Big Country Notes for APR 23

KEITH URBAN’S MUNICH CONCERT STANDING ROOM ONLY

It was standing room only for an American singer in Germany this past Thursday. Keith Urban played to a packed house at Tonhalle in Munich for the first night of his Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour. Urban played for more than two hours including his past hits as well as new songs from his album “Love, Pain and the whole crazy thing.” Despite the language barrier the crowd sang along to many of Keith’s tunes. The singer even performed a special request for a young Austrian woman whom he had met through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She asked him to perform one of his early hits, “You Won.” In addition to singing, Keith jumped into the audience for several impromptu interviews with fans. He discovered that one had been waiting for four months to make the drive to Munich from Northern Italy. Keith’s next stop on his world tour: two nights in London tomorrow and Wednesday.

KENNY CHESNEY SAYS HE HAS AN OBLIGATION TO LIVE UP TO ENTERTAINER TITLE

Kenny Chesney takes his title as the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year seriously. The singer, who is up for that award at the ACM’s again this year, says all performers try to do the best job they can onstage. He says, quote, “We have a responsibility to put on the best show we can. But anybody that’s an entertainer has that responsibility no matter what level you’re at.” Chesney’s “Flip-Flop Summer” tour is well underway with sold out shows and enthusiastic crowds. He says people always ask him what they can expect from his show. He says, quote, “It’s gonna be really intense…it’s gonna have a lot of energy to it…[and] it’s gonna be a long, loud set.”

Other nominees for the ACM Entertainer of the Year are Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and George Strait. The awards will air May 15th live from Las Vegas on CBS.

GRETCHEN WILSON SAYS HER BOOK HELPED HER WITH HER SONGWRITING

Gretchen Wilson says her new album is her most honest yet. Wilson says becoming an author -- “Redneck Woman: Stories From My Life” came out last fall -- helped her develop a new openness in her songwriting. The singer says she feels like her lyrics have always given fans a sense of who she is but that she felt even more comfortable about revealing more of herself to her fans. Gretchen says, quote, “If there were any doors that were still closed, they really opened up when I wrote that book.” The new disc is due in stores May 15th.

BROOKS & DUNN, ALAN JACKSON ADD CANADIAN DATES TO TOUR

Brooks & Dunn and Alan Jackson will head north of the U.S. border in November after their co-headlining tour in the states. They’ve added five Canadian dates to their tour beginning November 11th in Vancouver, B.C. That’s in addition to the Toronto, Ontario date on September 26th. The move up north may offer some harsh weather changes for everyone because their last U.S. date is in Orlando, Florida. The tour gets underway May 10th in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Jake Owen and Catherine Britt will open the shows.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD NAMED SEXIEST FEMALE MUSICIAN BY VICTORIA’S SECRET

Carrie Underwood as a lingerie model? Probably not, but Victoria’s Secret has named her the sexiest female musician in their list of “What is Sexy?” Justin Timberlake was named sexiest male musician. The list is compiled by the store’s executives, designers and supermodel spokeswomen. Others on the list – rapper Jay-Z and pop singer Beyonce as sexiest couple; actress Kate Hudson as sexiest mom and soccer player David Beckham as sexiest dad.

QUICK BITES

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were among the celebrities attending Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Pop singer Sheryl Crow, actress Mary Tyler Moore and President George W. Bush also attended the event, which honors members of the Washington, D.C. press corp.

Darryl Worley will be a guest on “Daytime,” which airs on NBC stations in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Vince Gill, Rascal Flatts, Amy Grant, Terri Clark and Diamond Rio are among the celebrities who have signed one-of-a-kind chairs painted by Williamson County Middle College High School's drama and arts students. The chairs will be auctioned off at the Musical Chairs benefit dinner and auction on Thursday in Franklin. For info on how to bid call 615-472-4670.

Wynonna Judd and Emmylou Harris were inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame yesterday. They joined other celebrities The Crickets, John Hiatt, Michael W. Smith and music executive Frances Preston.

Jimmy Wayne has been working on his sophomore release for several months and says he can’t wait for fans to hear the outcome.

Jack Ingram will stop by “Fox & Friends” on May 1st. Dusty Drake will be on the Speed Channel Saturday performing the National Anthem during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race live from Kansas Motor Speedway.


"DISTURBIA" STILL NUMBER ONE

Four new releases did little to upset "Disturbia's" top spot at the movie box office this weekend. The thriller starring Shia LaBeouf maintained its top standing after taking in another 13-and-a-half-million dollars in ticket sales in its second weekend on screen. That was enough to outpace the new Anthony Hopkins - Ryan Gosling legal thriller "Fracture" which opened at number two with an estimated eleven-point-two-million. The Will Ferrell - Jon Heder comedy "Blades Of Glory" was third with seven-point-eight-million in box office receipts. "Blades" was followed by the new Kate Beckinsale - Luke Wilson motel horror "Vacancy" which opened in fourth place with seven-point-six million dollars. Rounding out the top five was the animated family adventure "Meet The Robinsons" at number five with seven-point-one million in box office receipts.

"Hot Fuzz," and "In The Land Of Women" were also among the new releases this weekend. "Hot Fuzz," a British comedy starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, opened in sixth place. "In The Land Of Women," starring Adam Brody, Meg Ryan and Olympia Dukakis, opened at number eight.
(Metro Source)

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC (final figures will be released today):

1. "Disturbia," $13.5 million.
2. "Fracture," $11.2 million.
3. "Blades of Glory," $7.8 million.
4. "Vacancy," $7.6 million.
5. "Meet the Robinsons," $7.1 million.
6. "Hot Fuzz," $5.8 million.
7. "Are We Done Yet?", $5.2 million.
8. "In the Land of Women," $4.9 million.
9. "Perfect Stranger," $4.1 million.
10. "Wild Hogs," $2.9 million.