Big Country Notes for Feb 7

REBA HAS BUSY SCHEDULE IN COMING MONTHS

Reba McEntire is busy filling her calendar with appointments. She will be at the GRAMMYS on Sunday, where she will introduce Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts, who are doing a tribute to country rock. The next week “The Tennessean” reports that McEntire is recording in Los Angeles with Don Henley and Carole King for her upcoming duets album. Plus she also has to find time to do a song with Justin Timberlake for the same project. Reba has already been in the studio with Faith Hill, Ronnie Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Vince Gill and Kelly Clarkson. Speaking of Kelly, Reba will be back in Nashville on February 22nd to film a segment of “CMT Crossroads” with Clarkson.
Reba’s sitcom “Reba” will air the finale two episodes air back to back on February 18th on the CW Network. The singer has opted to stay in Los Angeles because her son, Shelby, goes to high school there. She told “The Tennessean” that she may remain based in Los Angeles until Shelby, who is a sophomore, graduates.

KEITH URBAN SUING OVER WEBSITE NAME USE

Keith Urban is suing another Keith Urban. Urban, the singer, is suing a New Jersey painter who owns a website that bears their names. Urban the painter, has his own website KeithUrban.com. He uses the site to show off his artwork. Urban the country singer wants the site. The "Smoking Gun" reports that the country singer, who is married to Nicole Kidman, is suing to get the rights to the website. The singer's suit claims Urban the painter is giving the false impression that the art being sold is from the country performer. (Metro Source)

Urban isn’t spending all his time preparing court papers. The first five shows of his Australian tour have been announced. He will be in Brisbane on May 11th, Sydney, May 15th, Melbourne, May 18th, Adelaide, May 20th and Perth, May 22nd. This mean Urban will not be in Las Vegas for the Academy of Country Music Awards show on May 15th.

REBA McENTIRE WILL PERFORM AT CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL IN JUNE

Reba McEntire will perform at the CMA Music Festival this year. It will be Reba’s first time to play at the festival since 1996, when it was known as Fan Fair. Reba says, quote, “It's been eleven years since I've had a chance to be in Nashville for this amazing week, and the CMA has done a great job of growing the event during that time. I'm looking forward to being a part of it all once again." Additional artists participating in the event include Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Sugarland, The Wreckers and Jason Aldean. Other artists scheduled to perform include Eric Church, Heartland, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Blaine Larsen, Neal McCoy, The Oak Ridge Boys, Jamie O'Neal, Jake Owen, Danielle Peck, Pam Tillis and Chris Young. The festival will be held June 7th-10th in downtown Nashville. The four days includes 30 hours of autograph signings, 70 hours of live music and 400 country music artists and celebrities making appearances. Last year’s event drew more than 161-thousand fans.

TOBY KEITH ANNOUNCES JUNE 12TH AS DATE FOR NEW ALBUM RELEASE

Toby Keith is planning something old and something new for his upcoming album release. The singer, who has titled the disc “Big Dog Daddy,” will release the album on June 12th. Keith has written most of the songs for the disc, which isn’t unusual. This time, however, he will be the sole producer of the project. He is also doing a good deal of the background vocals on the songs, including those on his single “High Maintenance Woman.” The album release will be on Toby’s label Show Dog Nashville.

LEE ANN WOMACK SPOKESPERSON FOR CHEERIOS “CIRCLE OF HELPING HEARTS”

Lee Ann Womack has joined the fight against heart disease. The singer has been named spokesperson for Cheerios cereal's "Circle of Helping Hearts" campaign. The goal is to raise 500-thousand-dollars for WomenHeart, a national organization representing eight million American women living with heart disease. Womack says she got involved in the campaign because it’s important for her to set a good example for her daughters to live a healthy lifestyle. She says, quote, “I don’t know a family heart disease has not touched in some way. When I heard how it affects us, I had to get involved.” Womack is urging fans to visit CheeriosHelpingHearts.com. For each code entered on the site from a participating box of Cheerios cereal, one-dollar will be donated to WomenHeart. Although February is American Heart Month, Womack urges women to establish new lifestyle changes that will continue throughout the year.

CLINT BLACK SAYS PROCESS OF PICKING SONGS FOR NEW ALBUM AGONIZING

Clint Black says it’s not easy picking previous hits to re-record. For his new album “The Love Songs” the singer did just that but he says it was an agonizing task. He says, quote, “There were some love songs that they just didn’t fit. I think the process I went through was a little bit agonizing because there were some things I was a little bit afraid to approach again.” He went on to say that he didn’t want fans to buy the new album and find the songs drastically changed. Clint says the only song that really is different is his and his wife Lisa Hartman Black’s “When I Said I Do.” The singer says, quote, “The only difference is Lisa sings a couple more lines in the second verse than she did in the original. Once we started doing it live she had an idea and went with it.”

QUICK BITES

LeAnn Rimes has been added as a presenter for the GRAMMY Awards Show, which airs Sunday on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

Emerson Drive welcomed representatives from America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food bank Network to their recent Green Bay, WI concert. The band has partnered with the organization to raise awareness to help wipe out hunger in America. They were inspired to do so by the lyrics of “Moments,” their new hit single.

When Jason Michael Carroll stopped by the Academy of Country Music office last week he gave the first performance in the Academy of Country Music’s new office space. Carroll treated the staff to an acoustic performance of songs from his new album, “Waitin’ in the Country,” including the hit single “Alyssa Lies.”

Bucky Covington will appear on Fox News Channel's "Big Story" with John Gibson today. The singer will talk with John about his life following "American Idol," including his debut single "A Different World" and upcoming April 17ath album debut.

Diamond Rio will join Martina McBride on her tour for three dates, June 22nd – 24th. Little Big Town and Rodney Atkins will open on most dates on Martina’s tour, which kicks off March 4th in Plant City, FL.

The DVD, "Fats & Friends," with Fats Domino and friends Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis, will be released by Time Life on March 6th.