” Keith allows. “To come from that and to be in the strange, rarified air I find myself in these days, I can certainly feel a strong pull to want to give back. I’m immensely blessed with what I’ve been given in my life.”

Since music is his love and livelihood, it’s also a cause he holds near and dear to his heart. Keith was the honorary dean at this year’s Grammy camp.

“Getting instruments into kids’ hands is something that been really important to me all my life,” Keith says. “I started so young—I was six when I started playing guitar. I was fortunate to a) have parents that could afford to buy me a guitar and pay for lessons and b) fortunate that I went to public schools and they had music in schools and that was pretty basic, pretty standard curriculum, but it seems more and more that that’s one of the programs they’re taking out of schools for budgetary reasons. That’s a huge, huge mistake. Things like the Grammy Camp correct that and give these kids the opportunity to get instruments in their hands where they might not otherwise get that.”

Keith also has joined forces with his wife, Nicole Kidman, to bring awareness to causes. Nicole is the Goodwill Ambassador for UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) where she often talks about violence against women. The two have also shared support for flood victims in Nashville and wildfire victims in Australia.

“My wife has become involved with women’s rights and so I’ve found myself involved in that, and very gladly so, too. Not only violence against women, but women’s rights in countries where they are not being honored".

“I don’t know that there’s a common thread other than just people in need and, in certain cases, where there seems to be an extreme lack of justice—we certainly like to get involved in that,” Keith explains of the causes he and Nicole support. “There’s absolutely limitless causes on a daily basis for everybody to be involved in, it’s just looking to the ones that for me and Nic, that we feel strongly about and feel that we can actually do something about as well.”

“It’s not in Nic or I to do things for our own benefit, so we’ve shied away from more of the public stuff in the past, but it was pointed out to us by certain people that if we were to take a bit more of a public face with some of these that it might actually be more help than just the financial aid,” Keith says.

You can read more about how Keith Urban gives back in next weeks Country Weekly magazine.

The end of the interview didn't make the magazine, but Urban Myths uncovered it:

"My baby girl and I have just bought a rubbishy apartment in New York, for a measly $10 million. Nic wanted to spend more like $20 million, but I said "Babygirl, I'm OK living in a dump like this; even if we do have to use a lift to get our Bentley up to the apartment. It only has three bedrooms, so one for me and one for Nic, and of course Sunday will share with the Nanny. The chauffeur has to sleep in the servant’s quarters on the lower level. It's a hardship but we pride ourselves on living a simple life."

Stay tuned

Today we bring you a two part blog. First we present a recent interview Keith did for Country Weekly, with the addition of a paragraph that didn't make it in the magazine.

The second part will feature a reader submission on the current state of Urban/Kidman affairs. Thanks!

Going to a county fair... without their daughter?

This photo was on Twitter repeatedly today. Supposedly at the county fair. Without their daughter. And everyone else in the photo is wearing shorts. Also numerous sightings at Starbucks for coffee this morning. Yawn.

This Week's National Enquirer

Sure, it's a recycled story - from four years ago. Our question is "Why?" And why put Keith Urban on the cover? Let's discuss....

Keith Urban's Fans Should Be Ecstatic!

BREAKING NEWS..... FROM MONKEYLAND....

Keith managed to sneak in a few minutes at the studio today.... Oh, joy! Oh, happiness! Monkey dances all around...

Keith's people tweeted a pic of him "today" in the studio... he "managed to squeeze in a few minutes at the studio" today before he heads off to Southern Cali. Hmmmm... He has a show in LA on Friday, then the Paso Robles show on the 28th... Golly gee, he is SO busy touring, isn't he now? Too busy to even do a "live" video for his latest single. Gosh, gee whiz, must be so hard to be Mr. Urban these days.

http://twitpic.com/274spx

Surely this must bode well for the new CD. Not.

Keith Urban doesn't need to make videos anymore...

In the following interview with a Denver radio station, Mr. Urban first talks about how he had to forego Father's Day in honor of Baby Girl Kidman's birthday. Then, when asked when his new video will be out for his latest single (which is #7 on the Billboard charts this week - believe it or not), he said he hasn't even thought about a video yet. He's been SO busy recording and touring. What a joke.

Go to the Audio On-Demand section: http://www.kygo.com/paulDonovan/

More Money For Keith Urban.... From You!

You can be a part of Keith Urban's new record. Go to his web site;
you can watch him as he prepares his new music for the world. This sounds interesting, but, of course, you have to pay to join his fan club first. Then you will see only what they want you to see; but if you have the time and money go for it.

He also has someone on staff that records his "tour" and puts it up on the site. In the last installment we had an exciting 30 second shot of the band warming up; Keith bitching that he was cold getting off the bus; and Keith going on and on about Kidman coming along. Of course we didn't see her and that isn't a bad thing. But you can usually go to a Keith Urban fan site and someone has better pictures, better video and a nicer narrative than what you are paying Keith for, but it's your money.

Blind Item about Kidman Revealed

We will have two blog tidbits today. The first is a blind item revealed about the Diva from Crazy Days & Nights. The second will be about the "benefits" of being a member of Urban's fan club.

Blind Items Revealed

January 26, 2010


This married A list actress knows she is losing her popularity quickly. So, she has informed her managers to get her in the next Twilight movie. When they told her there were no parts for her, she said, "Well have them make up one or I will find new managers. Who wouldn't want me in their movie?"

Nicole Kidman