Big Country Notes for Sept 19

REBA MCENTIRE BRINGING “DUETS” TO TV

Reba McEntire is appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" today in support of her new CD “Reba Duets,” and she's bringing a couple of her collaborators with her. Kelly Clarkson and Justin Timberlake will also be on hand to sing their songs with Reba. Kelly's track, a remake of her hit "Because of You," served as the CD's lead-off single, while Reba and Justin teamed up for a Celtic love song called "The Only Promise That Remains." Reba's promotional blitz continues tomorrow with appearances on ABC's “Good Morning America” and “The View.” Next week Reba and Kelly will make another appearance together, on CNN's “Larry King Live” on Monday. Meanwhile, Reba has tapped duet partner Vince Gill for a performance on NBC's “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” next Tuesday.

KENNY CHESNEY SAYS TIM MCGRAW SHOULD HAVE CMA NOD FOR ENTERTAINER

Kenny Chesney says he wants to remain CMA’s Entertainer of the Year again this year. But that doesn’t stop the singer from expressing his belief that his competition should include pal Tim McGraw. Chesney tells “The Tennessean,” quote, "Tim has a lot of passionate fans out there, and I'm one of them." He also notes that Tim and his wife Faith Hill have created musical history in the past two years with their “Soul2Soul” tours, which he thinks might be more significant than accomplishments of others who are nominated for the award. Chesney adds, quote, “If I had the career he had and wasn't nominated, it would bother me." Kenny also admits that he’d love to be named the CMA Entertainer of the Year three more times, but acknowledges, quote, “the odds of me keeping the pedal down that long aren’t good.” But he contends that win or lose, he has loyal fans who'll remain enthusiastic for his music. The other nominees for this year’s CMA Entertainer of the Year are Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, George Strait, and Keith Urban. The 41st Annual CMA Awards will be presented in a ceremony in Nashville and air on ABC on November 7th.

GARY ALLAN SAYS NEW VIDEO REFLECTS HIS LIVE PERFORMANCE

Gary Allan says he loved his new single “Watching Airplanes” the first time he heard it. He just shot the video for the tune, opting for a performance version instead of an interpretation of the song. The clip was filmed at four concerts – at Red Rocks near Denver, Colorado; in Austin and Fort Worth, Texas; and in St. George, Utah. Allan says he’s never made a performance video before, and he wanted to let folks who haven’t seen him in concert get a glimpse of the type of performance he gives. Allan has been on the road all summer. This fall he’ll be the opening act for Keith Urban in 20 cities. The first show is set for Columbus, Ohio on November 1st.

DIERKS BENTLEY MAY FIND NEW FANS IN SAHARA DESERT

Free and easy down the road he goes -- to the Sahara Desert? Dierks Bentley says he’s been invited to perform in the West African country of Mali at its legendary Festival in the Desert. The annual event is set in the dunes of the Sahara, several hours by car away from the nearest town of Timbuktu. It attracts talent from around the world. Dierks would be the first country artist to perform there. He was invited by singer/songwriter and musician Vieux Farka Toure [[Vo Far-ka Tori]] when the two taped a show for “Mountain Stages.” Dierks says, quote, “You come in by camel. It’s crazy and it’s insane, but I’d love to do it.” Bentley will have to work through a lot of red tape to make the festival appearance a reality. Mali's Festival in the Desert will take place from January 10th through the 12th.

LEANN RIMES IN THE DUET BUSINESS

LeAnn Rimes is getting a lot of experience singing with others. She recently collaborated with Reba McEntire on “When You Love Someone Like That,” which is on the just-released CD “Reba Duets.” In addition, on LeAnn's upcoming album “Family” CD, she teams up with blues singer Marc Broussard on “Nothin’ Wrong,” which they wrote with Blair Daly. She recorded with New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi. LeAnn says she enjoyed singing with band frontman Jon Bon Jovi, noting, quote, “He has such a great work ethic and he knows what he wants.” Rimes says she and Jon were actually in the studio together to record "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore," which is on the rock group's latest disc “Lost Highway.” LeAnn explains that while Bon Jovi had already laid down his vocals, he wanted to be in the studio with LeAnn because he had a definite idea of what he wanted her to do with the song. Rimes’ “Family” is due in stores on October 9th. It features the Reba and Bon Jovi duets as bonus tracks.

RANDY OWEN SAYS HE AND JOHN RICH GOOD MATCH FOR HIS NEW ALBUM

Alabama's Randy Owen says he didn’t know Big & Rich's John Rich very well when it was suggested they work together on the singer’s first solo album. So before they teamed up Owen did a little homework. He tells “The Tennessean” that he went to see Big & Rich perform, then spent time with Rich to see if they were compatible. He notes that he discovered, quote, “there wasn't much space between Alabama in 1980 and Big & Rich in 2007.” Rich also admits to the newspaper that he was somewhat nervous when he was asked to be Randy’s producer, calling it “an intimidating request.” He adds that he believes he's doing a good job on the project, but describes it as, quote, “a big responsibility."

QUICK BITES

Eric Church has invited members of his fan club, the Church Choir, to help plant trees in Lions Park in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 29th. Church will perform an acoustic set for those who participate. This is the fourth “Tree Choir” event for the singer, who is one of the few country artists implementing green initiatives on the road. He launched the program over the summer in Nashville. He's also hosted tree-planting events in Detroit and Chicago.

Big & Rich is likely a big part of the wedding memories of three pairs of newlyweds. The duo performed their number one single "Lost In This Moment" last Saturday during a three-couple wedding at Fontanel in Nashville.

Jack Ingram will participate in a Grammy in the Schools event during a tour stop in Lubbock, Texas on Monday. The singer will host approximately 30 students during Verizon’s SoundCheck. The students will watch the set-up process, participate in a question and answer sessions, take part in an autograph session and meet and greet, and attend the concert.

Taylor Swift says making the video for her new single “Our Song” was awesome. She notes that she had two dresses custom made for the shoot. It’s also the first clip that includes her band. Meanwhile, an exclusive version of Swift’s breakthrough hit, “Tim McGraw,” is available for a limited time as an OTA download via Sprint.