Brittany Joy Cooper
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Trace Adkins Wants You to Try His New Country Smoked Sausage
Trace Adkins has forged a new partnership, but it's not with a label or another country artist or agency -- it's with his meat. Adkins has joined forces with the Louisiana-based company Hightower Enterprises to bring his celebrity name to Hightower's Country Smoked Sausage. In a commercial for the product, Adkins is grilling out in the backyard, explaining why he chose to align himself with the company that's been making his favorite sausage since 1972.
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Charlie Daniels Reclaims Sight With New Eye Surgery
Southern rocker Charlie Daniels is 75 and hasn't been able to see without the help of contacts or glasses in 68 years. According to his website, the singer's eyesight was damaged by a high fever when he was 7-years-old. The Grand Ole Opry member has cataracts, and as a result, has experienced failing eyesight for the bulk of his life. But this week, Daniels underwent an innovative new process called Smart Eye Surgery, which will restore his eyesight once again.
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Brantley Gilbert Gets a New Tattoo
Brantley Gilbert is no stranger to being inked. The ACM New Artist of the Year nominee already has at least three tattoos, including one on his left arm that has a skull in it, one on his rib cage and one between his shoulder blades.
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Kenny Chesney Explains ‘Welcome to the Fishbowl’ Album Title
We recently reported that Kenny Chesney unveiled the album artwork, title and track listing for his upcoming record, 'Welcome to the Fishbowl.' And while the name's origin did have something to do with the beach, Chesney's 13th studio album isn't titled for the ocean or the aquatic life found within it. In fact, the name came as a result of a comment Chesney made about his lifestyle while visiting the Red Bar in Grayton Beach, Fla. with friends.
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The Band Perry Make Surprise Visit to Hometown Elementary School
On Thursday, April 5, nearly 600 elementary students at East Tennessee's Doak Elementary School got a surprise meet and greet with award-winning sibling trio the Band Perry. Though the students didn't expect the visit from the 'All Your Life' singers, they certainly deserved it. The elementary school, which the Perrys attended when they were young, had just raised more than $40,000 for the American Cancer Society.
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Rascal Flatts Bring ‘Banjo’ to ‘Ellen’
Rascal Flatts dropped their ninth studio album this week, releasing 'Changed' on Tuesday, April 3. Naturally, they've spent the past couple of days making television appearances to promote the new project. After performing their heavy ballad 'Changed' on 'Dancing With the Stars' early in the week, they hit 'The Ellen Show' on Thursday (April 5) to bring forth a performance of a different cut from the record: the uptempo, feel-good number 'Banjo.'
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New ‘Duets’ Reality Show Featuring Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, Kelly Clarkson to Premiere May 24
'American Idol' first brought the idea of reality singing shows to its current fame on FOX. Then, NBC came back with their creative spin on the traditional show with 'The Voice,' which included coaches, mentors and teams rather than judges and contestants. And now, ABC is bringing a mentoring show of their own to this summer's television lineup: 'Duets,' which premieres this May.
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Lee Brice Offers a Different Opinion on Ashton Kutcher ACM Awards Ordeal
Lee Brice hit the airwaves this week to talk to 99.9 Kiss Country's Kenny Walker about the ACM Awards, his thoughts on the whole Ashton Kutcher debacle and his sophomore album, 'Hard 2 Love,' which hits stores April 24.
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Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban + More to Guest Star on John Fogerty Album
From Lionel Richie's recent 'Tuskegee' album to Taylor Swift's onstage appearances with artists like T.I. and rapper B.o.B., we've seen quite a few cross-genre collaborations involving country artists of late. Oh, and don't forget about Jason Aldean's duet with Kelly Clarkson that just took home two ACM Awards last weekend. And now, Creedence Clearwater Revival rocker John Fogerty just announced that he's going to release a new record featuring a handful of country artists, as well as others.
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Lionel Richie’s ‘Tuskegee’ Album Debuts at No. 1
We've been reporting on all of the happenings surrounding Lionel Richie's country duets album 'Tuskegee' since details of the collaborative effort first arose. The highly awaited 13-track collection of duets with Richie and some of the biggest names in country finally dropped March 26. This week, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. According to the Tennessean, the project sold 198,892 copies, which also landed Richie at No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200 trailing only Madonna.