Keith Urban on the Grand Ole Opry

Keith Urban fans will want to tune into Opry Live tonight on their local GAC station. Keith will perform on the Grand Ole Opry to help celebrate Marty Stuart's 50th birthday! GAC will air the show live at 9:00pm ET and will then re-play the show throughout the weekend...you can check the air times here.

Life 'Peaceful' in Nashville for the Urbans

Brooks & Dunn member Ronnie Dunn tells People magazine that life is, and will continue to be, peaceful in Nashville for the Urban clan.

Ronnie said that he received a text message from Keith Urban recently telling him of the craziness that's currently surrounding them. Of the text message, Ronnie says "He said she (Sunday Rose) thinks that every time they get in a car there's a rubber hailstorm from paparazzi cameras hitting the car. I offered to fly in a redneck SWAT team!"

The Urban's are currently in London where Nicole is shooting a film, but Ronnie predicts that things will quiet down once they return home to Nashville. He says "Nashville isn't oriented [toward celebrity.] It will be more peaceful for them here." We bet they can't wait to get back to Nashville to settle down for a while!

Country's Sexiest Man!

Well the votes are in and America has voted Trace Adkins as Country Weekly's sexiest man in country music! Here's the list of the top 10...

1. Trace Adkins
2. Gary Allan
3. Toby Keith
4. Chris Young
5. Jack Ingram
6. Keith Urban
7. Jeff Bates
8. Keith Anderson
9. Blake Shelton
10. Tim McGraw

We know the list has to be limited at 10, but we think there are some serious hotties that were left out...

Kenny Chesney Indianapolis Review

Well we're home from a weekend in Indianapolis, IN. We're every single form of tired that you can imagine – tired, exhausted, drained, and then some – and that can only mean one thing: the weekend was AWESOME!

The events got started on Friday evening when the Hard Rock Café hosted a pre-concert party with a performance by Brother Trouble. As we told you, Brother Trouble won the national talent competition, "The Next Big Star," and were awarded the opportunity to open the last 3 shows of the Poets & Pirates tour in addition to their opening for the tour at Nashville's LP Field back in July. The fans arrived early to form a line before the Hard Rock opened to make sure they had a spot inside. When we arrived, they were just opening the doors for the fans and there was already talk of being at capacity, so it was a good thing folks showed up early!

Before going into the Hard Rock, we were met by the owners of "The Next Big Star" competition, AbiJack Management. After chatting with them for a while and learning what a huge success this competition has been, we headed over to visit with Brother Trouble on their tour bus. We cannot say enough wonderful things about the boys of Brother Trouble…Mark & Jason are two of the nicest, most humble people and are so thankful of this opportunity. We conducted a videotaped interview with them including a special tour of the tour bus that was theirs for the week as a prize of the competition. We will be posting that for you later on this week.
After some more visiting and chatting, we headed inside the Hard Rock Café to enjoy the evening. The place was packed with country fans full of energy and anticipation of not only this great evening of music, but of the next day's final show of Kenny Chesney's Poets & Pirates Tour. To the delight of the crowd, Mr. Chesney made an appearance before Brother Trouble's performance to present them with their $25,000 prize money check. A very hoarse Kenny chatted with the crowd about the talents of Brother Trouble, presented the boys their check, posed for pictures with Brother Trouble, and stayed to sign autographs before heading out for the evening. The crowd was delighted at his appearance and it was a perfect adrenaline boost for the crowd to get geared up for Brother Trouble's performance.
Once the boys of Brother Trouble took the stage, they ROCKED the Hard Rock Café in downtown Indianapolis! Not only are the guys talented musicians, they know how to get a crowd fired up and rockin'…the crowd stuck right along with them until their performance was over, dancing and singing along with the music. The boys made a lot of new fans this weekend, and they are only beginning…we think you'll be seeing and hearing a lot from these guys in the future!
We woke up Saturday to overcast skies, but in true Kenny Chesney concert style, the clouds parted and the masses of fans were greeted with sunny skies for the entire day – it was only natural for the sun to be out on the last day of the summer tour! The parking lots were filled with tailgaters who were fully equipped with their music, food, drinks, grills, and pools. They had come for a fun time, and their tailgates were outstanding! For those folks looking to take a break from the tailgating, XM Radio had a stage setup in the parking lot where they were broadcasting live, with performances by Brother Trouble, Luke Bryan, and the man of the day, Kenny Chesney. All 3 acts gave the crowd a fun, music filled afternoon and it was a special treat for so many fans to catch such an intimate performance of these guys.

When it was time to enter the stadium, we were immediately impressed at what a beautiful facility Lucas Oil Stadium is. As you probably know, it is the brand new home of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts and this was the first concert to ever be held there. There were some issues with the sound during the show – folks that were seated in the back or up high complained of echoing and not being able to understand the words. After LeAnn Rimes' performance, the retractable roof to the stadium was opened and that was said to have relieved much of the noise issue. Being that it was the first concert, it was a learning experience for members of the venue staff and we're sure that the folks at Lucas Oil Stadium will have the sound issues corrected before the next concert!

As they did at the Hard Rock Café and XM Radio stage, Brother Trouble rocked the house during their show opening performance. It was such a thrill for these two brothers to play their music at such a great facility filled with so many country music fans. They were simply honored and we can't wait for more fans to discover their talent!

Up next was Luke Bryan, and in true Luke fashion, he pumped up the crowd with his energizing performance. Of course Luke is a great singer, but we think his biggest gift lies in his ability to entertain a crowd, and he definitely did just that! We heard nothing but great things about Luke Bryan from the members of the crowd surrounding us. Everyone seemed excited to see and hear more of this rising star in country music.

Gary Allan was the next one to take the stage, and what a crowd pleaser he was! Gary has a lot of fans and they made it known that they were happy to see him on the bill. Gary belted out hit after hit and the crowd sang right along with him!
Fresh off a bout with tonsillitis, LeAnn Rimes was the next one to hit the stage with her amazing vocals. LeAnn seems very sweet and it is so obvious that she enjoys the fans. She was very interactive with the crowd – shaking a lot of hands and even taking time during her songs to sign autographs. It was nice to see someone so appreciative of the fans support.
Keith Urban was the next one to delight the crowd with his seemingly never-ending set of hit songs and spectacular guitar playing. Hit after hit, not after note, the fans cheered in support and appreciation for the talented Australian. Keith experience one minor unexpected event during his set when members of Kenny Chesney's crew bopped out onto the stage dressed in Kangaroo costumes, playing the guitar, and waving the Australian flag. Keith actually stopped singing because he was laughing so hard and then proclaimed to the crowd "it's like the last day of school out here!"
When it came time for the main event of the evening, the crowd was READY! When Kenny Chesney arose from the stage, the stadium full of 52,000 people exploded into cheers that never stopped until after midnight. Noting that it was the last show of the tour, Kenny told the crowd early on that they'd be doing things a little different that night.

Naturally Kenny stuck to the normal set with his own hits like "Summertime," "Beer In Mexico," "How Forever Feels," and "I Go Back," but at the time when a normal show would have ended, he broke out into so many of the bands favorite cover songs. They jammed out to "Rocky Mountain Way," "Blister In The Sun," "Dixieland Delight," "You Never Even Called Me By My Name," "With or Without You," and many others. Kenny often shared the spotlight and microphone with talented members of his staff and crew, and was also joined on stage by Keith Urban for a duet of "Take It Easy."

As tired as Kenny was getting, (he sat down a couple of times on the stage to catch his breath and momentum!) it was clear that he intended on leaving every ounce of energy that he had out on that stage.

When the fiddle finally fired up to Kenny's hit "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy," the crowd knew that this was the end of the 2008 tour. Kenny used this song as a fun moment to bring back Luke Bryan to the stage to sing along with him.

At the end of the song, still not wanting the party to be over, Kenny was joined on stage by many staff members, crew members, friends & family for pictures, hugs, and one final farewell to this highly successful tour.

Kenny was given two banners by fans down in the Sandbar to wrap up the show and the crowd roared in agreement when Kenny held them up to read "Thanks Kenny for a GREAT summer!" and "Love you Kenny, can't wait 'til next year!" It was a great idea by just a few fans, but it was a sentiment that was echoed by thousands!

We were fortunate enough to spend some time with a lot of great people this weekend and we want to thank everyone for making us feel so welcome…the folks at AbiJack Management, Corona, Hard Rock Indianapolis, XM Radio, as well as the entire teams of people with Brother Trouble, Luke Bryan and Kenny Chesney are all a class act, and we'd like to extend a big THANK YOU! Kenny Chesney has certainly surrounded himself with a respectful gang of people in every area and we don't want that to go unnoticed!

CountryMusicIsLove Is Hitting The Road!

Hey everyone! CountryMusicIsLove is heading to the LAST show of Kenny Chesney's 2008 Poets & Pirates Tour in Indianapolis, IN this weekend to cover the show for YOU! We'll be gone from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon, but don't worry, we are going to fill you in on everything going on at the big show! Friday night we are going to head over to the Hard Rock Cafe where Corona will be throwing a huge end of the tour fan party where Brother Trouble, the Big Star Competition winners, will be performing. Saturday is the big show/tailgate...we'll bring you live updates from the parking lots and the tailgate parties! The show will feature Brother Trouble, Luke Bryan, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, Keith Urban, and your reigning CMA & ACM Entertainer of the Year, Kenny Chesney! XM Radio will be broadcasting on Kenny's "No Shoes Radio" LIVE from the show, so be sure to tune in to that as well. If you can't make it to the last stop of the tour, CountryMusicIsLove is your one stop shop for everything Kenny Chesney!

Don't forget to tune into Froggy 99.9 to listen to us on the air with Mike, April & Randy while we're in route to Indy on Friday morning!

Once we return from the show we will bring you videos from the lots, photos, fan interviews, and maybe a few surprises!!;) Love & Country Music Always, Erin & Lauren

8 In A Row For Brad Paisley!

Brad Paisley takes over the No. 1 spot this week on the Billboard country singles chart with his current release, "Waitin' On A Woman." This is Brad's 8th single in a row to claim the No. 1 spot and in appreciation, Brad sent out this message to country radio yesterday...
Keep your ears open for more Brad music...he just released his next single to radio which happens to be a duet with Keith Urban called "Start A Band." Wow, can you imagine these two jamming out on the guitar together?!...awesome!

WE LOVE IT!!!

We're pretty sure that we have to have this! Next month Sony Computer Entertainment America is releasing a new game for PS2 called SingStar Country! You get to sing along to music videos from your favorite artists including Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley and more! How cool is that?! There is also a radio promotion being held by Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sony/BMG Nashville that encourages listeners to sing their way to the CMA awards. If you think you're good enough, you can attend a SingStar competition in your area with the grand prize winner getting a trip to the awards show in November!

Fashion Rocks: "Where Fashion and Music Collide"

The 5th annual Fashion Rocks event airs tonight on CBS at 9pm EST. Proceeds from the event will benefit Stand Up To Cancer.

Keith Urban will join Kid Rock, Lynard Skynard and other artists such as Mariah Carey and Justin Timberlake in performing at the event. Be sure to tune in!

Keith Urban Loves Being Mr. Mom

Keith Urban recently told CMT that he loves being a Mr. Mom when his wife, Nicole Kidman, is busy working. Keith says "When my wife's working and I've got time off, I'm just Mr. Mom during the day, taking care of the little girl." Keith also told of their family intentions of traveling together next summer, saying "That's what we'll do next year. Just balancing touring with being home, it's good to have them out on the road...so we're not apart very much."

We're glad to hear things are going so well for the Urban's...and that Keith will be touring again next year!

Keith Urban ~ Special Offer

If you're a current member of Keith Urban's fan club or if you'd like to be, he has a special offer for you! Beginning tomorrow, September 10th, at 9:00am CDT, for 24 hours ONLY, you can purchase a new membership or renew your current one for one year at $34.99 and you'll also get a "You Look Good In My Shirt" t-shirt. Here's the link, but it won't become active until 9/10 @ 9:00am CDT. This has a retail value of $60...so if you're a Keith fan, you're in luck...take advantage of this special offer tomorrow!

Nashville Going A Little Bit Hollywood?!

Have you guys noticed that country music stars are getting more and more publicity on the Hollywood magazine sites lately? Both OK! Magazine and People Magazine have had a lot of coverage in recent weeks...both online and in print. Maybe Hollywood is catching on that Nashville really is the place to be!

-Here's a video from Kellie, Taylor, & Julianne from People.com.

-Here's a new Taylor article (but not really anything we didn't already know!)

-Taylor, Kellie, & Julianne have a small photo on this week's cover of People.

And just today, People had these two pics on their website...the 1st one of Keith Urban (w/ Natasha Bedingfield and Usher in conjunction with the NFL Football Kickoff) and the 2nd one of LeAnn Rimes and her husband, Dean Sheremet.
Over at OK! Magazine's website, you can find these country articles on their home page right now...

-Carrie calls Jessica fat (according to THEM - we're plugging our ears and screaming LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA so we don't have to listen to it - enough already!)

-They caught up with Miranda Lambert and chatted all about her ever growing farm and all of her animals in this article.

-And then they had this piece about Carrie being involved in the "Stand Up For Cancer" benefit.

So, it's exciting for country stars to be getting the recognition they deserve...as long as we don't have the paparazzi showing up all over Nashville!!

Keith Urban Helps Kick Off NFL

Country artists are everywhere these days!!

Keith Urban, along with Natasha Bedingfield and Usher, were in the Big Apple this week to help kick off the NFL season with a free concert in Columbus Circle.

The first NFL game airs tonight at 8pm (EST). The Redskins are playing the Giants!

Attn. Keith Urban Fans

Keith Urban will be making quite a few television appearances in the next few days! Tune in to catch the awesome Aussie on these dates:

~September 4th- NFL Kickoff on NFL Network Live (4:30 pm EST)
~September 5th- NFL Kickoff on NBC prime time
~September 9th- Fashion Rocks on CBS prime time

Chart Update

There was all kinds of exciting movement on the Billboard charts this week!

-Keith Urban inched his way from No. 2 into the No. 1 spot with "You Look Good In My Shirt"...we guess Keith's team made a smart move releasing this song even though it's not even on his current CD!

-Keith Anderson is knocking on Keith's door as he moved up one spot to No. 2 with the hugely popular "I Still Miss You." Does it have enough to reach the top spot?

-Kenny Chesney once again has the biggest gaining song of the week...in only it's 3rd week on the charts, "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven" leaped from No. 13 to No. 6! With all of the momentum this song has had, it certainly seems destined for No. 1, but we'll have to wait and see on that.

-Country newcomer Darius Rucker is still climbing with strength...his single "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" jumped from No. 10 to No. 7. We're sure he's very excited about the success of his first country song!

-Finally, Kid Rock rounds out the top 10, moving up to No. 10 from No. 14 with his summer anthem "All Summer Long."

Interesting fact...Taylor Swift is the ONLY female in the top 10 this week...she slips from No. 1 to No. 5 with her single "Should've Said No."

Jessica Simpson Joins the CMA

While in Nashville last week, Jessica Simpson became a member of the Country Music Association. Along with over 6,000 songwriters, musicians, and other country music personnel, Jessica joins acts such as Willie Nelson, Keith Urban, Faith Hill as members of the CMA.

An onlooker told E! News, "She was very sweet and seemed happy to join the organization," a Simpson source said. "Being a member makes you part of the industry. It’s great for networking."

There are many perks that come with being a member, such as special rate health insurance, but a major perk of being part of the CMA means that Jessica is now able to have a say in CMA nominations and awards. Could she have say in this year's awards? We're not sure, but she seems like she is making a point to make country music a major part of her life.

Speaking of Jessica, we just read Natasha Bedingfield's latest MySpace blog. Natasha mentions Jessica's new album as one to look out for. She writes, "I'm not joking, look out for this one. I heard some of her new album and I was blown away. Country music is what jess should have been doing all along. When she sings these songs you feel them."

Jessica's first country album, "Do You Know" hits stores on September 9th- Just 2 weeks away!

Keith Urban Injured

Keith Urban's publicist has confirmed that Keith is suffering from a slipped disc...no further details about the injury were made available, but his publicist says that it will NOT affect Keith's upcoming schedule. He will head to Canada for a show this weekend and then be in NYC next week for a couple of events.

You Can Look Good In Keith Urban's Shirt

Wow, is it just us or are country stars REALLY giving? It seems like everyday we're finding out about more and more country stars who are finding ways to give back to worthy causes...yay! This time it's Keith Urban...he's asked a bunch of his friends to pitch in and donate personal items for his auction to benefit St. Jude's children's hospital. You can bid on shirts owned and worn by Keith, Carrie Underwood, Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn, Ronnie Milsap, Luke Bryan, Josh Turner, LeAnn Rimes, Keith Anderson, Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, Charlie Daniels, Dolly Parton, Faith Hill, Darryl Worley, Miranda Lambert, Trace Adkins, Phil Vassar, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Little Big Town, Rodney Atkins, Jimi Westbrook, Karen Fairchild, and Phillip Sweet...throw in a pair of Dwight Yokam autographed cowboy boots and you've got yourself one heck of an auction! Click here to see the items and place your bid for a great cause!

Chart Update

This week's Billboard Hot Country Songs chart changed a lot from last week's chart! Sugarland hit #1 last week with "All I Want To Do," but this week Taylor Swift, bumped Jennifer and Kristain down to #3 and took the top spot with "Should've Said No." Keith Urban is holding the #2 spot with "You Look Good In My Shirt."

In other chart news, The Lost Trailer's got their first top 10 this week with their single, "Holler Back." We're excited for them!

Kenny Chesney is making noise this week as well. "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven" is already at #15 after just 2 WEEKS on the charts!

To see the full charts, click HERE.

A "Sunday" Stroll

Proud parents, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, accompanied by Nicole's father, Dr. Antony Kidman, took baby Sunday out for a stroll on the set of Nicole's movie, "Australia" which is being filmed in Sydney, Australia. During her visit to her parents homeland, baby Sunday also got to spend time with some famous family friends when Keith & Nicole proudly showed her off to their friends, Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe.

Date night!

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman had a night out on the town in Sydney, Australia this weekend. In matching leather jackets, the couple went to see a soccer game. This was their first visit to Australia after the birth of their new baby girl, Sunday Rose.