Info Friday

- Keith Urban topped the Billboard country song chart for the week ending Oct. 31 with Only You Can Love Me This Way and Taylor Swift's "Fearless" was back atop the album chart going from third to first.


- Tim McGraw announced Thursday he will kick off the Southern Voice Tour in February with dates into the summer. Lady Antebellum will open the shows.

McGraw released "Southern Voice" on Tuesday, his first album of new material since "Let It Go" in April 2007. As usual, his backing band, the Dancehall Doctors, were the musicians on the disc.

"I'm real excited to have this opportunity to hit the road next year with the 'Southern Voice' tour and look forward to playing new songs and old favorites for all my fans," said McGraw, who will perform this morning on Today as part of the Toyota Concert Series on Rockefeller Plaza. On October 27th he'll appear on The Jay Leno Show where McGraw will be joined by Gregg Allman for a rendition of Southern Voice. McGraw will close out the week with an Oct. 29 performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. On Nov.13, CMT will premiere "INVITATION ONLY: TIM MCGRAW," a one-hour special featuring McGraw performing before a small studio audience and taking questions from fans.


- Carrie Underwood answer questions for The Boot and showed her respect for her peers.

Who do you think is the most underrated singer in country music?

Miranda Lambert! She gets attention and people know who she is, of course, but I'd lose an award to her any day. I just think she's supertalented and really sweet and fun. I think she deserves more accolades. She gets some, but she deserves more.

When offered an advanced copy of Miranda's new album "Revolution", Carrie turned down the offer and said "No, I'm going to go out and buy it".


- Kenny Chesney may not be launching his typical stadium summer tour in 2010, but that doesn't mean he's going to be hanging in the islands all year. Chesney will headline Bama Jam and the Bayou Country Superfest next year, he announced Wednesday.

"I can't imagine a year not rocking the fans... not seeing those faces or hearing my songs sung back to me," Chesney said. "That is where I'm the most alive, and those people are such a big part of who I am and why I do this. To me, not being out there would be the worst thing I could imagine."

"For us to be able to get out there and rock at a few of these festivals, it means we can do the big show people expect without having to put six months into getting ready for it. Me and the guys can come on out, play the songs as hard as possible and get to be part of everybody's summer... whether it's kicking it off at LSU's Tiger Stadium or getting June started at Bama Jam."

I personally hope he will include the 2010 CMA Festival!!!

CMA Awards Predictions; Album of the Year

Album of the Year
This award is for an album as a whole unit. The album should be judged on all aspects including, but not limited to, artist's performance, musical background, engineering, packaging, design, art, layout, and liner notes. At least 60% of the product in the album must have been first mastered or released domestically during the eligibility period. Award to artist and producer(s).


Brad Paisley "American Saturday Night" - The late arrival of this album could or couldn't work for him, it could be too new which could make it fresh for voters or not known enough. Regardless of the timing this I believe is Brad's best work to date. It displays how he has matured but still holds true to his comedic persona. It has followed suit and debuted at #1 as did it's first single "Then". Definitely an album that will have longevity.

Or


Sugarland "Love On The Inside" - This too shows the growth of the artist, and it really brought Sugarland to that next level. Landing at #2 on the Billboard 100 in and achievement in itself. The album itself in very infectious, I'll admit some of the songs when first heard are like "I can't stand it", then with in a few more listens you want to hear it over and over. Love has many gems on it and is also one of highest selling albums of the eligibility period.

Possible Contenders - Jamey Johnson "That Lonesome Song", Taylor Swift "Fearless", Zac Brown Band “The Foundation”, Toby Keith "That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy", or Keith Urban "Defying Gravity".