Blogs

J. D.'s Dirt- 7/27

Thursday July 29, 2010 Posted 1 year, 9 months ago by J.D.

COUNTRY MUSIC NEWS

GWYNETH PALTROW TO RELEASE COUNTRY MUSIC. Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow has released a song called, “Country Strong,” to country radio. The song shares its name with an upcoming movie, which stars Gwyneth as “Kelly Canter,” a faded country star looking for a comeback. The film is scheduled to open nationally on December 22nd and also stars Tim McGraw who plays her husband in the film. This is one of three songs Gwyneth sings for the soundtrack. Vince Gill and Patty Griffin provide background vocals on the single which was written by Mark Nesler, Jennifer Hanson and Tony Martin, who have written songs for Keith Urban, Tim McGraw and The Wreckers. The soundtrack will be released October 26th. Gwyneth’s numerous film roles include Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Proof, Shallow Hal and The Talented Mr. Ripley. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of “Viola De Lesseps” in the 1998 film, Shakespeare in Love.

 

CARRIE UNDERWOOD’S “UNDO IT” REACHES NUMBER ONE. Carrie Underwood’s current hit “Undo It” has taken the number one spot on the Country Aircheck chart this week. This is Carrie’s 13th consecutive number one song. In fact, every song she’s released as a single has reached the number one spot. In other Carrie news, she’ll perform “Undo It” as part of NBC’s Today Show’s summer concert series this Friday. She loves doing morning talk shows but wishes they could take place later in the day. “It’s cool. It’s fun. Those things are good to do; people go crazy. I mean, singing at, like, 5am…I am so not a morning person, either, so just give me some caffeine, I’m good to go.” Carrie’s video for “Undo It” has also managed to stay number one on the CMT Top 20 Countdown for the past five weeks.

 

JOSH TURNER EXPECTING BABY NUMBER THREE. Josh Turner and his wife Jennifer are expecting their third child. The new baby will join big brothers, Hampton who is three, and one-year-old Colby. Josh tells People magazine, “I come from big families – my momma was the oldest of three and my daddy was one of six – and I’ve always loved children. They bring a lot of joy to the world and they make us adults look at things in a better way. So it’s a natural thing for me and Jennifer.” Josh is actually responsible for the couple finding out they were pregnant. Jennifer had been acting “a little different” so he encouraged her to take a pregnancy test. The test came back negative but he refused to believe it so Jennifer took another test that proved his theory right! 

TAYLOR SWIFT’S THIRD ALBUM EXPECTED TO SELL ONE MILLION COPIES IN THE FIRST WEEK. The anticipation for Taylor Swift’s third album Speak Now is already building, but the real question is, will Taylor be able to sell one million copies within the album’s first week debut? CEO of Red Light Management and ATO Records, Will Botwin, believes if anyone can do it, it’s Taylor. Will tells Billboard, “She has the sales base and heat from the last few albums. And with all the amazing things she has going on, she is as likely as anybody to reach a million units, especially with the efforts of Big Machine and Universal behind her." Rapper Lil Wayne’s, Tha Carter III, was the last album to sell more than one million copies in its first week in June 2008. Taylor’s Fearless album sold 592-thousand copies in its first week in November 2008, according to the SoundScan charts.

 

KELLIE PICKLER GIVES UP HER FAVORITE THINGS FOR WEDDING DRESS. Kellie Pickler tells OK! Magazine it was apparent she needed to let go of two of her favorite things in order to fit into her wedding dress after she saw herself on the 2010 CMT Music Awards. “I went ‘oh s***, I have got to step away from the beer. The beer and the fries – I’ve gotta quit.’ You’ll see pictures of yourself, or you’ll put your clothes on, and you’ll be like ‘oh, my pants are too tight, I can’t breathe.’ You notice it. I’ve gotta start cutting back,” she says. But don’t expect Kellie to become a gym junkie. She says, “I really don’t workout. I’m not an avid gym person. I mean, you can tell. I go through stages – like I’ll be good for a short time, and then I let myself go. Then, I try and pick up where I left off and get back in the gym. It’s just a lose-lose situation for me.” While Kellie plans for her upcoming wedding, she is currently on tour with Rascal Flatts.

 

DIXIE CHICKS TO SING ON STEVE MARTIN’S UPCOMING BLUEGRASS ALBUM. The Dixie Chicks will sing a track on Steve Martin’s upcoming bluegrass album, according to an interview with band member Martie Maguire and Billboard magazine. Martie said they will only be singing harmony and not doing any instrumentation. Martie also noted the Dixie Chicks “Had a lot of fun in June playing with the Eagles, so I would dare say that in the next nine months, we'll be doing something, one way or another.” Martie and her sister, Dixie Chicks member Emily Robison, are currently recording and touring as the Court Yard Hounds duo, while singer Natalie Maines is taking a break from touring and recording.

 

CRAIG MORGAN RELEASES CRACKER BARREL ALBUM. Craig Morgan released That’s Why: Collector’s Edition in Cracker Barrel stores yesterday. He insists his band only eats at Cracker Barrel when he doesn’t cook for them on the road and through the years he’s created a special dish of his own. “Let me tell ya, this is the Craig Morgan Cracker Barrel breakfast: you get the biscuits, get their apples, put the apples with a lot of extra of that hot sauce on there, and then put gravy on top of that—dude, I’m telling you, you put that on your head and your tongue will slap you dead tryin’ to get to it. It’s amazing.” Other than his biscuit, gravy, and apple concoction - Craig also likes their chicken-n-dumplings.

 

DIERKS BENTLEY’S EVENTFUL WEEKEND. Dierks Bentley had a memorable weekend as he performed Friday night in the Louisville, Kentucky Hullabalou Festival, with legendary rock group Bon Jovi. Dierks joined Bon Jovi onstage for a performance of “Wanted Dead or Alive.” On Saturday and Sunday night, Dierks opened for Tim McGraw, and expressed to his fans on Twitter, what he expected out of the show. “So last night I got to sing ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ with @BonJovi. Hoping to sing with @timmcgraw tonight...maybe ‘Its Your Love,’" he says. Dierks recently announced he is expecting his second child in December.

 

MARTINA MCBRIDE FLATTERED TO BE FRIENDS WITH KID ROCK. Martina McBride recently sat down with US Magazine and discussed her friendship with Kid Rock as well as her view on cross-genre music. Martina helped Kid Rock kick-off the CMT Music Awards this year as she performed “Cowboy” with a handful of other country artists. And she’s featured on the track “Care” along with rapper T.I. on Kid Rock’s upcoming album Born Free. Martina says Kid Rock has always been able to see the “redneck” side of her.  “Everybody says to me, ‘well that’s a weird pairing, you and Kid Rock.’ But it doesn’t feel weird when we’re together and we’re performing. It’s just exciting to me that he has, I don’t know, singled me out to be part of his project. I think that’s really cool. And it’s an honor.” Kid Rock may be considered a crossover artist, and Martina’s okay with being considered one as well. “For the most part my albums are more pop country. It’s always changing. And there have always been people who cross over, you know Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. There have been certain kinds of country music that have always crossed boundaries.”

 

JAKE OWEN GETS A NEW TATTOO. According to Facebook, Jake Owen had new ink done this past weekend. Upcoming country singer Tyler Reeve posted pictures on his Facebook, with the following caption, “Jake Owen getting his new tattoo… On a whim- after a few beers.” Though there was never a picture of the finished tattoo, the caption of the last picture says, “The Tennessee Stars.”  Jake has at least two other tattoos – the name “Pearl” on his left wrist, and a Waylon Jennings-inspired “W” on his right forearm.

 

KELLIE PICKLER, CHRIS YOUNG CANCEL FAIR DATES FOR RASCAL FLATTS TOUR. Kellie Pickler and Chris Young have canceled fair dates in September because both artists were double-committed to be a part of Rascal Flatts’ tour. Kellie was scheduled to perform in Centreville, Michigan, at the St. Joseph Country Grange Fair September 23rd, while Chris was booked to open for George Jones at the same fair on September 25th. George is still scheduled to perform. Chris also canceled fair appearances in Frederick, Maryland on September 24th, and Kennesaw, Georgia on September 25th, because they coincided with a run of Rascal Flatts dates in Florida. Rascal Flatts’ next tour stop with Kellie and Chris will be Thursday in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

 

LAURA BELL BUNDY PROMOTES ALBUM WITH PEREZ HILTON. Perez Hilton recently chatted with Laura Bell Bundy after her return to the states from promoting her album, Achin’ and Shakin’ in Europe. Perez was dressed in a Snuggie, and shared online clips of Laura Bell’s recent promotion for her album to fans in the US. She is dressed as a “Tatiana,” owner of Waxing & Taxing, where she claims, “Laura Bell is quite hairy.”  She also disguised herself as “Shocantelle,” owner of Be-Weave Hair Salon. Perez insists on being in her next comic-skit, so viewers be prepared.

  • RELATED LINK – Link to watch Laura Bell’s “Cooter County” characters.

http://www.cmt.com/videos/misc/469502/cooter-county-characters-promo.jhtml

 

WILLIE NELSON DEFENDS SHIRLEY SHERROD. Founder of Farm Aid, Willie Nelson recently spoke out about the scandal involving Shirley Sherrod, who lost her job last week at the Department of Agriculture because a video tape was altered. Willie and Shirley first met while she was a director at the Georgia Field Office. Willie says, “While all family farmers in our country face an uphill battle to stay on their land, growing good food for rest of us, black farmers have lost their land at an alarming rate, faster than any other family farmers. Lending discrimination and inequities in agriculture programs are largely responsible for the shrinking number of black farmers.” Willie insists Shirley has been a great friend to him, Farm Aid, and family farmers for over 25 years.

 


This and That

  • Jaron and The Long Road To Love is scheduled to perform the hit single “Pray For You” tonight on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
  • Charlie Louvin who underwent a six-hour Whipple Procedure surgery on July 22nd in Nashville, is currently recovering, and expected to be out of the hospital tomorrow. At age 83, he was diagnosed with stage two Pancreatic Cancer.
  • Reba McEntire is featured on the September cover of the Cowboys & Indians Magazine, which is on sale now.
  • This week on The New Yorker Out Loud, Blake Eskin, Editor of New Yorker.com, describes Brad Paisley’s musical ability. He says, “One of the things Paisley understands really well is this country tradition of the singer as the entertainer. The singer as the person who is willing to do whatever it takes to keep people smiling. To keep people singing along.”

 

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS


  • BULLOCK WON’T REUNITE! Sandra Bullock will not reunite with her unfaithful ex-husband, Jesse James. Rumors that Bullock was considering going back to him began last week but Radar Online is reporting that there is no chance Bullock will get back together with James.
  • ANOTHER MEL GIBSON RANT! Another Mel Gibson audio tape has hit the blogs, this time in the form of a voicemail the Australian actor is said to have left for his ex, Oksana Grigorieva. In the profanity-filled clip, Mel says he wishes he never had a child with Oksana and says some nasty things about Oksana’s former boyfriend, actor Timothy Dalton. Head to PerezHilton.com to check out the new audio.
  • OKSANA NEEDS MEL’S PERMISSION! Besides being famous for dating and now fighting with Mel Gibson, Oksana Grigorieva (Pron: gree-gore-ee-eh-vuh) is a singer-songwriter. Unfortunately, we might not be hearing music from Oksana anytime soon because, according to TMZ, in order for the Russian songstress to dispense any of her new tunes, Mel has to sign off on the release as he was the executive producer of her new CD.

 

  • BRITTANY MURPHY’S MOM SAYS NO MOLD! Recently, there were reports alleging that toxic mold in Brittany Murphy’s home may have been a factor in the deaths of Murphy and her husband, Simon Monjack. The late actress’ mother Sharon is denying those reports, calling them absurd and saying she’s shocked a rumor like that would begin. Read more at People.com.
  • SNOOKI’S PHILOSOPHY! Season two of Jersey Shore premieres Thursday on MTV at 10 PM Eastern so get ready for more fist-pumping, tanning and bar fighting every Thursday night this summer. Tune in to MTV Thursday at 10 PM to see episode one of Jersey Shore season two.
  • LOHAN HAS A SECRET TATTOO! What looked like a bruise on Lindsay Lohan’s arm the day she was in court waiting to be locked up, has turned out to be the beginning of a new tattoo. Head over to TMZ now to check out the faint, and somehow creepy, image of a little girl with her eyes closed, drawn on the inside of the starlet’s left arm. The outlet reports that once Lohan is released, she intends to finish to tat. As of now, Lohan could get out of jail as early as Sunday.

 

  • CHARLIE SHEEN PLEA DEAL! With all this Mel Gibson and Lindsay Lohan drama going on, we’ve sort of forgotten about Charlie Sheen. But, it looks like his lawyers have still been hard at work making sure the Two and A Half Men actor spends no time behind bars. According to TMZ, Sheen and the court system are close to reaching a plea deal which would not include jail time. Sheen is accused of threatening his estranged wife, Brooke Mueller, with a knife on Christmas Day.
  • WEDDINGS RINGS! Now that their wedding secret is out, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr are sporting some new jewelry. The lovebirds were spotted in the Miami Airport this week both wearing wedding rings. Congrats to the happy couple. Check out more at People.com.
  • KIM KARDASHIAN TALKS PLASTIC SURGERY! Kim Kardashian went out of her way this weekend to urge a fan to not get plastic surgery to look like her. The fan tweeted to Kim saying that she was going to get head to toe surgery to look like Kim Kardashian so her husband wouldn’t leave her and Kim told her not to. Read more at Twitter.com/KimKardashian.
  • BYNES NOT RETIRING! She was just kidding ya’ll! 24-year-old actress Amanda Bynes is “un-retiring.”  In a post on Twitter this weekend, she announced that her statements about retiring from acting back in June are now null and void. Bynes can next be seen in the flick Easy A, which hits theaters September 17th. Stay up to date with the actress’ retirement status by following her at Twitter.com/Chicky.
  • PREGNANCY CRAVINGS! Both Ali Larter and Christina Applegate are pregnant and the actresses are talking cravings. Christina told Entertainment Tonight that right now she’s craving avocados and other “weird things at weird hours,” while Ali revealed to People magazine that she’s baking herself strawberry shortcakes and eating them at 3 in the morning. Larter is apparently set to give birth this winter, while Applegate has not revealed her baby’s due date.